I'm writing to throw in my little piece of information about this
curious line. Many of us Indiana fans think we can finish anywhere
between 2-10 (please God don't happen) and 6-6 (would be terrific).
Indiana has arguably the best wide receiver in the Big 10 (Damarlo
Belcher) on top of a bevy of honestly (without any IU-bias) some pretty
good players in: Matt Perez (two years removed from Illinois Mr.
Football at running back), Kofi Hughes (slot wide receiver who did very
well last year as a true freshman), Ted Bolser (Freshman All-American at
Tight End), Duwyce Wilson (highly rated recruit two years ago who had a
good freshman season at WR).
As most know, Indiana hasn't settled on a quarterback. This position is
either going to Dusty Kiel (an average athlete with an ok arm) or Edward
Wright-Baker (super athlete extraordinaire, doesn't know where the ball
is going if he throws it). But, IU's new coach (Kevin Wilson, former OC
at Oklahoma) has a great history with all different types of offenses.
At Miami Ohio, with star running back Travis Prentice, they ran the
I-Form. At Northwestern (when they got good), they ran the spread and
ran it left and right with Damien Anderson. At Oklahoma, everyone
thought it would be spread run with Jason White (two torn ACLs) and it
turned into spread pass and they won the national championship.
The point is this, Indiana has a good coach (first time since Bill
Mallory---RIP Terry Hoeppner, who was great for two years) on top of
some serious talent on offense. Indiana returns parts of the offensive
line that aren't bad including a very good center (Will Matte) and a
decent LT (Andrew McDonald) while being able to patch in the other three
spots with guys that have played before. Indiana released their
two-deep depth chart yesterday and some VERY highly-touted freshman are
listed as the backups at wide receiver. Their are some explosive
athletes.
Of course, no IU football conversation would be complete without
discussing how bad the defense has been for.... oh, I don'tk
now....forever.
That said, IU has some coaches on the defensive side (Mike Ekeler, Curt
Mallory to name two) that have really come in with a great attitude and
have really tried to install some confidence and a blitzing scheme that
will divert IU fans from our old defense---the cover zero.
Indiana will rotate four defensive tackles who are all juniors. It might
be the strength of the team. IU has a very good set of DT's. Indiana
has one defensive end (Darius Johnson) who has an outside shot to make
first-team all Big 10. But, Indiana MUST get more of a pass rush and
they'll need another DE (Fred Jones, perhaps) to really play well.
At Linbebacker, Indiana has a pair of seniors who are decent in Leon Beckum and Jeff Thomas. Finding a third is a must.
IU's secondary is a mess. No real talent to speak of but Greg Heban, a
former baseball player turned IU-football-walk-on, did quite well last
year and the guy opposite of him (Lawrence Barnett) is a great athlete
who was a HS basketball star who was injured his first year on campus
(last year). Those two could be decent but Barnett and both safeties
(whoever they are) have no experience.
IU has a very good kicker (you'd expect that from a school that is
7-time national champions in soccer) but a new punter after our old one
left the program/ was thrown off (alcohol issues).
That said: Indiana is FAR too good for Ball State. I know it's
dangerous/ nieve/ stupid to say Indiana is too good for anyone (in this
sport, at least). But, this Ball State team is going through their 3rd
coach in four years and the guy came from Elon. Yes, Elon. The fact Ball
State is predicted to finish anywhere from 5th to 6th in their own MAC
division is frighteningly bad. They have no real talent to speak of and
Indiana should be able to run the ball (up to as many as 5 running backs
may see touches) behind an experienced offensive line. The passing game
(whoever is throwing it) should flourish against a Ball State secondary
that returns only two starters.
Ball State gave up an average of 30.4 per game which was 10th in the MAC and 88th nationally.
Their offense returns five guys, including a young sophomore quarterback, which was 106th in total offense.
My point is this: if Indiana can't win this game by 20-24 then there really is no hope in Wilson's first season.
Ball State should have a lot of trouble moving the ball on the ground
against Indiana's defensive front and they could be limited through the
air as they return only one wide receiver while ranking 109th nationally
in passing offense.
