Indiana’s offense had its moments against Ohio State, but the Hoosiers couldn’t quite string enough of them together in a 19-15 loss Saturday afternoon in Bloomington. The snap counts tell part of the story, but the more revealing detail was how uneven the performance looked across the board - especially at quarterback, where Josh Hoover was both productive and erratic.
Hoover finished with a 50% completion percentage, yet PFF still gave him a solid grade and credited him with five “Big Time Throws,” which it describes as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.” He was also charged with two turnover worthy throws, though he didn’t throw an interception.
The bigger issue for Indiana was consistency. Hoover opened 3 of 10 and closed 3 of 9, and at times he didn’t get all the way through his reads to find open receivers.
Even so, the production is hard to ignore: he now has 18 touchdowns and no interceptions this season.
At running back, the rotation was one of the most notable parts of the day. Turbo Richard played more than twice as many snaps as Lee Beebe, Jr., and Richard also earned the stronger PFF grades.
Still, there wasn’t much room to work. Both backs were stuck in traffic behind a running game that never really found daylight, and neither one had a run longer than seven yards.
Indiana got just one first down from a running back carry, and PFF didn’t credit either back with forcing a missed tackle. The good news: both were strong in pass protection.
It’s also worth remembering that Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby combined for 121 yards against a better Ohio State defense in December.
Charlie Becker was the clear offensive centerpiece. PFF gave him the top overall grade on the unit, and Hoover kept coming back to him all game long.
Becker was targeted 17 times, caught nine passes for 165 yards, and picked up eight first downs. Indiana moved him into the slot 12 times, and he came through with two contested catches and 32 yards after contact.
It was a busy, productive night - and one of the few areas where the Hoosiers consistently stressed the defense.
The receiver group otherwise stayed remarkably clean in the passing game, with no drops credited all season. But the final sequence still brought two costly mistakes from the wideouts: Davion Chandler fumbled, and Nick Marsh couldn’t get a foot inbounds in the end zone to end the game.
The tight end room had a rough run-blocking day, with Brock Schott and Trevor Gibbs grading out as the lowest on the team in that area. Both were better as pass blockers, and Gibbs continued to play far more than Schott.
Indiana only threw two passes to tight ends, and Schott accounted for the lone catch. Andrew Barker was available after missing the previous game with an injury, but he did not play.
Up front, the pass protection held up better than the run game. Indiana’s offensive line posted strong pass-blocking grades overall, while the run-blocking numbers were mostly mediocre to poor.
Hoover had time to throw for much of the afternoon, and PFF charged the line with only three pressures, two of them on right guard Joe Brunner. The lone Ohio State sack looked like a protection breakdown in numbers - the Buckeyes brought one more rusher than Indiana had blockers, and the Hoosiers didn’t get the ball out fast enough.
Among the starting linemen, Carter Smith had the best pass-blocking grade, while Drew Evans came in lowest in that category. Evans, though, posted the best run-blocking grade of the group, and Adedamola Ajani finished with the lowest run-blocking mark.
Here are the offensive snap counts from the game:
Adedamola Ajani, RT (72)
Joe Brunner, RG (72)
Carter Smith, LT (72)
Bray Lynch, C (72)
Drew Evans, LG (72)
Josh Hoover, QB (71)
Charlie Becker, WR (71)
Nick Marsh, WR (66)
Trevor Gibbs, TE (56)
Turbo Richard, RB (49)
Shazz Preston, WR (28)
Tyler Morris, WR (27)
Davion Chandler, WR (24)
Lee Beebe, Jr., RB (23)
Brock Schott, TE (16)
Grant Wilson, QB (1)
In Other News...
Indianas First Loss Just Put More Pressure On Michigan Trip
The 22-game run is over, and Indiana suddenly finds itself heading into a bigger test with a little less margin for error. The Hoosiers fell 19-15 to Ohio State in a Top-5 matchup, a loss that snapped the longest streak in the country and served as a reminder that the room for disappointment is small at this point in the season.
Even with several other highly ranked teams losing around them, Indiana still slipped a spot to No. 6 in the AP Poll, a sign that the Hoosiers did not get much help from the weekend results. Now the focus turns to a Week 8 trip to Michigan, where Indiana will have to show the Ohio State loss was a stumble rather than the start of a slide. [Read more 🡒]
Curt Cignetti Calls Out What Indiana Must Fix Before Michigan
Curt Cignetti did not sugarcoat what went wrong after Indianas narrow loss, and the list started with the kinds of mistakes that can swing a tight game before it ever settles in. Missed field goals and turnovers were front and center in his postgame message, along with the broader issue of execution that kept the Hoosiers from making the most of their opportunities. With Michigan next on the schedule, the margin for those lapses gets even thinner.
Cignetti also pointed to the offensive balance Indiana needs to find, along with sharper quarterback accuracy, as the staff turns quickly to correction mode. The bigger concern now is not just fixing the details, but doing it while keeping the group mentally tough enough to carry those lessons through the rest of the season. Saturdays setback left little doubt about what has to improve first, and the Wolverines offer an immediate test of whether those adjustments can take hold. [Read more 🡒]
Former Hoosier Omar Cooper Jr. Just Gave Indiana Fans A Reason To Watch
Omar Cooper Jr. is already giving Indiana fans something to follow on Sundays. The former Hoosier, now with the New York Jets, has started to settle in after a high-ankle sprain and turned his second active game into a milestone moment with his first career touchdown, a long reception that reminded plenty of IU supporters why he was such a big name in Bloomington.
Coopers rise has carried him from Indiana to the first round of the NFL Draft, and his early stretch with the Jets adds another layer to a season that already has Hoosier alumni popping up across the league. Fernando Mendoza and Kahlil Benson have also recently made their NFL debuts, so there is a growing list of former Indiana players giving the fan base reason to keep one eye on the college team and the other on pro Sundays. [Read more 🡒]