Numbers That Mattered: Indiana Hoosiers vs. Charlotte 49ers

Written By: Evan Alvarez

Numbers drive so much in today’s world and the sports world is no different. Now more than ever teams are hiring and building analytics teams to get every edge possible over their opponents. Over the course of the season, we’ll look into many of those numbers following the Hoosiers’ matchups each week. 

Today, we have the great pleasure to examine the numbers behind Indiana’s recent 52-14 win over the Charlotte 49ers.

0…

Represents the jersey number for Andison Coby. Why does that matter? Well, this man finished the Charlotte game as the highest graded run blocker in the entire game among every player who played an offensive snap, per Pro Football Focus (PFF). Did I mention that Andison Coby is a wide receiver? Well, he is, and he finished with a run blocking grade of 82.2. On the season, Coby is ranked as the 22nd best run blocking wide receiver among all wide receivers in the country who have played at least 20 blocking snaps (nearly 700 receivers in total!). Indiana has flashed a lot of incredible talent and weapons this season - Coby included - but games are won with hard work and effort, something that this Indiana team brings a bunch of day in and day out. Coby is another example of this and is a huge unsung reason for Indiana’s ability to move the ball. Some receivers don’t like to block, but it is vital to succeed at the position long term. Props to Coby for putting in the work here.

91.3…

Represents Kurtis Rourke’s passing grade on PFF this season, ranking him as the 3rd best QB in the entire country among quarterbacks with at least 50 drop backs this season (pool of around 150 players - basically, all the starters in the country). Rourke was on fire against Charlotte, finishing the day 16/20 for 296 combined yards and 2 combined touchdowns (1 throwing and 1 rushing). The throws Rourke has made this season have been eye-popping and surely NFL caliber as well. Look for Rourke to face maybe his toughest test this season next week against Maryland. Moving forward, each week will be a test too as Indiana enters weekly conference play. Based on everything we’ve seen so far, it’s hard to argue that Rourke won’t pass these upcoming tests with flying colors.

88.1…

Represents Omar Cooper Jr.’s PFF receiving grade so far this season, good for 7th in the country among receivers with at least 14 targets (nearly 400 receivers). Cooper wasn’t as active against Charlotte on Saturday (1 reception for 11 yards), but has proven to be an undeniable weapon for the Hoosiers’ offense. Look for him to continue to put up numbers moving into next week and beyond. It’s clear Indiana has found and developed a special receiver in Cooper Jr.

15…

Represents Mikail Kamara’s rank in PFF’s overall defense grade among all edge defenders in the country who have played at least 50% of a team’s snaps (over 200 edge defenders). Kamara has been a force so far this season, totaling 3 sacks, 3 QB hits, 9 QB hurries, and 7 tackles. Kamara knows how to wreak havoc on opposing offensive lines through the experience he garnered at James Madison. Against Charlotte, Kamara was held in check a bit, but was still able to register 2 hurries and 3 tackles. Entering a harder part of the schedule in the coming weeks, true X-Factors like Kamara will be the difference between wins and losses.

3...

Continuing our tracking of this metric with previous Numbers That Mattered until it changes, Indiana is just one of 3 teams in the entire country who has yet to turn the ball over (per ncaa.com’s stat page). The other two schools are Louisville and Georgia and, for what it’s worth, Indiana has a larger turnover margin than both of them at +7, with Louisville and Georgia coming in at +4 and +3, respectively. 

Saturday, September 28th @ 12:00 PM EST…

Represents Indiana’s next game against the Maryland Terrapins. Be on the lookout for another edition of “Numbers That Mattered” after that game as well.