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Post by cardfan on Sept 10, 2018 18:38:35 GMT -6
Reasonable and well thought out. Appreciate that. Obviously we feel pretty good after a strong showing at ND but the better grounded among us also understand we have a formidable challenge ahead. I’ve been laughed at for saying iu has better speed/athletes at certain positions than ND does. Not necessarily better talent, certainly not overall, but at a couple spots that’ll give us fits. Like Scott. Damn he’s a beast. I think iu currently has better Qb play than ND. Wimbush was not good. We actually ran on ND. No idea if we’ll be able to run on IU.
In general, best of luck but not this Saturday. Hoping for a competitive game with no injuries. Of course would love to beat IU again. 😎
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Post by DickHunsaker on Sept 10, 2018 18:41:44 GMT -6
What's up guys? I'll start off with telling you, that I am an IU fan. I am not here to troll you. I'm just here to give my thoughts on this contest. I generally cheer for Ball State to win other than Saturday, obviously. Ok. So, I'll be the 1st to admit that I know very little about your team. I do know that your QB is solid and the best we have faced to this point. I do know that Gilbert is a gifted Tailback and will cause some issues. Reasons I am optimistic: As an IU fan, of 20 years, this is the best roster I have ever seen here. Almost every guy in our 2 deep had multiple power 5 offers. This is a far cry from the Bill Lynch MAC caliber(no pun intended) recruiting classes of the past. We have more size, speed, and depth than we've ever had. QB play. We have already beat 2 bowl teams from last year. They weren't world beaters, but somewhat competitive teams.The last few times we have faced you, we had Richard Lagow, Cam Coffman, and Dusty Kiel at QB. None of those 3 guys are anywhere close to the 2 QBs we will use right now in Peyton Ramsey and Micheal Penix, who has some star potential. Obviously you guys know about Scott. Majette is a decent RB too. Our O-line is the best unit on our team. I would never compare IU to Notre Dame, but our O-line is better and deeper than theirs. We have some "dudes" there. Our WRs are TALL. Another good unit. Defensively, our secondary is way better than what we normally run out vs BSU. Defensive coaching. For what seemed liked 15 years, IU had a defense rated in the 100s. Thanks to Tom Allen, he improved the defense from 118th to 40th in 1 season in total defense as DC. And from 40th to 25th in his 2nd season as HC/DC And, lack of surprise. Ball State normally sneaks up on us or catches an arrogant IU team off guard. Not happening with Tom Allen. Kevin Wilson, Bill Lynch, those guys are very poor leaders. Tom Allen is probably telling his team how great you guys are, all the wins you've had over us the past 10 years, etc. They'll be ready. They wont overlook you. Reasons I am pessimistic: Its football. Sometimes you don't play well, and the other team does. MAC teams have beaten Big Ten teams, plenty. This fact isn't lost on me. Riley Neal. He could give us trouble. We have good players in coverage. But they cant cover all day. The weakest part of our team right now is the pass rush. We have faced 2 mobile QBs, so that hasn't helped, but right now we lack dynamic pass rushers. That's the last piece that Allen needs. Our D-line is more of a Yeoman line. They play hard, they defend the run ok, but it's not an extremely disruptive line. Gavin Everett is a nice DE though. LB wise, we lost 2 to the NFL/Gradution. We are young here. This unit played much better against Virginia but they still have a ways to go with recognition. Special teams wise, we have a very good P, but our K and KO specialist are suspect replacing a 2 time All-Big Ten K. We had 2 kicks blocked last Saturday and 1 was returned for 2 pts. Our KO return is pedestrian at best. Not as many things worry me as in years p past, but still issues that can haunt. Outlook: I would never be delusional enough to prematurely count this game as a win. I respect your program. And I expect you guys to be one of the better MAC teams. I do like that it's at IU. I do feel more confident with a headstrong coach like Tom Allen. And the talent gap between the 2 teams is the most it's been in decades. Even at that, I expect a competitive game. Prediction: I have IU winning 28-17. I just think that our running game, intermediate passing game, and Tom Allen's defensive scheming will get it done as it has so far this season. Best of luck the rest of the season. Quality post. Thank you for your input.
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Post by thebsukid on Sept 10, 2018 18:51:13 GMT -6
Take the 14 and run.
