To say that Indiana University is a college basketball haven but at the same time a dead zone for football is kind of like saying that porn star/stripper/target of Anthony Weiner lust Ginger Lee is a bit skanky; an obvious understatement.
There’s a serious drought going on in Tom Crean’s hoops program, but unfortunately for the gridiron Hoosiers, they’ve done nothing to pick up the slack and get the fanbase focused on college football.
At least they were fun to watch last year. They threw the ball all over the place for big yards, but unfortunately at the same time, their running game and defense was a train wreck. (What else is new in Bloomington?)
Oh yeah, the head coach
Regime change comes suddenly, but big progress takes time as Kevin Wilson takes over at IU.
By Paul M. Banks
2010 was: bad, but somewhat interesting as the Hoosiers came dangerously close to becoming the first team to ever go 4-0 in non-conference and 0-8 in conference (I’m not sure if any team has actually ever done that or not, we need someone to create “College Football Reference.com”) However, the final weekend of the season saw the Hoosiers beat Purdue in a game that zero people outside the “Crossroads of America” cared about.
Last year’s campaign showed yet again that the Hoosiers 1.) overdo the cupcake scheduling idea and 2.) don’t seem to fit in very well in the Big Ten. These inconvenient truths cost Bill Lynch his job.
BMOCs: RB Darius Willis (if and only if he can get his mind and body right). He has all the talent in the world, but also has injuries and discipline issues. Tandon Doss may be gone to the NFL, but there are lots of stellar WRs still around- especially Damarlo Belcher and Duwyce Wilson. IU is kind of like the pro team in the state: lots of talented receivers, exciting passing game, rings around the shoulders/armpits on the jerseys. Ok, the similarities actually end there. RT Justin Pagan could have a NFL future.
2011 will be fruitful if: QBs Dustin Kiel or Edward Wright-Baker can pick up where Ben Chappell left off. That’s a lot to ask. However, the OL is expected to be solid and there are playmakers all around. Some experts are high on their defensive front seven, although I really can’t understand why. Yes, there are lots of returning starters, but they weren’t any good last year. Why the blind faith in their improvement?
2011 will be awful if: They defend like they have for the better part of the last few decades. Indiana has gotten more competitive and exciting to watch lately, but they haven’t contended for a league title since…??? I don’t know…long before I was born. Their last conference crown came in 1968. With a new QB and Head Coach, this looks to be another proverbial “rebuilding year.”
Bottom Line: Yet another WEAK non-conference schedule means they’ll look better than they really are during the early going. And perhaps that will bring them some confidence to upset a couple conference opponents. But they’ll fight with the Gophers for last place, and won’t even remotely be considered for a bowl bid. Meaning this November/December Hoosier fans can go back to their favorite past time- calling for the head of Tom Crean/whining about life in Assembly Hall.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports You can follow him on Twitter
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