It was a win. That much can be said.
But IU Coach Tom Allen still has some reservations about the way his team closed out its 24-17 victory over Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Saturday after leading the Scarlet Knights 24-7 heading into halftime.
“We wanted to come out and finish in the second half and in the opening drive, we didn’t get it done,” Allen said. “We just weren’t able to put it away and we let them hang around.”
Now, the Hoosiers are preparing to travel to Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 3 Ohio State, a team Allen said is the most talented Buckeyes team he's seen since he's been at IU.
Allen, offensive coordinator Mike DeBord and some of IU’s players addressed some of those takeaways and concerns from the performance at Rutgers, and previewed what challenges lie ahead in their matchup with the Buckeyes at Monday’s media session.
1. Allen and DeBord both pointed out IU’s inconsistencies in the running game.
The Hoosiers’ rushing attack looked to be bouncing back decently in the first half at Piscataway after struggling to gain yardage against Michigan State the week before.
But after IU earned 107 rushing yards in the first half, they resorted back to the problems that plagued them against the Spartans, gaining just 56 yards from there.
Freshman Stevie Scott led the way with a total of 58 yards and a touchdown, marking the second game in a row he had problems finding adequate room to run. Both Allen and DeBord said the running game still has some room to improve and has been marred by inconsistent play from both the offensive line and the running backs.
“We’ve had it going in some games and other games we’ve struggled,” DeBord said. “The run game really goes hand-in-hand with the offensive line and the running backs. They all have to be together and we had some mistakes on the line and also with the backs not reading properly.”
The various issues currently hampering the running game ended up playing a big part in IU’s troubles with closing out Rutgers in the second half of Saturday’s game.
2. The Hoosiers were not pleased with the way they finished at Rutgers.
IU seemed to have everything fairly under control as it went in to halftime, but it had problems closing them out in the second half on both sides of the ball.
It led to junior linebacker Reakwon Jones addressing the team in the locker room after the game, saying though it was nice to earn a big conference road victory, he didn’t think he and his teammates finished the way they should have wanted to.
It mirrored a lot of what Allen said about his team’s second half performance as well.
“I was just kind of disappointed in the way we finished the game,” Jones said. “I didn’t feel like we played to our standard.”
3. A vague injury update on the wide receivers
The Hoosiers were without two of their top receivers at Rutgers in senior Luke Timian and sophomore Whop Philyor, who were both out due to injuries. Last week, Allen said Timian would be a game time decision after missing the Michigan State game and said Philyor was recovering from an injury he sustained in that game as well.
This week, Allen was even more cryptic, saying he currently doesn’t know if either will be ready to go for Saturday.
Despite both playing major roles in the Hoosiers’ passing game, IU has been able to have a number of wide receivers step up and make major contributions in their absence.
At Rutgers, senior J-Shun Harris II broke out for seven receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown.
“Depth is very important and hopefully we continue to keep guys healthy,” Harris said. “When those guys come back, hopefully we can be the receiving core we see ourselves as.”
The receiving core’s performance last week impressed Allen enough that he announced the quartet of Harris, Nick Westbrook, Donavan Hale and Ty Fryfogle as IU’s offensive players of the week after their collective performance.
“The receiving core really stepped up,” Allen said. “That’s a good group that is playing really well and made a lot of big third down catches for conversions.”
