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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports football

Wilson addresses critical mistakes, updates injuries and more ahead of Nebraska

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IU will face its third consecutive ranked opponent when No. 10 Nebraska comes to Bloomington for IU Homecoming. This past weekend IU lost its first conference game of the year to No. 2 Ohio State, and Monday IU Coach Kevin Wilson updated the media on the status of the program.

Correcting Mistakes

IU had opportunities throughout the contest against Ohio State that could have set the Hoosiers up for a tighter fourth-quarter battle and maybe even a victory, but Wilson said there were too many mistakes.

A fumble by junior quarterback Richard Lagow and a long kickoff return by the Buckeyes before halftime set Ohio State up with fewer than 10 yards to go for a touchdown twice, and the Buckeyes reached the end zone both times.

IU struggled on third downs, and many drives were stopped before they could even get started. The most detrimental drive came after freshman cornerback A’Shon Riggins — named by Wilson as IU’s defensive MVP for the contest — recorded his first career interception and set the Hoosiers up with 1st and 10 at the Ohio State 13-yard line.

IU couldn’t bust through a stout Ohio State defensive line and turned the ball over on downs.

“We had some mistakes, and you’re always going to have some, but we had some critical mistakes that in a really strong opponent haunts you more than — not that you’re ever going to be perfect because you’re not, and the game is not, but your margin of error is pinched a lot,” Wilson said.

IU won’t have a large margin of error when it faces Nebraska. The Cornhuskers average 37 points per game and allow just 17.6, compared to 26.6 and 25 for the Hoosiers, respectively. Nebraska leads IU in numerous other statistical categories as well outside passing offense and passing efficiency.

Health

Junior defensive lineman Robert McCray III made his return to the field against the Buckeyes after missing the first four games due to a surgical procedure on his shoulder. It’s an earlier return than expected — Wilson said in August that McCray would likely miss half the season.

McCray recorded three total 
tackles against Ohio State.

The Hoosiers were still without senior offensive guard Dan Feeney, sophomore defensive lineman Jacob Robinson and freshman running back Cole Gest. Wilson said Feeney and Robinson are doing more work as they attempt to return from concussions and Gest “is out there running on that ankle injury.”

He said the team has to get junior wide receiver Camion Patrick back but added IU is no worse now regarding injuries and is in fact better in some ways than it has been.

“Last two weeks, hardest we played and the healthiest we played,” Wilson said. “A little bit of hammer and the nail deal. When you are doing the hitting, our kids are playing hard, practicing right and practicing hard without overdoing it, and our kids are strong.”

Offensive Line

The Hoosier offensive line has been without seniors Feeney and right tackle Dimitric Camiel for a few games now, but freshman Coy Cronk, senior Jacob Bailey and others have done well in keeping Lagow from getting sacked.

In the three games without the senior duo, opposing defenses have only sacked Lagow three times and registered two quarterback hurries.

Wilson attributes some of that to development and experience but credits Lagow’s ability to get the ball out quickly and the running game more.

Both of his tackles are young, and Wilson said he’s worried about Cronk, who was playing linebacker at a small town high school not long ago and is now a Big Ten left tackle.

Run blocking is one area where the line as a whole can improve. That weakness was apparent in the Ohio State loss, Wilson said.

“The difference of the day is they were good enough to run for 290 and we were good enough to run for 99 ... because it’s a tough sled, and you still have to run the ball,” Wilson said. “Running is schematics, and running is talent, but it’s also a mindset.”

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