BottomLine

Indiana isn't a destination job. Where you going to find this "great" coach? How you going to keep him if he is successful? Indiana is going to either hire a coach on the way down, or a young coach that has yet to prove his ability in a power 5 conference. This isn't a new problem. IU has been trying to successfully turn things around for a hundred years. What make you thing we are going to get it right this time? I know that IU can win. Attended IU from 65 to 69 and made the trip to the Rose Bowl. Was it sustainable? No. And before you knew it John Pont was off to Northwestern and IU was back to being the worst brand in NCAA football.

It isn't about the coach guys. Hate to be a Debbie Downer but: 1. Indiana is bad because Indiana has always been bad. We will never be good until we break that mental loop. Many have tried and all have failed, or moved on to better jobs. 2. Indiana will never be good when we celebrate signing players that would be 2nd, 3rd or 4th string players at Ohio State or Michigan. And, if they improve the portal is always there for them to escape. 3. We all need to realize that, unlike basketball, football is a "numbers" sport. IU has always been a terrible second half football school because we have never been able to develop depth. Out starters may be competitive but the backup aren't there and other teams wear us down. I don't have the answer to any of these problems and I don't think that we are going to be able to bring in any coach that can answer them. If that coach exists he is already the head of a winning program elsewhere.

.And now it starts to get serious. Win the first game and you have a one game advantage over half of the conference. Obvious? Sure but the opposite is starting the season trying to climb out of a hole. Must game? Yes. In the Big10, if you want to do anything, you need to hold serve. Thoughts on Maryland: This is the return of Geronimo. Couldn't start for us but can for them. They are 3-3 but lost those three by a total of 9. They shoot a 3 41% of the time so we better guard the line. So what's new. Their defense is better than their offense. Finally, they aren't considered a tourney team. Thoughts on IU: How healthy are we? Reneau/Johnson has to be better than Cupps/Walker or Banks. If we lose two starters for this one and play with a shorter bench, how much will we drop off offensively? Not going to be easy but we SHOULD win this one. However I might revisit the prediction based on the injury report. Hoosiers 70 Maryland 64

Congrats to rcs29 on a well played season, much better than the Hoosiers. After finishing 2nd in the 22-23 Basketball Prediction League to a sharpie, you have shown not only skill but staying power. Also congrats to Class of '66 Old Fart, After leading into the final game you showed yourself a true Hoosier through and through by blowing the goal line stand as time expired. Also a nod to cthomas for picking up 3rd in your first year. A huge hug and warm fuzzies to LIHoosier for running the show this year. Thank you so much for giving this meaningless season some purpose. Taking on the responsibility for running a league like this is so often a thankless job. You deserve all of our gratitude. THANK YOU! Finally, this was my first year trying to pick football games, not normally my cup of tea, and I'm proud of my 4th place finish. Time to go back for some serious reflection on what went wrong and to start preparation for next year. Go Hoosiers, and BTW, let's all root for IU MBB to beat Harvard this afternoon.

Would rather see this game played in Bloomington but that isn't how it works. Harvard isn't dog meat and Indiana is probably the toughest game they will face this year. That isn't saying that they will sweep through the Ivy League. Got to think that IU wins this one based on talent alone, though it hasn't always showed up for games thus far. let's hope that we learned something about ourselves in the Big Apple that translates into better play. Still it could be a dog fight for most of the game. Indiana Hoosiers 75 Brainiacs from the East 66

Even a Bucket Game win won't save this season. End of the season - GAG! Hoosiers 3 TD =21 1 FG = 3 Total = 24 Little Sister to the North 4 TD = 28 2 FG = 6 Total = 34

Hit 132 and I told myself there is no way that can't be the top score. Wow a lot of us locked in on this game. Still dreaming of the magical and almost impossible 145.

Is coach sticking with his starting lineup? On Sunday it seemed that every time U Conn scored the IU man nearest the ball was Mgbako. I know you don't want to break the kids confidence but how long can Coach allow this to go on? No idea on defense and it is impacting him on the other end of the court too. This 5-star isn't going to be a one and done. Not seeing a big future for a few others either. This Louisville team isn't as strong as many in the past. Think we rebound to take this one but we may see a ton of subs as Coach starts looking for chemistry and toughness. That is what I'd be doing. Indiana Hoosiers 77 Lou-a-vill Cardinals 66

Just smile and act like you have been there before. That drives everyone crazy.

