Game 9: Indiana Hoosiers Preview
By Adam
First and foremost, I’d like to say, “What the f*@%’s a Hoosier?” Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, and are coming out of one of the most exciting, uplifting, and inspiring weekends in Buckeye history, let’s break down our next week. After four consecutive games against ranked opponents, two of which ended in heartbreak, OSU finally has a week off. Not in the traditional – sit on your couch at home – sense, but in the playing against an inferior team sense. For Hoosier fans out there, if there are any left, I apologize for being so blunt about your team. However, there is no way to sugarcoat it when your team’s ONLY win so far this season is against a team from the MEAC. In fact, I’m willing to bet that less than 10% of people in America know what MEAC even stands for….go ahead, make a guess………………………………Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Unfortunately for me, my OCD won’t allow me to simply pass over this week’s preview by saying “don’t worry about it,” so here are the Hoosiers to keep an eye on this weekend…
Offense / Special Teams
Edward Wright-Baker (#7, 6’1”, 220 lbs) – This Indiana QB has battled an ankle injury for a good portion of this season, and although he is just a sophomore, it’s tough to see much growth or advancement in his game thus far. He started off as the clear number one quarterback for the team, but since his injury started to bother him in October, he has attempted just 15 passes, and completed only 6 of those. If his ankle continues o be a problem, look for the next player on my list to be the one taking the snaps.
Tre Roberson (#5, 6’1”, 184 lbs) – Roberson has taken the most snaps at the QB position over the past couple of weeks, so I’d expect him to continue to maintain that role against OSU. His passing numbers are fairly mild in his appearances so far this year, but OSU doesn’t have much room to point and laugh in that department. Although his ability as a dual-threat QB shouldn’t do much to scare the Silver Bullet defense, it’s clear that it may be the Hoosiers’ best chance at getting points on the board. Remember playing NCAA football for PS2 against a friend and taking out the slow, pocket-passer in favor of the much quicker back-up or even substituting a defensive back in to run the ball? That’s Roberson. He has rushed for 205 yards in their last two contests (B1G Freshman of the Week in week 8), and with John Simon and Johnathan Hankins breathing down his neck, he’s sure to take off and run several times this week. His speedy dashes through the line and into the second level may not be enough to beat OSU, but they should add excellent experience for our defense to play against a QB similar to Denard Robsinson.
It’s also worth saying that a third QB, Dusty Kiel, has taken a number of snaps for Indiana this season as well, but none since October 8th, and I’d be surprised if he got any (except maybe in garbage time) on Saturday.
Stephen Houston (#12, 6’1”, 228 lbs) – Unlike the QB position, I’m only going to go into detail on one Indiana running back, as it’s apparent that he is the one to get most of the carries. Freshmen D’Angelo Roberts and Matt Perez combined for most of the carries at the beginning of the season, but Houston has emerged as the main RB since. His 5.2 yards per carry average is impressive, and his ability to get into the endzone has been impressive (5 TDs in the last 3 weeks). The bottom line, however, is that he’s not a better RB than Baker (MSU), Burkhead (Nebraska), or Ball (Wisconsin), so he may get his 19 carries and roughly 75 yards, but he won’t win the game for Indiana.
Indiana has an assortment of receivers, all of which carry the load fairly evenly, but Kofi Hughes (#13, 6’2”, 205 lbs), remains the scariest of the group. Hughes is able to step in and get some carries as a running back, but is also dangerous as a big play receiver. He won’t nickel and dime you with tons of catches, but can surely get the most of his 2-3 receptions. After Hughes, only one receiver left on the team is averaging more than two catches per game, Jamonne Chester (#84, 6’2”, 199 lbs). It is worth noting that two of the Hoosiers’ top three receivers are either injured (Duwyce Wilson) or have been dismissed from the team (Damarlo Belcher). After Hughes and Chester, go ahead and throw darts at the Indiana roster to guess who will get the remainder of their targets from Roberson (Ted Bolser, Dre Muhammad, Shane Wynn, Cody Latimer, and Stephen Houston).
Indiana’s sophomore kicker, Mitch Ewald has been perfect with extra points this season, and is 9 for 11 in field goals, with both misses coming from 40+ yards. Adam Pines, a junior punter from Highland Park, IL, has been less than stellar with a 38 yard per punt average this season on more than enough attempts (54).
Defense
I’m going to make this section short and sweet. Indiana’s offense isn’t going to get them any invitations to the National Championship Game, but it has been adequate. Their defense, on the other hand, is HORRENDOUS. This Hoosier team might as well attempt onside kicks every time in hopes that they can recover even a couple, because when they put the ball into the other team’s hands it almost always ends in a score.
Remember the Illinois team that could only muster 7 points against OSU’s defense? Well, that same squad was able to put up 41 points on this Indiana team. In fact, Indiana has given up over 40 points in each of their last four games, and over 50 in two of those. The ONLY team that Indiana has held to under 20 points this season is Penn State (16-10 loss).
In case you’re still not getting the picture, Indiana has given up 13 more points in 9 games this year than Ohio State has in their past 21 regular season games.
I could spend some time researching Indiana’s defenders to tell you who leads in tackles, interceptions, and any other category you’d like to know, but I’d rather do anything else in the world than that, so let’s get to the predictions…
11/5 OSU vs. Indiana
What must OSU do in order to get a win over the Indiana Hoosiers?
1) Show up. I don’t necessarily mean this literally, but more in the sense that the team cannot afford to take this game as lightly as I am right now. This year’s Buckeyes have not yet earned the right to get cocky or assume that they can simply arrive and win, as some teams in the past could. Do what they’ve been doing the past couple of weeks, maybe with a few more passes mixed in this week, and use this time to tune up for our B1G Title Game run.
2) Contain Tre Roberson. He is the most talented player, in my opinion, on Indiana’s offense, and has the ability to turn a poor tackle attempt into a long TD run. Eliminating him as a threat by having him shadowed by Tyler Moeller or just through solid LB and DB tackling, should mean the end of any possible Hoosier upsets.
3) Protect the football. Don’t let Indiana get any momentum on their side, granted that should be nearly impossible with their minimal fan base in The Shoe, by throwing an interception or losing a fumble in our own territory.
My prediction: OSU 35 Indiana 10
Follow me on Twitter @AJBorland and let me hear your predictions for the game