IU hasn’t opened a season on the road since 2005 and only played three such games in a young 21st century, but it will take the role of the visitor Thursday night in the season opener against FIU in Miami.
This means the first time the 2016 Hoosiers knock pads with players not wearing IU jerseys since the New Era Pinstripe Bowl loss to Duke will be in front of a hostile crowd, but that doesn’t faze the Hoosiers.
“It’s definitely a little different, you know, going down to Miami,” senior offensive lineman Dan Feeney said. “We’re not starting at home, but we accept the challenge, and we’ll keep moving forward.”
In fact, players like seniors T.J. Simmons and Clyde Newton said they have a little extra fire for this one as natives of the region.
“What more motivation do I need?” said Newton, a graduate of Charlotte High School in Punta Gorda, Florida. “I’ve got my family watching me, so I’m going to go hard. Special teams, all that. They’re going to get the best me.”
There are 14 Hoosier players from Florida — including four committed so far in the 2017 recruiting class — and Newton said he has about 30 people coming to watch him possibly take his first collegiate carry at running back.
Fellow Floridian and junior defensive lineman Greg Gooch said he would have some fans coming to see him too, although the Lyman High School alumnus out of Longwood, Florida, downplayed the home-state talk.
“Nothing really changes, it’s another game,” Gooch said. “Basically, I’m just perfecting my craft to get ready.”
The mix of weather IU has encountered during fall camp has aided that preparation, Gooch said. Days of heat split time with days of heavy rain and thunderstorms, which allowed the offense to not rely on a certain tactic of past years.
“As a wide receiver coach, one of the things that you put on your list every year during preseason is ‘Let’s make sure and get some wet ball drills,’” said offensive coordinator Kevin Johns, who is also responsible for the quarterbacks and wide receivers. “Lots of times that means carrying out a bucket of water, dumping a ball in the bucket and throwing the ball to your receiver to make sure they catch it.”
Forecasts by weather.com predict thunderstorms Thursday with a high of 88 degrees and a low of 81. Those thunderstorms may be finished by the time the game starts, but even if they are not, Johns said he’s as confident as he’s ever been going into a game that could see rain.
Feeney and Gooch said they both recognized how the offense has benefited from the weather, but even despite the weather, FIU is a team IU has played before.
IU won a close 2015 battle in Bloomington, which IU Coach Kevin Wilson has never missed the opportunity to bring up, and the Hoosiers will recognize many of those who line up against them Sept. 1 as much of FIU’s 2015 squad returned for 2016.
Throughout his coaching career, Wilson has also had the opportunity to face many of the coaches currently on FIU’s staff.
IU will need to adjust to the role of opening-game visitor, but once it does, there’s not a lot ahead of the team it hasn’t seen.
