Matchup to Watch: Indiana Hoosiers vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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Written By Alex Compton
IU is back in the win column! After an ugly, yet solid win on the road, IU still has their hopes for a third straight bowl game alive. Richard Lagow has now started two consecutive games, and the job looks to be- and should be his until the season comes to a close, bowl game or not. I, for one, think it is the best move for IU this season, and this is something that the writers at HoosierHuddle felt was needed to possibly save Indiana’s season. Since being reinserted after Peyton Ramsey’s injury at Maryland, 21 has been exceptional for IU. He nearly pulled off the win against the Terps, and then followed that up with solid performances against Wisconsin and Illinois. On the other side of the field this week is an interesting Rutgers team, that actually has flown under the radar for most of the year. They rattled off three straight Big Ten wins before losing to Penn State last weekend, and if they didn’t collapse against Eastern Michigan, they would be sitting at 5 wins and just 1 away from a bowl game. Nonetheless, they are led by their defense, and that is what my matchup this week is centered on.
RICHARD LAGOW VS. KIY HESTER
Rutgers has had an impressive turnaround this year like I mentioned, and a big part of that has been centered around their defense. The offensive line has been one of the best in the Big Ten as well this year, but the D has really made them a respectable team in such a short amount of time. Kiy Hester might not be the best player on the defense, but he is their big play guy at linebacker. He leads the Scarlet Knights on defense with 3 interceptions, 2 of which he took back for touchdowns. Rutgers is very aggressive with their linebackers, and sometimes it can cause issues with reads in the passing game. For IU, who relies heavily on RPO’s (run-pass options), drawing the linebackers in is what makes the plays work. Lagow sometimes struggles when he has to go through multiple reads, and Rutgers swarming defense could give him some different looks on Saturday. Being able to get the ball past or over the linebackers (Kiy Hester especially) will be the key for Lagow and the IU offense on Saturday.
Hester is a guy to key in on due to his numbers in the passing game, but he is by no means their best defender. Trevor Morris and Deonte Roberts have played so well for the Scarlet Knights this year, and they should also be anchoring the defense against the Hoosiers this Saturday. They have over 150 total tackles between the two of them, but aren’t as good against the pass. Ash’s defense is very matchup-oriented, and the Hoosiers will see a bunch of different looks out of their base 4-3 defense. A heavy nickel package will be used as well, and that’s where you will see Hester the most. Overall, they are very inconsistent on both sides of the ball at just about every position, but thrive on big plays on defense. IU has started to win the turnover battle in the second half of the season, and making sure that Rutgers' playmaking linebackers aren’t able to take the ball away will be huge for Lagow and IU on Saturday. Check out the rest of their major defensive stats below:
