Indiana Football Notebook: Final thoughts, takeaways from week four

The Indiana football program came away with a win on Saturday night against Akron … but it wasn’t pretty at all.

After four overtimes, Indiana was able to pull out the win, 29-27. The Hoosiers move to 2-2 on the season and now enter Big Ten play the remainder of the year.

There were some key takeaways from Saturday’s performance, so let’s dive in.

Offensive production continues to be very poor

There’s no other way around it, the offense continues to be bad and it’s now becoming all too consistent from week-to-week what to expect. Walt Bell entered year two with high expectations after talking all offseason about the playmaking ability some of the wideouts and running backs had.

We’ve yet to see a game plan that highlights those playmakers in smart ways. Saturday was no different.

Akron out gained Indiana 473 to just 282. The Zips had 24 first downs compared to 14 for IU. And, Akron won the time of possession battle 34:24 to 25:36.

“Not good enough. Not even close. Below the standard. Below what’s acceptable, for sure,” Indiana football head coach Tom Allen said about the offensive performance. “Need to go back and watch the film to be able to evaluate the execution piece. And, obviously, can see the things I mentioned as far as the drops and not doing a good job. And, obviously, just evaluate what we’re calling.

“So just looking at it live, like you all saw, you know, very frustrating, not good enough. That’s all I’m going to say.”

The inability to put together long drives, or even explosive drives, was a concern all night. Indiana was 3-of-14 on third downs, averaging 7.7 yards per third down, and had just four drives longer than four plays all night. They had eight drives that resulted in a three-and-out. And, four of the five second-half possessions before overtime consisted of the following: three plays for three yards, three plays for two yards, three plays for six yards and three plays for zero yards.

There’s no may ifs and or buts, Indiana football needs to get the offense fixed immediately.

Lack of effort a true concern

Coming into this week, Tom Allen emphasized the importance of effort and execution. Neither played out the way it should’ve on Saturday night.

Indiana paid Akron $1.2 million for the game on Saturday and it went four overtimes before deciding the outcome. That should never happen. Whether it was dropped passes, penalties, failed fourth-down conversations or play-calling, Indiana took some major steps back.

“I was looking for opportunities and did not like at all how we practiced. We actually restarted some things on Thursday. And from what you’re just saying right there, I just sense the lack of understanding who we were playing and their ability to beat you and so — which is mind blowing because we don’t have any right to think that at this point,” Allen said. “So — but did sense it for sure. Didn’t like what I was seeing. But at the same time didn’t effectively get their attention for sure, especially not on certain areas of the game.”

This team is not talented enough to look past any opponent or have any lack of execution and expect to come away with wins. The fact that Tom Allen prioritized the importance of effort and execution and saw very little of both from players and his staff … that’s a major concern moving forward.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it, Saturday was a ridiculous performance effort wise and Indiana needs to make some changes in order to bounce back next week.

“We’ve got to execute better in practice. We play a Big Ten team next week, and what we did out there today is not going to cut it,” Tayven Jackson said. “So we’ve got to be better on Sunday and Monday and all of the rest of the week.”

Offensive line play was the worst it had been this year

Indiana’s offensive line had been playing at a much better level this season but Saturday night was a step in the wrong direction for that group. Akron had three sacks, three quarterback hurries and five tackles for loss.

“Up front didn’t block well at all. Probably our worst performance of the season on the offensive line as far as running the football,” Allen said. ” … we didn’t do a good job protecting him (Tayven Jackson). There was guys in his face all night long. Our running backs did not do a good job blocking at all as well as our offensive line. So both of those groups really added to some of those issues.”

Indiana had 34 carries for 92 yards —  2.7 yard per carry average. That is the third time this season it has had less than a 3.0 yard per carry average in a game.

mid there is no running attack, you’re obviously going to struggle to effectively move the ball though the air. But, the offensive line had numerous occasions allowing a pass rusher in the backfield that pushed Jackson out of the pocket and into a less-than-effective throw.

Other Quick Hits:

• Jaylin Lucas had 10 receptions for 98 yards in week three, showcasing his versatility in the passing game. Week four? 0 targets.
• The Indiana defense struggled containing the running ability of quarterback DJ Irons. He finished with 141 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
• Indiana ran 24 less plays on offense than Akron.
• It was definitely a game of growing pains for Tayven Jackson. He was 11-of-26 passing for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception. High throws, tunnels vision at times and young mistakes reared their head.
• Indiana’s last three wins against FBS opponents have resulted in an opposing kicker missing a game-winning field goal (Western Kentucky, Michigan State, Akron).

Game Highlights:

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