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Why we should not be surprised about the Outback Bowl

TMFT

All-Big Ten
Nov 4, 2019
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We saw the same team we've seen all season and Ole Miss just wanted it more.

An offense that doesn't get into rhythm and get drives going.....check.
Dropped passes.....check.
No pass rush out of the front 4 & having to rely on the blitz......check.
OL play very suspect.

Where things were different:
Didn't get those big offensive plays they'd been hitting off/on all season.
Missed tackles were different (was reminiscent of all the times Fields was able to break loose). But lousy overall.
Ole Miss was able to get the ball out so dang fast on pass plays that it made the blitz heavy scheme completely ineffective. And credit Ole Miss for being able to do that so effectively. And because of it, no takeaways happened.

Was still an incredibly winnable game, which is very frustrating. But there weren't any "new" weaknesses shown. The team has lived all year off of the defense being able to take the ball away and getting a few big plays out of the offense. Neither ended up hitting for them Saturday. And I'll go on record saying that aside from that horrible sack Tuttle gave up at the end, I don't think having Penix in would've made a big difference.

Still the best IU season I've ever seen and I can't help but be bullish on them for next year. They just have to keep grinding & improving at those little things to make this not a fluke.
 
We saw the same team we've seen all season and Ole Miss just wanted it more.

An offense that doesn't get into rhythm and get drives going.....check.
Dropped passes.....check.
No pass rush out of the front 4 & having to rely on the blitz......check.
OL play very suspect.

Where things were different:
Didn't get those big offensive plays they'd been hitting off/on all season.
Missed tackles were different (was reminiscent of all the times Fields was able to break loose). But lousy overall.
Ole Miss was able to get the ball out so dang fast on pass plays that it made the blitz heavy scheme completely ineffective. And credit Ole Miss for being able to do that so effectively. And because of it, no takeaways happened.

Was still an incredibly winnable game, which is very frustrating. But there weren't any "new" weaknesses shown. The team has lived all year off of the defense being able to take the ball away and getting a few big plays out of the offense. Neither ended up hitting for them Saturday. And I'll go on record saying that aside from that horrible sack Tuttle gave up at the end, I don't think having Penix in would've made a big difference.

Still the best IU season I've ever seen and I can't help but be bullish on them for next year. They just have to keep grinding & improving at those little things to make this not a fluke.
No, it wasn't the same team we had seen all season - - and you've provided some examples:

Dropped passes
Missed tackles
Poor execution

I'll add another - - questionable game plan.

And one more - - flat and uninspired. I was at the game. Prior to kickoff, the Ole Miss players were making noise and jumping up and down on the sidelines. They were clearly ready to go, pumped and excited about playing in the game. Our guys, at least from my view, showed little enthusiasm. Makes you wonder if they were hurt by the NY6 snub and perhaps viewed this bowl as beneath them.

And, yeah, Ole Miss has an effective offense and the fast tempo is challenging, but five teams were able to beat them this season. We should have been the sixth.

I hope the same team that beat Penn State on October 24 shows up to beat Iowa in the 2021 season opener. Go Hoosiers!
 
Until the program gets to the point that they don’t overlook ANYONE.this type of performance will happen.
They read too any articles and heard they were ‘too good’ for that bowl.
Get a chip on your shoulder and prove you are better,talk is cheap.
Go out and take care of business on the field,learn from this and move on.
 
Until the program gets to the point that they don’t overlook ANYONE.this type of performance will happen.
They read too any articles and heard they were ‘too good’ for that bowl.
Get a chip on your shoulder and prove you are better,talk is cheap.
Go out and take care of business on the field,learn from this and move on.
The thing the really stood out to me as a wakeup call for the team is how blanketed the IU receivers were & just how incredibly open the Ole Miss receivers were....all. game. long.
 
The thing the really stood out to me as a wakeup call for the team is how blanketed the IU receivers were & just how incredibly open the Ole Miss receivers were....all. game. long.

