Football season tickets recently went on sale, and many fans are probably wondering what to expect this season from Indiana Hoosier football. Some experts have harshly criticized the lack of difficulty in IU’s schedule, implying that it's filled with so-called "cupcakes," but is it really going to be that easy? Here we take a look at each team on the schedule and what exactly IU is matched up against. The following is the first four games of the 12 (hopefully 13!)-game season:
Western Kentucky
Where/when we’ll play them: Bloomington, 8/30/2008
Last year’s record: 7-5
Last season result: N/A
Notable players: RB Tyrell Hayden (1,134 yards rushing, 10 TD’s last season), QB K.J. Black (1,331 yards total offense), LB Andre Lewis (103 total tackles), DL Jamarcus Allen (Freshman, was first team all-state in Florida)
Outlook: The Hilltoppers may look like an easy target for the Hoosiers, but the season opener will be no walk in the park for IU, even though they will be favored and at home. Western Kentucky averaged a gaudy 33.2 points per game last season (albeit somewhat skewed by some blowouts against marginal opponents), and rushed for 247.2 yards per game, thanks mostly to
Tyrell Hayden. The young, dynamic QB,
K.J. Black, is only a sophomore and will be even better this year on a team that is otherwise well-experienced. Add in several defensive playmakers from the 2008 recruiting class and they are a force to be reckoned with. This is a program on the rise and it shows in the Hilltoppers’ schedule, which features away games at Indiana, Alabama, Kentucky, and Virginia Tech, a vast leap in difficulty from last season.
Cupcake rating:
3/10
Murray State
Where/when we’ll play them: Bloomington, 9/06/2008
Last year’s record: 2-9
Last year’s result: N/A
Notable players: QB Jeff Ehrhardt (2567 yards passing and 21 touchdowns, 375 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns)
Outlook: This is easily the softest “cupcake” on IU’s plate this season. Last year Murray State won its only games against Lambuth and Southeast Missouri State, and on average lost by two touchdowns on the season.
Jeff Ehrhardt is a talented and proven quarterback, but IU counterpart
Kellen Lewis and the Hoosier offense should tee off on a Racer defense that allowed an astonishing 2869 yards rushing last season (5.8 yard average). If IU doesn’t win this game, it’s time to panic.
Cupcake rating:
1.5/10
Ball State
Where/when we’ll play them: Bloomington, 9/20/2008
Last year’s record: 7-6
Last year’s result: 38-20, Indiana
Notable players: QB Nate Davis (3,667 yards passing, 30 touchdowns), RB MiQuale Lewis (447 yards rushing in 5 games), WR Dante Love (1398 yards receiving, 10 touchdowns), CBs BJ Hill and Trey Lewis (5 interceptions each), DE Brandon Crawford (8 sacks)
Outlook: Defeating the Ball State Cardinals is going to be a tough task this year. They return all the core players in an offense that scored 31.5 points per game and 443.8 total yards last season and finished with a record identical to the Hoosiers. The defense is less than spectacular but there are several playmakers that can turn the tide of the game. Whoever steps up in the defensive backfield will have to do something to slow down the prolific
Nate Davis-Dante Love tandem, and Kellen Lewis and the offense will have to generate a considerable number of points to compete. The Hoosiers have the slight advantage at home but no more than that.
Cupcake rating:
5/10
Michigan State
When/where we’ll play them: Bloomington, 9/27/2008
Last year’s record: 7-6
Last year’s result: 27-52, Michigan State
Notable players: QB Brian Hoyer (2,725 yards passing, 20 touchdowns), RB Javon Ringer (1,447 yards, 6 touchdowns), S Otis Wiley (4 interceptions, 49 total tackles)
Outlook: After the loss of a touchdown machine in RB
Jehuu Caulcrick, a top-tier WR in
Devin Thomas, and last year’s sack leaders in
Jonal Saint-Dic and
Ervin Baldwin, the matchup with Michigan State should be considerably less harsh for the Hoosiers this season. The Spartan offense returns QB
Brian Hoyer as well as RB
Javon Ringer, who ran all over IU last season for 203 yards, but won’t have Caulcrick (3 touchdowns in the victory), Thomas (148 yards receiving and a touchdown), or its playmaking defensive ends (a forced fumble by Saint-Dic was returned by Baldwin for a touchdown). Nonetheless, the Spartans still retain a good amount of talent and will be a good challenge for the Hoosiers, with the Hoyer and Ringer-led offense and a defense featuring S
Otis Wiley and LB
Greg Jones.
Cupcake rating:
6/10
Looking at the first part of the schedule, the Hoosiers will probably be aiming for a 3-1 record coming out of the first four games. Assuming that they take care of business against Western Kentucky and Murray State, the Hoosiers will be looking to take one of the two games against Ball State and Michigan State. Both of those games could easily go either way, and IU may be sitting at an even 2-2 record at the end of September or possibly even sitting pretty at a perfect 4-0. If the Hoosiers get upset in one of the first two games, though, they could be in a very deep hole with no room for error.
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