Well, this wasn't exactly what Kevin Wilson had planned for his debut. After a disappointing 27-20 loss to Ball State, here are the top five things we learned about the Hoosiers.
1. Wright-Baker should remain the starter ... His performance Saturday night wasn't awesome by any stretch, but he played good enough to win. He made some clutch third-down throws early in the game and he hooked up with receiver Damarlo Belcher on a 65-yard touchdown pass. But he also gave up on his progressions too early and took off running at times, and he made a bad read on a fourth-and-3 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
To be honest, I was impressed with Wright-Baker. He didn't make any critical mistakes, and I see no reason why he shouldn't remain the starter. As the weeks go by, he should get more and more comfortable in Wilson's system.
2. The defense still stinks ... IU couldn't stop the run, couldn't get to the quarterback and couldn't cover anybody on Saturday night -- sounds right, doesn't it? Maybe the personnel they have on the defensive side just isn't that good.
Now, defensive end Darius Johnson missed the game -- for what I'm hearing was a violation of team rules -- and I'm told he will be back Saturday against Virginia. Having Johnson in there will make a huge difference because he's one of the few guys they have that can get to the quarterback consistently.
3. Wilson has guts ... I love a coach that's willing to go for it on fourth down every once in a while. It takes me back to my Madden days when I go for it every single time.
Wilson showed he's willing to do that on Saturday night, but he may have been a little too gutsy on a fourth-and-3 play at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Maybe if you have an experienced guy like Ben Chappell at quarterback, you do go for it there. But with a guy making his first collegiate start, the call was questionable at best.
If you kick the field goal, you're down 24-20 with an entire quarter to play. But I'm not going to make too much of a fuss about it because Wilson went for a similar fourth down on the first drive of the game, and it resulted in a touchdown.
4. Belcher has to get the ball more ... The senior receiver made a tremendous play on the 65-yard all go -- a play he appeared to call at the line of scrimmage -- but he wasn't targeted nearly enough. He had four grabs for 101 yards on the night, but he should have had more.
Maybe Ball State was trying to take him out of the game, but it shouldn't be that easy. And if they do take him out of the game, guys like Kofi Hughes should have huge games. I'm not sure who's more at fault -- if it's Wright-Baker for not throwing to him more or Belcher for not working harder to get open -- but IU has to throw to its best player more often.
5. Perez and Houston are the guys ... and they should continue to be. If you would have told me Matt Perez and Stephen Houston would have been the top two running backs in the spring, I wouldn't have believed you. But both guys looked very good Saturday night.
Both are big backs, but they feature different running styles. Perez is deceptively quick and Houston loves to run over defenders if they get in his way. The interesting question is: What does this mean for Darius Willis? The former Indiana Mr. Football runner-up missed the game due to injuries and a suspension stemming from a protective order filed against him last year. Assuming he's healthy, will he jump over either guy or ride the bench this year?
My guess is he'd be the third-stringer behind Perez and Houston if and when he's healthy.
