The Indiana Hoosiers had another close call, but they’re still unbeaten after escaping Lincoln, Nebraska with a 20-17 win over Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers. Curt Cignetti and Indiana have now won 22 games in a row. If they want to make it 23 games in a row, they’ll need to get some things figured out as the Ohio State Buckeyes are headed to Bloomington.
There are several things that are going right, but it sure looks like Cignetti and the Hoosiers will have their hands full next weekend against an Ohio State team that has a legitimate (and terrifyingly talented) Heisman Trophy candidate.
So, following Indiana’s matchup with Nebraska (who is a pretty solid team and deserves its flowers for putting up a solid fight against the defending national champs), here’s a few things the Hoosiers need to get straightened out.
How on earth was Indiana so bad at third downs?
Offense. Defense. Whichever angle you want to approach this one from, it’s a fair thing to examine. The Indiana Hoosiers were completely and totally awful when it came to both converting third downs and then also when it came to stopping the Nebraska offense on third down.
And so that’s part of why it’s so incredible that the Hoosiers were able to come out on top of this game. Indiana was 1-for-10 on converting third downs and then managed to allow the Huskers to convert 10 of 19 this downs. Folks, that is horrendous.
The Hoosiers scored from far, which is both impressive and also maybe a problem
Look, it’s certainly not a bad thing to be able to rip off a big play and get a timely score that helps you win a game. That’s something to be grateful for and to celebrate. But it’s also worth examining why Indiana absolutely had to rely on pass plays of 75 yards and 44 yards to find the end zone against the Huskers.
The Hoosiers struggled to sustain a drive against Nebraska, which is what would give me a bit of heartburn when thinking about how things will play out next week when facing the Buckeyes.
In each of Indiana’s touchdown drives, the Hoosiers ended up in the end zone in five or fewer plays. Indiana’s offense being explosive and taking advantage of mismatches in the secondary is a good thing. The Hoosiers potentially relying heavily on explosive plays to be able to score? That might be a bit worrisome.
Can Indiana manage to run the ball against a team like Ohio State?
The Hoosiers sure struggled to get the ball rolling on the ground against Nebraska. When facing the Huskers’ defense, Indiana ran for a grand total of 65 yards on 22 carries. Which, you know, that’s not ideal!
And when the Huskers are going to take on a team like Ohio State whose defense allows just 3.3 yards per carry, that’s got to be at least little concerning for Cignetti and his coaching staff.
All of that said, it's worth noting that none of these things are really, fully insurmountable issues. All of them can theoretically be addressed. But man, there’s a short turnaround time to try to get all of this figured out.
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