IU football report card: It's not as bad as last year, but it's still not any good.

In its first three games of 2022, Indiana secured more wins than it did in the entirety of the 2021 season. Since then, however, the Hoosiers haven't won at all and they enter their off week facing the very real possibility of not winning again this season.

October was expected to be the easier part of IU's Big Ten schedule with games against Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers, and the Hoosiers lost all three, blowing a 14-0 lead Saturday in a 24-17 loss to Rutgers. They also took an expected loss against Michigan and find themselves 3-5 overall, 1-4 in the Big Ten. They're not technically eliminated from bowl eligibility, but with No. 13 Penn State and No. 2 Ohio State looming as the Hoosiers' first two opponents in November, it's hard to imagine they won't pick up their seventh loss by the middle of the month. Their Nov. 19 road trip to Michigan State (3-4, 1-3) and the Old Oaken Bucket matchup on Nov. 26 against Purdue (5-3, 3-2) allow at least slivers of hope for upsets, but the Hoosiers will certainly be underdogs in those games, and likely by double digits.

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So how did the Hoosiers get back here yet again, posting a second straight brutal season after showing so much promise in 2019 and the COVID-shortened 2020 season? The system failure hasn't been quite as dramatic as it was in 2021, but the Hoosiers have had significant shortcomings in every facet of the game including coaching. What follows is a position-group-by-position group report card of IU's first eight games, and it is not the sort most parents would put on the refrigerator

Quarterback: C-

Missouri transfer Connor Bazelak's 207 completions this season rank second only to Purdue's Aidan O'Connell's 209 in the Big Ten and put him eighth in the Football Bowl Subdivision. His 2,099 passing yards also put him second in the Big Ten and 15th nationally. Combined in 12 games last season, the four Hoosiers who played quarterback in 2021 completed 199 passes for 2,106 yards. Bazelak has thrown for 12 touchdowns in eight games this season to their nine in 12.

But on the other hand, those figures are that high largely as a product of offensive coordinator Walt Bell's insistence on up-tempo offense and the Hoosiers' lack of a formidable running game. Bazelak has also thrown far more incompletions than any other passer in the conference. His 378 pass attempts are second-most in the FBS, but he's completed just 54.8% of those throws. That figure puts him next to last among Big Ten starting quarterbacks with only Iowa's Spencer Petras completing a lower figure at 53.1.

Bazelak has a big arm and a steady demeanor, but his performances are up and down in a way that his personality his not. He completed his first 10 passes in Saturday's game only to complete 13 of 31 the rest of the way. His best drives, including the 2-minute drill to beat Illinois in the opener, have been brilliant. His worst have gone by so fast it was like they barely happened. He threw a pick-six on Saturday, and that happened on one of six IU's drives that lasted three plays or fewer and picked up 5 yards or less. Because of his volume of throws he has a chance to crack 3,000 yards this season, but he ranks 13th in the Big Ten in passing efficiency and his inconsistency is a big part of the reason the Hoosiers average just 4.5 yards per play, 13th in the conference.

Running Backs: C+

It's hard to know how best to grade IU's running backs considering the holes they have to run through are generally not large. Also, the Hoosiers' running figures are unfairly maligned by the number of yards they've lost due to sacks of Bazelak, who has rushed for a net -145 yards this season. Zero out Bazelak's rushing and IU's rushing average per carry goes from 2.7 yards per carry to 4.1.

Still, by just about any measure, the Hoosiers' running back corps has been decent but not spectacular. North Carolina transfer Josh Henderson and Auburn transfer Shaun Shivers rank 22nd and 24th in the Big Ten among qualifying rushers in yards per carry at 4.3 and 3.9, respectively.

Shivers rushed for 155 yards against Idaho, but just 250 in the other seven games. He had a few explosive runs against Western Kentucky and Cincinnati but hasn't rushed for more than 32 yards in a conference game.

Henderson has been more consistent and has likely earned a shift in the workload. He's rushed for 253 yards and three touchdowns on 56 carries and also ranks third on the team in receiving yards with 223 yards and three touchdowns on 17 catches. But even he is averaging a modest 3.5 yards per carry in league play.

