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Is Indiana Actually Good?

brock said:
Have noticed they do a lot of back shoulder fade balls to these receivers
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That’s the only throw they do with consistency. You better believe we’re gonna be sitting on those routes and if we take that away, they won’t be able to move the ball on us.
 
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Hoyacane1620 said:
Mendoza throws two balls: back shoulder fades and "go up and get it" throws to Becker, the TE. They do both very very well
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And I guarantee you, we will be sitting on those routes all game. They will not be able to run on us, so if we take away those routes which I guarantee you, we will, we’re winning this game and I think we’re winning it handedly.
 
itsacanething said:
not to thread jack but in case any of those jerks come over here to read this thread - has anyone noticed their fans are like the worst elements of the worst fanbases we encounter and dislike - ND, FSU, Ohio State and UF? I have never seen a more contemptable and insufferable lot in all of my days.
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Apparently they use burner accounts online to troll people. You are probably seeing them. Ignore em.
 
They're good, but they're beatable. Nobody goes 15-0 unless they're legit. But context matters.

Their regular season schedule included the bottom 4 teams in the B1G and 6 of the bottom 7. Their nonconference schedule included Old Dominion, Kennesaw St and Indiana St.

That's 9 games of nothing. Their 3 other games were Illinois, Iowa and Oregon.

Illinois was one of the most overrated and disappointing teams in the country, but Indiana dominated them nonetheless. It was still an impressive win.

They were tied 10-10 with Iowa going into the 4th and tied 13-13 until Indiana scored on 3rd and 10, on a 49 yard pass, with 1:28 left in the game. THAT'S how close that game was.

They were tied 20-20 with Oregon in the 4th quarter until going up by a TD with 6:19 left in the game. Moore threw interceptions on 2 of Oregon's next 3 plays. Indiana won 30-20.

First round of the playoffs they dominated Alabama. But then.. so did FSU to start the season and UGA the week before. It was still impressive though.

They dominated Oregon in the second round. They also scored 28 points off interceptions or drives that started in the redzone after Oregon turnovers.

So.. as long as we don't shoot ourselves in the foot with turnovers or dumb penalties (always a big IF), I feel pretty **** good about our chances.
 
Two blowout wins against teams that proved to be extremely vulnerable throughout the season and playoffs is the best thing to happen. They'll be feeling themselves and the love nationally, while we'll feel the need to play the perfect game in order to beat them a la OSU. Should eliminate Dawson's impulse to get cute.

Run game and run defense, seizing and avoiding turnovers, and our secondary play are major keys. I'm expecting that Ole Miss's scheme impacted our pass rush and we can expect business as usual come Monday night.
 
It’s a combination of preparation and luck. I do believe preparation creates luck, but man the ball has bounced their way in some funny ways this year. They could easily have been a 2 loss team coming into the playoffs.
 
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Also healthy to remember that Indiana played Bama and Oregon on their side of the bracket.

Bama got dog walked by Georgia in the SECCG. Georgia then got beat by Ole Miss in the playoffs. And then Ole Miss lost to us. Transitive property FTW.

Meanwhile, Oregon was decimated with injuries going into the Peach Bowl, particularly at RB. That is exactly what we do well. And they compounded that weakness by spotting IU 21 points off turnovers.

Of course these are surface level considerations before getting to scheme and execution. We have to line up, spot the ball, and take care of business. But the underlying premise of the "unbeatable IU" narrative is suspect at best.
 
They will play like they have everything to lose and their back is against the wall.
 
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