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Football
Big Ten Countdown: No. 11 Indiana
By Tony Gerdeman

Predicted Finish

2-10 (0-8)

Two-Cent Overview

Head Coach Bill Lynch has installed the Pistol offense and permanently uninstalled quarterback Kellen Lewis from the team. Without Lewis, there may not be any dynamic players on offense. However, the Hoosiers do return the nation’s leading career sack duo in defensive ends Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew, but need to stop the bleeding in the interior in order to help out a busy, yet semi-capable back seven.

Schedule

Sep.3 E. Kentucky (W)
Sep.12 W. Michigan (W)
Sep.19 at Akron (L)
Sep.26 at Michigan (L)
Oct.3 Ohio State (L)
Oct.10 at Virginia (L)
Oct.17 Illinois (L)
Oct.24 at Northwestern (L)
Oct.31 at Iowa (L)
Nov.7 Wisconsin (L)
Nov.14 at Penn State (L)
Nov.21 Purdue (L)

Goal

Get as close to a bowl game as Hoosierly possible.

Team Motto

“Stop treading on us!”

Five Questions Looking For Answers

1. How much will Indiana miss Kellen Lewis?
2. Will the Pistol offense pose any significant advantages?
3. Is a running back ever going to emerge in Bloomington?
4. Are there viable defensive tackles on this team?
5. Will Bill Lynch be coaching like this is his last year at Indiana?

Something To Look For

More downhill running. Now that Kellen Lewis is gone, the running game is going to look much different. The prevalence of the east-west running game of the zone read has been replaced with the north-south action of the Pistol. If nothing else, it should greatly reduce big losses in the backfield.

Returning Starters

Six on offense, nine on defense and the punter.

Best Player

Defensive End Jammie Kirlew. Kirlew is a four-year starter and was a 1st team All Big Ten performer last season, finishing second in the league with 10.5 sacks. Kirlew is remarkably consistent and always active. His 6.2 tackles per game led all defensive ends in the conference last year. With more help from his fellow linemates, there’s no reason he can’t reach double-digit sack figures this season.

Second-Best Player

Defensive End Greg Middleton. After leading the nation in sacks in 2007 with 16, Middleton regressed last season, finishing with only 18 tackles and four sacks. He probably shouldn’t be listed here due to his lack of consistency, but we’ll give the nod to Middleton over middle linebacker Matt Mayberry based on potential. Middleton is determined to prove that last year was a fluke, especially now that this is his senior season and he’s playing for his draft stack. Perhaps the biggest motivator for Middleton will be his semi-friendly wager with Kirlew on who will finish with more sacks. Never doubt the power of the fear of losing…even for a Hoosier.

Best Chance For a Big Loss

At Penn State. Even though this game takes place the week before the Nittany Lions battle their conference-mandated rival Michigan State, any time the Hoosiers take to the road, a beatdown is possible. And with Penn State looking to win this game as quickly as possible and get to the next one, they may pummel Indiana early and often.

Most Important Game

Purdue. Not only is the Old Oaken Bucket on the line, but a win against the Boilermakers would likely snap a nine or ten-game losing streak. Plus, a win here would show “everybody” that those who remained didn’t give up on the season.

Best Road Game To Pack Up The Family Truckster And Travel To

At Michigan. It’s not going to happen, but if the Hoosiers were to actually win in Ann Arbor and you missed it, would you ever forgive yourself? Would you ever forgive your family? Of course you wouldn’t. Nor should you. Especially with the way your family treats you. Talking about you like you’re not even there. Like you don’t understand Pig Latin. Bunch of jerks.

Game On The Schedule That Joe Paterno Would Deny Having Any Knowledge Of Scheduling

Eastern Kentucky. He’d mention something about not even knowing there was an Eastern Kentucky, then pull out a few lines from Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer and everybody would laugh and move on.

Game They Shouldn't Lose, But Could

Western Michigan. Actually, you could put either of their MAC opponents here, but I chose to go with the home game and just assume they’re going to lose the road game.

Best Reason They Won't Be Undefeated

Don’t make me say it. Not here. Not in front of everybody. (Plus the internet just doesn’t have the room.)

Best Reason They Will Be Undefeated

One day at the lake, linebacker Tyler Replogle catches a bluegill that promises to grant Replogle three wishes if he lets the fish go. Tyler laughs and tells the fish that nobody keeps bluegill, which offends the fish. An argument ensues, some derisive and insensitive language is used between the both of them and the magical bluegill decides the best form of revenge would be to send Indiana to the Rose Bowl to face USC.

