Hoosiers Welcome Cardinals For Home Opener

Indiana is ready to take the field for the home opener on Saturday against Ball State Image: Sammy Jacobs, HoosierHuddle.com

By: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

In 2008, the Indiana Hoosiers were shellacked by Ball State 42-20. In Kevin Wilson’s first game in charge of the IU program, the Hoosiers were knocked off in the 2011 season opener in Lucas Oil Stadium, 27-20. In 2012, IU’s in-state foe beat the Hoosiers for a third-straight time, winning a thriller in Bloomington, 39-41. Three straight losses to any MAC foe is tough to swallow. Losing three straight to a MAC team hailing from your state? Well, that’s not something that has been easy for Hoosier fans to live with for the past few seasons.

The two teams will renew their on-again, off-again rivalry this Saturday at Memorial Stadium as the 1-0 Indiana Hoosiers will host the 1-0 Ball State Cardinals at 4:00 on ESPNews. The narrative surrounding this game will be that Ball State has won three in a row and that Kevin Wilson’s Hoosiers have a chance to show just how far the IU program has come in his tenure. While that’s all true, the past is simply prologue and both teams are just trying to find a way to get to 2-0. 

The Cardinals won their first game under new head coach Mike Neu on Friday night in the Georgia Dome as they ran for 325 yards to knock off the Georgia State Panthers. Ball State struggled to run the ball in 2015 but they were dominant on the ground in their opener, particularly running back James Gilbert as he ran for 160 yards and two touchdowns. BSU coach Mike Neu was impressed with his team’s ability to run the ball, “You always want to be able to run the ball. Riley (Neal) got off to a slow start the other night. He had two interceptions early in that game, and we wanted to settle him down. No better way to do that than get going running-game wise. Then, when things start going well, you’re crazy if you go away from that. So that was just a good recipe and a good formula for us the other night, so we stuck to it. Our offensive linemen, they were chomping at the bit. You could see the look in their eyes, they wanted the challenge.”

Neu spoke about facing the Indiana Hoosiers and he knows it’ll be a different kind of challenge to what they saw in Georgia State, “I have watched them. They had a great overall performance. I think they’re very balanced on the offensive side of the ball. They run it well, they throw it well. And defensively, they had a great night the other night. It’s going to be a physical game, for us, so we’re up for that. We’ll be ready to go.”

The “great night” from the defense Mike Neu mentioned included IU holding Florida International to a mere 63 rushing yards. That sets up a very obvious week two showdown between the BSU running game and IU’s running defense. Which unit can replicate their week one success?

“They (BSU) physically dominated them in the second half, and it was impressive,” IU defensive coordinator Tom Allen said on Monday. 

The Hoosiers showcased a nice rushing attack of their own in the season opener, churning out 246 yards on 52 carries, led by Devine Redding’s 139 yards on 22 carries. 

“I thought we played reasonably physical, and those are some things to build on,” IU head coach Kevin Wilson said.

The running games stood out for both teams but the passing attacks shouldn’t be forgotten. BSU’s Riley Neal struggled, going only 15-29 for 130 yards and throwing two interceptions. Meanwhile, Richard Lagow started slowly but settled in to have a solid debut for the Hoosiers. The redshirt junior was 18-27 for 240 yards with one passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. He struggled with the couple of deep balls he threw but the numbers exceeded what Nate Sudfeld did against FIU in 2015. With top receiver Simmie Cobbs back from a one-game suspension, Lagow will look to build on his week one performance and help the Hoosiers halt the Cardinals winning streak in the series at three.

The fans on both sides are certainly aware of the recent history in this matchup. The coaches, particularly Indiana’s will no doubt remember the two losses they suffered at the hands of Ball State in their first two years in charge in Bloomington. This is a chance to reassert dominance over the Cardinals but, more importantly, it is a chance to improve to 2-0 before heading into a bye week and the Hoosiers can ill afford any slip-ups on their quest to return to the postseason for a second straight season.