SB Nation - Nick Polk

Keeping the Bucket where it belongs

BoilerTMill — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:13:12 -0000

62-10

That is all we keep hearing all week. Indiana is attempting to use it as a rallying cry. Crimson Quarry called it the worst loss in the history of Indiana's football program. Mike Carmin talks about how Indiana players remember it by putting it up in their lockers. I find it interesting that they remember a game they were not at, as Indiana certainly did not show up last year. There would have been more honor in a forfeit.

Really, that is what it boils down to. Indiana should be embarrassed by last year's "effort." They didn't even try to defend the Bucket, and we took it back by force. They now get another shot to play for only pride against us. I agree that this Hoosier team is much better than last year's edition, but 62-10 still looms from the last time we saw these teams play.

It is still our Bucket. Come and get it.

A common sight

2008 Record: 3-9, 1-7 Big Ten

2009 Record: 4-7, 1-6 Big Ten

Bowl Result: none

Blog Representation: Crimson Quarry

Series with Purdue: Purdue leads 69-36-6 (Purdue leads Old Oaken Bucket portion 55-26-3)

Last Purdue win: 11/22/2008 at Purdue 62-10

Last Indiana win: 11/17/2007 at Indiana 27-24

Indiana offense:

Indiana wanted to establish a downhill running game with its new pistol offense, but instead has developed a pretty good passing attack. Our pass defense has been hit or miss at times this year, the same as our run defense. Let's hope we don't see a repeat of our last visit to Bloomington where the Hoosiers had a terrible running game, but we let Marcus Thigpen run draw after draw like we had never seen the play before.

The offense centers around quarterback Ben Chappell. He has completed 635 of his passes for 2,675 yards and 15 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. He really should have 16 touchdowns after that horrible call in the Iowa game, but we won't get into that. Chappell has also rushed for two scores, but he has not been the runner that Joey Elliott has been with -23 yards rushing. Indiana's offense prides itself on taking care of the ball, but interceptions have been a problem of late with 6 in the last three games.

Chappell does a good job of spreading the ball around to some talented receivers. Tandon Doss is deserving of some all Big Ten recognition with 73 catches for 911 yards and five scores. Doss is only a sophomore, and he does have 92 yards rushing and another score. This is from the Wildcat formation I believe, which I still don't understand why it is so hard to stop when you're basically screaming the guy won't pass. Damarlo Belcher (57-706-4) is another quality receiver we will face. Tarrance Turner (42-413-1), Mitchell Evans (23-254-2), and Max Dedmond (17-132-1) will also likely get in on the action. Indiana is at its best when they can spread the field and get everyone involved.

The running game is not very strong, but has the potential for a big day if we let them. Darius Willis has rushed for just 465 yards and six scores, but he is a big play threat. He had 153 yards and two scores at Michigan and also cracked the century mark against Northwestern. He left the Wisconsin game with an injury, however, and did not play at Penn State last week. Demetrius McCray (290-1) is second on the team in rushing, but he has done little since a 134 yard day against Western Michigan in game 2. Indiana went primarily with Bryan Payton (148-1) last week against Penn State, but their running game should be severely lacking if Willis does not play.

Indiana's offensive line has been strong all year in pass protection, giving up just 13 sacks. Part of that is the design of the offense, which prefers quick passes much like Toledo used in the opener. Coach Terry Hoeppner made recruiting solid linemen a priority in his short time in Bloomington. It is paying off. Rodger Saffold and Pete Saxon are the senior anchors of the line at tackle and guard respectively. James Brewer is a big junior tackle at 6'8" 331lbs. Center Will matte may be the weak link. He is the smallest player on the line at 6'2" 285 lbs. He is also only a redshirt freshman. Expect Mike Neal and Kawann Short to try and take advantage of this up the middle. Saxon and sophomore guard Justin Pagan will be there to help out.

Indiana defense:

I am not worried about moving the ball on Indiana's defense. I am worried about keeping it against a defense that has produced 29 turnover in 11 games. Ball security has not been our strong suit all year. We cannot afford to hand over defensive touchdowns like we did against Oregon and Michigan State.

Linebacker Matt Mayberry leads that turnover parade with a team high 99 tackles, three interceptions, and a fumble recovery. He is a well-rounded linebacker with 3.5 sacks as well. The 5^th year senior will definitely want to have a huge impact in his final collegiate game, as he will very likely be playing on Sundays next year. Will Patterson and Tyler Replogle are second and third in tackles with 63 and 75, respectively. This is a veteran linebacking group that has done very well all year long.

Senior safety Austin Thomas leads the Hoosiers with four interceptions and is fourth on the team with 62 tackles. We must be aware of his presence over the middle, as he has 115 return yards on picks. He is joined in the secondary by safety Nick Polk, as well as corners Donnell Jones and Adrian Burks. Indiana has been hurt with some injuries in its secondary. The highly touted Jeremy Finch has been limited all year long. Projected starter Chris Adkins has missed five games. Wide receiver turned corner Ray Fisher has also been out recently.

There should be room to run on Indiana because the defensive line is great at getting to the quarterback, but struggles to stop the run. Indiana gives up 162 yards rushing per game, so Ralph Bolden should have room to run. Edns Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton are dangerous pass rushers that we must contain on the edge. Middleton has not played to his All-American form of 2007, but the dude was still an All-American at one time. Kirlew leads the team with 5.5 sacks. While Middleton and Kirlew are experienced seniors, Larry Black Jr. and Adam Replogle (Tyler's brother) are freshmen defensive tackles. We simply must attack them.

