The IU folks stop by to answer some questions.
The folks over at Crimson Quarry were kind enough to stop by to talk all things IU football ahead of Saturday’s showdown for the Old Oaken Bucket. I also answered some questions from them so make sure to head over there and read my thoughts on the game as well. Let’s get into it!
Things could hardly be going differently for these two programs right now. Obviously Cignetti coming in and bringing a number of his guys has been huge, but what has the difference been in returning players?
When Cignetti arrived in Bloomington, large swaths of the roster were already in the transfer portal. He was pretty frank that he only moved to keep a select group of guys who he believed could contribute while telling the ones that couldn’t that there’d be no need for them in Bloomington.
To be frank there’s not a ton of standouts among returners. A few members of the secondary are holdovers from the Tom Allen Era but they’re not really the impact players at that position group.
The exception is the offensive line, where Mike Katic and Carter Smith have been mainstays. Katic has been at guard for most of his career but slid over to the center spot full-time this season and has excelled at that role. Smith is a potential NFL guy with good measurables who’s been solid at worst in year two.
Is IU a football school now?
Great question.
Indiana has said for years that it has wanted to invest in football. Renovating the stadium in the 2010s, frankly a necessary and long, long overdue project, was a good first step. But they didn’t really have the results to justify going all-in.
There was a rush of NIL money when Cignetti was hired that wasn’t available to Allen. This is because people trusted Cignetti to go after talent that justified that price tag more than Allen. Safe to say it has worked out.
Scott Dolson ran probably the most thorough and well-conducted coaching search Indiana has done in years, if not ever. He very much understands where things are going in the college sports world and knows Indiana has to be competitive at the very least to feel good about its spot as an athletic department. He found the exact kind of guy after looking through a few candidates and has made unprecedented moves to keep him in town. For example, Cignetti’s assistant salary pool will be on par of those at programs like Ohio State and Michigan.
So… yeah, I think.
I’ve found myself in the terrible position of defending IU football’s inclusion into the CFP numerous times this season and I feel gross about doing so. There’s no question they got a lucky draw in Big Ten play, but they can only play who is in front of them. How do you respond to critics who say IU doesn’t deserve a spot despite their already 10 win season?
Here’s the thing.
Indiana absolutely played an extremely soft non-conference slate and got a lucky draw in Big Ten play. That’s just a fact. But you have to consider that Indiana almost certainly did not plan that non-conference run with the playoff in mind. They wanted to get to six wins and figured three guarantees gave them the best shot when rolling the dice with conference play. It just so happens that they hit the jackpot.
Indiana does not have a marquee win. It will be lucky to have more than one of those wins finish over .500. Three were bowl teams. It’s not necessarily Indiana’s fault that last year’s national championship participants fell off horrifically but that’s the way the wind blows.
What Indiana does not have is a bad loss and it’s what helped keep them in the top-10 of the playoff rankings. Indiana either beat or blew out its 6-5 opponents. Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee and others lost to them.
Indiana belongs. The SEC is going to have to deal with that, I guess.
The IU fanbase has not been known for supporting football very strongly but that changed about midway through the season when evidence mounted that they had something special brewing. Do you think this will be sustainable, meaning has IU football fandom turned a corner?
It’s forgotten because of the result but Indiana sold out Memorial Stadium for what was supposed to be a high-stakes, ranked matchup against Cincinnati in 2021. That only happened because of the momentum from 2019 and 2020.
I think the same thing happens here. Indiana has had a pretty consistent and robust tailgating scene that I’ve personally enjoyed for quite a few years but now the athletic department has given those fans a reason to actually make their way into the stadium.
We have since discovered that Memorial Stadium is rather extremely not built for this moment between lines for concessions/restrooms and crowding issues in the concourse but the department is hard at work in deep planning stages for some serious renovations. Not expanding the stadium or anything but making things a bit more manageable.
That project has been in the work for over a year but now there’s extra incentive after the sellouts throughout this season.
Any chance you can go easy on us tomorrow?
I… don’t think so.
There was a game years ago that you probably recall. Wisconsin lost a tight one on the road to Michigan State early in the season and Bret Bielema needed to boost the Badgers’ numbers in the computers to build a BCS case. Indiana was the victim of that effort in a horrific 83-20 loss.
I do not think it will get that bad but Indiana has some serious incentive to lay a beatdown on Purdue. There’s a win-and-in situation but you simply never know what can happen when things are out of your control. Indiana’s going to want to at least put up similar numbers as Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State did against Purdue to show it belongs in that conversation.
I think the weather mitigates some of that but still. There’s enough guys on this team that only remember losing three straight to Purdue. They’re hungry to bring the bucket to Bloomington and Cignetti is no stranger to bringing something extra to a rivalry game, which you should keep in mind if Purdue ends up firing Ryan Walters and landing Jamey Chadwell (unless UNC gets there first).
Which unit on both side of the ball is the weakest for IU? I’m looking for any opportunity Purdue can try to exploit no matter how small. Please, give me something.
Hmm.
On defense… none? Like I hate to say it but those dudes are pretty airtight most games. The line has some real talent (watch out for Mikail Kamara on the edge), the linebackers are an experienced bunch and the defensive backs play like their helmets are on fire. The secondary has had a few issues at times in a few games though, so maybe them?
Offensively? Tight ends. They’re not bad, like at all, they’re just… specific. There’s not too much of a receiving threat in that room but there is Zach Horton, who does everything else extremely well and has to his credit caught the ball when it’s thrown at him.
Assuming IU wins this weekend, where do things stand with the Big Ten Championship game?
I’d really love to run through it but my brain would start to hurt so I’ll sum it up: a laundry list of pretty much impossible events would have to occur for Indiana to jump Ohio State. They probably won’t make it.
But it’d be funny!
What’s your prediction for this weekend’s game?
I think Indiana tries to run up the score. I think they can beat Purdue straight up but, as outlined above, will want more.
Right now? I’d go something like 42-10.