Apply Some Pressure

The wagon wheels are all broken. The white canvas covers have bullet holes punched through them. Slumped behind the defenses, men murmur the word "massacre." \nThe second half should have been IU's assault on the Salukis, but instead, the Hoosiers failed to fire in a skirmish of squandered opportunities. They could do nothing else but surrender.\nLast Saturday's warfare has left the Hoosiers bent and bleeding, and a bigger battle looms in the distance. There is one remedy to stop the bleeding: Apply pressure. \nThe University of Connecticut will surface this Saturday at the Rock. The Huskies will be, by far, IU's toughest nonconference opponent on the short four "we-can-actually-win-this" game schedule. The pressure is now being applied to this football team. The Hoosiers need to apply pressure to themselves and stop the bleeding before it's too late. \nBelieve me, with the history the Hoosiers have against Big Ten ballers like Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, another nonconference loss can plunge IU into the deep sea of devastation for the rest of the season. \nIt is rare that a game, especially a nonconference game, should be so significant so early in the season, but Saturday is a statement game for the Hoosiers. Hopefully that statement isn't, "I can't wait for the basketball season." \nThe Huskies come to Bloomington fourth in the nation in rushing, averaging 280 yards per game between their two running backs Terry Caulley and Donald Brown. Meanwhile, the IU defense isn't even fourth in its conference in rush defense. In other words, you better believe UConn will be running the ball. Caulley and Brown should explode through the Husky offensive line all game long, wielding fire against an IU defense without water. IU will need to extinguish both backs before either one of them can reach the Hoosier secondary, or else the entire defense will be blown ablaze. \nIU interim coach Bill Lynch admitted after Saturday's loss that his team did not do enough offensively to keep Southern Illinois' offense off the field. \n"We didn't score enough points. That sounds very obvious, but there is a lot of truth to that," Lynch said at a Sept. 19 press conference. "We didn't make some third-down plays ourselves to keep them off the field and put us in position to score." \nWhat is obvious, Coach, is that's what your team will need to do Saturday if you plan on putting away Connecticut. "I hope there is a sense of urgency," Lynch continued. "We need to play better. We didn't play well enough to win that game. I don't think there is a make-or-break (game) with nine games left, but you want to win every game."\nI got news for you, Coach. This is a make-or-break game. Make something happen, or else good luck stacking up your win column against Big Ten teams that can punt you away with their pinkies. \nMake no mistake about it, folks: There is a sense of urgency in Quarry Land. There is a sense that a statement should be made. \nYou're bleeding, IU. Here we are -- the fans, the media and the student body -- applying pressure.