Game Thread: 9/18 vs. Cincinnati - Noon - ESPN

[Alford Bailey]

6 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Apparently Penix might be hurt as Allen said he’s getting x-rays done. Probably has to do with the elbow. 

Penix is injury prone and weve honestly needed a legit replacement for a couple years now.

[Alford Bailey]

1 hour ago, IUfan_Charlie said:

Tom Allen has unquestionably improved this program but he has not lived up to all this hype. Zero bowl wins and this team may not even make one. Can’t just be passionate, the results have to come too and they just haven’t. At all. 

Agree. This is the year to prove we are for real.

[kreigh8]

The offensive line needs to improve, absolutely but they did open up plenty of holes in that first quarter and allowed Carr to run the ball effectively. Cincy made an adjustment to make Penix beat them which he wasn’t able to with little help from Fryfogle and line unable to pick up the blitzes. My concern with moving to Tuttle is if the line does miss he’s not going to escape pressure as well as Penix due to the difference in athleticism. Tuttle very well likely may be the better thrower but teams aren’t going to let him sit back there and throw it. And I’d wager to think the O-Line play as well against the Big10 gautlent that they did today for a few quarter. Just my take on it. Not sure what the best route is, tough spot for Allen and staff to be in

[Hoosierfan2017]

12 minutes ago, kreigh8 said:

The offensive line needs to improve, absolutely but they did open up plenty of holes in that first quarter and allowed Carr to run the ball effectively. Cincy made an adjustment to make Penix beat them which he wasn’t able to with little help from Fryfogle and line unable to pick up the blitzes. My concern with moving to Tuttle is if the line does miss he’s not going to escape pressure as well as Penix due to the difference in athleticism. Tuttle very well likely may be the better thrower but teams aren’t going to let him sit back there and throw it. And I’d wager to think the O-Line play as well against the Big10 gautlent that they did today for a few quarter. Just my take on it. Not sure what the best route is, tough spot for Allen and staff to be in

It’s not like Penix ever scrambles past the line of scrimmage, though. He rushed for 5 yards on 4 attempts today. His athleticism helps him scramble outside of the pocket but he’s still not even completing 50% of his passes. I dont know if Tuttle will be any better but Penix isn’t the answer and we need to see if Tuttle is. 

[kreigh8]

Just now, Hoosierfan2017 said:

It’s not like Penix ever scrambles past the line of scrimmage, though. He rushed for 5 yards on 4 attempts today. Penix will scramble outside of the pocket but he’s still not even completing 50% of his passes. I dont know if Tuttle will be any better but Penix isn’t the answer and we need to see if Tuttle is. 

Agree doesn’t seem to be part of his game but IU is able to move the pocket with him as they did on the TD to Carr. I’m not sure the play calling would be allowed to be as flexible with Tuttle. My post wasn’t necessarily about his lack of scrambling but more about his athleticism allowing IU to get by with inferior line play

[Josh]

45 minutes ago, VO5 said:

Do you really believe Cincy is a top 10 team? Maybe by preseason expectations. They’ll stay up that high because they play absolutely no one so can go 11-1 every year. I think they’re a solid top 25 team that would have 3-4 losses in the BIG, but this media narrative trying to get them in the playoff is way off base. They’ll get absolutely destroyed by anyone they play in the top 4

Stop dumping on my justification!  I'm trying to feel good about IU football.

[VO5]

1 minute ago, Josh said:

Stop dumping on my justification!  I'm trying to feel good about IU football.

We are what we are. About a 7-5, 6-6 team that in other years might get to 8 or 9 wins. I’m afraid that’s about our ceiling as a program. Just trying to be realistic 

[Hovadipo]

Penix made some absolutely boneheaded errors today, but our All-American WR needs to start playing like it. Some throws that very few QBs in the country can make were hitting the ground and stalling out drives. 
 

Haven’t read the thread, but holy hell was that call on McFadden bad. I’m not sure I’ve seen a game change that drastically that quickly. The QB of the defense gone for his facemask being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That rule HAS to change. Has. To. 
 

Fighting for bowl eligibility now. Buckle up. 

[Josh]

7 minutes ago, VO5 said:

We are what we are. About a 7-5, 6-6 team that in other years might get to 8 or 9 wins. I’m afraid that’s about our ceiling as a program. Just trying to be realistic 

I agree because unfortunately we play in a rough division and this year we played two top ten teams (by rankings) before we even get to that division.  It's maddening 

[KingPG21]

11 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

Penix made some absolutely boneheaded errors today, but our All-American WR needs to start playing like it. Some throws that very few QBs in the country can make were hitting the ground and stalling out drives. 
 