Indiana Special Teams:

If there is a great equalizer in this game it is our crappy special teams coverage against their excellent returners. Coverage killed us last week. It may not get better as Doss is a speedy returner with Fisher averages 37 yards per kick return with two scores. McCray is also very capable of returning kicks. Doss and Fisher are also very good at returning punts, while Indiana's coverage units are a little shoddy themselves. The Hoosiers have given up a punt return for a score.

Nick Freeland is a bit of a liability at kicker, making just 14 of 23 attempts on the season with a long of only 38. it will be a difference from last week, when Michigan State made two very big 52-yard field goals. Chris Hagerup is an excellent punter averaging almost 41 yards per kick.

Intangibles:

Again, 62-10.

Indiana can use that for as much motivation as they want, but Purdue has players that remember it too. Purdue has to be confident that its defense did what it wanted to, when it wanted to against Indiana last year. Three of the ten points only came about from a big Marcus Thigpen return. The rest was against the second string long after the game was decided. Offensively our weapons have changed, but aside from the turnover issues I think we are a better offensive team this year. We have more balance in the running game and the pass. We have to be confident that this Indiana team is not drastically different from the one we thrashed last season.

That said, the Hoosiers are much better than last year, and honestly are in the same position we are. They have only four wins, but they have to be thinking that at least three more got away. Both teams have only themselves to blame for this game not meaning more, with Indiana having a valid beef against Big Ten officials for losses at Iowa and Michigan.

Even though we have dominated the rivalry over the past decade the games in Bloomington have been much closer affairs. Both of Indiana's wins have come there, while the 1999 and 2003 games were close ones. Indiana has expanded its student section for this game, and they have been drawing better crowds this season. This won't be your typical apathetic crowd in Bloomington, but it won't be the raucous atmosphere of two years ago.

As I said yesterday, the winner of this game will likely be the 2010 "Big Ten team that will surprise" when the next season's predictions come out. For Purdue, a 4-4 Big Ten record after the disastrous start would be huge. We also want to prove that even though we are rebuilding, we are still decidedly better than Indiana. For Indiana, getting the Bucket would be a huge confidence boost for a program always in need of one. If they get it, something may be brewing in Bloomington for the future.

I will be heading down to Bloomington for this one. It will make my 10^th straight Bucket game attended. I am concerned that we will lose if "bad Purdue" shows up, but I am still buoyed by the confidence of 62-10. I hope are players are as well.

Keys to the Game for Purdue:

Play infinitely better against the run than the 2007 game
Avoid turnovers
Establish Ralph Bolden and Jaycen Taylor early
Remember that you are Purdue and you dominate this rivalry
Weather the early Indiana storm as they always start well
Dare Indiana to run the football

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK

Rodger Sherman — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:27:48 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

It is up, it is... well, you know the rest.

Browse more photos »

WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR QUARTERS

A lot of people will tell you that yesterday's 29-28 victory was a comeback. People will probably cite the fact that we were down 21-0, and 28-3, and that this game was, well, the largest comeback victory in NU history.

But despite the fact that Northwestern was down by 14, 21, 25, and whatever other horrific things we were down by at various points in the game, there was maybe a span of 30 seconds where I thought "well, we're out of this game." Some combination of us having done this two weeks ago against Purdue and the fact that this game was, essentially, a single-elimination game for bowl eligibility allowed me to refuse to believe that this game was guaranteed over.

And luckily, my fellow students who actually play football were with me on this one. It's the same story: we come out like whatever the opposite of gangbusters is (gangs?), we give up a touchdown before I even get in the stadium, we're looking dead in the water, and then something just clicked.

It's not like we played flawless football for the last 25 minutes. Mike Kafka threw multiple picks, and half the ones that weren't picked off were overthrown. We needed a dude tripping over his offensive lineman at the one-yard line to prevent this game from not even meaning anything. Our receivers dropped a buttload of passes.

But we were in it. And never did I, nor anybody on the field, or any of the other few thousand people screaming their respective lungs out and jumping up and down like idiots in the student section.

So, people, remember the words of a wise man who came before us: Don't call it a comeback.

Boom. Explosion.

Now, what you really want to read, bulletpoints:

Let's start out with the bad stuff: Jeez, Mike Kafka, I'm not sure how you won us that game. For the first time this year, Kafka completed multiple passes way downfield. One was a perfect pass to Andrew Brewer, which Brew had about 25 yards after the reception on and merked some dude who tried to head-tackle him. One was a great catch from Zeke Markshausen. One was a shoulda-been, woulda-been pick that Andrew Brewer wrestled away from an Indiana defender. The rest of his long throws were overthrown or hanging ducks that just fell into Indiana hands. Don't get me wrong, it's a major improvement from his deep throwing in previous games. But, yeesh.
Also, his other two picks were just confusing. Like, I'm not sure who he was aiming for.
Our special teams is a mess right now. First off, that rugby punt thing might have to go. No matter how good it supposedly is for field position, and how it occasionally bounces off opposing players and we recover it, when Demos messes it up and airs it out it's just impossible to cover the returner in time. See, Maclin, Jeremy, and that dude who returned it to our 30 or so, and led to an easy touchdown.
I would be angry at the receiving corps for some serious drops, but they've been pretty good all year. The only thing I wish is that we had some running backs who can catch.
Done with the bad stuff. Of course, I also shoulda wrote "let's not go down by 20+ in the first half", but I can live with that.
Game ball goes to the really, really old guy who was a baton majorette today. Not sure who this guy is, but he went on the field and strutted his stuff with a baton during halftime, and won the hearts and minds of the entire student body. Clap it up for that guy.
I was truly inspired by the play of Ricky Weina, our sixth-string - SIXTH-STRING! - corner coming into the year playing due to the injury to Sherrick McManis and, well, whatever was up with Demetrius Dugar and Mike Bolden and Justan Vaughn today. So much so that I decided to write the following screenplay about his performance today. I should note that the screenplay is based on a true life story. And when I say "it's based on a true life story," I mean, it's actually just a conversation I had with the guy I was standing near today.

