MartintheMopMan

Out of curiosity. When you rate Cameron's ability in the air, what is that based off of? I've only seen him make 16 attempts and... well it went terribly. Worse than Diamont.

I don't know enough about sports injuries to dispute this, but I am pretty sure that is not right. Just working from memory of NFL injuries and how they're talked about.   As for Howard v. Sudfeld, that's nuts. Cameron has an arm, but like, only in a literal sense. I'd rather have Cameron taking snaps as our RB than our QB. Sudfeld absolutely has a bigger impact.   Think of it this way, Tevin Coleman played last year when Suds was down, and he's better than Howard. Were we able to win?

Man, I know you can't bring Wisco lower because Bo Ryan is still the coach and they are national runners up, but unless Bo is working his ice magic on them, then they are not a top 25 team.

Honestly, I don't see that many fixable mistakes with his coaching. Most of the mistakes come from general philosophy, recruitment issues, or inability. I mean, you can't just take Crean aside for an off-season and teach him how to coach defense in a game situation. At this level it has to be second nature and he really is trying to do well. You can't teach Crean to do better on the recruiting trail. You can't teach him that a fast-paced wing-focused play-set is not the way to win basketball games, that comes from his personality and decades of habit and experience. So, where do you find actual teachable areas? I know it's tempting to say "teach him how to break a zone" but it really isn't that simple.   And when do you teach him? He has a year round job already without opportunities to take a few months off to learn how to coach. When he isn't directly coaching the team, he is recruiting.   I mean, you don't hire a head coach and expect to train him up into the position (looking at you Tomsula), it's too high level a position. It's the same reason CEOs are so valuable.

Left ankle. So, no, thankfully.   And really too bad for Howard if he doesn't play. This is the game for an RB to rack up the numbers. Rutgers might as well not have a run-defense. 

Not a surprise. I'd bet the Rutgers votes would all change if they didn't think Cameron might start along with... I don't even know the name of who was playing RB at the end of the game. Hoping the game won't actually be as close as they think.

I wonder if Jim will meet with the team at all while Michigan is down.   John is going to stomp the Niners this weekend, but man I would be happy if Ravens got tired of him and that idiot York was smart enough to hire the less abrasive Harbaugh.   That's what this post is about right? I'm actually ass-u-ming because I can't do facebook links at work.

Maybe. I think there would be more butts in the seats if people know Suds would be playing, but otherwise, who wants to spend time, money, and effort going to see a repeat of last week (except against a far worse team). I couldn't even make it through at home without suffering a meltdown.   The question in fans minds is which team is going to take the field? The 4 or the 2? If they can't answer that, they aren't going to show up.   I know it's impossible to play "what-ifs" but, if we lost the last two games with our regular starters and this was a comeback curbstomp game, then I think another few thousand fans would be willing to take the chance.

Just to add to my previous post because I was checking Punt John Punt this morning and it made me think of it (renewing my call, I want those guys writing for us not for some site no one reads). Indiana has not won a Big Ten game on the road since October 27, 2012 when it beat an Illinois team that ultimately went 2-10 that year. Losing at home and expecting to turn two Big Ten road games, including the bucket game which will be a very hostile environment, into must-wins and actually winning them both is a completely unacceptable risk. This game is an absolute must-win if we want to be in a bowl this year.

Gross that was in Indianapolis that year too.   I guess the proper way to write it is "a National runner-up followed by two Final Fours... and then a whole lot of disappointment"

I agree in terms of scheduling, we can technically afford the loss. But, for a number of reasons, I think "must win" is an appropriate analysis. First, we're on a 2-game losing streak right now. Rutgers at home is the best opportunity to snap the streak. If we lose this, we go into the hardest 3 game stretch on a 3-game slide. Much harder to break the funk then. So, let's say we slide our way through 3 very tough games and end up going to MD and Purdue on a 6 game losing streak, unable to relax because a loss means no bowl game.   Say nothing for the numbers, for the player's mentality and for them not to feel like it's "Indiana as usual" Rutgers is a must win. I'm not ready to put my hopes on winning out our last two games on the road, even if they are two of the weakest teams in the Big Ten.   All that having been said? Wilson said this afternoon Howard and Suds were practicing at least a little. That gives me enough hope to make it through the week. Rutgers should be a win with either one.   Plus, I don't entirely buy that Maryland is such a bad team we can count on them to be an easy win. They've lost quite a few games, but lost those games to good teams. Their worst loss is Bowling Green who aren't bad this year. Next West Ginny, who has put up strong showings against very good teams their last two games. OSU and Michigan? Who isn't going to have those losses on their record this year? After this weekend when they play Penn State we'll have a better idea of who the team really is. 

I'll bet the pitch is very "be part of the class that starts it all" too. If these players took Miss St to an Elite Eight or Final Four they would be worshiped there until the end of time*.   His incoming class is actually already pretty sick, way better than ours. A couple four stars, a five, and a three star, tons of immediate playing time, a forgiving fan base, easy conference.   On the other hand, it's Mississippi State.   *Though, they're still an SEC school, so they may get confused trying to praise basketball players

Yet he didn't come back when his backup went down during a still winnable game this past week. It's impossible for anyone who isn't in the practices to say whether he's ready to return. We need to remember "cleared to play" is a minimum bar, it has a vastly different meaning than "ready to play".

Into a quarry?

This is all the first time I'm learning Mississippi State has a basketball program.   Nah, but the Bulldogs haven't been to the tourney in like 6 years. What kind of class are they pulling together to draw someone like DD? Howland? He was fired for underperformance at UCLA, though I am interested to hear what happened at the Tower of Joy. 

I don't disagree Redding is a good back, I think his routes were poorly designed for his talents and with Diamont getting no respect on the pass he ended up facing more pressure than Howard has in other games. The fault was not with Redding himself as far as I could tell, but that doesn't mean it wasn't the correct decision not to trust his abilities in the last game (boom triple negative). Whomever is playing, I hope we're using a better mix of plays designed for the players strengths. Cameron is a better passer than Diamont or at least he has the tools to be, so a more pass focused game with him may be passable.   The whole game does come down to who plays though, which makes it hard to anticipate and talk about. With the players on the field in the second half of last week? I think even Rutgers would be too much (and we would really need to worry about Suds). With either Suds or Howard back? Totally different ball game. 

Does it feel like there are more reports of violations coming out in the last couple of years to anyone else? Maybe they're just better reported, but it feels like you can't go a month without a major program getting into some kind of hot water.

This is a real must win. A bowl team wins this game, while we may be able to pull together 6 wins even without it (though, it will be tough) the reality is that Rutgers is a weak team that we are genuinely better than and it's homecoming.   I think Suds will be back and it's always hard to tell with RBs. His injury may be worse or there is just too much of a drop in his performance with the injury. I really hope Howard still gets his chance to shine, and am glad we have more than just the 1 year with him. The question will be whether the coaching staff notices we still have injuries and changes the game plan. Maybe the lack of faith in Redding was justified last week, but the amount of early passing plays with Zander despite not connecting them was astounding. Though, if no Suds then we're looking at Cameron this week not Zander.

116 years of Big Ten excellence - 34   Who? Really? Why would the Big Ten want them? - 16

Oh no! I'm sorry you're sad, but I know I'm just trying my best! Sorry if you can't support someone doing their best!

The offense didn't play terrible! They did great! Don't be a negative Nancy.

The game ended and no one else got injured! We did it!

We lose a lot. That seems similar.   But, we're doin' fine now!

Ohio State looks great!

No more having to face Hackenberg this game!