First Look: Get To Know The Indiana Hoosiers Before Ohio State Comes To Town

The Hoosiers were a hot pick preseason to challenge for the Big Ten title, but they have had a pretty disappointing season.

Author:
Caleb Spinner
Oct 19, 2021 11:57 AM EDT

The Indiana Hoosiers (2-4) have had a rough go of things so far during the 2021 football season.

The Hoosiers are second-to-last in the Big Ten’s East Division, just ahead of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

IU’s offense is ranked 10th in the Big Ten, while the Hoosier defense sits dead last in the conference.

Indiana is 0-3 against conference opponents and 0-4 against ranked opponents this season. But to their credit, the Hoosiers have played an awfully difficult schedule so far this year.

IU opened their year with a Big Ten blowout loss on the road against then-No. 18 Iowa. The Hawkeyes held the Hoosiers to a mere six points in what ended up being a 34-6 game.

Iowa’s offensive advantage was seen mostly on the ground, where the Hawkeyes out ran the Hoosiers 158 yards to 77.

Indiana punted on eight of their 14 drives, and had picks that ended three more possessions.

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was one of Indiana’s pros coming into this season, however he has fallen short of expectations to this point.

Penix Jr. has only four picks this season with seven interceptions and has thrown for 939 yards, an average of less than six yards per completion.

Compare that to his numbers to last season through six games: 14 touchdowns and four interceptions with 1,645 passing yards (averaging 13.2 yards per completion).

Penix Jr.’s status is week-to-week however, due to a shoulder injury he sustained during Indiana’s loss to Penn State three weeks ago.

The redshirt junior exited in the third quarter of the game against No. 4 Penn State, and did not play last weekend against No. 10 Michigan State. It’s possible Penix Jr. will remain on the bench this week against Ohio State.

Fellow redshirt junior Jack Tuttle has taken over quarterbacking duties for Penix Jr. since his injury.

Another notable absence for the Hoosiers is running back David Ellis. Ellis was responsible for one of the two touchdowns scored during Indiana’s fourth-quarter comeback effort against Ohio State last year.

Ellis elected to undergo season-ending surgery on his ankle shortly after the Hoosiers’ 33-31 win over Western Kentucky.

The Hoosiers will snap a 25-game losing streak against the Buckeyes and secure their first ranked win this season.

However, Indiana will have to muster everything they have and more in order to do so.

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