Indiana was humbled in Columbus. While their defense held up pretty well, the IU offense and special teams struggled mightily inside raucous Ohio Stadium.
Below we took a look at Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades, notes and snap counts from the contest.
Through 11 games and for the fifth straight week, Indiana’s overall cumulative PFF grade for the season is No. 1 in the nation. Their overall offense is third, and their overall defense is second.
Next up for Indiana (10-1) is PFF No. 101 Purdue (1-10) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET. The Boilermaker defense is graded No. 125 in the nation.
OFFENSE
The top overall offensive grade went to running back Ty Son Lawton, although no one on the team received high marks. Lawton did grade well running the ball and in pass protection. He forced two missed tackles according to PFF.
No surprise, quarterback Kurtis Rourke received his worst grades of the season according to PFF. FIU and Maryland were the previous lows.
Wideout Myles Price was the top graded player in the passing game, although he curiously only played 17 snaps. There was no word whether he had lingering issues from an injury suffered vs. Michigan. Three different receivers — Elijah Sarrat, Ke’Shawn Williams and Lawton — were charged with a drop.
Guard Tyler Stephens received the top pass blocking grade on the team, an encouraging sign considering he’s filling in for the injured Drew Evans. Overall PFF says IU allowed 8 pressures — yes it seemed like a lot more. Center Mike Katic allowed two sacks, and tackle Trey Wedig allowed three hurries. Tight end Zach Horton had the overall lowest pass blocking grade (in just five snaps).
The top run blocking grades went to tight end Horton, followed by Wedig. Guard Bray Lynch had the lowest marks in this area.
Snap counts (64 total) —
- Tyler Stephens, OG (63)
- Carter Smith, OT (63)
- Trey Wedig, OT (63)
- Mike Katic, C (63)
- Bray Lynch, G (63)
- Kurtis Rourke, QB (63)
- Elijah Sarratt, WR (58)
- Zach Horton, TE (57)
- Omar Cooper, Jr., WR (43)
- Justice Ellison, RB (36)
- Ke’Shawn Williams, WR (35)
- Ty Son Lawton, RB (29)
- Miles Cross, WR (28)
- Myles Price, WR (17)
- James Bomba, TE (9)
- Andison Coby, WR (5)
DEFENSE
The top-rated defensive player was defensive back Terry Jones, who graded especially well as a tackler. He also got a pressure on the quarterback and recorded the team’s best pass-rushing grade. Right behind him were linebacker Jailin Walker and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, who combined to create an interception. Walker’s bright spot was run defense. He led the team in tackles. Ponds had the best tackling and coverage grades on the team. Against OSU’s elite receiving core he was targeted seven times. That resulted in three catches for 24 yards and two pass break-ups.
Lanell Carr was a tenth of a point better than Walker for the overall best run defense grade, and Carr had the third-best tackling grade. PFF dinged him for pass coverage, as OSU seemed to find him in mismatches in space.
Indiana recorded 11 pressures on the QB, led by James Carpenter (4) and C.J. West (3). OSU was able to keep Mikail Kamara from even getting one pressure. He came into the game leading the nation. Kamara did have a massive 4th down tackle at the goal line. Walker had the next best pass rush grade after Jones, but no one on the team received high marks.
Snap counts (56 total) —
- Aiden Fisher, LB (56)
- Jailin Walker, LB (56)
- D’Angelo Ponds, CB (54)
- Amare Ferrell, S (53)
- Mikail Kamara, DE (52)
- James Carpenter, DT (52)
- Jamier Johnson, CB (52)
- Lanell Carr, OLB (51)
- Shawn Asbury, S (49)
- CJ West, DT (41)
- Terry Jones, CB (31)
- Rolijah Hardy, LB (23)
- Tyrique Tucker, DT (19)
- Marcus Burris, DE (8)
- Jacob Mangum-Farrar, DE (7)
- Mario Landino, DT (6)
- Bryson Bonds, S (5)
- Josh Sanguinetti, S (1)
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