Let’s start with the facts.
IU defeated Rutgers 24-17 on Saturday afternoon in Piscataway, New Jersey, but it wasn’t decisive.
It was a game the Hoosiers should have strolled to victory in. Instead, IU put in a laborious day of work only to beat the lowly Scarlet Knights by seven points.
A scoreless second-half showing on offense put a healthy 24-7 halftime lead in danger, before the Hoosiers used a successful fourth-down conversion late in the fourth quarter to squash Rutgers’ comeback hopes.
With all that out of the way, let’s talk about the offensive play calling.
It hasn't been good.
Even during a comfortable road win at one of the worst teams in college football, IU found a way to overcomplicate its offense, starting in the red zone.
The Hoosiers' second and third scoring drives of the game illustrated this.
Starting in the red zone in the second quarter and continuing across the field in the second half, the Hoosiers mismanaged or potentially mismanaged countless situations.
With the game tied 7-7 and following a suspect officiating call to rule freshman running back Stevie Scott down at the Rutgers 1-yard line, IU decided to go for it on 4th and goal to start the second period.
Did the Hoosiers line up in a power formation with sophomore quarterback Peyton Ramsey under center? Did IU use a specific goal line package to pound the ball into the end zone?
No.
Ramsey lined up in the shotgun formation and faked a pair of handoffs to Scott and freshman wide receiver Reese Taylor before running to his left and barely crossing the goal line with the ball.
The Hoosiers could have just run the ball behind their offensive live or performed a quarterback sneak for the score. Instead, offensive coordinator Mike DeBord was cute, something IU isn’t good enough to be.
It nearly happened again on IU’s third scoring drive.
The Hoosiers made in to the Rutgers 6-yard line and threw three straight passes, the final one connecting with senior wide receiver J-Shun Harris for his first receiving touchdown since 2014.
While both situations ended up working out for IU, it doesn’t mean the plays called by DeBord were any good. It’s as if he was trying to prove a point by not running the football with Scott.
Was it a lack of trust in an offensive line overpowered by Michigan State just a week ago? Maybe DeBord was trying to boost confidence in IU’s passing attack?
Either way, IU came perilously close to throwing away a chance to score points.
But the Hoosiers revisited this plan and decided to do exactly that in the second half.
IU’s first three drives of the half resulted in two punts, one fumble lost by Scott and no points on the board. By the time IU got the ball back with 10:40 to go in the game, the Hoosiers had a 24-14 lead.
The score was the same with 7:52 to go, when the Hoosiers were faced with a 4th and 9 at the Rutgers 18-yard line. The options presented to DeBord and Coach Tom Allen were clear —attempt a 35-yard field goal with junior kicker Logan Justus to try and make it a two-touchdown lead, or go for it in a scenario unlikely to yield a first down.
This choice should have been made even clearer after Justus converted a career-long 44-yard field goal right before halftime.
But, IU went for it anyway, and Ramsey was intercepted in the end zone.
Rutgers turned the takeaway into a 52-yard field goal, and forced IU to run out the final 3:52 on the game clock to seal a seven-point win.
Still, IU needed a fourth-down conversion to make that happen.
The game shouldn’t have been this close, but it was, no thanks to play calling that reduces IU’s chances of scoring and puts the Hoosiers in positions to fail.
@cdrummond97
cpdrummo@iu.edu
