The Indiana Hoosiers did exactly what every IU fan in America wanted them to do on Saturday. They made it respectable in Columbus. The 9th ranked Hoosiers pulled up in the world famous Horseshoe and gave the No.3 Ohio State Buckeyes more than they bargained for. When the smoke cleared they walked out with their heads held high after a 42-35 loss to one of the best programs in America. Even in a loss that felt good.
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! IU shouldn’t have even been in same zip code as the Buckeyes on Saturday. Ohio State’s roster is full of 4 and 5-Star recruits. According to 247 Sports there are 11 Five-Star recruits on the 2020 roster right now. Since 2000 they have signed 43 of them. That’s not to mention all of the 4-star cats and others that snuck in between the cracks. Ohio State is sending boyz to the NFL like it’s an assembly line at Ford.
At the end of the day the team with the most horses is going to win. Duns like Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney aren’t doing a lot of coaching. They’ve got better talent. The only time they’ve got to really coach is when they play each other or Ohio State. Otherwise, they’re rolling the helmet out on the field.
Therefore, to see what Tom Allen did with not even 25 percent of the talent Ohio State had on Saturday was remarkable. They were down 35-7 and came roaring back going on a 28-7 run on the road. That was incredible.
I feel sorry for Maryland, Wisconsin and Purdue because the Hoosiers confidence just went through the roof after that performance. They hung with one of the best teams in the country in their backyard in front their their homies. Keep in mind that the Hoosiers have both Maryland and Purdue at the crib too?
What Tom Allen is doing in Bloomington is mind-blowing. It’s both good and bad for the program. Let me give you the good news first. He’s winning at a level Hoosier fans have never seen. Secondly, they’ve been on national television every week on the big boy networks at either noon or 3:30pm. They’ve featured IU and most importantly Tom Allen been on College GameDay every week. They’ve even been put in the introduction segment visually of the show. Now boyz are seeing IU as a legit program.
All of those are great recruiting tools for Allen to build the program. Now here’s the bad news playa. All of that success becomes a detriment to the program too.
If Tom Allen can win in Bloomington he can darn sure win in Ann Arbor, State College and in Baton Rouge. Michigan would be crazy to keep Jim Harbaugh at the end of the season. So they’ll be looking to replace him. LSU won the national title just last season but Ed Orgeron’s seat is blazing hot right now and Penn State is 0-5 under James Franklin right now. Those are just three programs off of the top of my head that have the bread and muscle to come in and snatch Allen and his staff up after the season is over.
All of those schools can offer Allen his weight in gold and a chance to win for real. Like, literally compete for conference and national titles. If ole boy is 4-1 in Bloomington with very little talent he can be 5-0 with some horses and be in the conversation for the College Football Playoff. He’s a competitor and that’s what competitors do. He wants to win at the highest level and he’s never going to do that at IU.
This is business playa. It’s not personal! It’s a job and he’s going to do what’s best for his career. All of this attention he’s getting makes it that much harder for IU to keep him. If he gets a chance to coach at a better program that gives him an opportunity to compete at a higher level don’t take it personal when he bounces.
The sad part about this season is that the Hoosiers are winning and getting all of this attention and the program can’t capitalize on it financially because of the pandemic. Can you imagine seeing Memorial Stadium sold out? Let’s hope that Allen can stick around long enough for us to see that happen. Stop me when I start lyin’!
Playas Thesaurus:
- Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.
2) Ole boy: noun – the person that I’m currently talkin’ about.
