It’s oozing out of Memorial Stadium and spilling over into the tailgate fields. The Hoosiers are leaking too, and they can’t stop it. \n“It” is the bleeding that has left the streets of Bloomington flooded with crimson blood. \nReeling from a three-game losing streak, the Hoosiers are desperate for a win. They’ll do anything short of running Marcus Thigpen outside the tackles. Don’t believe me? Look no further than the dreaded players-only meeting the IU seniors called on Tuesday. \nDo you think teams that can’t stop winning hold these types of meetings? James Hardy and Josiah Sears spoke in front of the team, attempting to spark some cohesiveness and continuity before the Ball State game Saturday. \nBut was it too little, too late? \nA sixth win won’t be enough to get the Hoosiers to a bowl game. Thanks to a record year of parity, the Big Ten is as competitively mediocre as Major League Baseball. With only seven conference bowl slots and up to 10 eligible teams, the Hoosiers will now need a seventh win to extend their season past the Old Oaken Bucket game.\nIt’s as if college football has been holding IU’s season ransom all year demanding six wins but now upping the ante and insisting on seven. I can see Bill Lynch locked up in his office screaming into the phone, “You told me six! You said that was enough! Now you’re asking for seven? Give me back my son!” \nOK, the last line was Mel Gibson, but you get the picture. All season, the goal has been “six wins” and “bowl eligibility” – now the Hoosiers have to win two of their next three or the season goes to waste. \nGiving it your all sometimes isn’t enough. I know that goes against what your middle-school basketball coach told you, but that’s life. If Lynch and the Hoosiers beat Ball State on Saturday and then defeat either Northwestern or Purdue on their way to a bowl game, do you think that will equate to Lynch retaining his job? \nStop being naive. You’re as gullible as Ice Miller. The Hoosiers could win out in convincing fashion and Lynch wouldn’t be brought back. At this point, it has nothing to do with wins and losses. Terry Hoeppner was the kind of guy you could build a program around. Energetic, enthusiastic and other words that start with “e,” Hoeppner brought an excitement to the IU program that’s been missing since his passing. \nThe Hoosiers will search for Hoeppner’s replacement, not Lynch’s. As well as Lynch has done this year – and I do think he has done a good job – he isn’t cut out for the position. He’s reserved and not comfortable in the public eye. His press conferences sound more like premeditated responses than rallying cries. \nHistory would indicate that the Hoosiers will conduct an overhyped national search this spring, searching for the mystery man who will solve all of their program’s woes (See: Sampson, Kelvin). They will take anyone who can detract attention from the football program’s lack of progress and whatever the basketball team gets into this spring. The truth is that there is no mystery man. There is no Hoeppner II. There is no anti-Lynch. Kellen Lewis and James Hardy can’t win football games by themselves, and neither can any coach. \nThe Hoosiers need to win Saturday. Not Lynch, but the team. Two wins short of seven puts the Hoosiers in a desperate position – desperate to make the bleeding stop.
Prediction: Indiana 30, Ball State 21
