Ohio State exposed how alarming Indiana's running game struggles are in 2019, when it allowed IU to rush for just 42 yards. Now, Tom Allen, Kalen DeBoer, Darren Hiller and the offensive line are scrambling to find the chemistry and niche with which to execute a semblance of a rushing game.
As Indiana exited its first two weeks of the season averaging just 131 rushing yards per game, there seemed to be a lack of synchronization in the run game that would serve as a concern going into a game against potential national championship-contending Ohio State.
Stevie Scott, who cleared the 1,100-yard mark as a true freshman in 2018, had totaled 109 yards against two sub-par opponents, though he was pulled after the first half of a blowout against Eastern Illinois in week two. But little was known about how concerning the struggles in the run game would be until Ohio State pummeled the Hoosiers down to 42 total yards rushing in week three, leaving the Hoosiers’ offense completely stagnant.
Now, head coach Tom Allen, offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer, offensive line coach Darren Hiller and the offensive linemen are pulling together to iron out some wrinkles in the rushing attack against the weakest rushing defense on their schedule before Big Ten play arrives in week five.
“We need to improve the running game to give ourselves better opportunities,” DeBoer said Monday. “I believe in our guys. We can get it done. It isn’t that the guys don’t care. It’s just that we need to find our style, our niche, what fits us and how it all pulls together with the rest of the offense.”
Finding that niche was a challenge early in the season when Indiana was passing the ball an average of 41 times per game before Ohio State forced the Hoosiers to play from behind and continue the trend with 36 more passes.
DeBoer took some of the blame Monday when asked what needs to change to improve the rushing attack, pointing to the way successful running teams establish the run early and “live with” short, two- or three-yard gains to wear down their opponents. IU hadn’t been doing that, and one of the best examples of a running team – Ohio State, with J.K. Dobbins and Master Teague – carried the ball 42 times at Memorial Stadium in one of the most enlightening moments of the Tom Allen Era.
Connecticut presents a prime opportunity to adjust that gameplan, as Pro Football Focus rates the Huskies’ rushing defense below every opponent on IU’s schedule, except Purdue.
But it’s more than just running the ball more often, Allen said. There are two primary areas IU can improve upon along the offensive line to increase running production – getting a better push off the ball and creating “structural” answers when teams load the box.
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“Loading the box” was suddenly a phrase attached to the struggles in the running game after Allen explained that Ball State surprised him by adding an extra defender in the box to stop Stevie Scott, which teams are apt to do to force redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Penix to beat them. Penix did that in Indianapolis, but Peyton Ramsey had a difficult time against Ohio State when the Buckeyes didn’t need to load the box.
“When somebody does it and has some level of success with it, then everybody starts copying it,” Allen said about loading the box. “It has surprised me a bit. With Stevie, there’s so much emphasis on taking him away, taking him away, taking him away. That’s what they’ve been determined to do.”
That strategy has forced Indiana to become one-dimensional, but that’s not what Allen and DeBoer want on offense. Allen said Thursday, he’d like to build play action off of a running game as well, and the Hoosiers showed that against Ball State. Nick Westbrook’s 75-yard touchdown reception was after play action.
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The staff wants to build schemes that will counter those defensive efforts, and those schemes are rooted in the offensive line.
“Playing offensive line – it’s 45.45 percent of the offense,” Hiller said. “I joke and I say that upstairs and around the rooms, but we are. We’re nearly 50 percent of the offense. It’s got to be five guys in a cohesive manner that need to know what guys are doing next to them.”
That cohesiveness takes chemistry, Allen said Thursday. Losing left guard Wes Martin and right tackle Brandon Knight has proven to be more than just a loss of two NFL-caliber offensive linemen.
Junior Harry Crider has stepped in at left guard, bu the is best-suited for center, and redshirt sophomore Caleb Jones is in at right tackle and spent most of his third career start battling against eventual First round NFL Draft pick Chase Young. The learning curve is evident, and seniors Coy Cronk and Simon Stepaniak have needed to shoulder much of the leadership load at the position.
“It is a chemistry-driven group,” Allen said. “When you take out last year’s right tackle and left guard, you took away the guys that work together. Sometimes, you maybe have the whole left side back or the whole right side back, but they’re all kind of new working together. I think that does take time.”
As Indiana works to mesh the five offensive linemen together, Connecticut will bring its run-first style of offense to Bloomington. While it certainly hasn’t been successful – just 10 rushing yards against Illinois in week two – the Hoosiers will be looking to avoid another lesson like the one Ohio State provided last weekend, with 306 rushing yards and two 100-yard rushers.
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