Ball State's rush defense (87th nationally last year) could struggle as
they only return two of their front 7 and IU will have the talent in the
backfield to make plays. With that, the passing (play-action?) game
should have Belcher, Wilson (if he plays), Hughes and company free to
score points.
I'm a big IU fan and my life has sucked royally for the past few years
or so but I really believe (the way I knew Wisconsin would kill us last
year) that Indiana is a prime, prime betting opportunity here.
I'm writing to throw in my little piece of information about this
curious line. Many of us Indiana fans think we can finish anywhere
between 2-10 (please God don't happen) and 6-6 (would be terrific).
Indiana has arguably the best wide receiver in the Big 10 (Damarlo
Belcher) on top of a bevy of honestly (without any IU-bias) some pretty
good players in: Matt Perez (two years removed from Illinois Mr.
Football at running back), Kofi Hughes (slot wide receiver who did very
well last year as a true freshman), Ted Bolser (Freshman All-American at
Tight End), Duwyce Wilson (highly rated recruit two years ago who had a
good freshman season at WR).
As most know, Indiana hasn't settled on a quarterback. This position is
either going to Dusty Kiel (an average athlete with an ok arm) or Edward
Wright-Baker (super athlete extraordinaire, doesn't know where the ball
is going if he throws it). But, IU's new coach (Kevin Wilson, former OC
at Oklahoma) has a great history with all different types of offenses.
At Miami Ohio, with star running back Travis Prentice, they ran the
I-Form. At Northwestern (when they got good), they ran the spread and
ran it left and right with Damien Anderson. At Oklahoma, everyone
thought it would be spread run with Jason White (two torn ACLs) and it
turned into spread pass and they won the national championship.
The point is this, Indiana has a good coach (first time since Bill
Mallory---RIP Terry Hoeppner, who was great for two years) on top of
some serious talent on offense. Indiana returns parts of the offensive
line that aren't bad including a very good center (Will Matte) and a
decent LT (Andrew McDonald) while being able to patch in the other three
spots with guys that have played before. Indiana released their
two-deep depth chart yesterday and some VERY highly-touted freshman are
listed as the backups at wide receiver. Their are some explosive
athletes.
Of course, no IU football conversation would be complete without
discussing how bad the defense has been for.... oh, I don'tk
now....forever.
That said, IU has some coaches on the defensive side (Mike Ekeler, Curt
Mallory to name two) that have really come in with a great attitude and
have really tried to install some confidence and a blitzing scheme that
will divert IU fans from our old defense---the cover zero.
Indiana will rotate four defensive tackles who are all juniors. It might
be the strength of the team. IU has a very good set of DT's. Indiana
has one defensive end (Darius Johnson) who has an outside shot to make
first-team all Big 10. But, Indiana MUST get more of a pass rush and
they'll need another DE (Fred Jones, perhaps) to really play well.
At Linbebacker, Indiana has a pair of seniors who are decent in Leon Beckum and Jeff Thomas. Finding a third is a must.
IU's secondary is a mess. No real talent to speak of but Greg Heban, a
former baseball player turned IU-football-walk-on, did quite well last
year and the guy opposite of him (Lawrence Barnett) is a great athlete
who was a HS basketball star who was injured his first year on campus
(last year). Those two could be decent but Barnett and both safeties
(whoever they are) have no experience.
IU has a very good kicker (you'd expect that from a school that is
7-time national champions in soccer) but a new punter after our old one
left the program/ was thrown off (alcohol issues).
That said: Indiana is FAR too good for Ball State. I know it's
dangerous/ nieve/ stupid to say Indiana is too good for anyone (in this
sport, at least). But, this Ball State team is going through their 3rd
coach in four years and the guy came from Elon. Yes, Elon. The fact Ball
State is predicted to finish anywhere from 5th to 6th in their own MAC
division is frighteningly bad. They have no real talent to speak of and
Indiana should be able to run the ball (up to as many as 5 running backs
may see touches) behind an experienced offensive line. The passing game
(whoever is throwing it) should flourish against a Ball State secondary
that returns only two starters.
