This Saturday, No. 5 Indiana (1-0) resumes its non-conference slate with a home matchup against Howard (1-1). Howard, an FCS team, likely doesn't pose much of a threat to the Hoosiers after they cruised past North Texas 52-16 last week.
Even if Indiana is not in much danger of defeat in its second game of the season, there is still plenty for the Hoosiers to improve on and plenty of boxes for them to check against the Bison.
Some of those boxes exist within a handful of positional matchups that stand out in significance.
Indiana’s defensive backs vs. Howard’s unimpressive passing attack
In the middle of the game against North Texas, Indiana lost two key cornerbacks to injury. Jamari Sharpe and A.J. Harris exited the game and didn’t return, amplifying Mean Green quarterback Tayven Jackson’s ability to attack the flats on underneath routes.
“They will be back, those are not long-term deals,” Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti said about the cornerback injuries after the game.
On Monday, Cignetti said that Sharpe and Harris were “day-to-day.”
Whether Sharpe and Harris play or not, the cornerback room is worthy of significant attention on Saturday. If Sharpe and Harris return, it’s a prime opportunity to ease back into action against a weak passing offense. If they don’t, the Hoosiers must test their depth at that position.
In Howard’s most recent matchup, a 28-21 loss at home to Richmond, quarterback Ja’Shawn Scroggins completed 9-of-28 pass attempts for 109 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Scroggins doesn’t seem to sport much of a deep threat, and when he does launch the ball downfield, there’s a high likelihood of the pass falling short of its target.
Scroggins’ one touchdown was a pass from 30 yards out and into double coverage. An impressive strike, no doubt, but not one immune to risk.
With Indiana facing an offense that is unlikely to effectively stretch the field in the vertical direction and has an inconsistently accurate quarterback, any and all Hoosier cornerbacks in action are in an optimal place to succeed.
If Sharpe and Harris are out and Indiana’s depth pieces in the secondary struggle, it becomes fair to question the strength of the cornerback room after two straight unconvincing outings. If Howard’s passing game thrives in the flats just like the Mean Green did despite Sharpe and Harris playing, larger questions may float to the surface.
Either way, the Howard game is as good of an opportunity as any to ease anxious observers and resolve the questions raised about the defense after week one. That reassurance and resolution is possible no matter who is in action at cornerback.
A hungry Indiana defensive front vs. a Howard offensive line of inferior talent
Indiana’s defensive front, especially with Stephen Daley on the field, is outrageously scary.
Interestingly, the Hoosiers recorded just one sack against North Texas, even though the offensive line was a major area of concern for the Mean Green. Unthinkably hot temperatures played a role, surely, and Jackson did a great job getting the ball out under pressure, but Indiana’s wasn’t quite as enforcing in the backfield as expected.
On the ground, the Hoosiers struggled with missed tackles, contributing to the 152 rushing yards North Texas picked up as Jackson efficiently executed the RPO offense.
“Nobody on the defense felt like we met the standard,” Indiana linebacker Rolijah Hardy said on Tuesday, “and we definitely gave up too many plays. It wasn’t the defense’s standard, we’ve got to do better.”
It’s a defensive front that’s definitely hungry, and one poised to dominate this Saturday.
Considering Howard’s inconsistency through the air, it’s likely that the Bison will lean on their run game that features a dual-threat quarterback in Scroggins. Indiana’s run defense must execute better than it did against North Texas as a result.
Josh Hoover and his excellent receivers vs. an FCS defense
Indiana's non-conference schedule is rather soft. Howard, undoubtedly, is the opponent on Indiana’s schedule that’s likely to apply the least resistance to the Hoosiers.
Josh Hoover, Indiana’s transfer quarterback, thrived against North Texas. Hoover completed 13-of-16 pass attempts for 231 yards and four touchdowns. A total of seven different Hoosiers caught passes from Hoover, and three different receivers hauled in touchdowns.
Transfer receiver Nick Marsh caught a touchdown on Hoover’s first pass as a Hoosier, and Charlie Becker caught two touchdowns from his new signal-caller.
In short, Indiana’s passing game was awesome, and it’s clear that the transfers relevant to that aspect of the offense are working well with one another. Now, in week two, the Hoosiers have a chance to flex those muscles yet again.
More passing yards, more touchdowns, more style points.
Perhaps what’s most important about this weekend in this contest is Hoover navigating another game without turning the ball over. The most noteworthy statistic from last week’s matchup was Hoover’s zero turnovers, and taking care of the football again in week two is equally important.
After all, this test against Howard is less about Indiana securing success and more about the Hoosiers avoiding failure. A 10-possession victory over Howard wouldn’t clarify much about Indiana’s abilities, but an inexplicable interception or other similar mistake could raise more eyebrows in this game than in most others.
Playing a clean game, perhaps whilst stacking touchdowns and style points, is a very possible outcome of this game for Hoover and his receivers.
Incremental improvement continues
Just like last year, Indiana isn’t at its absolute best at the start of the season.
Just about every team experiences the same steady improvement, but unlike some other contenders, Indiana enjoys the luxury of a soft schedule to start the season.
Howard, like North Texas, presents another opportunity for the Hoosiers to verify their strengths and examine their weaknesses. Then, when league play begins and the pressure ramps up, Indiana may be as ready for the moment as it was last season.
It manifests itself against the elites of the Big Ten and beyond, but brilliance begins to bubble under the surface against non-conference opponents such as North Texas and Howard.
