Written by Matt St. Charles
Indiana had another perfect quarter of the season, taking down Michigan State, UCLA, and Maryland to improve to 9-0. Today, we’re taking a deep dive into the Pro Football Focus grades that have made the Hoosiers successful, and a few that could help them improve even further on a phenomenal year.
Offense
Top Performers
Omar Cooper Jr, WR:
Despite a disappointing outing against UCLA in which Cooper Jr. had two catches for just two yards, the redshirt junior had a great third quarter of the season. He totaled 15 catches for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the other two games–eight for 115 and a score against Michigan St., seven for 86 and a touchdown against Maryland.
Cooper Jr.’s offensive PFF grade sat at an 82.3 in that Maryland game, and his passing reps were at an 82.0. On the season as a whole, his grades when targeted in the middle of the field are phenomenal, with every route depth above an 89.8. When his route takes him between the numbers on passes between 10-20 yards, his grade jumps to 96.4, where he has five catches on six targets for 150 yards and two touchdowns.
Also of note is Cooper’s improved run-blocking grades this quarter, garnering a 73.6 against Michigan State and a 72.9 against UCLA, showing that even when the ball isn’t finding him as much, he’s engaged in the offense’s goal. If Carter can put the receiving grades together with the run-blocking, like he did against Michigan State, he’ll get even more national recognition.
Carter Smith, OT:
Carter Smith continues to be one of the country’s top offensive tackles, receiving a 92.8 on the season for pass-blocking reps. While Maryland was not his best outing in terms of run-blocking–receiving a 54.5–he’s still as reliable as they come in pass protection.
An 87.2 against Michigan State, a 78.7 against UCLA, and an 86.4 in pass-blocking against Maryland prove his value at tackle, and the fact that his offensive grade on the season is still an 83.6 despite some run-blocking grades not being as high speaks highly of his pass sets.
If Smith can improve on his 78.7 run-blocking grade and have more games like he had against UCLA (80.9), he can turn himself into a blue-chip prospect for the upcoming NFL Draft.
Fernando Mendoza, QB
Fernando Mendoza keeps playing his way into conversations for the Heisman and the 1st overall pick in the NFL Draft, and this quarter of the season was no different.
With a completion percentage of 72.3%, he’s helped the Hoosiers play efficient offense, and despite throwing an interception in each of the last two weeks, he’s taken care of the ball all season with just four total.
Offensive grades from this quarter include an 86.7 against Michigan State and an 81.7 against Maryland. On the year, his grade when throwing deep down the middle of the field is a 96.3, going 8/10 for 295 yards and four touchdowns on throws of 20+ yards.
Mendoza will need to get back to playing mistake-free football next quarter, but he’s one of the biggest reasons Indiana has been as successful as it is.
Needs Improvement
E.J. Williams Jr., WR:
While E.J. Williams Jr.’s best game came in this quarter–a five-catch, 109-yard, two-touchdown outing against UCLA–he’s left some to be desired on the season when it comes to PFF grades.
That UCLA game was the only one in which any of his major grades reached the 70s, going for a 78.1 offensive grade and a 77.8 passing-down grade. Williams has also been good when targeted over the middle of the field, with a 90.2 grade between 10-20 yards, and an 89.7 grade when going for 20+.
He’s sitting at just 336 yards and five touchdowns on the season, but having Williams as your third option behind Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt isn’t all that bad. Williams could even see an uptick in targets if Sarratt is to miss some time.
Holden Staes, TE:
As the second tight end, over half of Holden Staes’s snaps come in run-blocking situations. Despite that being his specialization, his grades do not reflect a mastery of the art.
Against Michigan State, he played just nine snaps, run-blocked in four of them, and received a run-blocking grade of 57.2. Versus UCLA, he played 44 snaps, run-blocking in 26 of them, and received a run-blocking grade of 52.7. When IU went to Maryland, he played 28 snaps, run-blocking 23 times, and had a grade of 47.2.
His pass-blocking grades, in a smaller sample size–just 32 compared to his 150 run-blocking snaps–are much better, sitting at 74.0 on the season. Staes will need to step up his run-block reps for the Hoosiers to continue their success.
Bray Lynch, OG:
In the grand scheme of the Indiana season, Bray Lynch likely just had his best quarter, with an 85.2 pass-blocking grade against Michigan State and a 77.7 against Maryland. Despite that, his average offensive grade for the quarter was 58.3.
As much as those pass-blocking grades tried to buoy his quarter, the inefficiencies in run-blocking weighed him down. With a 50.2 against Michigan State, a 62.2 against UCLA, and a 51.6 against Maryland, Lynch was unable to get the job done in the running game.
Surprise
The Simultaneous Success of Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black:
Although a couple of pieces left some to be desired in run-blocking, the unit as a whole has a 77.0 grade on the season, held up by the play of tackles Carter Smith (78.7) and Kahlil Benson (74.6), while the receivers have done a good job as well.
With this happening around them, both Roman Hemby and Kaelon Black have found success on the ground, with Black especially coming on strong last week against Maryland.
Black’s 14 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown earned him an offensive grade of 87.4 and a running grade of 85.3. But Hemby wasn’t silent in that one, with 18 carries for 88 yards and a score of his own, along with an offensive grade of 75.4
The two backs are averaging 67.78 yards per game on 5.6 yards per carry. If Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers keep this 1-2 punch going like it is, they’ll be able to control the football in important games down the stretch.
