Written By Rylie Kyhn

The Hoosiers matchup against Iowa for homecoming weekend in Bloomington and it is a huge game because they have the ability to win it but they need to do a lot of things right. If the offensive and defensive pieces come together like they have a couple times this season, Bloomington will be a happy place, but if they struggle to produce on offense and get stops on defense, not so much.

George Taliaferro, who was 91 years old, sadly passed away this past Monday night. His death was announced by the George Taliaferro Sport Association. Taliaferro was the first African-American picked in the NFL draft in 1949. He was selected in the 13th round by the Chicago Bears after being a three-time All-American running back at Indiana. However, instead of playing for the Bears, he chose to play for the Los Angeles Dons of the All-American Football Conference. He did begin to play in the NFL in 1950 and ended up playing six seasons and on four different teams, the New York Yanks, Dallas Texans, Baltimore Colts, and Philadelphia Eagles. Taliaferro recorded 2,266 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns and 1,300 receiving yards and 12 touchdown receptions. He was selected as a three-time pro bowler for three consecutive seasons from 1951-1953. IU President Michael McRobbie stated in a press release that Taliaferro “was a true trailblazer in every sense of the word and an individual of the greatest integrity, whose impact will be forever felt at IU and throughout the Hoosier state.” This weekend his legacy will be remembered both on and off the football field and he will be honored this weekend.

2.7

Coming into this season one of the biggest questions was how effectively Indiana would be able to run the ball. Over the last six games, Indiana has averaged 163.5 rushing yards per game with 4.3 yards per attempt but the Hoosiers haven’t rushed for over 165 yards since non-conference play. This weekend is going to be an interesting test considering the Iowa defense is only allowing 84.4 rushing yards per game averaging 2.7 yards per carry. The two conference games that they were unable to rush for over 100-yards, against Michigan State (29 yards) and Ohio State (84 yards), they lost so if they Iowa defense can hold them, it is likely the Hawkeyes will get the win. On the other side, the Indiana defense allows 157.5 rushing yards per game with an average of 4.1 yards per carry. The Iowa offense averages 155 yards per game with 3.8 yards per attempt. Indiana is going to have to find a way to hold the Iowa offense to less than what they are averaging if they want to get a conference win this weekend.

Iowa has two incredibly talented tight ends in Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson and they are used as their main receivers in the offense. The two have created a ton of offensive production and are going to play a huge role in the game this weekend. Indiana needs to find a way to stop the two of them and slow their abilities to make plays. Noah Fant was the number one ranked tight end in the nation by Athlon’s and he has lived up to that so far this season. Fant has tallied 196 receiving yards on 19 receptions with five touchdowns over six games of the season. They use both Fant and Hockenson and the two have combined for six of their nine passing touchdowns this season. Hockenson has made 18 receptions for 287 yards and one touchdown that came last weekend in the win over Minnesota. Both of them are weapons for the Iowa offense and Indiana needs to find a solution for them if they want to win this game. Indiana also has a group of strong tight ends and three of them have seen field time this season. Austin Dorris, Matt Bjorson, and Peyton Hendershot have all gotten reps but Hendershot won the battle in the first few weeks of practice and has been the starter so far this season. He has nine receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns and he had a huge touchdown catch against Ohio State last weekend as well as a key block for Stevie Scott to open up a lane and take it in for a touchdown. The tight ends for both Iowa and Indiana are going to play a role in the game this weekend and they are going to be players to watch for on both sides of the ball.

15th

The performance of Indiana offensive line has been scrutinized since the first game of the season because coming in, expectations were high. They returned all starters from last season and they were expected to have big performances on the field. In some games, the expectations have been met and they have allowed a lot of production for the run game but others, they have been overmatched. Indiana is ranked 46th in the country for sacks allowed with 10 for a total of 51 yards. On the other side, the Iowa offensive line has been dominant and they are ranked 15th in the country allowing only 5 sacks for a total of 35 yards. For Indiana, the defensive line needs to get to Nate Stanley quickly and put pressure on him so that he doesn’t have time to connect with his receivers and the talented tight ends. The Iowa offensive line is going to test the Hoosiers this weekend and the amount of pressure they will be able to get on the quarterback is going to be a big question.

The Huddle

Inside the Numbers Homecoming Edition (Indiana vs. Iowa)

Hoosier Huddle