There's not too much you can smile about after a 43-13 loss to a .500 team so excuse me if most of this is negative.
1. James Brewer needs to come back ASAP
It was very obvious that the IU offense was playing without their best offensive lineman. Marc Damisch played most of the game at right tackle in Brewer's place, a position that Damisch is not built to play. Damisch is a guard, period. Throughout the day he was getting beat constantly on the outside, forcing Ben Chappell to uncomfortably roll out of the pocket and make plays on the move. The stat sheet says that Chappell only got sacked once, but he was under pressure all day. Until IU gets Brewer back on the line, Chappell is not going to be comfortable in the pocket.
2. Chappell forces way too many passes
Like I previously mentioned, Chappell was making quick decisions that did not pan out for him. While he threw for 279 yards, this game resembled the Ohio State game. We are starting again to see what plagued him in his 15-interception campaign last year. There were times were Chappell would not throw the ball away in situations that he should have. Chappell cannot afford to get frazzled when the pocket breaks down. No quarterback is going to get a perfect pocket every time he takes a snap. Until Chappell adjusts to the speed of a legitimate Big Ten defense, expect that episode to be on replay throughout the rest of the season.
3. Home and away is like night and day
A lot of people wondered how it was possible that the Hoosiers had not won a Big Ten road game in three years. If you watched last week's game and this week's game, you would know why. Too many times this defense is out of position on the road and they make it look too easy for the opposing offense. A defensive performance at Ohio State should not replicate at Illinois. It seems like no matter where the Hoosiers play outside of Bloomington, they do not have the composure to turn in a complete game on the road. With road games at Wisconsin, unofficially Penn State and Purdue, the Hoosiers cannot afford to come out flat like they did today. If the Hoosiers continue their ways, this team will not be spending their Christmas bowling.
