Today we are looking for a rock-your-world football quote. Who better than Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell, the guy who, for one week at least, was the best offensive football player in the Big Ten.
So was does he have to say after winning Big Ten offensive player of the week for the second time in his career?
“It’s a great honor. We’re going week-by-week, so I guess that means I had a good week. I will try to do it again next week.”
Okay. Maybe Ben missed the memo on exciting quotes. It doesn’t matter. When you complete 32-of-42 passes for a career-high 366 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Western Kentucky, you don’t have to run your mouth.
“He was very deserving,” coach Bill Lynch said. “He played a really good game.”
This isn’t a fluke. Chappell ranks sixth in school history for passing yards (4,504). He’s thrown for at least two touchdowns in six straight games. His four career 300-yard games ties a school record.
Chappell was deadly on third downs. He was 8-for-8 for 119 yards and a touchdown.
Yes, Lynch has noticed.
“There’s no question that we are a very good passing team,” Lynch said. “We knew that in the off-season.”
Chappell also added
For the season Chappell is 48-for-65 (73.8 percent) for 548 yards and five touchdowns and no interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 170.0, which is exceptional.
This is Chappell’s second player-of-the-week honor. He also shared it last year after throwing for 333 yards against Illinois.
Chappell, already the most accurate passer in school history, benefits in part by a strong wide receiver group. That’s huge given the Hoosiers couldn’t get their running game going against a weak Western Kentucky team. Their 100 total rushing yards isn’t nearly good enough.
“I don’t like being called a passing team or a running team. I’ve always thought that you’re at your best when you have balance. Right now we don’t have the balance that we need in our offense.”
What he does have is offense, and that might be just what the Hoosiers need to return to bowl relevance. Saturday is an 0-3 Akron team before Big Ten play begins with Michigan.
Speaking of the unbeaten Wolverines, they will show up at Memorial Stadium with Heisman Trophy-candidate Denard Robinson.
Speaking of Michigan, the kickoff time has been announced as 3:30 and will be televised on ESPNU.
But that is for the future. For now know that, when it comes to playing quarterback at Indiana, nobody does it better than Chappell.
Chappell should add to his lofty stats against Akron. Where do we find these winless teams (0-3). They are the worst of the worst but watch the hype. Here's what I expect
ReplyDelete1. Watch out for their offense, they have scored in every game!
2. Playing at home they almost beat... Gardner-Webb (yes this is the first time I ever heard of them also).
3. Akron's running backs, when handed the ball, usually know in which direction to run. They won't stop themselves and are unlikely to get lost. The Indiana Hoosier Defense will have to be awake.
I could go on and on but know you don't want me to.