IndyHutch

Just when you think you've seen it all with Indiana football, Rutgers happened on Saturday. A 25-point lead just over 20 minutes to play is squandered and another Indiana football season is in jeopardy of heading south. Here is my take on the 55-52 setback. My first thought following Indiana’s gift-wrapped, come-from-ahead, 55-52 loss to Rutgers at home Saturday was that with Indiana football there have always been a couple of hard and fast truths.   1. It’s never easy. 2. No lead is ever safe. 3. Always expect the unexpected.   They all came into play Saturday in Bloomington.   Indiana had a 25-point lead with 5:25 to play in the third quarter after the Hoosiers opened the half scoring 28 unanswered points and took a 52-27 lead.   At most college football programs, it’s game over. Warm up the Rutgers busses, put in some guys that normally don’t get to play and watch the individual statistics soar.   But we all know another truth about Indiana football: IU is not most college football programs.   Just when you think you’ve seen it all with the Hoosiers, something like this happens. You can blame Kevin Wilson (and many will). You can blame some poor decisions by Nate Sudfeld late in the game (and many will). You can blame a defense that in key situations simply can’t get out of its own way (and many will).   You can blame an inopportune bad snap on a punt that resulted in a touchdown. You can blame lack of recognition on a Rutgers fake punt in the first half. You can blame not getting enough consistent pressure on the quarterback throughout the game.   There was plenty of blame to go around. But the reality here is that this game should never have had a chance to get to where Rutgers could come back and win. Good teams and good programs just do not allow that to happen. But once again Indiana football proved that when it comes to those two areas IU is 0-for-2.   So who deserves the most blame for this debacle?   Wilson? If you are one of those people in the camp that the fifth-year head coach needed to find a way to win this season and if not could potentially be shown the door, then you’d have to think a loss like this could provide the straw that broke the camel’s back. No question about it. This was an epic loss. This was one that should have been in the books and yet you let it slip away. Indiana should be 5-2 right now with five games to play and needing just one win to get bowl eligible.   Instead, IU will likely have to beat both Maryland and Purdue on the road to get to a bowl game. While a possibility, that’s far from a sure thing.   But back to Wilson. I remember thinking back in 2010 after IU got ripped on the road at Wisconsin 83-20 that that one embarrassment was going to be tough for Lynch to overcome. And he was let go after the season. But I really felt that went IU left Madison that day that Lynch was a dead coach walking.   If Indiana fails to win six games this year, when people look back at Saturday’s debacle will they think about it in the same way? It’s very possible. The other one was inexcusable for different reasons. This was simply a game that once you got ahead 52-27 you simply could not afford to lose. And when the Hoosiers did … well, draw your own conclusions.   After IU took that big lead, Rutgers came back and scored pretty quickly to make it 52-33. But that should still be a lead, with 17 minutes to play in the game that should be safe.   The next time IU got the ball I thought the Hoosiers got a little conservative. Mike Majette, running the ball for the first time in a game this season on Saturday, got the call on running plays on both first and second down. One went for minus-1 and the other for no gain. Now, you’re in third and long and you get an 8-yard completion. On the first play of the fourth quarter, after deciding to punt from the Rutgers 46, there was a high snap over the head of Erich Toth and the senior didn’t have his finest moment on the play. He tried to pick it up but instead the ball was knocked away and eventually returned the other way for a touchdown. Now it was 52-39.   When IU got the ball back the next time, it looked as the Hoosiers were going to be aggressive again. Ricky Jones caught passes of 13 and 23 yards to get the ball to the Rutgers 40. But then Sudfeld had an incomplete pass, Devine Redding had a 1 yard gain, and on third down Sudfeld threw a pick. On this play, the defender made a nice break on the ball and made an acrobatic grab. Still, Rutgers got the ball back and scored on the next possession to make it 52-46.   This is when I thought Sudfeld really made his most questionable throw of the game. On first down at the IU 25, leading by six points with just under 10 minutes to play, Sudfeld threw a pass in the direction of Mitchell Paige deep down the left sideline. But there were three Rutgers defenders in the area and one of them came up with a pick.   Rutgers needed five plays to go 63 yards and the game was tied. Indiana blocked another extra point to keep it at 52-all. But it was only delaying the inevitable.   Indiana had a three and out and never saw the ball again.   Indiana had a ton of superlative performances. Sudfeld had a career-high passing, the Hoosiers may have found another solid running back with the play of Majette, and three IU receivers had more than 100 yards receiving.   But none of it matters because of the ‘L’. That’s the only statistic you could take out of this game.   And ultimately it could be the only statistic in 2015 that separates Indiana from going to a bowl game. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/football/analysi/analysis-plenty-of-blame-to-go-around-in-most-r234]Click here to view the article[/url]

