May the injury bug stay away.
I thought IU would beat the Illini last year.
So many unanswered questions this year.
I thought IU would beat the Illini last year.
So many unanswered questions this year.
2 months to Kickoff
- Thread starter TomEric4756
- Start date
But I don’t want to wait that long! 😖
I can't wait for it to get here and see how this team can do. It has been disappointing the past two years but I hope this is the turnaround we want to see despite the very tough schedule.
Our schedule is no tougher than anybody in the conference and with a good coaching staff, 6 wins would be attainable. Unfortunately, it will be a monumental task for our coaching staff to get there. Meanwhile, new coaches in the conference (like the first time head coach up north) will have their program bowling in season 1. Allen’s grab bag of excuses has run out after 7 seasons.
i think this team has enough talent to win at least 6 games this year. it's put up or shut up time.
Over which teams on our schedule do you believe we have a talent advantage?
Talent advantage
ISU
Akron
Rutgers
Coaching advantage
Maryland
MSU
Purdue
Equal talent UL & Illinois
That’s 8 winnable games. Maryland & Illinois are wildcards. Maryland has a ton of talent and Illinois is a tough, tough team and matchup.
Our players were said to be working very hard to win more games due to increase competition and I expect they will win more than 6 games.
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i didn't say advantage. i said enough. that's where coaching comes in.
QB play will determine whether this team wins 6 games. There's skill position talent, Jaylin Lucas is a constant homerun threat. Get him the ball as much as possible and good things will happen on offense.
Looking back on last year, Bazelak just couldn't make plays. The lone conference game where he did make plays, Indiana beat Illinois. Jackson will have to make plays for Indiana to win games. Dexter made plays in the MSU victory at East Lansing and had Purdue in deep shit until his injury. It's going to take good QB play to go bowling.
Looking back on last year, Bazelak just couldn't make plays. The lone conference game where he did make plays, Indiana beat Illinois. Jackson will have to make plays for Indiana to win games. Dexter made plays in the MSU victory at East Lansing and had Purdue in deep shit until his injury. It's going to take good QB play to go bowling.
I generally agree except I don't think we have a clear coaching advantage on Maryland, Locksley found a way to win on the road and Maryland was losing when Tagaviloa left the game.
In any case, I think we have plenty of talent on this roster and whether you want to chalk it up to injuries, poor development, or a gauntlet of a schedule, it just hasn't been shown on the field consistently over the last two seasons.
It's so hard to predict given how many of our projected starters were not with Indiana this past season. Outside of Aaron Casey and (maybe) Josh Sanguinetti, I don't think there's another returner whose proven he can be an a solid starter, so we're relying on a bunch of transfers most of us have never seen before.
Offense is a similar story although IMO, our offense has a better WR and RB room than they've had in several years. Henderson proved he is a solid RB1, Lucas is obviously an X factor and while Christian Turner may not be Kenneth Walker, he seems good enough. I'm really excited about the WR room though. I believe Camper could've been a day 1/2 NFL draft pick if he had stayed healthy last year, he torched Devon Witherspoon and Dionte Banks. If Camper were on PSU or UM, he would get a lot more national praise given his track record against those two first round NFL corners. Camper is just the tip of the iceberg though, Dequece Carter looks like a solid route runner with good hands (although I have only seen a handful of his highlights from Fordham) and EJ Williams has the tools to be a dangerous receiver in 1 on 1's if he puts it all together. McCulley should hopefully take another step up as well. The question is really whether our QB can get them the ball and whether our O-line can keep our QB upright + take a step up in their run blocking.
Thank god this is our last season in the B1G East, I would love to finally pull off an upset against Michigan, PSU, or OSU in our last season playing all three of them, but however it turns out, I think we're all ready for the new schedule format.
