The Official Highlight Film Of Andre Kates

Here is a video clip of future hoosier Andre Kates. He plays CB and could be an instant starter for the hoosiers.

Nothing stops Perez in State Championship

Maine South finished off the year 14-0 to win the Illinois Class 8A title. IU commit Matt Perez set a state championship game record with 316 yards and 5 touchdowns. Maine South has now won 2 straight state championships. The more surprising part is that Perez had a left thigh bruise, a right ankle injury and possibly a broken left hand he has been nursing all week. He didn't let any of those injuries stop him on Maine South's 41-17 victory over Marist. Perez finished the season with 2,246 yards and 34 rushing touchdowns. He had a total of 38 touchdowns. Congratulations to Maine South on the championship and Matt Perez on an outstanding year.

2010 QB #11 Kofi Hughes 2009 Season Highlights Part Two

Here is part 2 of his highlights.

2010 QB Kofi Hughes 2009 Season Highlights One

Now that the season is over it is time to start looking at our recruiting class. I will post any highlights that I can find of our 2010 commits. Here is part 1 of a video of Kofi Hughes who will likely either play WR or somewhere in the secondary for the hoosiers.

Hoosier Commit named ESPNChicago.com POY

Running back Matt Perez is certainly not falling under the radar anymore. The Chicago Sun-Times already named him the best player in the state of Illinois a few weeks ago and now he is getting national attention. ESPNChicago.com has named Perez the high school player of the year. Perez has rushed for 1,930 yards and 29 touchdowns on 181 carries. He has averaged 10.7 yards per run. He has caught 30 passes for 391 yards and two touchdowns. He has returned two punts for touchdowns. He also has 59 tackles, 19 of them going for a loss. Twice this season, he ran for 300-plus yards and four touchdowns against Glenbrook South. Matt Perez's team will take on Marist tomorrow in the state championship game at Memorial Stadium at the University of Illinois. Next year there is a possibility that he could move from running back to either line backer or safety for the hoosiers.

Lynch sees Improvement

Coach Lynch talked to the media today to wrap up the season. Although nobody is happy or satisfied with how the year ended he noted that the biggest bright spots have been with the overall consistency of how hard people have brought it at practices and players taking accountability. This year brought about on average 10,000 more fans to each game. The mentality of the program seems to be changing in the right direction. What should also help the program is the fact that the past few years we have been able to red shirt so many players. Lynch said that unless a freshman is going to come in and start he will most likely be red shirted. Lynch talked about how he feels very good about the D-line. We do lose Kirlew and Middleton but we have 6 solid defensive tackles coming back and we should have Fred Jones and Darius Johnson finally healthy next year. He did talk about that there is room for people to shuffle around on the d-line. At the defensive end position he said specifically that freshman Javon Cornley has improved a lot. He has great quickness and has put on 15 lbs this year and he could be a young kid who makes a good contribution next year. He said that Tyler Replogle will most likely move inside and he thinks Chad Sherer will be a very good line backer when he has more of an opportunity next year. Freshman Nick Turner has done a good job on the scout team this year and should provide a good back up to Darius Willis next season. Lynch said that usually after seasons he likes to take some time off before he gets back at it but after this season he is extremely eager to get back at it. Overall, Lynch thinks the program is headed in the right direction. He likes how our young kids have developed and the staff has done a good job recruiting the type of kids that they are looking for.

Changes on the Horizon?

Every off-season there are always a few changes. Whether or not it is a coaching change of some sort, a position move, or a change in philosophy. I by no means have any inside information whatsoever but if I had to guess here are a couple of changes that might be made this off season.

1. Tyler Replogle move to MLB- Tyler will be the only returning starting linebacker for the hoosiers next year. Coach Lynch always praises him for having the highest motor on the team and a fantastic work ethic. I think this move would make sense from a leadership perspective. Your MLB needs to be one of the leaders of the defense and since we will have to rely on some young players to fill the other line backing spots, it would make sense for a veteran to take control of the line backing corps.