I noticed that too. It also seemed that Tuttle's rarely looked down field. I remember at least 2 times that he ignored a wide, wide open Hendershot. The constant pressure he was under and his shoulder issue may have contributed to this but he seemed really locked in to the easy dump off passes. I just wish we would have come out more focused on running the ball.
 
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Couldn’t make throws w separated shoulder. It appears dumps was what they decided to give up I.e. their d strategy.
Old Miss wasn’t worried about yards after catch.
 
No, it wasn't the same team we had seen all season - - and you've provided some examples:

Dropped passes
Missed tackles
Poor execution

I'll add another - - questionable game plan.

And one more - - flat and uninspired. I was at the game. Prior to kickoff, the Ole Miss players were making noise and jumping up and down on the sidelines. They were clearly ready to go, pumped and excited about playing in the game. Our guys, at least from my view, showed little enthusiasm. Makes you wonder if they were hurt by the NY6 snub and perhaps viewed this bowl as beneath them.

And, yeah, Ole Miss has an effective offense and the fast tempo is challenging, but five teams were able to beat them this season. We should have been the sixth.

I hope the same team that beat Penn State on October 24 shows up to beat Iowa in the 2021 season opener. Go Hoosiers!
I would love to have that offense at IU and wish IU would run it. It creates big problems for defenses even one like Alabama has.
 
Two factors not brought up - 1. practice and workouts missed due to COVID19 protocols, 2. a Northern team playing a Southern team in the heat of Tampa at noon. This game should have been played at night as going against a fast paced offense in the heat of Tampa after not playing in it for months. Now that doesn't excuse play calling or defensive plan.
 
Two factors not brought up - 1. practice and workouts missed due to COVID19 protocols, 2. a Northern team playing a Southern team in the heat of Tampa at noon. This game should have been played at night as going against a fast paced offense in the heat of Tampa after not playing in it for months. Now that doesn't excuse play calling or defensive plan.
I agree with you on the Covid19 protocols. I believe it had the greatest impact on the team. Team lost two attempts vs Purdue, and then lost practice opportunities to prepare for the bowl game. We went a long time without seeing any action. Timing was off in the passing game, and then an unfortunate shoulder injury. I do not think the weather was that big of a deal though...it wasn't like we were playing there in September with high humidity and temps in the 90's.
 
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No, it wasn't the same team we had seen all season - - and you've provided some examples:

Dropped passes
Missed tackles
Poor execution

I'll add another - - questionable game plan.

And one more - - flat and uninspired. I was at the game. Prior to kickoff, the Ole Miss players were making noise and jumping up and down on the sidelines. They were clearly ready to go, pumped and excited about playing in the game. Our guys, at least from my view, showed little enthusiasm. Makes you wonder if they were hurt by the NY6 snub and perhaps viewed this bowl as beneath them.

And, yeah, Ole Miss has an effective offense and the fast tempo is challenging, but five teams were able to beat them this season. We should have been the sixth.

I hope the same team that beat Penn State on October 24 shows up to beat Iowa in the 2021 season opener. Go Hoosiers!


The "flat and uninspired" problem was a concern on CTA's teams back in 2017 & 18. I remember the Iowa & Purdue home games that year where it was a big issue.

The last couple of years it hadn't seem to be much of an issue. Unfortunate that it happened on a pretty big stage.
 
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I agree with you on the Covid19 protocols. I believe it had the greatest impact on the team. Team lost two attempts vs Purdue, and then lost practice opportunities to prepare for the bowl game. We went a long time without seeing any action. Timing was off in the passing game, and then an unfortunate shoulder injury. I do not think the weather was that big of a deal though...it wasn't like we were playing there in September with high humidity and temps in the 90's.
Going from the 20s and 30s one day and playing 2 days later in mid-80s heat and high humidity definitely played a factor. We had guys going down from the heat all day.

Dumbest thing we did was go down there on a Thursday and then play Saturday at non, in the heat of the day.

I was there, and saw Stevie Scott puking on the sideline.
 
Totally different team than what we saw in regular season. It was the craziest different game plan that we saw all year. Players weren’t ready To play against the up tempo. Defensive calls came in late all game. Sheridan had his worse game plan by far and the Whop show didnt work. No adjustment at half. We sleep walked through that one.
 