Haven’t read the thread, but holy hell was that call on McFadden bad. I’m not sure I’ve seen a game change that drastically that quickly. The QB of the defense gone for his facemask being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That rule HAS to change. Has. To. 
 

Fighting for bowl eligibility now. Buckle up. 

Didn't it used to be a judgement call on the ejection? Or am I misremebering. Cause that was a perfect example of why always ejecting guys is dumb. 

[Hovadipo]

4 minutes ago, KingPG21 said:

Didn't it used to be a judgement call on the ejection? Or am I misremebering. Cause that was a perfect example of why always ejecting guys is dumb. 

I thought it was always ejection once targeting was determined. It served its purpose of scaring off the really ugly helmet to helmet contact and has morphed into something really, really stupid and unnecessary. 

[Hardwood83]

46 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

It’s not like Penix ever scrambles past the line of scrimmage, though. He rushed for 5 yards on 4 attempts today. His athleticism helps him scramble outside of the pocket but he’s still not even completing 50% of his passes. I dont know if Tuttle will be any better but Penix isn’t the answer and we need to see if Tuttle is. 

That's about where I am. The TO's are just devastating and I don't see that changing. Not sure the highs are worth the lows when there are other options.  Kinda feels like injuries have derailed Penix's career.

[Magisterium]

1 hour ago, VO5 said:

We are what we are. About a 7-5, 6-6 team that in other years might get to 8 or 9 wins. I’m afraid that’s about our ceiling as a program. Just trying to be realistic 

especially playing in a division with multiple blue-blood programs that take in as much $$$ from one home game as IU does from an entire season

At this point in time P5 football IMO is as much about spending as it is about recruiting or coaching--something IU is willing to do in basketball but up until very recently hasn't been willing to do in football. The results speak for themselves, and unless future FB spending changes dramatically, I don't expect the results to either.

[Honkyman]

I'm not sure we will be a 6-6 team this year. That being said, IU could have won this game if they had scored when they had the chance rather than turning the ball over. Sloppy play and turnovers rarely lead to victory. The defense was lousy as well.

[Hovadipo]

15 minutes ago, Honkyman said:

The defense was lousy as well.

Not sure I agree with this, at all. 

[Hoosierfan2017]

Not sure I see 5 wins left on our schedule. We’ll have to either beat all of WKU/Rutgers/Maryland/Minnesota/Purdue, or beat one of Michigan/Michigan State/Ohio State/Penn State. 

Or some combination of the above. Would certainly be a huge step back after the past two seasons. 

[LIHoosier]

2 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Not sure I see 5 wins left on our schedule. We’ll have to either beat all of NKU/Rutgers/Maryland/Minnesota/Purdue, or beat one of Michigan/Michigan State/Ohio State/Penn State. 

Or some combination of the above. Would certainly be a huge step back after the past two seasons. 

Its Western Kentucky

[cthomas]

16 minutes ago, Honkyman said:

I'm not sure we will be a 6-6 team this year. That being said, IU could have won this game if they had scored when they had the chance rather than turning the ball over. Sloppy play and turnovers rarely lead to victory. The defense was lousy as well.

I agree. But how often has that been the story in an IU football game. Mental mistakes, sloppy play, penalties at inopportune times. That's the legacy of IU football. I, once again, bought into the hype and promise of a breakthrough season that finally made us relevant in one of the toughest divisions in football. The Iowa game was shocking because I thought we had a shot at beating them. Ok, it didn't work out. Today was the game that I thought we would return to form. I still don't think that Cincinnati is a better football team than we are. But, they had whatever it is that we are lacking. Granted, we had chances to turn the game around and win. But we didn't, and we didn't in the ways that we never seem to do. We can find more ways to lose a football game.....well you get the picture. I know there are plenty of opportunities still ahead and maybe we turn it around. But I haven't seen anything that makes me think we will. Sorry for the rant, but this feels really familiar.

[LamarCheeks]

I hadn't looked at the numbers until just now. 

Our QB was 17 of 40 with three INTs. Let that sink in for a minute or two. 

That's not just bad. That's pathetically, horrifically, putridly awful. I know there were a few drops, but still ... 

After an outing like that, our staff wouldn't be doing its due diligence if it didn't strongly consider a switch behind center. Tuttle's no Tom Brady, but there's no way he's plays that bad if he's out there today. 
 

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

21 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

Not sure I agree with this, at all. 

The defense was curb stomped once McFadden went out.