Week Four Match-up to Watch: Georgia Southern's Front Seven vs. Right Side of IU's Offensive Line

The IU offensive line should be able to get some confidence up this week. Image: Sarah Miller Hoosier Huddle

Written By Alex Compton (@Alexncompton)

IU took care of business in week two. It was far from pretty in the first fifteen minutes, but eventually the offense put some points on the board and helped out a defense that flexed their muscles for the entire game. My matchup of Crawford and Fields did a solid job of keeping the UVA receivers in front of them for the most part, and it really showed that the Hoos just couldn’t create enough positive yardage consistently to put pressure on IU. After waiting forever for the season to start, it seems like four months have passed between the game in Virginia and now. IU will look to win consecutive games for the first time in the Tom Allen era come Saturday, and the matchup to watch will play a big part in trying to do that.

RIGHT SIDE OF IU’S O-LINE VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN FRONT SEVEN

You know the story by now, as we have talked about it on Hoosier Huddle and other outlets have had the scoop as well, but IU’s O-Line has left a lot to be desired. After having no semblance of a running game in week one against Ohio State, it was troubling to see the running backs struggle again against a much weaker defense in Virginia during week two. Richard Lagow couldn’t escape a collapsing pocket in the first quarter, and Peyton Ramsey had to be inserted to try and extend some plays with his feet (which he did). Looking at the line, there are some solid performers through two weeks, which alludes to why I highlighted just the right side of the line as the pairing to watch on Saturday. 

Coy Cronk and Wes Martin have been the anchors on the left side at tackle and guard respectively, and that was something we expected coming into the season. Center has been interesting, as true freshman Harry Crider has began to break into the rotation at center and challenge Hunter Littlejohn for playing time. Crider played 4 series while Littlejohn played the other 9. Delroy Baker has been the full-time starter at right tackle with Brandon Knight out (more on him in a second), and Mackenzie Nworah finally saw his first action as a Hoosier late in the UVA game over Simon Stepaniak for a series. Simply put, these guys haven’t been good enough. Nworah looked good with limited snaps, and I’m intrigued to watch him more on Saturday but the position as a whole has been subpar. Brandon Knight is expected to play, and he will anchor the other tackle spot and give Lagow some actual time to throw in a contained pocket, but he can’t block the guys trying to shoot the gap to his left every time. Georgia Southern and some other teams remaining on IU’s schedule play very, very aggressively on defense, so improved play from the guys at center and right guard will be important not only in this week, but moving forward as well. 

I’m hoping to see IU jump out to an early lead, and then watch them assert their will with the ground game, preferably behind the guys at center and right guard. It would be a huge confidence booster for those guys and the offense altogether as a matchup with a top 5 team on the road beckons just a week from Saturday in Happy Valley. Watch closely on Saturday for the ground game and pass protection behind the center and right guard spots. 

Other Notes On This Matchup:

While Brandon Knight will make his return, it is not expected that he will play 100% of the non-garbage time snaps on Saturday.