Allen, New OC Rod Carey Evaluate Offense as Michigan Looms

Written by Ethan Roberts

Tom Allen spoke in a press conference Monday about the new-look Indiana offense, led by new offensive coordinator Rod Carey.

“You’re trying to, now that we know who we are and the things we do well, emphasize, continue to grow those and then obviously address the issues,” Allen said. “Not being able to finish drives and our red zone efficiency and being able to get those third and shorts in the red zone to finish out drives and to change the way everything feels when you score a touchdown versus having to settle for a field goal or less.”

The Hoosiers currently rank 86th in red zone efficiency nationally. In fifteen trips, they have come away with just five touchdowns. They rank 69th in terms of third down conversion with 40% conversion percentage.

“One advantage of having Coach Carey take over is the fact that he’s been here with us. He knows our personnel,” Allen said. “Obviously didn’t work with our offense a year ago but really had a chance with some of – knew our guys, the strengths and things they can do, to be able to match that, and like I said, the whole goal is we’ve got to score points.”

Allen said that Carey’s main task is to take charge of the offense and improve on the current structure.

The struggling offense ranks 111th in the country in offensive points per game, most notably behind Iowa. The tale of the tape gets worse when you factor in the strength of the opponent. The Hoosiers average 11.3 points per game against power five opponents (Ohio State, Louisville, Maryland). 

An interesting detail to the Rod Carey hiring is that he doesn’t have the interim tag and was signed to a multi-year contract that is valid through the end of 2025 season.

“(His) understanding of the big picture of recruiting and what that means for guys. And understanding what, to give him a clear picture of the direction we’re going in the future I think is important as well,” Allen said. “To me it was the right decision to be able to create that decision and to make that change and go in that direction. So that’s what we’re going to do together.”

Allen said the rapid flow from the end of season to transfer portal and recruiting also played as a factor in the promotion of Carey.

Looking ahead to Michigan, Allen shared his praises for the Michigan trenches.

“They’re really good. They were really good last year,” Allen said. "I think they got voted number one offensive line in the country two years in a row. They do have some new faces on the O-line. I do think you can see the progression. They’ve played better here I think in the last couple of weeks than they did earlier on in the first few games.”

Allen closed by expressing his vision for the new-look offense.

“You want to be physical. It’s what you have to be able to do to score points,” Allen said. "But there’s a balance piece to this. You need to effectively throw it and run it. When I say know who you are, you have to know the strengths of your team at this point – teams don’t just wholesale change after five or six (games). You’re like, this is what we do well, let’s continue off that.”

The Hoosiers face off against Michigan on the road Saturday. The Wolverines have the top ranked scoring defense in the country, allowing just 6.7 points per game. The new-look offense, that reportedly isn’t changing too much, will be put to a difficult test.