Last November when Austin Starr’s game-winning field goal sailed through the uprights last November giving Indiana their first victory over Purdue since 2001, most Hoosier fans were thinking that the nightmare was over. After all, Indiana was heading to their first bowl game since 1993 and had made progress in the post-DiNardo era with a 16-20 record after going just 8-27 in the three years prior. They had a dynamic, play-making quarterback in Kellen Lewis to lead the program out of the gutter and back to the respectability they enjoyed while under Bill Mallory. The 2008 schedule included just four road games, void of traditional Big Ten powers Michigan and Ohio State, plus a non-conference slate with two MAC teams (Ball State, Central Michigan), an FCS team (Murray State) and a team just entering D-I (Western Kentucky). Optimism was abound in Bloomington, and for once it didn’t include a basketball goal.
Starr and IU looked to be on the rise after last year's Bucket upset
Unfortunately, it’s taken until just mid-October for Indiana’s football bubble to burst. A humiliating 22-point loss to Ball State brought them back down to earth, losses to Michigan State and Minnesota left them gasping for air, and a 45-9 home loss to conference lightweight Iowa has crushed all hope. Not only are the Hoosiers not headed for a bowl this season, they may not climb enough out of the Big Ten basement to see any light. When the schedule was first released, most thought the worst-case scenario for IU was 5-7. Entering Week 8, the best-case scenario for the Hoosiers now is 4-8, and even that looks like a huge reach. Only three “winnable” games are left on the schedule, but IU may not be favored in any of them. The Hoosiers still have Northwestern and Central Michigan at home, plus Purdue on the road. But, Northwestern isn’t the Northwestern of old, as the Wildcats are out to a 5-1 start. Central Michigan is basically Ball State light, and their quarterback Dan LeFevour may best the best signal-caller IU faces this season. Even with all the troubles Purdue has had in their 2-5 start, the Boilermakers held the Ohio State offense out of the end zone in Columbus, took Oregon to overtime, and limited Penn State to a season-low 20 points after averaging 49.5 points per game in their other six. Winning in West Lafayette in the last game of the Joe Tiller era would be a tall task, and it looks like Indiana is starting 2-10 right in the face.
So what is the problem with these 2008 Hoosiers? Do they really miss James Hardy and Tracy Porter that much? Has all the good that Terry Hoeppner did in his short time in Bloomington been for naught? Was last year just a colossal flash in the pan? While I’m not cowering in a bomb shelter like most Indiana fans, I’m also not incredibly optimistic that IU is ever going to turn this football program around. I’ll argue to the death that Bill Lynch had to get a contract extension after last year’s turnaround season, but I’ve never been fully convinced that he is the guy for the job. Lynch has not had much prior success as a head coach and he virtually ran Ball State into the ground – a program that Brady Hoke & Co. have since resurrected. There are many reasons as to why IU has struggled, but a 36-point home loss to Iowa has to fall on the head coach. Some IU fans have already called for Lynch’s head, but those people just have to be realistic. At the very least, Lynch will return for the 2009 season. I think that barring another catastrophic season, the powers-that-be in Bloomington have given him enough rope to coach through 2010. After the nightmarish Cam Cameron and Gerry DiNardo eras, I’m sure that the administration is tired of buying out their head coaches.
Things could be worse IU fans
Bill Lynch has done some good in his time at Indiana. He has solidified 16 verbal commitments from what is shaping up to be the best recruiting class in years at Indiana. Taking Hoeppner’s lead, Lynch is part of the reason that IU is about to have facilities in place that are on-par with the rest of the college football world (after lagging dreadfully behind for years). There are only 14 seniors on this team, and only nine of them are starters. Kellen Lewis, Ray Fisher, and virtually the entire offensive line will return for another year. Even with the bleakness of another failed season, there is still some reason for optimism going forward.
Maybe this year’s Indiana team bought too much into the hype. Maybe the Central Indiana media put unfair expectations on a program that hadn’t been to back-to-back bowl games in over 15 years. If you go back and read what some of the national analysts had to say, barely any of them had IU finishing better than 9th in the Big Ten. IU still has some ground to make up as far as the talent level goes in the Big Ten, but I’m tired of the excuses. This team has gotten to a point where it shouldn’t lose to Ball State, much less by three touchdowns. It also shouldn’t have zero or one-win Conference seasons in a weak Big Ten. My argument has, and always will be that if Northwestern can do it, there’s no excuse for IU not to be able to.
The worst-case scenario has come to be this year for IU. While 2008 may be in the toilet, 2009 and the future doesn’t have to be.
SHOOTING THE REST OF THE SPORTS WORLD:
Swish: Tampa Bay Rays
After the defending champion Red Sox easily dispatched of the 100-win Angels, I was thinking that this Championship Series would be no-contest. I guess it’s not the first time I’ve been wrong. Since dropping the opener, the young Rays have rattled off three straight victories and find themselves one win away from a World Series berth. In Games 3 and 4 at Fenway, they’ve carried all the swagger of a defending champion, outscoring Boston 22-5 in back-to-back routs. The Red Sox have obviously faced adversity before, rallying from 3-0 or 3-1 deficits in the 1986, 2004, and 2007 ALCS but I just don’t know if they have the horses to do it this time. Mike Lowell is a huge loss to that lineup, Josh Beckett is still hurting, David Ortiz looks clueless without Manny Ramirez behind him and the bullpen outside of Jonathan Papelbon is very shaky. But, if anyone can pull off an improbable postseason rally, it’s Boston. Anyone interested in a Phillies/Rays World Series? Anyone? Bueller?
