I got a little bored today and decided to check where the IU football team ranked statistically in the NCAA and the Big Ten through its first two games. Though I knew the Hoosiers have been playing sound football this year, I was incredibly surprised when I found out the following statistics.
Rushing Offense (219 ypg): No. 3 Big Ten, No. 25 NCAA
Passing Offense (260 ypg): No. 3 Big Ten, No. 34 NCAA
Total Offense (479 ypg): No. 4 Big Ten, No. 21 NCAA
Scoring Offense (46 ppg): No. 2 Big Ten, No. 13 NCAA
Rushing Defense (38 ypg): No. 4 Big Ten, No. 8 NCAA
Turnover Margin (2.50): No. 1 Big Ten, No. 7 NCAA
Sacks (13): No. 1 Big Ten, No. 1 NCAA
Let's be honest. The first two teams the Hoosiers played this year aren't your prototypical top-25 teams. The blowout over Indiana State was expected and though IU dominated the first half over Western Michigan, the Hoosiers nearly allowed the Broncos to come back and win. Are these statistics going to keep up over the course of the year? Or are the Hoosiers going to fall into their normal "lose against the Big Ten" routine.
I asked IU coach Bill Lynch today what he thought about the fact that his team was ranked No. 1 in the nation in sacks. He responded with the following:
"It means we're improving," Lynch said. "But we've played two games, it's a long year. The only stat that we're really kind of fired up about is turnover margin. That's the one that's a team thing and is something that we've really stressed."
Do you think the Hoosiers have improved over years past? Are the aforementioned statistics going to keep up for the rest of the year or are they an aberration? Is this year's team the one that will take IU to its first bowl game since the 1993 Independence Bowl?
Please submit your comments, as we will do our best to answer them.