(several men are standing on a metal bench. All of them think the name "Weina" is pronounced so that it rhymes with "hyena."

Me: Hey, dude, what happened to Sherrick McManis?

Him: I don't know. Wait, Scott Weina is playing. That's not good. He sucks.

Me: I think his name is Ricky, and he's a dominant force. (Weina covers the Indiana WR who gets thrown to on third down, the play is incomplete because of a poor throw by Ben Chappell.) WEINA! Oh, man, that was all Weina. You can't stop Weina, you can only hope to contain him.

Him: Actually, that's not true. You can stop him. He can be contained.

Me: Look, he's out on punt coverage too. (Ricky Weina blocks a punt.) WEINA! YOU CAN'T STOP WEINA! HE'S TOO STRONG! TOO STRONG! HE'S TOO PRETTY! YOU CAN ONLY HOPE TO CONTAIN HIM! (the curtain closes as I run up and down the uninhabited bench in front of us yelling at the top of my lungs for a good 45 seconds that people cannot stop Weina, nor contain him.)

And scene. I'm shouldn't be impressed by a w over Indiana, but look at how banged up our team is at this point in the season. A fun game to play when you're looking at a defense playing Weina, Kevin Watt, Quentin Williams, David Nwabuisi, Brian Peters, and Jared Carpenter is "find the defensive player who was starting three weeks ago". It's pretty hard. And what's more, the dudes who I'm naming weren't just wasting space on defense, they were playing well. You could tell the Hoosiers were picking on Weina, but he didn't let up many completions, what's more, he returned a punt. He's probably this week's MVP. Peters and Carpenter weren't a gynormous dropoff from Phillips and Smith, and those were two of our teams rocks coming into the year. Watt and Williams might be outplaying Corey Wootton thus far in the year - although Woot did come alive a little bit today.
Not to mention that I can't find a running back I expected to play coming into the year. Scott Concannon? Scott Concannon looked downright decent today, and not just on the last drive where he was busting out ten yard runs left and right. (BTdubs, credit Zeke Markshausen with one of the better wide receiver run blocks in NU history to clear out the entire right side of our offense for a Concannon sprint for a first.) He was getting four yards on draws up the middle that had been getting none or one a few weeks ago with Arby Fields. And Jeravin Matthews looked sweet out of the backfield when he was there.
Bill Lynch has gotta feel silly about leaving those three points on the field on that fourth-and-one at the one. I know he should've had a TD, but, man. You lost by one. I guess he's only got the entire month of December and January when Indiana isn't playing in a bowl to think about it, though.
Major props to Indiana's Nick Polk for busting out the WWE tackle on Sidney Stewart. I didn't hear the call, but I'll have to assume it was "personal foul, illegal use of a piledriver, automatic first down."
By the way, I recently discovered that the refs enjoy chilling out in the hallway between the student section and the exits after the game. I guess this is their locker room, and congrats to Ryan Field for giving them essentially THE WORST POSSIBLE PLACE TO PUT REFEREES IN THE ENTIRE STADIUM. I've taken to sarcastically congratulating them on my way out, I think NU students should begin to make this a habit.
Andrew Brewer looked like a beast in weeks one and three, but has been AWOL in every other week. But today he was great. He scored a TD on a great personal play by him, and saved a pick on the aforementioned Kafka heave, plus got open on fourth-and-three.
In closing, let's look back on the bad times: a selection of comments from the first half of Saturday's game. Che effort is beyond pathetic. Beyond embarassing. I think if you went out to Long Field and picked up a handful of IM players, you could do no worse.

"The effort is beyond pathetic. Beyond embarassing. I think if you went out to Long Field and picked up a handful of IM players, you could do no worse." - buckyor

"idjmpoiewqmdpoiewqnmdp" - Loretta8

"My U of C Maroons could play better than this…" - HMLee

"today is the day when all aspects FAIL MISERABLY." - pfoley

"We are worse than Illinois, much worse than Virginia. We are dogshit." - buckyor

Well, it sure did look that way at the time, and I hope this self-reverse schadenfreude is as cathartic for y'all as it is for me.

Anyway, major thanks to everybody who stopped by in the comments section. I never thought I'd get that many comments for a home game, and I swear, next time it's warm enough for me to use my iPhone in the seats, I'll comment along with y'all. Although you seemed to be doing fine without me.

Various Queries With Crimson Quarry

SCM — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:15:09 -0000

Want to know more about our opponent heading into Saturday? Ask and you shall receive. John over at The Crimson Quarry was kind enough to exchange and answer a few questions about the Indiana football team, look for my responses over at his site as well, enjoy:

MNB: In general, how do you feel about having Bill Lynch as the head coach (signed through 2012)? It sure seemed as though they could've pursued a young up-and-comer who might have been able to continue on the success that Hoeppner had built in terms of re-energizing the program and stoking the fires of enthusiasm about football in Bloomington...

