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For the first half of Indiana's season, each game has been a tale of two halves for the Hoosier offense. In each of Indiana's first six contests, the same team has not come out of the locker room to start the first half as the one to start the second half. The only variation has been which team performs better.

Yet, as the Hoosiers continue to try and piece together some semblance of a consistent, four-quarter output, the constant theme of the offensive line's struggles ultimately playing a role in the result has remained steadfast. Saturday's 31-10 loss to Michigan was no different.

"You can see obviously, from the first half to the second half, the ability to move the football today, and then obviously in the second half, not to be able to," Indiana head coach Tom Allen said. "It starts up front, got to protect. Not getting the job done there."

Saturday's result against Michigan is the most recent - and perhaps most prominent - example of an issue that has been prominent long before the season began. If anything, it serves as a sobering reminder that one of the most glaring issues from one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory was never rectified during the offseason.

"We're not protecting the quarterback, not being consistent up front, just not getting the job done," Allen said. "We'll look at everything, every position, evaluate. Everybody's gotta be held accountable for their play and the way they are performing, both coaches and players."

As for the coaching staff, nearly every position group and coordinator room has a different name on the door than it did a season ago. However, for a group that made near-on wholesale changes across the board, Darren Hiller's position as offensive line coach was one of the few that was maintained after the tumultuous 2021 campaign.

Allen has stood behind Hiller throughout the group's struggles, constantly reassuring throughout the offseason that he felt the necessary changes to fix the line's play could be made without a coaching change. While acknowledging that the play must be better, he felt as if the response he had seen had been generally positive.

When asked if he felt the same way after the Saturday result, though, Allen was blunt in his response.

"Not the last three weeks," Allen said. "Not last week and not this week, so. Very disappointed, very disappointed."

The numbers back Allen's disappointment. Indiana rushed the ball 25 times on Saturday, but accumulated just 19 yards on 0.8 yards/carry. Those numbers are weighted down by Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak's seven sacks taken, which amounted to 61 yards lost on those plays.

On top of the seven sacks, Michigan added four QB hurries, and three additional TFL. At some point, you have to come to the realization that no matter how great the opposing defense may be - Michigan's being one of the best that Indiana will see all season - that just simply isn't good enough to sustain offensive production or any sort of winning football.

Bazelak was asked after the contest if he believed Michigan's defense did anything different to disguise their attacks that allowed them to be so successful in their pass rush.

"No, a lot of it was pretty simple stuff," Bazelak said. "You know, four-man, five-man rushes. They didn't - I don't think they brought a bunch of exotic pressures. Some of the stuff we had seen on film. I don't know, I'll have to go back and watch the film and see, but just my early reaction."

Bazelak and the Hoosier offense did conjure up some plays designed to defeat the Michigan defensive efforts, most of which were effective when Bazelak had the time to get the throws off. Offensive coordinator Walt Bell preaches the phrase "space, pace, race," and when it's on for the Hoosiers, they're tough to stop.

However, running an offense is tough to do when the quarterback is either scrambling away from defenders or laying on his back, looking up at the brisk October blue skies or with a face full of turf pellets.

"We were getting a lot of man, so we expected a lot of man and had some man-beaters that we called in the second half," Bazelak said. "We just couldn't get them off in time, I couldn't get the ball out of my hand soon enough."

For a guy like Bazelak who relies on the offensive line to protect him and keep him out of danger, it's not hard to go to bat for them when criticism is high. After all, he is the leader of the offense on the field, and he's probably the one that needs to be the most in-tune with them as a whole group.

"Those guys, I mean they're working their butts off," Bazelak said. "As much as people want to talk down on them, they're working hard every single day just like the rest of the team, giving it their all. They're fighting out there.

"Those are my brothers, I love them. I'm never going to say anything bad about them."

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What's next for an offensive line group that's struggling as much as this one? Sure, there's been injury struggles, but Indiana isn't the only school in the country to have a key guy or two go down. The amount of trouble the Hoosier O-line has had in the first half of the season may surmount anything any injury would typically prevent anyways.

While there's changes that can be made, it will ultimately come down to whether or not the change will be for the better immediately. For a change to happen at a title like that of a position coach, the person elevated to that role as the interim would need to already be currently collecting a paycheck from Indiana.

An outside search wouldn't be able to happen until after the season, and the fact of the matter is someone still has to go in everyday and attempt to fix what's wrong with the group as a whole. If Allen and the higher-ups feel that there's someone in the building capable of doing that, then a change may come sooner rather than later.

With that being said, it's not out of the realm of possibility that a change could signify a message being sent from Allen himself. After experiencing the highs of seasons two and three years ago as well as the lows from last year, he is just as aware as anyone of the linear growth track needed to try and find the momentum IU seemingly had before a disastrous season in 2021.

A coaching change won't just instantly fix the problems presented, either. Allen and his staff would have to better utilize the transfer portal and recruiting trail to bring in impact lineman who will be able to hold up against the tenacious defensive fronts that IU is accustomed to playing multiple times a season.

Thus, Allen is presented with a choice. How much urgency does he put on this program and preventing a potential downward spiral similar to the one we saw a season ago? How much stock is there in trusting a group when he himself says that there's been disappointing efforts for a sizable portion of the season?

Whether or not Allen makes a decision or not, publicly or private, the answer could show up in front of fans inside Memorial Stadium and on TV screens across Big Ten country.

At this point, it's up to Indiana as to how long Indiana wants to keep stopping Indiana.

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