Three & Out Offense: Week 4 Missouri
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Kevin Wilson leads his team into battle against the Tigers on Saturday.
Written By Sammy Jacobs (@sammyj108)
Once again it is Friday! Another college football Saturday is upon us and this week provides a huge statement game for the Indiana Hoosiers as they face-off against the Missouri Tigers. Coming off a 42-10 victory over Bowling Green one would think the offense should be without any questions, but that is never the case with Kevin Wilson’s team. Hoosier Huddle will look at three aspects of the offense that will be the key to this week’s game.
1. The Two Quarterback System- If you haven’t figured it out by now, the Hoosiers are running a two quarterback system as both Nate Sudfeld and Tre Roberson saw action under center through out the game against the Falcons. Roberson was used in goal line situations to add the threat of a quarterback run. While in theory this is a solid idea, the Hoosier offense is predicated on rhythm and timing. Taking Sudfeld out did disrupt that early in the game as the Hoosiers fumbled on a fourth and goal situation with Roberson mishandling the snap. The upside of this however came when Roberson scampered into the end zone later in the game, in addition just the threat of having Roberson enter the game down in the red zone does force the opponent to prepare for another look. Indiana cannot afford to get out of rhythm on offense against an explosive team like Mizzou.
2. Settling for Field Goals- Twice last week the Hoosiers passed up chip shot field goals to attempt to score a touchdown. Twice last week the Hoosiers failed to pound the rock into the end zone on fourth down and goal. Kevin Wilson has been adamant in saying the Hoosiers cannot leave points on the field and need to cash in their red zone opportunities with touchdowns. That is all fine and dandy if the team can punch it in from the two. Sometimes it is not a bad idea to take the easy three points, remember Indiana has one of the best kickers in the Big Ten in Mitch Ewald, and take an early lead. The Hoosiers have attempted just one field goal on the year, which came in Week 1 against Indiana State. While it is never ideal to leave points on the field, sometimes it may be better to leave four out there instead of seven.
3. Balance on Offense- The Hoosiers returned to the balance they had against Indiana State in Week 1. Once again the Hoosier running backs will need to have a big game in order for Indiana to pull out the win on Saturday night. It may be easy to win games one dimensionally against inferior opponents, but against Mizzou the Hoosiers need a balanced attack to keep the Tigers from keying on just the passing game. Both Tevin Coleman and Stephen Houston are coming off of great games. They do not necessarily need to repeat that performance, however if both back can get over the century mark the Hoosiers should win this game.