Ball State gave up an average of 30.4 per game which was 10th in the MAC and 88th nationally.
Their offense returns five guys, including a young sophomore quarterback, which was 106th in total offense.
My point is this: if Indiana can't win this game by 20-24 then there really is no hope in Wilson's first season.
Ball State should have a lot of trouble moving the ball on the ground
against Indiana's defensive front and they could be limited through the
air as they return only one wide receiver while ranking 109th nationally
in passing offense.
Ball State's rush defense (87th nationally last year) could struggle as
they only return two of their front 7 and IU will have the talent in the
backfield to make plays. With that, the passing (play-action?) game
should have Belcher, Wilson (if he plays), Hughes and company free to
score points.
I'm a big IU fan and my life has sucked royally for the past few years
or so but I really believe (the way I knew Wisconsin would kill us last
year) that Indiana is a prime, prime betting opportunity here.
Great spot for IU. Completely Agree with this analysis. Ball State is breaking in their own new coach and system which should have some problems early on. IU has vastly the superior athletes. Should put this away and make a nice statement for Wlison's first game.
Great spot for IU. Completely Agree with this analysis. Ball State is breaking in their own new coach and system which should have some problems early on. IU has vastly the superior athletes. Should put this away and make a nice statement for Wlison's first game.
I'm very interested in this game and I am having a hard time understanding the line. I circled 8 games or so which struck me as odd when the lines came out and this was one of them.I’ve done a shit-ton of research on this game. Not so much for this game in particular but rather to get better acclimated for future games this year (I tend to do this for most coaching changes). Let me preface this by saying that I’m not much of a writer so my thoughts may come across as a scrambled mess and for that I apologize.
I’m not going debate any of your points on IU. It’s clear that you’ve taken the position to back IU and while it may be biased because you appear to be a fan/alum you have a right to your opinion. I don’t have a strong opinion on this game but I have found discrepancies between what I’ve read about BallState and what you’ve mentioned in your post. Let me explain.
Before I did my research the 2008 team was the last time I heard about BallState football. At that time they were the kings of Tuesday night football (though they were only 8-5 ATS). They ran the table in the MAC that year and also beat non-conference foes IU and Navy before losing to Buffalo in the conference championship and to Tulsa in a toilet bowl.
I'm very interested in this game and I am having a hard time understanding the line. I circled 8 games or so which struck me as odd when the lines came out and this was one of them.I’ve done a shit-ton of research on this game. Not so much for this game in particular but rather to get better acclimated for future games this year (I tend to do this for most coaching changes). Let me preface this by saying that I’m not much of a writer so my thoughts may come across as a scrambled mess and for that I apologize.
I’m not going debate any of your points on IU. It’s clear that you’ve taken the position to back IU and while it may be biased because you appear to be a fan/alum you have a right to your opinion. I don’t have a strong opinion on this game but I have found discrepancies between what I’ve read about BallState and what you’ve mentioned in your post. Let me explain.
Before I did my research the 2008 team was the last time I heard about BallState football. At that time they were the kings of Tuesday night football (though they were only 8-5 ATS). They ran the table in the MAC that year and also beat non-conference foes IU and Navy before losing to Buffalo in the conference championship and to Tulsa in a toilet bowl.
While it is true that the team has been through 3 coaches in four years it’s not true to say they’ve been through 3 different coaching staffs. The former HC (Stan Parrish) was the OC on the previous coach’s staff (Hoke left in ’08 and is now HC at Michigan). When Coach Hoke left the single most important staff member he took with him was the strength coach, Wellman (current strength coach at Michigan) and I will touch on this in a bit. Only the seniors have been through 3 head coaches, while the team itself has been through only 2 different staffs (Parrish and his staff were holdovers from Hoke as Hoke did not take the entire BSU staff with him). Parrish ran the same offense when he was HC as when he was OC, so it’s not like this team has been forced to learn 3 different offenses. Two coaches remain from Parrish’s staff and they include Lynch (son of the former IU Coach) who is both the recruiting coordinator and TE coach as well as Dixon, a former Florida All-SEC DB who coaches the DB’s.
