What Worked, What Did Not For the Hoosiers in the Win Over Illinois

Image: Indiana University Athletics

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

The Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini 23-20 on Friday night in Bloomington. Getting the win was the most important thing for a Hoosier program that was riding an eight-game losing streak and coming off a 2-10 (0-9) season. Let’s take a look at what worked for IU and what didn’t.

What Worked

Conner Bazelak- While the overall numbers may not be exactly what you want, Bazelak threw for 330 yards and a touchdown. He showed tremendous poise in the pocket and threw a very catchable ball. On the final drive for the Hoosiers he was 8-of-9 for 70 yards. His lone interception came on a ball wide receiver Andison Coby should have caught.

Tom Allen Called Defense- The Hoosiers created four takeaways and a huge stop on the goal line on fourth down. It was not a perfect night by any means for the defense, but it was good to see the aggressive, attacking defense back in Bloomington.

Wide Receivers- The Hoosiers had two wide receivers go over 100 yards each in Friday’s win. Newcomer Cam Camper made 11 catches for 156 yards while DJ Matthews had seven for 109 and that included a beautiful 52-yard touchdown. The are areas to clean up, like drops and ball security, but overall it was a very encouraging performance

Student Fans- Bravo, students! The student section was out in force Friday night and a lot of them hung around for the finish. IU has to hook the students early, this was a perfect way to do just that.

What Did Not Work

Run Game- The Indiana run game was nearly non-existent. IU ran the ball for 43 non-sack yards on the ground on 25 carries. That’s not good enough. The offensive, while they did provide a solid pocket for Bazelak, did not get a good push against a heavy front from Illinois. IU may need to look into lineup changes at this position to generate more of a push. IU’s running backs also, needed to be a little more patient as well, but there just wasn’t a lot there.

Tackling- There is no official stat for missed tackles, but IU missed a bunch early on Chase Brown and Isaiah Williams. It’s an opener and with the changes to how teams practice, this happens a lot. Tom Allen teams are usually solid tacklers, so I expect this to be cleaned up quickly.

Injuries- It’s hard to say a team controls this part of the game and there is a lot of luck involved, but IU took their lumps last night. Starting tackle Matthew Bedford went down in the first half, linebacker Cam Jones had a scare in the second half that also involved defensive lineman Demarcus Elliott. It was announced before the game that James Head was out with an injury as well. Safety Devon Matthews was not involved much in the second half after making six tackles.