Indiana still had doubters going into game seven. But after a 56-7 massacre of Nebraska, the Hoosiers left no doubt.
In an effort that dominant, it should come as no surprise several IU players had standout games on both sides of the football in Bloomington. Below we took a look at Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades, notes and snap counts from the contest.
Through seven games, Indiana’s overall PFF grade is No. 1 in the nation. Their overall offense is second, and their overall defense is fifth.
Next up for Indiana (7-0) is PFF No. 38 Washington (4-3) on Saturday. The defending national runner-ups are coming off a bye week and travel to IU for what for them is a 9 a.m. PT kickoff.
OFFENSE
Indiana fans will be happy to learn the two-highest graded players on the offensive side of the football were quarterbacks Kurtis Rourke and Tayven Jackson. Based on PFF grades, traditional stats, and your eye test, there was little drop off when Jackson came into the game. Each played a half after Rourke suffered a right hand injury. Rourke earned a high passing grade and Jackson a better running grade, which lines up fairly well with their relative strengths.
Right tackle Trey Wedig was the top overall offensive lineman. He had the top run blocking grade and was one of four starting offensive linemen with pass blocking grades above 80, which is considered very good. Tight end Zach Horton received good pass and run blocking grades as well.
Miles Cross received the top receiving grade, with Elijah Sarratt right behind him. Cross caught all seven of his targets, while Sarratt caught three of four. Two of Sarratt’s three catches were considered contested, and all three were special. He averaged 21.7 yards per catch and scored a touchdown. Indiana did have two drops, something they had avoided through the first half of the season.
Justice Ellison was the top-rated rusher. He averaged 11.7 yards per carry and gained 65 yards after contact. He also received good marks as a pass blocker, and he caught both of his targets. Ellison appears to have moved up to the first back in the three-man rotation.
Snap counts (64 total) —
- Drew Evans, OG (61)
- Carter Smith, OT (61)
- Trey Wedig, OT (61)
- Mike Katic, C (61)
- Bray Lynch, G (61)
- Zach Horton, TE (50)
- Elijah Sarratt, WR (43)
- Kurtis Rourke, QB (38)
- Omar Cooper, Jr., WR (34)
- Miles Cross, WR (32)
- Justice Ellison, RB (28)
- Tayven Jackson, QB (26)
- Ke’Shawn Williams, WR (24)
- Myles Price, WR (24)
- Ty Son Lawton, RB (21)
- Kaelon Black, RB (17)
- Andison Coby, WR (14)
- E.J. Williams, WR (12)
- Tyler Stephens, TE/OT (8)
- James Bomba, TE (6)
- Elijah Green, RB (4)
- Austin Barrett, OT (3)
- Max Williams, OT (3)
- Sam West, TE (3)
- Jack Greer, C (3)
- Cooper Jones, OT (3)
- Trey Walker, TE (3)
DEFENSE
The top overall defensive grade went to linebacker Isaiah Jones. He played just 23 snaps, but his marks are encouraging on a team that on paper doesn’t appear to have a lot of depth. Jones drew solid marks both as a tackler and in pass coverage.
Mikail Kamara continued his dominant season. He had the top overall pass rush grade on team. He had five quarterback pressures with a sack, two hits and two hurries. Kamara also forced a fumble.
The top overall tackling grade went to safety Amare Ferrell who played a more traditional strong safety role after playing rover during the most of the first half of the season. Indiana moved Terry Jones into the slot corner role. He had not played significant snaps prior to the game but earned good marks, especially as a tackler. This seemed to push Josh Sanguinetti out of the equation, at least on this day.
Jailin Walker had the top run defense grade on the team. His first half forced fumble as Nebraska entered the IU red zone changed the course of the game. After leaving the Northwestern game with an injury, he had eight tackles vs. Nebraska.
Aiden Fisher had the best overall coverage grade on the team, and he was in coverage a lot — 38 snaps. Five passes were caught against him, but they were all short yardage, averaging just six yards per catch. Better pass coverage from the linebackers would be a positive trend.
None of the main defensive players received poor grades, but some of the regulars who PFF says didn’t have their “A games” included Lanell Carr and Marcus Burris. Carr did have a couple QB pressures however, and Burris batted down a pass.
Snap counts (78 total) —
- Amare Ferrell, S (69)
- D’Angelo Ponds, CB (68)
- Aiden Fisher, LB (67)
- Jamier Johnson, CB (66)
- Jailin Walker, LB (62)
- Shawn Asbury, S (62)
- Terry Jones, CB (59)
- Mikail Kamara, DE (57)
- James Carpenter, DT (52)
- Lanell Carr, OLB (48)
- CJ West, DT (42)
- Marcus Burris, DE (36)
- Tyrique Tucker, DT (30)
- Jacob Mangum-Farrar, DE (24)
- Isaiah Jones, LB (23)
- Bryson Bonds, S (16)
- Mario Landino, DT (15)
- Rolijah Hardy, LB (12)
- Jamari Sharpe, CB (10)
- JoJo Johnson, CB (10)
- Cedarius Doss, CB (8)
- Venson Sneed, DE (6)
- Andrew Turvy, OLB (6)
- Nick Toomer, S (6)
- Josh Sanguinetti, S (3)
- Kaiden Turner, LB (1)
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