Pete Lembo is the new HC and yes, he is from Elon (to which you made a joke). You might want to know that Elon (an FCS team) opened as only a 10 point dog to Vanderbilt, at Vanderbilt.That spread simply says to me that Elon has a good program. Those are kids Lembo recruited so I wouldn’t knock the program. That’s just naïve.Lembo is a former O-Lineman who played at Georgetown. I listened to the MAC conference call this week and he is very articulate and presumably very smart. I read where he all but said he is using the BallState job to land a BCS job and BallState was more than happy to let him ‘use them’. You have to remember, he is going to a school that has better athletes and funding. While on the other hand Wilson is going to a school that has lesser athletes and funding. Wilson has also never been a head coach but that’s another story. What I’m afraid of is that Wilson has been frustrated with the lack of talent at IU (compared to what he had at OU) while Lembo has been surprisingly impressed. It’s all relative to expectations resulting from where each coach is coming from. Will Wilson try to put a round ball through a square hole? Coordinators with no head coaching experience becoming head coaches have had varied success. They have succeeded much more often when they are promoted within the ranks of the same school and have had lesser success when taking over a new program. This is just a small detail which is probably not worthwhile to put too much weight on for this game in particular.
While it is true that the team has been through 3 coaches in four years it’s not true to say they’ve been through 3 different coaching staffs. The former HC (Stan Parrish) was the OC on the previous coach’s staff (Hoke left in ’08 and is now HC at Michigan). When Coach Hoke left the single most important staff member he took with him was the strength coach, Wellman (current strength coach at Michigan) and I will touch on this in a bit. Only the seniors have been through 3 head coaches, while the team itself has been through only 2 different staffs (Parrish and his staff were holdovers from Hoke as Hoke did not take the entire BSU staff with him). Parrish ran the same offense when he was HC as when he was OC, so it’s not like this team has been forced to learn 3 different offenses. Two coaches remain from Parrish’s staff and they include Lynch (son of the former IU Coach) who is both the recruiting coordinator and TE coach as well as Dixon, a former Florida All-SEC DB who coaches the DB’s.
Pete Lembo is the new HC and yes, he is from Elon (to which you made a joke). You might want to know that Elon (an FCS team) opened as only a 10 point dog to Vanderbilt, at Vanderbilt.That spread simply says to me that Elon has a good program. Those are kids Lembo recruited so I wouldn’t knock the program. That’s just naïve.Lembo is a former O-Lineman who played at Georgetown. I listened to the MAC conference call this week and he is very articulate and presumably very smart. I read where he all but said he is using the BallState job to land a BCS job and BallState was more than happy to let him ‘use them’. You have to remember, he is going to a school that has better athletes and funding. While on the other hand Wilson is going to a school that has lesser athletes and funding. Wilson has also never been a head coach but that’s another story. What I’m afraid of is that Wilson has been frustrated with the lack of talent at IU (compared to what he had at OU) while Lembo has been surprisingly impressed. It’s all relative to expectations resulting from where each coach is coming from. Will Wilson try to put a round ball through a square hole? Coordinators with no head coaching experience becoming head coaches have had varied success. They have succeeded much more often when they are promoted within the ranks of the same school and have had lesser success when taking over a new program. This is just a small detail which is probably not worthwhile to put too much weight on for this game in particular.
From what I’ve read from scout.com most of the starters this season (the sophomores and juniors) were recruited on the tail winds of that 2008 season and as such, are much more athletic than you’d typically find on a team such as BallState given their lack of football prowess. Having said that, Hoke did wonders for turning the team around and the seniors are actually the last recruits remaining from the Brady Hoke era (current Michigan head coach). The prized recruit from the ‘08 class is the leading returning tackler, Junior MLB Travis Freeman. When asked about the ’08 class right after it was signed, former HC Stan Parish described Freeman as the ‘ Nate Davis of Defense’; referring to the former Ball State quarterback who led the 2008 team to the undefeated season. Parrish was simply saying that the Glenville HS product (Glenville is a Cleveland FB powerhouse) was a recruiting coup for his staff much like Nate Davis was. Last week the local city paper (Muncie, IN) ran a story how the weight lifting has changed since the new staff took over --- and this is why Wellman (strength coach) was such an important loss. The article described how Freeman weighed 220 pounds when he started winter conditioning with Feeley (the new strength coach), and will play at 240 when the season starts. There were times the past two seasons when Freeman couldn't get off blocks to make plays. He still made more than 200 tackles in those seasons, but he excelled mainly by using his speed. He's excited about how his new strength -- he's up 60 pounds to 355 in the bench press and he's added 145 pounds to his squat -- which will serve him well this season.
