Tevin Coleman’s 247 yards carry Indiana past Indiana State
By COLLIN O’CONNOR
ISL Correspondent
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Tevin Coleman showed that the Indiana Hoosiers might be OK if their passing game struggles.
Coleman ran for 247 yards on 23 carries in a 28-10 win over Indiana State on Saturday. Indiana coach Kevin Wilson said the offensive line did its part, and one of the most exciting players in the Big Ten did the rest.
“He is one of the better players in the league, but he can’t do anything without those guys around him,” Wilson said. “At the end of the game, I saw some of the receivers really battling and blocking for him. The line is pretty solid. He is a good teammate, and he is one of the better players in this conference.”
Indiana scored 73 against the Sycamores last year. While the scoreboard didn’t light up as much this time, the way the Hoosiers controlled the ball and the line of scrimmage was something to watch.
“We played hard,” Wilson said. “It wasn’t pretty and we have a lot of things to coach and clean up and a lot of things to figure out as coaches, but when your team is there physically playing hard, it’s hard to be mad. It was a close game. I was having fun with it.”
Nate Sudfeld struggled, completing 11 passes for 111 yards with an interception.
“We had a tough time getting Nate [Sudfeld] going, but they were dropping eight and really playing the perimeter,” Wilson said. “We have to do a better job of getting him off to a good start and getting him in rhythm. I think he had a hard time just trusting and cutting loose on a couple of throws,” said Coach Wilson.
The biggest storyline coming into this game, though, was how well the defense is going to hold up and support this powerful offense all year. Reports out of camp this summer seemed to indicate some optimism and the play on Saturday, for the most part, proved why.
“It was a good start, but I think they have a ways to go to really be a good gameday defense,” Wilson said. “The more the play and get used to the scheme, get used to the calls and get used to each other, the better they will be.”
Indiana State was held to just 170 total yards of offense, including only 30 on the ground for 1.3 yards per carry.
The win offered a good starting point for the Hoosiers.
“A lot of things to work on,” Wilson said. “You make strides from week one to week two. Now, we are going into an open date, so we will have a lot to look at and grow from and we will have a really good challenge the next two weeks.
“It was a decent day with a lot to build on. A lot more positives than negatives with a lot of young guys playing. We liked a lot of things we saw.”
