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Will IU be bowl eligible in 2019?

Mich St.
Rutgers
Northwestern
Nebraska
Maryland
Penn State
Michigan

These are all games that we have been competitive in. In order for Allen to continue on at IU these are games we have to start winning. When that happens IDK.

Our new OC is a winner. If we get the defense back to the way it was when Allen arrived and we are in these games late theres no reason to think we can't win. We have plenty of weapons on offense. IU needs to start scoring late in the 4th and get leads. Its not out of the question. The pieces of the puzzle are there. Can we put it together this year?
 
Allen can't lose to Minnesota and Purdue, it's pretty straightforward. The good thing working in our favor is the addition of four star talents like James, Tuttle, Robbins and Mullins. Signing good looking three star kids like Winters, Sanguinetti, Whitner and many others, should allow the program to continue its path to brighter days.

I think we find out this year just how good a coach Allen really is. There's a lot of pieces to the puzzle in hand...a 6 win season should be doable. I don't like the schedule but unfortunately that's going to be a running theme until they decide these divisions are a disaster.
 
Allen can't lose to Minnesota and Purdue, it's pretty straightforward. The good thing working in our favor is the addition of four star talents like James, Tuttle, Robbins and Mullins. Signing good looking three star kids like Winters, Sanguinetti, Whitner and many others, should allow the program to continue its path to brighter days.

I think we find out this year just how good a coach Allen really is. There's a lot of pieces to the puzzle in hand...a 6 win season should be doable. I don't like the schedule but unfortunately that's going to be a running theme until they decide these divisions are a disaster.
Minnesota? Not on the schedule.
Robbins? Who?
Mullins... Who?
 
4* recruits, Beau Robbins and Taiwan Mullen. I was speaking in general regarding Minnesota. IU can't continue to lose those types of games and go bowling.
Gotcha. Yeah obviously hahaha.. My fault.

Agreed, we must beat Purdue. Do you think we will?
 
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Gotta beat Maryland (New coach)
Northwestern?
MD also picks up a 4* QB and a 4* WR. Inability to pass was their Achilles last year. They have a lot of talent on the roster. We'll see what Locksley learned from Saban.
 
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I say 5 wins unless our new OC ( Debo) can pull a rabbit out of the hat! So much hangs on the performance of our QB. We have good depth this year so i expect 6 wins but... some unforeseen thing will happen this year to keep us at just 5 wins. I just don't think we start to go bowling regularly until the 2020 season. It just takes time to build good depth in the east.
 
I honestly don’t think Allen can survive another non bowl season. This is make or break I believe.
 
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Better have 6 wins prior to playing Purdue in 2019.

5-6 hasn't worked out so well the last two years.

IU will beat Penn State, Michigan State, or Nebraska away.
 
B1G East is likely too difficult.
No. I expect to be 4-8 or 5-7 with at least 2 games we should have won. If our new offense is more dynamic, we have a slight chance for 6-6. A 3-9 season is not out of the question.
 
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Better have 6 wins prior to playing Purdue in 2019.

5-6 hasn't worked out so well the last two years.

IU will beat Penn State, Michigan State, or Nebraska away.
PSU is winnable w/o McSorley.
MSU at home is promising.
Not sure about Nebraska. Maybe if we played them last year, but it will be tough in Frosts 2nd year. I like our chances with Northwestern at home better that in Lincoln.

As for Purdue, we're still deeper and more talented than the Boilers. That's the most winnable of the 4.
 
MD also picks up a 4* QB and a 4* WR. Inability to pass was their Achilles last year. They have a lot of talent on the roster. We'll see what Locksley learned from Saban.

Locksley is entrenched in recruiting the D.C area. He’ll get kids. Had a very bad tenure at New Mexico winning only 2 games in 3 years.
 
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PSU is winnable w/o McSorley.
MSU at home is promising.
Not sure about Nebraska. Maybe if we played them last year, but it will be tough in Frosts 2nd year. I like our chances with Northwestern at home better that in Lincoln.

As for Purdue, we're still deeper and more talented than the Boilers. That's the most winnable of the 4.

IU plays at Sparty in 2019.

Regarding Purdue, IU was deeper and more talented in both 2017 and 2018 and didn't win, so why would you think that will change now (and playing in West Laffy)?
 
PSU is winnable w/o McSorley.
MSU at home is promising.
Not sure about Nebraska. Maybe if we played them last year, but it will be tough in Frosts 2nd year. I like our chances with Northwestern at home better that in Lincoln.

As for Purdue, we're still deeper and more talented than the Boilers. That's the most winnable of the 4.
MSU is on the road.
 
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IU plays at Sparty in 2019.

