Football

What I know and what I think

Football wracked with injuries ahead of Penn State clash

Last week, both the IU and Penn State football teams had dreams dashed. IU lost its seventh game of the season, making it impossible for them to go to a bowl, while Penn State had its undefeated season busted, likely knocking the team  out of contention for the national championship.

Alvarez: Greenspan good for IU football

When Rick Greenspan cleans out his Assembly Hall office at the end of December, he’ll leave four emotional years and plenty of memories – good and bad – behind him. He’s saddened by the loss of his colleague and friend, former IU football coach Terry Hoeppner, to cancer. He’s frustrated by the IU football team’s regression in 2008, a season many expected to end with a second-straight bowl appearance. Most of all, Greenspan regrets that he won’t be a Hoosier when that program prospers and reclaims Big Ten relevancy. But he’ll also leave the foundation upon which that program must be built, something many fans have overlooked. Inundated with criticism mainly attributed to the sanctions levied on former IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, Greenspan announced his resignation June 26, effective at the end of the calendar year. Even with the cloud hovering over IU athletics, Greenspan’s decision to resign shocked many co-workers. “I didn’t think Rick was going to step down, and neither did a lot of us,” Mark Deal, associate director of football operations, said. “To say Rick Greenspan’s legacy is the whole Kelvin Sampson saga is about one-hundredth of all the good things he’s done here.”When Greenspan stepped foot on the Bloomington campus in 2004, he faced a struggling athletics department welcoming its third leader since 2001.Prior to his arrival, the IU football team wasn’t the primary focus of the department, despite being the top revenue-generating sport at most schools. The program was also in the midst of a lengthy postseason drought.

Badgers blow away IU 55-20

On their final home game of the season, everyone inside Memorial Stadium was treated to one more blowout. Losing to Wisconsin 55-20, the Hoosiers officially lost the chance to become bowl eligible long before the final whistle blew. Down 21-20 at the end of the first half, the Badgers rolled off 34 unanswered points in the second half. Decimated by injuries, IU failed to capitalize after winning the turnover battle and effectively hanging with Wisconsin in the first half. For the first two quarters, it was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, and as the half came to a close it appeared as if the Hoosiers might head into the locker room with the lead. Driving inside the Wisconsin 10-yard line, sophomore quarterback Ben Chappell took an injury to the head, fumbled and the Hoosiers metaphorically fumbled away their season as the Badgers never looked back.

Optimistic future? Yeah, right.

Football down but not feeling out just yet

Following a 37-34 loss to Central Michigan on Saturday, the Hoosiers are approaching the breaking point of their 2008 season. Junior linebacker Will Patterson was so perturbed by his team’s performance he somewhat called out them out following the game. “We’ve got certain guys that go out and play like warriors every Saturday,” Patterson said. “Then you’ve got the few guys that just kind of do their own thing. It showed today and we’ll get it fixed.”

Goodbye, 2008. See you next year

No crystal ball, no tarot card, not even Ms. Cleo could have correctly hypothesized IU’s season up to this point. 2008, as we all know, was supposed to encompass the resurgence of Hoosier football.

6th loss comes in close contest with Chippewas

Completely outmatched through the air, the IU football team could not stop Central Michigan’s backup quarterback Brian Brunner in a 37-34 loss to the visiting Chippewas. Brunner threw for 485 yards and four touchdowns in the non-conference victory on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The loss was IU’s sixth of the season, dropping its record to 3-6. “We don’t feel very good,” sophomore quarterback Ben Chappell said of his team’s emotion following the game. “They played good, but we just didn’t play well enough to win.” Brunner’s 485 yards are the third-most IU has let up all time. “He did a tremendous job,” IU coach Bill Lynch said in his post-game press conference. “He is a fifth-year senior and has been in a program that has won a lot of football games. They certainly play with a lot of confidence.” To counteract Brunner’s success, the Hoosiers amped up their pass rush at the beginning of the second half.And it worked. Brunner was sacked five of his seven total times in the final half. But Brunner and the Chippewas also adjusted and found receivers left one-on-one in man coverage as Hoosier linebackers blitzed.

Limiting turnovers could be key to football's fourth win

Last week, the IU football players seemed to have figured out what was plaguing them during the previous five weeks. The 21-19 win against Northwestern on Homecoming was the Hoosiers’ (3-5, 1-4) first since September. Now IU looks to win back-to-back games for the second time this season as it welcomes Central Michigan (6-2, 5-0 MAC) to Memorial Stadium on Saturday. “We had a good win against Northwestern,” IU coach Bill Lynch said. “It was a game that we needed to get back on track, and I really liked the way our guys played. They played with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm, and really, we did the things we had to. We had to win the turnover margin.” Lynch has said all season losing the turnover battle handicapped the Hoosiers in their losses. Winning that battle against the Chippewas has proven to be nearly impossible for everyone else, however. Central Michigan is currently tied with UNLV and Florida for the fewest turnovers in the nation at six. So far this season, the Hoosiers have turned the ball more than 14 times.

