BottomLine

This shouldn't be a piece of cake. IU has the talent but we aren't much of a team. Guys still need to learn their roles. We need to get rid of the "I've got to get mine now" state of mind. They need to learn that there is no I in TEAM. Hoosiers 77 Cardinals 73

What a homer page! To this point only 7 here have picked OSU. Forget the Vegas line. People are just betting the brand name team. I'm not buying that. Still I need to have a reason to pick IU and I think it is there for those who look hard enough. Ohio State is going into this one with a patched up offensive line. Most importantly, look at the three games that are against common opponents. IU did better against all three. OSU's brand name isn't going to win this game. They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like we do. IU 4 TDs + 2 FG = 34 OSU 3 TDs = 21

Chump of the week game. We are still looking to come together as a team. Indiana 81 Greensboro 65

Knew a guy who played for South Carolina. Knew several guys that played for IU. There is strength in numbers. At this point in the season what are you going to do? Team is still looking to come together. IU 74 SC 69

Basketball and football at the same time is going to drive me crazy. The football season is supposed to be over by now. Indiana 92 Eastern Illinois 65

FIFTEEN AND OH, HERE WE GO! Let's see. We win out and that is 3 games. The Big10 championship is 1. A bye in the playoff and 2 more games. That is a total of 6 more games. Or, We beat Mich and Purd but lose to OSU and that is 3 games. We miss the Big10 championship because OSU has the edge over PennSt and IU. We are an at large in the national championship and play 3 games. That is a total of 6 more games. Or, we lose to mich and OSU and beat purdue to finish 10-2 and go to a bowl game. That would be 4 more games. I really want to kick Michigan's A** and play 6. Sure the guys feel the same! Indiana 6 TDs = 42 Michigan 2 TDs and 1 FG = 17

Indiana - 93 The other guys - 59

Figure we get our quarterback back. Though MSU is at home and IU is playing a rare road game, the Spartans are only 4-4. The games seem to be getting a bit harder every week but this doesn't look like the game where the streak ends. The Hoosier offense gets back on track and the defense is just as mean as ever. IU 6 TDS = 42 MSU 3 TDS = 21

Found it myself. Yes game is on the radio with Don Fischer and Eric Suhr doing the call.

Will the game be on the radio?

I had a coach once that told our team about a substitute for a starter on the other team, "There is a reason that he wasn't the starter to begin with." Yeah I get it. We are starting our second string quarterback. However, in this case I say, so what. The rest of the starters, that have been pounding the snot out of everyone are still intact. I'm not expecting much of a drop off, if at all. We were mostly going to pound the ball on the ground either way. As to Washington, they have lost to Washington State, Rutgers, and Iowa. We would beat all three of those teams. IU scoring and defense for the year is 341-96. Washington is 169-119. Put another way we have scored 172 more points than Washington and we have given up 23 fewer points. Our margin of victory this year is 245 and Washington's is 50. They can't score enough points to run with the BIG DOG in this game. Finally Alaska Hoosier says we are going to beat the Huskies 42-21 and I believe him. Though I picked my score before I checked what everyone else was doing, I think that is a 42-21 brilliant pick and sounds just right.. Hoosiers 6 TDs = 42 Washighton 3 TDs = 21

Only three undefeated teams left in the Big 10 - Oregon, Penn St and IU. I went through this way back in 1968. This season has the same feel but the margin of the victories has been much higher. IU has scored 285 points and given up only 89. Who would have thought that IU would be 4 points away from outscoring our opponents by 200 points over the first 6 games. Of course, IU has the easiest schedule in the Big 10 thus far, and a schedule that is heavily loaded with home games. I'll take it after the meat grinder we went through under the old scheduling scheme. Nobody has been able to stop the IU offense thus far and I can't see Nebraska, despite being 5-1, slowing us down much. I'm picking IU to beat the O/U once more. IU 5 TD and 1 FG = 38 Neb 3 TD = 21

Hate to pop your balloon but I'm sitting right there behind you in 3rd, only 2 points down. You hear the foot steps? Been a long climb from 38th but I'm back and set to do battle. Have a restful week and don't think of me for a second. Enjoy your lead while you can.

YIKES!!!!!!!!! Napleshoosier did you really trade a 131 score and first place overall for a 107? Large slapping sound of hand hitting forehead! Get well card in the mail. I thought only I could do something like that.

