2010 Commit's this past weekend

Here is a look at the top 5 performing commits this past weekend and how they fared.

1. Kofi Hughes (Indianapolis, IN Cathedral)- Another huge weekend for Kofi. He was 5-of-12 passing (42%) for 168 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 21 times for 157 yards (7.5 yards a carry) and three touchdowns. Cathedral is the number one ranked team in class 4A in Indiana.

2. Matt Perez (Park Ridge, IL Maine South)- Perez carried the ball five times for 144 yards (28.8 yards a carry) and three touchdowns. He had two receptions for 25 yards. On defense he made two tackles.

3. Antonio Banks (Middleton, OH Middleton HS)- Banks finished with 189 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 15 carries (12.6 yards per carry). He also recorded one tackle.

4. Logan Young (Muncie, IN Delta)- Young had a huge game as he hauled in seven catches for 208 yards and a touchdown. Delta is the 6th ranked team in class 4A in Indiana.

5. Tim O'Connor (Cincinnati, OH Delta)- O'Conner finished with 173 yards receiving on eight receptions with one touchdown. Elder came into the game as the 4th ranked team in the nation according to the USA Today, and the number one ranked team in the Ohio Division I coaches' poll

Darius Willis 85 yd TD run

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ0VNs6bHMg

IU Football Pro Potential 2010

Having players in the NFL can have a huge boost to college football programs for many reasons. First off it helps in recruiting. For instance, Lawrence Barnett was quoted to the fact that Tracy Porter going to the NFL helped him in his decision to come to IU. Another reason is that when players go off and make NFL money sometimes they tend to donate some back to their Alma Mater. For instance, Trent Green donated $250,000 to pay for IU's new locker room many years ago. So having more players go to the NFL can only help a college program. Although it is still early here is who I think could get drafted or end up on an NFL roster next year.

1. Jammie Kirlew- Only Aaron Maybin had more sacks than Jammie Kirlew in the big ten last year and he was a first round pick. With a similar year to last year Jammie could definitely be a middle round NFL pick.

2. Greg Middleton- so much hype surrounded him after his 16 sack out break two years ago. He took a step back last year but looks to be rebounding this year. Not only is he getting to the QB but he is also having more success with getting tackles for loss and defending the run. If he continues to play the way he is playing so far he could very much end up getting picked in the NFL draft next year.

3. Matt Mayberry- Mayberry showed a lot of promise last year. He registered 4 sacks against Central Michigan which really put him on the map. He has gained a ton of weight since coming to IU and has a great deal of speed. Last year he was inconsistent with his tackling but this year he has consistently led the team in tackles. Yesterday's game he registered ten more.

I think that depending on how some players senior seasons play out there could be 4 more players that have the potential to go to the NFL.

4. Rodger Saffold- He is probably our only offensive player who has a chance at being drafted next year. He has a ton of playing experience and gotten stronger this year by improving his bench roughly 105 pounds this off-season.

5. Austin Thomas- when he is healthy he is known to be a pretty big hitter. His two interceptions against Akron will help his stats as well. A good rest of the year could give him the opportunity to play on Sunday's.

6. Nick Polk- Polk was hitting hard against Michigan and played like a man on a mission. Depending on the outcome of this season Polk could have a chance to play on Sunday's.

7. Will Patterson- Like Saffold, Patterson also has a ton of playing experience. A pretty quiet guy off the field he is pretty tenacious on the field. He has played solid so far this year and I also think he could have an opportunity to get on an NFL roster if he plays very well for the rest of the year.

I know it is still early in the year to predict but getting players into the NFL is important to a college football program. I think Kirlew, Middleton, and Mayberry have the best opportunity to get drafted but also think that depending on how Saffold, Thomas, Polk, and Patterson play they could also have an opportunity to play as well. Polk and Thomas missed most of last year so they didn't really have the opportunity to play to their potential.

I know this could be pretty optimistic but that's just me. What do you guys think so far? Agree or disagree? Feel free to open this up for a discussion.

A Further Look

Here are some notable points on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Offense- IU out rushed Michigan 197-149 and had a 6.0 yards per rush vs. Michigan's 3.0 yards per rush. IU also had more yards through the air edging Michigan 270-223. Overall on offense IU out gained Michigan 467-372 total yards. Darius Willis really emerged as the feature back in my opinion rushing for 152 yards on 16 carries and 2 TD's which made his per rush average 9.5 yards. Willis displayed his toughness and break away speed as he ran up the left seam 85 yards for a touchdown in a crucial part of the game.

