Hoosiers Beating Themselves on the Offensive Side of the Ball

Written by Matt Smith

The Indiana offense showed signs of improvement this weekend when they hosted Maryland, but weren’t able to put enough points on the board to get back into the win column. Now the Hoosiers sit at a crossroads losing four in a row.

One of the stronger parts of the Indiana offense is the receiving core, but there have been injuries to Cam Camper and DJ Matthews. This meant that players such as Emery Simmons had to step up and make plays.

Simmons had six receptions for 99 yards against Maryland last weekend. 

“The biggest thing is taking advantage of opportunity,” Walt Bell said. “He prepares the right way and he puts himself in the position to make the most out of the opportunity.” 

Indiana has lost four games in a row, but they have been in the game late in each of the four losses, but haven’t been able to pull away.

Bell credited this to some of the mistakes on the offensive side of the ball including turnovers and pressure on the quarterback that forces Connor Bazelak to throw the ball away and stall drives.

“First play of the game, not what you want,” Bell said. “There is too much error in big times.”

Bell went on to say when playing in the Big 10 a lot of the games are going to be decided in four to eight games, and there have been a lot of times the Hoosiers have made mistakes that have killed their efforts.

Dexter Williams, who is still third-string with Jack Tuttle entering the transfer portal at the end of the year, is a name that has been thrown around a lot with the offense struggling.

“He’s getting to refine his skills every day, and he’s going to be a really good football player,” Bell said. 

Tuttle is a team captain as a backup quarterback, but the decision did not come as a shock to the Hoosiers, and Bell had nothing but nice things to say.

“There’s not a better teammate, there’s not a better person, there’s not a better kid,” Bell said. “ I would recommend him to anyone and if he ever wanted to get in this business I would hire him in a heartbeat.”

One of the needed improvements for the offense is in the run game. The Hoosiers only ran for 36 yards against Maryland. Currently the Hoosiers have Josh Henderson, Shaun Shivers, and freshman Jaylin Lucas in the run game.

Bell said that it is a primary focus for the offensive staff right now, and the offensive line is taking a big focus on getting the Hoosiers run game going.