"There were times on the field before when I couldn't get away from a blocker," Freeman said. "You build the mindset that something has to change. I wouldn't say its easy now, but it's less complex. It's not hard to get a lineman off you when you're strong enough to push him off you. There are things you can do with more mass and body weight."
From what I’ve read from scout.com most of the starters this season (the sophomores and juniors) were recruited on the tail winds of that 2008 season and as such, are much more athletic than you’d typically find on a team such as BallState given their lack of football prowess. Having said that, Hoke did wonders for turning the team around and the seniors are actually the last recruits remaining from the Brady Hoke era (current Michigan head coach). The prized recruit from the ‘08 class is the leading returning tackler, Junior MLB Travis Freeman. When asked about the ’08 class right after it was signed, former HC Stan Parish described Freeman as the ‘ Nate Davis of Defense’; referring to the former Ball State quarterback who led the 2008 team to the undefeated season. Parrish was simply saying that the Glenville HS product (Glenville is a Cleveland FB powerhouse) was a recruiting coup for his staff much like Nate Davis was. Last week the local city paper (Muncie, IN) ran a story how the weight lifting has changed since the new staff took over --- and this is why Wellman (strength coach) was such an important loss. The article described how Freeman weighed 220 pounds when he started winter conditioning with Feeley (the new strength coach), and will play at 240 when the season starts. There were times the past two seasons when Freeman couldn't get off blocks to make plays. He still made more than 200 tackles in those seasons, but he excelled mainly by using his speed. He's excited about how his new strength -- he's up 60 pounds to 355 in the bench press and he's added 145 pounds to his squat -- which will serve him well this season.
"There were times on the field before when I couldn't get away from a blocker," Freeman said. "You build the mindset that something has to change. I wouldn't say its easy now, but it's less complex. It's not hard to get a lineman off you when you're strong enough to push him off you. There are things you can do with more mass and body weight."
To go along with this, offensive guard Kitt O'Brien, a junior, bench pressed 365 pounds last year. This year, that number is at 455. O'Brien said none of the offensive linemen could squat more than 405 pounds last year!!!! (WOW!!!) Now only three of 18 players in that group are less than 500 pounds. Some defensive backs squat 500, and defensive tackle Adam Morris is at 600 pounds. From what I can gather, this team will be much stronger. Are they stronger than IU? No, but there will be much less of a disparity in size and strength between the two teams. And Lembo, a smart, former O-lineman himself, should devise a game plan to mitigate any advantage IU has on the line. In fact, his offense (the OC is Skrosky) is a no-huddle offense where calls are signaled from the sidelines is designed to keep the defense from substituting fresh players and sub-packages on certain down and distances (nickel teams and 3rd and short personnel, etc.). Especially in the first game of the season, look for Indiana to be gassed by the end of the game. This should mitigate the size and strength Indiana will have up front.
Remember, from a talent perspective, the MAC can hold its own against lower tier BCS teams. The MAC and SEC had the most players in last year’s Super Bowl. There is plenty of talent in the MAC (and Sun-Belt) for that matter. I think most sports bettors know that. While it may change in the future, Indiana, by-and-large is recruiting against MAC teams for a lot of its players. Granted, a lot of their key players were ‘4 star’ recruits they certainly had their fair share of ‘2-3 star’ recruits which is the same class of players that MAC teams recruit. There will not be a wide talent gap as you have indicated. That is simply not true.