Once again, Indiana football is six games into the season and the focus is on the quarterback position. Indiana fans can only hope this year works out a lot better than one transpired a season ago. Last year, in the sixth game at Iowa, Nate Sudfeld injured his non-throwing shoulder and was lost for the season. IU eventually went with Zander Diamont for the final six games and the Hoosiers went 1-5 to end the year. Saturday, it was Diamont, making his first start of the year in place of the injured Sudfeld, who went down with a third quarter shoulder injury and didn’t return. Danny Cameron ran the offense for the final quarter and a half and Indiana came out on the losing end of a 29-7 decision at Penn State. But as IU prepares for a critical Homecoming matchup next Saturday at Memorial Stadium against Rutgers, all eyes will be on the quarterback position and what the Hoosiers will be able to do. If Sudfeld can play, and has reasonable mobility on his ankle, Indiana has a good chance to win and improve to 5-2 which would put the Hoosiers within one game of bowl eligibility with five games to play. But if it’s not Sudfeld, then the Hoosiers could be in jeopardy of dropping a third consecutive Big Ten game to open the 2015 conference season. Following the game Saturday, Kevin Wilson was asked what went into his final decision not to play Sudfeld or starting tailback Jordan Howard. “I waited to see how much they could do,’’ Wilson said. “Nate practiced (Friday) a little bit more. Jordan didn’t do as much. Nate could have played. He just wasn’t very mobile. I don’t know how many plays he could have extended and been able to protect himself. It’s kind of the way it was last week at the end of the game. He could have played. Personally I didn’t feel good with it. He was available today but he was limited and we didn’t want to put him in harm’s way.’’ As for Diamont, Wilson said it was too early to tell but he didn’t think the sophomore quarterback’s injury was a serious one. “Zander’s thing I don’t think is that bad,’’ Wilson said. “I don’t think it’s anything major.’’ And so that’s where Indiana football sits at the halfway point of the Big Ten season. The bottom line is that for Indiana to not only have a shot to become bowl eligible but to then have a chance to win a postseason game, the Hoosiers need a healthy Sudfeld and Howard. Sure, Wilson could have played Sudfeld on Saturday but he had he further aggravated his injury then the Hoosiers could have been basically throwing away the season. Give him another week of rest and see how it heals up and hopefully the senior QB will be ready to go against Rutgers. But I just think it’s asking too much of the other guys at that position to think that you can win Big Ten football games. Diamont does some good things but he never looks comfortable out there, he’s not an accurate throwing quarterback and he takes a few too many chances running the ball which ultimately can get him in trouble. The fact that he was 1-5 as a starter last year tells the story pretty accurately. I think he’s better than he was a year ago but there certainly isn’t anyone thinking there’s a quarterback controversy in Bloomington if both Sudfeld and Diamont were healthy at the same time. Myself, I think Indiana has a better chance to win with Cameron. He looks more poised in the pocket an I’d like to see what he could do if he had a full week of No. 1 reps to prepare to start against an opponent. Well, I say that and actually I’d rather that wasn’t the scenario. I would prefer Sudfeld getting all the reps and playing Saturday against Rutgers. Ultimately, that’s where it will all be decided. If Sudfeld can get back to being able to play consistently and lead the offense then Indiana should still be able to win six or seven games and get bowl eligible this season. But if he doesn’t, I just think it’s going to be a long haul for the final six games for Indiana.