Freshman Jaylin Lucas has been a bright spot in limited action with 123 yards on 24 carries including two rushes that went for more than 30 yards. But at 5-9, 170, the Hoosiers can only trust him so much in pass protection. He's dangerous with the ball in his hand, but the Hoosiers can only play him so much when he doesn't get it.

Wide Receivers: C

Cam Camper, a first-year transfer from Trinity Valley Community College in Texas, has been the Hoosiers' best offensive player so far, ranking fourth in the Big Ten in receptions with 46 and fifth in yards with 569. But IU hasn't had nearly the production they were hoping for from others in the position group, and when Camper has been either sick or injured, the offense has had a hard time functioning.

Slot receivers Emory Simmons and D.J. Matthews have had their moments. Simmons is second on the team in both receptions (29) and yards (309) and has been a reliable bail-out option. Matthews was spectacular in the win over Illinois with seven catches for 109 yards and a touchdown and strong in the season's first three games, but injured his hamstring against Cincinnati and hasn't been the same in his return with three catches for 21 yards in the past two games. The outside receivers other than Camper simply haven't produced enough, as none of them have more than 16 receptions this season. Allen called them out as a group on Saturday, saying the Hoosiers need more plays from that position, especially if Camper is out for an extended period.

Tight End: C-

The Hoosiers had reason to hope tight end could be a strength, but whether it's been by design or by circumstance, the position simply hasn't been used much in the offense. Starter AJ Barner has 17 receptions on the season, he doesn't have more than four in a game, and his only touchdown came against Idaho. Redshirt freshman Aaron Steinfeldt has flashed as a backup with six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown, but the group as a whole has two touchdowns in eight games.

Offensive Line: D

It's possible IU's offensive line has caught more heat than it's deserved. The tempo has put pressure on the front, as the Hoosiers have run the second-most plays (613) in the Big Ten and has thrown the most passes. IU has given up 22 sacks, which is the second-highest figure in the Big Ten, but considering Bazelak has thrown 378 passes, that means he's had at least 400 dropbacks.

Still, there's no metric that suggests the unit has performed well. Twenty-two sacks is too many, and the Hoosiers still have four of the teams with the top eight sack figures in the Big Ten left to play. Part of the reason the Hoosiers throw so much is because they're so frequently behind the chains. The Hoosiers have faced third down 129 times this season and converted just 48 of those, ranking 11th in the Big Ten at 37.2% . Just 20 of those were considered 3rd-and short, meaning they needed 3 yards or less to convert. Fifty-eight of them were considered 3rd-and-long, meaning the Hoosiers needed more than 8 yards to convert. That speaks to an offense that can't stay on schedule, and an offense that can't stay on schedule tends to have a shaky offensive line.

Defensive line: C

In Allen's scheme, the defensive line tends not to flash that much, and generally eat space and hold blocks more than it makes plays in the backfield, and that's been the case yet again. The Hoosiers have 16 sacks and 48 tackles for loss, but just 1.5 of the sacks and 8.0 of the tackles for loss have been recorded by players who primarily play one of the three hand-in-ground positions on the defensive line.

The front has had its mishaps, as the Hoosiers have held just one opponent under 100 yards rushing, and it's been susceptible to gash plays. That being said, the Hoosiers are allowing just 3.6 yards per carry on the ground and if the D-linemen were losing in the trenches, that figure would be much worse.

Bulls: B-

It makes sense to separate this group from the defensive linemen and the linebackers, because while starters Alfred Bryant and Myles Jackson function like stand-up defensive ends, freshman Dasan McCullough lines up just about everywhere when he's in the game, so his contributions don't necessarily belong to anyone else.

McCullough hasn't been an every-down player but he's making an impact almost every time he's in the game, which is why he was named Freshman mid-season All-American by The Athletic and has drawn widespread praise. Opposing offenses are making a point to pick him up now, which is why he doesn't have a sack in the past three games and has just on in the past five. Still, he leads the Hoosiers in the category and also has 35 tackles, two quarterback hurries and two pass breakups, and he can make plays downfield chasing ball carriers with as much speed as a defensive back.

Bryant and Jackson haven't flashed as much. They have as many tackles combined (35) as McCullough, just 4.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. They've both had work at both Bull and defensive end and that's helped shore up the line and they've had some production but not as much as the Hoosiers might have hoped.

