Indiana Hoosier Pregame #1 : Iowa Hawkeyes, Fun History, and Personal Ramblings

WEEK 1 IS HERE HOOSIER FANS!

It’s here! It’s here! The start of week 1 for college football!! While kickoff officially began last week with…week 0…week 1 is here in all its glory! There are currently 5 top 25 showdowns slated for week 1, two being in the B1G. While the national presses and many degenerates in these comment sections will hype up the Wisconsin Badgers vs the Penn State Nittany Lions, I’ll be waiting on the game with better returning teams* and a much more intriguing matchup: The Indiana Hoosiers vs The Iowa Hawkeyes.

*Wisconsin and Penn State were both absent from the final CFP Poll while Indiana and Iowa were 11 and 15 respectively. Suck it.

The History

Winsipedia

• The first game these two programs played was in 1912, where the Hawkeyes beat the Hoosiers 13-6.
• The last tie game was back in 1943, where the score finished at 6-6.
• The last Hoosier victory was in 2012, where Kevin Wilson’s team managed to beat the Hawkeyes 24-21 in Bloomington.
• The last Hoosier victory in Iowa City was in 2007, where the Hoosiers whooped the Hawkeyes 38-20.
• The 2014 Hoosier season took a major blow in Iowa City, when not only did they lose 45-29, but lost future pro Nate Sudfeld for the rest of the year.
• Iowa has managed to win 7 of the last 10, including a DEFLATING 42-16 trouncing in 2018. I specifically remember that loss, because it seemed as if Indiana was ready to turn a corner as a program and get to their third bowl in 4 years, first with Tom Allen. Well…nope. Iowa started hot and Indiana folded like a pocket square.

Three Things for Indiana Fans to Watch For

1. How does Indiana deal with the success of last season?

This is possibly one of the biggest things to watch all season, but especially this week. Even being the underdog, has Indiana read too many press clippings talking about how much better they are? I hope not. It would be ashamed if they came out and fell flat on their face. I don’t think they will, but it’s certainly possible.

2. Can Indiana stay poised in front of a large crowd?

It seems like a dumb thing to put here, but come on. Going from playing in stadiums with no crowds to playing in front of 69,000 hostile fans in week 1 might be a little shell shocking. It’s been suggested that the reason Indiana had as good a season as they did last year was due, in part, to the empty stadiums. Well, here’s a prime opportunity to put that narrative to bed.

3. Will Nick Sheridan find his play calling rhythm early enough to prevent a come from behind situation?

Look, I don’t want to hate Nick Sheridan. I find him much improved from Mike IsBored….InBoard..Debord. That’s it! Mike Debord. However much improved he is from Debord, he’s still a step back from Kalen DeBoer. Look at those fucking names will you? It seemed last season that, especially early on in the season, Sheridan just couldn’t call 3 good plays in a row. The Penn State and the Maryland game come to mind as terribly called games. I’m specifically referencing the play calling in the Maryland game before Penix got hurt. Having a full year under his belt, perhaps things have improved. They certainly have the tools to be an explosive offense. Time to see what’s up.

The Most Iowa Thing Ever

I don’t enjoy mocking injuries, because it’s a dick thing to do. That said, I heard about Kyler Schott. Kyler Schott is an Iowa starting offensive lineman, and Pro Football Focus calls him the number 8 returning interior offensive lineman. Apparently, he broke his foot in early August while baling hay on the family farm. He will be missing a couple games, including the Indiana game. That’s just such an Iowa thing to hear. Tough luck for him and I wish him well and a speedy recovery, but it definitely gives a slight chuckle when reading about it.

Where’s My Money?!?

This article was completely written, and then a certain cat forwarded me some interesting trivia. Shout out to Scott Dochterman for this gem!

This next image was my instant reaction.

That money is over $150,000 today adjusted for inflation. At least that’s what my online calculator said. Do you know how many basketball program transition costs could be covered with that money? I didn’t think so. Honestly, it’s such a great piece of trivia.

Do the right thing for once in your life Gary. Bring out an oversized check pregame and write off the original amount to some Indiana charity. Then when Iowa visits next time, we can write a check for that much and give to an Iowa charity and so on and so forth. This sort of thing could really be used for some good fun. Too bad Gary sucks to much to make that happen.

Personal Ramblings

Good lord we’re back. And God willing, fans will remain in the stands the rest of the season. I’ve been waiting so long since the last taste I got from Indiana Football. Losing to Ole Miss, the way we lost to Ole Miss, after calling out our conference and our conference CFP representative and Iowa AD Fuck Face Gary Barta for not having our backs in those meetings….well… it really sucked. If you’re gonna tell the conference to fly a kite in that kind of way, you’d better win. I was 2 weeks into parenthood at the time, so having that be my son’s introduction to Indiana football might have actually been fitting.

That was then.

As the fates have allowed it, Indiana is playing the Iowa Hawkeyes in game number one. A top 25 matchup. A matchup against the school that harbors enemy number 1 in my heart, Gary Barta. Does he live rent free in my head? Yep. Sure does. What better way to shove it up his ass than to beat his ass in his home stadium? I don’t know.

Indiana Daily Student and Word

Indiana returns 19 of 21 starters this year. On offense, they return their starting QB who is one the most seasoned starting QBs in the conference, one of the top 3 receivers in the conference, a USC running back who sounds pretty good, and an improved offensive line. On defense, that back 7 is TOUGH AF. I love Tiawan Mullen and that entire DB unit. Marcelino McCrary-Ball is back. The defensive line has improved with a couple transfers and experience. Special teams will also be solid yet again. What’s not to love?

It’s football season baby, and what better way to start it than with an Indiana win. We know what Iowa football is all about. We know they’re a damn good team and program. Do we know how good Indiana football is? Do we know what Indiana football is all about? May the exorcism of Indiana football demons continue this season. On to Iowa City.

Game Time: 9/4 – 3:30 PM EST – Big Ten Network