Bearcats Football Opponent Preview: Indiana

Tom Allen’s Indiana University football club will prove to be a genuine force to be reckoned with in the 2021 football season. Last year, the Hoosiers posted a 6-2 mark and defeated three nationally ranked teams.

Indiana lost a barn-burner of a game in the Outback Bowl against Ole Miss and finished the second ranked number 12 in the country.

They enter the Cincinnati game this weekend with a 1-1 mark. In week one, Indiana was outclassed by an Iowa club (34-6) that appears destined to become one of the powers in the Big Ten this season. In week two, Indiana took care of business against an overmatched Idaho club by a score of 56-14.

This year, Indiana returns 8 starters on offense including a veteran, road grading offensive line and quarterback Michael Penix Jr., a serious dual threat at signal caller. He is arguably the best returning quarterback in the Big Ten in 2021.

Up front, Indiana’s veteran line includes a pair of corn-fed NFL prospects in guard Matthew Bedford and left tackle Caleb Jones. When you close your eyes and envision Big Ten offensive linemen, you see these guys.

On the perimeter, Indiana may not have the most athletic group of receivers but senor leader Ty Fryfogle has great hands and comes up with the lion’s share of contested balls.

On the defensive side of the ball, Indiana has veteran corps at D-Line and linebacker, led by edge rusher Ryder Anderson upfront and sideline-to-sideline tackling menace Micah McFadden at ILB.

Indiana’s secondary may be tops in the Big Ten. The Cincinnati Bearcats will surely be challenged when they try to move the ball through the air against All American corner Tiawan Mullen and ball hawk Jaylin Williams. The Cincinnati Bearcats will be in for a battle this weekend on both sides of the ball this weekend.