Rushing game looks to improve

Following IU’s rushing performance  against Wisconsin on Nov. 10, IU Running Backs Coach Deland McCollough admitted his unit has “lost its edge.”

Junior running back Stephen Houston said he and his teammates have had a “mental block” on game days.

Whatever the problem has been in the Hoosiers’ (4-6, 2-4) rushing attack, they will look to resolve it on Nov. 17, as they face Penn State (6-4, 4-2) in University Park, Pa.

“I need to get these guys pointed in the right direction,” McCollough said. “We can’t be overly concerned on Penn State because we’ve got to be focused on what we’re doing. We need to continue to find our edge.”

The Hoosiers rushed for only 67 yards on 30 attempts against Iowa, and things did not go much better against Wisconsin.

IU ran for only 61 yards on 23 attempts in its second-worst running effort of the season in each category. As a result, the game ended in IU’s largest margin of defeat of the season.

To put it in a national perspective, IU’s average 2.4 yards per carry during the past two weeks would rank 122nd in the NCAA out of 124 teams.

“It’s a combination of factors, but the only thing we can control is what we do,” McCollough said. “We’ve had some embarrassing whiffs as a unit that we don’t practice to have. We need to go out and run hard because there aren’t always going to be gaping holes.”

How do the Hoosiers fix their problems heading into State College?

Houston and McCollough said it is all about the team’s mentality.
Houston said the running backs have not been as focused on the task at hand recently in comparison to previous games.

It all comes down to practice, they said. If the group cannot be overly focused in practice on where they are running the ball, then come game time, it will be even more difficult for the running backs to have success.

“Our coach is putting us in position for us to make plays,” Houston said. “We’ve just got to go out there and execute. We’ve not been mentally in-tune for the game, but you can bet we’re going to turn it around this week.”

Penn State’s defensive line poses a threat the Hoosiers’ rushing attack has yet to see. IU Offensive Coordinator Seth Littrell called the Nittany Lions’ front four the best the IU offense will play against all season, a group who has allowed only 137.9 rushing yards per game this season.

Littrell said as a physical group, they will pose yet another challenge for the Hoosiers’ running back corps as they look to regain the form they have lacked in games past.

“I keep looking on film and looking for a breather for some of those guys, and we’re not going to get one,” Littrell said. “We’ve got to go out and compete, and that means being physical, going out and hitting people and not shining down to anything.”