TCQ: There is no doubt that in a conventional coaching search, Bill Lynch would not have been considered for the job. His losing record and 21-game losing streak at Ball State and his low-key personality probably would not have made him an ideal candidate. Still, IU was in a close-to-impossible situation after the 2007 season. IU had just completed its most successful season in 14 years, was headed to its first warm-weather bowl game in 16 years, and many of the most highly respected voices concerning IU football, including Bill Mallory, were clamoring for his retention. It would have been a strange spectacle for IU to be conducting a coaching search as a lame duck staff prepared for IU's first bowl appearance since the early 1990s. IU has failed under retreads and failed under up-and-comers. Maybe an up-and-comer would have been the next Urban Meyer; maybe he would have been the next Cam Cameron. While re-energizing the program was part of Hoeppner's legacy, the guy was a damn good coach, and his sideline demeanor was more intense than that of any current Big Ten coach. For all of the happy-go-lucky stuff in press conferences, Hep was a taskmaster who desperately wanted to win. He was no Lee Corso-style huckster.

But, back to Lynch. I'm ambivalent about it. I do have doubts about him as a program leader and a gameday coach. On the other hand, he has modestly improved recruiting (Michigan would scoff, but our classes have gone from "a bunch of two stars with a smattering of three stars" to "a bunch of three stars with occasional two stars and four stars"). Thanks to the north endzone addition, Lynch has better facilities to sell than has any IU coach in decades. The conventional wisdom is that 2009 is Lynch's make-or-break season, and while we know little about AD Fred Glass's personnel style, I think it's a fair assumption. If he wins 6 or 7 games this year, I think he's secure. Will he ever turn in a Bill Mallory-type run of respectability? I don't know.

MNB: It's probably fair to say that your defense has saved two out of the first three games thus far. You guys have an embarrassment of riches with Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton, and after watching Tate momentarily go down last Saturday those two are concerns 1 and 1a for yours truly. Who else on the Hoosier defense should Michigan fans be cognizant of this Saturday? What should we expect in terms of a gameplan?

TCQ: You are correct that Kirlew and Middleton are the main concerns. Two other players to watch are the safeties, Nick Polk and Austin Thomas. Both guys have been starters for their entire careers, although both blew ACLs last year. Thomas had two interceptions in the Akron game. It's no secret, given IU's strength and playing against a freshman quarterback, that the Hoosiers will try to get to Tate Forcier. While Kirlew and Middleton justifiably get the press, their presence has allowed IU to spread things around in terms of the pass rush. Seven Hoosiers have recorded sacks this season. As to the "how," I'll leave that to someone with a better grasp of x's and o's. But I'm sure that taking Forcier out of his rhythm will be a priority.

MNB: Pistol offense... OK numbers against pretty "meh" competition thus far, yay or nay with a QB like Chappell? Is this thing just a fad or do you think it will be a system that positions IU to bring in some recruits they may not have had a shot at before?

TCQ: Well, the offense obviously is not a replica of the Nevada pistol, which is more of an option offense with an excellent running quarterback. IU has used WR Mitchell Evans as a mobile QB in the formation, but for the most part, it's more helpful to think of the Pistol as a formation rather than an offense. The IU staff's stated hope has been that it would allow the running backs to hit the holes hard and create more of a downhill running game, and after a heartburn-inducing performance against Eastern Kentucky, it seems to be working (albeit against sub-Big Ten competition). As for Chappell, he seems suited for the offense in the way IU is running it. Despite his nice numbers, I have some concerns about his accuracy and decision-making that I think may be currently masked by the quality of the competition and some nice plays by his receivers. Still, hopefully he will continue to improve and will keep his numbers where they are.

Will it help with recruits? Maybe. IU has a true freshman named Edward Wright-Baker who has a strong arm and excellent running skills. He nominally is IU's second-string quarterback, although they seem to be trying to save him as a redshirt. One has to wonder if the implementation of this offense is with Wright-Baker in mind. I'm a big fan of dual-threat quarterbacks as a field leveler for programs like IU, so that would make me happy.

MNB: Michigan's defense has shown that it can let teams drive the football at times already this season (and now may be missing starting safety Mike Williams), do you foresee any special twists or change-ups on offense from what we've seen the first three weeks?

TCQ: I don't know. IU already has introduced the Mitchell Evans-at-QB wrinkle. Whether they will further mix things up with personnel or formation or trick plays is hard to say. IU is 3-0 and a 21 point underdog. Hopefully Lynch has something up his sleeve.

MNB: I've long believed that Purdue's "count to four" first down cheer is the single dumbest crowd cheer in sports. That said I have to ask, what do you really think about Indiana's First Down March? Also, bonus question, why doesn't IU just build a bigger drum?

TCQ: I'm just impressed that so many Boilers can count to four. I like IU's First Down March. One of the major problems facing IU's football program over the years has been an absence of tradition and enthusiasm. The First Down March is a little goofy, but it's fun for the students and fans, it's original, and it's organic (I believe it was begun by some ardent student fans known as the Helmet Heads back in the Cam Cameron era). That fact that you, a Michigan fan, even know that IU has a First Down March tells me that I'm glad we do it. As for the drum, only a university without a music school could think that out-of-tune piece of junk is a good idea. Have you ever heard it? [Ed note - I have heard it, it's rather underwhelming, and I have another question, why do the big drum guys have to wear shiny helmets?] You should go to Purdue's senior day some time, when the senior band members all get to hit it.

MNB: Quick plug: for those that haven't been to Bloomington, just go, it's a great campus. Your favorite local establishment/watering hole? (Hard to beat Nick's from my experience)

TCQ: Nick's is Bloomington's most iconic establishment, and anyone who visits IU should stop in and play a game of "sink the Bismark." My favorite spot as an IU student was Yogi's, a sports bar that is a bit more low key than the places on Kirkwood Avenue and has excellent bar food. Other popular spots are the original Kilroy's on Kirkwood Avenue (a block from the main entrance to the IU campus), and Kilroy's Sports Bar a few blocks away, known simply as "Sports" in IU parlance. There are many more that I remember fondly, and I'm sure some others have arisen in the (gulp) nearly 14 years since I graduated.

