Following a tough loss Oct. 26 at Minnesota, IU comes off a bye week looking for a much-needed victory Saturday as Maryland visits Memorial Stadium.
With the loss to the Golden Gophers in the rearview mirror, Hoosier players and coaches sat down with the media to recap the loss and look ahead to the showdown with the Terrapins.
Here’s what you need to know from Monday’s media session.
1. IU took advantage of the bye week to recover.
After the Minnesota game, IU was a pretty banged-up team. After having nine full days to rest and recover, the Hoosiers have seen some key players get closer to making a full recovery from injuries.
IU Coach Tom Allen said sophomore husky Marcelino Ball, sophomore linebacker T.D. Roof, junior offensive lineman Coy Cronk and senior defensive lineman Jacob Robinson all benefited from the extra rest and could see action Saturday.
IU was the last team in the Big Ten Conference to receive a bye week, and after playing nine straight weeks without rest, the week off was welcome news to many players, including sophomore defensive back Raheem Layne.
“Honestly, I had forgotten about the bye week,” Layne said. “After we played Minnesota, I realized we had the week off coming up and it was like music to my ears.”
2. Solid tackling and defensive execution will be key against Maryland.
After yet another shaky performance against Minnesota, the IU defense will look to turn things around against a Maryland offense that has had its fair share of struggles this season.
While it scored 63 points against Illinois, Maryland has failed to make any notable offensive plays in two of its last three games. In games against Michigan State and Iowa, Maryland combined to score three points and gain just 215 yards.
Despite problems against some of the conference’s stronger opponents, Maryland has feasted on teams near the bottom of the Big Ten standings. Maryland dominated its games against Illinois, Rutgers and Minnesota, winning by an average of 27.7 points and scoring an average of 46.3 points in those games.
According to Allen, the Hoosiers will need to stick to the fundamentals on the defensive end in order to stop the Terrapins’ strong ground attack.
“If you get out of position, they’re very athletic and they’ll make one guy miss for a big play,” Allen said. “To me, the key is to be disciplined and be great tacklers.”
3. The Hoosiers are confident in their ability to make a bowl game.
With a 4-5 record and just three games left in the regular season, IU needs to win two of its final three games in order to become bowl eligible for the third time in four years. With games against Maryland and Purdue sandwiching a trip to No. 4 Michigan, IU still has a realistic path to six wins.
Despite IU’s 1-5 record in the Big Ten and the team's current four-game losing streak, many of the players still expressed confidence in their ability to get back to a bowl game.
“The first nine are in the past,” sophomore quarterback Peyton Ramsey said. “We have to understand that the next game is the biggest one, and I think the coaches have done a good job of emphasizing that, and we really know what’s at stake.”