Player People Are Expecting Too Much From

Safety Jerimy Finch. In a defensive backfield that has had more leg injuries than the frontlines at the Battle of Chickamauga, Finch would seem a shoo-in to step in and earn a job somewhere. Unfortunately, the former High School All-American and Florida Gator transfer just hasn’t been able to crack the starting lineup yet. Finch is a big safety who should probably be a linebacker, but there isn’t really any room for him there either. His best chance at playing seems to be backing up starting safeties Nick Polk and Austin Thomas while waiting for either of them to re-injure the ACLs that they both tore last season.

Player People Will Be Pleasantly Surprised By

Quarterback Ben Chappel. There’s really nothing dynamic or exciting about Ben Chappel, and that’s probably one of the things Bill Lynch likes about him right now. He took the starting job from Kellen Lewis before Lewis was kicked off the team, so there is definitely some talent here. But are there weapons around Chappel to make him look good? It’s no surprise that Kellen Lewis went from extraordinary to mediocre when receiver James Hardy went to the NFL. Lynch must feel that there are quality receivers on this team, because he moved last season’s leading receiver Ray Fisher to cornerback.

Best Newcomer

Running Back Darius Willis. This is the same answer I gave in last season’s preview. Who knew that the Hoosiers would choose to redshirt their most-prized running back recruit since LeVron Williams. Willis provides the team with the best combination of speed and power and the new north-south running game suits him perfectly. But if he can’t take carries from the likes of Bryan Payton and Demetrius McCray, then this will be the last time we choose Willis as the Hoosiers’ best newcomer.

Something They Do Well

Get after the quarterback. The Hoosiers have accumulated 72 sacks over the past two seasons, which ties them for second with Illinois in the Big Ten over that span, trailing only Penn State (79). Obviously Greg Middleton and Jammie Kirlew are a large part of that, but last season the linebackers had 10 of the team’s 30 sacks. Middle linebacker Matt Mayberry had half of those and if the Hoosiers plan to continue using him to blitz, he may better that number this season.

Something They Don't Do So Well

Stop an offense on the plays where they don’t sack the quarterback. The Hoosiers do return most of their defense, but it was that defense that allowed 35.2 points per game last season and finished last in the conference in yards allowed with 432.2, which was 50 yards more than the tenth-place team. All of that experience has to count for something, but it won’t much matter if the Hoosiers can’t find some talent in the middle of their defensive line to anchor everybody else behind them.

What's Improved?

Leadership. Kellen Lewis is gone, as are his on-again, off-again stints in Bill Lynch’s doghouse. Consider it addition by subtraction. When your supposed leader can’t stop getting suspended, you have a situation that’s even worse than the blind leading the blind. And now that Lewis is gone, the bells of peace and tranquility can once again ring true in Bloomington. (Aside from all of the horror and bloodshed on the football field, of course.)

What's Gotten Worse?

Playmaking. The addition by subtraction thing doesn’t usually work regarding playmakers. There is only addition by addition when talking about playmaking. So losing Kellen Lewis actually means subtraction by subtraction. So now the Hoosiers will finally have to rely on execution, as opposed to the old ways of trying something, then letting Kellen Lewis run for his life towards the first down marker when everything breaks down around him.

Anything Else We Should Know About?

The offensive line has 84 starts under its collective belt. Of course, throughout those 84 collective starts beginning in 2006, Hoosier quarterbacks have been sacked 85 times and Indiana has finished an average of 8th in the conference in rushing.

Anything Else?

Some players on offense have moved to defense. As mentioned above, receiver Ray Fisher has moved to cornerback in his senior season and already looks to be locked in as a starter. Also, offensive lineman Jarrod Smith has moved to defensive tackle and is being counted on to provide strength on the interior. This isn’t new for Indiana, as starting safety Nick Polk started nine games at wide receiver as a redshirt freshman. And backup linebacker Justin Carrington played running back as a freshman. We might be way off base here, but maybe if the Indiana coaches targeted defensive players in recruiting, they wouldn’t have to move so many offensive players over. And it’s not like their offense is so explosive that they can afford the attrition.

Brad Pitt Role Or Movie That This Team Resembles

True Romance. Brad Pitt played “Floyd”, a doped-up couch bum who simply lazes around while the world moves on frenetically without him. Except for the drugs, that’s pretty much Indiana football to the letter.

One Prediction

At best, the Hoosiers will split their MAC games this year. No, it’s not much of a prediction, but sometimes we like to get things right around here.

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