The wide receiver were all solid in the game. Tandon led the group with 5 catches for 104 yards. Terrence Turner displayed his toughness on a few of his catches as he dragged multiple defenders with him to get a few extra yards. He finished with 5 catches for 48 yards. Max Dedmond had 4 catches for 35 yards with a few of his catches coming in some crucial points. In a key 4th and 2 Chappell rolled out and found Dedmond in the flat to get the first down. I'm happy to see our TE's used more in the offense. Dedmond is way too athletic not to be utilized. Even Darius Willis caught a few passes out of the back field.

Chappell had a nice game throwing for 270 yards. Chappell looked very poised in the pocket and was never rattled throughout the game. He made smart throws and threw to the open receivers. He showed his arm strength hitting Tandon Doss down the left sideline for a 56 yard game.

The O-line played very well again this week. Chappell was sacked for just the 2nd time this whole season. They did a good job creating some holes for our backs throughout the game. On Darius Willis' long run Will Matte showed his ability to pull and get out in front.

The hoosiers had to settle for 4 field goals and just 1 TD in the redzone which came back to haunt us. Hopefully we can convert more in the redzone in the next coming weeks.

Defense- Matt Mayberry led the way with 10 tackles for the hoosiers. Greg Middleton recorded both of our sacks but we had many players register some TFL's. Matt Mayberry, Nick Polk, Jammie Kirlew, Greg Middleton, and Larry Black Jr. all recorded at least 1 tackle for loss. The defensive line was able to generate consistent pressure on the QB throughout the game. Jammie Kirlew also had a forced fumble. Tyler Replogle made some nice plays as well to stop the run. Nick Polk came to hit after on three separate occasions giving big blows to the wide receivers. He was also sporting the phrase "go time" on his eye black which was pretty sweet. The first two drives Michigan had for long TD's we took some bad angles on the play which led to the long TD's. After those drives they really kept Michigan in check on the big plays.

Initial Post Game Reaction

That was a really tough one to swallow. The interception call down the stretch doesn't go our way but there is nothing we can do about it now. Overall here are some generally thoughts:
1. The hoosiers played very well. Every time Forcier dropped back the hoosiers applied constant pressure on him throughout the entire game. Outside of the first couple of Michigan drives the Hoosiers did a great job containing the QB, getting pressure on him, and stopping the run.
2. Darius Willis is going to be a very good running back. Making that huge run for a TD on the road in front of 108,000 people was pretty big time. He started out as the number 1 back and played a good game throughout.
3. Chappell played very well as well. He remained poised in the pocket the whole game and made good throws. I like the call on 4th and 2 with the throw to Dedmond. He made smart passes and never threw balls into tight coverage for the most part. We need to convert more in the red zone instead of having 1 TD and 4 field goals.
4. It was nice to see Bill Lynch showing some emotion. Usually when things go bad he just sits back and takes it. Not this game. He was fired up for most of the game and it was nice to see him really fighting for our team.
5. It was also nice to see the play book open up a lot. Mitch Evans played very well in the wildcat and we did different things than him just running up the right or left seam. The triple option to Doss for the score was a very good play. The play where the line set up on the left side and Chappell and the center lined up on the right was a nice thing to see. It was good to see us change it up the play call and get creative.
I will post more tomorrow with more stats and position analysis. Photo complements of the IDS.
What are your thoughts on how we played?

Darius Johnson ruled out vs. Michigan

Unfortunately DE Darius Johnson has been ruled out from tomorrow's game against Michigan with a shoulder injury. Being from the state of Michigan this was one of his limited opportunities to play in front of more family and friends. In his spot, Deonte Mack will be the 3rd DE behind Middleton and Kirlew. Health wise we should be ok. The only other players ruled out are Kyle Kozak, Fred Jones, and Alex Perry.

3 things I want to see against Michigan

This post is hopefully going to be humorous so i'm going to give it a try. 3 things I want to see against Michigan.

1. Every game Michigan always runs out and touches the banner. I would really like to see one of the Michigan players jump up and touch it then fall and completely embarrass himself. It always seems to happen a few times a year. This year in their opening game it was a freshman linebacker who fell into the trap. All this adrenaline running through his system so he can get up and touch the banner only to fall awkwardly on his ankle and fall on his back in front of 110,000 people.