Regarding Purdue, IU was deeper and more talented in both 2017 and 2018 and didn't win, so why would you think that will change now (and playing in West Laffy)?
You are right. But if we can't beat a less talented team like Purdue. How do we beat PSU or Nebraska? Have to be able to beat a PU before we can sat that we can beat a blue blood.
 
Locksley is entrenched in recruiting the D.C area. He’ll get kids. Had a very bad tenure at New Mexico winning only 2 games in 3 years.

I feel like having a strong but geographically narrow recruiting base can sometimes be a hindrance to schools. Priority can be given to high profile local recruits that may not fit the coaching schemes or complement other players on the roster.
Over the last 15 years, Miami is one of the most consistently under performing teams in the country (with respect to recruited talent). Now certainly their history the 20 years before that shows that the right coach can parlay the Miami recruiting base into a powerhouse. I have to think that modern era of internet recruiting rankings might be partly responsible as Miami may have placed too high an importance on winning the recruiting cycle
I think there is high potential at Maryland, (though not as high as a place like Miami), but it's going to be harder to do so than appears on the surface. And I'm doubtful that Locksley can reach that potential
 
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I believe we'll see vast improvement on the field but just modest improvement in the W/L record because of the difficult schedule including five B1G road games this season.

6-6 is my call for 2019, followed by a monster season in 2020.
 
If we win 6 or more games, we will. Ask again in about 10 months. I don't like predictions, but if I were to make one, I would say "no", we won't win 6+. The schedule is still too tough, in conference especially.
 
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I feel like having a strong but geographically narrow recruiting base can sometimes be a hindrance to schools. Priority can be given to high profile local recruits that may not fit the coaching schemes or complement other players on the roster.
Over the last 15 years, Miami is one of the most consistently under performing teams in the country (with respect to recruited talent). Now certainly their history the 20 years before that shows that the right coach can parlay the Miami recruiting base into a powerhouse. I have to think that modern era of internet recruiting rankings might be partly responsible as Miami may have placed too high an importance on winning the recruiting cycle
I think there is high potential at Maryland, (though not as high as a place like Miami), but it's going to be harder to do so than appears on the surface. And I'm doubtful that Locksley can reach that potential

I recall that Ron Zook built a Rose Bowl team in 2007 with D.C area kids at the core of that team.
 
Way to early, but here is some food for thought. I have calculated a 4 year recruiting rankings for all of next years B1G opponents. Here are their composite scores of their national ranking (I used Rivals rating). OSU 7, Mich 10.5, Penn St. 12.5, Nebraska 20.5, MSU 27.25, Maryland 39.5, IU 50.25, NW 53, PU 54, Rutgers 57.25.
I was surprised to see that IU had a better average than NW and we have had higher ranked classes the last two years. IU recruiting was way better than the non-conference opponents next year. The higher ranked schools clearly lose a lot of talent early to the NFL, and that is becoming an equalizer toe some extent.
 
Way to early, but here is some food for thought. I have calculated a 4 year recruiting rankings for all of next years B1G opponents. Here are their composite scores of their national ranking (I used Rivals rating). OSU 7, Mich 10.5, Penn St. 12.5, Nebraska 20.5, MSU 27.25, Maryland 39.5, IU 50.25, NW 53, PU 54, Rutgers 57.25.
I was surprised to see that IU had a better average than NW and we have had higher ranked classes the last two years. IU recruiting was way better than the non-conference opponents next year. The higher ranked schools clearly lose a lot of talent early to the NFL, and that is becoming an equalizer toe some extent.
Impressive.

Thank you for that.

TomT
 
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Way to early, but here is some food for thought. I have calculated a 4 year recruiting rankings for all of next years B1G opponents. Here are their composite scores of their national ranking (I used Rivals rating). OSU 7, Mich 10.5, Penn St. 12.5, Nebraska 20.5, MSU 27.25, Maryland 39.5, IU 50.25, NW 53, PU 54, Rutgers 57.25.
I was surprised to see that IU had a better average than NW and we have had higher ranked classes the last two years. IU recruiting was way better than the non-conference opponents next year. The higher ranked schools clearly lose a lot of talent early to the NFL, and that is becoming an equalizer toe some extent.
Indiana must continue to recruit better because I'll guarantee you that 50th ranked classes won't cut the mustard. They might if we had a Fitzgerald as coach, but we don't. The guy we have needs better talent to win games.

I realize we had a top 40 class this year, but that needs to happen over and over.
 
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The last two years were rebuilding and recruiting. We sat back and watched Allen turn over the staff, install a new system, and bring in two of the best recruiting classes in school history. This year he needs to produce at least six wins. Another five win season would put him on a red hot seat in 2020.
 
