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Published Sep 13, 2023
Keys to the Game: Indiana vs. Louisville
Elias Khoury  •  TheHoosier
Staff Writer
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@RealEliasNajeeb
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Only so much can be said about Indiana's first two games of the season. Sure, they lost by 20 in the opener, but that was against Ohio State. They may have made easy work of their week two opponent with a 34-point win, but that was against Indiana State.

This Saturday, the Hoosiers will travel to Indianapolis to take on Louisville in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Louisville has a talented roster who currently projects near the middle of the pack in the ACC. Indiana could have a difficult time against the Cardinals, but they should be able to compete, and may just pull out a win if they can accomplish these few keys to the game.

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Contain Jawhar Jordan

Potentially Louisville's best weapon on offense is running back Jawhar Jordan. Last weekend against Murray State, Jordan ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns.

Indiana has had some solid contributors on the defensive line, but they did struggle mightily against the Ohio State backfield, and were even a little leaky against the Sycamores on Friday.

Players like Andre Carter and Myles Jackson will need to contain the edge, as that is where they are normally giving up chunk yardage. With Aaron Casey having a great start to the season, it would be best to force Jordan in his direction.

If the Hoosiers can set the edge on the ground, force Jordan up the middle towards Aaron Casey, and prevent big plays out of the backfield, they should limit scoring opportunities for the Cardinals.


Win the turnover battle

Louisville is most dangerous when they are creating turnovers and securing good field position for their offense.

Just last week, the Cardinals defense forced three turnovers.

With Tayven Jackson having been named starting quarterback by Tom Allen this week, Louisville will certainly be looking to pounce on the young signal caller's inexperience. Jackson may have had a productive game against the Sycamore, but nobody knows how he may react to adversity.

Indiana also cannot afford to give away extra possessions to the Louisville offense. This is a unit that can score a lot of points, and the last thing the Hoosiers need is for their opponents to have extra opportunities.

In the same vein, Indiana needs to maximize their possessions on offense, because Louisville could very well run up the score. If Indiana gives away more turnovers than they win back, it could be tough sledding Saturday.

Clean up special teams

If you've watched the movie Step Brothers, you've seen a bunk bed collapse. If you watched Indiana play Indiana State last week, you've seen a special teams unit collapse.

Two kickoffs out of bounds gave the Sycamores great field position without even having to touch the ball. Sure, they were unable to capitalize, but a team like Louisville will absolutely punish mistakes like that.

Indiana's best playmaker is Jaylin Lucas, and his abilities as a punt returner may just be unmatched in the Big Ten. That said, his returns the last two weeks have been negated by penalties a number of times.

Just last week, Indiana got flagged twice for running into the kicker on a punt, negating any return from Lucas. Allen said after the game that he is going to continue to get the ball to Lucas in as many ways as possible, but this will only work if his returns count in full.

Lucas also had to reverse field several times when he did catch punts or kickoffs because his blocks did not set up well. When you have a player who can flip the field the way Lucas can, you have to help him every way you can.

The way the Hoosier special teams unit plays on Saturday should have an impact on the game one way or another. They show up ready to play, and the Hoosiers might just win. They fade away, and the Hoosiers may fade out of the game early.

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