Nate Sudfeld didn't play in Saturday's 29-7 loss at Penn State. Zander Diamont suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter and didn't return and Danny Cameron played the final quarter and a half. But the reality is for IU to be a legitimate bowl team this season, Sudfeld has to get healthy and lead this offense. Once again, Indiana football is six games into the season and the focus is on the quarterback position.   Indiana fans can only hope this year works out a lot better than one transpired a season ago.   Last year, in the sixth game at Iowa, Nate Sudfeld injured his non-throwing shoulder and was lost for the season. IU eventually went with Zander Diamont for the final six games and the Hoosiers went 1-5 to end the year.   Saturday, it was Diamont, making his first start of the year in place of the injured Sudfeld, who went down with a third quarter shoulder injury and didn’t return. Danny Cameron ran the offense for the final quarter and a half and Indiana came out on the losing end of a 29-7 decision at Penn State.   But as IU prepares for a critical Homecoming matchup next Saturday at Memorial Stadium against Rutgers, all eyes will be on the quarterback position and what the Hoosiers will be able to do.   If Sudfeld can play, and has reasonable mobility on his ankle, Indiana has a good chance to win and improve to 5-2 which would put the Hoosiers within one game of bowl eligibility with five games to play. But if it’s not Sudfeld, then the Hoosiers could be in jeopardy of dropping a third consecutive Big Ten game to open the 2015 conference season.   Following the game Saturday, Kevin Wilson was asked what went into his final decision not to play Sudfeld or starting tailback Jordan Howard.   “I waited to see how much they could do,’’ Wilson said. “Nate practiced (Friday) a little bit more. Jordan didn’t do as much. Nate could have played. He just wasn’t very mobile. I don’t know how many plays he could have extended and been able to protect himself. It’s kind of the way it was last week at the end of the game. He could have played. Personally I didn’t feel good with it. He was available today but he was limited and we didn’t want to put him in harm’s way.’’   As for Diamont, Wilson said it was too early to tell but he didn’t think the sophomore quarterback’s injury was a serious one. “Zander’s thing I don’t think is that bad,’’ Wilson said. “I don’t think it’s anything major.’’   And so that’s where Indiana football sits at the halfway point of the Big Ten season.   The bottom line is that for Indiana to not only have a shot to become bowl eligible but to then have a chance to win a postseason game, the Hoosiers need a healthy Sudfeld and Howard. Sure, Wilson could have played Sudfeld on Saturday but he had he further aggravated his injury then the Hoosiers could have been basically throwing away the season. Give him another week of rest and see how it heals up and hopefully the senior QB will be ready to go against Rutgers.   But I just think it’s asking too much of the other guys at that position to think that you can win Big Ten football games.   Diamont does some good things but he never looks comfortable out there, he’s not an accurate throwing quarterback and he takes a few too many chances running the ball which ultimately can get him in trouble. The fact that he was 1-5 as a starter last year tells the story pretty accurately. I think he’s better than he was a year ago but there certainly isn’t anyone thinking there’s a quarterback controversy in Bloomington if both Sudfeld and Diamont were healthy at the same time.   Myself, I think Indiana has a better chance to win with Cameron. He looks more poised in the pocket an I’d like to see what he could do if he had a full week of No. 1 reps to prepare to start against an opponent. Well, I say that and actually I’d rather that wasn’t the scenario. I would prefer Sudfeld getting all the reps and playing Saturday against Rutgers.   Ultimately, that’s where it will all be decided. If Sudfeld can get back to being able to play consistently and lead the offense then Indiana should still be able to win six or seven games and get bowl eligible this season.   But if he doesn’t, I just think it’s going to be a long haul for the final six games for Indiana. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/football/analysi/analysis-once-again-its-all-about-the-qb-r231]Click here to view the article[/url]

  I think Cameron needs some seasoning and he needs to get some No. 1 reps, but I agree I think he could be a good No. 2 for this year if nothing else. 

  We were talking about that after Wilson's press conference yesterday at Penn State. Some seem to think that he is still eligible to be redshirted because he has only played two games. I thought it was the number of games the team had played. For example, when Covington played yesterday for the first time Wilson said later that burned his redshirt year but that was the first time he had played.

