Indiana's offense sharing the wealth as it searches for the next gear

Although the Hoosier offense produced 484 yards of offense, IU required another drive filled with late-game heroics to draw even in a game they trailed for most of the day. In fact, Indiana has come from behind in all three of its victories in 2022.

Following the game, both QB Connor Bazelak and head coach Tom Allen were on the same page in terms of how they felt the Hoosiers performed.

"Trust me, you'll see better football out of us down the road," Bazelak said.

"The exciting thing is, we're 3-0 with a lot of things to work on," Allen said. "We're nowhere near playing our best football."

While it hasn't been pretty and it's been far from smooth, IU knows this way of winning isn't sustainable. Yet, there are some silver linings they can hope to follow through with.

The defense is forcing timely takeaways again and the special teams have been as solid as a rock, but perhaps the most intriguing - and promising - development has surrounded the offense. Indiana is more than comfortable sharing the wealth.

"The way we play, we had 12 different guys catch balls I think, we're gonna spread it around," offensive coordinator Walt Bell said on Monday. "To me, that's balance. It makes your practices better, it makes your meetings better, it makes everything better when everybody that's out there on the practice field understands that they gotta be ready to go play and perform at a high level."

One of the beneficiaries last week was Emery Simmons, the North Carolina transfer wideout who made his impact felt with four catches and 51 yards in the triumph over the Hilltoppers. The mindset to stay ready starts from the coaching staff and trickles down to each individual playmaker, and it's one that has carried he and his teammates to early season success.

"They instilled in us that we have to go out and make plays every day," Simmons said Monday. "It doesn't matter who's on the field, we should be able to have anybody out there make plays. The same plays that Cam (Camper) makes when he's in the game, Malachi (Holt-Bennett) should make. The same plays that DJ (Matthews) makes, I should make. The same plays that (Andison) Coby makes, (Javon) Swinton makes.

"It's really just a bond and all of us trusting each other that we can go out there and make these plays day in and day out."

Simmons says that trust began to formulate all the way back in spring ball, and it carried over to fall camp and now the first few matchups of the campaign.

"It's just a matter of going into the games and having that same confidence that you do in practice," Simmons said.

A fitting situation arose Saturday during the Hoosiers' final drive in regulation when they were without DJ Matthews, one of IU's most impactful playmakers so far this season, for the entirety of the drive due to a sudden illness. Needing to rely on his other weapons at his disposal, Bazelak marched the IU offense down the field and scored to knot the game at 30 with 47 seconds to play.

"As the season goes on, the more guys key in on DJ and Cam and AJ (Barner), it allows for more opportunities for other guys to step in and make big plays," Bazelak said Monday.

Early and often, Bazelak's words rang true as the first 13 of his completions found 10 different pass-catchers. Both running backs, multiple tight ends, and a slew of receivers found their name on the final scoring sheet Saturday with a number under the reception column. That balance is usually one that coaches dream of, but so far for Indiana, it's reality.

"I think that's just the biggest thing, when they get the opportunity that they make the plays," Bazelak said. "Make the routine ones and make some of the special ones. I'll give them a chance."

Staring down their first true road game - and a tough one at that - Indiana's margin for error has now evaporated. Knowing this, the IU offense is aware they can't beat a team like Cincinnati or any one of the Big Ten East powers that they will run into this season the same way they beat the likes of Idaho and Western Kentucky.

The question then becomes this: what's next for this offense as a whole? When asked about it, Simmons didn't hold back in his response.

"Have a complete game," Simmons said. "Be able to come out and be the first team to hit them in the mouth. To withstand what we do in the second half, be able to do that in the first half and continue throughout the whole game."

Simmons isn't wrong in his evaluation, either. 71 of the Hoosiers' 91 points scored this season have come in the second half, forcing themselves to have to play from behind in order to win. When it comes to finding the next gear on offense and what needs to be done to reach that point, Simmons' overarching theme of trust remains in the spotlight.

"Having so many guys out there on the outside catching the ball, it's starting to build that trust between us and the quarterbacks," Simmons said. "Now it's free range. When we go out there and make plays, it gets rolling even more. I feel like these couple of games were full of growing pains. I feel like we would've got past it a little bit earlier if it wasn't for the rain vs. Idaho. I feel like we'll be able to put that stuff together a little quicker."

If Indiana is able to produce the better kind of performance that Allen, Bazelak and Simmons are alluding to, Indiana could be in the box seat to be one of the biggest surprises of the college football season. If they do, it may be the offense's doing.

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