NOTEBOOK: ‘Hard Decisions’ Loom as IU Opportunity Remains
Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Four wins.
That’s what it comes down to for Indiana in these last six football games, starting with Saturday’s Homecoming Game against Rutgers (5-2) at Memorial Stadium.
The Hoosiers (2-4) need six victories to become bowl eligible, and the good news is they only play one more ranked team -- a trip to No. 7 Penn State (6-0) on Oct. 28.
The other opponents are Illinois (3-4), Wisconsin (4-2), Michigan State (2-4) and Purdue (2-5).
IU’s season-long struggles are well documented, but opportunity remains if it plays to its potential.
“It’s learning, growing and recognizing we have a lot of football ahead of us,” head coach Tom Allen said during his weekly Monday press conference. “We absolutely do.
“We’ll make some decisions. We’ll make some hard decisions and go with them, roll with them, and let our guys play.
“We’ve shown glimpses of what we can become. It has to be consistent. That’s the focus on both sides of the ball, and special teams.”
IU’s four losses have come against teams with a combined 24-3 record.
“It should be a great opportunity for our guys as we enter the second half of our season, a very important part, to allow us to reach the goals we have for our team,” Allen said.
The offensive line will have a huge role in a strong second-half-of-the-season finish, he added.
“I want to see it continue to elevate. As a group, they continue to mesh and gel and work together. They’ve been going against some really good defensive fronts, and will go against another this week. We have to continue to develop.
“The second half of the season needs to be their best. I want them to be a unit on the rise. That’s going to be the key for us on both sides of the ball -- the D-line and the O-line.”
Rutgers rallied from a 24-6, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Michigan State 27-24 last Saturday. The Scarlet Knights, with a pair of Big Ten wins, are a victory away from bowl eligibility. They beat Northwestern to open the season.
Running back Kyle Monangai has three 100-yard rushing games this season. He had 148 yards against Michigan State. He’s rushed for a Big Ten-leading 635 yards and seven touchdowns.
Quarterback Gavin Wimsatt completes 50.9 percent of his passes for 1,095 yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Rutgers has held four opponents to 16 points or less. It has outscored its opponents 79-34 in the fourth quarter.
“A really good football team is coming to Bloomington,” Allen said. “Coach (Greg) Schiano has systematically built that team. It’s playing with a lot of confidence.
“They got a big win this past week coming from behind. That showed a lot of toughness and grit.”
IU will once again pick a permanent starting quarterback.
Rotating Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby for the Michigan game was another attempt to determine who can best run the offense and generate points.
It won’t be repeated, Allen said.
“We’ll make a decision this week. That person will be the guy. I’m not going to rotate back and forth.”
What is Allen looking for?
“It’s about protecting the football. It’s about running the offense.
“We want to have continuity there. We’ve had some back and forth with young guys who are trying to grow and develop. We want to see them play consistently and build around them.”
Consistency remains elusive.
Jackson, who won the starting job after two games, completes 60.9 percent of his passes for 914 yards, two touchdowns, and five interceptions. Sorsby completes 51.7 percent of his passes for 294 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Sorsby has rushed for 81 yards to Jackson’s minus-21.
“Every position on the team, and quarterback is way more visible, is performance based,” offensive coordinator Rod Carey said. “If you’re not performing, whether it’s left guard or quarterback, there has to be evaluation. It’s called coaching.
“You put the team in the best spot to win. That’s why we went into the game (with a rotation). We’re trying to get a good performance out of that position.”
Against Michigan and its best-in-the-nation defense, Jackson was 7-for-13 for 52 yards and two interceptions, one of which cost the Hoosiers at least three points, and possibly a touchdown. Sorsby was 6-for-15 for 44 yards and a couple of fumbles. He also ran for 30 yards.
“If you take the first quarter,” Carey said, “they both did good things and played at a high level. In the second half, we can’t turn the ball over at quarterback. It wasn’t good enough. It’s pretty simple.”
The fact neither Jackson nor Sorsby has won the job can take an emotional toll. Players can be worried about making a mistake than making a play. Carey understands that, but for IU to have a victory chance, strong quarterback play is crucial.
“It’s hard on them,” Carey said. “Nobody is immune to that. I don’t minimize that.
“Our job as coaches is to get these guys to perform. If part of that coaching is to rotate those guys and see if we can get somebody to consistently play well, that’s what we do.”
IU tried that. Again, Allen insisted the rotation is over. Carey insisted it’s time to find consistency.
“We’re getting too much of this,” he said, gesturing in an up-and-down manner. “My job is to get rid of this.”
Could quarterback Dexter Williams II play on Saturday?
He’s been out since last season with a knee injury, but is getting close to being ready to perform.
“He’s progressing,” Allen said. “Each week he’s grown in his ability to be ready. He was dressed and ready to be used in an emergency situation (at Michigan). He’s getting closer and closer.”
The Hoosiers gave up some big plays against Michigan because of defensive breakdowns where players, in essence, improvised rather than followed their assignments.
That can’t happen, co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri said.
“In big game and big moments, they have to believe that doing their jobs leads to making plays,” he said. “We have a system that does that. If everybody does his job, guys have to believe in each piece and not press to try to make every play.
“If a play goes against you, guys want to press to make a play. Just do your job at max capacity.”
Carey’s first game as offensive coordinator produced an impressive start (seven points and more than 140 total yards in the first quarter) and a struggling finish (IU never scored again). While a big factor was the quality of Michigan’s defense, better play moving forward is crucial.
IU ranks last in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 18.5 points a game.
“We saw some good things (against Michigan),” Allen said. “On the offensive line, some individuals played really well. I want to see that group collectively improve and get more production out of our throw game so we can continue to put more pressure on the defense.
“We made some positive strides. It’s obviously not good enough. It’s not the standard. We've got to be better. I've got to coach better to have a great strong finish. That's the expectation.”