| 53. Indiana Hoosiers |
| #11 in Big Ten |
It’s been two 5-7 seasons for Tom Allen, who might find himself on the way out if he’s bowl-less after three seasons. The Hoosiers have finished with 5 or 6 wins in 5 of the past 6 seasons, so they are always straddling that bowl eligibility line. They are scheduling to it, going 15-2 in non-conference play over the past five seasons, but just 11-32 in Big Ten games. They definitely drew the tougher assignment when the Big Ten split up Indiana and Purdue in the divisional realignment, but seeing their in state rival shoot past them, while retaining a coveted coach, has to irk IU boosters. The season got off to a rocky start when tailback Morgan Ellison, who ran for over 700 yards in 2017 as a true freshman, was suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation, and eventually dismissed for sexual assault. Another true freshman, Stevie Scott, stepped up in his absence, and ran for over 1,100 yards. He seemed to hit an early wall after going for 388 yards, but on a whopping 69 carries in his first three college games. But after being held in check by Michigan State, Rutgers, Ohio State and Iowa, Scott exploded to the finish, with 138 yards against Iowa, 96 against Minnesota, 103 against Maryland, 139 against Michigan and 104 against Purdue. It’s scary to think about what he might do after his first full offseason in a college weight program, because that is a 6’2”, 235 pound frame that still has a lot of work to do. Indiana has sort of quietly been a running back factory as of late, and Scott looks next in line. The concern has to be replicating it behind an offensive line that loses three starters, including a pair of all-Big Ten players. Kevin Wilson may be three years gone, but his philosophy has not, which is why you still see Indiana throwing the ball more often than any Big Ten team, 40.1 times per game, despite having a guy like Scott in the backfield. That’s why even though Peyton Ramsey, as only a sophomore, was third in the Big Ten in passing yardage, and still at least an average sixth in pass efficiency, you see Tom Allen looking to upgrade the position with Utah transfer Jack Tuttle. Tuttle was a former top 10 quarterback prospect, who lost out on the Utah job as a true freshman a year ago, decided to try his luck in Bloomington instead, where he’ll be a redshirt freshman in 2019, if the NCAA grants him a waiver. He has no real reason to be granted one, he’s from California, but his parents are Indiana natives, with his dad playing for the Hoosiers, but the NCAA seems to be handing these waivers out with no rhyme or reason anymore. The shift from the strength of the Hoosiers being the offense under previous regimes, to the defense, under Allen, who is a former defensive coordinator. But that fell apart last year, with Indiana giving up 6.0 ypp, second worst in the Big Ten, leading to a reshuffling of the staff. Mark Hagen is still listed as a co-Defensive coordinator, but linebackers coach Kane Wommack is also now listed as defensive coordinator, and it’s clear that it’s his show. He’s the son of former Ole Miss defensive coordinator Dave Wommack, who Allen and the younger Wommack coached under, in flipping the dismal Rebel defense into the 2012 Landsharks version. Kane was previously the youngest FBS coordinator when he served in that capacity at South Alabama in 2016 and 2017. The offense ticked up slightly, primarily due to Ramsey’s growth from a freshman to a sophomore, but Mike DeBord “retired” and the hiring of Fresno State offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer has generated significant buzz, since Indiana went outside their expected budget to nab him. The new coordinators both look like great hires on paper right now, but is it too little too late to save Allen’s job? It would seem a bowl at minimum should be the standard this year. Once again, Indiana has scheduled to it with Ball State, Eastern Illinois and Connecticut comprising the non-conference schedule. 3-6 in the conference still seems like a tall task in the Big Ten East and a year where the East draws five road games. Feels like the Hoosiers will once again straddle that 5 or 6 win fence.
| KEY PLAYERS |
| RB | Stevie Scott, Sophomore |
| WR | Donavan Hale, Senior |
| K | Logan Justus, Senior |
| . |
| DT | Jerome Johnson, Junior |
| S | Marcelino Ball, Junior |
| S | Bryant Fitzgerald, Sophomore |
