Hoosierinbham

With our horrific line, and lack of innovative play calling, this is unfortunately true. I can't imagine the tension between our offense and defense.

How does he still play? You can't do worse than he does. Just stay in front of your man and at least slow him down!

It's hard, but I love it. Always have, always will.

We're close. With the transfer portal and a couple new offensive coaches, we're back on the upward trajectory.

Offense needs to support the defense. Love some of the speed option action with motion.

Pure stupidity allowing Stroud to pass at that point.

Purdue will be interesting. Painter has done very well embracing the underdog role over the years. He does a tremendous job getting lower ranked guys to embrace their role and work within his system. How will they perform as the hunted? Will Ivey still embrace his role in the system, or will he want to jack shots like Edward's did? Will Williams be dominant on the block, or want to improve draft status by expanding his range consistently? How will the highly ranked freshman perform, and how will they and their families accept their roles and minutes? Only time and games will tell on all of these questions. Definitely not a sure thing either way.

It's going to be interesting to see how our new coach and retooled team perform this season. With experienced transfers in Parker, Johnson, Kopp, and Durr, the roster and lineups are completely different. These aren't green freshman we're talking about. Think about what Tucker has been able to do at MSU in football. Our offense and defense will be completely different as well. Better spacing, pushing the pace, and freeing up space inside for Trace will be huge. We do need guys to hit at a much better rate from three, and also need some guys to create their own shots. I trust the new staff to develop our guys, and hopefully we see continued improvement throughout the year. The defense will finally guard the three point line instead of letting everyone have career days against us. Something I haven't seen discussed is the impact of having a coach with the coaching status of Woody on the sidelines. Other than Sampson, I'm not sure we've had a coach who could influence the refs, especially at home. Having a former NBA coach and Big Ten legend roaming the sidelines should be good for a call or two.

The failure to adapt and make changes is the most frustrating part for me. We were the better team against Cincinnati, MSU. And Maryland, but found ways to lose. Ohio State lost to Oregon because of a porous defense. They made changes IMMEDIATELY, and have been the most dominant all around team in college football. The unwillingness to make changes with the line and offense have cost us dearly this year. Changes have to be made after the season, but sticking with what wasn't working has cost us a bowl game, additional practices and recruiting momentum.

I get where you're coming from, and agree with most of what you're saying. I just can't stand the influence of ESPN on preseason polls and what that does to perceived conference strength. Once OSU tweeked their defense, Georgia is the only team I've seen in their league. No idea how it all shakes out, but there will be arguments for several teams left out.

"The Alabama loss is bad only because at the time Texas A&M wasn't playing great football" Oh, is that all. They were supposed to be top 10 based on what? The B1G is 1-0 versus the SEC this year. Bowl games are a total crapshoot of who plays and who is motivated anymore. Very sad. My point is with parity, no conference automatically deserves half the playoff bids. Win your stickin conference and remove all doubt!

As of today, Bama's top win is Ole Miss. The SEC west is trash this year, so nothing other than Georgia left. Cinci's best win is Notre Dame. Agree on the parity, therefore no single league should claim the dominance to get two 1 loss bids. The B1G is much stronger than the SEC this year.

Most likely true, but many games left to be played. Georgia defense is incredible, but offense is suspect. Gonna be real hard to justify two 1 loss SEC teams getting in this year.

Easy to get a consensus when there's only two people on their basketball board!

Great take. The SEC needs to quit whining and win games. A&M was unranked and struggling when they beat Bama. Most Bama fans I know williningly concede Georgia is the much better team this year. Highly doubtful Bama wins that game except for injuries, or a "mandate" coming from SEC headquarters to lay down in an attempt to get 2 teams in the playoff. This isn't a typical Saban Bama team, and ESPN must do everything they can to campaign for them.

This is unfortunately true, and a positive for OSU. So is competing against better talent in practice. However, IU letting him play end and rush would be a positive for us. So would the pull of the homestate school and familiar in-state players.

How exciting to see someone with the talent and potential of Newton. We finally have a coach and staff that seem to know how to develop and showcase that talent. The future looks bright in Bloomington.

The league not only doesn't care, they actively flaunt it. Last season with the conference championship proved it. It's us against the world. Luckily we have the perfect coach for our situation. Buck up and do what needs to be done. We get to enjoy our victories even more. Nobody said being an Indiana football fan was easy!

Penix covered up how bad our line was last year with his arm strength and quick release. I recall him setting some NCAA record for most passing yards under pressure. That's good for him, but bad for his offensive line

I got my eye on you JaQualon!

Think the injuries have really affected Rob physically and mentally. There have been several times where he has taken the ball hard to the basket and either thrown it down, or gotten to the line. It comes out of nowhere, and makes you wish we could see more of it. Hopefully we see more this year. He is powerful and explosive when he plays with confidence.

This month will tell. If they only have one loss and it's in the SEC title game, and play Bama close, no questions they're in. They have a long road in front of them. And they will whine no matter what.

Clemson proving to be mediocre this year takes some shine off Georgia's win over them. Win your conference, then you don't have to whine about deserving to be in the playoff immediately after a loss.(Georgia)

Finally was able to watch Harrell live last night. First of all, why Mountain Brook schedule the #6 in the country for their homecoming is baffling. Mountain Brook was undefeated in 6A and steamrolling everyone. Their defense has been stellar. That being said, Thompson and Harrell are on another planet in terms of talent. They have a linebacker committed to Bama, and high D1 talent all over the field. Harrell threw on the run better than anyone I've seen live in a long time. Left or right, short or long, he threw lasers. He ran for a couple scores after getting screamed at by his coach for lofting a duck from the 5 yard line that should have been intercepted. The next play, he tucked and ran around and over multiple defenders for the score. When he was decisive, he was pretty much unstoppable throwing and running. His receivers use great speed and route running to create separation. His passes were on time, well placed, and absolute rockets. Busted plays were fun to watch because his legs and arm allowed for him to create big plays. Rough night for the home team, but nobody expected them to keep it close. We left in the 3rd down 45-0. Great opportunity to watch a potential star in college.

If we were to beat Cinci and OSU, you'd have to think it would be hard to not want to be a part of that kind of momentum. We could easily chalk Iowa up to Penix being rusty coming off ACL reconstruction. Would 1-1 in those games do it? What kind of overall record and progress would he need to see? Hard to tell with kids, but love that we are legit contenders for him. Just need to keep winning.