Going from the 20s and 30s one day and playing 2 days later in mid-80s heat and high humidity definitely played a factor. We had guys going down from the heat all day.

Dumbest thing we did was go down there on a Thursday and then play Saturday at non, in the heat of the day.

I was there, and saw Stevie Scott puking on the sideline.
Lol. You're talking about it like it was Death Valley. The temperature at kick was 78 and the high in Tampa on Saturday was 81. And there was a breeze.

It's a bowl game in Florida. It's supposed to be warm. We didn't play poorly because of extreme heat.
 
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Going from the 20s and 30s one day and playing 2 days later in mid-80s heat and high humidity definitely played a factor. We had guys going down from the heat all day.

Dumbest thing we did was go down there on a Thursday and then play Saturday at non, in the heat of the day.

I was there, and saw Stevie Scott puking on the sideline.
If the team were preparing for this game in 20 and 30 degree Bloomington weather, then that was foolish. They should have been practicing inside the indoor facility.

I suspect that the team may have had some players on the recovery side of Covid, thus may not have been in the best of physical condition. Certainly, the team did not practice in December as they would have done in most bowl years. By the way, I saw Florida's backup QB puking in their bowl game. I guess he could not take the heat...

Due to the Covid situation, no bowl team could afford to go to the bowl location for all the traditional activities. Each team at every bowl game arrives, plays, and goes home within a few days time. One cannot blame the team for that. The alternative would simply have been not to go to a bowl game. Would you have preferred that option?
 
Lol. You're talking about it like it was Death Valley. The temperature at kick was 78 and the high in Tampa on Saturday was 81. And there was a breeze.

It's a bowl game in Florida. It's supposed to be warm. We didn't play poorly because of extreme heat.
It got hotter and it was much hotter on the field. And it was very humid and IU players were dropping - and not from inuries.

But, since you actually played in the game and weren't sitting on your fat ass, drinking a beer, I guess we should listen to you.
 
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I would love to have that offense at IU and wish IU would run it. It creates big problems for defenses even one like Alabama has.
It was Wilson-esque. When it works it’s great but it can lead to a long day for your D, can hand a statistical advantage to the better team (which often isn’t IU) by increasing total possessions, and it’s hard to shift gears and control the clock.

Allen will never tolerate that style offense.
 
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It got hotter and it was much hotter on the field. And it was very humid and IU players were dropping - and not from inuries.

But, since you actually played in the game and weren't sitting on your fat ass, drinking a beer, I guess we should listen to you.
I've been hotter sitting on my fat ass drinking a beer at IU games in Memorial Stadium in October.

We were gassed from Ole Miss's fast tempo, not the weather. But keep clinging to your Death Valley narrative if it makes you feel better.

Maybe you were impacted by the Florida warmth. Next time, drink more water and don't skip lunch in anticipation of the 4pm early-bird specials for seniors.
 
I've been hotter sitting on my fat ass drinking a beer at IU games in Memorial Stadium in October.

We were gassed from Ole Miss's fast tempo, not the weather. But keep clinging to your Death Valley narrative if it makes you feel better.

Maybe you were impacted by the Florida warmth. Next time, drink more water and don't skip lunch in anticipation of the 4pm early-bird specials for seniors.
How many warm-up sprints were able to get in before kick-off?
 
I've been hotter sitting on my fat ass drinking a beer at IU games in Memorial Stadium in October.

We were gassed from Ole Miss's fast tempo, not the weather. But keep clinging to your Death Valley narrative if it makes you feel better.

Maybe you were impacted by the Florida warmth. Next time, drink more water and don't skip lunch in anticipation of the 4pm early-bird specials for seniors.
Yes the pace of Ole Miss offense had a lot to do with defense being gassed. Also the amount of plays they ran also contributed. And missing prep time also. Bit of you believe that the temperature had no impact on the game them you are sadly mistaken. I had 2 brothers who have lived in south Florida for 40 years and one works outside I’m the heat all day every day and they talked about the heat.
 
