Indiana in the Buff with Mr. Komodo: East? I Thought You Said Weast-ern Kentucky

Well…that happened. Last week, the Indiana Hoosiers struggled through monsoon conditions and managed…to…overcome…the Idaho Vandals…..ooph. Wins a wins a win though and the Hoosiers join their B1G East brethren in the undefeated club for another week. Now, Indiana must face Western Kentucky. A team that has explosive offensive potential and has a defense on the field at all times. I’ve already written a power poll so I’m going to attempt to be uncharacteristically brief. Let’s see what’s crackin.

History

• That’s right sports fans, Indiana has not lost to WKU in program history.
• Last year, Indiana managed to seize on a poor Western Kentucky defense and terrible game management to win 1 of their 2 wins in 2021, winning 33-31.
• This was also the game where Indiana lost DJ Matthews for the season last year.

WKU Fun Facts

• Michael Rosenbaum went to Western Kentucky before he took off to Smallville (2021 Recycled)
• WKU was the 4^th university in the country to be declared a “Safe Community” by the National Safety Council (2021 Recycled)
• WKU is found in Bowling Green, Kentucky, most notable for its being the source of all Corvettes since 1981 (2021 Recycled)
• I have nothing else. It’s rural Kentucky. Not a lot goes on here. (2021 Recycled)
• Justified also takes place in Kentucky, just not that part of the state.

What I’m Watching For

1) Can Indiana get win number 3?

If last week taught us anything, it’s that winning sometimes looks like complete dogshit. When listening to the ‘Mind Your Banners’ podcast, Zach Osterman made a really good point I completely agree with. To paraphrase and possible quote, basically he said it’s more plausible that Indiana would play like ass against Idaho and compete well with Cincinnati mostly because the Indiana program is in that specific spot in its development. Get up for the big games and let down for the small ones. Unfortunately, any letdown this week will certainly spell doom. Can Indiana get halfway to a bowl this week? We shall see!

2) Can the Indiana offense actually get going?

The Indiana Hoosier offense is no longer last place in the B1G! That place belongs to I—a. Instead….Indiana ranks 13^th. Now, that’s not lightyears behind other teams mind you. Indiana is about 70 yards a game away from being in the middle of the pack. Indiana also ranks 10^th in points scored at 29 a game. They sit square at 8^th in the league in passing though. The problem with this matchup is that Western Kentucky scores a lot and Indiana does not. One of these things must give and I’d much prefer to see a prolific passing attack hang 40. Can it happen? Probably not but I can dream and watch for it.

3) Can Indiana special teams get their groove back?

The Indiana special teams have performed poor to this point in the season. Chuck Campbell is supposedly an All American quality kicker, but he managed to miss 2 field goals last week and last season he was not bringing his A game every week. The punting unit behind James Evans is also not strong. Can these two guys actually bring something to a game and team that will need them? We’ll see.

Tired of Playing the Game, Ain’t it a Freakin’ Shame

Tired is what I’ll be Saturday Lili. Driving 13 hours with 2 small Komodo’s overnight Friday will take it out of me. By the time the game comes on, I’ll be bloodshot eyed and perhaps a little loopy. Hell, maybe I’ll even sleep through it. My only hope is that Indiana doesn’t do the same thing. You can’t sleepwalk through Western Kentucky. They’re too potent offensively. It’s not like you’re playing I—a (2 shots in 1 pregame article not about them). Let’s see what this Hoosier team can do before the schedule ramps up a notch. Loosing to Western Kentucky would be a freakin’ shame though.

Gametime: 9/17 – 12:00 PM EST – Big Ten Network