Game Day Primer: Indiana Hoosiers at Virginia Cavaliers

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

What: Indiana Hoosiers (0-1) at Virginia Cavaliers (1-0)

When: Saturday, September 9 at 3:30 pm

Where: Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, VA

How to Watch: Due to the Miami and Arkansas State game being cancelled, the game can now be seen on ESPNU. As always, you can listen to the contest on the IU Radio Network with the legendary Don Fischer on the call.

What’s at Stake: After a loss to open the season, the Indiana Hoosiers face a difficult road trip that is packed with pressure. Take a peek at the remainder of the schedule and it’s clear the Hoosiers would face a massive uphill climb if they begin the campaign at 0-2. The Hoosiers have never beaten the Cavaliers before (0-2) and Tom Allen is looking for his first victory as an FBS head coach. In short, there is plenty on the line this Saturday.

A Few Things to Look For

Gaining a Second-Dimension – Everyone knew it would be difficult to run the ball against the Ohio State Buckeyes and their monstrous defensive front. I don’t think anyone saw the complete shutdown of the ground attack coming but it wasn’t a shock to see the Hoosiers become one-dimensional last Thursday night. While the Hoosiers won’t face a line that dominant again this season, there are question marks about this running game and the offensive line. Brandon Knight is expected to be back, albeit in a potentially limited role. Where will he line up and how will it impact the play of the line? Who will the coaching staff lean on to run the ball after backup quarterback Peyton Ramsey led the Hoosiers in rushing yards in week one? IU should be able to run the ball somewhat effectively on this smallish Virginia defensive front so anything shy of four yards per carry would be considered somewhat concerning moving forward.

Preventing Explosions – Indiana’s defense has high expectations for themselves and the second half of the Ohio State contest was not acceptable to them or to the defensive staff and head coach Tom Allen. A couple of busted coverages and the speed of Ohio State’s receivers broke the game wide open late in the third quarter and Indiana’s defense couldn’t last 60 minutes against the Buckeyes. Virginia has some very capable receivers and Kurt Benkert is an efficient passer but the Cavaliers are nowhere near as explosive as the Buckeyes. Virginia’s Doni Dowling and Andre Levrone are the biggest threats as receivers while Joe Reed is a dangerous returner capable of hurting the Hoosiers if their coverage units don’t improve from a week ago. IU’s defense needs to prevent big plays and make Virginia earn their points methodically. If they can keep the Cavaliers in front of them, I don’t think UVA will be able to work their way down the field all that often against a very motivated IU defense.

Push the Tempo – IU played at a breakneck speed against the Ohio State Buckeyes. It worked great in the first half and helped the Hoosiers push their second-ranked foe for the better part of three quarters. However, Ohio State doesn’t mind playing quickly and once IU’s offense stopped picking up first downs and quickly returned the ball to the Ohio State offense, the pace only served to wear down IU’s defense. Virginia would prefer the game be played at a slower pace so it will be very interesting to see how quickly IU attempts to play and what impact it has on both sides. I would look for a similar tempo from the Hoosiers at the outset as they attempt to gain the upper-hand on the road and get the Cavaliers on the back foot. However, quick three-and-outs could result in the time of possession being skewed towards the home side and a repeat of the late game wilting we’ve seen time and time again from the Hoosiers.

Hoosier Huddle will have extensive pre and post-game coverage of this and every other game of the 2017 season!