The No. 3 Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0) return to Memorial Stadium for the first time in nearly a month. Last week the Hoosiers went west and beat Oregon. This week they face the Michigan State Spartans (3-3, 0-3) in the Battle for the Old Brass Spittoon. For IU to raise the Victory Flag and retain the Spittoon this week they will have to…
Stay Laser Focused on the Task at Hand
The Hoosiers will face plenty of distractions and rat poison this week. Head coach Curt Cignetti just inked a new deal through 2033, it’s homecoming weekend and IU is coming off their second biggest win in program history. Cignetti hunts complacency and he’ll be stalking it as much as humanly possible. While the Hoosiers control their own destiny for a Big Ten championship and a 12-0 regular season record, they can’t get there unless they go 7-0 and beat Michigan State first. All the talk about a Big Ten and national title is fun tailgate banter, but it can’t carry over to the team.
Start Fast
Michigan State looked like it quit against UCLA in a 38-13 loss to the Bruins in East Lansing. Coach Cignetti has talked about changing the way the opponent thinks during the game. The Spartans may come out with some life much like they did against IU last year, but if IU starts fast and puts points on the board while keeping Michigan State’s offense in check it could mean MSU needs to warm the busses up quickly.
Michigan State’s opponents are out scoring the Spartans in every quarter but the third and opponents have outscored MSU 47-32 in the fourth quarter. UCLA rattled off 38-straight points to make the Spartans tap out last week. IU can do damage early and this could turn into a homecoming bonanza for the Hoosiers.
Dominate the Line of Scrimmages
Indiana has the clear advantage on both sides of the line of scrimmage against Michigan State. IU’s offensive line bullied a very good Oregon defensive line, and really everyone all year. The Hoosiers should be able to do whatever they want on offense against a team allowing 31.8 points per game.
Last week the Indiana defensive line was doubted because Oregon’s line was so much bigger. The Hoosiers took that personally, to the point of calling out the person in the postgame press conference. IU sacked Dante Moore six times and had eight tackles for loss. The Hoosiers use speed, strength and athleticism to run their simulated pressure defense and confuse the offense. The Spartans are down two starting offensive linemen this week and Aiden Chiles probably still has nightmares about Mikail Kamara burying him into the Spartan Stadium turf last season. Everybody eats on Saturday.