Indiana capped its most successful season in eight years with an appearance in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, showcasing the Hoosiers' high-octane offense nearly every step of the way. IU opened the season 4-0 for the first time since 1990, lost six in a row, and then held on for two wins to reach the program's second bowl game in the last 22 years.

Head coach Kevin Wilson's teams have demonstrated steady improvement in his five seasons. But the bar of playing in the postseason has now been set. That task will be much tougher, given that Indiana is losing some exceptional talent across the field.

Here are three questions for 2016:

1. How will Indiana replace Nate Sudfeld's production?

Sudfeld put together one of the most impressive seasons by a quarterback in program history. He finished first in single-season passing yards with 3,573, which included seven 300-yard games. He ranked second with 27 touchdowns, fourth in completions (247) and fourth in passing attempts (412). He'll likely become the highest-drafted Indiana quarterback ever.

Zander Diamont and Danny Cameron will have their opportunities to prove they deserve to be the starter. Diamont started in place of Sudfeld against Penn State and was largely ineffective before suffering an injury. Both have a long way to go to reach Sudfeld's level of execution. Junior college transfer Richard Lagow could vie for the starting job as well. He is expected to arrive in time for spring practice after playing at Cisco College in Texas.

2. Can the defense keep the Hoosiers in games?

Indiana allowed a Big Ten-worst 37.6 points per game, and only 11 teams in the country had a worse average. IU also gave up 509.5 yards per game, which ranked 120th nationally. When the Hoosiers score as many points as they do -- and with such speed -- that will naturally lead to more time on the field for the defense. In that regard, some inflated numbers are expected.

Still, what good is scoring 41 points when the defense surrenders 44 to Duke and 48 to Michigan? How many teams could score 52 points against Rutgers, only to allow 55 in a stunning collapse? Something has to change, and the Hoosiers will try to do that while losing some key players. Bandit linebacker Zack Shaw, defensive end Nick Mangieri and nose tackle Adarius Rayner are gone, as is defensive lineman Darius Latham, an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick who declared for the NFL draft. That means the Hoosiers could be thin on the line.

The secondary will be a strength for Indiana, led by cornerback Rashard Fant, who paced the Big Ten and ranked second in the nation in passes defended (23). Linebacker Marcus Oliver's 112 tackles were 36 more than anyone else on the team. Those are good places to start in building the defense.

3. Is Devine Redding prepared to shoulder the ground-game load?

Tevin Coleman and Jordan Howard have set a high running back standard at Indiana. But Redding demonstrated during the bowl game that he could be next in line to carry the torch. The 5-foot-10, 202-pound Redding, from Youngstown, Ohio, goes into his junior season with a wealth of confidence after rushing 35 times for 227 yards with a touchdown against Duke.

Redding closed the season with 1,012 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. During the team's last three games, he gained 501 yards with Howard out because of injury, gaining at least 130 yards in each game. Now that Howard has declared for the NFL draft, the backfield will belong to Redding.