Nick Sheridan Silences Critics With Outstanding Game Plan Against Michigan

Image: Indiana University Athletics

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

We have all seen the criticism of Indiana’s first year offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan. Whether it has been on Twitter, the airwaves or in articles, people were not sold he was the right choice to lead the Hoosier offense after Kalen DeBoer left to take the head coaching at Fresno State. Despite the Hoosiers 2-0 start that included a win over then No. 8 Penn State, people feared that the Hoosiers were headed back to the land of Mike Debord. Sheridan, the youngest offensive coordinator in the Big Ten, silenced those doubters Saturday with a beautiful game plan that picked apart a soft Michigan secondary, used the defensive line’s aggressiveness against them and held on to the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game. Most importantly the Hoosiers started quickly.

Indiana head coach Tom Allen, who put his faith in Sheridan in the offseason talked about the trust he has in him last Monday ahead of the Michigan game. “I think he has done a really good job” Allen said. “There is always growing pains through learning and doing something for the first time and I feel like that he has adapted.”

Sheridan, the son of a coach as well as a former quarterback for Michigan, can draw on a vast knowledge base. He connects well with his players and can share his experiences. “I have been in most of the stadiums, but I have not performed nearly as well as some of our guys have” Sheridan said. “I can let them know what not to do sometimes or how to handle some adversity. The one thing about my playing career is that I sat in a lot of different seats. I was a freshman walk-on and at the time there were 105 guys that went to fall camp and I probably was number 105. I got a phone call from the coaches a couple of days before camp and they said hey, come on. I was seventh on the depth chart at quarterback. I was on scout special teams. I think I was the R4 on scout kickoff. I was the personal protector on scout punt and not just playing quarterback.”

Indiana quarterback Michael Penix, who has a strong bond with Sheridan, heaped praise upon his coach after the Hoosiers 38-21 win on Saturday.

“That was just Coach Nick Sheridan making great calls.” Penix said. “We were just reading the defense and he called what he felt was fitting, and it was working. So, we just continued to go with what was working. The offensive line was doing a great job, just gave me time to be able to make those plays, so Coach Sheridan it was just easy for him in the box to just rip those plays out, and just give them to us without any hesitation.”

The Hoosiers are third in the Big Ten in scoring offense at 37 points per game, only trailing Ohio State and Wisconsin. Much of that is in part to the Hoosiers going a perfect 16-for-16 in the red zone while scoring 12 touchdowns in those trips. It’s all about efficiency.

Do the Hoosiers have their flaws on offense? Yes. The run game is 13th in yards per game in the Big Ten. However, the Hoosiers looked improved on the ground against Michigan and flipped the script of who did the pushing around.

“It is funny how the rolls switched,” IU running back Stevie Scott said. “I feel like we had the ball and we ran the defense out until they got tired. We had great stamina to keep going hard the whole fourth quarter and finish it out.”

Scott finished with 97 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The Hoosiers did what ever they wanted against Michigan on Saturday. They finished with 460 yards of total offense. They drew countless offsides flags that led to two touchdowns and other yardage gains. Finally, when the Hoosiers needed to ice the game late, they pounded their ALl-Big Ten running back for a touchdown and then bled the last 5:05 off the clock to end the game.

It was as good as you could get from an offensive game plan. Maybe now, the couch coaches, the radio personalities and anyone else who thinks they know better than a Big Ten coordinator, will put their phones down and watch a young coach find his own path.

The 3-0 Hoosiers head to East Lansing next week to take on the Michigan State Spartans (1-2) in the Battle for the Old Brass Spittoon.