2. Mitch Evans move to Safety- Mitch has done it all for the hoosiers during his time here. He has played Safety, Quarterback, and Wide Receiver. He played very well this year at both WR and QB when we had the wildcat formation. I really like Ed Wright-Baker as a potential player to run the wildcat next year and eventually be in competition for the starting QB spot so I think it might be advantageous to start getting him onto the field via the wildcat. Our wide receiving corps is a very talented and deep one. We graduate both our starting safeties and next year will have Chris Adkins, Jerimy Finch, Shane Covington, Nick Zachery and a bunch of young players to fill in those spots. I see a similar situation in what happened to Ray Fisher a year ago. He was a great WR but because we needed help at the CB position he made the position switch. We might need some depth and leadership and the safety position next year so it might make sense to move Mitch onto the defensive side of the ball. We return all of our wide receivers from last year and we have a lot of young players who have a ton of potential. Duwyce Wilson was our highest recruited player out of last years class and we have a lot of other younger players like Tyler Adetona, Jamonne Chester, Dre Muhammad, Matt Ernest etc...

3. Shake-up the coordinators- I'm not here to grill our coaching staff. We have had two losing seasons in a row and generally changes are usually made. Coach Lynch and staff have done a great job of upgrading the overall talent of our football team through the recruiting ranks. We still need more depth on this team but I don't think you can say that our team has lacked talent has been the reason why we haven't won more games. We had some very talented players on this years squad and I just feel like they may not have reached their full potential. It may be time to switch it up on the defensive side of the ball just to see if we can make some improvement. We graduate a lot of players on that side this year and next year will have a lot of young faces competing for spots. We will need many players to be coached-up this off season and it might be time for some minor tweaks and changes in the coaching staff to see if we can get many of our players to play to their full potential.

Like I said before I have no inside information here, I am simply just speculating on what could potentially happen. What do you guys think? Agree? Disagree? Any other changes that you think could/should be made?

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly of IU Athletic Facilities

A good look at all the new things that have been done/being done here at IU.

Bucket stays with Boilers

A pretty disappointing finish to a very frustrating year. It was even more disappointing because the student turnout was incredible for this game and for the season in general. Looking back, if a few games go our way we would've been in a completely different situation. I thought that there were so many reasons why we should have been hyped up to take down the boilers today but it just didn't happen. The bright spot happened to be the running of Darius Willis. I think he will definitely provide some excitement for the future of our running game. Too many turnovers was the moral of the story. Two interceptions by Chappell, and early fumble and a blocked kick all lead to the hoosier defeat. Although our record did not show it this year, in my opinion we made a lot of progress. You can debate me all you want but last year we had very bad losses of 42-20 (Ball State), 45-9 (Iowa), 55-13 (Illinois), 37-34 (Central Michigan), 55-20 (Wisconsin), 34-7 (Penn State) and 62-10 (Purdue). This year we were competitive in every single game except for Virginia. We could have had victories against Michigan, Northwestern, Iowa and Wisconsin. Most of the time it seemed like a roller coaster ride this season but I do believe it when Lynch and Fisher said in the post game that there were significant improvements this year. Stay tuned all off-season as I blog about off-season changes, recruits, and anything else regarding Indiana hoosier football. Thank you all 21 seniors on this years squad and I wish you all the best of luck with your future plans.

Any thoughts on the game/season feel free to comment.

Indiana Coach Bill Lynch finds a Better Way

Could be a Shootout

Don't be surprised if tomorrow's game has lots of scoring. Purdue's QB Joey Elliott leads the big ten in passing and Ben Chappell is 2nd. Keith Smith for the Boilers also leads the big ten in receiving with RB Ralph Bolden 3rd in rushing. With no bowl game in the works for either team expect both teams to really open up the playbook on offense. Darius Willis is probable for the game and Purdue has given up 3 straight 100 yard rushers. The hoosiers receivers have been bright spots for most of the season and I expect them to have a big day tomorrow. The student section has been expanded and has already been sold out. It should be a wild crowd at the Rock tomorrow and I'm expecting the hoosiers to come away with a victory.

IU beats Purdue, Nov. 17, 2007

One more video to get hyped for the bucket game tomorrow

Austin Starr's Game Winning FG Against Purdue

Good memories for old-times sake to get pumped for the bucket game.