Defense
Top Performers
Devan Boykin, S:
Devan Boykin had one of the best quarters of any defensive back in college football, making a huge impact on the IU defense.
His defensive grades of 90.7 against UCLA and 91.0 against Maryland showed his ability to anchor the back end of the Hoosier defense, but he’s been phenomenal in run fits.
Boykin received a 98.9 run defense grade for the Maryland game, with his four tackles and forced fumble recovered for a touchdown leading the way. He’s also been a great tackler all season, being graded at 81.4, 79.6, and 80.9 in that category during this quarter.
Louis Moore, S:
Boykin’s complement in the defensive backfield has been Louis Moore, who had an efficient performance against Maryland.
While Boykin got into the box and stopped the run game, Moore had a 91.3 defensive grade against Maryland with a 90.5 in coverage. On top of that, he received a 74.1 in tackling against Michigan State and a 79.5 against Maryland.
The Hoosier safeties are hitting their stride together, and it could lead to even more defensive performances like we’ve seen.
D’Angelo Ponds, DB:
While the safeties do their thing, D’Angelo Ponds has filled out the secondary even further with one of the best corner seasons in the country, ranked sixth with a defensive grade of 85.4.
Ponds has shown his potential in every facet of defensive back play, with a season-high 83.9 defensive grade against UCLA and coverage grades of 80.8 and 72.8 in IU’s last two games, respectively.
He also keeps the trend of strong secondary tackling with grades of 84.8, 76.4, 78.5 in the quarter. The backend has been the strength of the Indiana defense in this quarter.
Needs Improvement
Mario Landino, DT:
On the other hand, the front seven has been good, giving up 3.1 yards per rush attempt and 80 rushing yards per game, but the PFF grades up front have not been.
After a strong start to the season, with defensive grades of 83.8 and 90.2 against Indiana State and Illinois, Mario Landino’s grades have dropped as his snaps have gone up. His defensive grades this quarter include a 65.0 against Michigan State (38 snaps), a 59.0 against UCLA (33 snaps), and a 57.0 against Maryland (26 snaps).
His run defense received a 56.2 against UCLA, and his pass rush got a 53.5 against Maryland. None of his defensive grades were above the 65.0 previously mentioned in this quarter, outside of some strong tackling numbers.
Landino will need to find a way to stretch that early-season success into larger sample sizes.
EDGE Rushers:
Outside of Mikail Kamara, EDGE has not been a consistent strength of the Indiana Hoosiers.
Kellan Wyatt, who had been out since the Oregon game, returned against Michigan State to play 48 snaps. In that effort, he received a 45.9 defensive grade, a 58.3 rush-defense grade, a 52.2 tackling grade, and a 36.6 coverage grade (14 snaps).
Stephen Daley played in all three games in this quarter, and outside of a pretty good game against Michigan State (75.8 defensive grade, 75.6 pass-rush grade), he’s had a rough couple of games.
Playing 44 snaps against both UCLA and Maryland, he got a 54.7 defensive grade and a 20.0 tackling grade against the Bruins, and a 63.9 defensive grade against the Terps with a 58.1 pass-rush grade.
Even Kamara had some tackling issues this quarter, receiving a 50.7 against Michigan State and a 43.8 against UCLA.
Surprise
Pass Rush Grades Faltering Despite Sack Numbers:
Some of the guys with the most pass-rush snaps on the season for Indiana have struggled to win reps based on grades. Stephen Daley (200 reps) has a 63.8 grade on the season. Tyrique Tucker (190 snaps) has a 67.7 grade. Hosea Wheeler (142 snaps) has a 60.9.
You’d think that means the Hoosiers have struggled to get to the quarterback, right?
Wrong.
Indiana is eighth in the country with 29 sacks on the season. So where do they come from?
The guys with the most coverage snaps have high grades. Amare Ferrell (305 snaps) has an 80.4 grade. Jamari Sharpe (303 snaps) has a 76.3 grade. Moore (280 snaps), Ponds (254 snaps), and Boykin (213 snaps) are all above 81, with Moore clocking in at 87.2.
IU has been able to get to the quarterback without dialing up an absurd amount of blitz by creating coverage sacks, and it’s led to surprising success.
Special Teams
Top Performers
Both Kickers
Nico Radicic, as the place kicker, and Brendan Franke, as the kickoff specialist, have both been great for the Hoosiers this quarter.
Radicic garnered three grades over 66 this quarter, highlighted by a 71.4 in the Maryland game, in which he made two field goals, with his long coming from 46 yards out, and seven extra points.
Franke received two grades of 73.2 in the quarter against Oregon and Michigan State.
Needs Improvement
Anthony Chung, S
Special teams reps are hard to judge in a vacuum, especially with the high number of kickoffs Indiana has booted away this year, but some of the Hoosiers’ numbers are not great.
Chung played nine kickoff return reps, seven kick coverage reps, six punt return reps, and one punt coverage rep over this quarter. His grades included a 60.7 against Michigan State, a 58.3 against UCLA, and a 61.9 against Maryland.
He bounces around on special teams, and he hasn’t quite found his specialty yet, but the redshirt sophomore still has some time.
Jeff Utzinger
Utzinger is another guy who has played lots of special teams reps, and his grade for the season is a 62.1.
He played in seven kick coverage reps against Michigan State and received a grade of 62.6. Then, he took part in 10 kick coverage reps against Maryland and was graded at 55.3. In the middle, he found some success on 11 special teams reps against UCLA with a 67.7.