Northwestern football players and coaches were very careful not to say that Indiana was the weakest team in the conference this year, but the numbers say it all.
The Hoosiers are last in the Big Ten in scoring defense and scoring offense, and their only victory this season came against the Indiana State Sycamores.
After losses to undefeated conference foes the past two weeks, the Wildcats (2-4, 0-2 Big Ten) finally will be the more experienced squad when they travel to Bloomington, Ind., to play the Hoosiers (1-5, 0-2) at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
“They remind me of us,” NU head coach Randy Walker said. “They can be very impressive at times, and consistency is probably what they are looking for.”
The Hoosiers’ up-and-down play could be a function of their lack of experience and scholarship players. This season Indiana has only 61 athletes on scholarship while most Division I-A teams have almost all of their 85 scholarship slots filled.
The Hoosiers are also the youngest team in the Big Ten with 11 underclassmen and only four seniors in the starting lineup. The team is especially green on the offensive line, where it starts two freshmen, two sophomores and one junior.
“We haven’t put a lot of emphasis on their personnel,” Walker said. “What we look at is the scheme.
“It doesn’t matter who’s doing it, you’ve got to execute against a scheme.”
The Hoosiers don’t have any real superstars and their most recognizable player, junior quarterback Matt LoVecchio, is best known for his play at Notre Dame, not at Indiana.
And even with the Fighting Irish-transfer running the Hoosiers’ West Coast offense, the Hoosiers have not yet had a receiver with a 100-yard game.
On the ground,Indiana has had more success, using a trio of backs to rack up 132 yards per game rushing.
“I’m excited about the improvement in our running game because it was a goal coming into the season,” said Indiana head coach Gerry DiNardo, who is in his second year with the Hoosiers. “But I’m disappointed with our passing game.”
DiNardo said he was pleased that LoVecchio has thrown only four interceptions so far this year. Last season his quarterbacks were picked 21 times.
While the Hoosiers have protected the ball on offense, the defense, which has allowed 411 yards a game, has already forced 12 turnovers this season.
“They just do a great job trying to knock the ball out,” Walker said. “They try to strip balls and they do pretty good with it. It’s obvious they coach it.”
Walker spoke highly about Indiana despite its unimpressive record, and he said NU will need to play a good game to get its first Big Ten victory of the season.
“At times they look as good as any team in the conference,” Walker said. “Obviously we’re going to have our work cut out for us this week.”
