bronkonagurski

The "I told you so!" crowd is always fun.  Let's have Jaybob e-mail you a delicious chocolate chip cookie.  Maybe throw in a bozo button for good measure.    It is one of the most curious things I've noticed on sports message boards over the years.  Winning or losing an argument with somebody you will never meet in real life trumps everything else.  Kind of sad if you take the time to really, really think about it.  ;)

I'm about ready to just tune out and play some XBOX already. 

College football refs are corrupt and favor the bigger name schools.  We've been getting screwed on these kind of calls for decades.

This is what happens when you consume too much sausage gravy. 

Honestly a guy like Jerry Kill is the kind of coaching profile I'd look for the next time we are looking for a new coach.  A guy with a proven, winning track record at multiple football programs.  The last time IU actually hired a head football coach with such a background was Bill Mallory and well, I'd say that ended up being a great hire even if the success didn't last as long as we'd like.  Which I'd argue was due to the athletic department not making investments in the program and facilities when the iron was hot.  But 6 bowl games in 8 years plus sniffing upper Big Ten contention a couple of times, heck that looks like a juicy steak after the lackluster teams we have seen the last 20 years. 

Michigan State is a rough assignment for any QB, let alone a true frosh taking his first snaps ever.  I mean I think he looked awful last weekend too but now he has a bye week and the we play Michigan which is a much more manageable challenge.  Kind of hoping MSU just pounds the will to win out of them on Saturday. 

  And then they fire him and go back to hiring the next unproven commodity and giving it another 4-5 years to see if it works out or not.  Unless Glass has an ace up his sleeve or things get appreciably worse the next couple of seasons, I think CKW will still be here.    That isn't me giving any kind of glowing endorsement, that is just me looking at things realistically.

  I think it is great that you participate here and I agree that we need to give this team a chance to show what it can do before we get all out of sorts. 

  That is an odd game to post as an example.  Nate was 31-41 for 347 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 turnovers in that game.  The offense put up 42 points.  If Tevin Coleman doesn't fumble in the 4th quarter, honestly I believe we win that game as it stood.  So I don't see what difference Tre would have made unless he converted to defense and forced some turnovers.  ;)

While I absolutely do wish we still had Tre Roberson on our team, there is a lot of selective memory being expressed by some people here.  He did not consistently out-perform Nate last year.  Tre did have his moments and hot streaks.  But he never was all that consistent at any time during his IU career.  He had some great moments and flashes of promise for sure.  I feel the same way about Nate, he has his moments but the consistency is not there.  All this "oh yeah we would have 4-5 wins with Tre"......please. 

I have no doubt that IU can find the funds to buy out Crean if it comes to that but...then what?  Will they actually have a plan and a short list of high value replacement targets identified and pony up whatever it takes to make it happen?    What I'm getting at is finding the money to buy out the current coach is fine and nice but what will be left over to go after the best possible replacement?  Based on the last 2 times that IU had an "open" coaching search for the men's basketball job...not holding my breath on that one.  I just don't think the finalists will end up being the sexy picks everyone wants to see.

Honestly I'm surprised we kept it semi-competitive for one half.

  I don't know that it is such an easy answer.  What I'm getting at is that if Covington struggles then we should look at other options.  I'm under the impression the coaching staff is more concerned about protecting a red-shirt season for other QB's at this point . If I am mistaken, so be it.

  I say go with whoever gives you the best chance to win. 

  I'll agree our offense is tougher to watch aside from Coleman's heroics because our passing game has taken a big step backwards, and Suds being out will just magnify that problem now.  Defense is better to some extent, yes.   I'm with you on the desire to see us play smart, fundamental football.  I still think we suffer from too many self-inflicted wounds on the field most weeks.  But to be honest, that has been a trademark of IU football for a solid 20 years going back to my freshman year at IU.    Do I feel like we are well-coached?  Depends on which team shows up any given week...yes consistency is definitely something we have not attained yet.  In terms of overall improvement, the needle has been slowly but surely moving upwards going into this season....if you look at the raw results from the first 3 seasons:   Indiana Hoosiers (Big Ten Conference) (2011–present) 2011 Indiana 1–11 0–8 6th (Leaders)       2012 Indiana 4–8 2–6 5th (Leaders)       2013 Indiana 5–7 3–5 4th (Leaders)       2014 Indiana 3–3 0–2 (East)   Now obviously the upward trend might stall out this season.  I'd take 3-5, 6-6 with a bowl game and call it another step forward but it is going to be tough sledding.   On the other hand, while the needle was headed upward from 2011 through 2013 in terms of bottom line W/L, we all certainly remember the opportunities we let slip away in both 2012 and 2013 that could have resulted in even better results and bowl appearances.    The current team isn't "hot dumpster fire garbage" bad or anything, the inconsistency is just frustrating.  That Missouri win felt so GOOD but losing to Bowling Green was so FRUSTRATING and then basically not showing up against Maryland in the conference home opener.  I was hoping the inconsistency needle to swing back to the "pleasant surprise" range today but...oh well.   I'll say this much, while I'm not 100% sold on CKW at this point, I think if/when he does leave town the next coach will be left with a better starting point than CKW had when Lynch got canned.    I don't have monumental expectations for this program, I just want to go to some bowls, ANY bowls.  Like maybe go bowling 3 times out of any given 5 years, maybe have a team that can compete for the division lead once every 5 years.  I don't think those are mind-blowing expectations  But consistent bowl appearances would do a ton of good for my own resolve and morale as an Indiana football fan dating back to1986. 