Hoosiers Hyped for Bucket Game

Like Bryan Payton said “You like to think that you play hard every week and you prepare hard every week, but this one is double everything else.” This bucket game is more than just a game. A win may only count for a win just like any other game but it also gives you 1 year worth of bragging rights in the state. With Coach Lynch putting an emphasis on recruiting in our own back yard this game can be a good selling point for in-state recruits. This game has created legends such as Austin Starr. He was always a good kicker for the hoosiers but now he will always be remembered for his incredible kick that propelled the hoosiers the insight bowl. This week it seems like every time I log onto facebook and a football player has updated their status, it has something to do with how focused their are to take on the boilers and how hard they want to play to end their hoosier career on a high note. Coach Lynch emphasised that not only is it important for the seniors to end with a victory but also for the current players to take some momentum into the off season. This means that when they are doing their off season weight lifting and conditioning they've got an extra bounce in their step because we went out by beating the boilers. Fred Glass has expanded the student section to 15,000 for the game and hopefully everybody can come out and pack the rock and we can finish the season with a big victory and bring the bucket back to where it belongs.

Injury Report

Here is the injury report so far for the Purdue game.

Out: Ray Fisher, Darius Johnson, Jarrod Smith
Questionable: Jarrell Drane, Cody Faulkner, Demetrius McCray, Justin Pagan, Mike Reiter
Probable: Darius Willis, Terrance Thomas

Fred Glass just said that over 40,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday which now makes the season average over 40,000 per game. Student ticket sales this year averaged over 10,000 which is the first time that has happened since 1992. Also student ticket seats for the Bucket game have been increased from 8,100 to 12,500 and those are nearly sold out.

Purdue Preview

Purdue currently sits at 4-7. It has been an up and down season for them as well. After starting out 1-0 the boilers lost 4 straight games by 7 points or less to Oregon, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame and Northwestern. At this point I knew that there record didn't indicate there potential. Then a few weeks later they upset Ohio State and shocked a whole bunch of people. I was worried that after beating Ohio State they would use that momentum to really carry themselves for most of the season. Luckily they are 2-2 from that game suffering a blowout 37-0 loss to Wisconsin and a 3 point loss to Michigan State last week. This puts them out of any chance of becoming bowl eligible. Even though we have the same record they still are a dangerous team. Here is a look at some other things you should know about the boilers.

The offense is lead by senior Joey Elliott. He has thrown for just under 3000 yards this year with 18 touchdowns. However he has also thrown 13 interceptions. Ralph Bolden leads the boilers in rushing with 931 yards and 9 touchdowns. He's not a very big guy but he is extremely quick and can create some big plays. IU will have to do a good job preventing the big plays this week. Purdue's receiving core is really dominated by Keith Smith (86 catches, 1015 yds, 5 TD's) and Aaron Valentin (50 catches, 601 yds, 7 TD's). On defense the big name to know if Ryan Kerrigan. He has 11 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss on the year.

For some good news, Purdue ranks 107 in turnover margin. They have lost 15 fumbles and have thrown 14 interceptions. The bad news, IU hasn't really been able to capitalize on other teams turnovers this year. IU actually ranks 8th in the nation in turnover margin. Purdue has had 3 running backs the last three weeks run for over 100 yards on them. This could be a big day for our offense. Although we can't become bowl eligible this year, this game still provides ultimate bragging rights and a step forward from last years team.

Receiving Core shines for Hoosiers

One of the extremely bright spots for the hoosiers this year has been the receiving core. Not only have they had a lot of big play ability this season they also will most likely be the strength of this team for years to come. Here is a quick breakdown of our current receivers along with some young ones that we have that can make an impact in the next couple of years.

1. Tandon Doss- has really emerged as the hoosiers number 1 receiver this year. He has great hands and good speed. He has a ton of YAC and when he gets in space he can be extremely dangerous. He can stretch the field when we got play action and runs good routes.

2. Demarlo Belcher- with his big size he is drawing many comparisons to former hoosier James Hardy. He gets almost every jump ball thrown his way and creates many match up problems for almost any corner. He can be the go-to guy in the red zone and if he gets a bit of space he has the ability to make a defender miss. He got stronger from last year and I'm sure he will continue to get stronger for years to come.

