The man who guided the Hoosiers toward a 6-6 overall record and a second-straight bowl appearance won’t be there anymore for them this Wednesday, but even without Kevin Wilson, who was fired just weeks ago, on the sidelines, Indiana will be more than motivated to win in Santa Clara.
Indiana’s strengths didn’t depart with Wilson so the Hoosiers expect to use them to their advantage against Utah.
The Hoosiers have a prolific passing game that ranks second in the Big Ten with 277.9 passing yards per game. They have three receivers that finished the season with at least 600 receiving yards, including Nick Westbrook, who was third in the conference in receiving yards with 915 while collaring five receiving touchdowns.
There is also life in the Hoosiers’ backfield, which features running back Devine Redding. On the season, Redding has compiled 1,050 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 236 carries.
On defense, meanwhile, the Hoosiers is set to make it hard for Utah. Their third-down defense in particular has been superb this year, allowing opponents to convert just 32.0 percent of their third-down chances.
The Hoosiers are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games in which they were underdogs by eight points or fewer.
Utah needs to recover its bearings. The Utes were in the running for a Pac-12 title but back-to-back losses to Oregon and Colorado to close out the regular season have relegated the squad to a so-so bowl game. A chance to punctuate the season with a victory this Wednesday should be enough of a motivation for Kyle Whittingham’s team.
Running back Joe Williams is going to get a healthy serving of carries in this game despite Indiana’s seemingly solid run defense. Williams has been nearly unstoppable since coming out of a brief retirement, rushing for at least 149 yards in all but one of his past six games while also getting nine total rushing touchdowns during that stretch.
Williams could even get more touches should Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow’s ugly, error-prone side turns up. While Indiana has a potent passing game, Lagow has a tendency to waste drives, as he has 16 interceptions against 18 passing touchdowns this year. He also has a 59.9 percent completion rate.
The Utes are just 102nd in the nation against the pass with 256.8 passing yards allowed per game but finished second in the conference in interceptions with 17.
Utah is 5-5 ATS in its last five games as a favorite by at eight points or fewer.