To go along with this, offensive guard Kitt O'Brien, a junior, bench pressed 365 pounds last year. This year, that number is at 455. O'Brien said none of the offensive linemen could squat more than 405 pounds last year!!!! (WOW!!!) Now only three of 18 players in that group are less than 500 pounds. Some defensive backs squat 500, and defensive tackle Adam Morris is at 600 pounds. From what I can gather, this team will be much stronger. Are they stronger than IU? No, but there will be much less of a disparity in size and strength between the two teams. And Lembo, a smart, former O-lineman himself, should devise a game plan to mitigate any advantage IU has on the line. In fact, his offense (the OC is Skrosky) is a no-huddle offense where calls are signaled from the sidelines is designed to keep the defense from substituting fresh players and sub-packages on certain down and distances (nickel teams and 3rd and short personnel, etc.). Especially in the first game of the season, look for Indiana to be gassed by the end of the game. This should mitigate the size and strength Indiana will have up front.
Remember, from a talent perspective, the MAC can hold its own against lower tier BCS teams. The MAC and SEC had the most players in last year’s Super Bowl. There is plenty of talent in the MAC (and Sun-Belt) for that matter. I think most sports bettors know that. While it may change in the future, Indiana, by-and-large is recruiting against MAC teams for a lot of its players. Granted, a lot of their key players were ‘4 star’ recruits they certainly had their fair share of ‘2-3 star’ recruits which is the same class of players that MAC teams recruit. There will not be a wide talent gap as you have indicated. That is simply not true.
Phil Steele has 10 returning offensive starters listed but Eric Williams (RB) has left the program. Two walk-ons are at the top of the RB depth chart as both Cory Sykes (speed) and Donald Brown (more of a pass catcher) are banged up and are probable & questionable, respectively. The two walk-ons are the better pass-blockers. Lembo will run a pass happy offense (I imagine much like ArkansasState but I will wait to see). Remember Ark St. only lost to IU 34-36 last year in Bloomington. This game will be played in Indianapolis (Lucas Oil – the Colts home) I don’t expect a crowd advantage for either team in this game (ball state is the home team).
There are two seniors on the Oline (both Hoke recruits) and three juniors. The line probably is not as good at the 2008 line but much bigger and stronger than last year. They have depth as well. They have four interchangeable tackles, two of which will rotate keeping the tackles very fresh. Nobody of significance is lost from last year’s offense. Only Iowa shut them out last year and from what I’ve read, Parrish had an attitude of ‘fuck those games.’ Basically, he wanted to keep everyone safe and knew they didn’t have a chance so why risk injury? They were beat up physically the week before by Purdue (losing Cam Lowry, starting LT) so Parrish basically took the game off and made sure everyone got out safe. Lembo has indicated that they will take a similar approach to the Oklahoma game but will compete in the Indiana game. Should BallState play well against Indiana I expect a good effort against South Florida, week 2. Should they get blown-out they will call off the dogs and play not to get hurt and will get ready for the MAC season.
Phil Steele has 10 returning offensive starters listed but Eric Williams (RB) has left the program. Two walk-ons are at the top of the RB depth chart as both Cory Sykes (speed) and Donald Brown (more of a pass catcher) are banged up and are probable & questionable, respectively. The two walk-ons are the better pass-blockers. Lembo will run a pass happy offense (I imagine much like ArkansasState but I will wait to see). Remember Ark St. only lost to IU 34-36 last year in Bloomington. This game will be played in Indianapolis (Lucas Oil – the Colts home) I don’t expect a crowd advantage for either team in this game (ball state is the home team).
There are two seniors on the Oline (both Hoke recruits) and three juniors. The line probably is not as good at the 2008 line but much bigger and stronger than last year. They have depth as well. They have four interchangeable tackles, two of which will rotate keeping the tackles very fresh. Nobody of significance is lost from last year’s offense. Only Iowa shut them out last year and from what I’ve read, Parrish had an attitude of ‘fuck those games.’ Basically, he wanted to keep everyone safe and knew they didn’t have a chance so why risk injury? They were beat up physically the week before by Purdue (losing Cam Lowry, starting LT) so Parrish basically took the game off and made sure everyone got out safe. Lembo has indicated that they will take a similar approach to the Oklahoma game but will compete in the Indiana game. Should BallState play well against Indiana I expect a good effort against South Florida, week 2. Should they get blown-out they will call off the dogs and play not to get hurt and will get ready for the MAC season.