Linebackers: B

Linebackers Cam Jones and Aaron Casey have arguably been the Hoosiers' most productive players on either side of the ball. Jones was leading the Big Ten in tackles early in the season and still ranks 10th with 54 even though he's played just five games and has been out with a foot injury.

Casey stepped into the Mike linebacker role for the departed Micah McFadden and then slid over to Jones' stinger spot when he got hurt and ranks third in the conference with 65 tackles and also third with 9.0 tackles for loss. His seamless mid-season position switch made it easy for Bradley Jennings Jr. to step into a starting role in Jones' absence and he has 47 tackles including 4.5 for loss as well as five pass break-ups.

Backups Jared Casey and Matt Hohlt have also been productive in limited action. The group hasn't functioned perfectly and bears responsibility for some missed tackles and bad run fits that have turned into big running plays. Still, when IU's defense has been at its best it's generally been linebackers who have been spearheading the unit.

Secondary: C-

The Hoosiers secondary was supposed to be a strength with cornerbacks Tiawan Mullen and Jaylin Williams and safety Devon Matthews — all three All-Big Ten picks in 2020 — deciding to stick around. But the Hoosiers haven't been nearly as effective on the back end as they hoped, which is a big reason why they are 13th in the Big Ten in scoring defense, 12th in total defense and 11th in pass defense. The Hoosiers allow 7.6 yards per pass attempt, the fourth-highest figure in the Big Ten, and no one in the conference has allowed more passing touchdowns than the Hoosiers' 19.

The Hoosiers have given up at least one passing touchdown in every game this season and at least 200 yards and two touchdowns in every one but this Saturday's game against Rutgers. They've given up 24 passing plays of at least 20 yards including three that went for 70 or more. And on the flip side, they've produced just five interceptions, the third-lowest total in the league.

Special Teams: B

The Hoosiers haven't been perfect in the kicking game but they haven't had a major meltdown either. Charles Campbell is perfect on extra points and 12 of 15 on field goals, hitting a 52-yard game-winner to beat Illinois. Punter James Evans ranks sixth in the conference in punting, the kickoff coverage unit is eighth in net yards at 41.9, and the Hoosiers have at least one kickoff return for a touchdown from Jaylin Lucas.

Coaching: D

Allen is ultimately better off for making the offseason moves he did. The Hoosiers clearly needed a change of direction on offense, and he clearly needed to retake control of the defensive play-calling. On a whole, the Hoosiers are in better shape than they were in November of last year.

That being said, that doesn't mean they're in good shape by any stretch. New offensive coordinator Walt Bell's up-tempo approach has paid some dividends with some sparkling drives against exhausted opponents, but the Hoosiers have experienced the other edge of that sword, especially on Saturday when they had five three-and-out drives that moved 5 yards or less and four that produced either zero or negative yards. Four of the three-and-outs took less than a minute on the clock, and the Hoosiers ran a total of six plays and had the ball for one minute, 15 seconds in the entire third quarter. The Hoosiers are 10th in the Big Ten in total yards, but 13th in yards per play, and 11th in scoring with 24.5 points per game. It's an improvement over 2021, but not enough to produce a winning season.

Allen's return to defensive play-calling has made the Hoosiers more aggressive again, but that's only paid off so much. The Hoosiers have caused 10 turnovers — five interceptions, five fumble recoveries — which puts them tied for 76th nationally. That's more than the nine they posted all of last season, but it's not nearly the havoc Allen was looking for.

Meanwhile, the Hoosiers have committed 14 turnovers of their own and average 51 yards of penalties per game. They are a team that is not talented enough to have a large margin for error, and yet they make plenty of errors. That's the sign of a coaching staff in search of answers. The Hoosiers have already made one coaching change this season, firing offensive line coach Darren Hiller and moving Rod Carey into the position, and with so many new coaches on staff this season it's hard to say what changes might need to be made in this offseason.

With a buyout in excess of $25 million at the end of this season, Allen himself seems safe for now with goodwill built up from 2019 and 2020. But if there are not improvements this season and next, that goodwill will be tested.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana football report card: 2022 headed for another disastrous end