Indiana’s path to a win over Minnesota isn’t complicated, but it does demand clean execution in a few key areas.
The Hoosiers come into Saturday’s Week 9 matchup as three-touchdown favorites, yet that kind of number doesn’t wipe away the flaws they’ve shown in recent weeks. Minnesota is still a solid opponent, and if Indiana wants to push its record to 8-1, it needs to handle business in all three phases of the game. That starts with taking away what Minnesota wants to do on offense, getting its own passing game rolling again, and fighting through the wear and tear of a brutal schedule.
The first priority is simple: force Drake Lindsey to win the game with his arm.
Minnesota’s passing attack has not been a real downfield threat, and the numbers back that up. The Golden Gophers are 13th in the Big Ten with 222.3 passing yards per game. Lindsey has completed 63.5% of his throws for 1,472 yards, but his 9:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio is not exactly the profile of a quarterback who has been lighting people up.
There have been moments where Lindsey has looked sharp, but the bigger picture still points to an offense that has room to grow. If Indiana can control the line of scrimmage, slow Minnesota’s run game, and make Lindsey operate in clear passing situations, the Hoosiers should put themselves in a strong position.
On the other side of the ball, Indiana needs to get Charlie Becker heavily involved.
The Hoosiers’ passing game has stumbled over the past few weeks. Josh Hoover threw for only 81 yards against Michigan last week and also had his first interception of the season. The week before that, he completed just 50% of his passes against Ohio State, and the struggles showed up earlier in conference play against Nebraska and Northwestern as well.
That makes Becker even more important. Indiana has to lean on its best weapon, and Becker has earned that role.
He has 42 catches for 726 yards and 8 touchdowns, and he has been a steady threat all season. Minnesota’s secondary has held up well enough, but if the Hoosiers are going to find explosive plays and get the passing game back on track, Becker needs to be featured early and often.
Double-digit targets would give him the volume to tilt the game.
Then there’s the grind factor, and Indiana is staring right at it.
This is the Hoosiers’ ninth game in nine weeks. They still have not had a bye, while Minnesota is coming off a bye two weeks ago before its game against Iowa. That gap could matter, especially if the Gophers are the fresher team late.
Indiana has also gone through a demanding stretch, with trips to Nebraska and Michigan and a home game against Ohio State in between. The Michigan game went to overtime, which only adds to the physical toll.
Curt Cignetti has shown he knows how to get the most out of his roster when the moment is biggest, but there’s no getting around the challenge of playing nine straight weeks. The Hoosiers are going to have to reach deep for this one.
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Another tense afternoon at Memorial Stadium ended with Indiana finding just enough to survive, as the Hoosiers slipped past Minnesota 23-16 in overtime. It was the kind of game that had plenty of clean chances to get away from them, but instead turned into a grind filled with turnovers, special teams miscues and long stretches where neither offense could find much rhythm.
Indiana still had to lean on timely execution late, including a field goal that tied the game and forced overtime after the Hoosiers had spent much of the day trading punches with a stubborn Minnesota team. Josh Hoover and Grant Wilson both helped move scoring drives along, but the bigger takeaway for Indiana fans was familiar: this team keeps finding ways to escape, even when the margin for error disappears. [Read more 🡒]
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This time, though, the payoff never came, and the near miss was the kind fans will remember because it felt so close. The segment still closed with a splash of Indiana flavor, as special guest Isiah Thomas joined in to make his picks ahead of the Hoosiers Big Ten game, but the missed kicks left Bloomington with a little extra sting and a lot of what-if conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Heads Into Bye Week With A Quarterback Problem Fans Noticed
Indiana got through Minnesota 23-16 in overtime, but the win came with enough rough edges to keep the bye week busy. Special teams mistakes helped make things harder than they needed to be, and the offense never found much rhythm before the Hoosiers leaned on their defense to keep the game within reach and eventually finish it off.
Grant Wilson took over for Josh Hoover at quarterback after halftime, a move that changed the feel of the offense and ultimately produced the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Even with the result in hand, the quarterback situation is now one of the biggest questions on the table as Indiana heads into a week off with plenty to sort through. [Read more 🡒]