2. After a first down sometime during the game I wouldn't mind seeing Bill Lynch swing his arms up and down doing the IU first down dance that it found all over the stadium at Memorial Stadium.

3. After an IU touchdown I would like to see the wolverine faithfuls reaction to a Lambeau Leap. Every once and a while an NFL player will do it in an opposing stadium and I would like to see the reception IU would get after jumping into the stands to celebrate a TD.

4 Keys for the game

This week's match up against the Wolverines will provide a great measuring stick to see where we are as a football team. On the bright side we are 3-0 and have made a ton of strides each and every week. On the down side, we really haven't played a great team let alone a top 25 team with 110,000 people in the seats. Here are my 4 keys for the game.

1. Fast Start- if we get off to a slow start and allow the "big house" to get rowdy we will be in for a long day. If we can hang with Michigan for the first half and take the crowd out of the game we will have a good shot to pull off the upset. This will also give our players some confidence throughout the game. They key will be to keep the game close late in the game and then from there anything can happen.


2. Stopping the run- Michigan's rushing attack is currently 3rd in the country with 271 yards per game. The biggest surprise has been the emergence of Carlos Brown. The senior is coming off a 13-carry, 187-yard, two-touchdown effort against Eastern Michigan that earned him Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors and was highlighted by a 90-yard touchdown run. The Hoosier's d-line has been successful against the run allowing only 76 yards per game. This will be a big test for them against the run. I'm eager to see how well our D-line will match up and be able to stop the run.

3. Applying constant pressure- Tate Forcier has looked very good in the first 3 games as a wolverine but freshman QB's always have the tendency to get rattled when under pressure. A big key will be for Middleton and Kirlew to get after him as much as possible and make him uncomfortable in the pocket. By doing so Tate may make some bad decisions which could lead to turnovers, or make him just make some bad throws.


4. Running the ball- we have done a much better job establishing the run the last 2 weeks. Michigan has given up 333 yards on the ground the last 2 games. If we can establish the run it will open up the passing game and allow us to be balanced on offense like we have the last 2 weeks.

2010 commits last week performance

Here is a run down of the top 5 performing 2010 commits from our class last week.

1. Kofi Hughes (Indianapolis, IN Cathedral HS)- Kofi seems to make my list every single week. Cathedral beat Indianapolis Arlington HS 49-6 to improve to 4-1 on the year. Hughes completed half of his passes going for 7-14 for 144 yards 3 TD's and one pick. He also had 6 carries for 95 yards in the game.

2. Matt Perez (Park Ridge, IL Maine South HS)- Perez only played the first half because Maine South beat Maine West 63-0. However his stats in the 1st half were extremely impressive. On the ground Perez rushed for 55 yards on 5 carries with a score. He 3 catches for 100 yards and 2 TD's. He also had a 65 yard punt return for a TD. Not too bad for only playing in the first half.

3. Andre Kates (Brooklyn, NY ASA College)- Andre recorded 7 tackles, 1 INT, and 1 pass breakup. His interception was returned for a touchdown. Kates is a junior college player who will have 2 years of eligibility when he comes to Bloomington.

4. Jibreel Black (Cincinatti, OH Wyoming HS)- Black kind of did it all in Wyoming's 28-21 defeat of Reading HS. Black finished the game with 6 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL and 1 fumble recovery. Wyoming HS is 4-0 on the year.

5. Ryan Phillis (Boardman, OH Boardman HS)- Boardman is 2-2 on the year after dropping a game 34-27 to Lake HS. I almost did a double take when I saw that Ryan had 21 tackles on the day.

Hoosiers getting some love?

This preseason was a typical preseason for Indiana football. Another terrible prediction with little or no hope in the program. We squeak by our first two opponents but we played pretty well against Akron to start out the year 3-0. Now we have some huge tests in front of us with Michigan and Ohio State back to back. A 3-0 start and all of a sudden I am starting to see people take notice. Granted, it will take some competitive games against the big boys before everyone else starts noticing. Here a few notes I found interesting.

1. Espn big ten blog by Adam Rittenberg has listed IU at #7 in the power rankings. Rittenberg has had IU listed at #11 for the whole year until this week. We have jumped ahead of Northwestern, Michigan State, Illinois and Purdue.

2. Albeit a bit premature Mark Schlabach from ESPN has IU playing against Texas Tech in the insight bowl. This probably doesn't have a ton of merit to it because it is still week 3 but it is nice to see the hoosiers getting some attention.

