3 Takeaways from Indiana loss to Wake Forest
By Ben Beane
Indiana was defeated by Wake Forest 33-28 Saturday in Bloomington. While Indiana put up huge numbers on offense, and had a decent performance on defense considering the situations they were put in, they failed to come out on top due to turnovers and their inability to finish off drives.
1) Richard Lagow still has a lot of room for improvement.
It was a record setting game for Richard Lagow, but he can’t be happy with it. While Kevin Wilson alleviated some of the blame in his post-game conference, Lagow owned it. He threw for almost 500 yards, including 3 touchdowns, but his 5 interceptions were what cost Indiana the game. He will have no problem shrugging off this one off, though – as he looked spectacular for the majority of the time.
Two were tipped off receiver’s hands, one was a blown play action play, one he was hit when he threw, and one was simply a bad throw. Wilson only blamed him for the one, but he probably deserves credit for at least four. His decision-making has to improve if Indiana is going to win games like their upcoming visit to Michigan State.
On the plus side, it appears that Lagow will have no problem moving the ball. Even without his main receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr., he was still able to break the program’s single game passing record. His main three targets all got their share of the ball – Nick Westbrook had 129 yards, including two touchdowns, Ricky Jones had 208, and Mitchell Paige tallied 64. Lagow seems extremely comfortable in this offensive scheme. He just needs to clean up some of his throws.
2) Devine Redding’s streak broken
Devine Redding had his six game streak of rushing for over 100+ yards broken. Considering the offense totaled over 600 yards, this is pretty incredible. Redding is supposed to be one of the premier backs in the Big Ten this season, yet he only received 16 carries. With Lagow handing out interceptions like they were candy, giving Redding a heavier workload would have taken some pressure off him and allowed him to calm down.
3) Did we overrate Indiana?
Yes and No. Many analysts had Indiana ranked somewhere near the bottom of the Big Ten, but sentiment around town suggested that they had a contending team on their hands. While Indiana has the firepower and improved defense to give Big Ten powerhouses a run for their money, their loss to Wake Forest implies that they have the poise and composure to make comebacks or close out games.
As the game proved, turnovers can completely change a game. Despite dominating on both sides of the ball, Lagow’s five interceptions were the difference maker. It was only a six point game going into the fourth quarter despite the turnovers – imagine what the score would have been without them. Wake Forest was most likely the weakest opponent that Indiana had on their remaining schedule, and they squandered it at home. They deserve a majority of the credit, but it felt more like Indiana letting the game slip away than Wake Forest taking control of it.
The offense didn’t do the defense any favors. They gave away a pick 6 and allowed Wake Forest to have great field position multiple times. However, Tom Allen’s new defense, that preaches takeaways and aggressiveness over everything, was unable to get one. They held Wake Forest to just 352 yards, almost half of what Indiana accomplished, but lost the turnover battle 5-0. That’s the real story. Turnovers will be increasingly difficult to come by once Big Ten season starts, so toughening up is a necessity if they want to avoid a streak of losses like they suffered last season when conference play began.