INDIANAPOLIS - It was a problem against Ohio State in the season-opener and it was a problem again on Saturday against Louisville, OC Walt Bell's overly cautious play-calling is limiting the Indiana offense.
One of the biggest causes for criticism after Indiana’s 23-3 loss against Ohio State in week one was the play-calling from Bell. Tom Allen mentioned it postgame, it was discussed the following Monday during media availability and you best believe it was a hot topic amongst Indiana football fans on social media.
At times it felt like Indiana was playing not to lose against the Buckeyes, electing to play it safe rather than being aggressive.
The Hoosiers ran the ball 33 times and attempted 21 passes — just five of those passes came in the first half -- against Ohio State. It took the Hoosiers being down multiple scores for Bell to open up the playbook and incorporate more passing plays.
However, the pass plays Bell called were still too conservative. The combination of respecting the Ohio State defense a little too much and having two young quarterbacks under center led to play-calling that was too cautious.
Indiana completed just three passes for gains of 10 yards or more and simply refused to take a shot down the field against the Ohio State defense.
“It was probably a little more conservative than we — even against (Ohio State) — would like to be,” Allen said following the loss to Ohio State. “Definitely more conservative than we will be moving forward.”
It was a different story in week two — albeit against weaker competition in Indiana State. Against the Sycamores, the Hoosiers’ offense looked infinitely better than it did against Ohio State. It flowed better, looked smooth and had a certain confidence about it.
Indiana ran the ball 42 times while attempting 37 passes against Indiana State, a much better run-to-pass ratio. Additionally, out of the 27 passes the Hoosiers completed, 19 of them went for 10 or more yards. Indiana averaged 12.7 yards per completion against the Sycamores.
The offense seemed to operate without restrictions, allowing for more shots down the field.
Heading into Indiana’s week three matchup with Louisville, most of the overly conservative play-calling chatter had dissipated. It was believed that the Hoosiers had chosen their quarterback in Tayven Jackson and entrusted him with the offense.
However, the cautiousness that plagued the Indiana offense against Ohio State reared its head once again in the first half against Louisville.
Indiana attempted five passes of 10 or more yards in the first half against Louisville, one of which slipped through the fingertips of receiver DeQuece Carter and into the awaiting arms of a Louisville defensive back.
Despite an even pass-to-rush ratio in the first two quarters, the Hoosiers largely leaned on the running game in early down situations and waited until third and medium or third and long to pass the ball.
Just as they did against the Buckeyes, the Hoosiers found themselves trying to dig out of a deep, largely self-made hole.
Something changed inside the Indiana locker room at halftime.
The Hoosiers came out and successfully executed an onside kick to open the second half, a pretty aggressive call if you ask me.
On the very next offensive drive, Indiana completed two long passes, one for 21 yards and the other for a 30-yard touchdown. The Hoosiers attempted eight more passes of 10 yards or more in the second half.
That loose and aggressive down-the-field offense led by Jackson is what got them back into the game.
"Once we started playing fast -- I'm used to that -- it brings out all of us as a group of quarterbacks and receivers," Jackson said postgame. "When we play fast, we play free."
The comeback had all but been completed. With about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Hoosiers had closed the gap to just a touchdown. They had the ball in the red zone, looking primed to cap off another long drive with a touchdown. The offense looked loose and was playing freely. Jackson was north of 200 yards through the air in the second half alone.
On a third down play from the Louisville 8-yard line Jackson scrambled to his right and dove for the pylon on the right sideline. He managed to stay in bounds, but his knee came down just before his outstretched left arm crossed the plane of the goal line.
After the play was reviewed, it was confirmed that Jackson was short. The ball was spotted inside the Louisville 1-yard line, just 18 inches from the end zone. The Hoosiers were a football and a half away from potentially tying the game.
Following an Indiana timeout to further discuss the plan of attack ahead of the biggest play of the game, Jackson — whos right arm carried the Hoosiers to the comeback — led his offense back out onto the field.
In an I-formation, Jackson took the snap under center and handed the ball off to his tailback Josh Henderson. Henderson, failed to make the leap up and over the top of the offensive and defensive lines and into the end zone. Instead, he was brought down behind the line of scrimmage after being met by a wall of Cardinal defenders.
"We obviously chose to run, not to sneak," Allen said postgame. "I don't second-guess that."
Louisville took over possession after the turnover-on-downs and ran the clock down to triple zeroes.
The last offensive play of the game for Indiana was that failed fourth and goal.
It was a play doomed from the start. The Cardinals lined up with all 11 defenders between the tackles, awaiting what head coach Jeff Bohm expected to be a quarterback sneak.
"When it got to a half a yard, we though quarterback sneak first," Brohm said postgame. "We got in there quick, penetrated and stopped the run and did a great job with it."
There are numerous play calls that would’ve likely been better than handing it off to a guy who isn't even the biggest running back on the roster and who started the play lining up all the way back on the 8-yard line.
One of those better plays would've been a simple and reliable quarterback sneak. It's not a complex play, it's simple and it works. Just take the Philadelphia Eagles for example. The Eagles converted 29 of 32 QB sneaks during the 2022 NFL season. The ‘tush push’ as it has been dubbed is just a simple QB sneak where the quarterback is pushed forward by two or three teammates who line up behind him. It’s not like Jalen Hurts — the Eagles quarterback — is a massive, physical specimen either. Hurts stands at 6-foot-1, about 220 pounds, two inches shorter and about five pounds heavier than Jackson.
Another, riskier option would’ve been some sort of play action. A play action pass or a naked bootleg for Jackson to run the ball into the end zone would have both been better calls in that situation against a Cardinal defense that sold out for a run between the tackles.
All-in-all, there were many other factors that contributed to Indiana's to Louisville. But if the Hoosiers wants to play more like the offense that showed up in the second half against the Cardinals, Bell has to ramp up the aggressiveness of his play-calling. It’s time to let Jackson sling-it.
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