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Exactly and don’t forget we also have MSU at home this year. They typically have better talent but their coach is an absolute trainwreck and might even be worse than Allen. That game last year against MSU was Allen’s big win and MSU needed that game for bowl eligibility. It was almost sad how bad both teams were at the end of the game trying their best to flub up.
Allen’s defense has been rock bottom for 2 years. The big defensive “guru” better figure it out this year.
Definitely agree; I watched the IU/MSU highlights the other day and our defense wasn't too good. They need to be far better against the run.
Offensively, Bell needs to showcase Camper, Lucas, Perry and the other players. I thought Bell sucked last year until Dexter played. Bell needs to step up his play calling duties for sure.
IU brought in very good players through the portal along with some that can be backups. There are a couple that are very good with other competing to play this year. If the offense can do much better this year and hang on to the ball for more than three plays the defense can really get after the offense. Our RBs and OL should help control the ball and our receivers have the speed to really get behind the defenses to score quick.
Anything less than 6 wins this year is a sign of really bad coaching. When you let teams with comparable talent and newer coaching staffs beat you……that’s a coaching problem.
would agree with the first two, but everything else seems like a wishful wearing of crimson glasses.
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We will have more talent than two of our opponents. I think our coaching will struggle to create many more advantages for us. Way too much turnover and instability there.
I don’t buy that. Rutgers, Purdue, Illinois don’t have better talent. Hell, MSU’s best WR and QB both left. There are teams in this conference with brand new staffs, new offenses that are better organized than Allen and his spastic shenanigans. It’s coaching folks. In 50/50 games, coaching is the difference and Allen is a liability as is Bell.
Those teams have all had better players than us the last couple of years. Our coaching struggles are well known, but our struggles have been rooted in our roster. Hoping for the best . . .
Nonsense.
At least the 2021 season, there is no basis for that logic. We had everybody returning and threw in the towel after the first 3 games. That season we were actually predicted as 3rd in the East division and completely stunk up the place.
So, the “better talent” argument doesn’t hold water when talking about Rutgers, Purdue and IU in the same sentence. At least according to the Rivals class rankings.
People on here lament this idea that Rutgers and Maryland should never had been allowed in the conference. Anybody ever consider that IU may actually be the conference “stain” and should be the program removed? Bad coaching. Bad ADs. Not remotely competitive with peer schools. Time to admit we are way in over our head in a P5 conference? Likely so.
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Not everyone predicted us to finish that high, for reasons previously outlined. When the playing field was leveled, the results were predictable.
But wait .. Purdue fan here.. who has seen the fallacy of rivals rankings first hand (starting in the late tiller years) and definitely doesn’t think you guys have more talent (or better coaching). And I gave you props in 2020…
Nebraska recruited all this “talent” in the frost era and before. And yet, you can argue that the best player of the frost era, by far, was Jo Jo Domann. A 5.6 on rivals. Ten times the player 5.8 Marquel dismuke was.
Is Devin mockobee not talented? Demarlo Belcher…?
A rivals national guy came on our site once and said the only thing rivals is rating is the likelihood that a player will contribute early. That they can’t rate things like work ethic, being a late bloomer etc.
Last year we had a working harder story too. The less hype on that front this year the better.
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The coaches and players appear to be taking a less hyped approach this year which is refreshing. No matter what you have coming back you never know what kind of team it will be until games are played.
I remember when Purdue had 21 starters coming back in 2005 and they just sucked. And you realized that guys who maybe started some games with Kyle Orton or with the 2002 offense or whatever.. weren’t necessarily good players when they were now one of the guys to be relied on.
A couple things on relying on rivals talent, which is really just a series of camps and not a ton other than that except for elite kids. I remember when tiller got a lot of four stars late in his run and then, like Nebraska, you realize that within that group that gets that rating with rivals, there are guys that the big boys all passed on and guys that they really wanted. Jason kacinko and Bruce Gordon were passes..
