Numbers that Matter: Indiana Hoosiers at UCLA Bruins

revor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

We now have two weeks’ worth of data to analyze and after Indiana’s dominant 77-3 victory over Western Illinois last Friday, the Hoosiers are on the rise. Of course, strength of opponent is something to consider when analyzing these stats, but there have been plenty of overmatched opponents in the past that Indiana has not easily taken care of business with so there is certainly reason to be excited about what we have seen so far. Let’s take a look at some of the stats that could come into play in Indiana’s biggest test so far upcoming this week, on the road in the Rose Bowl against UCLA.

86 and 95.4

I wrote last week how we were hoping to see a bit more from the passing game out of Kurtis Rourke, and even more specifically, the deep vertical passing game. While Elijah Sarratt and Donaven McCulley certainly garnered the majority of the offseason headlines for the receiving group, arguably the strongest performances thus far have come from Omar Cooper Jr. Cooper Jr. is currently ranked 18th in the nation among receivers in PFF’s receiving grade, earning an 86.0 rating. And better yet, he has done the majority of his work in the vertical passing game, earning a 95.4 grade on passes of 20+ yards, exactly what this offense needs. Cignetti was pleased with how Rourke cleaned up the passing game in week two.

“I think Kurtis had the opportunity to make his drops, make his reads, and deliver the ball, which he didn't always have that opportunity in the first game,” he said Monday during his time with the media. “We separated on the outside, and he delivered the ball, and he played well.”

319 of 343

If you’re looking for a quick one-game scout on UCLA (the Bruins had a bye last week), the easy man to identify as one that needs to be contained for Indiana to have success is quarterback Ethan Garbers. In the Bruins’ opener against Hawaii, Garbers accounted for 319 of UCLA’s total 343 yards of offense. Garbers completed 19-of-38 passes for 272 yards and 1 touchdown against 2 interceptions, while also leading the team in rushing with 7 carries for 47 yards.

“Of course, it all starts with the quarterback. He can really wing it, and he's mobile, and he's a very talented guy,” said Cignetti. “With this guy, we've got to keep in the pocket, can't let him get out of the pocket and extend plays because he's extremely capable with his arm and his legs, and he's got weapons on the outside. So, we've got to do a good job of coverage.

6th 

This goes back to controlling opponent difficulty like I mentioned in the opener, but there are very few teams performing as well as Indiana in the country so far this season according to PFF. In fact, using their overall team grades, Indiana is currently ranked 6th nationally in overall efficiency with a 94.0 grade (behind Ole Miss, Louisville, Rutgers, Ohio State, and Boston College).

An easily skewed stat this early on, but fun to think about, nonetheless. Per PFF through two weeks, Indiana would host a home playoff game!

28

While he did not light up the stat sheet in week one against Hawaii (1 total tackle), Curt Cignetti and his offensive staff have narrowed in on UCLA’s Jay Toia as a potential game wrecker this weekend. The 6’3” 325-pound senior is known as a wrecking ball along the defensive line, totaling 28 tackles last season.

“But what I would say about them overall is a lot of really good athletes, a lot of pretty good guys, really good team speed,” added Cignetti. “They've got a couple guys up front on the D-line, 93 in particular. He's a big guy with explosion.”

54/5

The Hoosiers are currently getting the job done on both sides of the ball as they rank top 10 nationally in both scoring offense (4th) and scoring defense (6th). Indiana is averaging 54 points per game, while allowing just 5 on defense. Much of this can be accredited to having gone 10-of-12 in the redzone on offense (9 touchdowns, 1 FG), while only allowing their opponents to even enter the redzone twice this season on defense.

89.8

An interesting aspect to watch Saturday will be if UCLA figured something out with their offense in the second half against Hawaii. After putting up 0 points and producing just 94 yards of total offense in the first half week one, the Bruins recovered and amassed 249 yards of offense in the second. Did something click? Or was this a matter of first-year coordinator for the Bruins Eric Bieniemy getting his feet under him? His players certainly have his back either way.

“I mean, (Bieniemy is) probably the smartest human I’ve been around in football and it’s just great to see what he teaches us in the meeting rooms then take it to the practice field, but then actually do it on the field,” said Bruin tight end Moliki Matavao.

Whether they figured something out or not, they will have to handle one of the top graded defenders thus far per PFF, Tyrique Tucker. Tucker, a James Madison transfer, is just a redshirt sophomore but he is currently ranked 21st nationally out of all defenders (min. 20 snaps) in PFF’s defensive grading with an 89.8 rating. Tucker has totaled 8 tackles and 1.5 sacks through the Hoosiers’ first two games.