Nate Sudfeld and Jordan Howard are travelling to Penn State on Saturday for the Big Ten matchup against the Nittany Lions. That much we know. And yet, as I drive to State College on Friday, that will continue to be the theme of my thought process as the Hoosiers try to bounce back from last week’s loss to Ohio State. The obvious question: Can Sudfeld and Howard be ready for Penn State? My best guess is that at the very least Sudfeld will try to give it a go. I know he wanted to get back in the game on Saturday against Ohio State but the coaching staff opted to take the safe approach. It didn’t hurt that Zander Diamont had led IU on a long touchdown drive and then scampered 79 yards for a touchdown a little bit later. That had to make the Sudfeld decision a little easier. But when you look at Saturday’s game at Penn State and ask yourself who gives you the best chance to come out of Happy Valley with a victory over the Nittany Lions for the first time in school history, you have to think that’s Sudfeld. All you have to remember is what Sudfeld did against these same Nittany Lions two years ago in Bloomington. He completed 23 of 38 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns and IU manhandled Penn State that day 44-24. Contrast that to last season when Penn State won in Bloomington, 13-7. The quarterback that day was Diamont, filling in for the injured Sudfeld. Most people left Memorial Stadium that day believing that IU had missed a golden opportunity to beat Penn State for a second year in a row. But the reality was that without Sudfeld at the helm, the Hoosiers just couldn’t get it done. Diamont was 13 of 27 for 68 yards. He also ran for 58 yards but IU’s offense was stuck in second gear. Indiana’s only touchdown last season against Penn State was on a 47 yard interception return for a score by Mark Murphy. And I haven’t even talked about Howard. If both Sudfeld and Howard are in the lineup, I honestly believe that Indiana has a chance to knock Penn State off in Happy Valley. If the IU offense is unpredictable in terms of running and throwing the football and the play action fake is working with Howard in the lineup, Indiana has a chance to put a big number. And if you can score 30 or more in this game, one would think you’d have a pretty good chance to win. But we’re getting too far ahead of ourselves. The big question right now is how will Sudfeld and Howard feel tomorrow when they step on the field early, go through their paces and see if they can play against the Nittany Lions. If they can, don’t be surprised if IU heads to Homecoming with a 5-1 record. If they can’t go, however, I would think 4-2 would be a lot more realistic.

It's the million dollar question as Indiana travels to State College to take on Penn State: Will the Hoosiers have Nate Sudfeld and/or Jordan Howard? It could easily be the difference between opening the season 5-1 or 4-2. Nate Sudfeld and Jordan Howard are travelling to Penn State on Saturday for the Big Ten matchup against the Nittany Lions.   That much we know.   And yet, as I drive to State College on Friday, that will continue to be the theme of my thought process as the Hoosiers try to bounce back from last week’s loss to Ohio State.   The obvious question: Can Sudfeld and Howard be ready for Penn State?   My best guess is that at the very least Sudfeld will try to give it a go. I know he wanted to get back in the game on Saturday against Ohio State but the coaching staff opted to take the safe approach. It didn’t hurt that Zander Diamont had led IU on a long touchdown drive and then scampered 79 yards for a touchdown a little bit later. That had to make the Sudfeld decision a little easier.   But when you look at Saturday’s game at Penn State and ask yourself who gives you the best chance to come out of Happy Valley with a victory over the Nittany Lions for the first time in school history, you have to think that’s Sudfeld.   All you have to remember is what Sudfeld did against these same Nittany Lions two years ago in Bloomington. He completed 23 of 38 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns and IU manhandled Penn State that day 44-24.   Contrast that to last season when Penn State won in Bloomington, 13-7. The quarterback that day was Diamont, filling in for the injured Sudfeld. Most people left Memorial Stadium that day believing that IU had missed a golden opportunity to beat Penn State for a second year in a row. But the reality was that without Sudfeld at the helm, the Hoosiers just couldn’t get it done.   Diamont was 13 of 27 for 68 yards. He also ran for 58 yards but IU’s offense was stuck in second gear. Indiana’s only touchdown last season against Penn State was on a 47 yard interception return for a score by Mark Murphy.   And I haven’t even talked about Howard. If both Sudfeld and Howard are in the lineup, I honestly believe that Indiana has a chance to knock Penn State off in Happy Valley. If the IU offense is unpredictable in terms of running and throwing the football and the play action fake is working with Howard in the lineup, Indiana has a chance to put a big number. And if you can score 30 or more in this game, one would think you’d have a pretty good chance to win.   But we’re getting too far ahead of ourselves. The big question right now is how will Sudfeld and Howard feel tomorrow when they step on the field early, go through their paces and see if they can play against the Nittany Lions.   If they can, don’t be surprised if IU heads to Homecoming with a 5-1 record. If they can’t go, however, I would think 4-2 would be a lot more realistic. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/football/analysi/analysis-will-iu-have-sudfeld-andor-howard-ve-r230]Click here to view the article[/url]

On my drive to Happy Valley Friday, I was talking to a buddy of mine by telephone who played at Penn State and he basically said that PS is very average and he wouldn't be surprised to see Indiana win, too.   Latham coming back is likely a positive if he can keep his emotions under control.   But for me it comes down to Sudfeld and Howard. With those guys, you feel like you're always in the game but obviously without him it's just a completely different feeling.    I ultimately picked Penn State today but I really don't think there's any outcome that would really surprise me.

