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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

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COLUMN: Four keys for IU to beat Utah

Junior quarterback Richard Lagow's pass is nearly intercepted during the first quarter on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. IU leads Purdue 17-16 at halftime.

IU faces off against Utah on Wednesday in the Foster Farms Bowl in what is the Hoosiers' last chance to add a win over a quality team to its 2016 resume. The Utes had a chance at the Pac-12 title before losing three of their last four games and falling to 8-4 on the season.

Here’s what IU needs to do to win:

Contain the Williams duo.

Utah’s main rushing attack comes in the form of senior running back Joe Williams and junior quarterback Troy Williams. Joe rushed for just under 1,200 yards this season and averaged 6.4 yards per carry.

The Utes’ quarterback is also a dynamic runner, but is prone to fumbles. Troy fumbled the ball nine times and it would be huge for IU to force a takeaway when he scrambles. Against other quarterbacks who run the ball well, IU has struggled. Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett torched IU for 137 yards and Nebraska's Tommy Armstrong tallied 36. Keeping Troy in the pocket will go a long way toward helping IU come away with the win.

Utah doesn’t have an overly explosive running game, but the Utes are very efficient when they run the ball. IU can’t let these two control the tempo of the game on the ground.

Sophomore wide receiver Nick Westbrook must stretch the field

Westbrook was really a revelation for IU this season as he was IU’s most consistent deep threat. The sophomore led the team in both yards per catch and yards per target at 18.7 and 11.2 yards, respectively. What’s also impressive is his catch rate doesn’t suffer even with so many of his targets coming down the field.

Utah has a strong passing defense, but does have some trouble with giving up explosive plays. The Utes rank 60th in the country in this regard, per Football Study Hall’s explosive play metric. Westbrook needs to have a few chunk plays that flip the field and really get the IU offense going. He has the capability to explode and with IU’s troubles in the red zone, a long touchdown from him would be critical.

Protect junior quarterback Richard Lagow

Utah’s defense is one of the best in the nation in terms of creating pressure on quarterbacks. Per Football Study Hall, Utah has the sixth best havoc rate in the country, and the defensive line has the fourth best havoc rate. The Utes are led by senior defensive end Hunter Dimick, who had 20 tackles for loss this season and 14.5 sacks. Dimick is also adept at tipping passes at the line of scrimmages as he has six pass breakups.

IU’s offensive line has been strong in pass protection in season, but Dimick will prove to be one of the toughest tests theHoosiers have faced. Lagow has been most effective when he is comfortable in the pocket and it’s up to the offensive line to be able to allow Lagow to have the time he needs to attack Utah's strong secondary. In victories over Michigan State and Maryland, Lagow was only sacked one combined time and he had some of his best games, passing for just under 500 yards combined in those two games.

Get off to a fast start

IU has played in so many close games this season and has taken great teams to the final quarter in most games. However, if the Hoosiers want to get the bowl victory, they need a hot start to get things going. With an IU lead, Utah’s defensive line would be taken out of the game somewhat and wouldn’t be able to tee off on Lagow. 

If IU is able to get a lead, the Hoosiers wouldn’t have to rely on the pass and Utah’s defensive line couldn’t just rear back and attack Lagow. With a lead, IU could afford to keep their play calling balanced, which would be good against Utah’s front.

Utah’s offense has struggled in the first quarter of games this season and this offers IU an opportunity to get going early. A fast start would go a long way for IU as it looks for its first bowl victory since 1991.

aphussey@indiana.edu

@thehussnetwork

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