GnarlyNormEllenberger

A few thoughts... two days after the fact:   - I mentioned this right after Game #1 this year... there will be a few games when we look pretty good and there will be a few games where we look horrible. We just needed to play well in the "toss up" games because that would determine whether we were going bowling or not. We played well enough versus Western Kentucky and Wake Forest. And we absolutely killed ourselves in the 4th quarter of a very important game vs. a not-so-good Rutgers. IU football has little margin for error and it's so disappointing to see how one quarter of football can COMPLETELY change the outlook of the program.   - That being said, don't be a bit surprised if we don't give MSU, Iowa or Michigan a good game. I'll venture a guess that we'll play (at least) one of them very close. We've got a solid offense, especially when Howard returns and like I said vs. SIU, we don't have THAT bad of a defense normally. One of those squads will overlook us and we'll give them a scare. Unfortunately, playing close with these teams isn't good enough like it was vs. Ohio State. We need wins now. Gotta have wins.   - This means that Maryland and Purdue become what might be "must-wins." And we can still win them both. Yes, we looked horrible with how we lost to Rutgers. But have you watched Maryland and Purdue this year? They are capable of playing every bit as bad as we have played (and they have.) So the season is not over, yet.   - Some personnel observations: Really liked seeing Majette as an H-back sort of guy. Brings much needed speed and burst to the backfield that we have lacked this year. But he's a change of pace guy, not a run-up-the-middle type... Sudfeld had a great first three quarters. Amazing that he fell apart in the 4th... Good to see the receivers make some plays. Nice to see Fuchs catch a couple of TDs... Happy that Redding broke a long one. People have gone from saying "he's great" to "he stinks" but he's somewhere in the middle now and really needs a confidence boost (as do the rest of the team.)... The punt team has not been special all year and played a role in losing the game.   - One more note... there are some people who get so upset when people won't support IU Football after going 4-0 like we did or when we were 4-2. Games like Rutgers are why. These sort of things have plagued this program for a while. People don't want to invest their time in something when they know there is a good chance they'll get let down. They use the past as a predictor of the future. Is it always fair? No. But can you really blame them? They certainly look justified at this point in time. I'm a fan and I'll always be a fan of this football team. But with the gut-wrenching feeling I had leaving Memorial Stadium Saturday night, I can understand why others don't want to subject themselves to it.

Rutgers got their star receiver, Leonte Carroo, back last week after being held out a couple of games for legal issues. He has 14 receptions for 315 yards and 6 TDs in only three games this season. He will be a stiff test for our secondary, without a doubt.

I would be surprised if our #1 QB for next year is currently on the roster.   I have a feeling we'll see coach hit up the JUCO ranks and at least get someone in the Cam Coffman mold.   I do believe that both Diamont and Cameron still have some potential, but I think they'll need to be seasoned veterans in their 4th or 5th year of the program to be anywhere near as effective as we need them to be. King may have a bright future, but I believe he still needs a few years in the program to really be comfortable running the offense effectively.   The problem is... QBs want to play. And if they don't, they leave.

This team reminds me a little of Jerry Kill's Minnesota teams, where we don't necessarily win pretty, but we find a way to win.   One thing I can promise you, there isn't one person in Columbus who actually thinks Ohio State will lose to IU on Saturday. I guarantee you that. They haven't lost to us since 1988. They may say all the PC things about making sure they're prepared for us, but they're not worried at all about losing. I promise you... OSU players will see that IU only defeated Southern Illinois by one point and they'll think this is a gimme game. And maybe it will be for them.   But something else I know is this... our boys can play with house money and throw the kitchen sink at them. If there was ever, EVER, a time in the last 20 years when IU had the slightest chance of going toe-to-toe with the #1 team in the nation, this is it.

A few thoughts...   - We milked away the last six minutes of the game. And WKU had three timeouts to use. When was the last time we've been able to do that? The Mallory/AT days? Anyway, we earned this victory.   - Jordan Howard is the best player on this team. Yes, Sudfeld is the leader. Jones is coming on as a receiver. Redding looks solid. Our O-line has a couple gems. But Howard is just such a strong, powerful back. It takes so much to bring him down. He's just on a higher level than most RBs. If he was at Notre Dame, he'd already be a Heisman candidate.   - Pass defense is poor. But we started pulling a few LBs back in the second half and it helped a bit. Crawford made some good reads on the ball. And our D-line kept them from getting much on the ground, making them one-dimensional. All in all, the D did just enough to win against an offense that would probably be middle of the pack in the Big Ten.   - This was a good win. WKU looks to be an 8+ win team this year. If people want to complain about playing Southern Illinois so close, that's legitimate. But WKU is a GOOD mid-major. The kind that can beat Power 5 teams (see Vanderbilt this year.) I'll gladly take a 3-point victory. Gladly.   - @Wake Forest becomes a HUGE opportunity for this team. A 4-0 start would be so beneficial for this team. And it's certainly feasible. I think it would allow the players to be a little more loose and play with more confidence. However, 3-1 would possibly stunt our growth and make our path to 6 wins less certain. And with Ohio State looming, our momentum could be lost.