My outlook: This weekend will be a huge test for the hoosiers. The big house is a very tough place to play and this is a very improved Michigan Wolverines team. They will be a bit banged up at OL but have much more speed on defense and Tate Forcier doesn't look like a freshman at QB. It will be a good measuring stick to see how we compete with better big ten schools on the road. As of right now I think the hoosiers have 3 pretty winnable games and the possibility to pull an upset or two. I think we have a very good shot against Virginia, Northwestern and Purdue. Virginia is 0-3 and hasn't looked very good this year. We do play them on the road and will be a tough atmosphere but each week I feel better in how we matchup against them. Northwestern lost a ton at the skill positions this year. They have a very good secondary and a good QB in Mike Kafka but I see this as a winnable game as well. Purdue has been inconsistent. They played a tough Oregon team on the road only to lose to Northern Illinois the next week at home. Purdue has Notre Dame this week at home which should be a very difficult game.

Right now I am aiming at around 6 wins give or take one in either direction. The two teams I think have upset potential our our games against Illinois and Wisconsin. We get them both at home which is nice. We will have a little bit better gauge of Illinois after this weekend even though they play a tough OSU team. They got destroyed by Mizzou and beat a bad ISU team. Wisconsin hasn't impressed me a whole lot either. John Clay is a beast at RB that usually creates some problems.

What are some of your guy's predictions for the hoosiers this season?

Hoosiers Beat Down Zips 38-21

I apologize for the delay. I spent all of yesterday driving back to Bloomington. Wow a great game for the hoosiers. They showed a lot of promise in a much needed road win to gain some momentum. Looking back I don't know how we were 3 point underdogs going into the game.

The first half was a little slow except for Ray Fisher taking the opening kickoff for a score. Chappell had a rough 2nd quarter missing on his 6 throws. However, I think what impressed me the most was what he was able to bounce back and do in the 2nd half. Before this game I believe we have had a total of 6 points in the 4th quarter in the last two years. We always seem to struggle in 2nd half's of games but Saturday's game was not the case. What I also really liked to see what our defense forcing turnovers. The hoosiers had 4 second half interceptions, 2 by Austin Thomas, 1 from Tyler Replogle, and 1 from Andre Lagrone. It made a huge difference for our offense when our defense was creating turnovers and leaving us with good field position. Another big key was our 3rd down efficiency. They ran the ball 5 times on third downs (4 of them 3rd and shorts) and converted each time. Coach Lynch talked a lot this off season about getting it to 3rd and short and being able to convert which the hoosiers definitely did on Saturday.

The running game had a very balanced attack. It was nice to see Darius Willis back from his ankle injury and have a productive day. Willis finished the game with 15 carries 66 yards and a touchdown, Burgess 13 carries 59 yards and a touchdown, Mccray 12 carries for 45 yards. Along with the defenses 4 interceptions they had 3 sacks and 8 TFL's. I think we really just need to straighten out on special teams. Outside of Ray taking the opening kickoff for a score we had a field goal blocked and a punt block recovered for a touchdown. Luckily the hoosiers were able to bounce back and play well. This was a much needed confidence booster however the real test will be the next couple of weeks when the schedule beefs up. It's on to the big house next week to get a very tough road test. How do you think we will fair?

Zips QB Suspended

This is going to be a pretty big blow for Akron. Chris Jacquemain is a 3 year starter and senior for the zips. To replace him it will be sophomore Matt Rodgers making his first college start. Rodgers has played sparingly in the first two games. He is more of a weapon on his feet then threw the air. He has 6 rushing attempts for 65 yards on the year.
http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/59785102.html

Catching up with our commits

Sorry this is a little delayed. Our commits had an overall better week than last week. Here is the top 5 from the past week.

1. Kofi Hughes (Indianapolis, IN Cathedral)- 3 times in the last 4 weeks Cathedral has played a team ranked #1 in there class. Hughes had a huge day on the ground running for 156 yards and 4 TD's. He was 4-7 through the air for 85 yards. Cathedral beat Bishop Chatard 31-7. Kofi has shown his versatility so far this year and could play a number of positions when he gets to IU.

2. Matt Perez (Park Ridge, IL Maine South)- Perez had another big day in a 50-12 win. He ran for 149 yards on 11 carries and a TD. He also had a 65 yd punt return for the TD. He also caught 6 passes for 79 yards. Maine South is 3-0 and ranked #1 in state.


