After every Indiana football win the Hoosiers raise a giant IU flag to signal victory. IU did this 11 times in 2024 and are looking to raise the Victory Flag for the first time in 2025 on Saturday. IU will raise the victory flag Saturday evening if…
Win the Turnover Battle
The Hoosiers were +15 in the turnover margin last season, which put them third in the nation. Scroll down that list to 86th and you will find ODU. The Monarchs were minus-three in turnover margin and it came back to bite them in several games including last year’s opener at South Carolina.The Hoosiers will be aggressive going after the ball on defense both by trying to create fumbles and grabbing interceptions out of the air.
Last year Old Dominion had a -10 turnover margin in losses and +7 in their five wins. IU was +15 in their 11 wins and even in their two losses.
Don’t Give ODU Hope
In games where a team is seeking a major upset, and this would be a major upset, the underdog is given a glimpse of hope that they ride to victory. IU needs to extinguish that spark early by not allowing ODU to hang around. IU was a big underdog in both of their losses last season. Ohio State and Notre Dame extinguished IU’s hopes of an upset early on with a gaff on special teams and a 98-yard touchdown run. Those were soul crushing plays. The faster IU deals ODU a soul crushing blow, the better.
Win the Explosive Play War
College football is all about explosive play. The fewer plays a team has to run to score points, the fewer times they can screw up. Explosive plays are categorized as runs over 10 yards and passes over 15 yards. The Hoosiers had 63 plays of 20-plus yards in 2024 while the Monarchs were slightly lower at 59.
IU’s defense did a tremendous job of limiting the explosive plays last year. In the two losses however, IU allowed eight plays of 20 or more yards while in their 11 wins they allowed 24 (2.19 per game). The Hoosiers surrendered twice as many plays over 20 yards per game in their losses than in wins. Old Dominion allowed 39 plays of over 20 yards in their seven losses.
Play Clean on Special Teams
This has been talked about all offseason. Poor special teams play was one of the main reasons IU could not get past Ohio State or Notre Dame. The Hoosiers also sealed some games with great special teams play as well (Washington and Michigan). A big play can swing the momentum of this game for either team. IU will be breaking a new punter as well as new punt returners.