Indiana Football Game Preview: Wisconsin – key storylines, injury report, how to watch

Indiana football returns home this Saturday looking for their first win in the Big Ten with a date against Wisconsin. Wisconsin is 5-3 on the season, 3-2 in the conference.

Indiana is coming off a narrow 31-24 loss to No. 9 Penn State last week while Wisconsin fell to No. 3 Ohio State last weekend. Both programs are looking for a major win this weekend.

The Hoosiers and Badgers will face off at noon on Big Ten Network, with the network’s flagship pregame show, BTN Tailgate, on campus for the matchup.

Below is the full game preview of everything you need to know about Saturday’s matchup.

Key Storylines

Why doesn’t Indiana get Jaylin Lucas more involved in the offense? 

Honestly, this has been one of the top questions of the season. All offseason, it was beat to the death by the Indiana football coaching staff that they had to use to Jaylin Lucas more on the offensive end. That has not been seen hardly at all as it looks as though the staff would rather use him as a decoy rather than a legit option.

The lack of usage of Jaylin Lucas was addressed earlier this week. 

“Jaylin is a high priority for us to get him touches and he’s also a high priority for the defense to make sure we don’t get him touches. So, there’s a little bit of a cat and mouse game going on there,” Rod Carey said on Monday. “We’re trying to be creative to get him touches but at the same time the defense is trying to take him way and there’s something else there. It’s going to remain a high priority for us and that’s not going to change. He’s dynamic. Certainly hasn’t been that the last few weeks because his touches are down so it’s my job to get his touches up. It’s also — you gotta move the offense and win the game and score points. There’s a lot of things that go into that, but that’s a still priority.”

Whether you believe the idea that Lucas is a “high priority” for Indiana or not, the fact is the Hoosiers have yet to really even attempt to be creative and find ways to use him.

Jaylin Lucas is the best offensive threat that Indiana has. If the Hoosiers want to win out, they have got to use the dynamic RB.

Fight like you did at Penn State, you may have a chance for an upset victory 

Indiana football did something last weekend at Penn State that absolutely nobody expected them to do…..fight. That fight that they had led them to compete until about the final three minutes of the game. They still lost, but the important thing out of this was that they competed and that is something we have not seen from Indiana all too often.

“We played good enough to win the game just didn’t finish,” Tom Allen said postgame. “… It makes it even harder and hurt more.”

The amount of fight was not the question for Indiana in the Penn State rather the coaching down the stretch is what most thought, depending on who you ask, sealed the fate of Indiana in that game.

This weekend vs Wisconsin, if Indiana can sustain and show that fight they had against Penn State, the Hoosiers might have an actual chance to get the upset win here. Wisconsin is still a very good team, but not a team that is at the caliber of Penn State.

The keys for a potential win?: Sustain the fight. Limit the penalties. Make good coaching decisions.

Next loss, you are missing a bowl game for a 3rd straight season

No more room for failure. Period.

Indiana is now at the point in the season where the next game they lose, they will miss a Bowl game for the 3rd straight season. After failed opportunity after failed opportunity, we are at the ‘worst case scenario’ that many fans had hoped that Indiana football would not be at.

If there is a silver lining for this Indiana team, the last four games of the season is arguably the weakest stretch of the schedule. All four games of Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State, and Purdue are winnable games for the Hoosiers.

Moving forward, Indiana is going to have to play nearly perfect in order to turn this season around. It starts with Wisconsin this weekend.

Quick Hitters: Early breakdown and initial thoughts on Wisconsin

Matchup History

The last meeting between the two programs came during the 2020 season at Camp Randall Stadium, a 14-6 victory for Indiana to snap Wisconsin’s winning streak in the series.

This marks just the third meeting between the two programs since the Big Ten East/West Divisions were formed in 2014 Wisconsin won a 2017 meeting in Bloomington on November 4, before Indiana won the 2020 contest in Madison, Wisconsin.

Overall, Wisconsin leads the all-time series 41-19-2, with the first meeting between the two programs in 1907.

Related: Indiana Football vs Wisconsin: Key players, notes and opening spread

Injury Updates

Indiana

DB Jamier Johnson: Missed last three weeks with an undisclosed injury. Status is TBD

DB Noah Pierre: Left the Rutgers game with a lower leg injury. Per Tom Allen, he is expected to miss an extended period of time.

Wisconsin 

QB Tanner Mordecai: Broke his throwing had in Iowa game a few weeks ago. He underwent surgery and remains out.

RB Braelon Allen: Allen was seen in a walking boot after last week’s game. It does not look promising that he will play.

Read: Indiana Football Week 10 Stock Report: Who’s trending up? Who’s trending down?

Quick Hitters

Who?: Indiana (2-6, 0-5 Big Ten) vs Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten)

When?: Saturday, Nov. 4 | Noon ET

Where?: Memorial Stadium (Bloomington, Ind.)

TV: BTN

Radio: Indiana Hoosiers Sports Network

Spread: Wisconsin is a 9.5-point favorite via DraftKings SportsBook

SEE ALSO: Indiana Football Opponent Q&A: Getting to know Wisconsin

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