So there you go! Many thanks to John for his time and knowledge, much appreciated!

2009 Indiana football preview: the secondary.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:12:41 -0000

After I preview the secondary and the special teams, I will switch into game week mode. It is an abbreviated game week, of course.

IU's secondary was a major liability last season. IU lost corners Leslie Majors and Tracy Porter after 2007, and the Hoosiers dealt with loads of inexperience and injuries in 2008. Of the eight players listed on the two deep to begin the 2008 season, only one, Chris Adkins, was in the same position for the final game of the season.

THE CORNERS

The starters: Ray Fisher, 5-9 senior. Fisher played well as a receiver for his first three years on campus and led IU in receiving yards last season. Still, the staff decided to gamble, moving Fisher to DB and placing the receiving jobs in the hands of younger players. Writers covering other teams have found it fashionable to ridicule this move, but I found it encouraging: it shows that the staff realizes that incremental improvement isn't good enough. It will be interesting to see how Fisher responds. Donnell Jones, 5-10 sophomore. Jones received an increasing amount of playing time as the season progressed, and he started the final two games. He had an interception, 3 pass breakups, and 20 tackles on the season.

The reserves: Richard Council, 6-1 junior. Council saw his first game action in the 2008 season and recorded 45 tackles and 7 pass breakups. He started 7 games after beginning the season on the second string. Adrian Burks, 6-0 junior. Burks played sparingly in four games last season.

SAFETIES

The starters: Austin Thomas, 6-2 senior. In only 6 games, Thomas recorded 41 tackles and 2 interceptions. He missed 6 games because of various injuries, including a season-ending ACL injury. He was honorable mention all-Big Ten as a sophomore. Nick Polk, 6-0 senior. Polk had 52 tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown, but like Thomas, his season ended early because of an ACL injury. It is either encouraging or frightening that both ACL patients are listed as starters.

The reserves: Jerimy Finch, 6-1 junior. Finch is an enigma. A elite recruit from Indianapolis, he originally committed to Michigan but then changed his mind and committed to IU. On signing day eve, he changed his mind again and signed with Florida. Finch saw substantial game action as a freshman, and intercepted a pass against Tennessee but left that game with a season-ending leg injury. After that season, he transferred to IU, and because of family issues that generated the transfer, he was eligible in 2008. Few expected him to be a reserve as a junior, to say the least. In 2008, Finch saw action in 5 games, mostly on special teams, and blocked two punts. Hopefully he will be on the field quite a bit in 2009. Chris Adkins, 6-1 sophomore. Adkins was pressed into starting duty at cornerback as a redshirt freshman and recorded 54 tackles, 4 pass breakups, and a fumble recovery.

The secondary was one of many liabilities in 2008. The Hoosiers once again have two new starters at corner, but those starters have jumped ahead of the returning starters. The safety position could be a strength for IU if Thomas and Polk are both truly recovered from their knee injuries.

Know thy Opponent 2009: Indiana Hoosiers

BoilerTMill — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:00:18 -0000

I have become an expert at NCAA Football '08. Sure, I could get the newer version, but I am a self-employed writer and the '08 version still has the actual Orange Bowl in it. The point of this rant is that I recently played the 2010 season and destroyed Indiana 84-40. My defense was terrible, but my offense generated the Lee Corso comment of , "Either lie down and lose by 50, or pick yourself up and start playing" When I jumped ahead early in the game.

That is what happened with last year's Bucket game. Both teams were terrible, making it like a mid-90's Bucket game again. Indiana chose to lie down and lose by 50 instead of playing with a little pride to keep the Bucket. Were we 52 points better than the Hoosiers last year? Probably not, but they still rolled over and died before 10 minutes were gone in last year's game. It was so bad even I was embarrassed by the lack of effort Indiana put forth. If you listen to the "experts" you can expect a similar atmosphere in this year's game in Bloomington in that the loser gets last place in the Big Ten. The optimistic fans on both sides see the Bucket game as a chance for a bowl, however, as long as each team reaches five wins before it.

2008 Record: 3-9 (1-7 Big Ten)

Bowl Result: none

Blog Representation: Crimson Quarry

Series with Purdue: Purdue leads 69-36-6 (Purdue leads Old Oaken Bucket portion 55-26-3)

Last Purdue win: 11/22/2008 at Purdue 62-10

Last Indiana win: 11/17/2007 at Indiana 27-24

A common sight and rare sight in the Bucket's history. You pick which is which.

So much for the momentum of a bowl game. Since Austin Starr sent his game-winning kick through the uprights in the 2007 game, Indiana has returned to its usual self on the football field. Season opening wins over provisional D-1A member Western Kentucky and Murray State gave way to a 3-9 finish in the year. Ball State and Central Michigan, two of the best teams in the MAC, rolled Indiana at home and the Hoosiers only managed an unexplained win over a ranked Northwestern team the rest of the way. I will give IU credit there. They have beaten multiple ranked teams since our last win over a ranked opponent. Things got so bad last year that John, the very good Crimson Quarry blogger, declared it Indiana's worst Big Ten season and our win the worst loss in Indiana football history. Injuries were a major factor, but "worst ever" is still stiff criticism for last year's team considering IU's football history.

