DIPRIMIO COLUMN: No Question, Tom Allen is the Right Coach for IU

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For those who questioned the hiring of Tom Allen as Indiana's head football coach, your answer came in Nebraska.

It came at a sold-out stadium loud enough to shake even the most unshakeable.

The Hoosiers stayed focused, and if it wasn't always perfect, Saturday's 38-31 victory was good enough to clinch bowl eligibility for the third time in five seasons. Success was rooted deeply in this unshaken belief:

The best is still ahead.

"I don't care what anyone else thinks," Allen says. "This is big. This means a whole lot to our program. It changes a lot of things with our guys."

IU (6-2) still needs one more victory to clinch its first winning season since that same 2007 season. It needs two to match the most wins in a season under former coach Bill Mallory, who won more games than any Hoosier coach in history (69). It needs three to tie the program record of nine set in 1945 with an unbeaten Big Ten title and matched with the 1967 Rose Bowl team.

To say the Hoosiers are pumped is an understatement.

"It shows we can beat anyone right now," receiver Whop Philyor says. "We're doing exactly what we need to be doing."

It starts with Allen, who Fred Glass hired in December of 2016.

Allen had been the Hoosiers' defensive coordinator for less than a year, but had directed a remarkable turnaround with a perennially struggling unit while showing passion, commitment, energy and insight Glass knew the program needed.

So rather than conduct a national search, Glass hired Allen.

On a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb., it paid off.

It followed consecutive 5-7 records and enough near misses to frustrate fed-up IU fans to the breaking point. The gut-wrenching late-September 4--31 loss at No. 25 Michigan State -- the Hoosiers gave up nine points in the final five seconds -- typified that.

IU hasn't lost since. It hammered Rutgers at home, then won on the road against Maryland and Nebraska, making crucial fourth-quarter plays each time.

"I got really tired talking about how close we are and being disappointed and trying to figure out how am I going to spin it the right way when I was just torn up on the inside," Allen says. "It feels pretty stinkin' good to answer questions after a big-time road win."

Allen has a 16-17 Hoosier record (including the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl) in two-plus seasons. Since 1934, IU has had 15 head coaches. Do you know how many finished with a winning record?

One.

Bo McMillen went 63-48-11 from 1934-47.

You don't obliterate a losing tradition in a few games. Not if you want to do it right.

Allen is all about doing it right. It takes time, good recruiting and better player development. It takes knowing when to step back (giving up the defensive coordinator role in favor of Kane Wommack) and when to move forward (hiring a new strength coach in David Ballou and bringing in Kalen DeBoer as offensive coordinator).

It means being demanding even when it hurts (telling returning starting quarterback Peyton Ramsey that he was being replaced by Michael Penix Jr.) without crossing the line (hence the Love Each Other philosophy).

And in these light-up-the-scoreboard times, it means offense.

Indiana can score no matter who runs the show. It has scored at least 30 points in a program-record seven times in eight games this season, including five straight.

It ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (34.0 points) and second in total offense (450.5 yards).

Unbeaten Ohio State is first in both categories, at 48.3 and 514.8.

Penix and Ramsey have each delivered impressive numbers. They direct the Big Ten's most prolific passing attack, at 312.8 yards a game. Their combined completion percentage of 69.7 trails only Wisconsin (75.4).

That's a credit to their ability, as well as the talent around them, from skill players such as Philyor and running back Stevie Scott III to an offensive line that does its job no matter how many injuries it faces.

Philyor leads the Big Ten in catches (57, 10 more than anyone else) and yards (737). Scott ranks fourth in the conference in rushing (621 yards).

Ramsey threw for a career-high 351 yards against Nebraska. It was his fourth career 300-yard passing game. For the season, he's thrown for 1,194 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 72.1 percent of his passes.

Not bad a backup.

Penix, by the way, has 1,232 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 69.0 completion percentage.

As far as the offensive line, IU continues to lead the conference in fewest sacks allowed, 11 in eight games. Offensive line coach Darren Hiller has done a masterful job of development, motivation and instruction.

This reflects Allen's commitment to building depth and coaching guys to ensure they're ready if called upon, because if you know anything about Cream & Crimson football history, you know guys will be needed sooner than expected.

Imperfections remain, especially with penalties. IU is last in the conference in penalty yards, at 537.

Allen and his staff will continue to address it. Philyor, who was hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty against Nebraska, recognizes the necessity.

"I have to be more disciplined. I let my emotions get the best of me. We're playing football, so everyone's emotions are high."

As for Saturday, IU lit up a struggling Nebraska defense for 455 yards in 71 plays, and if some found that surprising, well, the Hoosiers didn't.

"It had a lot to do with our skill guys," Ramsey says. "How much we believe in them on the perimeter and inside on the one-on-one matchups. That's what it came down to."

The defense, meanwhile, struggled against a Nebraska offense that used its bye week to maximize pace and, at times, trickery.

Indiana finally adjusted to make enough difference-making plays -- see defensive end Allen Stallings IV's fumble recovery run as Exhibit A -- and stops.

"It was trick plays, and tempo within the trick plays," Allen says. "By the time I figured out what happened on the last play, they did another one. They got us on our heels. I was frustrated. Kane was frustrated. We were all frustrated.

"I said, 'Guys, weather the storm and just play football.'"

And so the Hoosiers did.

Now comes Northwestern on Saturday night. It will be a nationally televised November night game, the first ever at Memorial Stadium.

Allen pushes for a sellout and chance to reap recruiting gold.

On Saturday, the Hoosiers earned respect at one of college football's most tradition-rich venues. Now comes the big question -- can they do it again?

With powerhouse programs such as Penn State and Michigan left on the schedule, they could do it on a truly national scale.

For those who questioned Allen's fitness for the job, you have your answer.

You'll likely have it for the next decade or so.

Indiana University Athletics

DIPRIMIO COLUMN: No Question, Tom Allen is the Right Coach for IU

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Michael Penix Jr.

Whop Philyor

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Stevie Scott III

Allen Stallings IV

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