There are other levels to it as well. A few years ago Purdue got a four star named Stephen Faucheux. He was given a four star based on being an OFFENSIVE tackle. That’s where his offer from penn state was. But he chose Purdue cause they’d let him play DT. Turns out penn state was right about his position.
We had a four star light up camps a few years back. Turns out that he’s probably too small for DE and too slow for LB. after the camps, when schools have to figure what position he factored in at, it turned out the only commitable offer from anyone of note was from Wisconsin for fullback.
I have no problem saying Indiana is good when they are. I like you alls front seven. Carter is a guy I’m eyeing to be a breakout transfer. Casey is a stud obviously. Anyone in the country would want Lucas on their team. Word is your OL May improve.
It’s really gonna come down to coaching up your inexperienced QB room. If Jackson looks like a vet and is just a smooth operator back there, you can win 6-7 games if things break right. If none of your QBs can function comfortably without the hiccups… it’s going to be a rough year and Tom Allen may go…
I hate to agree with a PU'er but we have had our share of 4*s who boasted offers from SEC and BIG elites only to fail on the field. Makes one wonder is all those high profile offers were committable or just schools showing early interest.
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Not sure I agree on Purdue. I think I could argue they are more talented than last year. Question is, can Walters coach as good as he can recruit? If he can coach, Purdue will be good again next year. I think iu can go bowling as well.
Lol I will agree with you any time you’re right on anything.
So I vaguely remember that commitable or written offers go out at some point in the fall and you have to watch those.
Case in point would be tj sheffield who he an “offer” from Notre dame, tried commit publicly, then was rebuked by the ND staff..
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If IU just has a consistently average QB who doesn’t fall apart, a lot can happen for them.
Walters has to show he can coach and Purdue needs to keep card and mockobee healthy and make sure they are serviceable at RT.
Both teams have a wide wide range of possible outcomes
1. we need a QB who makes plays in games - not practice drills.
2. we need to use our backs - plural - to keep a defense off balance and improve our run game. Mix up our power and speed.
3. both 1 and 2 require - REQUIRE - better OL play And better WR play.
4. for the first time in years, I have more confidence in our OL than in our DL or LB rooms, mostly based on experience I saw with my own eyes. Our portal may mean our DL and LBs are awesome. Show me.
5. I have not yet been impressed with our corners or safeties. Pierre and Sanguintti need to show me. The youth is a complete mystery.
Soooo, I have NO idea about this team.
2. we need to use our backs - plural - to keep a defense off balance and improve our run game. Mix up our power and speed.
3. both 1 and 2 require - REQUIRE - better OL play And better WR play.
4. for the first time in years, I have more confidence in our OL than in our DL or LB rooms, mostly based on experience I saw with my own eyes. Our portal may mean our DL and LBs are awesome. Show me.
5. I have not yet been impressed with our corners or safeties. Pierre and Sanguintti need to show me. The youth is a complete mystery.
Soooo, I have NO idea about this team.
The 2023 IUFB team is a mystery until they play three or four games. There are intriguing parts of the team and extreme speed we haven't seen at IU since T. Coleman but how the team comes together is unknown.
It’s so funny that you admit that but the entire world just knows Illinois is going to be good. Their new DC was DB coach last year and their new QB has thrown for 317 career yards…
Illinois lost 4 of its last 5 games last year, including the bowl where they were favored. They started pretty hot and then stunk up the joint the last half of the season.
Every publication/online prediction has them beating Purdue, winning 7 or more games and I think they might be 3rd in odds to win the west.
And yet their new DC was just a DB coach last year, their new QB threw 2 power 5 passes last year and has thrown for 317 career yards and their secondary is all new. If there is uncertainty about Indiana or Purdue or a handful of other schools I don’t know how Illinois is immune
I think publications are looking at Bielema's previous B1G experience ignoring his SEC experience while judging IU and PU based on HC experience.
They simply get bonus points for Jabba The Hutt’s hot wife. Analysts overlook things when she posts her bikini pics.
