Indiana's offensive line might be the key to its success: 'We are protectors'

On a football roster, the offensive line is never the flashiest group. They don’t show up on a box score, they don’t score points, and, frankly, many fans might not even know their names.

But Indiana’s offensive line is quite possibly the most important position group on its roster, and it’s led the Hoosiers to an appearance in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game.

Throughout a 13-0 season that included a Big Ten championship, the Hoosiers’ offensive line has done its job day in and day out, largely behind the scenes, but that doesn’t take away from how crucial it is to Indiana’s success.

“We’re never in it for individual glory or anything like that. We protect those behind us, beside us, in front of us. We are protectors at the end of the day,” center Pat Coogan told reporters.

As “protectors,” Indiana’s offensive line has done an incredible job. The Hoosiers have allowed just 18 sacks during the season, an improvement over the 21 sacks IU allowed a year ago, but the difference doesn’t just lie in sacks allowed.

IU possesses an impressive rushing attack, largely predicated on the offensive line’s blocking ability. The Hoosiers rushed for 2,846 total yards and 5.5 yards per carry, up from 2,146 combined yards and 4.7 yards per rush in 2024.

The 2025 version of the offensive line is drastically improved in a plethora of ways. With a blend of returners from a year ago and new pieces through the transfer portal, IU has controlled the line of scrimmage in every game so far.

Last season, Indiana experienced what was the greatest season in its history at the time, but 2025 has blown it out of the water, largely because of the discrepancy in the trenches. Yes, the Hoosiers’ defensive line has been spectacular, but the bigger difference might fall on the shoulders of the offensive line.

Against Ohio State and Notre Dame a season ago, Kurtis Rourke was under constant pressure, and the Indiana offense couldn’t respond. The Hoosiers were simply overmatched, and it was clear that their offensive line couldn’t keep up with what the Irish and Buckeyes were throwing at them.

Fast forward to this season, and Indiana’s offensive line stepped up in its two big-time games against Oregon and Ohio State, the latter of which resulted in a Big Ten championship, capping off a 13-0 start to the season where the Hoosiers thoroughly dominated each opponent’s defensive front.

“I’ve been impressed with the consistency,” offensive line coach Bob Bostad said during Rose Bowl media day on Tuesday.

“I thought we played pretty well last season, too. I think it’s progressed from there. We’ve had some different pieces, and some guys have played really, really well up front, especially in terms of playing together.”

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When Curt Cignetti arrived in Bloomington, he brought most of his staff with him. Both coordinators followed Cignetti from James Madison, and nearly the entire Indiana staff from the Tom Allen era wasn’t retained.

With one exception: Bostad.

According to the coach himself, it didn’t take much convincing to get him to stay, as Cignetti and Bostad saw eye to eye from the get-go.

“The conversation was pretty matter-of-fact. He asked if I wanted to come back, and I said yes. There wasn’t much more to it than that,” Bostad said.

Responding to a question about why Cignetti might’ve wanted him to stay, he explained: “I’d say it was my body of work. That’s how it goes at a high level — what you’ve done, your experience, things like that.”

As the leader of this offensive line group, he’s done an incredible job giving the Hoosiers an advantage on the line of scrimmage, especially given a couple of setbacks due to injury.

Left guard Drew Evans missed the final four games of the regular season with an ankle injury, but the Hoosiers didn’t skip much of a beat. Adedamola Ajani stepped in and played well for a redshirt freshman, contributing in wins against Maryland, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Purdue.

In addition to Evans’ absence, right tackle Kahlil Benson dealt with a few minor injuries, forcing Zen Michalski to fill in when need be. Both Benson and Michalski weren’t a part of Indiana’s CFP team a year ago but fit in seamlessly, a credit to the versatility of IU’s line.

“We had guys like Zen and (Adedamola) step in and fill some big holes in big games — big road games, things like that,” Bostad said. “I think it speaks to their attention to detail in meetings and preparation. Some of those guys have to swing around and play multiple positions, so you really have to be versatile and pay attention.”

Despite moving pieces late in the season, Indiana boasts the third-best run-blocking offensive line in the country and the 22nd-most efficient pass-blocking offensive line in the nation, both per Pro Football Focus. The Hoosiers are one of only nine teams to have a top-25 offensive line in most categories, as their offensive line is clearly one of the best in the country.

With either Evans or Ajani at left guard, and Benson or Michalski at right tackle, the rest of the line was anchored by Carter Smith at left tackle, Bray Lynch at right guard, and Coogan in the middle at center.

It’s a deep group, a talented group, and one that has a commitment to getting better during every single rep in practice. That’s the mentality that Cignetti has preached from the top down, but no position group embodies that more than the offensive line.

And with the Rose Bowl looming, their drive to achieve greatness hasn’t faded.

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“It starts with preparation — being where our feet are and being present. Never taking a day for granted. We’ve had almost four weeks to prepare, get our bodies back and get our minds right, and we’ve tried to use every day to the best of our ability,” Coogan said.

With an intense drive to get better, this year’s offensive line has been a considerable improvement over 2024. There are only a few new pieces, but with lessons taken from an 11-2 season, the Hoosiers have reached a new level in 2025.

And members of the line agree. Smith said that he’s extremely proud of how the offensive line has played throughout the season.

“I’d give us an A+,” he said.

Well, there’s another test ahead, and if Indiana fails this one, its season is over. For the first time since 1968, the Hoosiers are in the Rose Bowl game, and their offensive line hopes to make the Alabama Crimson Tide its next victim.

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