  Is that really the key, or just one of the factors?   :D

  I plan to be there for the Maryland game, too. I do stats for Fish and Buck in the IU radio booth so I have assistance getting there. If you listen to the radio broadcasts, any time Buck refers to comment made by the "crack statistician" that would be. Usually that's where it ends. Against Wake Forest I made a Mr. Obvious comment and Buck had some fun with me at my expense but I'm normally the guy in the background. I've been doing stats for them for 16 seasons. 

  I should just tone down the cliches, huh?

  The problem is we don't know enough about Howard to know if he's a quick healer on something like this. I liked the way he tried to come back (twice) against Ohio State but the fact he ultimately couldn't go worries me. If I had to guess I would think Sudfeld over Howard but we're going to have to wait and see.

  I keep hearing about the Btownbanners jet but every time I asked the boss about it he says it has maintenance issues. I'm probably safer driving.

You guys are absolutely no fun.   :scratchhead:   So I'll go with:   Penn State 27, Indiana 23   and hope I'm wrong. I've just seen too many Indiana football teams come up short in Happy Valley I guess.

With Sudfeld/Howard   IU 31, Penn State 24   Without Sudfeld/Howard   Penn State 31, Indiana 14   I'm probably not supposed to couch my pick but that's how I see it.

I couldn’t help but think as I was watching Indiana play No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday what the Southern Illinois people were thinking when they heard today’s final score. Or when they saw that the Hoosiers were beating Ohio State 10-6 at halftime. They had to figure it was a misprint. Or that ESPN had somehow messed things up when they scrolled that score across the bottom of the screen. I can just see the Saluki fans shaking their heads and saying, “Isn’t that the same team that less than a month ago we put 659 yards of offense against?” They had to wonder if Indiana was suiting up a completely different defense than it had just a few weeks back. They had to wonder how the defense they scored 47 points against could possibly go toe to toe with the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Maybe, they wished they could play the Buckeyes, too. But the reality is that Indiana played some of its best defense in years Saturday afternoon in the 34-27 loss to the Buckeyes. The way that Indiana came out and fought and set the tone for the game was pretty impressive. If the Hoosiers can do that against all competition and not just when they’re hyped up to play the best team in the land, this is a bowl team. Indiana made a lot of plays Saturday. That interception that Tegray Scales had was absolutely huge deep in IU territory. Or the forced fumble that Marcus Oliver created when he wrapped up the Ohio State receiver from behind. Or the play that Rashard Fant made on the fumble recovery on the Ohio State sideline. IU created three more turnovers Saturday. In recent years, Indiana’s defense did not create turnovers. And that made it too easy for teams to drive up and down the field against IU because the Hoosiers were simply not opportunistic. But this team leads the Big Ten in that category. Now, the thing that drives Indiana football fans crazy is how quickly opposing teams can score and how big plays seem to always be the norm when you’re facing Indiana. And there are no two ways around that one. Ezekiel Elliott had touchdown runs of 55, 65 and 75 yards. You simply have to eliminate those big plays in order to have a shot in a game like this. I’m not questioning that. But here is something else I know. Ohio State managed 517 yards of offense on 61 plays. If you break that down, the Buckeyes had 195 yards of offense on three plays and 322 yards on the other 58 plays. And here’s something else I know. In talking with IU players in the postgame, this is becoming a confident bunch of players. This is a team that now expects to play the way it did for much of the Ohio State game every week. This team expects to go on the road and beat Penn State. It expects to come home and throttle Rutgers for Homecoming. It expects to play every game at a high level. That has not always been the case with Indiana defenses. It hasn’t been the case for many of the years I’ve covered the team. I’m not certain it was the case when the Hoosiers looked awful in the opener against Southern Illinois. But I do those this: If Nate Sudfeld and Jordan Howard can get healthy (and I think both will play next week), this could be one of the best Indiana teams I’ve covered in 18 years. And I think that’s saying something.

