Quoted: Indiana vs. Charleston Southern
10/4/2017 8:54:00 PM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana football team will return to Memorial Stadium this Saturday. The Hoosiers (2-2) will host the Charleston Southern Buccaneers at 3:30 p.m. ET on BTN.
Each week we will compile five quotes and storylines recapping the previous game and previewing the upcoming one.
"It's Georgia Southern's offense," said head coach Tom Allen on Charleston Southern's offense. "It's triple option all from the gun. Very, very similar. So challenging, once again. Assignment football."
The Buccaneers offense will present a familiar challenge that the Hoosiers defense faced two weeks ago in the Georgia Southern win, an option-heavy attack. Through four games this season, Charleston Southern's offense is averaging 227.0 rushing yards per game, second in the Big South and top 20 in the FCS. The Buccaneers are capable of putting points on the board as well, averaging a Big South-best 35.3 points per game.
"Our offensive line is getting better," said associate head coach and offensive coordinator Mike DeBord. "We've been battling some injuries up front. We've had some young guys that have had to step in and play. But I do think the offensive line continues to get better every week.
One of Indiana's greatest improvements over the last two weeks has been its offensive line, and Coach DeBord has taken notice. Through the first two games of the season (No. 2 Ohio State and at Virginia), Indiana's offense was averaging 64.0 rushing yards per game and allowed nine sacks. However, in IU's last two games (Georgia Southern and at No. 4 Penn State), the offense has averaged 229.5 rushing yards, an improvement of 165.6, and has surrendered just one sack, an improvement of eight. The return of right tackle Brandon Knight has brought some more experience to the line, as he has played in 21 career games with eight starts.
"This is what I've dreamed of," said redshirt freshman quarterback Peyton Ramsey. "It's something that I've worked toward for a long time. It's exciting."
Ramsey will make his first career start at quarterback for the Hoosiers on Saturday after Allen announced him as the starter moving forward. Despite not yet starting a game, Ramsey has seen significant action in all four contest this season. He has completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 316 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, while also rushing for 117 yards and a TD. The Cincinnati native completed 16-of-20 passes in the Virginia win on Sept. 9, as his 80-percent completion percentage was the second-highest clip in a single game for an IU quarterback.
"Just going into that week, I emphasized flying around," said senior linebacker Tegray Scales on IU's defensive performance at Penn State. "I think our defense did a good job with that. That's always positive when you have a team that's flying around."
Heading into the Penn State game, Scales pushed all week to his teammates to fly to the football. Indiana limited the fourth ranked Nittany Lions to 39 rushing yards (1.1 average), the fewest yards allowed since Aug. 30, 2014, vs. Indiana State (30) and the fewest allowed against a Big Ten team since Nov. 30, 2013, vs. Purdue (31). Meanwhile, Scales set a new career-high with three sacks at PSU, which is tied for fifth-most in school history. It marked the senior linebacker's fourth-career multi-sack game and 12th career multi-TFL game.
"I got a pick because of pressure up front," said junior safety Jonathan Crawford. "It all starts up front. I feel like if they keep improving the way they are, then the sky is the limit for us."
Crawford is the current Hoosiers' leader with eight interceptions, four fumble recoveries and 12 takeaways in his three-year career, which included an interception of Penn State's Trace McSorley last Saturday. As Crawford mentioned, a big part of taking the ball away is getting pressure up front, which the Hoosiers did on Saturday. Indiana tallied five sacks and 11 TFLs against the Nittany Lions. Fifth-year senior defensive lineman Nate Hoff and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Allen Stallings IV each collected a sack. Stallings has eased in nicely to the defensive line rotation for the Hoosiers, having recorded a sack in each of his last two games.
Each week we will compile five quotes and storylines recapping the previous game and previewing the upcoming one.
"It's Georgia Southern's offense," said head coach Tom Allen on Charleston Southern's offense. "It's triple option all from the gun. Very, very similar. So challenging, once again. Assignment football."
The Buccaneers offense will present a familiar challenge that the Hoosiers defense faced two weeks ago in the Georgia Southern win, an option-heavy attack. Through four games this season, Charleston Southern's offense is averaging 227.0 rushing yards per game, second in the Big South and top 20 in the FCS. The Buccaneers are capable of putting points on the board as well, averaging a Big South-best 35.3 points per game.
"Our offensive line is getting better," said associate head coach and offensive coordinator Mike DeBord. "We've been battling some injuries up front. We've had some young guys that have had to step in and play. But I do think the offensive line continues to get better every week.
One of Indiana's greatest improvements over the last two weeks has been its offensive line, and Coach DeBord has taken notice. Through the first two games of the season (No. 2 Ohio State and at Virginia), Indiana's offense was averaging 64.0 rushing yards per game and allowed nine sacks. However, in IU's last two games (Georgia Southern and at No. 4 Penn State), the offense has averaged 229.5 rushing yards, an improvement of 165.6, and has surrendered just one sack, an improvement of eight. The return of right tackle Brandon Knight has brought some more experience to the line, as he has played in 21 career games with eight starts.
"This is what I've dreamed of," said redshirt freshman quarterback Peyton Ramsey. "It's something that I've worked toward for a long time. It's exciting."
Ramsey will make his first career start at quarterback for the Hoosiers on Saturday after Allen announced him as the starter moving forward. Despite not yet starting a game, Ramsey has seen significant action in all four contest this season. He has completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 316 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, while also rushing for 117 yards and a TD. The Cincinnati native completed 16-of-20 passes in the Virginia win on Sept. 9, as his 80-percent completion percentage was the second-highest clip in a single game for an IU quarterback.
"Just going into that week, I emphasized flying around," said senior linebacker Tegray Scales on IU's defensive performance at Penn State. "I think our defense did a good job with that. That's always positive when you have a team that's flying around."
Heading into the Penn State game, Scales pushed all week to his teammates to fly to the football. Indiana limited the fourth ranked Nittany Lions to 39 rushing yards (1.1 average), the fewest yards allowed since Aug. 30, 2014, vs. Indiana State (30) and the fewest allowed against a Big Ten team since Nov. 30, 2013, vs. Purdue (31). Meanwhile, Scales set a new career-high with three sacks at PSU, which is tied for fifth-most in school history. It marked the senior linebacker's fourth-career multi-sack game and 12th career multi-TFL game.
"I got a pick because of pressure up front," said junior safety Jonathan Crawford. "It all starts up front. I feel like if they keep improving the way they are, then the sky is the limit for us."
Crawford is the current Hoosiers' leader with eight interceptions, four fumble recoveries and 12 takeaways in his three-year career, which included an interception of Penn State's Trace McSorley last Saturday. As Crawford mentioned, a big part of taking the ball away is getting pressure up front, which the Hoosiers did on Saturday. Indiana tallied five sacks and 11 TFLs against the Nittany Lions. Fifth-year senior defensive lineman Nate Hoff and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Allen Stallings IV each collected a sack. Stallings has eased in nicely to the defensive line rotation for the Hoosiers, having recorded a sack in each of his last two games.
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