Column: IU football's midterm report card

The IU football team is halfway through its season, and IDS columnist Justin Albers handed out midterm grades to the team.

PASS OFFENSE
Senior quarterback Ben Chappell and his talented group of receivers have dominated opposing defenses (except Ohio State). The Hoosiers’ pass offense ranks first in the Big Ten and fifth nationally at this point in the season with an average of 319 yards per game.

Chappell has already thrown for 1,858 yards with 16 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Those numbers are all dramatically higher than they were at this point last season, when Chappell had 1,331 yards passing with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Needless to say, this is the strong point of the team. The problem is, Chappell and junior receivers Tandon Doss and Damarlo Belcher have to continue to put up huge numbers to help keep the Hoosiers in games.

GRADE: A (Not an A+ because of Chappell’s costly interception against Michigan.)

RUSH OFFENSE
A lackluster running game got even worse when sophomore starter Darius Willis went down for the season with a knee injury. Yes, senior Trea Burgess put up respectable numbers in his first start last week, but it came against an Arkansas State defense that gives up points at will.

I think the running game will be okay because it only has to be good enough to keep the defense honest. Right now, though, the Hoosiers rank last in the Big Ten in rushing offense at 102 yards per game.

Can Burgess hold onto the football? Can young guys such as freshmen Nick Turner and Antonio Banks add positive contributions? Too many questions remain unanswered at this point.
GRADE: C-

PASS DEFENSE
The IU defense has been atrocious, especially against the pass. Even though senior safety Mitchell Evans had two huge interceptions against Arkansas State, it is clear that he and junior cornerback Matt Ernest still aren’t completely comfortable on the defensive side of the ball.

Evans is almost always out of position, especially when the Hoosiers go to zone coverage. IU gives up a ridiculous 231 passing yards per game, a number that would be significantly higher if the Hoosiers showed an ability to stop the run.

The more telling statistic: IU has allowed 13 passing touchdowns, more than any other Big Ten team, and the Hoosiers have played only six games while five teams in the conference have played seven.
GRADE: D

RUSH DEFENSE
Again, awful.

I knew coming into the season that this unit would have some problems, but consider this: IU has played six games, four of which came against bad nonconference teams. One conference game came against Ohio State, which threw the ball 32 times.

Knowing all that, doesn’t it seem crazy to think the Hoosiers have given up an average of 170 yards rushing in those games?

Problem: Missed tackles. Solution: Tackle in practice. Simple.
GRADE: F

SPECIAL TEAMS
This unit, as a whole, has been solid. The problem is that the Hoosiers cover a kickoff about as well as Tom Pritchard shoots 3-pointers (or free throws).

They miss tackles. They don’t stay in their lanes. They don’t get off blocks.

That’s why they are ranked last in the Big Ten in kickoff coverage. Other than that, though, special teams have been a real strong point for the Hoosiers.

Redshirt freshman kicker Mitch Ewald has missed only one field goal attempt, and he continues to become more consistent with each game.

And Doss has been great in the return game, helping IU to the third best average in the conference.

But IU cannot continue to give its opponents a short field against the Hoosiers’ spotty (being nice) defense.
GRADE: B-