IU is red hot (for real)

Have you ever had one of those stretches where everything seems to be breaking your way? Those times when you hit every green light driving south on State Road 37 to campus from Indianapolis; those days when you find $20 in your laundry; those weeks where even your mistakes make you look golden?\nThat's how I feel about IU athletics at this particular moment in time -- it can do no wrong. The ball seems to be bouncing in favor of the cream and crimson almost across the board these days, and a certain slogan that we've all been hit over the head with for the last year finally seems to be ringing true: IU is red hot.\nNewsweek probably didn't have athletics in mind when it released its 2005 college guide and declared IU the "Hottest Big State School," but that was before IU coach Terry Hoeppner declared the football program a "shooting rocket" and Eric Gordon Jr., one of the top high school guards in the country, announced his plans to put on the candy-striped pants. Today, if anything is hot, it's IU sports.\nAfter IU's stunning upset of No. 15 Iowa on Saturday at Memorial Stadium, Hoeppner's aeronautical analogy almost seems realistic. Back-to-back Big Ten wins, the first since Antwaan Randle El played quarterback for the Hoosiers in 2001, and a 4-3 overall record places IU within striking distance of 6-6, which would qualify the team for its first bowl game in 13 seasons. The emergence of freshman quarterback Kellen Lewis, who garnered co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors for his stellar play against the Hawkeyes, could mean IU's rocket is approaching planet Motor City Bowl -- or beyond.\nThe football team's win Saturday was merely the cherry on top of a weekend sweetened by Gordon Jr.'s decision to attend IU. Thanks to Gordon, the summer days when IU coach Kelvin Sampson was sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations that occurred while he was at Oklahoma seem like light-years ago. At Hoosier Hysteria on Friday, Sampson received the longest ovation from the 14,000-plus Hoosier faithful, which puts him above former coach Mike Davis on the "Fan Support-O-Meter" even before coaching his first game.\nIf that doesn't get you feeling warm and fuzzy about IU, take a peek at the Big Ten standings in some of the other team sports, like men's and women's soccer and field hockey.\nOn Saturday, the No. 9 men's soccer team took out Ohio State 1-0 on the road to remain undefeated in Big Ten play. After a shaky start, the Hoosiers are in the midst of an eight-game unbeaten streak.\nFor the men, it's business as usual -- we really do take them for granted. But the women have been making some ripples of their own this season. The IU women's soccer team earned its first national ranking since 1998, riding the wave of a 13-game unbeaten streak before falling 1-0 to Northwestern on Sunday.\nBoth soccer teams have great chances to bring home some Big Ten hardware this season.\nMeanwhile, the IU field hockey team rocked John Mellencamp Pavilion for the last time this past weekend (the team will play at a new outdoor facility beginning next year), but the No. 11 Hoosiers are also in contention for a Big Ten title and boast the best overall record in the conference at 13-3. Could the Hoosiers make a second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament? This columnist says definitely.\nAround campus, the leaves are beginning to turn and the temperature is beginning to drop, but IU is still red hot.