Wow Vesuvius, you can really get me going when you talk like that. I remember that 1967 year. I was a sophomore in HS here and went to every home game in the knothole bleachers except they didn’t sell them for the Purdue game. My dear old father bought me a regular ticket for that game. What a dream experience that was.
My whole life I have been dreaming of and hoping for another IU football season like that, only to be disappointed so many times I have become numb to it. I dare not dream that big. It would be nice to get to the point that Mallory had us in the 80’s though. That Michigan game here in ‘87 was perhaps my second best IUFB memory. Didn’t even notice all the rain.
I like this team. The roster is improving, CTA is improving the coaching staff around him every year and I am certain he is learning on his own part every year. And I just love the guy and his approach to things. I’ve had a couple of chances to chat with him at various events and he is such a gracious and straight forward man. I can do nothing but hope for his success.
It would be great to catch lightning like that ‘67 team did and I could go to my grave happy, but what I’d love to see even better is for CTA to make a permanent change in IUFB so that they can win at the level of an Iowa or MSU. I believe that is what CTA is shooting for and what he is building toward, and I’m all in with him until he proves he cannot do it.[/QUOTE
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I was 11 and had a similar experience to you.....saw all of the '67 games...
The first IU game I can remember seeing was the '66 home game v. MSU...the team with Bubba Smith, George Webster et al....Although IU lost, it was a battle. The next week they got destroyed by the '66 Purdue team of Phipps, Keyes....
Looking back, that '66 team had a large # of good/great players.....Cole, Gage, Crusan, Russell, Schuette, Cassells, Sniadecki, Kazmarek, Cunningham, Van Pelt, Krivosha, Stavroff. Couch......but still went 1-8-1 in s Big 10 that was still the most dominant conference in college football.
So what was the difference between 1966 & 1967? Pont was in this 3rd year (sound familiar?) and had gone 2-8 & 1-8-1 against brutal schedules (why did we play AT Texas in 1965 & 1966? We got no home games with them before or after).....basically equivalent to the 5-7 records of the last two years against watered down schedules. The addition of Gonzo,Isenbarger & Butcher and the maturation of the vets....rushing ypc went up on O and down on D. Butcher was a more explosive WR than Couch, and Isenbarger was very talented. Passing yards went down, but the the ration of TDs/Ints was much better.
Looking at 2019....could we have a repeat of 1967?
One similarity----the OOC schedules are manageable. In '67, we had UK, Kansas, & Arizona. Far more formidable than this year's OOC schedule (which I hate, as I hate all of our OOC schedules these days), but all mediocre at the time. And no game at Texas.
Another area where I'm hopeful-----the areas of ypc and TD/Int ratio.....the '66 IU team had a lot of passing yards, a high completion %, but too many ints, and not enough yards per completion. I am hopeful that the 2019 combo of Ramsey/Penix can take Ramsey's TD/Int ratio from 19-13 to something like 24-8. We have the WRs & TEs to do it---it's up to the QB.
Defense last year was a mixed bag......we were worse than average in scoring and ypp......We gave up 6.00 ypp.....slightly worse than MN, slightly better than PU....only ILL was legit worse, at 7.00 ypp....but we were #8 in the country in creating TOs......
So, can this year's D be tougher to move the ball against? Last year's D was very poor against the run. Our LBs will probably be better in run D....will the line? There's really not much reason to think so, other than the optimistic talk coming out of camp.....so defensively can we tougher to run against, while still being top 20 in TOs? That's a lot tp realistically hope for......Combined with a less favorable conference schedule, it's why I think it will be difficult for this team to be better than 6-6.