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Yes the pace of Ole Miss offense had a lot to do with defense being gassed. Also the amount of plays they ran also contributed. And missing prep time also. Bit of you believe that the temperature had no impact on the game them you are sadly mistaken. I had 2 brothers who have lived in south Florida for 40 years and one works outside I’m the heat all day every day and they talked about the heat.
Did your brothers go to the early September games we played in Miami in '16 and '18? That was some serious heat and humidity. Btw, we looked good in both games, and beat a 9 win FIU team in '18.
 
Did your brothers go to the early September games we played in Miami in '16 and '18? That was some serious heat and humidity. Btw, we looked good in both games, and beat a 9 win FIU team in '18.
Neither game came after long lay-off in cold temps before going to the game. The situations weren't similar to what this bowl team faced. Still I saw poor play calling and defensive issues early on in the game.
 
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Neither game came after long lay-off in cold temps before going to the game. The situations weren't similar to what this bowl team faced. Still I saw poor play calling and defensive issues early on in the game.
It was evident early that we were going to get Whop the ball. We did not recognize soon enough was that Whop was trying too hard to turn 4 and 6 yard gains into homeruns with no success. Then Tuttle got hurt and really struggled with velocity and accuracy. I did think we should have run more. We never really never got any flow offensively because we could not get the ball enough. Defensively we always seeef to be playing catch up because we did not have a read on their tendencies because of all the subs, we did finally start getting a handle on what they wanted to do and got some stops. We tie the game and get a stupid penalty which gives them great field position. People seem to forget about the stupid penalty. We did get the ball back and move the ball and Tuttle takes a sack instead of getting rid of the ball. The loss definitely stings but in the past when we did not play well and with an injured second quarterback we still tied the game and had a chance to win it.
 
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Neither game came after long lay-off in cold temps before going to the game. The situations weren't similar to what this bowl team faced. Still I saw poor play calling and defensive issues early on in the game.
I'm not equating the Miami games with the Tampa game. My point is that I was at both venues and there was no comparison in terms of temperature and heat index. It was not excessively hot Saturday in Tampa. And whatever the conditions, it was the same for both teams. And, no, Ole Miss was not inherently better equipped or better prepared to manage 80 degree weather if, in fact, that requires special management. It's not hot in Oxford in December.
 
35 degrees to 80 degrees pretty sure it had some impact
As you always insist on the last word, have at it. Or you can talk to/argue with yourself, which it appears you're doing a few posts above. Best wishes for a clearer head in the new year.
 
Imo..
Was the complete utter lack of pass rush.
It was like a nerff game as a kid.
Hey count to five..
Then after five he got 8 seconds...
Those guys looked like they'd partied all night from the first snap..
 
Imo..
Was the complete utter lack of pass rush.
It was like a nerff game as a kid.
Hey count to five..
Then after five he got 8 seconds...
Those guys looked like they'd partied all night from the first snap..
It wouldn't have mattered if IU started their 4 best DL of all-time in that game. Far more often than not the ball was out within 2 seconds. We knew going on that the DL isn't great at getting pressure on their own, but Ole Miss was perfect at exploiting the blitzes and resulting gaps in coverage. In hindsight it'd almost have been better just to go with the front 4 to do their best to get after him and let the secondary have a better chance at covering.
 
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This season was nuts and ending the year (after NO bye week) with two weeks off and some missed practices, kind of hard to expect perfection. It stinks to have lost and clearly they looked out of synch, but besides CV, you also had a DC who I think was about 80% committed and 20% (understandably) thinking about his new HC role/duties.

The 7 game season including the 7-pt loss (gutty, near win) at OSU and big road win at Wiscy, is much more indicative of the season and team we have, and almost everyone is returning. Coaches/players will have spring/summer of normalcy, weight room/conditioning and likely a normal season again in the fall.

2020 has an Asterisk on everything. We were almost in a no-win playing a 4-5 team after a hose job. Beat them "eh, 4-5 team". Lose them "same old IU" I think the season was real, the team focus and intensity was real, and the two transfers from UM & FSU to IU is real too! Heading into spring, IU is very much on a nice trajectory.
 
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