The Indiana Hoosiers have officially been labeled a contender for the Big Ten title in 2020. They pulled up in East Lansing on Saturday and beat the brakes, doors, transmission and back seats off of Michigan State 24-0.
Therefore, with that win, they are in first place in the Big Ten East sitting on top of undefeated and No.3 Ohio State because the Buckeyes didn’t play on Saturday because of a cancellation with Maryland due to COVID-19.
Being ranked in the Top 10 for the first time in 51 years they looked every bit the part as they completely dominated a terrible Michigan State squad. The Spartans never got the ball inside of IU’s 35 yard line all day. They looked a mess and surprisingly the Hoosiers were sloppy in the process too. However, a win is a win is a win especially any IU.
In the postgame Tom Allen had this to say, “Just really proud of our guys to come here. It’s been a tough place for us to win over the years. To get a shutout here is pretty special. That’s just how you win football games. You’ve got to go on the road and win an ugly one sometimes.”
This was IU’s first Big Ten shutout against someone other than Rutgers since a 10-0 win against dull Rutgers in 1993 and they weren’t even in the Big Ten at the time. So the defense is playing at a level that Indiana hasn’t seen in nearly three decades. Offensively, they are like my momma used to say, “Showing up and showing out!”
Michael Penix will bring crazy confidence into Columbus next week after throwing for 662 yards and 5 touchdowns in the past two weeks. With both the offense and defense purring like a kitten they’re going to need EVERY bit of it when the Buckeyes come calling next week.
Yeah, I know that the Hoosiers are 4-0 and that’s an accomplishment in and of itself because we’re talking about IU. They’re undefeated in the Big TEN!!! Let’s celebrate that! But let’s keep it real of all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! In my Meek Mill voice, “It’s levels to this playa!” They ain’t played nobody.
Then No.8 Penn State has turned out to be dumpster fire that hasn’t won a game this year. Rutgers is….well…Rutgers. Michigan is darn near as bad as Penn State and Rutgers combined right now and Michigan State is out there butt naked fighting with a plastic sword with some Skips on.
Sure, IU traditionally should not be sitting on top of the Big Ten. Therefore, I’m kickin’ it and celebrating the Hoosiers just like the rest of the alumni around the country but I’m not crazy either. The Hoosiers have simply beaten brands up to this point. They’ve beaten traditional powers that aren’t very good right now and that’s HUGE. However, Ohio State’s brand is still consistent with who they are.
It’s 11:55pm right now! And the glass slipper is rubbing and real close to coming off. The Hoosiers better dance for as long as they can dance this week. They’ve got to travel to Columbus and play in the Horseshoe! Luckily for them it’ll be empty because of COVID-19. Advantage Hoosiers. Well…they don’t have to deal with the crowd. BUT, the duns running out of the home locker room aren’t the replacements. So they’ve got to line up and play against all of that talent.
That means that they can’t make the mistakes they made against dull Michigan State and survive. They’ve got to play the perfect game and hope Ohio State wets the bed.
It would be great if the Hoosiers could pull off the upset but I’m not betting on it. Horses make the difference in sports and especially in college football.
When you show up to play the elite teams you’ve got to have elite talent across the board or hope the other team plays the worse game of their lives. Let’s hope for the latter because from a talent standpoint the Hoosiers aren’t even in the same stratosphere. Sure, IU has some talented player but not at the same level as Ohio State across the board.
In my Dr. Dre voice, “You never been on a ride like this before!” I’m just hoping they can hold on and as least compete for three quarters. In my Bart Scott voice, “Can’t Wait!”