Both QBs available to play Saturday against Chippewas

IU needs some Philly fire

Hoosiers pull out stunning win against Northwestern

For the first time since September, the IU football team and its fans know what it is like to win. The Hoosiers (3-5, 1-4) ended their five game losing streak on Homecoming, defeating Northwestern 21-19 after suffering a heartbreaking loss in Evanston, Ill., a year ago. Sophomore quarterback Ben Chappell, starting in place for injured junior Kellen Lewis, led the Hoosiers by running and throwing for a touchdown. Chappell spread the ball around well but completed the majority of his passes to freshmen Tandon Doss and Damarlo Belcher.

Change IU needs

How do the Hoosiers initiate change? Glad you asked.

Double-threat offense rumbles into the Rock

The IU football team has been having a rough go at stopping opposing offenses lately. The Hoosiers (2-5, 0-4) have let up an even 100 points in their last two games, and an average of 40 points per game on their current five-game skid. “I think we got banged up a little bit mentally,” junior safety Nick Polk said. “But the guys have come together, and we have said we are going to stick together and pull through this.” Slowing the landslide of points won’t get any easier this Homecoming weekend, when the Hoosiers welcome to Bloomington the Northwestern Wildcats, a team with two dynamic facets to its offensive attack. The first head on the Wildcats’ offensive front is tailback Tyrell Sutton. Sutton comes into Saturday’s contest averaging just shy of 100 yards on the ground per game. But Sutton also comes out of the backfield to make big catches for NU. The Akron, Ohio, native has 28 grabs for 262 yards so far this season, with two touchdowns. Sutton is a smaller back – at 5-foot-9, 205 pounds – than the last two backs to run over the Hoosiers: Shonn Greene of Iowa and Jason Ford of Illinois. Greene had 115 yards and a score in Bloomington on Oct. 11, and Ford had 172 yards and three scores last weekend against IU. But senior safety Austin Thomas warned Sutton is bigger in person than what paper shows. “Wait till you see this guy’s legs,” Thomas said. “He’s a thick guy. He is a little quicker in space than Shonn Greene and Ford, who we played the other night. But he’s quick; he’s a good back.” Sutton helps to distract defenses from quarterback C.J. Bachér, who is equally formidable. After Bachér lit up opposing teams for 3,656 yards, seventh-most in Big Ten history, Sporting News named the California native the Big Ten’s “Best Player Under Pressure.” In seven games, Bachér has tallied solid offensive numbers, including a 112.6 passing efficiency, 1,545 yards through the air with 10 touchdowns. Bachér can also run – he has two rushing scores and 180 net yards.

From Starr-struck to Starr-less

IU kicker Austin Starr used to be automatic. Last season especially. Experts tabbed him as one of the nation’s top kickers. A 40-yarder, a chip shot, it didn’t matter. Every boot was destined to split the uprights. This year, though, Starr’s golden foot has vanished.How could a finalist for the Lou Groza award – given to college football’s top kicker – meld into a Mike Vanderjagt? It’s perplexing, I know.

Hoosiers fall in 5th straight

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The IU football team was outplayed in seemingly every facet of a football game possible Saturday, as they dropped their fifth straight contest. This defeat came at the hands of border rivals Illinois (4-3, 2-2), a 55-13 drubbing. The Hoosiers (2-5, 0-4) were outgained 563 total yards to 313. It is the fourth time on the skid IU allowed more than 40 points, while it has scored only 29 total in their last three games. The Hoosiers were without starting quarterback Kellen Lewis who suffered a high-ankle sprain against Iowa last weekend. Replacing him was sophomore Ben Chappell. In his first collegiate start, Chappell was 12 for 29 with 172 yards and no scores. The Bloomington native was sacked 4 times.

A Hoosier upset at Illinois? It’s possible

Dynamic offense awaits skidding 2-4 Hoosiers

A missed block, a missed assignment or pouncing for the ball at the wrong time. That’s how the option can kill you.IU was on the losing end of that formula when the Hoosiers (2-4, 0-3) played Illinois (3-3, 1-2) a year ago at the Bloomington version of Memorial Stadium. Rashard Mendenhall, quarterback Juice Williams and wide receiver Arrelious Benn thoroughly exposed the IU defense, running for 288 yards.This time around, expect more of the same.

IU might be without QB Lewis Saturday against Illinois

Halting the negative momentum a four-game losing streak carries will not be easy for the IU football team (2-4). Making the task more difficult will be the possible absence of the Hoosiers’ offensive catalyst, Kellen Lewis. During practices this week, Lewis wore a protective gray immobilizing boot around his right ankle, nursing what IU coach Bill Lynch called a high-ankle sprain. “(We) went through halftime, got it re-taped and all that, and we thought that it would loosen up and we’d get him going in the second half, and it never loosened up," Lynch said of Lewis' injury sustained against Iowa. “Some athletes bounce back pretty quickly. He really hasn’t been hurt much, so we haven’t really been through this in terms of how quickly he can bounce back. Certainly, we’re hopeful that a guy like that can bounce back quicker than our 300-pound guys, just because of his body type.”

Hoosiers miss Middleton

It was all beginning to unfold – the Iowa game, the season, everything. One blow and the Hoosiers’ defense is down, lying flat on the canvas. In more cases than one, it’s unable to gain consciousness before the 60 minutes expire. Saying IU has trouble recovering from its opponent’s punches is an understatement. Whether it’s a run up the gut or a play-action pass, the Cream and Crimson’s corner is often on the losing side. We saw it especially against Ball State, Michigan State and Iowa.