Goals Are Clear: Start Strong, Play Fast, Finish
9/30/2022 10:00:00 AM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Speed matters.
The Indiana Hoosiers get it. Tempo can tilt advantages if done well enough, efficiently enough and, yes, fast enough.
IU under offensive coordinator Walt Bell pushes a fierce pace. It ran a school-record 104 plays against Cincinnati last Saturday. If it can match or top that Saturday night at Nebraska (1-3 overall, 0-1 in the Big Ten), look out.
Playing fast, Bell says, "has been of incredible value to us" whether it involves "RPO decision making or drop-back decision making."
Mixing tempo is part of it, but going up-tempo is designed to bring fatigue and confusion to the defense.
And, of course, points for the Hoosiers (3-1, 1-0).
"Not everything will be black and white," Bell says. "It's the ability to manage what's created. That's the skill."
More skill and execution are required. IU averages 28.8 points and 407.5 yards. Only eight of its 18 red-zone opportunities have produced touchdowns.
Head coach Tom Allen wants more.
"It's not enough points, not enough consistency in that execution," he says.
"We haven't finished drives. That's a big focus. It's got to be. You've got to score touchdowns in the red zone.
"I want to see more consistency."
One big positive -- the Hoosiers force defenses to defend the whole field. Their 337 offensive plays rank second nationally.
"We're putting a lot of pressure on the teams we're playing," Allen said, "which is what you want, for a lot of snaps. That's critical. Our guys have bought into that, done a good job with that."
Credit the up-tempo factor.
"It's been great for us," quarterback Connor Bazelak says. "We play fast. Other teams know and it limits their coverages and pressures. They're scared to sub and we can call our base stuff, especially on third down when they're not lined up. It's one of our biggest weapons."
It requires a high level of fitness. Bazelak did extra summer conditioning to prepare.
"I did more running last summer than I had ever done before. I was well conditioned going into fall camp."
IU's 202 passing attempts lead the nation. It's not by design. An inconsistent running game caused it.
"We didn't plan on throwing that many times," Bell said.
To avoid a Bazelak over-use issue, the Hoosiers limit his number of practice throws.
"Every day we try to be mindful of the amount of balls thrown," Bell says.
Bell credits strength coach Aaron Wellman's training program for Bazelak's ability to handle a heavy workload.
"Coach Wellman does an incredible job of making sure those guys are prepared to play."
Adds Bazelak: "We're being cautious in practice. I warm up well. I'm not launching balls down the field in practice for no reason.
"In high school, I didn't throw that much. There's not that much wear and tear."
Meanwhile, IU's first-half struggles have coaches pushing for stronger starts. They modified practices this week to spark that against a Nebraska team coming off a bye week.
"We tried to do some things to help correct that," Allen says. "Basically, once we got stretched and warmed up to practice, we would go right into some type of competition."
That involved offense against defense, and one-on-one work with running backs against linebackers, receivers against defensive backs, and offensive line against defensive line.
"It was controlled competition," Allen says. "Best on best, good on good, right away at the start of practice. We want to make sure we're locked in and focused."
Another priority is improving the offensive line play. Consistency was hurt with the season-ending loss of veteran Matthew Bedford, and then injuries to centers Zach Carpenter and Cam Knight, which forced third string Caleb Murphy into a starter's role. Carpenter's status for Nebraska is uncertain.
Allen says adjusting the line rotation is a possibility.
"Losing Matt was tough. Losing Zach was tough. The other guys have got to continue to step up. Younger guys have got to keep being developed.
"We're trying to get the best five guys on the field every time."
Regardless of who plays, Allen adds, "They have to execute our run-and-pass games. That's a high priority for us. It's a very important part of the process in reaching our goals this year."
As far as overall offensive execution, Allen says coaches evaluate every play.
"We critique the exact reason for the breakdown, whether it was scheme, technique, just a guy not executing his individual one-on-one matchup. It was a variety of those things.
