For many of the biggest universities in college football, season-opening games are often reserved for low-level opponents, who arrive in town eager to cash out on a guaranteed payment from a much larger athletic department and take their loss with a smile and a handshake.
In recent years, IU football has played host to the likes of Southern Illinois and Indiana State to kick off its campaigns. Last season, IU traveled to play Florida International in the first week. This year, things will be different.
The Hoosiers will begin this season at home, on a Thursday, under the lights of what will likely be a sold-out Memorial Stadium. A national powerhouse comes to town. A former coach returns.
When No. 2 Ohio State visits IU on Aug. 31, Hoosier players and coaches may want to treat the battle with the Buckeyes just like any other. But they would be the only ones in town trying to normalize the spectacle that is going to occur.
Count IU Athletics Director Fred Glass as one who cannot wait for a game that he says carries significant weight.
“Biggest opening game in Indiana University football history, and we are approaching it as such,” Glass said Monday.
Ohio State's visits usually draw big crowds and plenty of attention. The Buckeyes are a conference rival and are consistently ranked among the best teams in the country. But they have only opened the season against the Hoosiers five times, and never in Bloomington.
Even if IU was staring a likely losing season in the face, as it has in many years prior, playing Ohio State to begin the season would still have Hoosier fans excited. After all, both teams will start the game with the same record.
But this season looks promising for the Hoosiers, who made bowl games the last two years and return key pieces on both sides of the ball. Add in the return of former Coach Kevin Wilson, who is now Ohio State’s offensive coordinator, and the storylines are everywhere.
The game is generating plenty of buzz on a national scale as well. ESPN’s "College GameDay" show will be in attendance and will broadcast from the south end zone ahead of the 8 p.m. kickoff. The television network will also provide MegaCast production of the game, featuring feeds on a half-dozen different channels.
Previously, ESPN has only reserved the MegaCast treatment for College Football Playoff games, but they’re breaking it out again in their first prime-time game of the regular season.
“I understand that interest in Ohio State is part of it, but we’ve earned that attention by being in the eastern division of the Big Ten,” Glass said of the "GameDay" and MegaCast exposure.
Glass and the rest of the IU athletics department say they are prepared for the chaos that will surround next Thursday’s game, and they’re pulling out all the bells and whistles to mark the occasion. As usual with big games, Glass encouraged fans to arrive early. This year, fans will pass through metal detectors before they enter Memorial Stadium.
Gates will open two and a half hours before game time, an hour earlier than normal, in part so that fans can get inside before "GameDay" begins its broadcast at 6 p.m. A massive balloon launch, usually reserved only for homecoming weekend, will happen just before kickoff.
Jacobs School of Music alumnus and famed Chicago Blackhawks anthem singer Jim Cornelison will sing the national anthem. Former IU Coach Lee Corso – a member of the GameDay panel – will be honored at the end of the first quarter with the Bill Orwig Award for outstanding contributions made by a non-alumnus.
Right up until 8 p.m. on Aug. 31, and even after, the festivities will not stop. It will be on Coach Tom Allen and his staff to keep his players composed and focused on their task at hand. Glass may even need some help calming down himself.
“I think this may be the most excited I’ve ever been going into a football season,” Glass said.