They have speed at WR with Snead, a freshman. They also return Tomlinson who came on late after getting banged up. For possession, they have senior Orsbon who was a freshman on the ’08 team. They have depth at TE as two were knocked out for the year with injuries last year. Each is unique (passing, blocking, etc). Look for them to be the utility factor.
At QB, Wenning beat out former Oregon recruit Page last year and will start the season this year. A sophomore, he will be expected simply to not make mistakes. I expect a good season from Wenning in pass-happy offense. Unlike Parish’s system where he had little control over changing plays at the LOS (from what I’ve read teams would load the box on a running down and he didn’t have the ability to check to a pass). Wenning now has some flexibility which he has indicated will really help. Also, I heard where Lembo will adjust the system to fit the players and not vice versa. Plays will not be called that the players haven’t shown they can execute. Sounds obvious but Parrish was criticized by the players (source: school paper) for calling plays the team simply couldn’t run for one reason or another (namely Wenning couldn’t make the throw) and which really frustrated both the players and coach. I expect much more fluidity on offense with the new system.
They have speed at WR with Snead, a freshman. They also return Tomlinson who came on late after getting banged up. For possession, they have senior Orsbon who was a freshman on the ’08 team. They have depth at TE as two were knocked out for the year with injuries last year. Each is unique (passing, blocking, etc). Look for them to be the utility factor.
At QB, Wenning beat out former Oregon recruit Page last year and will start the season this year. A sophomore, he will be expected simply to not make mistakes. I expect a good season from Wenning in pass-happy offense. Unlike Parish’s system where he had little control over changing plays at the LOS (from what I’ve read teams would load the box on a running down and he didn’t have the ability to check to a pass). Wenning now has some flexibility which he has indicated will really help. Also, I heard where Lembo will adjust the system to fit the players and not vice versa. Plays will not be called that the players haven’t shown they can execute. Sounds obvious but Parrish was criticized by the players (source: school paper) for calling plays the team simply couldn’t run for one reason or another (namely Wenning couldn’t make the throw) and which really frustrated both the players and coach. I expect much more fluidity on offense with the new system.
Defensively, they are led by the former Freshman All-American Safety, Sean Baker. He broke his thumb and will wear a cast for the game. He is the most likely NFL prospect from this team (undrafted free agent). He will the QB of the secondary and is a playmaker. His backup is Hoke, nephew of the former coach. Both are bright and will make the right calls to make sure the secondary is in the right coverage. I expect few coverage lapses and if they are beat it will simply be a result of being slower. IU's receivers are bigger, stronger and faster than BallState’s secondary. I expect a mix of pass coverages to keep IU on its toes. On the DL, the team will miss DE Eddins, who signed as an UA with Buffalo. He was second team all-conference. According to the school paper, he was not leader of the DL, so his size and play making will be lost but not his leadership. That rests with Puthoff, a senior. I don’t expect a big decrease in ability here. Similar size and strength and perhaps a bit better against the run (which Eddins was apparently terrible with).
Defensively, they are led by the former Freshman All-American Safety, Sean Baker. He broke his thumb and will wear a cast for the game. He is the most likely NFL prospect from this team (undrafted free agent). He will the QB of the secondary and is a playmaker. His backup is Hoke, nephew of the former coach. Both are bright and will make the right calls to make sure the secondary is in the right coverage. I expect few coverage lapses and if they are beat it will simply be a result of being slower. IU's receivers are bigger, stronger and faster than BallState’s secondary. I expect a mix of pass coverages to keep IU on its toes. On the DL, the team will miss DE Eddins, who signed as an UA with Buffalo. He was second team all-conference. According to the school paper, he was not leader of the DL, so his size and play making will be lost but not his leadership. That rests with Puthoff, a senior. I don’t expect a big decrease in ability here. Similar size and strength and perhaps a bit better against the run (which Eddins was apparently terrible with).