To be such an offense-oriented program, how can you be 5 years in and not have a backup QB capable of consistently passing the ball.  Perhaps the defection of Tre Roberson caught the staff by surprise but still...do we not have a single guy on the roster who can actually pass?  Covington has been thrown to the wolves here. 

  At this rate Mayweather vs. Pacquiao will happen first.  :laugh:

Nice post.  One additional note, I'm 99% certain the last time we won in Iowa City was...drum roll please...the last time we went bowling.  The 2007 team won a critical game at Iowa which helped propel them to a bowl bid for the first time since the 1993 season. 

  I agree.  Iowa is certainly beatable and moving to 4-2 would remove a lot of the sting of the disappointing losses to Bowling Green and Maryland.  I think our remaining schedule after this weekend will offer ample opportunity to play 13 games IF we can get this one.  I have a tough time seeing us getting to 6 wins if we lose tomorrow.  So basically I don't necessarily expect to win but it is a critical game we NEED to win.

As far as I'm concerned, it is a good thing to see the program continue to put money into upgrading the stadium.  Better facilities is still a selling point even if all those seats might not be filled right away.

Still patiently waiting to duke it out with Jayboob in the Bishop Dwenger parking lot.  :punish:

2.5   I'm generally optimistic about all of my teams before the season starts but I also have a sense of reality in place. 

  Same here.  I'm old enough to remember the 1987 title team but the Cheaney-era teams played during my high school years and I have many fond memories.  The 92-93 team going 17-1 in the Big Ten, winning three straight road games at Illinois, Michigan and Purdue...I loved that team.  Henderson getting injured was tragic.  Losing to Kansas in the Elite 8, I legit went out to the barn and cried while shooting hoops.  Still love that era of IU hoops. 

3-1 OOC record.  Should have been 4-0 but 3-1 is the best OOC run we've had so far under Wilson.  Need 3 conference wins now.  It is possible.  Personally I think beating Iowa next week is critical.  It is a road game but they are definitely down.  I'd feel pretty good sitting on 4-2. 

  Bill Mallory's Big Ten record in his final three seasons was 4-20.  1-15 in his last two seasons.  I think that had a lot more to do with letting him go than not getting to a major bowl.  I was on campus for his last three seasons and attended every single home game.  By the 1996 season, the writing was pretty much on the wall.  I also think he was loyal to a fault in regards to George Belu.  The 3 yards and a cloud of dust offense wasn't cutting it anymore.  It wasn't the Vaughn Dunbar and AT days anymore.  Sure, Alex Smith (when healthy) was pretty good but...one thing Bill was always pretty good about was fielding a stout defense.  I think we needed a different offensive philosophy, not just for the sake of on-field results but for the sake of recruiting.  Watching guys like John Paci, Chris Dittoe, Jay Rodgers and Adam Greenlee play the QB position those years with not much of any skill talent outside of Alex Smith...it was painful.   Having said those things, you are absolutely correct that IU did not do a good job of filling the position once they let Mallory go.  And part of that ties into the reason those coaching hires were doomed from the get-go, the lack of financial commitment to the football program.  Even as Mallory led IU to the verge of another Rose Bowl in 1987, the football program would never get the commitment that was needed to make what Mallory had built to that point turn into something that looked more like what Barry Alvarez did at Wisconsin.  Which I will always insist Mallory would have been our Alvarez if we struck while the iron was hot and made the appropriate investments in the facilities at the right time.   Current state, we finally put some real money into the football facilities and renovating the stadium.  We are spending more on our coaches relative to the past, but still near the bottom of the league.  I think as a program we are better positioned to be successful now as compared to the past but to clear that final hurdle, I think we need to put the final piece in place and spend what it takes to bring in a more proven coaching staff.  That or give CKW the resources to hire the best assistants possible.  Talk about regrets, I understand the health issue angle after Coach Hep passed but the one guy I regret us not hiring right now is Jerry Kill.  He is doing a tremendous job at Minnesota.