If Indiana's defense can clean up a few things, most importantly not giving up the big play, and the Hoosiers can play with the intensity they showed on Saturday this team could win a lot of games. I couldn’t help but think as I was watching Indiana play No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday what the Southern Illinois people were thinking when they heard today’s final score.   Or when they saw that the Hoosiers were beating Ohio State 10-6 at halftime.   They had to figure it was a misprint. Or that ESPN had somehow messed things up when they scrolled that score across the bottom of the screen.   I can just see the Saluki fans shaking their heads and saying, “Isn’t that the same team that less than a month ago we put 659 yards of offense against?”   They had to wonder if Indiana was suiting up a completely different defense than it had just a few weeks back. They had to wonder how the defense they scored 47 points against could possibly go toe to toe with the No. 1 ranked team in the country.   Maybe, they wished they could play the Buckeyes, too.   But the reality is that Indiana played some of its best defense in years Saturday afternoon in the 34-27 loss to the Buckeyes.   The way that Indiana came out and fought and set the tone for the game was pretty impressive. If the Hoosiers can do that against all competition and not just when they’re hyped up to play the best team in the land, this is a bowl team.   Indiana made a lot of plays Saturday. That interception that Tegray Scales had was absolutely huge deep in IU territory. Or the forced fumble that Marcus Oliver created when he wrapped up the Ohio State receiver from behind. Or the play that Rashard Fant made on the fumble recovery on the Ohio State sideline.   IU created three more turnovers Saturday. In recent years, Indiana’s defense did not create turnovers. And that made it too easy for teams to drive up and down the field against IU because the Hoosiers were simply not opportunistic.   But this team leads the Big Ten in that category.   Now, the thing that drives Indiana football fans crazy is how quickly opposing teams can score and how big plays seem to always be the norm when you’re facing Indiana. And there are no two ways around that one. Ezekiel Elliott had touchdown runs of 55, 65 and 75 yards. You simply have to eliminate those big plays in order to have a shot in a game like this. I’m not questioning that.   But here is something else I know. Ohio State managed 517 yards of offense on 61 plays. If you break that down, the Buckeyes had 195 yards of offense on three plays and 322 yards on the other 58 plays.   And here’s something else I know. In talking with IU players in the postgame, this is becoming a confident bunch of players. This is a team that now expects to play the way it did for much of the Ohio State game every week.   This team expects to go on the road and beat Penn State. It expects to come home and throttle Rutgers for Homecoming. It expects to play every game at a high level.   That has not always been the case with Indiana defenses. It hasn’t been the case for many of the years   I’ve covered the team. I’m not certain it was the case when the Hoosiers looked awful in the opener against Southern Illinois.   But I do those this: If Nate Sudfeld and Jordan Howard can get healthy (and I think both will play next week), this could be one of the best Indiana teams I’ve covered in 18 years.   And I think that’s saying something. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/football/analysi/analysis-was-that-the-same-defense-we-saw-agai-r228]Click here to view the article[/url]

Ohio State 34, Indiana 21

I guess I look at things differently sometimes.   Sure, losing Latham is significant but there's another way to look at it, too. It reduces the chance of personal foul penalties. It probably saves you a couple a game.    He didn't play the first game because he was suspended, and he had 10 tackles total in the other three games.   Now five were tackles for loss including two sacks so I'm not saying he hasn't had an impact.   McCray is listed as his backup.   You wonder if Rayner and Green will both play up front at the same time now.

