Indiana might use 3 quarterbacks again
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana coach Kevin Wilson says he expects to play three quarterbacks again when the Hoosiers play Navy on Saturday.
Indiana opened with a 73-35 victory against Indiana State on Thursday. Tre Roberson started and threw two touchdown passes. Nate Sudfeld relieved and passed for 219 yards and four scores. Cameron Coffman also played in the opener.
“We’ll probably see them all,” Wilson said. “We’ll see how they practice.”
The Hoosiers rolled up 632 yards against Indiana State, one of five straight home games to start the season for Indiana.
“We are grounded,” co-offensive coordinator Kevin Johns said Monday at Indiana’s weekly news conference. “We’re still trying to climb that mountain. We’re trying to prove we belong.”
The Midshipmen defeated Indiana 31-30 last season on their way to an 8-5 record and a spot in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
“Our defense is not going to shut them down, and the offense is not going to outscore them,” Wilson said. “This is a game you win as a team. And last year as a team, we lost.”
The Hoosiers ran for 313 yards in the opener, led by Tevin Coleman’s 169 yards and two touchdowns. The lack of a consistent running game was a problem for Indiana last season, making it difficult for the Hoosiers to hold leads and control the clock. Against Indiana State, the Hoosiers ran the ball 54 times and passed just 30.
Coleman said the Hoosiers have been committed to showing the coaching staff that the running game can be depended upon.
“We worked really hard in camp, and we showed them that we can run the ball a lot and that we can run physically so they can trust us that we can run it a lot more,” Coleman said.
Coleman said he heard that Wilson had told reporters he should have given Coleman more carries against Indiana State. Of course, he agreed.
“Yeah, I caught that,” he said, laughing. “He probably should have, but he’s the call maker, so I don’t have control over that.”
Navy’s triple-option rushing attack pounded the Hoosiers for 257 yards rushing on 57 carries last season, and now the Midshipmen will spend some time lining up in the Pistol formation, adding another wrinkle to an already dynamic offense.
The Hoosiers are most concerned with Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds. Last season against Indiana, he completed 8 of 13 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown and ran 17 times for 66 yards and another score.
“In my opinion, this is the most difficult team we play,” Wilson said. “And the reason being, everything we do defensively this week, we throw it away in one week.”
The focus will be on assignments — defending an area or particular player rather than just attacking whichever player has the ball.
“You can’t make a play to beat these guys,” Wilson said. “Eleven guys do.”