"You've seen glimpses of (good execution). You've seen snapshots. That's what we focus on."
The Indiana Hoosiers get it. Tempo can tilt advantages if done well enough, efficiently enough and, yes, fast enough.
IU under offensive coordinator Walt Bell pushes a fierce pace. It ran a school-record 104 plays against Cincinnati last Saturday. If it can match or top that Saturday night at Nebraska (1-3 overall, 0-1 in the Big Ten), look out.
Playing fast, Bell says, "has been of incredible value to us" whether it involves "RPO decision making or drop-back decision making."
Mixing tempo is part of it, but going up-tempo is designed to bring fatigue and confusion to the defense.
And, of course, points for the Hoosiers (3-1, 1-0).
"Not everything will be black and white," Bell says. "It's the ability to manage what's created. That's the skill."
More skill and execution are required. IU averages 28.8 points and 407.5 yards. Only eight of its 18 red-zone opportunities have produced touchdowns.
Head coach Tom Allen wants more.
"It's not enough points, not enough consistency in that execution," he says.
"We haven't finished drives. That's a big focus. It's got to be. You've got to score touchdowns in the red zone.
"I want to see more consistency."
One big positive -- the Hoosiers force defenses to defend the whole field. Their 337 offensive plays rank second nationally.
"We're putting a lot of pressure on the teams we're playing," Allen said, "which is what you want, for a lot of snaps. That's critical. Our guys have bought into that, done a good job with that."
Credit the up-tempo factor.
"It's been great for us," quarterback Connor Bazelak says. "We play fast. Other teams know and it limits their coverages and pressures. They're scared to sub and we can call our base stuff, especially on third down when they're not lined up. It's one of our biggest weapons."
It requires a high level of fitness. Bazelak did extra summer conditioning to prepare.
"I did more running last summer than I had ever done before. I was well conditioned going into fall camp."
IU's 202 passing attempts lead the nation. It's not by design. An inconsistent running game caused it.
"We didn't plan on throwing that many times," Bell said.
To avoid a Bazelak over-use issue, the Hoosiers limit his number of practice throws.
"Every day we try to be mindful of the amount of balls thrown," Bell says.
Bell credits strength coach Aaron Wellman's training program for Bazelak's ability to handle a heavy workload.
"Coach Wellman does an incredible job of making sure those guys are prepared to play."
Adds Bazelak: "We're being cautious in practice. I warm up well. I'm not launching balls down the field in practice for no reason.
"In high school, I didn't throw that much. There's not that much wear and tear."
Meanwhile, IU's first-half struggles have coaches pushing for stronger starts. They modified practices this week to spark that against a Nebraska team coming off a bye week.
"We tried to do some things to help correct that," Allen says. "Basically, once we got stretched and warmed up to practice, we would go right into some type of competition."
That involved offense against defense, and one-on-one work with running backs against linebackers, receivers against defensive backs, and offensive line against defensive line.
"It was controlled competition," Allen says. "Best on best, good on good, right away at the start of practice. We want to make sure we're locked in and focused."
Another priority is improving the offensive line play. Consistency was hurt with the season-ending loss of veteran Matthew Bedford, and then injuries to centers Zach Carpenter and Cam Knight, which forced third string Caleb Murphy into a starter's role. Carpenter's status for Nebraska is uncertain.
Allen says adjusting the line rotation is a possibility.
"Losing Matt was tough. Losing Zach was tough. The other guys have got to continue to step up. Younger guys have got to keep being developed.
"We're trying to get the best five guys on the field every time."
Regardless of who plays, Allen adds, "They have to execute our run-and-pass games. That's a high priority for us. It's a very important part of the process in reaching our goals this year."
As far as overall offensive execution, Allen says coaches evaluate every play.
"We critique the exact reason for the breakdown, whether it was scheme, technique, just a guy not executing his individual one-on-one matchup. It was a variety of those things.
"You've seen glimpses of (good execution). You've seen snapshots. That's what we focus on."
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