3. Logan Young (Muncie, IN Delta)- Logan has had over 100 yards receiving for the 3rd straight week. He finished the game with 5 catches for 165 yards and 2 TD's. Delta beat Muncie Southside 42-10.

4. Drew Hardin (Louisville, KY Ballard)- On defense Drew had 14 tackles and a forced fumble. He had a TD on offense as well. Ballard beat Madison Central 37-7.

5. Jibreel Black (Cincinnati, OH Wyoming)- Wyoming was up 33-0 at halftime over Norwood. Black had 5 tackles and a forced fumble before sitting out most of the 2nd half due to the score. Wyoming is 3-0 on the year.

Getting to know the Zips a bit better

This week we have the 1-1 zips. Their first game was a rough one against Penn State resulting in a 31-7 shellacking. They turned it around a bit this past week cruising past Morgan State 41-0. This year Akron has a brand new 30,000 seat stadium that is generating some excitement around the program. Their running game seems to be split between multiple runners. None of them putting up overly impressive numbers. However they do have some weapons on offense. Wide Receiver Deryn Browser is a 6'1 210lb receiver who has caught 11 passes for 149 yards and 4 TD's. He has accounted for 2/3rds of their offensive production so far this year. On defense look for them to load up in the box like they did against Penn State. They held Evan Royster to 61 yards on 14 carries which allowed Clark to throw for 254 yards in the first half alone. This might look like what Eastern Kentucky did to us as well. Look for Chappell to air the ball out a bit more this week then last. Akron seems to be a pretty good team overall but they haven't beaten a big ten team in 115 years. However, they are I believe 4.5 pt favorites in this game and will be the hoosiers first road test. To prepare for the road the offense has been practicing indoors with loud music playing to hopefully improve the overall focus and concentration.

Andre Kates visit this past weekend

This past weekend Andre Kates made a visit to Bloomington. Many colleges are been after this kid after he made his verbal to the hoosiers a "soft" verbal. This weekend was the make or break for his becoming firm with his commitment or looking at all of his options. Here are some of his quotes with scout.com after the game.
“I was probably 65-75 percent committed before I came to town, and now I’m about95 percent committed,” Kates said Sunday night. “I really liked it a lot.”
“There was some stuff in my mind about IU being a big-time basketball school, but that changed around a lot for me,” Kates said. “I got there and you could see the university president, the athletic director, all the coaches are behind the football program, and I really liked that.”
“I was on the sidelines and there were fans from the student section calling my name – that was crazy,” Kates said. “As soon as I walked into the stadium a guy knew who I was and I was like, ‘wow.’ They were saying, “Kates, we need you here.’ I felt like I was at home.”
I was that guy yelling Kate's name during warm ups and when he made his way to the student section I wanted to make sure he knew how bad we want him and need him. I am so happy to hear that he was 95% committed because he is a big time player.

Hoosiers Start 2-0

A much better effort yesterday from the Hoosiers. They are still left with a few things to work on but if we lost this game it could have been a very long season. The hoosiers showed a lot of progress from week 1 to week 2. Many of the "experts" had us losing this game and it was nice to come out and get a solid victory. Here are a few notes about the offense and the defense.
Offense- Chappell didn't look particularly all that good but he didn't turn the ball over which was very important. Mccray looked much better this week finishing the game with 134 yards on 17 carries. His biggest run was a 59 yard TD run in the 2nd qtr after Will Matte and Justin Pagan pulled and made two great blocks to open up the left side of the field. The receivers didn't have as good of a day as last week but the running game stepped up. Tandon Doss lead the receivers again finishing with 6 catches for 85 yards. The offensive line looked very good yesterday opening up many wholes and providing great protection for Ben Chappell. They also didn't give up a sack all afternoon. The offense in the 1st half usually looks pretty strong but they seem to falter a bit in the 2nd. All in all it was a pretty good day for the offense and it was nice to see a running game show up and the offensive line win the battle in the trenches.
Defense- The front four looked very good yesterday. Larry Black Jr. got great pressure up front in the first half. It seemed like every time he was out there he was going to get through the line. Middleton had 2 TFL's and a huge forced fumble to save the day. Kirlew also looked good totaling 1.5 sacks and 3 TFL's. The front four did a great job keeping Brandon West in check all game. The secondary looked much better as well not allowing very many big plays. The linebacking core was also solid, Will Patterson led the team in tackles with 9.
There were a bunch of penalties that will need to get fixed. Hopefully the offense can continue it's strong play in the 2nd half of games. Overall though, it was a big win for the hoosiers who have a chance to start out 3-0 next week against Akron. They made tons of great strides from Week 1 most notably the defense with there backs against the wall coming through in the clutch again to force a turnover. Attendance was 35,162 and Andre Kates and Jibreel Black were both in attendance. Any thoughts about the game?

