Big Ten Football Preview: Indiana

Indiana football has bore the brunt of more than a few jokes in its time; the Hoosiers have been one of the historically worst programs in the Big Ten. The more recent iterations of IU football have been marked by a solid offense anchored by the passing game, and an awful defense. But 2011 marks a time of transition for Indiana.

The Hoosiers will bid adieu to former head coach Bill Lynch and senior quarterback Ben Chappell, who combined for an illustrious  45 touchdowns and over 7,000 yards through the air during their run together since 2007. However, the pair failed to win much, and didn’t qualify for a bowl game after Chappell took over as the starter in 2008.

But new head coach Kevin Wilson, the former offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, has already taken the reigns of the program with full force. He’s wrangled 14 two and three-star recruits for 2012, and one four-star recruit: the highest rated quarterback in the land, Gunner Kiel. Not only does Kiel challenge Wisconsin recruit Bart Houston for best name in the Big Ten 2012 class, he just may signal a new trajectory for Indiana football. Of course, that trajectory must start before Kiel arrives. To better understand the 2011 Hoosiers, let’s take a closer look, starting with their 2010 season.

2010 Season:

Indiana went 5-7 in 2010, and won only one Big Ten game for the third straight year (going 1-7 in all three of those years).  They handled their business against weaker non-conference opponents, but got throttled by Ohio State, Illinois, Penn State, and Wisconsin. Of course, that 83-20 loss to the Badgers at Camp Randall was the low point in a frustrating season. IU also lost three close conference games to the likes of Michigan, Northwestern and Iowa by a combined total of 15 points. In truth, despite their distinction as one of the bottom two teams in the Big Ten last year, a bowl game wouldn’t have been out of the question if things shook out a little differently in those close games. How many other teams can also stand behind that claim?

Nevertheless, there was a bright spot for Indiana in 2010: Ben Chappell. Chappell led the Hoosier air attack, finishing 14th in the nation in passing yards, and 1st in the Big Ten by a wide margin. Despite his inefficiencies (10th in the conference in yards-per-throw), Chappell was the unquestioned leader and best player on the team, earning an All-Big Ten team honorable mention and a nomination for the Senior Class Award.

Given the prevalence of that passing game, only 8 teams in the nation ran the ball less times than IU in 2010, and the Hoosiers were last in the Big Ten in yards-per-attempt, with senior Trea Burgess carrying most of the workload. The ineptitude of the running game was matched by that of the defense, which finished 114th in the nation in yards allowed per play.

Overall, 2010 continued the trend of bad Indiana football squads, but will 2011 be the same?

Strengths:

• Coaching— Maybe it’s just the sheen of a brand new coach, but hiring Kevin Wilson seems to be a real upgrade for Indiana. He was at the helm of the always dangerous Oklahoma Sooners offense from 2006-10, and brought home the Broyles Award (for the nation’s best assistant coach) in 2008. He helped mentor a number of NFL players during his time at Oklahoma as well, including blossoming Rams’ QB Sam Bradford. In fact, that association helped him draw in the likes of Gunner Kiel. In addition, Wilson seems to have a plan for defense, hiring two coaches to help him out this year on the other side of the ball. Plus, he’s got a fiery attitude.  At the very least, Wilson gives Hoosier fans cause for optimism in 2011 and beyond.

• Passing Game— It’s a bit of a stretch to mark down Indiana’s passing game as a strength when the only thing you know about the starting QB is that he will be completely unproven. Redshirt freshmen Dusty Kiel and Edward Wright-Baker have combined for 27 pass attempts in their brief careers, with neither one impressing much. Along with them, true freshman and Indiana Mr. Football Tre Roberson has received the bulk of the reps so far after 10 days of camp. With all that said, Indiana’s history of success through the air and their offensive-minded coach should help make the passing game solid. Senior wideout Demarlo Belcher certainly strengthens the cause. He led the Big Ten in receptions and catches per game last year, and should be a valuable target for the brand new starting QB.

Weaknesses:

• Running Game— Indiana’s shortcomings on the ground in 2010 had a lot to do with how skewed their offense was in favoring the pass. With Wilson in at head coach, it stands to reason that the run game might be a bit more prevalent this year. In addition, IU has four returning starters on the offensive line, and will have a healthy Darius Willis at halfback (who missed 6 games last year due to injury). Even so, there’s no reason to believe that Indiana will be able to get anything going on the ground. The line may be more experienced, but their experience so far hasn’t resulted in any success. Also, after Willis, no running backs have proven themselves, and they have very limited experience. It’s certainly possible that Indiana climbs out of the Big Ten cellar when it comes to rush offense, but that climb shouldn’t be a long one.

•  Defense–As previously mentioned, bad defense is the norm for Indiana football, and there’s no reason to think things will change now. Senior defensive end Darius Johnson has showed promise as a pass rusher, but that’s about it for the positives. The secondary graduated 3 seniors, and the linebacking corps and defensive line remain unchanged for the most part. That basically means that one of the Big Ten’s worst defenses is coming back wholly unchanged. And Wilson’s hires at the defensive coordinator spot–Mike Ekeler and Doug Mallory–aren’t exactly cause for celebration: Mallory was the defensive coordinator at New Mexico last year, where his defense ranked dead last in scoring and second to last in yards per game allowed.

Expectations

With Wilson just starting to take the reigns and build a formidable recruiting class, Indiana’s hopes lie in the years beyond 2011. This year however, his prowess should help coax along an unproven quarterback class and move the running game forward.  On the other side of the ball however, defense will be a problem one again, but a degree of improvement can certainly be expected, if only because it can’t get much worse than last year.

Still, these improvements will be slight and IU will not be good in 2011. At this point, slight improvement is all Indiana fans can hope for. As for Wisconsin fans, look for the Badgers to soundly defeat the Hoosiers on October 15. That should leave Indiana in a similar position to the one  they took last year: fighting hard for a bowl berth in the Big Ten’s lower tier.