Indiana is 8-1 and 5-1 in the Big Ten, and lately none of it has been easy. The Hoosiers have scored 23 points or fewer in 4 straight games: 20-17 at Nebraska, a 19-15 home loss to Ohio State, 13-6 at Michigan, and then Minnesota, where the teams traded 60-yard field goals in the final 19 seconds before Indiana won in overtime. The defense has carried them. Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota each scored 19 or fewer. That gives these two a common opponent with very different results: USC beat the Buckeyes by 12, and Indiana lost to them at home by 4.
With USC, you never know which team shows up. The Trojans won 31-23 at Penn State, then went to Wisconsin and scored 7 in a 24-7 loss, then came home and beat Ohio State in the rain on Halloween night. The Penn State win shows this team can win on the road in Big Ten country. The Wisconsin loss shows an offense that can disappear for an afternoon, and Bloomington is a long trip for a team that just stormed its own field.
Hoover isn't the only Indiana injury from the Minnesota game. Linebacker Rolijah Hardy (back), running back Turbo Richard (left shoulder) and cornerback A.J. Harris all got hurt, and running back K. Martin is still listed questionable with a forearm injury. On USC's side, guard K. O'Connor has been shut down for the season, so the offensive line Maiava plays behind is already short a starter.
Neither team plays again before Saturday, November 14, so both get 2 weeks to get healthy and prepare. Indiana is trying to defend its title without a second loss on its record. USC wants to show the Ohio State win wasn't a one-off. Curt Cignetti says his team "just finds a way." Against a USC defense that just held Ohio State out of the end zone for 57 minutes, Indiana may need more than that, especially if Wilson is the one taking snaps.