CFN, in its effort to paint a rosy picture for every single team, gives a bowl game as the best case scenario of Indiana this year based on the experience returning. Other football publications have them as the only team behind us in the Big Ten with good reason. The defense was terrible last year even by Indiana standards. IU lost its one proven playmaker in Kellen Lewis. The non-conference schedule is stiff with only a home game against Eastern Kentucky as a guaranteed win. Western Michigan is a very good MAC team that can beat them, and road trips to Akron and Virginia aren't easy. The home schedule features few gimmes outside of Eastern Kentucky. Road dates in Big Ten play at Michigan, Northwestern, Iowa, and Penn State make it very hard to see an IU bowl game this year.

The audio was disabled for this, but it is still a quality video with respect for Hep as well.

Indiana offense:

This team is much worse off losing Kellen Lewis at quarterback. I have no doubt that Ben Chappell is a talented quarterback. He has more in-game experience than our own Joey Elliott and has the benefit of knowing he was going to be the starter since the ill-advised move of Lewis to wide receiver. Still, Chappell does not offer the same running element that Lewis does. Chappell saw significant action last year, yet didn't have an official rushing attempt. Lewis, meanwhile, ran for 500 yards and three scores in a down year for him. Teams like Indiana cannot beat other teams on talent alone with their current roster. They need that extra element a player like Lewis gives. If you don't have to worry about Chappell beating you with his feet it makes Indiana that much easier to defend. Chappell is a threat with his arm though. In limited action he threw for 1,001 yards and four scores. Indiana is moving to a pistol-style offense, so it will likely mean more running from Chappell.

In another strange move, coach Bill Lynch has said he wants Indiana to be more of a downhill running team. That's great, except that Indiana's top two rushers are no longer on campus. Brian Payton (350 yards, two scores) has the most experience running the football. Now that we have a defensive coordinator that recognizes a halfback draw is a legal play we are allowed to stop we might be able to play defense against Indiana. It was incredibly frustrating to see Marcus Thigpen gash us on simple draws two years ago, but he is gone. Darius Willis is a redshirt freshman who could make some noise after sitting out last season. Demetrius McCray also has experience at tailback with 224 yards and two scores.

A main reason that Indiana struggled last year was the departure of James Hardy. No one could replace his production, as Ray Fisher (42-373-5) was the best receiver. In another move I don't understand, he has moved to the defensive side of the ball at cornerback despite being the team's best receiver. Andrew Means (34-450-1) has decided to pursue a baseball career, so he is gone too. That leaves junior Terrance Turner (29-289-0) as the best returning receiver. Tandon Doss (14-186-1) showed some promise as a freshman last year, but did little outside of a 107 yard performance against Northwestern. Damario Belcher (25-337-2) at 6'5" provides and interesting size element we lack as an outside receiver.

If there was one unit that effected Indiana's season strongly last year it was injuries along the offensive line. The group gave up 28 sacks and struggled to generate a consistent running game other than having Lewis run for his life. Only Roger Saffold at left tackle with 10 starts was consistent. He returns to protect Chappell's blind side, but Pete Saxon at center may be the line's best player. Coach Hep made the offensive line a priority in his too short tenure in Bloomington. This is the year that it should bear fruit in terms of his recruiting efforts. Cody Faulkner at right guard, James Brewer at right tackle, and Justin Pagan at left guard were all Hoeppner recruits groomed for this specific season to start. I'll give coach Hep credit. He knew what he was doing in Bloomington. If this group of five can stay healthy Indiana can be much better on offense.

Indiana defense:

The best way to sum up Indiana's defense is "What defense" last year. Injuries and inconsistent play made this unit awful. All-American Greg Middleton had an incredibly disappointing year with just 14 tackles and 4 sacks. He is too good of a talent to have those low of numbers. He had 16 sacks in 2007 alone. Jammie Kirlew on the other end picked up the slack with 74 tackles and 10.5 sacks. It is rare that Indiana has multiple All-Americans, but that was the case last year with Middleton and Austin Starr. Kirlew and Middleton are probably the best two rush ends in the conference. If they can regularly get into the backfield Indiana's defense will be much better. Deonte Mack (21 tackles, 2 sacks) and Nick Sliger (redshirt freshman) must play better against the run at both tackle positions for Indiana to have marked improvement.

I think Indiana's history at linebacker can be summed up in one John Kerr. Kerr led Indiana in tackles in 2002 as a freshman, but immediately transferred to Ohio State. Once there, he hung around for a few season before going undrafted in the 2007 NFL draft. It is pretty bad that your leading player on the defense parlayed a great season into a transfer and scholarship offer at a better program only to be an also-ran there. Indiana does not have to worry about that anymore, as senior Matt Mayberry has put in his time and returns for his final year on campus after leading Indiana in tackles last year. He had 89 stops and five sacks last year, so he is a versatile linebacker that can play all over the field. Will Patterson and Tyler Replogle give Indiana experience at the linebacker position that we lack. Patterson, now a senior, has been around the IU program for years and had a 104 tackles season in 2007. This unit is very experienced and gives Indiana a solid base at the conference's most necessary defensive position.

Just as we should be afraid of relying on defensive backs to help our receiving corps, Indiana should be afraid in its secondary. A major reason IU went to a bowl game in 2007 was the fact it had two great cornerbacks. Now they must rely on Ray Fisher, a converted wideout, to evolve into a shutdown corner. He is quick, but at 5'9" He is going to be pushed around like Chris Clopton in the 2001 Rose Bowl. Chris Adkins started all 12 games last year at the other corner position and had 54 tackles but no interceptions.