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Post by rmcalhoun on Sept 10, 2018 18:55:11 GMT -6
Good post its going to be tough game for us
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Post by Bigfoot on Sept 10, 2018 19:28:04 GMT -6
Tough game no doubt just like all the previous games with IU but we will pull out the win and go 4 of the last 5 against IU.
They are better than they have been but we are every bit as much as we have been.
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Post by cardrock on Sept 10, 2018 20:36:19 GMT -6
The IU / Virginia game is currently replaying on the BG10 network. Start of the 3rd qtr score is 20-9. IU scored all their points in the first half. Virginia isn’t known to be all that. If the our boys can bring the focus they had this past game to Bloomington I believe they’ll pull out a win. IU poses a different set of skills, but I really think there’s a solid opportunity for win #2 on the year.
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Post by Bigfoot on Sept 10, 2018 22:55:32 GMT -6
The IU / Virginia game is currently replaying on the BG10 network. Start of the 3rd qtr score is 20-9. IU scored all their points in the first half. Virginia isn’t known to be all that. If the our boys can bring the focus they had this past game to Bloomington I believe they’ll pull out a win. IU poses a different set of skills, but I really think there’s a solid opportunity for win #2 on the year. Yep - I saw this as well and agree with your assessment. If we play flat we get beat or if we play well no doubt we can beat IU once again! I predict a close one that the Cards win!
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Post by IU_ND_BSU_FAN on Sept 11, 2018 4:06:00 GMT -6
I think UVA has most of their players back from last season and last season they were 6-6 and played in a Bowl Game (lost to Navy).
I also saw that Ball State is currently ranked in the 100s on the ESPN FPI and UVA in the 60s. I think we would lose nine games if we played UVA 10 times. I also think we would lose 10 games if we played Notre Dame 10 times. Doesn't mean we can't win some games in the MAC though!!
Believe me, I want us to play a close game at IU! Hopefully we will get some more twitter mentions from ESPN reporters to really help us in the next decade or so! The momentum from those tweets is huge.
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Post by comet on Sept 11, 2018 6:00:21 GMT -6
The line is IU by 14 thats about right
I hate saying it, but if we cover the spread I'd be happy and not just cover it with late game points when the game is already decided. Could we win, certainly and I'd love for us to, but I'm not sure we can match last weeks intensity and all around game. Can't imagine there not being a bit of a let down. Somebody mentioned the upperclass leadership. We forget, we don't have much of an upperclass !!!!!! We might be better off with the cockiness of the underclass folks !!!!!!
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Post by fkfootball on Sept 11, 2018 6:58:03 GMT -6
The IU / Virginia game is currently replaying on the BG10 network. Start of the 3rd qtr score is 20-9. IU scored all their points in the first half. Virginia isn’t known to be all that. If the our boys can bring the focus they had this past game to Bloomington I believe they’ll pull out a win. IU poses a different set of skills, but I really think there’s a solid opportunity for win #2 on the year. Not a good game to rate a team. It was a monsoon. IU couldn't really pass the ball in that weather. On the flip side, it helped our pass defense as well. That's why Scott has 31 carries though. I was impressed with our O-line.
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Post by rmcalhoun on Sept 11, 2018 8:14:57 GMT -6
I just do not want to see us take a giant step back.. Nd probably over looked us IU will not. We better be ready
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Post by cardfan on Sept 11, 2018 8:33:45 GMT -6
I just do not want to see us take a giant step back.. Nd probably over looked us IU will not. We better be ready That’s the biggest concern— taking a step back, playing flat and sloppy and getting embarrassed, nullifying any strides made in South Bend. We may not beat Iu. I think it’s unlikely. But we need to be competitive and sound and have that same intensity and focus as last Saturday. Just play well and continue to prove the future is bright. (And just like the ND game we’ll have a bunch of clowns who went or go to bsu rooting for IU. I especially want to win because of them.)
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Post by JacksonStreetElite on Sept 11, 2018 8:36:51 GMT -6
I've seen this movie before and I don't like how it ends.
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Post by cardfan on Sept 11, 2018 8:40:20 GMT -6
It’s the classic set up, isn’t it?
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Post by universityjim on Sept 11, 2018 9:35:59 GMT -6
It’s the classic set up, isn’t it? Hang tough with a top ten team who probably is significantly overrated. Next play a team that historically is a joke but this year may be significantly underrated. I've got a bad feeling about this. I have renewed respect for our coaches, offensive line, and defense, but this is a trap even really good teams fall into.
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