Week 4 Recap: Akron
Recapping a whirlwind of a win against Akron and talking more offensive running schemes
If I told you a MAC team ranked 130th by ESPN SP+ was coming to Memorial Stadium and would commit 10 penalties, use the same player for punts and kicks, throw 3 interceptions, lose its starting QB for most of the third quarter, and throw zero touchdowns, while Indiana once had a first-and-goal while up 7-0 in the second quarter, one could assume Indiana convincingly handled business, right? Right?
This could be a very long season, folks. Below are the typical grades, snap counts, and stats in every Bite-Sized Bison recap, and I also discuss the Indiana running game beneath that.
Thanks for sticking around.
Notable Snap Counts
This was the first game of the season where all five starting offensive linemen played every snap.
Lanell Carr saw a season-high 67 snaps and seems to be emerging as the near-sole contributor at the Bull position. Myles Jackson and Anthony Jones combined for 37 snaps. This is just a trend I’ve noticed in the last couple of weeks, but it could change based on opponent.
Trey Walker played 13 snaps before his 48 snaps this weekend, with James Bomba out. Chris Turner posted a season-high 31 snaps, with Josh Henderson out.
Notable statistics
In Indiana’s four wins between 2022 and 2023, three opponents (Akron, Michigan State, and Western Kentucky) missed game-winning field goals.
Indiana was outgained, 474-282.
Jaylin Lucas was not targeted in the passing game after being used in 30% of passing plays last week. Lucas also owns the highest receiving grade of all Big Ten pass-catchers.
Tayven Jackson’s 8.4 QBR was the worst in the Big Ten this week.
Jackson was 3-for-12 with a 41.2 PFF Offensive Grade when under pressure.
Andre Carter (4) and Aaron Casey (3) led the team in missed tackles.
Akron threw in Phillip Dunnam’s direction 9 times. Only 4 of the passes were completed for a total of 60 yards — good for a safety.
Indiana averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on 22 rushes outside the tackles. They ran the ball between the tackles 7 times for 4.4 yards per carry.
Kahlil Benson allowed 5 QB pressures against Akron, bringing his total to 14 this season (after 6 last week). He is tied for the lead in the Big Ten and has allowed 6 more than any other OL at Indiana. He and Matt Bedford are now two of the six lowest-graded pass-blocking OLs in the conference.
Kobee Minor and Jamari Sharpe have combined to allow just 11 catches on 24 targets.
Cam Camper currently owns the 4th-best receiving grade in the conference.
Indiana posted a -0.32 EPA/rushing play, meaning in theory, IU lost 0.32 points every time it ran the ball.
44% of Akron’s offensive plays resulted in positive estimated points added.
Indiana’s Run Game is Lost
We’re four games into the season, and on rushing plays, Indiana’s EPA/play is -0.07, meaning every time Indiana has run the ball in 2023, it’s theoretically lost 0.07 points. For reference, Indiana’s final EPA per rushing play in 2022 was 0.134. That doesn’t seem like much until you consider every rush Indiana has called this season. In total, Indiana has lost 8.9 points due to its rushing ineffectiveness. That ranks 131st nationally and worst in the Big Ten.
Michigan State is next-worst in the conference, and it’s lost 4.82 total points on its rushing plays so far this season. Iowa — a famously inept offensive power — has lost only 0.84 points. All other Big Ten teams have positive rushing EPAs.
This is the run game Indiana turned to on 46% of its plays against Akron — a team that ranked 79th in success rate against the pass — on Saturday.
This is a bit disappointing because the optimism surrounding improvements Bob Bostad could bring the offensive line mixed with a full offseason to plan for a stable of RBs including Jaylin Lucas, Josh Henderson, and Chris Turner led many to believe Indiana could improve upon the previous four seasons (2019-22) outside of the top-100 in rushing offense. IU currently sits at 114th.
Indiana gave a glimpse into a triple option rushing attack against Ohio State — one that OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles laughed at during a press conference the next week. They’ve all but abandoned that now with Tayven Jackson at QB. They pounded the ball between the tackles 19 times against Indiana State, but in the two games following, they’ve ran the ball between the tackles 13 total times. Now, it appears Indiana’s rushing identity is rooted in getting to the boundaries, particularly with options, as they ran outside the tackles 39 times for 112 yards (2.9 yards per carry) in the last two weeks. Obviously, this hasn’t been effective either.
RELATED: What have we learned about the IU offensive line after 3 weeks?
I wrote last week about the direction Indiana has ran the ball so far this season, noting that it might find more success going between the tackles — averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on 22 rushes outside the tackles, 4.4 yards on 7 carries between the tackles vs. Akron — but its lowly 2.9 line yards per rush leaves that idea in question too. Though, going North-and-South is always a better idea when there is no explosion to be had on the outside.
Chris Turner showed good burst when he spotted an injured Josh Henderson against Akron, finishing with 67 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries (5.2 yards per carry). He also now owns the longest rush outside of the tackles for Indiana, at just 17 yards, and his EPA per rushing play (0.2) is the best among the RBs.
Henderson leads all IU backs with the 24th-best rushing grade in the Big Ten, a significant drop from 15th in 2022. Lucas ranks 36th in the conference.
We all know there is significant talent in the backfield, particularly in Lucas, but when the offensive line ranks 104th nationally in run-blocking and can’t be trusted to get a push on multiple goal-to-go plays, that talent struggles to shine through. Then this reflects on other areas, such as an 18% success rate in the redzone against a team that allows 3.9 points per opportunity (passing the Akron 40-yard line).
It just seems like Indiana’s rushing attack is at a loss and that we’re nearing a time — much like last season — when Indiana became one of the highest-volume passing attacks in the nation because of constant struggles on the ground.
The good news for Indiana is that the remaining opponents on its schedule average a national ranking of 71st in defensive success against the rush, Maryland coming in at 111th in Week 5. The bad news is that Indiana needs to find ways to take advantage of those weaker run defenses, though it doesn’t seem to have a reliable way of doing so yet.
I’m beyond flummoxed.