Written by Lloyd Ribner III (@Ribner3)

While we may be only three games into the season, it also
happens to be the quarter mark of the 2013 slate. Isn’t it amazing how much
quicker time flies when football is around?! Well, with that unfortunately
being the case, we decided it was time to take a look back at the opening trio
of games that the Hoosiers have played.

As opposed to doing a boring breakdown of each game, we
decided to spice things up a bit and give a first quarter report card to each
unit of the team. Today we are kicking things off with the offense, but don’t
worry, we will be grading the defense, special teams, and even the coaches
throughout the week. So stay tuned!

Offense:

Quarterback

:

Breakdown: The
season began with three different signal callers competing for the right to call
themselves the starter. Last year’s starter by default, Cameron Coffman has
seen minimal action. He attempted seven passes in the opener, completing just
two of them. He has just one rushing attempt since then. Coffman, for all
intents and purposes, has been relegated to clipboard duty. Last year’s opening
day starter, Tre Roberson, has also attempted just seven passes, six of which
also came in the opener against the Sycamores. He was the “starter” for the
first two games, albeit that designation didn’t exactly come with much of a
leash. It looks as if Roberson has been designated as a change of pace type of
option who will be on the field for a handful of plays, giving opponents an
added dimension to account for. While it took till week three, it looks as if
the Hoosiers have officially found their starting quarterback, and that man is
Nate Sudfeld. After essentially serving as a relief pitcher last year for Cam
Coffman after Tre Roberson went down, he has been the most impressive of the
group. He has also had the most opportunity. The sophomore has thrown 85 passes
in the first three games completing over 70-percent of them. He has also tossed
ten touchdown passes to just two interceptions, and sits in the top-11
nationally in basically every statistical category. While Sudfeld’s play has
been exceptional for the most part, he did have the costly interception in the
week two loss against Navy. In addition, I have to penalize the entire group
due to the fact that no player made a strong enough case for himself during the
offseason or fall camp, forcing the coaches to continue the three-way
competition into the season.

First Quarter Grade:
B+

Running Backs:

Breakdown: This
group is the most surprising of them all. Everyone knew that the Hoosiers had
an explosive offense heading into the season, but the one question mark was the
running game. Incumbent starter, Stephan Houston, was bumped off the top line
in the depth chart during fall camp and hasn’t been able to move back up. To no
fault of his own however, as the senior has rushed for 194 yards, while
averaging nearly seven yards per carry. Instead, Tevin Coleman, who is running
the ball better than anyone could have expected, has surpassed him. Through
three games the sophomore from Illinois has rushed for 332 yards, five
touchdowns and 8.1 yards per carry. All three of those are good enough to place
Coleman in the top-15 nationally. While the running game might not be what you
immediately think of when you discuss the Indiana offense, it has been just
about as good as anyone in the conference, as Coleman has shown early that he
has the ability to be as good as just about anyone in the nation.

First Quarter Grade: A

Wide Receivers/ Tight End:

Breakdown: We just broke down the most surprising unit, now we will take a look at the most
underwhelming. Now don’t get me wrong, the receivers have not been bad
whatsoever, they just have not lived up to the hype that they received entering
2013. Through three games Cody Latimer is the Hoosiers’ leading receiver. It’s
a bit of good news bad news with the Ohioan. The bad news, he had just five
receptions for 73 yards in the first two games. The good however, is that
Latimer broke out for a career high 137-yards and his first touchdown of the
year against Bowling Green. Senior Kofi Hughes has been the steadiest
contributor among Indiana wideouts, scoring a touchdown in each of the first
three games. Shane Wynn has been a disappointment so far in 2013. The
diminutive speedster had a monster game week catching two touchdowns while
taking another one to the house as a return man. Since then it has been
lacking. He only has nine receptions on the season, and it looks as if he is
clearly the third option at best in the passing game. I decided to lump the
tight ends in with the receivers because honestly, the Hoosiers just don’t use
enough tight ends to warrant their own section. That being said, Ted Bolser has
had himself a nice start to his senior season. Teddy Touchdown as he is
affectionately known, has become a true red zone threat. Expect that to magnify
as he spends more time on the field, and further develops his relationship with
Sudfeld. Bolser leads the team in receiving touchdowns, with four, well enough
for the second most in the Big Ten. The depth that Indiana exhibits with its
pass catchers is a double-edged sward. While no individual is able to truly
shine due to the depth, it also prevents the opposing defense from singling out
one specific player to lock in on. This is displayed by the fact that as a team
the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in receiving yards, average and touchdowns, while
no receiver is in the top six as far as individual receiving yards are concerned.

First Quarter Grade:
B+

Offensive Line:

Breakdown: This
is an interesting one. First and foremost, there are little to no stats readily
available for offensive line play. In addition, it is by far the hardest to
define, as lets be honest, when watching football your eyes naturally travel
with the ball. With that being said, Nate Sudfeld, who I think we can all say
has essentially been the “main quarterback” through the first three games of
the season has attempted 85 passes. He has only been sacked three times. They
have also allowed the time and protection for Sudfeld to be the highest rated passer
in the conference, and the seventh nationally. The big uglys have not just been
doing it in the passing game, they have improved by leaps and bounds blocking
for the run. After finishing 101st in the nation last year running
the football, the Hoosiers are in the top-25 through three games in 2013. That
is one impressive step forward, and it would not be possible without the
contributions of the offensive line. Jason Spriggs and Peyton Eckert at the
tackle spots have really taken their games to the next level. In addition
Collin Rahrig, the old man of the group has looked like a veteran under center
communicating with his line.

First Quarter Grade:
A-

Overall Offense:

Breakdown: Let’s
be honest here, this offense has been pretty outstanding over the first three
games. As good as they were last season, 2013 has been even better. As far as
total yards, the Hoosiers are third in the nation behind only the high-octane
offenses of Oregon and Texas A&M. The Indiana attack is not one-dimensional
either, as both the passing and rushing attacks are among the top-25 nationally
as far as total yards are concerned. While yards are always fun, they do not
show up on the scoreboard where they count, don’t worry though because the
Hoosiers are holding their own in terms of points as well. The offense is
averaging a clean 50 points per game, enough to be number seven nationally and
the best in the Big Ten. When it comes to college football statistics, they can
be skewed based on opponents, tempo and how the coaching staff manages the
game. So I turned to Football Outsiders, who have an innovative statistic
called the S&P+ ratings. Quite simply it the combination of success rates,
points per play, drive efficiency and opponent adjustment. If you are
interested and would like to know more you can read all about the Football Outsiders’
S&P+ Rating here. While not quite as gaudy as the basic raw stats
above, the Hoosiers check in at 30th nationally in the S&P+ ratings.
Ohio State (16), and Wisconsin (28) are the only two offenses in the Big Ten
that are rated above Indiana’s. While it has been a successful first quarter
for the Hoosier offense, there is still room to grow and improve which is why
they are receiving an A- as opposed to an A for their overall grade.

First Quarter Grade:
A-