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I want to be optimistic but when I look at next year’s schedule I have a hard time finding 6 games that I feel good that we will win. Ball state, Eastern Illinois, Connecticut, and Rutgers should be wins and I mean should be because we have lost a lot of those should be wins over the years. Maryland is a unknown with their new coach and we play them on the road which is never easy. Northwestern lost their QB so they shouldn’t be as good plus we play them in Bloomington but Pat Fitzgerald is a really good coach and I would never chalk that up as an easy one. The other conference games are going to be a real bear. Like somebody else said it sort of looks like it might come down to the last game which I would really not want to happen for a third year in a row. After going 0-2 against Purdue in that same situation the last 2 years I don’t want to go to their place to face Rondale Moore with a bowl game on the line but I do not feel good about having 6 wins going into that game unless we really do better than I think. Come on Hoosiers prove me wrong!
 
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Way to early, but here is some food for thought. I have calculated a 4 year recruiting rankings for all of next years B1G opponents. Here are their composite scores of their national ranking (I used Rivals rating). OSU 7, Mich 10.5, Penn St. 12.5, Nebraska 20.5, MSU 27.25, Maryland 39.5, IU 50.25, NW 53, PU 54, Rutgers 57.25.
I was surprised to see that IU had a better average than NW and we have had higher ranked classes the last two years. IU recruiting was way better than the non-conference opponents next year. The higher ranked schools clearly lose a lot of talent early to the NFL, and that is becoming an equalizer toe some extent.
Nice! I did that once, but not for every team. This is what I had from '14 to '18:

Team. - B1G Rk - # of 4* - Avg Stars

MD - 7.4 - 23 - 3.01
IA. - 9.4 - 8 - 2.85
IU. - 9.6 - 3 - 2.75
NW - 11.6 - 6 - 2.87
PU - 13.0 - 1 - 2.50
 
I was surprised to see that IU had a better average than NW and we have had higher ranked classes the last two years.

NW has had one recruiting class ranked in the Rivals Top 50 this decade. They've also had three 10 win seasons, a nine win season, seven bowl appearances, and one B10 championship game appearance with those classes this decade. Winning with middling recruiting classes isn't impossible. It's certainly frustrating that IU hasn't figured out how to do it.

IU made two bowls this decade thanks in large part to back-to-back top 40 recruiting classes and a couple years of experience for those classes. 2015's class was also top 50. Recruiting slipped a bit for a couple years, but has picked back up. I think we're a season away from me feeling confident that a bowl season is in our grasp, but I'm not ruling it out this year. A lot's going to depend on some unknown factors stepping in to push things this year.
 
Nice! I did that once, but not for every team. This is what I had from '14 to '18:

Team. - B1G Rk - # of 4* - Avg Stars

MD - 7.4 - 23 - 3.01
IA. - 9.4 - 8 - 2.85
IU. - 9.6 - 3 - 2.75
NW - 11.6 - 6 - 2.87
PU - 13.0 - 1 - 2.50
That is nice work and to me that does not show that IU had an over abundance of talent over Purdue. It shows they had very similar talent and one significant difference maker in Rondale Moore this year.
 
That is nice work and to me that does not show that IU had an over abundance of talent over Purdue. It shows they had very similar talent and one significant difference maker in Rondale Moore this year.
You coach OL, right? What's your comparative analysis for both teams on both sides of the trenches?
 
Both teams are weak in the trenches and it hurts them against the real teams. Not just in starter quality, but in the huge drop off for backup quality. Both teams I think are happy with their skilled position guys, Purdue is giddy over this last class, plus Moore, etc..... But everyone knows we won't be consistent and the next level until our guys in the trenches are our top recruits.

I think Allen has done well recruiting for IU, and while he hasn't taken them bowling they aren't "embarrassing" either and show some promise. I think IU is in a catch-22 on scheduling. To get bowl eligible the pre big 10 schedule is full of patsies (yes we lost to Eastern Michigan but generally have tougher pre big 10 schedule and it is going to be harder in the future) but then when the Big 10 rolls around the guys in the trenches aren't used to playing these talented lines.

Both teams need those high 3star and 4 star recruits to start showing up more in the trenches to get better.
 
Last year IU entered the game wit some injuries on an offensive line that struggled.
This year our poor d line outplayed their weak o line but they were able to make a few more plays.
My thoughts as well. We sacked their QB 5 or 6 times, which is pretty good considering he had good mobility. I thought our OL beat up on their DL pretty good. I was not happy we didn't run the ball a lot more esp with Stevie getting 5.0 ypc. Could have controlled the clock more, kept the ball out of Moore's hands.

What do you think about for next year?
 
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