LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- With the Indiana University football program, the preseason remains a 25-year reprise of one question:
Is this the season the Hoosiers finally beat Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State or Ohio State?
There are believers. In Las Vegas, one establishment placed the over/win total for Tom Allen’s third team at 5 1/2 for the reconfigured nine-game schedule. Can’t win six without beating one of those four.
ESPN’s Football Power Index projected IU’s win probability against Michigan at 50% and then increased that to 80% against Michigan State.
Here is one area where Indiana must upgrade against those Big Ten East teams:
Closing the super-sized gap in the running game.
“In order to run the ball, you have to run the ball,” IU running backs coach Mike Hart said. “If you look at it last year, there were some games when we only had 18 or 20 carries. We threw the ball. I think we led the Big Ten in passing yards last year.
“We have to commit ourselves as a coaching staff to running the ball. As long as we do that, we have the tools. We have the O-line to do it. We have the talent in the backfield to do it. I’m just looking forward to when we game plan, getting these guys the ball.”
Hart nearly won a Heisman Trophy running the football for Michigan. He’s become one of Allen’s most valuable assistants, the associate head coach.
Hart has also assembled the best collection of runners in Bloomington since Anthony Thompson and Vaughn Dunbar were in town three decades ago. As good as IU quarterback Michael Penix Jr. can be, the Hoosiers need a running game that can keep Penix out of second-and-long or third-and-hopeless situations.
The Nittany Lions, Wolverines, Spartans and Buckeyes gashed Indiana for 727 rushing yards in 2019. Indiana ran for 300 yards against them. The Fab Four averaged 4.8 yards per carry against IU. The Hoosiers averaged 2.4 against them.
I don’t need to call Urban Meyer or Jim Harbaugh for an explanation of what went wrong.
“I think we’re going to run the ball more, for sure,” halfback Sampson James said. “I feel like we’re all very talented. I love the room coach Hart has brought in. I feel like we’re all very close.”
The vital signs are good. Stevie Scott, a junior, has recovered from a leg injury and looks like the guy delivered nine 100-yard performances in 23 games. Rugged runs have been Scott’s specialty. Long runs have not. He plans to change that.
“I’m trying to improve on more breakaway runs and create more big plays for the offense,” Scott said.
James, a sophomore, apologized for putting his name in the transfer portal for one day after the IU strength and conditioning coaches left to work for Nick Saban at Alabama. James delivered 118 yards and a touchdown against Purdue when he replaced Scott.
“This is where I want to be,” James said. “That decision (with the transfer portal) was definitely a mistake. I’m all in for the Hoosiers. I feel the most loved here.”
“It was a one-day, 24-hour decision,” Hart said. “Two years ago, you wouldn’t have even known the kid was thinking (about transferring). Now, you just click a button (on the transfer portal), and the whole world knows.
“To me, it wasn’t a situation. There was nothing bad about it. It was just the click of a button (on the internet).”
Looking for more confirmation of commitment from James ? He asked to swap No. 24 for No. 6 because of his respect for the best running back to wear No. 6 at Indiana: 49ers’ running back Tevin Coleman.
David Ellis, another sophomore, will split time at halfback and receiver because he’s the best pass catcher in the group. Tim Baldwin, a freshman, had scholarship offers from Michigan, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Northwestern.
Charlie Spegal, another freshman, turned down mid-major scholarship offers to compete as a preferred walk-on. Spegal ran for more than 10,000 yards while winning two state titles at New Palestine (Indiana) High School.
“As far as a group, it’s the most sound group that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Hart said. “They’re talented. They love ball. And I feel real comfortable with them out there.”
Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
