Nebraska Opponent Spring Review: Indiana

As Nebraska enters a critical fifth season under head coach Scott Frost in 2022, we decided to look at where things stand with the Huskers’ 12 opponents coming out of spring practices.

Today, we continue with NU's Big Ten Conference opener, Indiana. The Hoosiers are coming off a dismal 2021 campaign, where they finished just 2-10 overall and went 0-9 in league play.

Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star gave us his thoughts on IU heading into the summer and fall camp...

Related: Northwestern | North Dakota | Georgia Southern | Oklahoma

1. Indiana locked things down this spring

It's not unusual for college football programs to keep practices under wraps from the media and general public. But Indiana took things to a new level in locking things down this spring.

While the Hoosiers typically have had plenty of access available in years past, head coach Tom Allen closed the doors during spring ball while breaking in almost an entirely new coaching staff and letting several key position battles play out.

Indiana will feature a new starting quarterback, running back, and No. 1 wide receiver, and it has several holes to fill on the defensive front seven.

Allen brought in two new co-offensive coordinators and a new defensive coordinator this offseason, and he also decided to take over the defensive play-calling for the first time since 2018.

Not only did they button up practices, but IU also decided not even to hold a public spring game this year.

As a result, IU fans and reporters were left with far more questions than answers about the Hoosiers going into the summer.

2. The quarterback battle remains wide open

There are countless unknowns regarding Indiana's team this season, but, as usual, the conversation starts with the quarterback position.

Gone is three-year starter (when healthy) Michael Penix Jr., who transferred to Washington for his final season of eligibility In December. That opened the door for a four-man (possibly even five this fall) competition to take over as the new QB1.

The most established returners are senior Jack Tuttle and sophomore Donaven McCulley. Tuttle, a transfer from Utah, started two of the six games he played last season, while McCulley made four starts in seven appearances as a freshman in 2021.

The Hoosiers also return sophomore Dexter Williams, a high-profile 2020 recruit who missed last season to a knee injury.

But things got even more complicated this spring with the arrival of Missouri transfer Connor Bazelak. The junior started 11 games for the Tigers last season and was the 2020 SEC Co-Freshman of the Year.

Three-star Brendan Sorsby will also join the mix this fall as an incoming freshman.

3. How much can the offense improve?

Indiana had a lot of problems in going 2-9 overall and winless in Big Ten play last season. But no issues stuck out more than the Hoosiers' glaring woes on offense.

IU ranked toward the bottom of the conference in nearly every significant offensive statistic in 2021. It was 13th in scoring (17.3 ppg), 14th in total offense (289.9 ypg), 12th in rushing (114.4), 10th in passing (175.5), and 14th in offensive efficiency (96.3).

The Hoosiers also only had one league game (Maryland) where they scored more than one offensive touchdown.

Now Allen and his revamped staff are working to improve that side of the ball after losing their top quarterback, running back, receiver, and tight end.

Allen brought in two co-offensive coordinators to help accomplish that task in former UMass head coach Walt Bell and longtime NFL receivers coach Adam Henry.

Given how many questions there were to answer this offseason and how little information came out on the progress during spring ball, there's no telling how much improvement will be made in 2022.

Osterman: "This is a total cop-out answer, but it’s hard for me to know how Indiana is going to match up with anybody. There is so little that I know about what to expect from this group in terms of how they fit and just what they’re going to look like.

"I don’t think I’ll have a handle on how this team matches up with anybody until I have a better handle on what they’re going to try to do offensively. The offense wasn’t just bad last season; it was almost non-existent…

"Without knowing what Indiana’s scheme is going to look like, where pieces are going to fit; all the way down to like guys changing positions, we just don’t know. Until we do - I know it’s a cop-out answer, but I don’t know how they’re going to match up with Nebraska or anybody else.”

Osterman: “It is kind of hard to see this team back in a bowl game. If you want to do the math, they do get both Illinois and Maryland at home - I don’t know if they could count those as wins, but I think you’d rather be playing those games at home.

"If you can win those two plus Idaho and Western Kentucky, then that’s a baseline of four wins, and you’ve already doubled your win total from the previous season. If you can find a way to steal one more, like at Nebraska or at Rutgers, then you’ve got a chance to at least be 5-6 going into the final game against Purdue…

"Saying that Indiana is a more competent team than what we saw last year is not a fluke. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some rebound for this team. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a team that could at least get to four or five wins and maybe enough respectable losses in there to say, OK, 2021 was rough, but there were enough signs things are improving.

"Having said that, the path to a bowl game, to me, we’re kind of back to a place where that path looks awfully narrow for Indiana.”