On Indiana football, Ohio State, and college football bracketology, I guess.
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The Indiana Hoosiers are 10-0 and seemingly on top of the college football world. It’s the program’s best season in decades. It’s been a complete shock to the system for those used to watching these teams, inside and out.
For fans, it’s meant a packed stadium for the first time in years, online delight on Twitter feeds and countless small interactions with strangers on the street who happen to be rocking cream and crimson.
As for observers? Some have jumped on the bandwagon completely, objective media and pundits alike. Others have tarnished the season, claiming Indiana hasn’t played the caliber of teams worthy of a berth in the newly expanded College Football Playoff.
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
It’s gone cold at Ohio Stadium. Overcast skies, pouring rain and an anemic offense.
No. 5 Indiana’s 38=15 loss at No. 2 Ohio State has given some leverage to the detractors described above.
The Hoosiers didn’t do themselves any favors, not on the field in this game or in their overall argument to the committee. Indiana’s offense couldn’t move the ball down the field seemingly at all after a successful opening drive.
A usually reliable pass protecting unit fell to the wayside against an Ohio State defense that was simply bigger, faster and stronger than anything they’d seen up to this point. Kurtis Rourke spent a ton of time on the turf thanks to five sacks from the Buckeyes.
Indiana’s defense just spent too much time on the field with too few yards at its back. They were set up to fail multiple times in the first half and yielded just once in the closing seconds after a killer of a special teams miscue on a whiffed punt.
The dam hadn’t burst but the cracks were apparent.
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.
To reiterate, heading into this game Indiana was 10-0. Ten wins. Zero losses.
The lion’s share of those wins were absolutely dominant. These Hoosiers were beating their foes by multiple scores on a fairly routine basis, to the point it could be seen as a pretty reliable outcome.
42-28 vs Maryland. 41-24 at Northwestern. 56-7 vs Nebraska. 31-17 vs Washington. 47-10 vs Michigan State.
Indiana’s offense was firing. The defense was stout, especially in the moments that matter most. That team left no doubt when it took the field.
Which is why what this one did today stings.
Count the second half against Michigan in on this too. The Hoosier defense has largely held up its end of the gameplan while the offense hasn’t managed to score enough or simply stay on the field.
Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Here’s the thing though. Those two teams, the dominant and the disappointing, are one in the same. Two sides of one ship that’s still firmly afloat.
If you’re looking for localized rationale for optimism, here it is: Indiana football, like the one that plays in Bloomington, is 10-1. Ten and one. That hasn’t happened since you could still see all four Beatles live in concert.
That’s way more than enough to be happy about. But get this.
Heading into this game, the College Football Playoff committee judged an undefeated Indiana to be three spots worse than a one loss Ohio State. Today’s game disproved… what, exactly.
Indiana’s still not up there with Ohio State, which the committee has been saying through rankings for weeks. Neither is literally any other team in the country but Oregon.
There’s still a pretty reasonable shot for this team to make the playoff, especially with No. 9 Ole Miss turning into an even bigger pumpkin against a 5-5 Florida team.
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
Indiana lost today. That’s not great.
It’s also the reality for pretty much every other team in the country not named Oregon. If you’re gonna have a bad day, you’d probably rather it happen against No. 2 than, say, a struggling middle of the conference team throwing some swings on its way down.
Some days aren’t fun. Keep the faith and wait to see the sun.
***
Yes, I ripped a poem from the internet to frame an Indiana football loss. It’s not the first time either.