Was Indiana's performance at Michigan a fluke? That question will be partially answered on Saturday night as the Hoosiers "host" the Ohio State Buckeyes at 7 o'clock on the Big Ten Network. Indiana outplayed Michigan and should have won at the Big House for the first time since the 1960s. Ohio State has rebounded from their loss to USC with two dominating victories over Toledo and Illinois. Let me make one point abundantly clear, Indiana could play a very good game and still lose to 20 points. The disparity in depth and talent is huge and IU will need to play a nearly perfect game to make this a contest. Ohio State is bigger, stronger and more fundamentally sound than the Wolverines. Do you think OSU will have three bad snaps tomorrow night? Don't count on it. IU will be going up against one of the best defenses in the country and the Ohio State offense is capable of scoring. If the Hoosiers were fighting an uphill battle last Saturday, they are attempting to climb a mountain tomorrow.
Offensive Explosion- Can IU Keep It Up?
IU racked up 467 yards of offense last week in Ann Arbor. It was one of the most impressive
offensive performances I have seen from an Indiana team in quite some time. The defense they will be going up against on Saturday has not given a score in two weeks. They suffocated Illinois' offense, holding the Illini to 170 yards. That came on the heels of a 38-0 shutout of Toledo. IU is going to try and build on last week's rushing game. If they can rush for over 100 yards against the Buckeyes, I will be a full-fledged believer in the IU running game. Darius Willis was amazing against Michigan and he needs to have a similar performance on Saturday. Ben Chappell is going to have to hit some big plays because I don't think Indiana will be able to sustain a lot of drives. The wideouts (Doss, Belcher and Turner) cannot have any drops and they will need to continue to get yards after the catch. The bar is set at 350 yards. If IU can exceed 350 yards, I will be extremely impressed. Red Zone Offense
IU had five trips into the red zone against the Wolverines and scored on each chance they had. The bad news was that four of those five scores were field goals. IU needs to score touchdowns when they get inside the twenty. Look, if IU manages to score a couple of touchdowns instead of field goals, this could be a matchup of two Top 25 teams. I liked the play calling from the Hoosiers last week and they will need to have a similar creative approach from Matt Canada and Bill Lynch. This is the one thing that needed massive improvement from last week. I don't know how much it will help them this week but it will be critical going forward.
Containing Terrelle Pryor
Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor is an extraordinary athlete. He has the ability to really hurt the Hoosiers with his legs. IU is going to need to find a way to force him to beat them with his arm. Pryor has not developed into a great passer and that probably won't change before Saturday. He is only completing 57% of his passes this season and he has 5 TDs and 4 interceptions. Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew will have to continue to wreak havoc on the opposing quarterback. Hit Pryor and force him to think twice before taking off. Ohio State running back Dan "Boom" Herron is going to be limited with an ankle injury so the Buckeyes running game might take a bit of a hit. Expect Brandon Saine to see the majority of the carries for the Bucks. When Pryor does throw, he will be looking primarily for Dane Sanzenbacher. Sanzenbacher already has four touchdowns on the season. Prediction
I think Indiana will play pretty well tomorrow night. I am hoping Indiana has at least 50% of the crowd in their favor. The offense will not reach 350 yards but I don't think they will be completely shut down like Illinois was in Columbus. The defense is going to have a hard time shutting down the physical running game of the Buckeyes. I see Ohio State running for around 200 yards as a team and controlling the clock. OSU wins but does not completely dominate. Buckeyes, 31-14.
I will recap the game and the weekend in college football on Monday and Tuesday. Until then, stay vigilant and God Bless America.
No comments:
Post a Comment