IU football QB Tayven Jackson records top-5 PFF grade for week two

While stats don’t always tell the entire story, Tayven Jackson certainly passed the eye test in Friday night’s 41-7 win over Indiana State. And, the stats eventually backed up what fans saw.

Jackson finished 18-of-21 for 236 yards and a rushing touchdown, leading the Indiana offense to scoring drives of 73, 81, 71, 93 and 45 yards.

Jackson’s 85,7 completion percentage finished third on the Indiana single-game passing charts. He is just the second Indiana quarterback to finish with a completion percentage above 80 on at least 20 pass attempts. The other IU player to do so was Payton Ramsey.

Because of his performance, Jackson was graded as a top-5 quarterback for Pro Football Focus’ week two grades among power five programs. He finished with a 91.6 overall grade, behind Michigan’s JJ McCarthy (92.1), TCU’s Chandler Morris (92.6), Spencer Rattler (93.1) of South Carolina and KJ Jefferson (93.6) of Arkansas.

Following his performance, Jackson was named the official starting quarterback for the Indiana football program.

Through two games, Jackson is 19-of-26 for 260 yards and has one rushing touchdown.

“I think he (Jackson) plays better than he practice in terms of pure executional things,” Indiana football head coach Tom Allen said on Monday. “Some guys are like that when the lights are on, the pressure is on … I think Tayven to me, to be able to have the game day poise and execution is critical. That was really the final piece for me since they had not had that experience in the past … that’s where Tavyen was able to separate himself there.”

Indiana football finished with 558 yards of total offense on Friday night, the most since its performance against Western Kentucky in 2021.

Tayven Jackson will get his second career start with Indiana on Saturday against Louisville in Lucas Oil Stadium. Kick is set for 12:00 pm ET on Big Ten Network.

“Tayven knowns he has to perform and Brendan knowns he needs to be ready.”

SEE ALSO: Tayven Jackson details reaction to being named starting QB at Indiana: ‘It was a dream come true’

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated on Twitter @Indiana_FRN, Facebook and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. You can also listen to the Talking’ Bout the Hoosiers podcast on Spotify.