3. Terrance Turner- Turner has been a pleasant surprise this year. Last year he didn't have a ton of balls thrown his way but this year he has made the most out of every opportunity. He is a great possession receiver and always seems to grind it out to get those few extra yards when he catches the ball. He shows good concentration and makes catches in traffic and has the speed and moves to make a defender miss and turn a 5 yard reception into a 10-15 yard reception.

4. Mitch Evans- Mitch has had many different roles throughout his career as a hoosier but he has done some good things at receiver. He excels more in the slot when he can get into open space. He has made some pretty spectacular catches this year. The one handed grab against Wisconsin and the touchdown grab really ring a bell for me. I'm not sure whether or not he will stay at this position for his senior year but Mitch brings athleticism that can be used at various spots on the field.

5. Matt Ernest- He hasn't had as many opportunities this season because of our depth. He was the Gatorade player of the year in 2006 for the state of Indiana. He has gotten stronger while he's been here at has some pretty good speed. Could project into a good possession receiver.

Here is a look at some of the young guys that could shine for the hoosiers down the road.

Duwyce Wilson- Our highest rated recruit in the 2009 class he has good size (6'3) with good speed as well. He is a gazelle type receiver who will have a bright future with the hoosiers. He can go up and get jump balls but he can also make plays in space with his speed.

Tyler Adetona- His tape shows that he can be very dangerous as a slot receiver for us in the future. He is very elusive in the open field when he can move around and has breakaway speed to burn it down the sideline.

Jamonne Chester- Not as tall as Duwyce but he also can go up and win jump balls. He doesn't have blazing speed but when he can catch the ball in the open field he can make defenders miss.

Dre Muhammad- Not a whole lot of people have heard of this guy. He is a transfer from Purdue and is a cousin of James Hardy. From what I've heard he is a very quick receiver but is on the smaller side listed at 5'10. He could be a sleeper for the hoosiers in the years to come.

This hoosier receiving core is going to be very dangerous for the future. We have a lot of playmakers and a ton of depth. They will most likely be the strongest part of our team for next year.

Hoosiers can't capitalize, fall to PSU

The game started out like a typical hoosier game. We had a great game plan going in (credit that to coach Lynch) and got out to an early 10-0 lead. Penn State seemed to be out of sync when we got out to the fast start. They battled back and eventually tied it up at the half. I think the biggest momentum changer was Navarro Bowman's 73 yard INT that was returned for a TD. We were driving pretty well and having success through the passing game up until that point. Then when PSU came with the blitz we had a perfect opportunity for a big play. We ran a quick screen to Trea Burgess but the ball hit him in the hands then was picked by Bowman and was returned to the house. The hoosiers forced plenty of turnovers in this game we just couldn't capitalize on them. Matt Mayberry led the hoosier defense with 15 tackles and an INT. This is the 5th time this year he has recorded double digit tackles. Our rushing game was pretty much non-existent totalling 48 yards 24 carries. Chappell did throw for 298 yards and the trio of Belcher, Doss, and Turner accounted for 175 yards and both hoosier touchdowns. This is definitely a bright spot for the future of the hoosier program. We are officially eliminated from bowl eligibility but everyone better be psyched up to take on the boilers next week. It serves an opportunity not only for ultimate bragging rights for 1 year but an opportunity to take out all of this years frustration and really put the boiler's in their place.

Hoosiers not intimidated

Today's match up in happy valley is going to be a very tough one. All you have to do is look at the roughly 27 point spread to know that the hoosiers are underdogs. However, we've had games like this before where it looked like we were huge underdogs in the game and we came out and competed very well. “Even though we’ve had a couple of heartbreaking losses, I still think they’re an offense we can get at,” Mayberry said. “They’re a good offense led by a good quarterback in Daryll Clark, but we hung in with all the offenses we’ve been playing, and I don’t think they’re any better than what we’ve been facing.” Penn State has an incredible defense and such a balanced offense. I'm not expecting the hoosiers to come out and shock the world (even though that would be nice) but I'm not expecting them to roll over and get blown out. Chappell will have to have close to a mistake free day and make some plays through the passing game. The defense will have to do their best at stopping Darryl Clark and Evan Royster. A big key will be for Kirlew and Middleton to apply some constant pressure on the QB. With the season dwindling down it is very important for some hoosiers to really come out firing if they want to have a chance at getting picked in next year's NFL draft.