Indiana 45, Wake Forest 28

At halftime of Saturday’s Indiana-Western Kentucky game, with the Hoosiers trailing by 11 points, I told a couple of colleagues on press row that Indiana had the Hilltoppers right where it wanted them. There was a laugh or two and some shaking of heads and then like clockwork, Indiana went out and outscored WKU 21-0 in the third and went on to win, 38-35. Indiana has now trailed all three of its opponents to date at halftime and has come back to win all three games. Good pattern? Probably not. But here is what I’m choosing to take away from this at this point in the season. For the first time that I can remember in all of my years covering Indiana football, the ‘Here we go again’ mentality may finally be a thing of the past for the Hoosiers. In past years whenever bad things would happen, that little voice would go off in the back of people’s heads whether they were watching the game on television, listening to it on the radio or sitting in the stands at Memorial Stadium that would say, ‘Here we go again.’ I know for a fact that players thought about it like that, too. I’ve had several players over the years confirm that to me. Especially the older guys that had been through it a few times before. But this group doesn’t appear to feel that way. And if they do, it’s a different kind of ‘Here we go again’. Now, it means, here we go again as in let’s go out and rally to win the game. It’s a complete shift in the mentality of a football team. But in order for Indiana to compete for postseason play and beyond it was a shift that had to take place. At the very core, this football team has to believe it can find a way to win. And with a balanced offensive attack as Indiana possesses, it’s easy to see why the team believes. Saturday, a couple of turnovers by WKU really came in handy in that third quarter. That blocked field goal didn’t hurt either. But Indiana showed that it can play smash mouth football and go right after you, too. Here are a couple of things I liked: *** One of the most impressive things about Indiana Saturday was that IU had touchdown drives of 99 and 97 yards. And on those drives it never panicked, it just continued to go to the well which was Jordan Howard or Devine Redding and good things were happening. *** How many times in recent years did Indiana find itself in third and two or third and one, and not be able to gain that critical yard or two? It was better last year with Tevin Coleman but it’s much different now. Now you have a back in Howard who hits that hole hard and can get the yards. And get this? Indiana had 18 first downs rushing the football on Saturday. There have been years where that might be a four-game total or more. *** I also like the run after the catch abilities of players like Simmie Cobbs, Ricky Jones, Mitchell Paige or even Howard. A couple of those scores yesterday were fun to watch. Now, no one is looking past the fact that Indiana has given up 104 points in three games on its way to a 3-0 start. But I still think the prospects are good. The Wake Forest game has always been the one I’ve been most concerned about only because of IU’s track record on the road against non-conference opponents. The Missouri win last year was the exception. The Bowling Green loss last year was more of the rule. The good thing I think IU has going in its favor though is that ‘Here we go again’ in 2015 means something completely different than it has in the past.

'Here we go again' has been a bad phrase for IU football fans for decades. All of a sudden 'Here we go again' has a different meaning for the 2015 Hoosiers. At halftime of Saturday’s Indiana-Western Kentucky game, with the Hoosiers trailing by 11 points, I told a couple of colleagues on press row that Indiana had the Hilltoppers right where it wanted them.   There was a laugh or two and some shaking of heads and then like clockwork, Indiana went out and outscored WKU 21-0 in the third and went on to win, 38-35.   Indiana has now trailed all three of its opponents to date at halftime and has come back to win all three games.   Good pattern? Probably not. But here is what I’m choosing to take away from this at this point in the season.   For the first time that I can remember in all of my years covering Indiana football, the ‘Here we go again’ mentality may finally be a thing of the past for the Hoosiers.   In past years whenever bad things would happen, that little voice would go off in the back of people’s heads whether they were watching the game on television, listening to it on the radio or sitting in the stands at Memorial Stadium that would say, ‘Here we go again.’ I know for a fact that players thought about it like that, too. I’ve had several players over the years confirm that to me. Especially the older guys that had been through it a few times before.   But this group doesn’t appear to feel that way. And if they do, it’s a different kind of ‘Here we go again’. Now, it means, here we go again as in let’s go out and rally to win the game.   It’s a complete shift in the mentality of a football team.   But in order for Indiana to compete for postseason play and beyond it was a shift that had to take place.   At the very core, this football team has to believe it can find a way to win. And with a balanced offensive attack as Indiana possesses, it’s easy to see why the team believes.   Saturday, a couple of turnovers by WKU really came in handy in that third quarter. That blocked field goal didn’t hurt either. But Indiana showed that it can play smash mouth football and go right after you, too.   Here are a couple of things I liked:   *** One of the most impressive things about Indiana Saturday was that IU had touchdown drives of 99 and 97 yards. And on those drives it never panicked, it just continued to go to the well which was Jordan Howard or Devine Redding and good things were happening.   *** How many times in recent years did Indiana find itself in third and two or third and one, and not be able to gain that critical yard or two? It was better last year with Tevin Coleman but it’s much different now. Now you have a back in Howard who hits that hole hard and can get the yards.   And get this? Indiana had 18 first downs rushing the football on Saturday. There have been years where that might be a four-game total or more.   *** I also like the run after the catch abilities of players like Simmie Cobbs, Ricky Jones, Mitchell Paige or even Howard. A couple of those scores yesterday were fun to watch.   Now, no one is looking past the fact that Indiana has given up 104 points in three games on its way to a 3-0 start. But I still think the prospects are good. The Wake Forest game has always been the one I’ve been most concerned about only because of IU’s track record on the road against non-conference opponents. The Missouri win last year was the exception. The Bowling Green loss last year was more of the rule.   The good thing I think IU has going in its favor though is that ‘Here we go again’ in 2015 means something completely different than it has in the past. [url=https://btownbanners.com/page/index.html/_/football/analysi/sunday-morning-quarterback-western-kentucky-r216]Click here to view the article[/url]

