The BG football team will have their most important out-of-conference game yet on Saturday as they travel to Bloomington, Ind., to take on Big Ten Conference opponent, the Indiana University Hoosiers.
The Falcons have started the season on the right foot so far, winning their first two games against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (34-7) Aug. 29 and on the road against conference rival Kent State University (41-22) Sep. 7. This marks the first time BG has begun the season 2-0 since 2003, which is also the same year that it started the season 3-0. That is where the Falcons look to be at the end of the weekend.
The Hoosiers are coming off of a 41-35 loss against the United States Naval Academy this past weekend after a 73-35 win against Indiana State University in the first week of the season.
Out of 125 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, BG is ranked No. 47 in the nation in passing yards per game (260), No. 36 in rushing yards per game (226), No. 42 in points per game (37.5) and No. 29 in points against (14.5).
“[BG] played two quality opponents, two teams who are very dynamic on offense,” Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson said. “They came out playing great defense like they always do. Their offense is clicking really, really well.”
BG’s defense currently ranks at the top of the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense with 29 points given up in two games, total defense with an average of 287.5 yards given up in the first two games and in rushing defense after only allowing an average of 94.5 rushing yards in the first two games of the 2013 season.
“It’s a very, very sound defense in their structure, where their eyes go, their alignment,” Wilson said. “Really good defense and they back it up in their film and they back it up with numbers. Last year they were in the top-10 in most defensive stats, right now they lead the MAC in total defense and to me that’s reasonably impressive because they’ve played two upper-level offenses and they’re backing up with really good defense.”
However, Indiana has put up slightly better results in most of those categories, specifically on the offensive side. The Hoosiers are ranked No. 13 in the country in passing yards per game (341), No. 40 in rushing yards per game (215.5), No. 7 in points per game (54), but they are ranked No. 109 in points against per game (38).
“I think they’re a much improved team and a much improved program,” BG head coach Dave Clawson said. “They have [nine] starters back on offense, six starters back on defense. Their offense was one of the best, if not the best, in terms of total yardage in the Big Ten a year ago.”
In 2012, Indiana ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten Conference in total offense with 5,304 total offensive yards gained and only trailed to the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, who amounted a total of 6,451 in the 2012 campaign.
Indiana currently sits at No. 14 in the nation in total offense with an average of 556.5 yards per game. BG’s defense is ranked No. 23 in the nation in total defense allowing an average of 287.5 yards per game in 2013.
On the contrary, Indiana’s defense is ranked No. 76 in the nation in total defense, allowing an average of 410.5 yards per game. BG’s offense is ranked No. 38 in the nation averaging 486 yards in the first two games of the season.
“The nature of their offensive scheme is very difficult to defend,” Clawson said. “They play fast. They snap the ball quickly and simulating that tempo in practice is always difficult. We feel like we’ve had a good week against it but when you see that live and in person for the first time, it’s always a challenge.”
The Falcons and Hoosiers are set to kickoff at 12 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.
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