Do look for PSU to come out fired up after a loss at home last week. It is also senior day for the the nittany lions.

Getting to know PSU

Penn State comes into this weeks match up with an 8-2 record with losses to Iowa and Ohio State. On offense Daryll Clark takes the snaps and had thrown for 2283 yards and 18 touchdowns this year. He's a veteran QB with lots of experience. He can also be a threat in the run game when PSU runs QB draws or anytime he needs to escape the pocket. Evan Royster is the tailback and he averages 5.7 yards per carry and has 5 rushing TD's this year. Did I mention Clark can run the ball? Clark leads the team with 6 rushing touchdowns. You may not have heard a lot about the PSU receivers but they are very good. In my opinion they are underrated because last year Penn State's top 3 receivers are gone. This is the first time this group of receivers have really been the go-to guys. Derek Moye and Graham Zug both have 5 receiving TD's this year.

On defense PSU has two outstanding linebackers in Navarro Bowman and Sean Lee. They don't have the dominate pass rush they have in years past but they still lead the big ten with 32 sacks. They have two great DT's in Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu. Those 4 players in particular will make it very hard for IU to gain a whole lot on the ground so it will be very important to pass the ball effectively and not have many turnovers if we want to put some points on the board. That’s easier said than done against a Penn State defense that ranks ninth nationally in passing yards/game allowed (166.1) and has surrendered 200 yards in a game only three times this fall. The Nittany Lions’ opponents are completely only 52.1 percent of their throws, and they’ve given up only five touchdowns through the air. But IU's receivers have shown big play capabilities against the top teams in the big ten. The hoosiers have never beaten Penn State albeit they have only been in the conference since 1990. The hoosiers are 0-12 all-time against the nittany lions.

Injury Report

Here is the injury report for the Penn State game.

Out:Darius Johnson, Jarrod Smith, Ray Fisher
Questionable:Chris Adkins, Jarrell Drane, Cody Faulkner, Tyler Replogle, Austin Thomas, Terrance Thomas
Probable: Mick Mentzer, Darius Willis

Matt Weaver from rivals.com said that Ray Fisher is pretty much done for the year unless IU happens to make a bowl game. Although it is never good to have a lot of injuries at least most of the players on the injury list will most likely play this weekend.

Fisher and Willis injuries

Although it is still early in the week the initial depth chart has been released. Ray Fisher, who got injured two weeks ago, is not listed on the depth chart. Don't expect him to play this week. He will have another MRI on his knee sometime early this week to see if there is any opportunity he gets to still play this year. If you have been following Darius Willis you will know that he has been pretty banged up this whole year. He left the game this Saturday against Wisconsin with a leg injury but he is still listed as the starter on the depth chart this week. As of today he will be playing this weekend but there is still a possibility that throughout the week he might not be able to play. If he can't go Bryan Payton is listed as the backup. Payton was able to give the running game a spark in the 2nd half against the Badgers. It seems like with Darius Willis that he will probably just toughen it out the rest of the year then address his ankle/leg injury after the season.

*** The IU vs. Purdue game has been announced that it will be a 3:30 start next Saturday.

Hoosiers comeback stopped short by Badgers

The Hoosiers late comeback fell a bit short while the Badgers won 31-28. On the bright side, the hoosiers secondary held their own for the most part, the receivers played extremely well, and the hoosiers capitalized on some key situations. The only downside was that the Badgers running game was just too much for the hoosiers. Both John Clay and Montee Ball ran for over 100 yards. The Badger offensive line had their way in opening up holes in the running game. This loss will make it very difficult for the hoosiers to get to 6 wins. That would require an upset next week at Penn State followed by a home victory against Purdue to finish out the year. On the bright side, I saw a ton of progress yesterday versus when we played them a year ago.

Chappell threw for 323 yards with 3 TD's and 2 INT's. He made some deep throws that were very good. The wind, just like last week, also played a role in the passing game yesterday. Darius Willis went down with a right left injury but, Bryan Payton came in and played very well. He hit some holes hard and made some good runs to get some pressure off of the passing game. On some keys situations the hoosiers also converted which was promising. On a 4th and goal Coach Lynch put Adam Replogle in at fullback and Trea Burgess plunged into the end zone for a key touchdown. Demarlo Belcher let dropped two keys passes on some important downs only to catch a key pass on 4th and 5 and dragged Wisconsin defenders for a 30 yard game. Tandon Doss finished the game as the leading receiver with 92 yards and 2 TD's.

