Inside the Numbers: Michigan State

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

Each game week, we will take a further look into the stats to preview Indiana’s upcoming matchup. This week, Indiana travels to Michigan State to play for the Old Brass Spittoon. The Hoosiers’ seventh loss this past weekend officially ruled them out of any potential postseason berth, so despite the likelihood we see Tom Allen and his staff rely on the youth development on the roster down the stretch, we still have plenty of data around the Hoosiers to help preview what we will see this weekend – even if there are new faces leading the way.

85.8

We at Hoosier Huddle have been clamoring for it for a while, but I think it is officially past the time to move on from Shaun Shivers as the Hoosiers lead back and focus more on what they have with Josh Henderson and Jaylin Lucas. The Indiana rushing attack has been a mess all season; the rushing offense ranks 127th out of 131 FBS schools in average rushing yards per game at just 85.8. Shivers has carried the bulk of the load – he has 114 attempts for 419 yards (3.7 YPC) on the season. Henderson and Lucas, despite combining for seven fewer attempts than Shivers, have 458 yards (both over 4.0 YPC) and as many touchdowns (4). Much of it is not Shivers fault – he is being asked to be a between the tackles runner when that is not his strength – but if that play calling is going to continue, new backs need to have their shot at producing.

“There's no question with his skill set and the way he has ball skills to match that that's something that moving forward, you'd love to be able to get him the ball,” said Tom Allen on Monday.

108

It’s not every game where special teams could be the deciding factor on who leaves victorious, but when you get two below average teams it has to be mentioned. This matchup will feature some of the best punters not only in the Big Ten but also in the nation. Bryce Baringer, Michigan State’s punter, currently leads the nation in average yards per punt (49.64). On the other side, James Evans currently leads the nation in number of punts (66) and total punt yardage (2964). Combined, the pair have totaled 108 total punts this season! If an old fashioned Big Ten slugfest is what you desire, it likely is what you will see.

-195

Tom Allen once again chose to keep the starting quarterback decision internal this week, but I’ll make it easy for him: he should start Dexter Williams. Ten games of data were not necessary to come to this conclusion, but it certainly is enough to definitively say that the Indiana offensive line simply is not good enough to compete in the Big Ten this season. Whatever quarterback is behind center is not going to have much time to throw the ball, and because of that I would prefer to see the quarterback that is able to make plays with his legs. That quarterback is unquestionably Dexter Williams. In his limited run, Williams has already been able to scramble for 70 yards, quickly ranking him as the Hoosiers’ 4th best rusher in terms of yardage this season. Bazelak, on the other hand, simply does not have the mobility to play behind this offensive line. He has taken 23 sacks for -195 yards this season. Indiana does not have the firepower to battle back from negative yardage plays; start Dexter.