Have the Indiana Hoosiers Turned the Corner in Week 2?

Indiana may have come out of Memorial Stadium on Saturday with their heads hanging after a disappointing finish against Virginia to start the season 0-2. But the Hoosiers showed some signs of life late in this game. Virginia is clearly more talented than a rebuilding Ball State team that beat the Hoosiers at Lucas Oil Stadium, but that did not stop the Hoosiers from looking far more impressive against the Cavaliers.

So have the Hoosiers begun to turn a corner, or is this merely an illusion to raise hopes in Bloomington, only to shatter them in the coming weeks?

Although quarterback Edward Wright-Baker had a great debut against Ball State (20-32 for 272 yards and 1 touchdown), the running game struggled mightily behind a mostly veteran offensive line led by senior tackles Justin Pagan and Andrew McDonald. Matt Perez and Stephen Houston each failed to break 45 yards while splitting the carries.

This allowed Ball State to dominate time of possession and wear down the Hoosiers defense. The defense surrendered a shocking 210 rushing yards to the Cardinals.

Last week, the game appeared to be slipping away when Virginia scored on their first drive of the second half to go up 23-3. However, Indiana then ripped off 28 straight points, assisted by three turnovers from the Hoosiers defense.

Just when the defense could have folded up shop and packed in for another loss, the unit stood up and shut Virginia down completely. Although the defense still surrendered 160 yards on the ground to the Cavaliers, the aggressive play shown in the second half will be exactly what is necessary to slow down opposing Big Ten offenses.

The rushing yards produced against Virginia were not a ton better than those produced against Ball State (148 compared to 103), but Virginia also has 10 returning starters on defense, including three senior defensive linemen who are solid against the run. The effort could actually be much better than the statistics show, especially considering the top three rushers (Wright-Baker, freshman D'Angelo Roberts, and Matt Perez) each failed to break 50 yards. If Roberts can continue to see holes opened up by the line, he could break some huge plays before the season is over.

Two keys to having success in the Big Ten is rushing the ball enough to keep opposing defenses out of full–on pass coverage, as well as playing solid defense. Indiana may not have been very good at either of those under Bill Lynch, but the second half against Virginia showed that Indiana can play smart defense and run the ball effectively.

Ignore the turnovers that cost Indiana the game. The second half against Virginia proved that Indiana may not be a cellar dweller in Kevin Wilson's first season at the helm. The next four weeks will be critical, as the Hoosiers have a winnable set of games against South Carolina State at home, North Texas on the road, and Penn State and Illinois at home.

Although it may be presumptuous to assume Indiana wins all of those games, Hoosier fans should be happy with a 3-3 start following the clunker of a game to open the season. That is just what will happen assuming Indiana has turned the corner, which I believe they have. If so, Indiana could be playing for another bowl bid late in the season, which is an exciting proposition for a state that has struggled mightily in football this decade.