In the end it was the Wisconsin running game that was just too much for the hoosiers. At least this year they really competed for the whole game. They were down 10 at half time but just kept hanging around and eventually converted on some big plays to cut the lead down to 3. Although it was another tough loss and bowl eligibility might not happen this year the hoosiers are getting to the point where they know we can compete with anybody. A sign of progress for this program.

Final Injury Report

Here is the final injury report for the Wisconsin game.

Out: DE'S Darius Johnson and Terrence Thomas, CB Ray Fisher, Safeties Chris Adkins and Jarrell Drane, DT Jarrod Smith and OL Cody Faulkner

Questionable: Safety Jerimy Finch

Probable: RB's Zach Davis-Walker and Darius Willis, Safety Nick Polk, DE Fred Jones.

Like I said before Adrian Burks will be starting at corner with Donnell Jones. Terrence Thomas gets on the list this week but Fred Jones will likely play.

Enough Gas in the Tank?

Although we have suffered some tough losses the last two weeks I think it showed a lot of promise for this hoosier program. Although this team could be 7-2 at this point I am not going to dwell too much on the what ifs. To outplay the number 4 team in the country for 3 quarters is still very impressive. My only worry about suffering those 2 tough losses the past few weeks is that I'm not sure how much gas we have left in the tank. I say that because Wisconsin runs a unique grind it out style of football. They have a big offensive line and a great running game. This seems to wear teams down late in games. It will be tough in my opinion to stop Clay late in the game and I hope that we will be able to grind out it with them for all 60 minutes. What surprised me last week against Iowa was how much resilience this team had to come back and compete so well against an undefeated Iowa team on the road. It will be nice to come back to Memorial Stadium but the past few years Wisconsin has had out number. Not only will this be a big week for the hoosier squad if we want to remain in the bowl picture but it will show a lot about this hoosier squad in how they bounce back. I hope this hoosier squad has a lot left in the tank and that we can bounce back after a few tough games and pull off the upset.

Lynch and Patterson on Dan Dakich Show

Both Coach Lynch and Will Patterson were on the Dan Dakich show today. Here are a few of the highlights from both of their conversations with Dan Dakich.

Lynch- the staff has also completely moved on from the Iowa game. They came back at it and had a good game plan ready to go early this week. The biggest thing from the Virginia game to now has been the change of attitude for the hoosier squad. The team's intangibles have improved greatly since that game.


Patterson- The team has completely moved on from the Iowa game. They came back and had a very crisp practice yesterday. The team had a good grasp of the game plan for Wisconsin and executed well during the practices this week. The Wisconsin game is going to be a very physical game but they will be ready to go.

Lynch Handling Officiating Situation with Class

I just finished listening to Coach Lynch's weekly press conference. One of the things that really stood out to me was how well Lynch was handling the officiating situation from the Iowa game. Yesterday on his radio show he made a quick note that the university has contacted the big ten and he was confident that it will be handled appropriately. Today in his press conference he was asked many times about the officiating situation.

He first noted that there were 173 plays in the game and that 171 of them were correctable. That is why this year they have stressed to "play the next play" because after the game you don't want to look back and say this was the play that changed everything. One reporter asked Lynch if he ever got to the point that he felt like taking the $10,000 fine and blasting the officials in the media to get his point across. He responded by saying that was not the way he was brought up and would never handle the situation that way. He's not the guy to use the media to grab more attention for himself. He has been handling the situation very well in my opinion. He acknowledged the fact that the university has contacted the big ten but understands that there were so many other plays in the game that were not affected by the officials and the team has completely moved to the Wisconsin game on Saturday.

He talked briefly about not taking the mindset that the hoosiers were just unlucky. That he said leads to sloppy practices and players showing up on Saturday just hoping that things will bounce their way next time. He did say that the interception that bounced off of 4 players was a crazy play but their could have been things done to prevent it. For instance, we could have gotten the throw off a tad earlier or sustained our blocks for a split second longer. I feel like he has taken the right approach this week in handling all the different things going on around IU football.

