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It was another bad offensive performance for Indiana on Saturday in a 24-17 loss to Rutgers.
Indiana once again showed the inability to consistently move the ball down the field and score touchdowns. While that falls at the hands of offensive coordinator Walt Bell, there is also responsibility needed on quarterback Connor Bazelak.
Indiana head coach Tom Allen addressed the possibility of making a quarterback change, now with just four games left in the season.
"We’ll look at every possible option, no question," Allen told reporters after the loss. "We have to improve at quarterback. We wanted a different outcome today and we’ll have to evaluate that during the bye week."
Connor Bazelak started the game 10-of-10 and would've been 11-of-11 if not for a penalty that negated another completion. Then, Bazelak went 13-of-31 over the remainder of the game to finish 23-of-41 for 210 yards and one interception.
Bazelak's 10 completions led Indiana down the field for a 91-yard touchdown drive on 11 plays on its first possession of the game. What happened after was ugly and a total disappearing act until the final drive of the game -- a 70 yard possession.
Indiana would gain just 91 yards on the other 11 drives it had. That is 1.78 yards per play on the other 51 plays.
“Highly disappointing,” Allen said. “That third quarter, I think it was three three-and-outs, couldn’t stay on the field . . . to continue to not be able to capitalize on offense is disappointing.
"The second drive we drove down, after the penalty the game was really tough. Some guys stepped up and played the best game they could play. We got to capitalize on first downs and maximize the tempo. Got to do the best we can on the chances they give us . . . We can't only target one guy. More people have to fit into these roles. With that we can make more and less drops.”
Indiana remains at the top of the Big Ten in passing attempts at 379 so far this year. It also sits at No. 12 in the conference in completion percentage at 54.9 percent and No. 14 in yards per attempt at 5.4.
Going into the bye week, it could be a time to look at making a quarterback change. If so, someone like Dexter Williams could be the guy. The redshirt sophomore is the most mobile option under center for Indiana and has a good arm. He totaled 2,508 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior, completing 62.7 percent of his passes for 1,524 yards with 15 touchdowns. He also rushed for 984 yards (7.3 average) with 14 scores. He redshirted the 2020 season and suffered a torn ACL ahead of the 2021 season.
The one holdup on that potential move is the remaining schedule. Indiana, sitting at 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big Ten, has games against Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue to finish the 2022 season.
Throwing someone with very little in-game experience into the action against opponents like that may not be the answer. But, at this point, there needs to be some adjustment and jolt of energy to get the offense going to end the season.
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