Indiana University Athletics
Offense Ready To ‘Come Out Swinging’
10/13/2021 9:14:00 AM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The shutout still stings.
As it should.
The drive to fix a struggling offense, to generate a run-pass mix to produce Big Ten-game-winning points has reached do-what's-necessary urgency.
As it should.
A 2-3 record will do that to you.
So here is Indiana offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, more than a week past a disappointing 24-0 loss to Penn State, with an Old Brass Spittoon Homecoming showdown with Top-10 Michigan State (6-0) looming on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, aiming to find what has been so elusive this season:
Consistency.
Sheridan can't install a new offense, but he can adjust, tweak and, perhaps, intensify what he has.
The bye week provided an opportunity a regular work week would not, and the Hoosiers took full advantage.
"We've had a very thorough evaluation of where we're at and where we've fallen short, both as coaches and as players," Sheridan says. "You're not reinventing what you've done, but certainly willing to modify what you've done."
It starts at quarterback. Starter Michael Penix Jr. injured his throwing shoulder against Penn State, and Jack Tuttle replaced him. Penix is listed as "week-to-week," by head coach Tom Allen. A starter won't be officially announced until Saturday.
Regardless of who plays, Sheridan says, he will "try to cater to whoever's playing quarterback, try to run the plays they feel most comfortable with."
That's nothing new, he adds.
"You have those conversations with all your quarterbacks throughout the year. Each quarterback likes certain concepts better or worse than others."
Allen expected more than a 23.8-point average from an offense that returned seven starters (including Big Ten Receiver of the Year Ty Fryfogle).
"The things that stick out for me offensively are not being consistent, not running consistently, not scoring touchdowns consistently," he says. "Those are obvious things. Execution hasn't been what it is expected to be. And the play of our quarterbacks hasn't been to the standard of what we know and what we have to have to win those kinds of games."
Penix and Tuttle have combined to complete just 52.8 percent of their passes with five touchdowns and eight interceptions.
That's not good enough, especially against a brutal schedule that has already featured three Top-10 teams (No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Cincinnati, No. 7 Penn State) with Michigan State, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 8 Michigan coming up.
"You play those caliber teams," Allen says, "whether you play them early or play them late, you have to be able to score points when you get to the red zone and you have to be able to execute, throw, and run the football and protect it.
"Turning the ball over stuck out in a major way as a negative for us. Can't do that. When you do, you lose games.
"What really frustrates me is the turnovers on offense, and the lack of creating takeaways on defense (IU has intercepted 2 passes, recovered 4 fumbles). It's frustrating. We know it goes in cycles. We know sometimes that's part of it."
The bye week, Allen says, allowed time for, "A lot of film and meetings, a lot of sit downs, one-on-ones, a chance for (players) to go with me and the staff watching things, watching plays, talking things through, figuring things out, making adjustments to do everything we can do to create change (on offense)."
Beyond that, Allen says, it's "protecting the football, make good decisions, and put our guys in position to make plays. When they get in that position, they've got to make plays. That's what it comes down to.
"When you're back's against the wall, you have to come out swinging."
Could that mean more offensive creativity?
Perhaps.
"You always want to be as creative as you can, but at the end of the day, you've got to execute," Allen says. "That's what we have to do.
"We've got to protect the football. You can't turn it over. You turn it over as many times as we have in those big games, you won't get the results you want.
"I want to do things to create misdirection and hesitancy in the defense. You want them to question where the ball is or what we're doing with our tempo. That's what you want to see, but at the end of the day, you have to execute."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The shutout still stings.
As it should.
The drive to fix a struggling offense, to generate a run-pass mix to produce Big Ten-game-winning points has reached do-what's-necessary urgency.
As it should.
A 2-3 record will do that to you.
So here is Indiana offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan, more than a week past a disappointing 24-0 loss to Penn State, with an Old Brass Spittoon Homecoming showdown with Top-10 Michigan State (6-0) looming on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, aiming to find what has been so elusive this season:
Consistency.
Sheridan can't install a new offense, but he can adjust, tweak and, perhaps, intensify what he has.
The bye week provided an opportunity a regular work week would not, and the Hoosiers took full advantage.
"We've had a very thorough evaluation of where we're at and where we've fallen short, both as coaches and as players," Sheridan says. "You're not reinventing what you've done, but certainly willing to modify what you've done."
It starts at quarterback. Starter Michael Penix Jr. injured his throwing shoulder against Penn State, and Jack Tuttle replaced him. Penix is listed as "week-to-week," by head coach Tom Allen. A starter won't be officially announced until Saturday.
Regardless of who plays, Sheridan says, he will "try to cater to whoever's playing quarterback, try to run the plays they feel most comfortable with."
That's nothing new, he adds.
"You have those conversations with all your quarterbacks throughout the year. Each quarterback likes certain concepts better or worse than others."
Allen expected more than a 23.8-point average from an offense that returned seven starters (including Big Ten Receiver of the Year Ty Fryfogle).
"The things that stick out for me offensively are not being consistent, not running consistently, not scoring touchdowns consistently," he says. "Those are obvious things. Execution hasn't been what it is expected to be. And the play of our quarterbacks hasn't been to the standard of what we know and what we have to have to win those kinds of games."
Penix and Tuttle have combined to complete just 52.8 percent of their passes with five touchdowns and eight interceptions.
That's not good enough, especially against a brutal schedule that has already featured three Top-10 teams (No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Cincinnati, No. 7 Penn State) with Michigan State, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 8 Michigan coming up.
"You play those caliber teams," Allen says, "whether you play them early or play them late, you have to be able to score points when you get to the red zone and you have to be able to execute, throw, and run the football and protect it.
"Turning the ball over stuck out in a major way as a negative for us. Can't do that. When you do, you lose games.
"What really frustrates me is the turnovers on offense, and the lack of creating takeaways on defense (IU has intercepted 2 passes, recovered 4 fumbles). It's frustrating. We know it goes in cycles. We know sometimes that's part of it."
The bye week, Allen says, allowed time for, "A lot of film and meetings, a lot of sit downs, one-on-ones, a chance for (players) to go with me and the staff watching things, watching plays, talking things through, figuring things out, making adjustments to do everything we can do to create change (on offense)."
Beyond that, Allen says, it's "protecting the football, make good decisions, and put our guys in position to make plays. When they get in that position, they've got to make plays. That's what it comes down to.
"When you're back's against the wall, you have to come out swinging."
Could that mean more offensive creativity?
Perhaps.
"You always want to be as creative as you can, but at the end of the day, you've got to execute," Allen says. "That's what we have to do.
"We've got to protect the football. You can't turn it over. You turn it over as many times as we have in those big games, you won't get the results you want.
"I want to do things to create misdirection and hesitancy in the defense. You want them to question where the ball is or what we're doing with our tempo. That's what you want to see, but at the end of the day, you have to execute."
Players Mentioned
FB: Curt Cignetti Media Availability (10/20/25)
Monday, October 20
FB: Elijah Sarratt - MSU Postgame Press Conference (10/18/25)
Saturday, October 18
FB: Fernando Mendoza - MSU Postgame Press Conference (10/18/25)
Saturday, October 18
FB: Omar Cooper Jr. - MSU Postgame Press Conference (10/18/25)
Saturday, October 18