Indiana University Athletics
Allen and Hoosiers Move Forward
9/1/2017 3:05:00 AM | Football
By: Andy Graham
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It took a long time for this particular dream to die.
But then it died hard.
And fast.
The rude awakening for upset-minded Indiana came in the form of 29 unanswered Ohio State points to close out Thursday night's season opener for both football teams.
And 22 of those came in an eight-minute stretch after IU had pulled ahead again, 21-20, with 4:56 left in the third quarter of what ultimately became a 49-21 win for the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes.
"Disappointed in the finish," IU coach Tom Allen, making his home debut, said postgame. "Very proud of our start to the game and most of the third quarter. But there's no consolation in that. Very disappointed in the way that we finished, especially defensively. Definitely some things we've got to address with our guys.
"Really proud and excited for our program, the way they responded (early). The fans, the way they came out today, was special for us. I feel like that there's something to build off of, for sure. I'm disappointed we didn't finish better to give them something to go home with."
For much of Thursday evening, the Hoosiers looked like they might send the home fans amongst the sellout Memorial Stadium crowd home happier. Maybe even a whole lot happier.
IU led 14-13 at halftime, at which juncture the Hoosiers had 286 total yards to OSU's 216 and 17 first downs to the Buckeyes' 10.
But signs were already apparent that the IU advantage was potentially, even probably, unsustainable.
Indiana had just two yards rushing in the first half, with a dominant OSU defensive front rendering the Hoosier offense one-dimensional.
And by the time IU fifth-year senior quarterback Richard Lagow threw his 65th pass of the night, setting a single-game attempts record, he was just trying to make plays to stem an OSU onslaught that had already doubled the margin on the Hoosiers at 42-21.
The pass was picked but, as was the case with both of Lagow's interceptions, it wasn't necessarily the QB's fault.
Lagow took hit after hit but stood strong in completing 40-of-65 throws for 410 yards and three TDs.
Overall, Indiana finished with 68 pass attempts versus 27 rushes – and 10 of the rushes were by quarterbacks, many on pass calls that turned into scrambles or sacks.
Because OSU's defensive front, chock full of NFL prospects even through the two-deep, dictated that.
"Talking to their guys, they think they got five first-round draft picks over there, eventually (on the OSU defensive line)," Allen said. "That's not normal.
"They are pretty elite up front, for sure. Made it tough. Yeah, you've got to run the football and obviously we didn't want to throw it that many times but at the same time, it's kind of what they forced us to do. I think that, we know we have to run the football and that's going to be a huge priority for us … but they are a great football team."
Most quarterbacks don't mind throwing the ball a lot, and Lagow noted that the pass-happy Hoosiers stayed even or ahead of OSU heading into the game's final 20 minutes. But he knows that trench combat eventually becomes almost any game's dominant reality.
"You have to go in with the mindset of whatever it takes to win the football game – do whatever it takes," Lagow said of the predominance of passing in IU's attack. "If they want me to line up at tight end and block, I'll do it.
"They're a great defensive line, which is something that we knew up front. Hats off to them. They played a great game. But when it comes down to it, it's about us. Our execution, at times, wasn't what it needed to be."
But, at other times, the execution in the IU passing game was impressive, even under the duress of no supporting ground game.
Simmie Cobbs Jr., after missing all but one snap last season to injury, returned as a dominant receiver, finishing with 11 catches for 149 yards and a TD.
"You saw it," Lagow said of Cobbs. "He's a big, physical receiver. If you want to leave him one-on-one, he's going to make you pay a lot of the time."
And then there was senior tight end Ian Thomas, who recorded his first and second career TD passes – with the initial score a superb grab on which he showed great technique to draw his trail foot to touch inbounds.
"Great to see him make those plays," Lagow said of Thomas. "Wasn't surprising. I think everybody expected to see that happen. When he made that first touchdown, it was awesome. I just went over, gave him a hug and said, 'You're going to have a lot more this year.' "
Lagow thinks his team will have a lot more to say about how upcoming games turn out, too.
"I think this ball team is going to win a lot of games," Lagow said "… disappointing outcome (tonight), of course.
"It's really frustrating. We expect to be in these games. We expect to win these games … you've got to play four quarters of football. A half isn't good enough. Three quarters isn't good enough. Three and a half isn't good enough. You've got to play four full quarters, especially against a team of that caliber."
Allen pegged this OSU team – in terms of size, speed and overall talent – with the elite Southeastern Conference teams he used to see while coaching linebackers at Mississippi. And he gave the Buckeyes due credit for Thursday's final result.
"We played a great football team that more than likely will be playing in the Final Four," Allen said. "That's what I would predict (and) for two-and-a-half quarters, we went toe-to-toe with them. We're leading them, and weren't able to finish. So that's on me."
Allen, still IU's defensive coordinator, didn't like the way Indiana's defense collapsed down the stretch, which he did not attribute solely to any sort of talent differential.
"It was effort, to me," Allen said specifically of one late OSU touchdown. "The individual that gave that up, even the way he took the field, I got after him when I saw that. I almost took him out if I'd have had time.
I should have called timeout and taken him out because I didn't like his body language, and he gave up a play.
"To me, that's the kind of thing that you control. Each young man controls that. So I'll be very animated on things like that .., but as I just told our team, a 'BreakThrough' is a mindset; it's a culture change; it's an expectation. For me, we didn't finish, for sure, (but) we're going to learn from this one and we're going to press on. Got a long season ahead of us and got a big game next week (at Virginia)."
Dreams might die on a given day. But spirit cannot.
And Tom Allen, a very spiritual man, doesn't intend to let that happen moving forward.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It took a long time for this particular dream to die.