The first part of the sacrificial lamb season is over. Now we get to be the sacrificial lamb for U Conn. Man, I hate this pick. My heart says one thing but the gray matter upstairs disagrees. This isn't a good time or place for us to face Connecticut. Johnson has a gimpy ankle. Remember those big eyes from the exhibition kids playing in Assembly Hall. It is our time to have big eyes - this is Madison Square Garden. Has to have an impact one way or the other. In three games against less than average competition we have outscore our opponents by a total of only 23 points. Not for one game. For all three combined. 51.8% of the shots taken against us this year have been 3 point shots. We aren't getting to the shooters but can't seem to help ourselves. OTOH we have only scored a total of 11 3-point shots this year and no more that 4 in any game. We are a team that hasn't come together yet playing against the National Champions. We may suck it up and show some grit. Or, this could be a repeat of the Arizona or Kansas game from last year. Even worse it could be a repeat of the game at Duke a few years back when they ran us out of the gym. Hope we rise to the occasion. U Conn has beaten Northern Arizona, Stonehill, and Mississippi Valley State. This will be their first test too. Indiana Hoosiers 68 U Conn Dogs 78

Oh, who cares? Indiana Hoosiers 3 TD + 21 1 FG =3 Total = 24 MSU Spartans 3 TD = 21 Total = 21

On paper Wright State doesn't look that strong. That makes them sacrificial lamb #3. On the other hand the last two games were supposed to be easy and were not. Indiana reminds me of a team where there are 10 guys that all think they should be starting and are used to being bigshots on teams where somebody else was supposed to do all the grunt work. The result is a lot of sulky faces on the bench. Coach needs to nip that in the bud. Time for everyone to start figuring out their roles. I'm leaning toward higher offensive totals here. Why? Call it a hunch but I think Coach may start shortening the rotation. You do what Coach wants or you sit. Is this the game where Cupps starts for the first time? Lots of guessing about a teams that is still looking for chemistry. Indiana Hoosiers 85 Sacrificial Lamb #3 68 .

Army = sacrificial lamb #2 Still getting our act together. We know we can run, until we can't like against FGC. Our half court offense stinks so far. Need to work on that. Pressure defense looks good until we need to guard the 3-point line. Is three bigs the answer or do we need the quickness that a three guard lineup gives us? For being a huge team we aren't so good rebounding the ball. All of those long rebounds off 3-point missed shots don't help. Is Mgbaka suddenly the odd man out? No way, but we need to find a spot for him or at least build a fire under his rear. Lots of questions to answer but this probably isn't the game where we will find answers. Army at 0-2 may be weaker than either of our exhibition games. What do we learn in a blowout? Indiana Hoosiers 81 The "Thank you for your Service Guys" 55

If it is an overtime game, everyone's picks will be a shambles. Those points do add up.

My heart says IU can win this game! My head says don't bet your money that way. IU 3 TD = 21 Total 21 Illinois 3 TD = 21 + 1 FG =3 Total 24

As the defending champion, I'm ready for all challengers. Looking forward to a repeat. We win this one. No tossing coins here. By how much? That is a tough question since we didn't face much of a challenge in our exhibition games. If we are able to get out and run, we win big. If we play defense, FGC isn't going to score much, though they figure to be a volume 3-point shooting team. Heck, I always do poorly in the first week. Probable won't be any different this year. Fear my IU score is a tad low and the FGC score is a tad high. Whatever! Let's win this one for Billy Garrett! Hoosiers 77 Sacrificial Lambs 65

I absolutely swear that I DID NOT look at anyone's predictions before I posted mine. We must be using the same tea leaves. Good luck to both of us again.

Four more games. GASP! What a marathon. Hoosiers 2 TD = 14 + 1 FG = 3 = 17 Badgers 4 TD = 28 + 1 FG = 3 = 31

What's not to like. Look at the vid. Didn't miss a single shot!

Stuhoo also seems to be on the same wavelength.

Stuhoo also seems to be on the same wavelength.

You know what they say about great minds.

The time comes when you just need to say enough is enough. I won't watch this game. I probable won't watch any more IU football games this year. Basketball starts Sunday - Thank GOD! Penn State 6 TDs = 42 1 FG = 3 Total = 45 IU 1 TD = 7 1 FG = 3 Total = 10

This is my first year in the football prediction league. Usually I just ignore the Indiana football season. Wish I had this year. The season is turning into a depression slog. Trying to be optimistic. The Rutgers game is a must win game if IU is going to have even a small hope of going to a bowl game this year. Yes, I know it is a long long shot but the road is still there if IU can take advantage. If we beat Rutgers we are 3-4 with Penn St and then Wisconsin coming up. That would get us to 3-6. However the last three games are Illinois, Michigan St and Purdue. All three of those schools have losing records and are a combined 2-9 in the Big Ten. If IU wins against Rutgers and the last three games we end up the season 6-6 and would be bowl eligible. I know. Not going to happen. BUT the road is still open. OTOH the teams we beat are a combined 1-12 This week's sad prediction: Indiana 2 TD =14 1 FG = 3 Total 17 Rutgers 3 TD = 21 2 FG = 6 Total 27

We all know who is going to win this game. Indiana is outclassed here by a wide margin and that makes it particularly hard to predict the score. There is a possibility that Michigan just runs wild over the Hoosiers and the score gets away from everyone. There is also the possibility that the Hoosier roll over and play dead. If a game ever needed a running clock this is the one. Can't see the Hoosiers getting shut out, though it is a possibility. Indiana - 1 TD=7 1 FG=3 Total 10 Michigan 6 TDs=42 0 FG=0 Total 42 OR Maybe we stop them and make them kick once. That would be 5 TDs=35 + 1 FG =3 Total 38 I think I'll be an optimist this week. Hoosier 10 Michigan 38