Indiana Football: Time For a Change at Quarterback?
Connor Bazelak marched Indiana down the field with ease on the first drive.
He converted 3rd and 2 with quick slant to Emery Simmons, and Shaun Shivers burst through the Rutgers defense for a 24-yard gain on a screen pass. A well-timed hitch route to Cam Camper brought Indiana into the red zone, and Bazelak kept it himself on a read option to give the Hoosiers a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Completing his first 10 passes, Bazelak was off to his best start of the season. Perhaps Indiana was ready to finally put together a complete offensive game at Rutgers on Saturday.
Not even close. Indiana punted seven consecutive times, including four three-and-out possessions and sequences where gaining 10 yards appeared impossible. After a perfect start, Bazelak completed just 13 of his next 31 pass attempts, and his pick-six represented the final dagger in a 24-17 loss to Rutgers, Indiana's fifth in a row.
This loss raised a valid question for Indiana with an upcoming bye week before matchups against No. 13 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue to end the year.
Is it time for a change at quarterback?
"Well, whatever we got to do to try to find a way to be more productive on offense," Indiana coach Tom Allen answered. "We got to look at every possible option. There's no question. Whatever it is, we changed some things on the offensive line today, just trying to continue to change that. We changed our schedule up, we changed a lot of things this past week trying to get a different outcome and different way of doing things. Yeah, we've got to look at every possibility to make this team in position to win games."
ndiana Hoosiers quarterback Connor Bazelak (9) passes against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium.
Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
After Saturday's performance, it's easy to point to the negatives of Indiana's offense with Bazelak under center. His 54.8 completion percentage ranks 13th in the Big Ten, and he leads the conference with nine interceptions. At times he's looked unstoppable, leading a few clutch touchdown drives against Illinois and Western Kentucky. But he's been woefully inconsistent each week, depicted perfectly by his performance against Rutgers.
If Indiana wants to make change to Jack Tuttle or Dexter Williams for the sake of change, go ahead. But it won't change much, if anything, moving forward. It might even make things worse.
Tuttle has been at Indiana for four seasons, and he's never won the starting job. He knows he won't be Indiana's starter in 2023, so he announced intentions to transfer after the season. Tuttle's most memorable performance as a Hoosier came in a 14-6 win at No. 16 Wisconsin on Dec. 5, 2020 when he completed 13-of-22 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
Tuttle doesn't bring anything Indiana is missing with Bazelak, either. He's a career 55.9 percent passer and was never a great deep-ball thrower. Similar to Bazelak, Tuttle lacks mobility to evade pass rushers behind Indiana's shaky offensive line. Indiana experienced major personnel turnover at wide receiver, and Tuttle has never thrown to them in a game situation.
The other option some called for is redshirt sophomore Dexter Williams, the current third-string quarterback. Williams redshirted during the 2020 season, and tore his ACL in the spring of 2021. He arrived at Indiana as a three-star recruit and the No. 34 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2019, and Indiana coaches have recognized his upside.
"He's gonna be a really good football player," Indiana offensive coordinator Walt Bell said last week. "Just from a reps standpoint in practice, especially at this point in the year as reps get smaller, not only for him but for everybody, you've gotta make the most of those concentrated periods. He prepares every day, he studies every day, and he's gonna be a guy that has a chance to be a really good player when called upon."
Williams appears to have the mobility that would give Indiana's offense a different wrinkle compared to Bazelak or Tuttle. But throwing him into the fire against Penn State and Ohio State is a daunting way to start a college career for a young quarterback.
Throughout Indiana's five-game losing streak, it's clear that problems run deeper than the quarterback position. The defense is allowing over 400 yards and 30 points per game, and only Temple, Akron and Boston College, among FBS teams, run for fewer yards per game than Indiana. Indiana made changes with Josh Sales and Khalil Benson starting on the offensive line, but the productivity of that unit is still a concern.
At this point in the season, reaching bowl eligibility appears impossible following missed opportunities against Maryland and Rutgers. Indiana would have to win three of its next four games, and it would take more than a change at quarterback to pull off those kinds of upset.
Allen often preaches accountability, and starting someone else at quarterback would hold Bazelak accountable for his recent play. It won't, however, change the trajectory of the 2022 Indiana football season.
Related stories on Indiana football:
- INDIANA LOSES TO RUTGERS, 24-17: After two quick touchdowns, Indiana punted seven times, and a Connor Bazelak pick-six doomed the Hoosiers in their fifth-straight loss. CLICK HERE
- TOM ALLEN REACTS TO LOSS: Indiana head coach Tom Allen addressed the media following the Hoosiers' 24-17 loss to Rutgers. Read his full transcript, or just watch the attached video of the full press conference. CLICK HERE
- MY TWO CENTS: Indiana football is a mess, and after a fifth-straight loss on Saturday at Rutgers, fans are howling for change. They want everyone fired, but that's just not reality in big-time college football. Money talks first, and cleaning house just can't happen right now. CLICK HERE
