Indiana Hoosiers 2022 College Football Preview
August 1, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 2-10
ATS – 2-10
The season seemed to be progressing in reasonable fashion after the Hoosiers took care of Western Kentucky and stood at a mark of 2-2. And then, the season took a seat on the FECES EXPRESS as Indiana lost their next eight (!) games in a row to finish with a record of 2-10. They were a horrific 0-9 in Big Ten action after going 11-5 over the previous two seasons.
Was the 2021 season a HARBINGER of things to come?
Indiana Hoosiers 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
Indiana was brutal on offense LY and finished the season ranked #113 in the FBS in rushing offense AND passing offense. Consistency, yo. During their eight-game slide to end the campaign they managed to score more than 15 points just once. The Hoosiers bring in former Missouri trigger man Connor Bazelak to lead the offense, and whilst he has a LASER ROCKET ARM, he needs to cut down on mistakes (23-17 TD to INT). It’ll be a challenge for Bazelak to get things going as he loses the top-three pass catchers from LY’s squad including ace TE Peyton Hendershot (46, 543, 4 TD). The WR/TE group looks mediocre on paper but we’ll see how things turn out. Indiana will also be without #1 RB Stephen Carr and hope that Auburn transfer Shaun Shivers can fill his shoes. The offensive line doesn’t look like a disaster (3 returning starters, 60+ career starts) but note that the big boys were ineffective in 2021 (3.2 YPC, 29 sacks allowed). The offense doesn’t inspire much confidence and it’ll be up to Bazelak to work some magic.
DEFENSE
The Hoosiers took a step back on defense LY and allowed more than 30 PPG (33, #109 FBS) for the first time since 2015. They also struggled mightily in the PENETRATION department as they only tallied 17 sacks in 12G (#115). We expect better from Indiana this season as they bring back seven starters and add a small handful of talented Power 5 transfers to the mix. The DL has good size but we still aren’t clear where the pass rush is gonna come from in 2022. Losing star LB (and #1 tackler) Micah McFadden to the NFL is gonna hurt BIGLY and they’ll need transfers to step up right away. The good news is that the secondary is CHOCK FULL of talented upperclassmen including CB Tiawan Mullen who missed a big chunk of last season due to injury. This looks like an “average” stop unit but there’s definite upside potential if the aforementioned transfers pan out and/or they can find a way to get more heat on the QB. Stay tuned!
SPECIAL TEAMS
Things look pretty decent. PR DJ Matthews is a dangerous specimen (TD LY) and they’ve got a good kicking combo in punter James Evans and PK Charles Campbell (13-18 FG, 20-20 XP LY).
Schedule Analysis
Overall – They’ve got a reasonable shot to start 3-0 and somehow lucked into a SWEET draw from the West division by missing Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. November is NASTY as they face Penn St, Ohio St and Sparty.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing heinous is noted.
Season Win Total
per BetOnline Aug 1
Over 4 -115
Under 4 -115
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
Don’t shoot the messenger. The roster looks sketchy but the schedule is CHARMIN SOFT.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Indiana is on a six-game bowl losing streak. They last tasted postseason victory back in 1991 when they shutout Baylor 24-CACK in the world-famous Copper Bowl.
HC Tom Allen is an eye-popping 11-2 ATS (85%) as a home favorite but just 4-11 (27%) as a home underdog.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
It’s time to see what these guys are made of. The Hoosiers were a doormat for a long time before Tom Allen come to Bloomington and turned things around. They look light on talent but at least they picked up a legit QB and added a number of bodies on defense. They’ll need to get off to a hot start if they wanna sniff a bowl game because November is gonna be rough. Our best guess is four or five wins but we give them a PUNCHER’S CHANCE of sneaking into a minor bowl game. Good luck, Hoosiers!
Want more Indiana football ?
WEBSITE
https://iuhoosiers.com/sports/football
FORUM
https://indiana.forums.rivals.com/forums/iu-football-board.28/
http://btownbanners.com/forum/5-indiana-hoosiers-football/
https://indiana.forums.rivals.com/forums/premium-iu-football-forum.26/
NEWS
https://www.crimsonquarry.com/
http://www.indystar.com/sports/hoosiers/
http://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/84/indiana-hoosiers