Drumming his thumbs in a fidgety fashion on the Hoosier press room microphone stand for the first time this season, Indiana head football coach Tom Allen offered up this assessment of his team's performance following a 23-3 season opening defeat at the hands of Ohio State:
"Not good enough."
And the result of that effort in a game the Hoosiers were projected to lose by 30 points?
"A lot of disappointment in that locker room."
It was a surprising deviation in tone from the normally glass-half-full demeanor Allen has carried through the roller coaster of reconstruction the Hoosier football program finds itself in. Allen had many short notes of criticism to begin his first postgame presser of the season, with the opening theme revolving around how "special teams penalties really hurt our offense."
Allen received many inquiries regarding how he managed the quarterback battle between Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson, given he named the former as the team's starter only a short time before kickoff earlier today.
"(Brendan) Sornsby started this week, Tayven (Jackson) starts next week. The guys know that, they knew that ahead of time," Allen clarified. "It's about being able to move the football down the field and get in the endzone. We couldn't do that with either one of them."
The head coach for the Hoosiers further explained how he needed to balance experience with the risk and upside of big plays in his approach to the opener against an elite opponent. "Coming in, you're going to have to take about seven or eight shots," Allen went on to relay.
As the conference went on, Allen became more conciliatory towards his offense's mistakes in the context of what they had to deal with for most of the afternoon.
"Field position didn't help us, several times," Allen stated. "When you're backed up like that, that's when you make big mistakes and get costly situations. You don't want to throw picks in those spots."
Allen also made sure to credit his defense for putting the clamps on a Buckeye offense expected to blow the doors off Bloomington from the opening whistle. But he also thought the Hoosiers received a bad break on a replay review that took away a key momentum-swinging turnover.
"They said his arm was going forward. Obviously I didn't think it was, but it's a review that they go through and it's not like I can challenge that," Allen said referring to an incomplete pass from Kyle McCord in the second quarter. "Once they review it, they've made that decision, but I thought it was a hit and a fumble. We would have had the ball and it would have saved us three points."
Later on, asked if he believed his defensive backs passed a test against what one journalist present called "the best receiving corps in the country," Allen said, "I believe so."
"I know for a fact those receivers are special," Allen said. "One's probably the best we've gone ever gone against since I've been coaching in my entire career. Just to be able to keep those guys in check was very critical, and it was a combination of some pressure up front as well as guys covering the back end."
Allen somewhat surprisingly relayed that the September climate in the Hoosier State took a toll on some of his players over the course of the game.
"We got a little tired, the heat was a part of that... Did have a couple guys cramping up from the heat," Allen said.
But overall, he noted improvement relative to last year's performance in Columbus, after which he specifically complained of too many creases and loose fits up front in Ohio State's more dominant effort last time out.
"We did a good job of establishing the line of scrimmage defensively — made it hard on them," Allen declared. "Gave up a couple creases there, but not very many.... We have not done a very good job of stopping the run against these guys for many years now."
Allen did express optimism relative to his team's opponent in saying Ohio State has "been a machine on offense for a long, long time. Got some really talented football players up front and on the perimeter."
Relative to this game, Allen proclaimed his most excitement at the red zone defense Indiana displayed in the face of Ohio State bearing down on the Hoosier defense.
"I was more encouraged by the 'bows up' in the red zone," Allen recalled. "Long drive, you're tired, you're fatigued, it's a gut check, a character check. Can you 'bow up' when your body is really exhausted and fatigued and make a play against an elite team — a top three team in the country."
"Our guys showed that, forced them to kick several field goals, and that's how you win games."
"Gave up a couple creases there, but not very many.... We have not done a very good job of stopping the run against these guys for many years now."– Tom Allen, On FINALLY MITIGATING OHIO STATE'S RUSHING ATTACK AFTER SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS
On a final note, Allen's most animated moment of the press conference occurred not in discussing his team's defeat, but when he brought up the scheduling of Indiana's next game relative to Big Ten television interests.
"Friday night football is for high school football, bottom line. I'll say it until I'm blue in the face, until somebody tells me to 'shut up,' then I'll probably say it again," Allen proclaimed, before restating once again: "Friday night football is for high school football."
But Allen's overall message to Hoosier nation in the face of another successful start to a season for the Ohio State Buckeyes?
"Play the game, learn from week one, and move on to week two."
