Expectations are dangerous.
For years, the IU offense under IU Coach Kevin Wilson was one of the best in the nation, and we have come to expect that success to continue on without any issues. But, those pinball numbers have vanished into thin air this season.
Last year’s offense averaged 36.54 points per game, while this year’s team is averaging 25.83 points per game.
That’s a steep decline.
Maybe this was to be expected after the Hoosiers lost some of their best offensive talent to the NFL and injury.
Nate Sudfeld was arguably one of the best quarterbacks in IU history and owns many program records. Offensive lineman Jason Spriggs was a highly sought after NFL prospect, and running back Jordan Howard is succeeding at the highest level.
Even top college programs struggle to reload after such great talent leaves.
After the loss to Nebraska, IU Coach Kevin Wilson was willing to acknowledge the truth of this offense.
“Your quarterback is gone, your running back is going to leave,” Wilson said. “So you’re kind of in a real reloading mode at Indiana, and you’re going toe-to-toe with some top-10 teams. To me, that’s no BS, but this team is gaining on them and we’re going to keep gaining on them. The ultimate gain is victories, and that means that’s where the offense has to come through.”
The excuses may be warranted.
Early on this season, the offense suffered multiple injuries to key guys. The two offensive players Wilson brought to Big Ten Media Days — senior offensive linemen Dimitric Camiel and Dan Feeney — have been on the sidelines the past four games and its unclear when either will be back.
It’s not that IU doesn’t have depth, but the cascading effects of these injuries are hurting its offense. Feeney is one of the nation’s best guards. The running game evaporates without him.
The offense also lost junior wide receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr. and tight end Jordan Fuchs to likely season-ending injuries in the first two games of the season. The red zone woes that have plagued this offense could have been remedied by this duo’s size.
But even with this amount of injuries, the offense is close to breaking through.
“The word we have been using is inches,” senior wide receiver Mitchell Paige said. “Just because, like, we are getting a holding penalty and if we were an inch or two over, he’d be in the right spot and he’d be able to get around him. Just an inch or two short on whatever pass plays or getting to different cuts. Got to find a way, and it comes with preparation throughout the week, just to get those few extra inches in the games.”
With so many players gone from last year’s high-powered unit, the margin for error has shrunk. The little things add up and make a difference. A few plays go differently for this offense and the Hoosiers might be 6-0.
The expectations for this offense has changed — instead of carrying the load of the team, the offense just has to break through and grind out drives.
The differences are small and the offense doesn’t need to light up the scoreboard anymore to win. It just needs to score on more possession per game and make one more play and the floodgates would open.
It doesn’t have to be a great offense, it simply has to be a few points better.
That’s the new reality for IU.
