Inside the Numbers: Indiana Hoosiers vs. Georgia Southern Eagles
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The Hoosiers will have to look at these numbers before taking on the Eagles on Saturday. Image: Sarah Miller Hoosier Huddle
By David Sugarman (@David_Sugarman2)
Indiana is looking to get Tom Allen his first two game winning streak as a head coach and this time we mean it. After losing the FIU game due to the effects of Hurricane Irma, Indiana will be playing game number three of their season a week later then planned. The Hoosiers take on Georgia Southern and will hope to leave the matchup over .500 before the harsh reality of playing in the Big Ten East comes back around with a trip to Penn State the following weeks. Let’s take a look at the stats that matter on this week’s Inside the Numbers.
41 - Indiana ran the ball 41 times against Virginia, 14 more than they did in the loss against Ohio State. Throwing the ball 30 times, the Hoosiers had much better balance in their play calling and were less one dimensional because of it. Much of this had to do with backup QB Peyton Ramsey coming in and running the ball 12 times while Lagow very seldom moves out of the pocket or heads down field. Even with Tom Allen firmly standing behind Lagow as their starter, Ramsey should get opportunities in the coming weeks and will have his legs utilized. In addition to that, true freshman Morgan Ellison had a solid 48 yards on 12 carries. With Lagow at QB Indiana is still a pass first team, but the balance in play calling will be important. If IU can establish a run presence against Georgia Southern, a defense that’s given up nearly 250 rushing yards per game, ranking just 119th out of 129 teams, that will open up the pass attack.
0 - A questionable call and a silly roughing the passer penalty took away a couple of would be turnovers, but the fact is those things happened and through two games IU has yet to force a turnover. Indiana won’t win many games in the Big Ten if they continue to lose the turnover battle. Indiana needs to get more pressure on the quarterback then they did in the first two weeks and hopefully that will lead to some Tom Allen takeaways. With the offense still finding their footing the defense will need to flip field position and momentum for them.
1 - For good reason Peyton Ramsey’s stellar performance against Virginia has created a lot of chatter around the quarterback position. Richard Lagow was the clear cut starter the entire offseason, played very well on opening night and one bad performance shouldn’t put his job in jeopardy. Two games into the season is no time to start a new QB competition. Knowing just how good Ramsey can be should give IU fans confidence for the future and should give Lagow a sense of urgency. Having said that, outside of putting in Ramsey for a series or two here and there to give the defense a new look, one quarterback needs to be the way to go until Lagow shows Saturday’s struggles were anything more than just one bad game.
31 - In two games Georgia Southern has ran 135 plays, but thrown the ball just 31 times. Don’t mistaken that for a strong rushing attack though. Georgia Southern has rushed for less than three yards a carry and just one touchdown. If IU can neutralize an already soft running game and force redshirt freshman QB Shai Weerts to beat them with his arm, Indiana’s loaded secondary could have a fun day.
31:56 - Through the first two games Indiana has lost the time of possession battle while Georgia Southern is holding onto the ball for nearly 32 minutes per game. Indiana has had the ball for just under 27 minutes per game which isn’t awful, but the difference lies not so much in the defense getting off the field, but more the offense staying on the field. If IU can put together some longer drives and have less three and outs, it’ll keep their defense fresh and help them win the time of possession battle.