What Worked and What Didn't in Indiana's 45-24 Loss at Cincinnati

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers suffered their first loss of the 2022 season with a 45-24 defeat against Cincinnati. While many Hoosier fans are freaking out, we are going to take a deeper look into the loss at what worked and what didn’t.

What Worked

Cam Camper- Cam Camper is the clear number one receiver for IU. He made 10 catches for 126 yards. Many of his catches gave IU key first downs as well. While he didn’t find the end zone Saturday, he was IU’s best offensive player.

Run Defense- Indiana’s run defense was fantastic as they held Cincinnati to a 1.3 yards per carry average and 40 total yards. The defensive front seven held their own against a physical and veteran offensive line for Cincinnati.

James Evans- It was probably Evans’s best game as a Hoosier. The punter had seven punts, four of which were downed inside the Bearcats’s 20-yard line and three over 50 yards. He is finding his footing in American football and that is great news for IU.

What Didn’t Work

First Half Pass Defense- The Hoosiers looked out matched in the secondary on Saturday as the Bearcats made it look easy scoring four touchdowns threw the air. Cincinnati quarterback Ben Bryant threw for 306 yards in the first half and Tyler Scott tied the school record for receiving touchdowns with three.

Blown coverages were to blame for IU, which is unacceptable from a veteran group that features Tiawan Mullen, Jaylin Williams and Devon Matthews. To add injury to insult, Matthews looked like he was banged up in the second half as well.

Pass Protection- Indiana quarterback was under fire all game. IU’s signal caller was sacked five times and hurried an additional 12. For 71 pass drop backs, that is a lot of pressure. Offensive lineman Parker Hanna was abused by Ivan Pace and third-string center Caleb Murphy was bullied up the middle. The Hoosiers need to look at other possible combinations to get Bazelak some time to throw the ball down field.

IU Fans Patience- Losing stinks. Trust us, we understand. Losing football games is bad for business. However, the amount of fans (heck even media members) who have totally panicked after one terrible half is troublesome. Fans are quick to write off football for basketball without realizing that ion 2022, football matters more than basketball. There were also media members destroying Tom Allen and the program without realizing that playing at Cincinnati is NOT a gimmie. Cinicinnati has lost three games over the last three seasons and had a 28-game home win streak. Yeah, they’re pretty darn good. This is not your father’s Cincinnati football team.

Here’s a bit of advice, take a deep breath. No matter what happens on the field Tom Allen is not getting fired this year. It’s just not happening, so move on. Maybe write a check to give the football Hoosiers the tools they need to win. It’s not basketball season yet.