3 Keys to Victory vs. WMU

This weekend's game is going to be a very important one. Although WMU didn't fair very well against Michigan last week they are a team that generally beats 1-2 big ten teams a year. Almost every sporting site is picking WMU to win at Memorial Stadium this weekend so we need to come out ready to play. Here are my 3 keys to victory.

1. Limit the big plays- With Tim Hiller taking the snaps he is most likely going to throw for a ton of yards. The key will be to "bend not break" on defense. Michigan did a really good job of limiting the big plays last week except for Nunez's 71 TD catch. Big plays have the impact of swinging momentum and changing the whole nature of the game. We gave up a couple against EKU so hopefully this week in practice we have corrected some of the problems.

2. Turn the pressure on- We did a pretty good job last week getting consistent pressure but it didn't always result in a sack or a bad throw from EKU. Last time we played WMU we registered 5 sacks in the game and did a very good job getting in Hiller's face. WMU's O-line now averages over 300lbs so it will be critical to consistently get in Hiller's face and make him make a few bad decisions.

3. Run the ball better- Last week was not a great week on the ground. This week Justin Pagan is probable which should be a big boost. Unfortunately Darius Willis has been ruled out of the game with an ankle injury. I was really looking forward to see how he would bounce back and to see him get his feet wet before big ten play starts. I guess we will have to wait and see until Akron. We need to run the ball more efficiently this week and then it will open up the pass game more. We threw the ball well last week for the most part but I don't think Coach Lynch wants us to rely on airing the ball out all game long.

3.

A Must-Win in Week 2?

Call me crazy but this weekend's game is a must-win for the hoosiers. It is imperative that we make big adjustments from last week's game and show vast improvement. I am confident the hoosiers can do this. Generally speaking teams always make the biggest strides from week 1 to week 2. If the hoosiers can't take down WMU then most of the season will be put in doubt. Games against Akron, Virginia, Purdue and other games they seemed pretty winnable may not seem that way anymore. However, if we win this game and show some great improvement then I am confident that we can also take down Akron, Virginia, Purdue and maybe another big ten game. (maybe either Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwestern, or Michigan)

Another thing to note is the visit coming from Andre Kates. Kates is a "soft" verbal to the hoosiers right now but he has made it clear this weekend is the make or break for him on whether or not he sticks firm with his commitment. Andre has around 20 offers from major BCS programs and could arguably be the best junior college CB in the country right now. 3 things he is looking for this weekend are:

1. See the new facilities first hand

2. fan support- Kates wants to see the fans come out and support the team on Saturday and also stay the whole game regardless of the outcome

3. the campus- he wants to get a good feel for the campus to see if it is right for him.

After the game he will most likely be meeting up with good friend Jeremy Finch.

Anybody else feel like this weekend's game is a must-win?

Top Performers 2010 class

This week wasn't as impressive as the previous for our 2010 class. Many of our commits were all pretty close together in statistics. Here is my top 5 for the past week.

1. Matt Zakrzewski (Traverse City, MI, St. Francis)- Matt scored on touchdowns runs of 3 and 6 yards on the day and totaled 35 yards on 5 carries. On defense he finished with 8 tackles and an interception.

2. Matt Perez (Park Ridge, IL, Maine South)- Another big weekend for Matt Perez. Last week he ran for 4 touchdowns this week finished with 21 carries for 150 yards and a TD. They upset #1 ranked Wheaton Warrenville South 27-9.

3. Logan Young (Muncie, IND, Delta)- Logan caught 8 passes for 150 yards in a 35-3 win over Greenfield Central. Delta is 3-0 on the year.

4. Tim O'Connor (Cincinnati, OH, Elder)- Elder played in front of more than 10,000 fans this weekend and there game was on espn. O'Connor caught 6 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. Elder entered the game ranked #4 in the country.

