Indiana didn’t win its first game with Tayven Jackson as its No. 1 quarterback Saturday.
But head coach Tom Allen liked what he saw out of the redshirt freshman in the 21-14 loss to Louisville at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“When something breaks down, he can extend the play long enough to get his eyes down the field, which he's able to do that, and either beat you with his legs or beat you with his arm,” Allen said Monday.
Jackson completed 24 of 34 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted once in his first full game behind center.
The offense struggled to get going. Indiana didn’t reach midfield in the first half and trailed 21-0 at the break.
“You think about the first half, we just didn't finish our drives, we had two good starts to drives but did not finish them,” Allen said. “But I think you can just kind of see, you know, what we can become from a scheme perspective, as well as the play-calling itself.”
Read more: Louisville uses fast start, late goal-line stand to hold off Indiana 21-14
After recovering an onside kick to start the second half, Jackson got the Hoosiers on the board with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jaylin Lucas.
Indiana got within seven late in the third quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run by Josh Henderson, but the Hoosiers were denied a potential game-tying touchdown late in the fourth when they were stopped on a fourth-and-goal try from the 1.
And, while IU came up short Saturday, Allen said Jackson has done a good job building trust with his teammates.
“Now he's in a position where he needs to take over,” Allen said. “Since I've been here, he has the potential to be the best verbal leader we've had at that position, and I expect him to be that way.”
Allen was pleased the defense was able to shut out the Cardinals in the second half but lamented too many mistakes that allowed Louisville to maintain possession.
“Held a very explosive offense to 21 points, but, obviously, too many points, and we didn't win,” he said. “But, you know, we had breakdowns.”
Indiana looks to even its record at 2-2 Saturday night when it hosts Akron.
The Zips are 1-2 and coming off a 35-3 loss to Kentucky.
Allen said the Hoosiers cannot afford to start slow, as they did against Louisville.
“You kind of see teams develop a personality throughout the season. So, you don't want to get in that kind of saying, ‘This is we're a team that starts slow,’ that's not what you want,” Allen said. “So, to me, we got to nip that right out of the gate.”
Saturday’s game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
