WHEN INDIANA HAS THE BALL:

Expect the Hoosiers to run the ball, particularly early. Last week, Indiana RB Stevie Scott managed to register just 6-carries, as Ohio state jumped all over IU at Memorial Stadium. Offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer talked about the importance of the run game earlier this week ahead of the matchup with UConn.

“It’s something we are focused on right now,” DeBoer confirmed. “We need to improve the run game to give ourselves better opportunities, to have more manageable opportunities on 3rd down. That’s what it comes down to, staying on the football field. I believe that our guys can get it done. We need to find our style, our niche, what fits us and how it all pulls together with the rest of the offense.”

Sophomore RB Stevie Scott III, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards in 2018, has been held to just 118-yards through three games, seeing his YPC drop from 5.0 to 3.2 year-over-year.

“I don’t think there’s one specific thing you can point to,” DeBoer said earlier this week about Scott’s production through three games. “Stevie is completely fine. It’s just being in sync. I’m critical of myself as well. What am I doing and what can I do to help us get on track? Is it focusing on him in more situational things? Is it trying to establish it more early on? We need to live with 2-or-3 yards early in a game and let those plays be 6-to-7 and then 10-to-15 yard gains as the game goes along. That’s what good running teams do, they establish that and let that wear down their opponent.”

QB MICHAEL PENIX UPDATE:

Opening day starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. missed last week’s game against Ohio State, after suffering an injury in the Hoosiers second game of the year against Eastern Illinois. It would be a major setback to the IU offense if Penix is unable to go against the Huskies on Saturday, as his loss would take away the run option from the quarterback position.

Last week’s starter Peyton Ramsey had a rough outing against Ohio State, completing just 57-percent of his passes and throwing an interception. Ramsey is experienced, however, passing for more than 2,800 yards and 19-TD’s in 2018. He also went 13-of-14 for 226-yards and 2-touchdowns in week two, after Penix went out with a shoulder injury.

“We’ll know more by Friday,” Indiana head coach Tom Allen said on Thursday. “Don’t know exactly his status for Saturday yet, but we should know more pretty soon. He’s been participating [in practice] some, but not much. We have certain roles we are having him do as a part of practice, but right now it’s been a major emphasis on the rehab piece and the mental piece and getting him ready to go.”

INDIANA DEFENSE PICKS UP THE PIECES:

Hearing head coach Tom Allen talk this week about leadership, run fits, gap integrity and missed tackles, sounded an awful lot like the 2018 version of the Huskies. After the 51-10 loss to Ohio State last week, Allen was not happy with any aspect of the Hoosiers performance.

“We spent a lot of time on run fits on defense,” Allen said on Thursday. “Even today, we adjusted things we are doing schematically to address it. We created an additional tackling drill off of the mistakes we’ve had. There’s been an over-emphasis on fixing the fits, the tackling and shoring up that part of the defense.”

Defensive coordinator also touched on the missed tackles this week.

“There were very few missed tackles inside the box,” he said. “There were a lot that were out in space, obviously against a good team, those are the most challenging situations. If I’m a safety, my mentality is I’m coming down and I’m going to get this guy on the ground, regardless of what drill we run, it’s a mentality. We need to work our technique, we took some steps back in the way we tackled in the open field.”

RESPONDING FROM 51-10 LOSS TO OHIO STATE:

Wommack talked a lot about responding to last week’s loss to Ohio State on Tuesday.

“When adversity comes and you play against a good football team, you have to decide that enough is enough,” Wommack said. “Decide that you’re going to lock in, do your job and take care of your responsibilities. It goes across the board, linebackers, defensive line and cornerbacks. Same deal as a coach. There were calls I should have made and got in a lot faster than I did. This is a program defining opportunity. How we respond to this adversity, when we know we are capable of so much more. Not saying we are going to win every single game, but when we decide to go do what we are capable of doing, we can accomplish a whole lot of things here.”

WOMMACK’S VIEW OF THE UCONN OFFENSE:

“They are an improved offense,” he said. “Their offensive line does a good job. It’s a great challenge for us. Their backs run hard. They have a good, solid receiving corps. They aren’t what we see at the top-end of this level, but they made some phenomenal catches against Illinois. I think they compete, whereas a year ago they really struggled in some ways offensively. For a young kid, their quarterback made some really nice throws against Illinois. They are a challenging team in that regard.”