By the numbers: Indiana Hoosiers
Iowa’s running game should find a lot of holes against Indiana this weekend, but the secondary might be in for a rough afternoon.
Indiana Head Coach, Tom Allen, speaks during Big Ten Football Media Days at McCormick Place Conference Center in Chicago on Monday, July 24, 2017.
October 12, 2018
This weekend in Bloomington, Indiana, Iowa will play the final game of its two-game road stretch.
The Hoosiers have had an up-and-down ride to their current 4-2 record. After their 3-0 nonconference slate, they lost a 35-21 matchup to Michigan State before barely pulling off a win against Rutgers the following week.
Last week, they lost, 49-26, against Ohio State in a game that was a lot closer than the final score might suggest.
1,486 passing yards
So far this season, Indiana has been led by its passing attack, and that has come courtesy of the superb play of quarterback Peyton Ramsey.
Ramsey has completed 66.8 percent of his passes and thrown for 11 touchdowns — good for second in the Big Ten — along with only 5 interceptions. While he has been deadly through the air, he can also wreak havoc with his legs — he has 180 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns this season.
He looked good last week against Ohio State, in which he threw for 322 yards and 3 touchdowns with no picks.
157.5 rush yards per game allowed
The Hawkeyes’ three-headed running-back monster should be licking its chops in anticipation of this game, because defending the rush is something that Indiana has yet to be formally introduced to this season.
Most of the damage against Indian’s defense this season was done during its nonconference segment. The Hoosiers have held their three Big Ten opponents to 127 yards per game on the ground, but they haven’t faced a team that runs the ball the way Iowa does.
Both Michigan State and Rutgers rank near the bottom of the Big Ten in rushing; Iowa sits in the middle of the pack. Running the ball should be a big part of the Hawkeye offense, and that should help Nate Stanley and the passing game.
Plus-4 turnover margin
Another thing that Indiana has excelled at so far this season is keeping possession of the ball. The Hoosiers haven’t been extraordinarily great at creating turnovers, but they have been able to overcome that deficiency by not giving it away themselves.
That helped keep last week’s game against Ohio State so close for so long — Indiana finished plus-1 in turnover margin.
The Hoosiers’ turnover margin has stayed pretty consistent during their Big Ten schedule; they are plus-2 against Big Ten opponents so far this season.
