IUFB Opponent Week 3 Recap

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The Hoosiers were off this week but both of their previous opponents and several of their future opponents were in action.

Previous Opponents

Ohio State – 38 vs. Army – 7

After back-to-back weeks of being bombarded through the air, the Ohio State Buckeyes were probably quite pleased to see a one-dimensional run attack head to Columbus. They had no trouble dispatching the Black Knights as J.K. Dobbins ran for 172 yards on just 13 carries and J.T. Barrett went 25/33 for 270 yards. The Buckeyes now host UNLV and travel to Rutgers before a very interesting game against the Maryland Terrapins.

Virginia – 38 vs. Connecticut – 18

The Cavaliers moved to 2-1 on the season as Kurt Benkert lit up the UConn Huskies for 455 passing yards with three touchdowns. Doni Dowling, Andre Levrone and Olamide Zaccheaus each went over 100 receiving yards and the Cavaliers added in 171 rushing yards in a comprehensive victory. UVA led 24-0 at halftime and coasted to the win. While UConn is far from powerful, this was a good showing from Virginia and it speaks well to the performance IU had in Charlottesville.

Future Opponents

Penn State – 56 vs. Georgia Southern - 0

The Nittany Lions look really, really good. They continue to trounce their early-season opponents and coasted to another easy victory this past Saturday. Trace McSorley was 18/23 for 309 yards with four touchdowns and they added three rushing touchdowns and 6.9 yards per carry in their 56-0 of Georgia State. They are now 3-0 with 50+ point shutout wins over Akron and Georgia State and a 33-14 win over Pittsburgh. It’s unclear what any of this means because Akron and Georgia State and poor and Pittsburgh looks awful thus far as well. The preseason is definitely over now though as they travel to Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes under the lights at Kinnick Stadium.

Michigan – 29 vs. Air Force - 13

Every week reinforces my preseason belief that Michigan’s offense is just average. Their defense is awesome and I have no doubt they’ll overwhelm most opponents with it. That was the case on Saturday as Air Force, a very potent running team, was held to 3.4 yards per carry and only completed one pass all game. Michigan was not really threatened in this one but they only had 169 passing yards and 190 rushing yards (4.5 yards per carry) and were frustrated offensively all day long. The Wolverines ended up scoring only one touchdown and settling for five field goals. Ty Isaac continues to get the most carries and it was Karan Higdon that scored the touchdown as Chris Evans plays a bit-part and gets only six carries. The Wolverines now face a test that appears to be much stiffer than initially expected as they head to West Lafayette to play the Boilermakers.

Illinois – 23 vs. South Florida – 47

This game was ugly. The outcome ended up being pretty much as expected as South Florida’s Quinton Flowers threw for four touchdowns and added 106 rushing yards with a rushing touchdown and the Bulls charged through the Illini for a comfortable victory. The ugliness was in the penalty department. The two squads combined for 31 penalties as Illinois had 15 for 138 yards and USF had 16 for 155 yards. That is just ridiculous and it made watching the game an exercise in patience. Illinois was outgained 354 to 680 and neither quarterback they tried (Chayce Crouch and Jeff George Jr.) looked impressive. George Jr. was the better of the two but it’s hard to take anything from the performance. Thus far, this continues to look like a game IU should win.

Rutgers – 65 vs. Morgan State – 0

This game happened. Of that, I am sure. But I cannot profess to have seen a second of it and I refuse to place any significance on it as Morgan State is one of the worst football programs in the country, regardless of level. That being said, something of interest did come from the contest as freshman quarterback Johnathan Lewis, a much-hyped recruit for the Scarlet Knights, ran for four touchdowns and threw for another in his first serious action for RU. Kyle Bolin will remain the starter but there’s no doubt Lewis will be used as a change of pace quarterback to spark the offense. They now go to Nebraska and then take on Ohio State and we’ll get a better sense of how improved Rutgers is.

Purdue – 35 vs. Missouri 3

Speaking of improved, there’s no doubt the Purdue Boilermakers are not a team to take lightly. Jeff Brohm has quickly made the Gold and Black a serious opponent and fans in West Lafayette are excited about their football program once again. I do think some of the hype from the national media is overblown (Louisville is merely average and I expect they’ll finish closer to 7-5 than they will 10-2, Ohio is just okay and Missouri is in free-fall mode) but their 35-3 win at Missouri was impressive and they’ve earned some praise after a few years in the desert. Tario Fuller appears to be a very good running back and David Blough is being much more protective of the ball. The most surprising part of the resurgence is the play of their defense. They were laughably bad in 2016 but this year’s unit appears, at the very least, to be quite competent. The next three games: Michigan, Minnesota and at Wisconin, will show how “real” Purdue is but the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket could have some real stakes for both sides this season.