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BLOOMINGTON — Charlotte football coach Biff Poggi told reporters this week his players need to be ready for a “15-round fight” against Indiana football.
That’s probably a bit optimistic with the way the Hoosiers are playing.
Indiana (3-0; 1-0 Big Ten) is earning national attention for its performance through the first quarter of the season. The Hoosiers offense is firing on all cylinders — they are averaging 50.0 points and 515.0 yards of offense a game — while the defense has given up just two touchdowns.
Jump into our weekly preview, The Runout, for what stood out during the week, players to watch, a prediction and more:
More: Mind Your Banners: Hoosiers impressive in Rose Bowl rout of UCLA
IU football players to watch vs Charlotte
Mikail Kamara, DE: What Kamara has done through the first three weeks of the season is pretty special and it makes him hard to take off this list.
He’s tied for second in the country in quarterback pressures (17) and he’s tied for the second best pass-rush win rate (26.3%), according to Pro Football Focus.
The defensive end didn’t have a sack last week, but had seven quarterback pressures (one shy of his career high in a single game) and his success helped IU’s front four to dominate UCLA.
Can he keep up that pace? Charlotte will be in trouble if he does.
Jamari Sharpe, CB: Sharpe is likely to get the starting nod on Saturday longside Jamier Johnson while D’Angelo Ponds serves a first half targeting suspension. He played nine snaps in relief against UCLA, but didn’t have a single passing attempt come his way.
He has experience after being part of IU’s starting rotation at corner last year.
The redshirt sophomore will be asked to uphold the high standard Ponds had set at the position. The Hoosiers have only allowed 16 passes of 10 yards or more this season and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iu-football-looks-keep-good-151954734.html
Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star
Publish date : 2024-09-20 15:19:54
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