But then it died hard.
And fast.
The rude awakening for upset-minded Indiana came in the form of 29 unanswered Ohio State points to close out Thursday night's season opener for both football teams.
And 22 of those came in an eight-minute stretch after IU had pulled ahead again, 21-20, with 4:56 left in the third quarter of what ultimately became a 49-21 win for the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes.
"Disappointed in the finish," IU coach Tom Allen, making his home debut, said postgame. "Very proud of our start to the game and most of the third quarter. But there's no consolation in that. Very disappointed in the way that we finished, especially defensively. Definitely some things we've got to address with our guys.
"Really proud and excited for our program, the way they responded (early). The fans, the way they came out today, was special for us. I feel like that there's something to build off of, for sure. I'm disappointed we didn't finish better to give them something to go home with."
For much of Thursday evening, the Hoosiers looked like they might send the home fans amongst the sellout Memorial Stadium crowd home happier. Maybe even a whole lot happier.
IU led 14-13 at halftime, at which juncture the Hoosiers had 286 total yards to OSU's 216 and 17 first downs to the Buckeyes' 10.
But signs were already apparent that the IU advantage was potentially, even probably, unsustainable.
Indiana had just two yards rushing in the first half, with a dominant OSU defensive front rendering the Hoosier offense one-dimensional.
And by the time IU fifth-year senior quarterback Richard Lagow threw his 65th pass of the night, setting a single-game attempts record, he was just trying to make plays to stem an OSU onslaught that had already doubled the margin on the Hoosiers at 42-21.
The pass was picked but, as was the case with both of Lagow's interceptions, it wasn't necessarily the QB's fault.
Lagow took hit after hit but stood strong in completing 40-of-65 throws for 410 yards and three TDs.
Overall, Indiana finished with 68 pass attempts versus 27 rushes – and 10 of the rushes were by quarterbacks, many on pass calls that turned into scrambles or sacks.
Because OSU's defensive front, chock full of NFL prospects even through the two-deep, dictated that.
"Talking to their guys, they think they got five first-round draft picks over there, eventually (on the OSU defensive line)," Allen said. "That's not normal.
"They are pretty elite up front, for sure. Made it tough. Yeah, you've got to run the football and obviously we didn't want to throw it that many times but at the same time, it's kind of what they forced us to do. I think that, we know we have to run the football and that's going to be a huge priority for us … but they are a great football team."
Most quarterbacks don't mind throwing the ball a lot, and Lagow noted that the pass-happy Hoosiers stayed even or ahead of OSU heading into the game's final 20 minutes. But he knows that trench combat eventually becomes almost any game's dominant reality.
"You have to go in with the mindset of whatever it takes to win the football game – do whatever it takes," Lagow said of the predominance of passing in IU's attack. "If they want me to line up at tight end and block, I'll do it.
"They're a great defensive line, which is something that we knew up front. Hats off to them. They played a great game. But when it comes down to it, it's about us. Our execution, at times, wasn't what it needed to be."
But, at other times, the execution in the IU passing game was impressive, even under the duress of no supporting ground game.
Simmie Cobbs Jr., after missing all but one snap last season to injury, returned as a dominant receiver, finishing with 11 catches for 149 yards and a TD.
"You saw it," Lagow said of Cobbs. "He's a big, physical receiver. If you want to leave him one-on-one, he's going to make you pay a lot of the time."
And then there was senior tight end Ian Thomas, who recorded his first and second career TD passes – with the initial score a superb grab on which he showed great technique to draw his trail foot to touch inbounds.
"Great to see him make those plays," Lagow said of Thomas. "Wasn't surprising. I think everybody expected to see that happen. When he made that first touchdown, it was awesome. I just went over, gave him a hug and said, 'You're going to have a lot more this year.' "
Lagow thinks his team will have a lot more to say about how upcoming games turn out, too.
"I think this ball team is going to win a lot of games," Lagow said "… disappointing outcome (tonight), of course.
"It's really frustrating. We expect to be in these games. We expect to win these games … you've got to play four quarters of football. A half isn't good enough. Three quarters isn't good enough. Three and a half isn't good enough. You've got to play four full quarters, especially against a team of that caliber."
Allen pegged this OSU team – in terms of size, speed and overall talent – with the elite Southeastern Conference teams he used to see while coaching linebackers at Mississippi. And he gave the Buckeyes due credit for Thursday's final result.
"We played a great football team that more than likely will be playing in the Final Four," Allen said. "That's what I would predict (and) for two-and-a-half quarters, we went toe-to-toe with them. We're leading them, and weren't able to finish. So that's on me."
Allen, still IU's defensive coordinator, didn't like the way Indiana's defense collapsed down the stretch, which he did not attribute solely to any sort of talent differential.
"It was effort, to me," Allen said specifically of one late OSU touchdown. "The individual that gave that up, even the way he took the field, I got after him when I saw that. I almost took him out if I'd have had time.
I should have called timeout and taken him out because I didn't like his body language, and he gave up a play.
"To me, that's the kind of thing that you control. Each young man controls that. So I'll be very animated on things like that .., but as I just told our team, a 'BreakThrough' is a mindset; it's a culture change; it's an expectation. For me, we didn't finish, for sure, (but) we're going to learn from this one and we're going to press on. Got a long season ahead of us and got a big game next week (at Virginia)."
Dreams might die on a given day. But spirit cannot.
And Tom Allen, a very spiritual man, doesn't intend to let that happen moving forward.
Players Mentioned
FB: Spring Game - Postgame Press Conference
Thursday, April 23
FB: Bray Lynch - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Drew Evans - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Nico Radicic - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21