At safety is the Jeremy Finch. An Indiana High School legend, Finch committed to Florida before transferring to his second choice, Indiana. Finch battled injuries last year, but the former 4-star recruit has to play up to his talent level this year in order for Indiana to achieve its full potential. The Hoosiers thought they were getting a steal with Finch last year, but he contributed just six tackles in five games after sitting out a season due to transfer rules. Still, he is IU's best option at safety. Nick Polk and Austin Thomas are solid backups, but Finch really needs to be the star of the show in the secondary.

Overall, Indiana's defense was nothing to fear last year. Even our popgun offense went off for 62 points against them. We were hardly the best offense they face either. The only drive we didn't score on in last year's game was because we didn't feel interested in scoring. That gives me a ton of confidence.

Indiana Special Teams:

Austin Starr was supposed to be the best kicker in the nation, but he struggled to hit 10 of 17 field goals. The kicking position is now up for grabs with junior Nick Ford and his one extra point experience giving him the lead for the position. Mitch Ewald is an unproven true freshman who could challenge for the job. Starr also struggled on kickoffs, as opponents averaged 24 yards per return.

The Hoosiers to have a solid punter in Chris Hagerup, whose brother we are recruiting heavily. Hagerup averaged better than 42 yards per kick last year and held teams to a 6 yard average per return. The return game will suffer with the departure of Marcus Thigpen. DeMetrius McCray is the most likely candidate to return kicks while Fisher will likely return punts.

Intangibles:

I am going to get cocky for a moment.

It's Indiana.

We know we are better than them at football. We had a terrible season last year, the worst in the 12 year history of that coach, and we still won 62-10. If we don't win we have no reason to go to a bowl. In my mind, it would take something drastic on our end for the Hoosiers to suddenly overcome a 52 point differential. We were virtually even coming to that game and the only reason the score wasn't worse is because we didn't want it to be. Many of the players on our teams are very used to kicking the living crap out of IU for the Bucket, and there are still plenty that remember the one time since 2001 IU won the Bucket.

Indiana does have a little bit more experience returning on offense though. They are playing at home too. I like the improvements to Memorial Stadium, but I don't know how much of a home field advantage it will add.

Game Outlook:

All we need to do is get to five wins before this game. I feel that if we have a chance at getting to a bowl game when we head to Bloomington we will finish the deal. There honestly is not one thing that scares me about Indiana except the duo of Middleton and Kirlew. Despite how close the records were, we still hold a decided advantage in my mind. Indiana has made a series of questionable moves to its offensive personnel, while we seemed to be adjusting well to the hand we are dealt. It will be interesting to see how well things play out as the season progresses.

Prediction:

Indiana probably is not as bad as I think they are, so it will likely be closer than expected. It is still our Bucket though. They aren't due to get it back until about 2013 or so. Purdue 38, Indiana 24

Indiana Hoosiers 2008 season in review: Ball State and Central Michigan.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:48:48 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

Ball State's Nate Davis, now with the San Francisco 49ers, looked like a pro prospect against the 2008 Hoosiers.

Browse more photos »

The Ball State and Central Michigan games were not played consecutively: IU played Ball State in September, when the Hoosiers were 2-0 after two easy wins over overmatched programs. The CMU game, on November 1, was IU's sixth loss of the season and all but guaranteed that the Hoosiers would not return to postseason play. Still, the games remain linked because before 2008, IU had not lost to a MAC school since 1977. In 2008, the Hoosiers dropped two to the MAC, both at gome.

The Ball State game was reasonably hyped as far as September games between IU and a MAC school go. Jason Whitlock had tossed his journalistic objectivity out the window and was shamelessly shilling for his alma mater. Here is my very angry wrapup of a game that IU lost 42-20. Unfortunately, this game foreshadowed the rest of the season, particularly with the surprising struggles of the offense. In 2007, IU averaged over 10 yards per offensive play against Ball State. In 2008, the IU offense largely consisted of ad-libbed Kellen Lewis scrambles. Here's the box score.

Really, the game had everything that would plague the Hoosiers for the rest of the season:

Poor run defense: Miquale Lewis manhandled IU, running for 166 yards on 29 carries (5.7 YPC) and scored four touchdowns.
Poor pass defense: the prolific Nate Davis didn't put up the amazing numbers that he did against other teams, but because of Lewis, he did not have to do so. Still, he was 16-25 for 239 yards and a TD and no interceptions, despite losing his best receiver, Dante Love, to a horrific spine injury that ended Love's career.
Ineffectual pass offense: Kellen Lewis made his career debut at Ball State in 2006. He entered the game as the third string QB, but ultimately led IU back from a 23-7 halftime deficit to win. In 2007, IU averaged nearly 10 yards per offensive play against Ball State's hapless defense. In 2008, Lewis was stuck resorting to scrambles, completing 11 of 25 passes and throwing two intereceptions.
Injuries: Chris Phillips, one of IU's starting quarters, suffered a season-ending knee injury on a non-contact play. Nick Polk and Austin Thomas also were injured in the game.

It's still not clear to me how good Ball State was in 2008. The Cardinals cruised through the MAC, but IU was the toughest non-conference opponent the Cardinals played, and they gacked up the MAC title game against Buffalo and lost their bowl game. Still, it's undisputable that they were much, much better than IU, and most IU fans realized that a repeat of 2007 was unlikely.

