Crimson and Cream

That is clearly the flip side as well. Indiana could have lost to Southern Illinois pretty easily and that could have put a complete damper on the entire season.

It has been 22 years since an Indiana football team has won back-to-back Big Ten road games. That streak could end on Saturday in West Lafayette.
My students in the Sportswriting class I teach at Indiana University were giving me a hard time last week when I was giving the opinion that I believed the Hoosiers would win their final two football games and get bowl eligible.
 
Their basic thought was simple: What makes you think Indiana will win back-to-back Big Ten road games when the Hoosiers have only won one Big Ten road game in five seasons under Kevin Wilson?
 
And they had a point. They didn’t tell me this but here’s something to chew on.
 
*** The last time IU won back-to-back Big Ten road games was 1993.
 
*** That means head coaches Bill Lynch, Terry Hoeppner, Gerry DiNardo and Cam Cameron all left Indiana without winning back-to-back Big Ten road games.
 
*** Just 18 players on Indiana’s current roster were even born the last time it happened. Nate Sudfeld is one of them. He was two months old.
 
So in other words, they had a good point.
 
But I was coming at it from a different place. The reality is that I just believed that a battle-tested Indiana squad, having played strong games against Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan and Iowa in recent weeks, would be more than ready to face a pair of 2-8 teams in Maryland and Purdue.
 
And that clearly played out Saturday at Maryland. To call the Maryland situation pathetic would be a gross understatement. That team was ready for the season to end. The body language showed it, the number of players wearing jerseys over their street clothes showed it and the crowd was perhaps the worst I’ve ever seen in a Big Ten road venue. There was no one there. There were a few extra folks there because it was Senior Day but it was pretty sad.
 
Maryland jumped out to the 21-3 lead but it was as if that as no big deal either. As soon as IU scored 21 in a row to take a 24-21 lead the body language of the Terps looked like a team that knew it was going to lose again. It didn’t take long for the game to get out of hand.
 
Now the Purdue game will be different because it’s the Bucket and there will be the rivalry aspect and Indiana trying to bring home the Bucket for a third time in a row for the first time since 1946. I get all of that. At the same time, I just think Indiana has the superior team and will find a way to get it done.
 
I completely expect us to be sitting here this time next week wondering what lower level bowl the Hoosiers will be heading to. I’ve heard maybe Nashville for the Music City Bowl and I’ve heard maybe Yankee Stadium for the bowl up there. This likely won’t be a Florida locale but just getting to a bowl game would be a huge step for this Indiana program.
 
That is true especially after IU dropped six in a row in the middle of the season. We all know that if Indiana had taken care of business against Rutgers in the fourth quarter or stopped Michigan on that final play of regulation, Indiana would already be bowl eligible and not have the extra stress going into the Bucket game. Yes, all of those things are true. But I think something should also be said that this Indiana team didn’t give up after dropping to 4-6.
 
As the players have continued to say throughout the losing streak and then once again following the win on Saturday at Maryland: They still have their preseason goals before them and they’re attainable.
 
Make it to a bowl game.
 
Now if Indiana can do that, like my students were quick to point out it would require winning back-to-back Big Ten road games.
 
And that’s what I really believe that Indiana is about to do.


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North Carolina? Yes, I think Roy should be fired. Underperformer as of late and a cheater. UNC could be WAY stronger.

Duke? Lost a neutral site game to Kentucky. Won National championship last year. Recruiting as the best. Top 2 program last 20 years. Get real.

Wichita State? It's Wichita State! "Shocking" they are even mentioned in same breath as UNC and Duke. For that reason alone, he deserves leeway.

Indiana? Historical top 10 program behaving like a mid tier power program for 8 years. Not our first terrible loss and not our last. Recurring themes of bad play.

Apples and Oranges.

Sometimes those days where you see nothing are the best. Some of the most relaxing times of my life have been in the woods.

A better coach wouldn't make the team better? That's a new one.

I don't care if his players like him. That worked out so well when it landed us Mike Davis.

Just stop with the "so called IU fans crap." We all have gripes and they've been the same ones for his entire tenure. All valid and substantiated year after year with the team's poor performance against teams with less talent. If criticizing Crean irks you so much then why don't you just avoid the thread? There are plenty of Pro-Crean threads for you and the rest of the real IU fans to congregate in. Leave us to one of the very few forums, on this site, that we can voice our frustrations with our coach.

but I'm not a cash cow

You can't pin a decade of poor defense on the coach?

we looked like we could give a hoot as well.

I'm positive Crean needs to go.  How's that?

At this point do we really want UCLA? Why, so they can beat us and then the rest of the season we have to listen to Alford fanboys scream that he should be our coach instead? No, I'd be more than happy to just beat St Johns. UNLV would be an extreme challenge with Zimmerman.

My brother just called me. He is another IU alumnus and diehard fan much like myself. He said he can't bear watching this same crap over and over. He said he will be checking box scores and saving himself some time. I am TOO diehard to do that but, I bet many fans feel exactly like him.

Same ole same ole.

Thank you for this. That was the worst drawn up play I've ever seen in my life. 3 secs left and you think you need to throw a full court pass?? There is no defense, nobody looked like they wanted to play. The basketball program needs a culture change now. Get this bum out of Bloomington.

Bowl game will be awesome, beating Purdue to secure it will be perfection.

I would love Tom Crean too if I didn't have to play a lick of defense and still get plenty of playing time in hopes that I turn it on offensively. If I'm a scorer and don't like playing defense, Indiana seems like a top destination to me

Of course they love him, they can do whatever they want in the offseason and get away with it.  They can shoot any shot they want, they can make terrible players, they can stand around on defense and nothing happens. 

They love him, just apparently not enough to play hard for him. Or to tell him how stupid it is to throw a hail mary with 3 seconds left. They must enjoy not having to play hard and losing to subpar teams.

That was the worst drawn up play equal to the Colts punt debacle.
I tell you folks.... The tenor of the game was set when JBJ got the ball stolen from behind in the first half. NO other team allows that to happen. It's 2014/2015 all over again. I wouldn't chant Crean sucks at his son/daughter's high school game. But, I sure as hell will say it here.... CREAN SUCKS!
Stop the BS at IU and Go get BS.... Brad Stevens!!

Thank you for this. That was the worst drawn up play I've ever seen in my life. 3 secs left and you think you need to throw a full court pass?? There is no defense, nobody looked like they wanted to play. The basketball program needs a culture change now. Get this bum out of Bloomington.

Fire him today.  I would rather have a one year rental who might actually do something with the talent we have assembled. 

Thank you for this. That was the worst drawn up play I've ever seen in my life. 3 secs left and you think you need to throw a full court pass?? There is no defense, nobody looked like they wanted to play. The basketball program needs a culture change now. Get this bum out of Bloomington.

Nothing has changed.  Thomas Bryant was supposed to make us something other than this pathetic.  Nothing has changed in years. 

Nerlens Noel or Rakeem Christmas would have been legendary for this.

@RichardLagow: Pretty cool edit! #IU #Hoosiers

Bowl game will be awesome, beating Purdue to secure it will be perfection.