Know the Foe: A closer look at IndianaKnow the Foe: A closer look at Indiana
Football

Know the Foe: A closer look at Indiana

By Brian Rosenthal / Huskers.com

Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium has sold out every game since 1962 – a continuing NCAA record of 351 consecutive sellouts.

Indiana’s Memorial Stadium is hoping for a sellout Saturday, when the Hoosiers (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten Conference) host No. 10 Nebraska (5-0, 2-0) in a 2:30 p.m. game (ABC/ESPN2).

Tickets remain, but a big crowd is expected. Indiana has sold out three football games over the last decade – 2007 vs. Purdue, 2010 vs. Michigan and 2015 vs. Ohio State. The latter two came after the enclosure of the north end zone in 2009 expanded capacity to its current listing of 52,929.

Indiana fans have reason for excitement. The Hoosiers, who defeated then-No. 17 Michigan State in their last home game, haven’t defeated two ranked teams in the same season since 2003, and haven’t defeated two ranked teams at home since 1950. 

What’s more, Indiana hasn’t won consecutive home conference games since 2006 and is searching for its first winning season since 2007.

So, yes, much is at stake for the Hoosiers, who were competitive in a 38-17 loss in their last game at No. 2 Ohio State.

“I think they’re a team that’s playing with confidence,” Nebraska coach Mike Riley said. “They are productive offensively. They present a lot of problems, play hard defensively. They really feel their team and their program rising. You can see that in their play. They play hard, and offensively they have a good, well-rounded attack.

Here’s a closer look at the Hoosiers, who haven’t played Nebraska since 1978.

Indiana offense

Through five games, Indiana leads the Big Ten in passing offense (293 yards per game) and yards per completion (15.6). The latter stat is bolstered by some big plays in the play-action game, an area in which Riley said Indiana coaches have become very creative.

Of note, Riley said Indiana uses a seven-man protection in its play-action passes.

“With that play action, you can freeze linebackers and throw one-on-one against the secondary,” Riley said. “They do a nice job of individual routes to those wide receivers off that play-action, drawing people in, throwing isolated routes out there, or the same thing with the slot."

Quarterback Richard Lagow, a redshirted junior, “makes a ton of good throws,” Riley said. Lagow is completing 60 percent of his passes for 1,460 yards and 11 touchdowns. He set the Indiana single-game record with 496 passing yards in a loss to Wake Forest.

Mitchell Paige leads the Hoosiers with 22 receptions but Nick Westbrook has been the team’s big-play receiver with 437 yards on 20 receptions – an average of 21.9 yards per catch. He has a team-best four touchdowns.

While Indiana has developed a reputation as a pass-happy offense under head coach Kevin Wilson, the former Oklahoma offensive coordinator, the Hoosiers have proved they can run the football, too. Running back Devine Redding averages nearly 100 rushing yards and has more than three times as many attempts (105) as backups Mike Majette (29) and Devonte Williams (25).

You’ll hear a lot about 270-pound running back Tyler Natee, too, although he’s not listed on the depth chart. Should he carry the ball, he’ll obviously be a load. Natee has 21 attempts in three games with an average of 3 yards a carry.  

Up front, Wilson said All-American guard Dan Feeney (concussion) is making progress and could return this week after missing three games.

As explosive as Indiana can be, the offense has struggled converting third downs. The Hoosiers rank No. 86 nationally at 36 percent. And, as can be the case with spread offenses, Indiana has had trouble converting in the red zone. The Hoosiers are scoring only 67 percent of the time once inside the 20-yard line, a mark that ranks No. 123 nationally.

For Nebraska, keys will be to improve on tackling that, after a strong start through four games, hurt the Huskers against Illinois. As was the focus against Oregon, the Blackshirts will need to tackle solidly in space and limit big plays.

Indiana defense

Once a laughingstock in the Big Ten Conference, the Indiana defense is finally showing some resistance, a reason nobody can consider the Hoosiers an easy out.

Under first-year defensive coordinator Tom Allen, the Hoosiers haven’t allowed 40 points in any game this season, and that includes a road game against offensive juggernaut Ohio State (the Buckeyes scored 38).

We mention the 40-point threshold because five teams reached it against Indiana last season.

Indiana is tied for second in the Big Ten in defensive touchdowns, fifth in pass efficiency defense and fifth in first downs allowed. Of the Hoosiers’ nine takeaways, six are interceptions.

Nebraska offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said Indiana brings a lot of pressure and mixes in well-disguised coverages that could challenge senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr.

“I think that’s what they do well. They give you a lot of change-ups,” Langsdorf said. “They don’t line up and stand there. They move around, which makes it hard on the quarterback.”

For the third straight week, junior linebacker Tegray Scales led the team in tackles when he collected 10 against Ohio State. That came after Scales had career-highs of 13 tackles against both Michigan State and Wake Forest.

Langsdorf singled out defensive tackle Nate Hoff, a 6-foot-2, 305-pound junior, as a strong pass rusher “with a big-time motor and good moves.” Nebraska, meanwhile, will welcome back right guard Tanner Farmer, who hasn’t played since Sept. 24 against Northwestern, when he suffered an ankle injury.

Armstrong, who nursed an ankle injury during Nebraska’s bye week, is also healthy and shouldn’t be limited in the run game. That’s notable because Ohio State, despite throwing for only 93 yards against Indiana, gouged the Hoosiers with quarterback keepers and draw plays, a strength of Armstrong.

“Any time a quarterback can run it and throw it effectively, it creates a challenge for any defense,” Allen said. “Tommy Armstrong makes Nebraska go, and he has a tremendously strong arm. Last week’s prep of J.T. Barrett will help, but he creates some different challenges as well.”

The Hoosiers are young but talented on the back end. Freshman cornerback A'Shon Riggins earned his first career start against the Buckeyes and recorded his first career interception, and sophomore safety Johnathan Crawford is regarded as a budding star.

Indiana special teams

Griffin Oakes earned last season’s Big Ten Bakken-Andersen kicker of the year award, the first time an Indiana kicker has won that honor. He’s on the Lou Groza Award watch list after converting 75.4 percent of his field goals for his career, while going 91 of 95 on extra points.

Oakes, however, has been sub-par this season. He’s 6-of-10 on field goals, with misses from 26, 36 and 40 yards, and another from 50.

Wilson is pleased with his team’s improvement from last season in punting. Joseph Gedeon has pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 11 times this season, and he pinned Ohio State at the 3-yard line last week after landing punts at the 1-yard line against Florida International and the 3-yard line against Ball State.

Mitchell Paige averages 15 yards on punt returns this season and scored twice on returns last season. Redshirt freshman Devonte Williams has provided a spark to kickoff returns – he’s averaging 23.1 yards after Indiana, as a team, averaged 19.2 yards in 2015.

Reach Brian at brosenthal@huskers.com or follow him on Twitter @GBRosenthal.