5 keys for IU football to go bowling in 2015
BLOOMINGTON -- Indiana's newcomers report for preseason camp on Tuesday, and their veteran teammates will follow suit one day later.
Football season has returned to Bloomington.
Will it end with Kevin Wilson's first bowl berth at IU? In Year Five, that might be the benchmark.
What does Indiana need to do to break into the postseason for the first time since 2007? Here are five keys.
1. Supporting your quarterback
Provided he stays healthy, Nate Sudfeld can put up numbers on par with any quarterback in the Big Ten. Now a senior, he has veteran savvy to go with his physical tools, his standout performance at the Manning Passing Academy this summer serving as evidence.
How well can Indiana support its signal caller?
There's talent and experience along the offensive line. Between UAB transfer Jordan Howard, Devine Redding and others, the running game should be healthy.
Can IU's wide receivers and tight ends give Sudfeld the tools necessary to build a passing attack, rounding out a balanced offense?
2. On the topic of wide receivers ...
Indiana has little proven quality at wideout, a position of consistent strength for most of the last decade. What experience it could claim took a hit when sophomore J-Shun Harris was lost for the season to a torn ACL.
There's potential at wide receiver, from returners like Dominique Booth and Simmie Cobbs, to transfers Marqui Hawkins (also from UAB) and Camion Patrick (junior college), even to the incoming freshman class.
IU needs that potential to become reality during fall camp.
3. A strong front seven?
Of the seven players listed as starters among IU's defensive linemen and linebackers, six are in their third, fourth or fifth year of college. The only player who is not, sophomore weakside linebacker Tegray Scales, finished his freshman season with two sacks and three interceptions.
Darius Latham, Nick Mangieri and Adarius Rayner anchor an experienced defensive line, and Clyde Newton, T.J. Simmons and Zack Shaw provide veteran nous at linebacker. If a fresh face manages to break that depth chart — like, perhaps, bandit linebacker Nile Sykes — it's more likely to be borne of performance than necessity.
That experience now needs to translate into results.
4. Questions at the back
IU must be sturdy up front, because its secondary is riddled with questions. Michael Hunter and Tim Bennett are gone at corner. Antonio Allen's dismissal left a gaping hole at safety (and probably cost Wilson his best defensive player).
In their absence stands a depth chart that includes walk-ons at three positions, culled from a roster whose most experienced defensive backs are entering their third year of college.
Last season, Indiana's defense crept out of the Big Ten cellar, finishing 11th. The Hoosiers were 10th in the league against the run, a performance that could improve again.
But they were last in the league in passing yards per game allowed. The 24 touchdowns opponents posted on IU were also a Big Ten-worst. Among this inexperienced group, is there enough talent to change that?
5. Winning when winning is expected
We've talked about personnel concerns. Here's one broader theme.
It's admittedly simplistic, but if the Hoosiers get the fourth-down stop they need against Navy in 2013, they probably go bowling. Turn just one or two plays against Ball State and the Midshipmen in 2012, and the same is probably true.
Indiana's battle against the Big Ten's elite will always be uphill. But IU has struggled in recent seasons to provide itself a good platform for the postseason by winning close, tough non-conference games.
Western Kentucky is no walk-over opponent, and Wake Forest is at least a power-conference test. But it's conceivable that IU will be favored in all four of its non-conference games this season. Those are must-wins.
Follow Star reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.