It’s time for a perception vs. reality check with Indiana football. Two weeks in, the Hoosiers are 2-0. And in a bottom line business, that’s really the only thing that matters. If Indiana was anything but 2-0 after playing Southern Illinois and Florida International the noise around the IU football program would be at a deafening level. But IU found a way to take care of business. It trailed in both games at halftime, but the bottom line is that IU got it done. Today’s game with Western Kentucky is a huge game for the Hoosiers in terms of perception. Win today, and IU will be off to its first 3-0 start under Kevin Wilson and all of a sudden the reality that Indiana could have a bowl kind of season would be at the point where you could allow yourself to start thinking about it. Lose today, and it will be the ‘same old Indiana football’ talk that rears its ugly head. The problem for anyone who has been around Indiana football for any length of time is the knowledge that if something appears to be too good to be true with IU football is usually is. This program has a history of disappointing its fan base. Almost to the point where the diehards refuse to allow themselves to get disappointed any more. So when it comes to Indiana football, it’s pretty much an eternal ‘wait-and-see’ mode. And yet if Indiana was 3-0 with a road game against a beatable Wake Forest team looming next weekend, all of a sudden things could be moving ahead with an optimistic tone in Bloomington. If IU is 2-1, however, now Wake Forest becomes a must-win game and it’s just a completely different feel about this program moving forward. The new reality would be that IU squeaked past Southern Illinois, needed a big defensive play at the end to beat FIU and the Hoosiers lost to Western Kentucky. Not exactly a great resume. On the flip side, if Indiana wins today, all you have to say is that IU took care of business three weeks in a row and has positioned itself well at this point in the year. Myself, I expect Indiana to win today. I think Western Kentucky will get its points, and most likely get them through the air against a young IU secondary. But I think IU will take advantage of the WKU defense, too, both on the ground and through the air. I think there’s a good chance Indiana puts up a big number today. At the same time, having watched Indiana football as long as I have (from the press box the last 18 seasons), I reserve the right to be a little bit skeptical until it happens, too. It just seems like I’ve been down this road before. Over and over again.

On paper, Curtis Jones looks like exactly what the Indiana basketball program needed. He’s a shooting guard that is somewhere between 6-2 and 6-4 who is also skilled at the point guard position. He played last year at Huntington Prep where he averaged 15.3 points and 3.9 assists. In announcing on Twitter Saturday morning that he had verbally committed to play basketball at Indiana, Jones chose the Hoosiers over a final four that included Georgetown, Cal and Oklahoma State. Check out some of the other schools that had offered him and it’s an impressive list: Schools like Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Virginia, VCU, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia. Jones, from Highland Springs, Va., is an important piece because Indiana will lose Yogi Ferrell, Nick Zeisloft and most likely James Blackmon Jr. after next season. The Hoosiers are going to need a combo guard who plays at a high level. He’s ranked No. 55 in ESPN’s Top 100 recruits in his class and he’s also a four-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout. The big question with Jones is will his commitment have any influence on his Huntington Prep teammate Miles Bridges who is expected to announce his decision in the next few weeks. Bridges has announced a final three of Kentucky, Michigan State and Indiana and sources indicate he’s a Michigan State lean. However, you just wonder if Jones’ decision to attend IU could have any impact on Bridges. This is the second player in the 2016 class that has committed to IU. The other is 6-6 Grant Gelon, a two-star recruit.

Indiana 42, WKU 24