Sooner or later this team is going to be matched up against a quality team, but that is not the case this week. NW is 2-2 and IU is 5-0 and has been killing the o/u and spread all season. Can't see why that is going to stop this week. We still aren't getting the respect that we should get and that probably won't improve after this week's touch football game at a pleasant little park on the NW campus. Think our offense can score 6 touchdowns here. I'll predict 3 TDs for NW, one of the late game variety when the issue is not in doubt. IU 42 NW 21

Indiana leads in points this year 202-37 That is hard to ignore despite the quality of the opponents. We are taking a step up with Maryland and if we win this one we should starting to get a bit more respect. It won't be as easy as the last four. Still looking at the possibility that we go into the last 5 games at 7-0. Then it gets really tough. For Indiana my crystal ball says 5 touchdowns For Maryland my crystal ball says 3 touchdowns and 2 field goals. IU 35 Maryland 27

Picked against the Hoosiers last week (Yes, I'm a dufuss). Won't do that again. Thank goodness we drop lowest scores. Got a feeling that If we don't keep the petal to the metal our coach will be kicking some a**. We have outscored our opponents thus far 150-23. I can remember years when we didn't score 150 points. 6 touchdowns to 2 this week. IU 42 Charlotte 14

Exactly how good are we? Based upon the results of the first two game, we are better than a couple of pretty good high school teams. Both games proved nothing except that we aren't struggling against bad teams as we have many times in the past. On the other hand how good is UCLA? They squeaked against Hawaii, who is favored against another nobody teams this weekend by 2. In other words, UCLA isn't that good. OTOH Hawaii would probably crush FIU and Western Illinois, just as we did. And then you look at the history of the two schools. We are certainly on the improve but are we at the UCLA level historically? How good of a salesman is our new coach? Plenty of questions to be answered by this match up and the answer to those questions will tell us a lot about the rest of this season. As an aside, the last time IU played in the Rose Bowl we lost to USC and OJ Simpson 14-3 in the 1968 Rose Bowl. I was a junior at IU at the time and stayed home to watch the game on TV. I had the choice of going to the game or paying my second semester tuition. I wish I had gone to the game but I'm glad I stayed in school. Sometimes, like this week, you need to make tough decisions. I'll make this a 4 touchdown to 3 touchdown game, though there will probable be a field goal of two along the way. IU 21 UCLA 28

Trojans are USC. UCLA would be the Bruins

Hey, that is my pick! Looks like we tie for first this week.

Think of yourself as the solid foundation that we all build upon.

Just a few thoughts: Best to look around and check your company before making fun of the Leatherneck nickname. A Leatherneck is a nickname for a member of the United States Marines. Check it out. NIU crushed Western Illinois. That was to be expected. NIU is usually one of the top contenders for the MAC and has a history of success in football. Actually made it into the Orange Bowl a few years ago. Last week's game wasn't a case of a nobody beating a nobody. Western Illinois is terrible but I'm always hesitant with large victory predictions. All it takes is a few messed up possessions and the total points scored drops and the predicted victory margin falls apart. Can we be consistent? We struggled in that category against FIU. Nevertheless I'll predict IU for seven's TDs, though if we stall and kick field goals that number can obviously fall. I'll figure we will goof up somewhere and allow WIU a touchdown. A loss here would be the worse loss in IU's not so storied history. IU 49 WIU 7

Back for another crack at the Football League. Third as a rookie last year and in it to win it this year. Always nice to talk big before the results start coming in. New coach, new players, new hopes and prayers, and a patsy for the opener (we hope). Be truthful. Nobody knows exactly what to expect here. I'll pick IU for five touchdowns (35) and FIU for two touchdowns and a field goal (17) IU 35 FIU 17

So you flip a coin five times and it comes up heads each time. When you flip again, do you call tails because it is overdo, or do you stick with the hot streak? When you play a team twice and get crunched twice, do you go with the evidence of the past, or do you stubbornly shout to the workd, "It's our time now!" When you have a super secret good luck charm named Anthony Leal on your side, how can you lose? The fates are on our side! Seriously, Indiana right now is better than all those computer programs have us rated. How good? Let's see. Hoosiers 71 Corny Guys 70

I may be in second place but I'm not going to repeat as champion anyway. That contest is basically over. I'm too late with too little this year. The smart bet here is to take Penn State. They have beaten us twice this year, and the scores were not that close. Still the Hoosiers are on a four game win streak and are starting to finally put the pieces together. Maybe. Penn State shoots lights out from 3 - we lose IU makes tons of stupid turnovers - we lose We get in serious foul trouble - we lose If Galloway doesn't play - we probable lose We score more points than Penn State - we win Notice there is only one way to win. Hoosiers 75 Nitty Lions 74