Indiana
Indiana’s Carter Smith, Bray Lynch Among Nation’s Highest Graded Offensive Linemen in Week 1
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s offensive line experienced a few notable changes during the offseason, making it a position of interest in Week 1 against Florida International.
Indiana returned starting left tackle Carter Smith and moved veteran Hoosier Mike Katic to center after he started all 12 games in 2023 at left guard. But as starters Matthew Bedford (Oregon), Kahlil Benson (Colorado) and Zach Carpenter (Miami) transferred out, new head coach Curt Cignetti had spots to fill.
He brought two linemen with him from James Madison, Nick Kidwell and Tyler Stephens. However, Kidwell suffered a season-ending knee injury during fall camp, and Stephens was not one of the five starters against FIU.
That meant redshirt sophomores Drew Evans and Bray Lynch would be making their first career starts in college football at left and right guard, respectively. Evans and Lynch both committed holding penalties in the game, two of nine total penalties that cost the Hoosiers 90 yards.
Following all Week 1 games around the country, two Hoosiers graded out among the nation’s best by Pro Football Focus (PFF). Smith received an 88.5 pass blocking grade, which tied for seventh in the FBS, and PFF gave Lynch an 87.8 pass blocking grade, which tied for 13th.
Against FIU, Indiana’s offensive line helped generate 234 rushing yards on 40 attempts, good for 5.9 yards per carry. That included two rushing touchdowns from Ty Son Lawton and a 51-yard rushing touchdown from Elijah Green. Running backs Lawton, Green and Justice Ellison each had at least one rush for 14-plus yards.
In the pass game, Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke was sacked twice and hurried six times, according to PFF. Cignetti shared his thoughts on the offensive line’s performance in Week 1.
“We had some real nice chunks in the run game,” Cignetti said Saturday. “And most of the pressure I saw was coming off the edge in the pass game. So, you know, we would get the run game going in the second half in chunks, chunks, chunks, kind of breaking their will. Then we’d throw it, you know, and go backwards. Those guys are capable. We’re going to be okay there.”
“Pass pro, we had a couple issues, but nothing that’s not correctable there,” he said Monday after reviewing the film. “We’re not real deep there on the offensive line. We can go probably six deep with veteran guys, seven. So got to keep progressing.”
Here are the rest of the PFF grades for Indiana’s starting offensive linemen in Week 1. The first number is their grade, followed by their national ranking among offensive linemen that played at least 50% of their team’s offensive snaps in Week 1, and concluding with where that grade ranks among their career performances.
Carter Smith, left tackle
Drew Evans, left guard
Mike Katic, center
Bray Lynch, right guard
Trey Wedig, right tackle
RIPLEY COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — A statewide Silver Alert has been issued for two young children in Indiana.
Police in Ripley County, southeast of Indianapolis, are looing for the children who may be siblings.
The first child is 3-year-old Aaliyah Buckingham.
She was last seen wearing a pink cat shirt and tie-dye shorts.
The younger child is 1-year-old Shane Buckingham, last seen in a red shirt and diaper.
Police think both are with 45-year-old Timothy Buckingham, who was last seen driving a brown GMC truck.
Timothy is described as a 6′ 3″ white man weighing 225 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.
Photo of Timothy Buckingham provided by Indiana State Police
Police have not confirmed the relationship of the three, or why the children are believed to be in danger.
Anyone who sees the three are asked to contact the nearest police department.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A firefighter for the Indianapolis Fire Department was sent to the hospital Wednesday after battling a fire at a vacant house.
According to a Facebook post made by IFD, the fire happened around 10:15 a.m. at a house on Bluff Rd. IFD says that there were several complications, including limited access to fire hydrants and “interior hoarder conditions” that IFD says was due to squatters.
The injured firefighter received “slight injury,” the Facebook post said.
It took over an hour and a half to get the fire under control, according to IFD, and another hour to put out all the remaining hot spots in the building.
According to IFD, the cause of the fire is currently unknown. Their Fire Investigations Unit is working on figuring out what caused the fire.
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