Numbers that Matter: Washington Huskies

Written by: Nate Comp (@NathanComp1)

Well, last weekend was fun, wasn’t it? After a 56-7 beatdown of Nebraska, the national eye is fully taking notice of the Hoosiers. College Gameday is headed to Bloomington for the first time ever for a Saturday show as the Hoosiers welcome the defending national championship runners-up, the Washington Huskies. Let’s take a look at some of the stats that could come into play in this week’s matchup.

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Getting off to a quick start is key in any game and Indiana has been among the best at it in the country. Through week eight, the Hoosiers are the only program to not allow a first quarter point in 2024 – seven games, zero first quarter points. The Hoosiers are also one of six teams to have scored first in each of its games.

Washington will surely present a challenge to this, as their quarterback and receivers have been playing at a high-level, but Coach Cignetti has confidence in his defense.

“They got a really big offensive line, big tight ends, big running back, experienced quarterback,” said Cignetti on Monday. “Another quarterback that's got really good athleticism, can throw the ball also. I like their wideouts a lot. They're going to be a big challenge. They got a really good scheme. We're going to have to fly around, swarm the ball, win up front, put pressure on the quarterback, stop the run, cover, create some turnovers.”

+245

We’ve seen some impressive offenses since 2020, but few have scored points like Indiana. Looking at the best scoring teams of the last five seasons, Indiana (+245) currently leads them all in scoring margin through seven games. The remaining top five consists of 2022 Ohio State (+243), 2023 Michigan (+229), 2022 Georgia (+228), and 2021 Georgia (+223). One will notice from this list that the Hoosiers are currently ahead of the last three national champions.

10 of 17

If you listened to this week’s Jedd Fisch press conference, you may have been surprised to hear so many questions about their special teams performance. Specifically, the mindset of the Huskies’ kicker, Grady Gross, through seven games of the season and coming off of a bye. Well, the reason for this is Gross has severely struggled this season, arguably costing them a few games already. After a near perfect sophomore campaign, Gross has started this year 10-of-17 kicking field goals so far, going 4-of-10 in his last three games with two blocked. 

“Man, he kicked it great yesterday,” Fisch said on Monday. “We had some running [on Sunday], and I said, ‘Alright Grady, we’re either going to run four gassers or zero, depending on if you make this kick. We put the ball down on the line for a 48-yard field goal, and the whole team surrounded him. I said, ‘It’s either going to be either 400 yards running for the players or zero,’ and he nailed it right through the uprights. The team was very excited we didn’t have to run to end practice. I think he felt good about nailing that kick.”

The Hoosiers are 4-of-4 on field goal attempts thus far this season.

262.6 and 266.3

Though the Indiana offense has gotten much of the national attention, could we potentially have a defensive battle on our hands come Saturday afternoon? The matchup will face off two of not only the nation’s, but the country’s, best defenses. Indiana and Washinton are currently 7th and 8th nationally in total defense, allowing just 262.6 and 266.3 yards per game, respectively. The Big Ten has flexed its muscles defensively this season, currently having five of the top eight teams in yards per game allowed (Ohio State, Minnesota, Penn State ranked above Indiana and Washington currently).

100%

The biggest story of this week came when it was announced that for the first time this year, the Indiana offense will have a new man behind center. Kurtis Rourke has been ruled out this weekend with his thumb injury that kept him sidelined for the second half against Nebraska. He expects to return this season, but for now Coach Cignetti will turn to Tayven Jackson; he has full confidence in him.

“We have 100% confidence, and the team has 100% confidence, I have confidence, the staff has confidence in Tayven Jackson,” said Cignetti. “We always talk about the next man up. Everybody's here for a reason, right? In this sport, you're going to have injuries at every single position. It's a lot different when you're the starter, right? I'm sure he was excited about it. The team rallied around him at halftime.”

Tayven Jackson finished the game 7-of-8 for 91 yards and two touchdowns this past Saturday, also adding 21 yards with his legs. After spending one year and then transferring from Tennessee, Jackson appeared in six games with five starts in 2023.