Hoosierinbham

Both teams will have new QBs and many other unproven players. OSU has an obvious talent advantage. Our best hope is we play with a chip on our shoulders and come out on fire. OSU has played down to competition and occasionally layed eggs in early games in recent history. Their defense has not been dominant, and they haven't been overpowering in the trenches recently. Hopefully we get pressure from our defensive front, and dial up some creative blitzes to force pressure throws from an untested qb. The only way we slow Marvin Harrison Jr is to minimize has ability to get the ball. On offense, I'm looking for a better run game with an improved offensive line. Bostad will have zero fear of OSU, and hopefully that transfers to our big nasties. Establish the run, then use motion, spacing, and the ability of the qb to run to create mismatches. I'm not seeing a win, but hoping to be in range in the 4th quarter. Staying within 2 touchdowns would be good. If they're qb finds his rhythm, we could get smoked. But if we can hang around and maintain hope, 31-28 would be a dream scenario. (That's probably just my Black Rifle Fit Fuel coffee with extra caffeine talking!) Any way it goes, I'm just excited for our season to start. Go Hoosiers!!!

I'm with you on wanting to discuss IU football more right now. I actually love both sports, and the hoops recruiting season is heating up this fall. In spite of what my wife may think, my ability to focus on both IU basketball AND football simultaneously is quite impressive:) Unfortunately, being an avid IU football fan will always be less popular. The casual fans will join in during successful seasons, but without sustained success, our numbers won't grow. Either way, I'll be here cheering and willing to discuss. Ironically, I get a ton of respect down here for repping IU gear on Friday team days. Go figure. It must be what the passionate bottom feeder SEC fans feel like annually!

Excellent point. Even if our 1's can hang with OSU, their 2's and 3's are barely a drop-off. We don't have that kind of talent depth.

Very true. I remember the excitement and anticipation of the 2021 season. We had national attention and our fans were committed and prepared for our long awaited rise as a program. That lasted two series against Iowa. Penix's health was obviously a factor, but I'm not sure we have recovered from that yet as fans. I'll watch and support every game, but unfortunately there aren't enough of us that feel that way without more success on the field.

I agree. OSU is trying to find their cohesiveness, timing, and replace their qb as well. I've seen them struggle against MAC opponents several times in opening games. We have nothing to lose; they have everything to lose. If any of their players or coaches think "it's just IU", we could land a couple haymakers. I'd rather start with OSU and be the hunter, than have ISU and all of the above statements be reversed.

100% agree. The canned scenario would require your last example. I really want to see CTA succeed. I'll need to see more of OC Bell, but I really like the most recent coaching hires. Even 4 wins with a win over Purdue could create some momentum for a more manageable 2024 schedule with a more experienced team.

Play inspired ball against O$U and build confidence, especially our defensive line against a suspect Buckeyes O line. Fine tune things with wins against next two opponents. O line learns schemes and builds confidence, nastiness, and cohesiveness. Qb separates himself and develops confidence and leadership. Big win in Indy as Allen and local boys will be inspired. I don't see a Maryland win on the road if qb is healthy, but Rutgers, MSU, Illinois, and Purdue are winnable depending on health and development. Optimist in me says 5, although if the wheels fall off again, could be 2 and Allen gets canned. I'm gonna feed the optimist!

Should be a great time. Shoot me a message and we can say hello at the game.

Yeah, had some friends get the floor seats. This will be my son's first IU/college game, so he's just excited to go. Should be fun.

Did anyone get tickets? The better seats went fast. Got 2 in section 103. Should be fun.

That's what I recall as well. What a shame, and what could've been...

In a perfect world, Wilson is retained with good conduct, and CTA is there as DC. That might be the most talented coaching staff we could muster. Like him or not, Wilson's offenses put up big points. And CTA might be best suited as the raucous DC players would run through a brick wall for.

That's a valid point. I'm against the big 30 teams with relegation, but having those games during a college playoff could create relevance. It also gives people another opportunity to create brackets to bet on with their friends/co-workers; that is a BIG motivation.

The teams aren't penalized for it now. Sucks for the fans and coaches, but doesn't truly harm the program. Relegation would.

You would have to figure out a way to keep your draft eligible players from opting out of potential relegation bowl games. I don't see how you can guarantee they play without ridiculous financial incentives. That would open up an entire different can of worms. It just wouldn't be right to punish the school, team, and fans if a player didn't want to play in order to protect draft status.

Strongly agree with all of this. I would also say stubbornly holding on to Hiller, hiring DeBord as OC, Warren as DC, and only having Bazelak as an option last year really hampered us. We could add Penix having multiple injuries, but those weren't a choice Allen made. The cards are stacked against any IU football coach with current divisions, but CTA has definitely contributed with some poor decisions. That being said, I'll still watch every game and hope they can make some noise this year.

Great point. The rugby matches need to stop. Maybe our new conference partners can convince a change that helps everyone come tournament time. Luckily the rest of our front court this season has the size and strength to offset the lumbering big men in the conference.

You can feel my pain. I hear irrational statements like that all the time in Birmingham. Oklahoma possibly becomes similar to Arkansas or Auburn at best, and even though Texas has every imaginable resource, they are the crazy hot girl of college football. What the SEC should be worried about is the crazy hot girl causing constant problems wanting all the attention and unearned advantages.

That's a great question. Sounds like the Harper's were asking that same thing. There seem to be schools making promises their NIL collectives can't keep.

I heard the interview down here on Finebaum. The SEC got outmaneuvered by the B1G. There is nobody legitimate left that expands their market. ESPN gave the SEC an edge in recruiting, rankings, and promotion for years. FS1 has now surpassed ESPN, and the B1G has the largest markets and alumni bases. B1G is national; SEC is mostly regional from a viewership standpoint.(I understand they have dominated nattys over the past 2 decades, but that will be much harder to continue). Sankey is delusional if he thinks people outside the SEC care enough to watch more than a handful of SEC teams play. Pretty sure the black and white tv's in Kazakhstan aren't tuning in to the riveting Mizzou/South Carolina match-up!

Strong prospect, as long as he can keep his temper under control.

Doris Burke is Tabasco sauce in a canker sore. Pain and nausea with every movement of the mouth.

It looks that way. If that is the case, our final 6 additions to get to 20 are VERY strong football programs with big budgets and fan followings. Not much the SEC could do to counter. Looks like the Big12 will survive, and the ACC and Pac12 will be left in shambles.

Doubt the B1G will shrink, but ditching Nebraska is interesting. They haven't exactly competed well in the B1G, and they were kicked out of the AAU after joining. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Washington, Oregon, Stanford, and Cal.

Love the ideas regarding Memorial stadium. As far as Northwestern being able to compete, their road to successful seasons will be much tougher for any coach without divisions. The West was just incredibly weak compared to the East.