Hoosiers Meeting Expectations Despite Tight Games

What more can you expect from the Indiana Hoosiers? The Hoosiers are 2-0 after a couple of thrilling matchups against Eastern Kentucky and Western Michigan.

It doesn't look like much on the surface, especially considering that a Big Ten team is barely beating a pair of small schools that shouldn't give a BCS conference school any problems. However, for a struggling Hoosier program, the first two games were just what the doctor ordered.

After all, you've got a team that got beat up by pretty much everyone last year and had terrible attendance. Now you've got a team that has seen a pair of near disasters and thanks to leadership, has come away unblemished. They're two steps above Colorado and Virginia, who have both fallen to 0-2 against the likes of mid-majors and FCS schools.

Junior quarterback Ben Chappell has caught a lot of flack from the student section. He is particularly scrutinized for his lack of accuracy. Most of his completions thus far have been credited moreso to his top two receivers, sophomores Tandon Doss and Demarlo Belcher, which is valid considering the two of them have accounted for 344 of Chappell's 511 passing yards so far.

But you can't take anything away from Chappell. He's still completed 70% of his passes thus far, an 18% improvement from last season. He's also on track to pass for 3,066 yards this season, a 2,000-yard improvement from 2008. Indiana ranks third in the Big Ten in passing so far.

Demetrius McCray has more than made up for the departure of Marcus Thigpen who was recently cut by the Denver Broncos. McCray is averaging 6.1 yards per carry including a 59-yard scamper for a touchdown against Western last week. If the offensive line can keep the defense at bay as the schedule gets tougher, McCray's success should continue.

The only problem the Hoosier offense has seen is inside the red zone. The Hoosiers have had to settle for five field goal attempts, including one that was blocked against Western, giving the Broncos one last glimmer of hope. Indiana has the capability to put up the kind of numbers that it did in 2007's Insight Bowl run, but for that to happen, the Hoosiers are going to need to start getting in for six more consistently.