This Indiana football season has been another disappointment but, I’m not sure if anyone thought it would get to the point we’re at heading into week nine.
After a 31-14 loss to Rutgers, Indiana fell to 2-5 on the season and 2-20 in its last 22 Big Ten games. Indiana is currently 0-4 this year in league play.
Not only is Indiana one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, if not the worst, it is also rated as one of the worst power five programs in the nation.
According to ESPN’s SP+ ratings following week eight, Indiana football is rated No. 99 overall — the second worst P5 school. The lone major conference program below Indiana? A 2-5 Stanford program that lost to Sacramento State — rated 132nd.
Bill Donnelly, ESPN staff writer, created the ESPN SP+ metrics for tempo and opponent-adjusted measures for team efficiency.
Needless to say, it’s a disappointing metric for Indiana.
The Hoosiers, who came into this season 6-18 in the previous two seasons combined, have struggled in nearly every facet of the program. After a season-opening loss to Ohio State that actually brought some positive light to the program based on the way they fought and held in check some major playmakers for the Buckeyes, it’s been downhill ever since.
Indiana has been outscored in four Big Ten games, 150-41. The Hoosiers scored just three points against Ohio State, seven against Michigan, 14 against Rutgers and 17 against Maryland — with 14 coming after the score was already 37-3 in the fourth quarter.
“Yeah, there’s no question. I don’t think I feel it, I think it’s a reality that you get to this stage of the year and you’ve got several losses now in a row,” Tom Allen said postgame when asked about the season slipping away. “That’s a tough reality. That’s where you don’t hide from it. You’ve got to address it head on, and you’ve got to really work hard together to help your guys.”
The most disappointing performance was, however, in a win. It was a four-overtime game against Akron, a team that is rated 176th in the SP+ ratings.
Indiana travels to top-10 Penn State this weekend and then finish off the season with three of the final five games on the road.
“Not a good situation to be in. Not a good place to be, without question,” Allen said. “But it falls on me. I’m the one in charge. I’m the one responsible. This is on me.”
“We’re all locked arms, and we’re all in this together. It’s what we are. It’s what we do. You just continue to teach how to handle challenging times and how to handle a chance to put the stake in the ground and change momentum, which is what we need to do.”
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