So what do I expect from this game? The game which best describes what I expect would be the Ark. State/IU game last year. I think BallState’s seniors, having been on the 2008 team which beat IU (interestingly enough that was the first win vs. a BCS team in school history) will benefit from that experience. The juniors have an abundance of talent as they were recruited from the success of that 2008 team and gained experience starting games last year (even though they were pushed around most of the season). BallState was in most games last year and was only blown-out once (at Iowa).
Wilson will run up the score if he can. I read where he was on an Indianapolis radio station and blew-up on the radio staff that made fun of Indiana football right before they interviewed him. Indiana will come out strong and will not overlook BallState as Indiana’s seniors definitely remember 2008.
If I were to wager on this game I’d take the points. I wouldn’t call this a game of the year if I were betting on IU that is for sure. Yes, the line is fishy and IU can very well go ‘Wisconsin’ on BallState and win by 80 (Wilson would do it). But right now there isn’t that great of a talent gap. Perhaps in a few years Wilson will have them there but not yet.
If you do teasers (I don’t) I would not put IU in a teaser. As I write this the line is -6. It is too tempting to put them in a 6 point teaser (or 7 if the line climbs back up) but again this line is way too fishy for my liking.
So what do I expect from this game? The game which best describes what I expect would be the Ark. State/IU game last year. I think BallState’s seniors, having been on the 2008 team which beat IU (interestingly enough that was the first win vs. a BCS team in school history) will benefit from that experience. The juniors have an abundance of talent as they were recruited from the success of that 2008 team and gained experience starting games last year (even though they were pushed around most of the season). BallState was in most games last year and was only blown-out once (at Iowa).
Wilson will run up the score if he can. I read where he was on an Indianapolis radio station and blew-up on the radio staff that made fun of Indiana football right before they interviewed him. Indiana will come out strong and will not overlook BallState as Indiana’s seniors definitely remember 2008.
If I were to wager on this game I’d take the points. I wouldn’t call this a game of the year if I were betting on IU that is for sure. Yes, the line is fishy and IU can very well go ‘Wisconsin’ on BallState and win by 80 (Wilson would do it). But right now there isn’t that great of a talent gap. Perhaps in a few years Wilson will have them there but not yet.
If you do teasers (I don’t) I would not put IU in a teaser. As I write this the line is -6. It is too tempting to put them in a 6 point teaser (or 7 if the line climbs back up) but again this line is way too fishy for my liking.
Ok, The last time they played was on a neutral firld in 2008. Ball St won 42 to 20 . Also in 08 Indy returned 6 on off including the QB and 7 on def.Now they return 6 and 6 and no QB. Ball St. returned 11 on off including the QB and 7 on def. Now they return 10 and 7 with a QB. Both teams gave up lots of points on def .and made about the same on off. Ball St. has the more experienced QB.
This might be Ball St. time again or atleast to cover.
Ok, The last time they played was on a neutral firld in 2008. Ball St won 42 to 20 . Also in 08 Indy returned 6 on off including the QB and 7 on def.Now they return 6 and 6 and no QB. Ball St. returned 11 on off including the QB and 7 on def. Now they return 10 and 7 with a QB. Both teams gave up lots of points on def .and made about the same on off. Ball St. has the more experienced QB.
This might be Ball St. time again or atleast to cover.
I'm bumping this for anyone who didn't read it before and who wants to know a little more about ball state. Read posts 8-15. I spent some time on it and think it might be of help to others. The main difference between this year and last years team is their core team strength as evident by their ability to push IU around. As for this week, check BSU/Nebraska 07. Also check Elon/USF 07.
I'm bumping this for anyone who didn't read it before and who wants to know a little more about ball state. Read posts 8-15. I spent some time on it and think it might be of help to others. The main difference between this year and last years team is their core team strength as evident by their ability to push IU around. As for this week, check BSU/Nebraska 07. Also check Elon/USF 07.
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