IU football is turning the page from a devastating 19-15 home loss to Ohio State.
The Hoosiers need to regroup quickly, as they head to a venue where they haven’t won in 60 years.
Another physical challenge awaits, against a team loaded with high-end talent.
Here are some final notes on Ohio State and a glance ahead at Michigan as Indiana looks to return to its winning ways.
NOT ALL ON NICK
Coach Curt Cignetti was asked Monday whether he will talk to his star receiver Nick Marsh to check on his state of mind after he stepped out of bounds before securing what likely would have been the game-winning catch against Ohio State.
As you might have guessed the third-year IU coach doesn’t see all of the blame falling on Marsh’s shoulders.
After watching film of the play, Cignetti highlighted other aspects that went wrong, including the quarterback’s timing, and pass protection.
“A lot of guys hurting after this game, and that play wasn’t all on Nick,” Cignetti said. “There are three, four things that happened on that play that led to a break down in execution.
“So I’ll see Nick tonight (Monday) in the team meeting. Nick will be fine. He played well. He had one or two plays he would like to have back, but had some pressure on that play in Josh’s (Hoover) face, and Josh’s drop wasn’t exactly correct and then he pump faked it, so he could have gotten it out a little quicker.”
TIME TO MOVE ON
It’s worth noting, several players on Indiana’s team had never lost in an IU uniform prior to Saturday, and more had never lost at home.
It would be natural for the players and staff alike to be a bit shellshocked, especially after the dramatic ending.
But if that feeling lingers, the Hoosiers risk losing two in a row for the first time in the Cignetti era. The IU head coach says he woke up Sunday already feeling better about what went down against the Buckeyes.
“I think we were all feeling pretty bad after the game that night I’m sure,” Cignetti said. “I woke up, you know, with kind of a new perspective: That we proved that we’re capable. Just got clean up a couple things and get a little better in certain areas.
“This business and what we ask of players is not easy stuff; this is hard. It took a lot of effort. It was a physical game. A lot of guys, you know, felt a lot better ten days ago than they do right now, and we’re heading into another one and one more after that and then we finally get an open week after nine games.
“But we got to suck it up and go. Got no choice.”
IT STARTS WITH THE RUN
Cignetti’s offense has always been about establishing the running game first. But Indiana’s ground attack has been stuck in a funk the last two weeks. After rushing for 600 yards in the first two Big Ten games, the Hoosiers gained just 138 in the last two.
So what’s the issue?
One obvious answer is the opponents. Northwestern and Rutgers give up a lot more rushing yards than Nebraska and Ohio State.
But it’s also the case teams are keying on the run against IU, daring the Hoosiers to become a pass-heavy team while Hoover struggles at times with accuracy. Indiana is likely to see more of the same this Saturday in Ann Arbor. Michigan is No. 13 against the run, allowing just 89.7 yards on the ground per game.
“Teams like Ohio State, Michigan, they don’t give up much rushing yardage,” Cignetti said. “We did have some positive runs. We got into kind of a throw mode. I think we called 46 passes and 26 runs, which is very uncharacteristic of us.
“It all starts up front. We all want more consistent production, explosive plays. Haven’t got any explosive plays the last two weeks in the run game.”
But when asked about offensive line play, Cignetti quickly pivoted to other mistakes against Ohio State he thought cost IU the game.
There was a missed wide open receiver in the end zone on a late second quarter drive — then a missed field goal. Then back-to-back fumbles on drives to start the second half, and of course that last play. Cignetti seemed to suggest we wouldn’t be thinking much about the running game if his team had executed on those plays — and in some sense the insistence on the running game set up those passing game opportunities.
MICHIGAN’S QB SITUATION
Indiana heads to Ann Arbor facing an uncertain quarterback situation.
The Wolverines got a jolt of life offensively when freshman Tommy Carr was subbed in for Bryce Underwood in the second half over the weekend against Penn State. The Wolverines rallied for a 21-18 win, although most of their production came on the ground.
Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday he’s not going to announce this week’s starter to keep IU guessing.
Carr has barely played in college, making him more challenging to prepare for. Cignetti says he assumes the Wolverines will roll out Carr Saturday (Noon ET, FOX), but they’re preparing for all possibilities.
“You can see what you need to see (of Carr) in the second half of Penn State in my opinion, which I watched,” Cignetti said. “You know, I would assume it would be him. Could be two quarterbacks on the field at the same time. That would not surprise me. They did a lot of that at Utah.
“And the other guy can make plays. So schematically they didn’t change a whole lot in the second half.”
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