Indiana Hoosier football Shock/Joy/Possible Disappointment thread

Je ne sais quoi, 'ockey?

 

Trade me right fucking now.

Now hang up...

 

'Allo? 'Allo?
Is zis working?
'Allo?

 

I went to my first game in Bloomington in 1984 -- not expecting much as a 9-year-old (IU did, after all, go 0-11 that year) -- but within a couple of years, IU was beginning a run of 7 winning seasons in 9 years and 6 bowl appearances (the last of which was my maiden autumn as a student at IU).

Still, that time between that first game in 1984 and the day I set foot on campus in 1993 was an incubator for an Indiana FB follower. Most of those years, IU was pretty consistent -- 6-8 wins, 3-5 Big Ten wins (even the two losing seasons between 1986-94 were 5-6 years), bowl eligibility, beat Purdue two out of every three years. So, when the bottom fell out in 1995, I wasn't really as prepared to become the jaded person who would spend years watching wretched football (and deal with wretched moves, like the attempt to turn Antwaan Randle El into a receiver for one game, the botched Cam Cameron firing/Gerry DiNardo hiring).

When Terry Hoeppner was hired, brought his infectious enthusiasm to the program, got the campus involved again, got the alumni base energized and began (finally) getting Indiana kids to stay home and go to IU, I thought "this might get back to where I remember it." He reminded me a lot of a high-energy Bill Mallory with a substantially more creative offense. It took Mal 3 years to pick up for the mess that was left him by the firing of Lee Corso & the 1-year tenure of Sam Wyche, and he built a respectable program. I thought Year 3 would be a good benchmark for Hep (who also got Miami rolling in Year 3).

But things have fallen in place. The offense is explosive even without much of a running game. Kellen Lewis is a phenomenal QB when he's not hanging onto the ball too long ... James Hardy is one of the top receivers in the country, and there is a cadre of wideouts that complement him pretty well. IU scored 40 points yesterday (yes, it was against Minnesota). with its top three running backs on the shelf with injuries. IU's defense isn't great, but it does tend to get to the opponents' quarterback. For the first time in a long time ... well, since Antwaan Randle El's senior year at least, it's fun to watch Indiana play football. They're 5-1, and easily could be 6-0 (they outgained Illinois & moved the ball against them, but had 4 turnovers, 3 of which were in scoring territory and the other giving Illinois a short field for a score, which cost them the game).

I'm not holding my breath. There are a couple of *very* difficult games on the schedule -- @Wisconsin (a team IU doesn't match up with very well) and vs. Penn State (a team IU has never beaten). But @Michigan State, @Northwestern and home games with Ball State and Purdue are toss-ups. MSU has no defense and might be dragging its tail between its legs. NU has looked awful at times, and pretty good the last couple of weeks. BSU is scary (and will be playing in its Super Bowl) because Nate Davis is the best QB you've never heard of, but they also gave up 58 points to Central Michigan at home yesterday. None of those games, however, are gimme wins.

But a 7-5 season isn't out of the realm of possibility (and yes, Iowa did go to a bowl last year with a 2-6 Big Ten record).

When Terry Hoeppner was hired, he brought a bowl of roses out on the podium and laid that as the ultimate goal. IU is a *long* way from getting there, but the first-step goal was to "Play 12" (now, with the 12-game schedule, "Play 13"). It looks like that turnaround is happening ... it's just unfortunate that Hep -- who was one of the all-time nice guys in sports -- isn't going to be around to see the fruits of the labor that he and his staff have produced.

 

That fake field goal up by 28 points in the fourth tempted the football gods, Tigers fan. Let us tempt the Gods this way.

 

I only wish Coach Hep were around to lead this thing himself. I know he still has an impact on the program but it would be great to see him getting some of the praise and credit for this.

 

He gets most of the credit for this, even if he's not on the sideline.

 

Bizarrely enough, though, I saw a spate of stories out of Bloomington within the last week or so flogging the dependable old cliches about "new attitude," "new enthusiasm," "new attention to detail" -- you know, all the horse shit that always gets shoveled out when a new coaching staff arrives.

Now 97% of the time, the previous coach left on a rail with a mob carrying flaming torches on his heels, but considering the circumstances of Hoeppner's departure (and that most of the staff is still there), it was a little surprising to read stories which certainly implied if not outright state that his teams had a "bad attitude," lacked "enthusiasm" and "attention to detail."

Even before Hoeppner's death, from what I gleaned from a distance, it looked like IU was getting better.

 

There were ups and downs -- ups like beating Iowa last year, and downs like the massacre at Minnesota with a bowl trip on the line.

Still, all in all, Hep's efforts were getting the program turned around. I have no idea why anyone would use the term "new" when it came to dsecribing the attitude, enthusiasm, etc., WITHOUT attributing a good deal of the credit for the "new" to Hep.

 

I suffered through the last Randle El year and through DiNardo's time (I still think he's a good coach -- just look at that coaching staff he had, Al Borges is now Auburn's OC and Steve Addazio is UF's offensive line coach) but I covered Hep's introductory press conference and you could just tell what type of impact he was going to have on that program. For the first time in a loooooooong while, it's not "When's basketball start?" in Bloomington.

My suitcase is almost packed...IU will beat Michigan State and Northwestern, and has a chance at knocking off Penn State on a very good day.

Now, the next question is...Motor City Bowl? Champs Sports Bowl? Alamo Bowl? Insight Bowl? Or dare I say...a New Year's Day bowl?

 

I think IU could beat Purdue, Northwestern, and Iowa. I'm happy for the team and rooting for them and Coach Hoeppner's legacy.

 

Ahhhh, it's just formula cliche writing. Team has a new coach, team wins a few games, team must have a "new attitude," "new enthusiasm," yadda yadda blah blah.