Fisher to miss game vs. Wisconsin

Yesterday during Bill Lynch's radio show he said that Ray Fisher will miss this week's game against Wisconsin because of a knee injury. Fisher injured it on the opening kickoff against Iowa last Saturday. The good news is that Wisconsin is a pro-style running team and they don't air it out as much. Wisconsin's QB Scott Tolzien has thrown 9 TD's and 8 INT's. Look for Adrian Burks to be starting alongside Donnell Jones at CB.



***Update***
Fisher will undergo surgery on Wednesday. It isn't major surgery and Lynch isn't ruling him out for the rest of the season. He will take another MRI next week and evaluate his knee from there. Adrian Burks is listed as the #1 opposite Donnell Jones and Richard Council and Andre Lagrone are listed as the backups.

Lynch Contacts Big 10 Over Calls

Here was an article written by Dustin Dopirak after he listened in to Lynch's radio show today.

"Indiana’s Bill Lynch said on his radio show Monday night that Indiana has made contact with the Big Ten over the controversial calls in Saturday’s game against Iowa.
“We’ve made contact with the Big Ten,” Lynch said. “We are certainly confident that it will be handled appropriately.”
The key call that infuriated Lynch at the time and Indiana fans was a touchdown catch by Terrance Turner that was overturned by video replay."

I'm glad to see Lynch sticking up for the hoosiers.

A Look at the Badgers

It's time to forget about the past and look ahead to the future. Wisconsin has squeaked back into the top 25 with their crushing defeat over the boilers. The Badgers have a 6-2 record with victories over Northern Illinois, Fresno State, Wofford, Michigan State, Minnesota, and Purdue. Their two losses were against Ohio State and Iowa. They don't have any marquee victories this year but they have played solid throughout.

Wisconsin's running back John Clay is the only running back in the big ten who averages over 100 yards rushing per game. He also leads the conference with 10 rushing TD's. He is a big, physical runner listed just shy of 250 lbs. Scott Tolzien is the QB and he has completed 62.5% of his passes so far this year with 9 TD's. On defense, O’Brien Schofield leads the nation in tackles for loss with 16.5. The badgers have 3 TD's on special teams this year. The AP Poll has Wisconsin ranked 24 while the BCS has them at 21.

This is going to be a huge week for the hoosiers. A win this weekend makes them one win away from bowl eligibility while a loss would pretty much eliminate them from becoming bowl eligible. The hoosiers have come out firing the last two weeks but need to work on finishing games late. The hoosiers need to bounce back after two tough weeks and take down the badgers to get us back on track.