A dozen people in Tampa and all of Philly are the only ones excited right now
Brick: NFC East
Just days after being crowned “The Greatest Division in the History of Organized Football”, the NFC East got knocked down a peg in Week 6. The Cowboys, Redskins, and Giants entered the day with a combined 12-2 record but were defeated by the Cardinals, Rams, and Browns. While an overtime loss to Arizona is nothing to be ashamed of, a home loss to the previously winless Rams, and a three-touchdown loss to the Browns are. The Cowboys special teams play was downright embarrassing, yielding a kickoff return for a touchdown and a blocked punt in overtime. The Redskins could muster just 17 points against a Rams defense that was yielding a league-worst 35 ppg in their first four. Out of all three teams, the Giants may have been the luckiest. Their 35-14 loss wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated. They gave up 454 yards to what was statistically the NFL’s worst offense and Eli Manning reverted back to his October of 2007 form (I guess we can stop the “Who’s the better Manning?” talk..). The NFC East is still very, very good, and it’s still the best division in football. But, in this knee-jerk world we live in dominated by the revision historians at ESPN, nothing is ever as great as it seems. Let’s make a blanket rule that everyone has to wait until Week 9 before declaring anything the “best ever.”
Hello, reality check!
Air Ball: The Joneses (Pacman and Jerry)
You can imagine how shocked I was when I heard that Pacman Jones had been involved in another incident. This time, Pacman decided to rough-up his babysitter bodyguard in a team hotel for not letting him go out and make it rain/booze/hit strippers. I was even more shocked that Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones decided to do nothing about it. Luckily, Roger Goodell stepped in and laid the hammer down on Pacman, suspended the problem child indefinitely. Pacman wasn’t arrested, but it doesn’t change the fact that this kid is extremely judgment-impaired. How could it only take four weeks to get into trouble again after sitting out an entire season due to suspension? With Jones suspended, Terrance Newman's sports hernia, and Anthony Henry’s inability to cover any non-stationary object, the Cowboys secondary could be in serious trouble.
The Shots Fantasy Update this week:
Plax On, Plax Off def. Derek Anderson Blows, 113-82 – (5-1) First Place
I only wish the Monday Night football matchup was as one-sided as this. Huge weeks from Thomas Jones (27 pts) and Marion Barber (27 pts) paced me to victory. It was a big win considering that my top two WRs, Lee Evans and Dwayne Bowe were both on bye weeks. The Tony Romo injury hurts me, but I think I’ll be able to weather the storm. If I was in last place, that maybe would be a different story. I have Gus Frerotte as a backup, but with the emergence of Jones and the every week starts of Barber and Ronnie Brown, I’ll be in OK shape.
Boy, I hope this old t-shirt is right...
Fantasy NASCAR – 314 points, up to 5th place
I had one of my best weeks of the season as Jimmie Johnson (100 pts), Kyle Busch (94 pts), and David Ragan (82 pts) all scored top-ten finishes. Believe it or not, a podium finish isn’t completely out of the question. My 314 points were at least 100 points better than everyone else in the league sans Wochomurka (who is 500 points back in 9th place). I have to make up 144 points in five weeks, and it would be nice to return the favor to 3rd place McCauley who overtook me down the stretch last season.
The Shots What to Watch this week:
Ohio State at Michigan State, Saturday
The Spartans can officially put all of the second-half collapses behind them if they are able to come up with a home win against Ohio State. If Michigan State wins, they'll likely be 10-1 heading into the season-finale against Penn State. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes could earn back the respect they lost following the 35-3 smackdown by USC with a victory. They'll welcome the Nittany Lions to the 'Shoe next Saturday.
San Diego at Buffalo, Sunday
San Diego has to make up their minds whether they are a contender or a pretender in a wide-open AFC race. Buffalo has had two weeks to figure out what went wrong in their 41-17 loss to Arizona. The Bills need this one to carry some momentum into their next three games: @ Miami, NY Jets, @ New England which could decide the AFC East before Week 11.
The Shots YouTube Clips this week:
Sports related -
Thanks to my buddy TJ for sending this along. I haven't seen this in a couple years, but it's one of the better YouTube clips ever.
Non-sports related -
Timeless. Like I've said before, I'm one of the whitest kids you'll ever meet, but I've been on a huge east-coast old school rap kick for a couple of months now.
The Shots Chick Pick this week: Wendi Nix
Oh Wendi, you’re so bad during ESPN’s college football broadcasts - so bad that I think I might have a pity crush on you.
See you next week.
Listen to Derek as he hosts the Xtra Large Lunch, every weekday from noon to 1 PM on XL 950!
