Courtesy: IndyStar
Indiana heads to Purdue for an opportunity to win at least 8 games in a season for just the 8th time in program history and the first since 1993. While the Old Oaken Bucket itself is a big deal, winning this game is especially important.
Indiana came out strong averaging 6.4 yards per play on their first 3 drives. But following that 2nd TD, Indiana would average just 4.1 yards per play the rest of the way. That was not going to cut it against a Michigan team whose offense was overpowering the IU defense most of the day.
Indiana faces Michigan in the final home game of 2019. The Hoosiers have forced overtime against Michigan the last 2 contests in Bloomington. Heading into this game, these teams appear to be more evenly matched than it has been for a long time. This notion bears out when using Bill Connelly’s SP+ ratings. This appears to be the closest these teams have been statistically since at least 2005, beating the 2014 season where Michigan finished 5-7.
Courtesy: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
It was another game that Indiana played well enough to beat a Big Ten blue blood, but another game they ultimately fell short. It’s hard to take solace in that but there’s little time to dwell as Michigan comes to town. We’ll quickly review the Penn State game before turning our attention later this week to the Fighting Harbaughs.
Courtesy: Rose Bythrow, Indiana Athletics
The 2019 Indiana offense is much improved. And while some of that improvement is rightfully due to the talented play of Michael Penix, it’s clear the transformation goes beyond the Florida freshman.
Kalen DeBoer deserves a lot of the credit. His play calling has, much more often than not, been outstanding. But there’s also been an improvement from Peyton Ramsey, something that will be very important in these final 4 games, including the bowl game.