so go ahead and light me up. Given what we have been confronted with, I think what this staff and team have done is as much as should be expected. We cannot run the football and we do not have enough dynamic playmakers on offense to overcome that. Scoring is a monumental task when that is the case. Scoring against the level of defenses we have played in 5 of the past 6 weeks is herculean.
We are beat up to hell on both sides of the ball, more so than I ever remember. Yet we are in every game into the fourth quarter. Whether you want to accept it or not, this is a well-coached football team on both sides of the ball. We can't catch a damn break with the officiating (though I am not buying the conspiracy theories). Our offensive limitations drastically limit our playbook, with each quarterback having distinct and contradictory weaknesses. Our O-line is young and inexperienced and not physically up to the task of handling the best Big Ten defenses (which we seem to see every single effing week). In my 50+ years of IU fandom, I have never seen the schedule this brutal.
Our defense has been phenomenal given the amount of time they spend on the field and the key injuries we have experienced.
I honestly think we see a drastic improvement in record next year. A year of experience and off-season training will make a huge difference in our O-line. If Hale and Westbrook return healthy, we will be deep and talented at receiver. We have a quality Big Ten running back in Ellison, and will have an experienced QB (though I honestly think that Taylor might challenge for that spot - he's a special talent).
On defense, if we can find serviceable replacements at LB and our underclassmen at the other spots return healthy I don't think the drop off there will be enough to seriously weaken us. This year has been a cluster f%&k of bad luck and brutal scheduling. I am as disappointed as anyone else here with how this season has played out, but I really feel good about next year.
Fire away...
We are beat up to hell on both sides of the ball, more so than I ever remember. Yet we are in every game into the fourth quarter. Whether you want to accept it or not, this is a well-coached football team on both sides of the ball. We can't catch a damn break with the officiating (though I am not buying the conspiracy theories). Our offensive limitations drastically limit our playbook, with each quarterback having distinct and contradictory weaknesses. Our O-line is young and inexperienced and not physically up to the task of handling the best Big Ten defenses (which we seem to see every single effing week). In my 50+ years of IU fandom, I have never seen the schedule this brutal.
Our defense has been phenomenal given the amount of time they spend on the field and the key injuries we have experienced.
I honestly think we see a drastic improvement in record next year. A year of experience and off-season training will make a huge difference in our O-line. If Hale and Westbrook return healthy, we will be deep and talented at receiver. We have a quality Big Ten running back in Ellison, and will have an experienced QB (though I honestly think that Taylor might challenge for that spot - he's a special talent).
On defense, if we can find serviceable replacements at LB and our underclassmen at the other spots return healthy I don't think the drop off there will be enough to seriously weaken us. This year has been a cluster f%&k of bad luck and brutal scheduling. I am as disappointed as anyone else here with how this season has played out, but I really feel good about next year.
Fire away...