IU’s Offense Struggles to Move Ball In 38-15 Loss to OSU

Written By: Ben Gillard (@benjgillard)

Heading into the game on Saturday, it was clear that the Indiana offense had to have their best game of the season in order to get the win. Unfortunately, that did not happen. The Hoosiers struggled to move the ball, ending the game with a season-low 151 yards of total offense.

The Hoosiers came out red-hot on Saturday, looking like the IU offense that we have come to know all season long. QB Kurtis Rourke marched the Hoosiers 70 yards down the field to score the game’s opening touchdown. Indiana was remarkably balanced during this first drive, establishing the run game, which in turn opened up the passing game; Rourke was able to connect with Myles Price for a 13-yard grab and Elijah Sarratt for a 19-yard catch. IU sprinkled in the creativity as RB Ty Son Lawton took the direct snap for a 2-yard TD rush, silencing the rowdy Buckeye crowd.

Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, this opening drive was just about the only bright spot on Saturday. Indiana struggled to move the ball on their ensuing drives, allowing OSU to score 28 unanswered points and run away with the game. This was in large part due to the pressure OSU Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles dialed up on the second drive. 

Knowles likely watched the Michigan game, where the Wolverines’ pressure stopped the powerful Indiana offense in its tracks. When asked about the offensive struggles after the game, Ty Son Lawton said, “They were mixing a few of their blitzes up, and I feel like we were having problems picking up the blitzes; we couldn’t really drop back and throw the ball like we usually do.”

QB Kurtis Rourke echoed this after the game, placing all the blame on himself, saying, “I mean, it’s all stuff we’ve seen before. I’ve got to do a better job of recognizing them and then being able to know where to go with the ball.” 

While this is exactly the type of attitude you want to see from a veteran QB and team leader following a loss, Rourke is not solely to blame for the struggles on offense. The IU pass protection blew several assignments on Saturday, which caused Rourke to be under duress all game long, getting sacked a total of 5 times for a loss of 46 yards. It’s hard for a quarterback to get in rhythm when he’s constantly running for his life.

Ultimately, while this loss stings, it is not the end of Indiana’s season. The Hoosiers still have a chance to end the season 11-1, and no matter where they end up in the postseason, they will get another opportunity to prove themselves as an emerging power. This is, of course, contingent on how the Hoosiers respond to this loss and fix their glaring weakness in pass protection. However, if you ask Rourke, he is confident that IU will be able to use this loss as fuel to get better. “As an offense, [we] just have to be able to learn from this game…and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”