5. Kofi Hughes (Indianapolis, IN, Cathedral)- Kofi was only 7-16 for 84 yards through the air but ran for 102 yards on 8 carries. Kofi had a 81 yard TD run in the 2nd qtr. The game was played at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Unfortunately running back Xavier Whitaker dislocated his knee cap on the first play of the game. It is unknown how long he will be out at this point. On another note, Andre Kates, is trying to reschedule his IU visit because his game this weekend was cancelled. Don't be surprised if you see him at the game this weekend. IU fans need to show him some love.

Scouting Western Michigan Part 1

Week one is over and it's time to look ahead to our match up against Western Michigan. This is my first installment of scouting Western Michigan.

Week 1: Western Michigan 7 Michigan 31

Scouting report- It was a rough opener for the Bronco's with there trip to the "Big House". Many different pre-season rankings had Tim Hiller listed in the top 5 for top college QB's. Scout's love his size (6'5 234lbs), his quick release and is projected to be a 3rd round pick in next year's NFL draft. Hiller struggled against UM's defense throwing for 259 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT's. That touchdown pass was a 73 yard touchdown pass to receiver Juan Nunez. Juan Nunez finished the game with 7 catches for 151 yards while losing a fumble. Other than that big play Hiller didn't look as impressive as his 2008 form. The Bronco's also struggled in the running game. Brandon West led the attack finishing with 41 yards on the ground with the longest run being 9 yards.

The Bronco defense failed to register a sack and had a very hard time defending the pass. True freshman Tate Forcier completed 13-20 passes for 179 yards and 3 touchdown passes. Those three touchdown passes and Denard Robinson's touchdown run all came in the first half.

Western Michigan returns 7 starters on offense and only 4 on defense.

A Very Ugly Win

Well I guess it is still a W no matter how ugly it was. Here is some of my thoughts from the game.

1. RB- the "pistol" offense didn't really show us anything. We averaged 2.4 yards per carry which against a D1-AA school is extremely disappointing. The first showing of Darius Willis left me disappointed as well. I know it's still 1 game and there is a ton more football to play but I was very unimpressed. Willis unfortunately fumbled on his first touch and didn't get much of an opportunity after that. Lynch later said that Willis had a bruised shin the day before and it kind of flared up during the game. Hopefully he can get back 100% healthy next week. I think the running back by committee is preventing our backs from getting into a groove. Mccray didn't run particularly well but had a few back to back runs in late in the game that were impressive. I think that by giving someone a few carries then switching backs constantly it won't allow a particular runner to emerge. The running game was overall a pretty big disappointment.

2. QB- Chappell did a few things that were OK and a few that weren't. When he had time in the pocket and could step into his throws he played fine. He threw for 326 yards which was good. When he had to throw off of his back foot or was pressured, his throws were not accurate at all. He threw 2 INT's which hurt us, especially when we were marching down the field. That will have to be something that Ben has to improve on. I was hoping Ben would have had a bit more zip of some of his balls.

3. O-line- in the passing game the o-line seemed to give Ben plenty of time in the pocket to make decisions. This was many players first career starts which is always a learning experience. A few false start penalties need to be corrected. A few more holes in the running game would've helped out a lot but in the passing game they were pretty solid.

4. WR- probably one of the few spots that made me happy. Doss had a heck of a first half showing off his good route running, catching ability and he was able to get a bunch of yards after the catch. Everybody contributed pretty well. Belcher had a big second half and him and Tandon really blocked very well down the field. Evans had a few nice catches and Turner looked good as well. Overall I think the receivers played very well. Tandon had one dropped pass on third down but other than that I liked what I see from the receiving core. (Doss 8 catches 125 yds, Belcher 6 catches 97 yds TD, Turner 5 catches 57 yds, Evans 3 catches 25 yds)

5. TE- Dedmond didn't get a ton of balls thrown his way but it looked much better than last year. In 3rd and short he was wide open in the flat and got the first down. He ended up with 2 catches for 14 yards but he only had 6 catches all last year. I think the TE's did their job and played fine.

(Photo from IDS)

Defense

1. D-line- for the most part the D-line provided pressure but sometimes couldn't finish the job. I thought one of the bigger surprises was how well Darius Johnson played. He is a converted linebacker and seems on the smaller side but he did a good job giving Kirlew and Middleton a break. There were times where it looked like our DT's had EKU's RB in the backfield and he slipped through to get a few yards. The redshirt freshman and true-freshman played solid I thought. Larry Black had a sack and another TFL. I would've liked a little more from Kirlew and Middleton but they didn't play bad by any means. Adam Replogle did some good things as well.

