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Football
Big Ten Countdown - Number 10
By Tony Gerdeman

10. Indiana Hoosiers

Predicted Finish

4-8 (0-8)

Two-Cent Overview

An offense that returns a ton of high-quality skill led by a fifth-year quarterback, perhaps the best receiving corps in the conference and the most talented Hoosier running back in nearly a decade. Coupled with a defense that is replacing seven starters, but is doing it with experience and potential.

Schedule

Sept. 2 Towson (W)
Sept. 18 at Western Kentucky (W)
Sept. 25 Akron (W)
Oct. 2 Michigan (L)
Oct. 9 at Ohio State (L)
Oct. 16 Arkansas State (W)
Oct. 23 at Illinois (L)
Nov. 6 Iowa (L)
Nov. 13 at Wisconsin (L)
Nov. 20 vs Penn State (in Landover, MD) (L)
Nov. 27 at Purdue (L)

Team Motto

“Finish”. (That's actually the team motto—I didn't have to make one up this time!)

Goal

A really good bowl game. Head Coach Bill Lynch will tell anybody who will listen that his team was twelve plays away from playing in a “really good bowl game”, so with the knowledge of how and where to improve, perhaps those twelve plays will go the Hoosiers' way this time around.

Best Case Scenario

The Hoosiers open 4-0 with a home win against Michigan before heading to Ohio State for miserable reality. But they answer with two wins in two games after leaving Columbus and sit at 6-1, with a shot at a seventh win coming in the finale in West Lafayette.

Worst Case Scenario

You saw it above, but it's also the most likely case. They absolutely shouldn't lose to any of their non-conference opponents, and will be underdogs in every conference game they play this season.

Five Questions Looking For Answers

1. Can running back Darius Willis become an elite college running back?
2. Will quarterback Ben Chappell be able to cut down on his 15 interceptions from last year?
3. Will they get the ball to receiver Tandon Doss as often—and in as many ways—as they should?
4. How does this team replace long-standing bookends Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew on the defensive line?
5. Can Indiana win some games that they're not supposed to win?

Something To Look For

A shift to the 3-4 defense. Don't get excited though, Lynch says it will still look like a 4-3. Yeah, I don't get it either. However, there is a lot of depth on the interior line and the versatility on the roster gives the defense a lot of options. But the key will be finding the right combination of talent to fit the scheme.

Returning Starters

Nine on offense, four on defense and both kicking specialists.

Best Player

Wide receiver Tandon Doss. An all-conference pick last season, Doss is a fantastic receiver with after the catch abilities to rival anybody's in the Big Ten. He finished last year with 77 receptions for 962 yards and five touchdowns. The receptions may not go up, but expect those touchdown numbers to increase provided the Hoosiers improve their redzone offense like they've talked about. Doss will also carry the ball on pitch outs, and he's pretty good at it too. He's also going to be on both return teams as well according to Lynch, so they're planning to get the most out of him. He can handle it.

Second-Best Player

Wide receiver Damarlo Belcher. If it weren't for Tandon Doss, everybody would be talking about Belcher. A physical marvel at 6'5” 215 pounds, Belcher is almost impossible to defend on the sideline, and will also go over the middle and catch anything within his reach—which is considerable. He may not improve on his 61 receptions from last season simply because of all of the offensive weapons on the roster, but he can be a dominator on third down and in the redzone. And that would be more than a welcome sight in Bloomington.

Best Chance For a Big Loss

At Ohio State. This is always the right answer. Indiana hasn't won in Columbus since 1987, and before that, they hadn't done it since 1951. The Buckeyes haven't scored less than 30 points at home against Indiana since 1993.

Most Important Game

Michigan. This is the conference opener for Indiana and gives them a chance to avenge the robbery they suffered at the hands of the Big Ten refs in last year's trip to Ann Arbor. If they beat Michigan they will likely only need one conference win in their next seven games to become bowl eligible.

Best Road Game To Pack Up The Family Truckster And Travel To

Penn State. Since your athletic director sold a home game against Penn State because he doesn't make enough money off of you, you should probably stick it to him by showing up to this game in Landover and buying as many bratwursts and nachos as you can.