Malaise had set in by the time IU played Central Michigan on November 1, but IU had briefly revived hope of improvement by upsetting Northwestern on October 25. Still, the CMU game was a new low, and here is why:

The loss in itself, while disappointing, isn't the embarrassing part. Upsets happen, and Central Michigan is one of the best teams in the MAC this year. Better Big Ten teams have lost to worse [MAC] teams. The embarrassing part is that CMU won without even giving its best shot. The Chippewas' star quarterback, Dan LeFevour, was apparently available, if hobbled by ankle injuries. CMU elected to hold him back and started backup Brian Brunner, who promptly passed for a school record 485 yards. Four hundred eighty five yards to a backup MAC quarterback. Pathetic. Here are the stats. The overall numbers are fairly even: CMU out-gained IU 522-485. Still, IU's offense bogged down when it counted. IU gained only 27 yards in the fourth quarter.

As I noted, it was a fairly even game statistically, and IU missed on some chances to make it a two possession game in the fourth quarter. It didn't happen, and IU lost.

I will have one more "season in review" post that will cover the games against MSU and Minnesota, neither of which is on IU's 2009 schedule. I'll handle all other 2008 wrap-ups in the season previews, which will continue in earnest soon.

Hoosier Headlines for August 12, 2009: coaching hot seat and more.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:42:59 -0000

Back with more football coverage later in the day. Meanwhile:

Better Know an Embattled Coach: Bill Lynch (Dr. Saturday): Doug Gillett, better known as the writer behind Georgia blog Hey Jenny Slater and now a contributor to Yahoo's Dr. Saturday blog, has a piece on Bill Lynch with some input from me.
IU's ex-wideouts embrace switch to defensive back (Courier Journal/Indianapolis Star): Terry Hutchens discusses the moves of Ray Fisher and Colin Taylor from WR to DB. Also, redshirt freshman Kyle Dietrick is making the move.
IU hopes sophomores help offense catch fire (The Journal Gazette): LaMond Pope, who has been covering IU comprehensively for the J-G, talks about the guys that may be the key to this team: sophomore WRs DaMarlo Belcher and Tandon Doss. Here's more from Pope on safeties Nick Polk and Austin Thomas.
Checking in with ... Indiana's Bill Lynch (ESPN): Rittenberg interviews Lynch.
Irving will visit Indiana (The Hoosier Scoop): Kryie Irving,the top 5 recruit from New Jersey, confirms that IU will get one of his official visits.
Bawa arrives in Bloomington (The Hoosier Scoop): Bawa Muniru, incoming basketball recruit, is in town but not yet cleared. There seems to be quite a bit of optimism that both Muniru and Maurice Creek will be cleared, but I think the NCAA focuses its resources on football and other fall sports at this time of year.
This isn't an IU story, but one of the best sports blogs around, Every Day Should be Saturday (EDSBS) is joining SB Nation. EDSBS has a Florida focus, but provides hilarious coverage of college football at large. If you weren't reading it already, start now.

An early look at Akron.

John M (The Crimson Quarry) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:37:35 -0000

University of Akron
Location: Akron, Ohio
Founded: 1870
Enrollment: 25,000
Conference: Mid-American
Series: IU leads 1-0
Coach: JD Brookhart (6th year, 27-33)

IU and Minnesota are not the only midwestern schools that are upgrading their football facilities in 2009. The Akron Zips will move from the Rubber Bowl into InfoCision Stadium-Summa Field, a new on-campus stadium.

Akron moved to Division I-A in 1987 under the leadership of former Notre Dame coach Gerry Faust. Faust led Akron to only two winning seasons in eight I-A seasons, and his successor, Lee Owens, had three winning seasons in nine years. Brookhart came to Akron in 2004, and went 6-5 in his first season. In 2005, he led Akron to a 7-6 record and its first ever Division I-A bowl game. Since then, however, the Zips haven't had a winning season. The official media poll picked Akron to finish third in the MAC East.

IU and Akron have played once before, in 2007. IU won 41-24 in what I described as "the Kellen Lewis Show." Lewis ran for 199 yards and completed 19-24 passes. Lewis won't be there this year, of course, but Demetrius McCray played well, rushing for 60 yards on 13 carries. Greg Middleton had two sacks. Taking a look at the 2007 box score demonstrates just how experienced the IU defense is: in addition to Middleton, Austin Thomas, Will Patterson, Matt Mayberry, Tyler Replogle, Nick Polk, and Jammie Kirlew all registered tackles. It's now or never, guys.

But enough about IU. Akron, per this Vandelay Sports preview, returns its starting quarterback, Chris Jaquemain, who had respectable but not overwhelming numbers last year (57 percent, 20 TD, 14 INT). Jaquemain was 4-6 for 50 yards in the 2007 game against IU. The Zips will have to replace their starting running back but return four of their top five receivers, including Deryn Bowswer (785 yards, 4 TD) and Andre Jones (678 yards, 7 TD). The Zips defense returns five starters, but much like IU's defense, what is the experience worth?

Here's is the NCAA's summary page for the 2008 Zips. Akron won at Syracuse and lost by only two against Cincinnati. The Zips generally were above average offensively, but were uniformly bad on defense, ranking 90th or lower out of 119 I-A teams in every defensive category. The Zips averaged fewer than one sack per game and 5 tackles for loss per game.

In short, this looks like a game that IU should win. The Hoosiers will have a talent advantage, and the Akron defense looks ripe for the picking, while the Akron offense, while good, doesn't look as overwhelming as, for instance, the Ball State offense that picked IU apart last year. Still, it is a road game, and this will be the second game in Akron's new stadium, and the first trip by a Big Ten school to Akron. IU is 4-0 all-time in road games on MAC campuses, but after dropping home games to Ball State and Central Michigan last year, IU can take nothing for granted.