2. LB- Overall I thought the LB's did alright. Mayberry had a big 15 yard sack and Patterson had a 10 yard sack. They looked a little better than last year getting to the ball carrier quick and being able to shed a block here and there. It was a good start for the linebackers.

3. Secondary- Ray Fisher didn't play the first half because of a suspension. It was believed he was involved in a shouting match of some kind but Lynch assured everyone that everything is fine now. When Ray was in I thought he played really well. He made 5 tackles and forced a huge fumble when our backs were against the wall. He didn't get tested in coverage a whole bunch but I thought he played well. The safeties played alright as well. Austin Thomas made some pretty big hits in the game. Polk was kind of quiet but also registered 3 tackles with 2 assists. With Donnell Jones not playing this made the staff move Adkins back to corner. I didn't think he played too well. His coverage was spotty and gave up some big plays. Council played a little better but I couldn't believe he didn't intercept that ball down the sideline. It looks like the EKU receiver just made a fantastic play on the ball. Hopefully next week Donnell can come back from injury and him and Ray start out at the corners. I think the secondary need to make the largest improvement from this past week to next week's game.

Closing notes- Like Coach Lynch said "it is easier to make adjustments after a win than it is to make them after a loss". I did like the fireworks during the pre-game and the red light special towards the end of the game. I was very pleased with the student's attendance to the game. We still only had a little over 36k at the game but that was the largest first game crowd we have had in something like 12 years. I think the students did a good job filling the seats now it was more so the non-students who need to make there presence felt. I realize it was a school night and it is difficult to make the trip down so late, but hopefully more adults show up to next Saturday's game. Now we get a few more days to prepare for Western Michigan. Overall I was happy with the WR's and thought the D-line and LB's played alright and the O-line passed block just fine. I was very unhappy with the running game and our coverage in the secondary. I expect to see much more improvement next week because we cannot play like we did yesterday and expect to have very many wins this year. But in the end at least we still got the win.

Any thoughts on the game?

Opportunity at DT

This upcoming game is going to be a great opportunity for our young defensive tackles to show their abilities. With the one-game suspension of Deonte Mack the 2-deep seems to change almost every day but I think the most recent one has Jarrod Smith and Larry Black as the starters. Last year we were able to bring in physically bigger and stronger kids at the DT position than we have in years past. This is going to be a great opportunity for the 3 redshirt freshman Black, Mentzer, and Sliger along with true freshman Adam Replogle to get some experience under their belt. Coach Lynch mentioned that last spring was when Sliger and Mentzer really seperated themselves but this fall Larry Black has made the same transition. This could be the reason why Black is listed as a starter but you never know because the starters seem to change everyday. We may be young at the position but it could turn out to be one of our biggest strengths in years to come.

4 Things to Watch for vs. Eastern Kentucky

It's hard to believe that college football will be kicking off in 2 days. Here are four things in my opinion that you should be watching come Thursday. I just want to apologize in advance for the weird spacing, blogspot's formatting hasn't been too friendly.

1. Demarlo Belcher vs. EKU secondary- Belcher needs to get off to a fast start and prove he is a #1 big ten WR. He should have plenty of opportunities against EKU because both of the starting corners for the Colonels give up roughly 7 inches and 30lbs to Belcher. Starting corner Jeremy Caldwell is listed at 5-10 172lbs and Andre Evans is listed at 5'10 167lbs. Look for Belcher to have a big day.

2. Greg Middleton vs. Derek Hardman- All signs point to a re-emergence of Greg Middleton this upcoming season. He has re-focused this off-season and has had one of his best off-season's since enrolling at IU. You probably have never heard of Derek Hardman EKU's LT, but he roughly 6'6 and 300lbs. He is projected to be a middle round selection in next years NFL draft. This should be a good test for Middleton to get back on track.

3. Mark Damisch at LG- With Justin Pagan's status in doubt Mark Damisch will most likely fill his spot and start at LG. Damisch is a redshirt freshman from Buffalo Grove high school in IL. Hopefully he can gain some valuable experience that will help him down the road.

4. The "Pistol"- I'm curious to see how the "pistol" offense in action and the improvement of our running game. We will likely play 4 running backs throughout the game. I am very curious to see how Darius Willis plays and the other running backs as well. We will likely run a running back by committee until somebody emerges as the feature back.

(Photo courtesy of the IDS)