As fans, we've waited a seemingly long time to get to this game. For the players, it's been a long, tough road.
Countless hours in the gym. Winter workouts. Slogging and fighting and getting close.
Watching a terrific Ga Southern team hoodwink Bowling Green last night gave me a lot to think about. I haven't watched Duke this year. The only time I saw them was watching them get robbed and jobbed against Miami. Their season kinda fizzled after that.
I will not fall into the trap of the typical IU football fan and assume Duke isn't any good. Make no mistake, Duke was on the brink of playing in the ACC title game and is coached by a guy who knows what he's doing. Like Navy, Duke has a lot of intelligent players. Looking at Sutcliffe's recruiting this year. You want to play Duke NOW and not in a couple of yrs.
IU's biggest challenge is going to be mental. Duke is not the imposing physical presence of an OSU or MSU or Michigan or Iowa. They feature a smart and mobile QB and a disciplined pass game. Duke grinds out offense. Like IU, they don't beat themselves. They sustain drives not by the big play, but by getting just enough yards to keep the chains moving. They nudge and nibble you to death.
I suspect weather to be important.
While IU has a terrific offensive line, I'm not going to fall into the trap of assuming IU is just going to run Duke to death. How healthy is Jordan Howard? Duke uses their safeties and secondary in run support and isn't going to sit back and just "let" IU pound them without bringing up run support like Wake Forest did. IU should have opportunities in the passing game. Will Cobbs and Jones hang on to the ball? It's not by chance that IU's most reliable pass catchers down the stretch were Booker and Paige.
Defensively the secondary will have to play a smart, efficient game. The ends have to read the QB on the zone read. The kicking game will be crucial on a grass field in potentially difficult weather. All season I've had a dream about Oakes making a FG to win a critical game. We'll see if it's this one or one later on.
IU has to play and play well to win. I hope they do.... Merry Christmas all.
Countless hours in the gym. Winter workouts. Slogging and fighting and getting close.
Watching a terrific Ga Southern team hoodwink Bowling Green last night gave me a lot to think about. I haven't watched Duke this year. The only time I saw them was watching them get robbed and jobbed against Miami. Their season kinda fizzled after that.
I will not fall into the trap of the typical IU football fan and assume Duke isn't any good. Make no mistake, Duke was on the brink of playing in the ACC title game and is coached by a guy who knows what he's doing. Like Navy, Duke has a lot of intelligent players. Looking at Sutcliffe's recruiting this year. You want to play Duke NOW and not in a couple of yrs.
IU's biggest challenge is going to be mental. Duke is not the imposing physical presence of an OSU or MSU or Michigan or Iowa. They feature a smart and mobile QB and a disciplined pass game. Duke grinds out offense. Like IU, they don't beat themselves. They sustain drives not by the big play, but by getting just enough yards to keep the chains moving. They nudge and nibble you to death.
I suspect weather to be important.
While IU has a terrific offensive line, I'm not going to fall into the trap of assuming IU is just going to run Duke to death. How healthy is Jordan Howard? Duke uses their safeties and secondary in run support and isn't going to sit back and just "let" IU pound them without bringing up run support like Wake Forest did. IU should have opportunities in the passing game. Will Cobbs and Jones hang on to the ball? It's not by chance that IU's most reliable pass catchers down the stretch were Booker and Paige.
Defensively the secondary will have to play a smart, efficient game. The ends have to read the QB on the zone read. The kicking game will be crucial on a grass field in potentially difficult weather. All season I've had a dream about Oakes making a FG to win a critical game. We'll see if it's this one or one later on.
IU has to play and play well to win. I hope they do.... Merry Christmas all.