It does. I hope that all athletic departments (including our own) take note of this example and the repercussions that follow.

One thing we know from the last couple of years is that we're not a consistently "good" football team every week. Some weeks we look alright, some we look dismal. What really matters (for bowl eligibility) is that we play well in the games where we have a legitimate chance to win. Personally, I don't think we've played well in either of our first two games, so I would hope that we have a few "good" performances (i.e. '14 vs. Missouri, '13 vs. Penn State) in the tank for the season.   Yes, the next two are important. But let's not pretend that our whole Big Ten schedule is chocked full of definite L's. Yes, Ohio State and Michigan State could be categorized as such. But let's look at a few more...   October 10th: @ Penn State. They got blasted by Temple and earned a "meh" victory over Buffalo. They look mediocre at-best. While winning there would be difficult (we've never done it), they are not THAT much better than us. Look at our last two meetings with them as proof.   October 17th: vs. Rutgers. They just lost at home to Washington State. Not a horrid loss, but not a game that inspires confidence in the team's abilities. They weren't projected to be that good to begin with. And they just suspended their star WR for off-the-field troubles. This one is winnable.   November 7th: vs. Iowa. Yes, Iowa looks better this year than what some may have projected. But, they don't look to be world-beaters. Maybe a middle of the pack Big Ten team. And we normally play them well at home (and even on the road.) Again, a win here shouldn't come as a MAJOR surprise.   November 14th: vs. Michigan. This will be tough because I expect them to improve significantly as the year progresses. But they aren't conference title contenders, either. This one has the potential to be similar to '13 vs. Penn State, in my opinion. Do I expect a win? No. But Wilson's teams have shown they can win a game like this.   November 21st: @Maryland. Bowling Green just beat them in Maryland by three touchdowns. Which goes along with early projections that Maryland is rebuilding this year. Road games are tough for us, but again, don't tell me we don't at least have a shot of taking one in their place.   November 28: @Purdue. Purdue is better this year. But not enough to think we can't win here. And if a bowl game is on the line here, I'd like to think our guys will go "all out" to get a W here.   Now, we may lose ALL these games. And to be honest, it wouldn't surprise me. My point is that some people want to think that our defense will always look as bad as they did against Southern Illinois or it is now going to be as solid as it was against Florida International. IU football can play very well in one week but lay an absolute egg in the next week. We've seen that play out over and over again. You watch, we'll get destroyed in at least one of those games listed above. I'll almost guarantee you. We're inconsistent. But we can also be "good" from time to time. This post just attempts to explain that we have a team that, if they play well, COULD (meaning it's not too difficult to fathom a victory) knock off any of those teams listed above.

Some thoughts...   -The narrative that Newkirk can't shoot seems overblown. Yes, he shot poorly as a sophomore. But as a freshman he shot 46% from the field and 43% from distance. Is he Steve Alford? No. But let's not act like he's Stan Robinson or Jeremiah Rivers, either.   -Newkirk is a point guard. He's supposed to be a facilitator. He had a 2:1 assist-turnover ratio as both a Freshman and a Sophomore. Not superb, but decent.To compare, Robert Johnson, was a little over 1:1 last year.   -We are going to need experience for the 2016-2017 season. Newkirk will be a fourth-year Junior with some success vs. high-level competition. And a year working under Crean.   - What '16 point guard that we're recruiting do we honestly believe will be assuredly better of a pick-up than Newkirk? Yes, Curtis Jones and Bruce Brown look to be solid players. I'd gladly take them. But both are more of Top 50-60 players as opposed to the instant-impact McDonald's variety. And just by doing a little bit of reading on those two, you see the label "combo" guard as opposed to true point guard. Seriously now... do we honestly believe that they, as freshman, could give us more than Newkirk as a fourth-year Junior at point guard? Running the team, defensively, etc?   I'm just afraid some people see him as scoring 5.9 PPG and shooting 38% as a sophomore and just assume that's all he'll ever be. I think that's a little unfair.   My opinion.

Perhaps, but the runners-up are remembered a whole lot more than Sweet 16's.   Regardless, I appreciate the lively debate between posters. A lot of solid info is being presented and puts me in the mood for basketball season a lot more than watching strength and conditioning videos.