*** Fun Stat of the Day: The hoosiers lead the big ten in turnover margin at +9

Can't Say It Any Better

If you haven't read the OSR report here is an article that sums up the Iowa game better than I can.
Official Sports Report: November 01, 2009A Truly Uphill Battleby Jeremy GrayIOWA CITY, Iowa- This will possibly get me in trouble with my national editor, but I don't know any other way to write this column. I have never done this before, and likely I will never do it again. This line of argument is almost always facile and simplistic. Only rarely does it come off as anything other than whiny and small.
However, to make anything else the focus of this column would be inexcusable. It should be said. In my time of watching football, Indiana's 42-24 loss to Iowa was one of the most grotesquely officiated football games I have ever seen.
It wasn't one bad call. It wasn't two bad calls. There were a slew of them and they were not bifurcated evenly between the two teams. And unlike with modern medicine and av! iation, technology didn't seem to help.
Before I rehash my grievances, let me state and acknowledge the following…
Iowa deserves credit for taking advantage of their opportunities. The Hawkeyes also battled through a litany of injuries to pull out the win and that deserves praise and recognition. The Hoosiers failed to stop misdirection plays throughout the game, and didn't respond when they began taking on water in the 4th quarter. The Hoosiers also failed to capitalize on all of their turnovers.
But…
It's a little tough for an underdog to win a game against a top five team on the road when officials unjustifiably took away two touchdowns, made a phantom pass interference call, made woeful spots after IU offensive gains, and made a questionable unnecessary roughness call on Donnell Jones that prolonged an Iowa drive.
And what did Terrance Turner do to undermine his football karma! ? Did he forget to send his grandmother a birthday card? He makes two brilliant touchdown catches and both of them got wiped off the board.
To their credit, Indiana responded exceptionally well to most of these setbacks.
The bad pass interference call against Adrian Burks in the first half was made irrelevant by a Collin Taylor interception later in the drive.
Turner's first touchdown catch that was rendered an incomplete pass, was quickly made up for by a fabulous touchdown connection between Ben Chappell and Damarlo Belcher.
The Hoosiers also overcame a bad spot in the first half. Running back Darius Willis clearly plunged over the first down marker, but the officials spotted it a full yard behind the marker. They reviewed the spot, and unfathomably upheld the ruling on the field. On 4th and 1, Ben Chappell was able to get the Hawkeyes to jump offside on a hard count and the Hoosiers sustained the drive.
But the other bad spot cost Indiana dearly. In the first hal! f, Damarlo Belcher made a catch and touched the ground with his hand before plunging ahead for a significant gain. The officials spotted the ball where his hand touched the ground, rather than where he actually went down. The Hoosiers were forced to punt. It should be noted that this occurred at a juncture of the game that the Hoosiers were moving the ball fairly easily and the defense was overwhelming the Hawkeyes.
But the real whopper took place in the middle of the 3rd quarter. Indiana led the game 21-14. The offense was in a groove, and Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi looked like Gerry Cooney after taking his first shot from Mike Tyson. The Hoosiers were responding to the most inexplicable only-against-the Chicago Cubs-like interception return in history. They methodically drove down field and were on the verge of levying a devastating blow to the Hawkeyes. The Hoosiers were near the goal line and Chappell unfurled a perfect strike to a darting Ter! rance Turner. Turner hauled it in, drug his back foot two feet inside the endzone, and slid toward the Iowa cheerleaders in exaltation.
The official, standing a scant three feet away and possessing a perfect view of the play, raised his hands to signal the touchdown. The players went bananas, I scared my dog, and the Hoosiers were up 28-14.
But…
The officials decided to review the catch. The ESPN crew replayed the catch over and over again. Iowa fans, Indiana fans, Bob Davie, Lou Holtz, Mark May, Barack Obama, John McCain, Kanye West, my shaken golden retriever, Lady Gaga, and Boilermaker Pete could all see that it was a touchdown.
But after several minutes of deliberation, the officials wiped off the points and deemed it an incomplete pass. Nick Freeland missed the subsequent field goal attempt, and the Hawkeyes were still within striking distance.
The toughest part of that scenario to wrap my mind around&#44! ; was the fact that the play was deemed a touchdown on the field. To overturn, there has to be conclusive evidence. If it was conclusive, why did it take so long to review it? Not even Hawkeye partisans Chuck Long and Tom Brokaw could convince themselves that there was conclusive evidence.
The Hoosiers responded again with another interception. They drove down the field and booted a field goal. But the Hawkeyes were given new life and the rest, unfortunately, is history.
Certainly Iowa's track record suggests that they could have mounted a comeback no matter what the score was.
And just as certainly, the Hoosiers have struggled to hold onto leads in 2009.
Would the Hoosiers have won a well officiated game? I think so, but I'll never know for sure. But I certainly would have liked to have watched that game instead.

Some Final Stats

The hoosiers sit at 4-5 right now. Bowl eligibility isn't out the of question just yet. We have three games left against Wisconsin, Penn State, and Purdue. We must win at least two of them to get to becoming bowl eligible although that doesn't guarantee that we will make a bowl game. A win this Saturday will be crucial and it could come down to the Purdue game again at the end of the year. Here are some notable stats from yesterdays game on both offense and defense.

Offense:

Passing: Chappell 23-41 227 yards, 2 TD and 3 INT

Rushing: Willis 21 carries for 51 yards and a TD

Receiving: Belcher 6 rec. 89 yards and a TD

Defense:

Mayberry led us in tackles with 9. He also had an INT and sack and a tackle for loss

The hoosiers had 5 interceptions in the game (2 from Collin Taylor and 1 from Mayberry, Thomas, Jones)

Freshman Adam Replogle had 1.5 sacks and 2.5 TFL

Tyler Replogle had 7 tackles with .5 sacks and .5 TFL

Jammie Kirlew recovered a fumble and Larry Black Jr added a TFL