For the first time since September 17, Indiana football won’t lose this weekend. The Hoosiers have lost five straight games and are looking for any positivity as Tom Allen and his program head into their Week 9 bye on October 29.
The biggest problem with the Indiana football program is not the defense allowing 300 or more yards of total offense every week this season, including a game allowing 500+ total yards of offense (win vs. Western Kentucky in Week 3).
The problem for the Hoosiers is on the offensive side of the ball.
Connor Bazelak still leads all quarterbacks in the Big Ten and ranks second in Division I in pass attempts (379) this season. Bazelak is on pace to throw nearly 570 pass attempts this season, which would be the most attempts by a quarterback in Big Ten Conference history, passing Drew Brees and Curtis Painter (569 each). If a guy like Bazelak passes that record, Tom Allen is going to have to answer some questions from real college football fans.
Does Bazelak have a talented arm? Yes. But it’s not talented enough to keep the ball out of the hands of the better playmakers on the Indiana offense, like Shaun Shiver, Josh Henderson, and Jaylin Lucas. Why not create plays and opportunities for a true freshman like Lucas on every offensive drive? Should Henderson receive a passing target on nearly every drive? It seems like every time either of those guys touches the ball in the open field, good things tend to happen.
One thing is for sure is that Walt Bell and the Indiana offense need to figure out what’s necessary for the rest of this season. Does Connor Bazelak still deserve a starting spot? Is it time to throw the young guys in to see what can happen? Hopefully, the coaching staff is mulling over these decisions on their week off.
Tom Allen mentions that evaluating everything, including quarterback, is on the table during the bye week. #iufb
— IndianaHQ (@IndianaHQ) October 22, 2022
Easier said than done, but things need to change moving forward for this Indiana football program.