Best Reason They Won't Be Undefeated

A lack of talent combined with a schedule that features more talented teams. It's really pretty simple, folks.

Best Reason They Will Be Undefeated

The offense has enough skill to make every defense they face take notice. So, yes, if they average about 55 points per game, they've got a pretty good shot at being undefeated—at least in regulation.

Game They Shouldn't Lose, But Could

Akron. Honestly, I don't see how they'll lose to any of their non-conference opponents, but Indiana has had some issues with MAC teams over the years.

Player People Are Expecting Too Much From

Defensive lineman Adam Replogle. This would probably fit better under the category of “Player Coaches Are Expecting Too Much From”, because the plan is to play Replogle at defensive tackle and defensive end. However, at 290 pounds, he's not really going to be blowing by any offensive tackles on his way to sacking a quarterback. But if he has an outside linebacker blitzing on his side, he may find the going easier. Replogle was a tremendous surprise at defensive tackle last year, starting as a redshirt freshman and notching four sacks. But he's going to be playing a bit of a new position this season, so there may be some struggles along the way.

Player People Will Be Pleasantly Surprised By

Defensive end/linebacker Darius Johnson. Johnson (6'0” 255 pounds) was injured after just three games last season, but showed some promise in his limited opportunities as a sophomore. He hasn't won the starting spot on the outside yet, but he's probably the most suited for the 3-4 outside linebacker spot that plays on the line of scrimmage. The coaches are excited about the potential of their unproven defensive ends, and Johnson may have the highest ceiling of any of them.

Best Newcomer

Linebacker Jeff Thomas. A junior college transfer who was in for the spring, Thomas impressed the coaches every single day with his attitude, hustle and production. There was concern over who would replace last year's leading tackler Matt Mayberry, and the coaches think they have at least a partial answer in Thomas.

Something They Do Well

Spread the ball around. There are four playmakers at receiver that need to get the ball, and they very likely will. Last season, four different Hoosiers had at least 33 receptions. That was done by only one other Big Ten team last season—Northwestern. (Michigan, by the way, had none.) Add in two quality running backs who need the ball and an underrated tight end, and defenses will be busy all season long trying to figure things out.

Something They Don't Do So Well

Anything on third down. Offensively, the Hoosiers finished seventh in the conference in third down conversion (39.1%), and last in the conference in third down defense (47.5%). If they can improve on both of these numbers, perhaps Lynch will see his win total increase as well. Or perhaps not. It's still a pretty rough conference schedule with only three home games.

What's Improved?

The health of Darius Willis. Willis only played in nine games last season, and only started in six of those. He's 100% healthy right now, which he hardly ever was last season. This of course begs the question of how much better he can be when his health finally stops being a hindrance.

What's Gotten Worse?

Leadership on defense. The Hoosiers will have to replace over 100 starts on defense in just the front seven alone. And while the coaches are talking a good game about the replacements, that's just a huge number to overcome. Who steps in when things are going bad and calms the defense down? And does that player command the respect that a veteran would have?

Anything Else We Should Know About?

There's quite a bit of experience in the secondary, but everything is still up for grabs. The Hoosiers have to replace two safeties and a cornerback, but they've got several players to choose from who have started multiple games. And with a couple of junior college transfers now in the fold, the coaches plan to give everybody equal reps for the first ten days of camp until players start emerging, and that's how they plan on finding their starters.

Anything Else?

The offensive line isn't set yet. Much like the secondary, the offensive line has to replace some starters, including second round NFL draft pick Rodger Saffold, but there are a number of candidates who have gotten starts along the way. The two key battles will be at the guard spots where four players are vying for two spots. Expect these battles to last all the way through summer camp.

One Prediction

Darius Willis will rush for just shy of 1,000 yards this season.

Quote most likely to be mistakenly attributed to somebody talking about somebody else on their intramural team.

“He's a fifth-year senior. Already graduated from our Kelley School of Business. Working on his master's in accounting. He's the leader of our football team, particularly from the offensive side.”

Coach Speak

"There are a couple of defensive ends that haven't played much ball that are going to make a lot of people forget about Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton in a matter of minutes."

Translated

“Remember those defensive ends we had last year that you've already forgotten about? Well, we're going to make you forget about them all over again.”

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