2015 Season Preview: November 21st at Maryland

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2015 Season Preview: November 21st at Maryland

Week 11: Maryland Terrapins

Heading into the Maryland game, the season could be in a wide range of places. It’s certainly possible that the Hoosier have five games and they are playing the Terps for a chance to become bowl-eligible. It’s also certainly possible that they only have four wins and need to knock off both Maryland and Purdue to secure six wins. A pessimist could definitely envision a scenario in which IU has already been eliminated from bowl contention and this game is meaningless but we aren’t going to consider that possibility and wallow in misery until we have to. With that said, it’s safe to say we expect this to be a very important game. The Hoosiers will have to play much better than they did against Maryland in 2014. IU fell to the Terps 37-15 (and it wasn’t even that close) and handed Maryland their first B1G victory. This game will come at a tough time for Randy Edsall’s club as they will be coming off of back-to-back contests against brutish opposition in Wisconsin and Michigan State.

 

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2015 Position Preview: Running Backs

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2015 Position Preview: Running Backs

Season Position Preview: Running Backs

The B1G’s 2014 season was all about three things: Ohio State’s march to a National Title, wonderfully bad commercials on the B1G Network and the abundance of talent at running back. The names are well known: David Cobb, Akeem Hunt, Ameer Abdullah, Jeremy Langford, Melvin Gordon, Justin Jackson, Ezekiel Elliott and of course, Tevin Coleman. Those are just some of the names that terrorized B1G defenses. A few of those players are back with their teams this season and looking forward to pick up where they left off. However, most of the star running backs have departed for the NFL and the teams they left behind have spent the offseason trying to develop a running game in their absence.

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Hoosier Huddle's B1G 2015 Sleepers and Busts

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Hoosier Huddle's B1G 2015 Sleepers and Busts

The college football season is nearly here and we thought you, our loyal readers, would enjoy the opportunity to see what we, the writers, think about some of the other teams around the B1G and the country. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will post our picks for the college football playoff, national “sleepers” and “busts” and, as you can see, B1G “sleepers” and “busts”. We’ll keep track of our picks throughout the season and update how well we ended up predicting the future once the season wraps up. 

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2015 Season Preview: Nov. 14th Indiana vs. Michigan

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2015 Season Preview: Nov. 14th Indiana vs. Michigan

The Hoosier Huddle Season Preview Series has reached its final stop on the Hoosiers home schedule, a senior day matchup with the Michigan Wolverines. Over the past few matchups this series has been filled with some classic moments while the Hoosiers have knocked on the door, but failed to knock it down, of victory.

Week 11: Michigan Wolverines

Time & Date: TBD, Saturday, Nov. 14

Venue: Memorial Stadium (52,929), Bloomington, Ind.

TV: TBD

 

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Top 5 Series: Opposing Tight Ends

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Top 5 Series: Opposing Tight Ends

Written By: Nick Holmes (@HoosierHolmes)

Welcome back to our weekly installment of the Top Five Series, where we take a closer look at some of the most talented players or position groups that the Hoosiers will be facing this fall. So far we have made it through quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and the offensive line, leaving just one position on offense, tight ends. It was somewhat difficult to rank this position, because as you well know, a tight end’s offensive production is largely dependent upon what type of offense the team is running. For our ranking, their production in the passing game was heavily weighted as was potential to have a breakout season this fall. Here are the tight ends, all of whom were named to the John Mackey Award watch list last month, we believe could create the most trouble for the Hoosiers this fall. 

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Top 5 Storylines As the Hoosiers Head into Fall Camp

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Top 5 Storylines As the Hoosiers Head into Fall Camp

The Indiana Hoosiers will hold their first fall practice on Aug. 6. This is the official start of the 2015 football season. Heading into fall practice there are several storylines that should be the focus of Hoosier fans. Here at HoosierHuddle.com we try and bring you storylines that are beyond the dime-a-dozen "Nate Sudfeld needs to stay healthy" plots (although it is very true and cannot be ignored. 

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2015 Season Preview: November 7 Iowa at Indiana

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2015 Season Preview: November 7 Iowa at Indiana

Written By: Nick Holmes (@HoosierHolmes)

Week 10: Iowa Hawkeyes

The Hoosiers welcome Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes to Bloomington for a week 10 matchup. These Hawkeyes, much like Hawkeye from the well-known Avengers movies, is a worthy opponent, but when compared to the rest of the lineup, seems quite pedestrian. The comic book character, at least his movie iteration, fails to strike fear in his adversaries in quite the same way that the Hulk, Thor, or Captain America does. The Iowa Hawkeyes pose a threat, but of the other potential opponents you could face, seems to be one of the least problematic. That’s not to say we are overlooking Ferentz and his team, but at the end of the day, would you rather step into the ring with the likes of Iron Man, Vision, or Hawkeye? I can guarantee you aren’t making it out alive against the former two, and while taking down Hawkeye is no easy feat, at least you have punchers chance. Recent history shows us that the Hoosiers might even have a greater chance than that.

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Top Five Series: Opposing Offensive Line Units

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Top Five Series: Opposing Offensive Line Units

Top 5 Opponents – Offensive Line

Our “Top 5” series continues this week as we head into the trenches to determine who we think the five toughest offensive line units the Hoosiers will face this season are. None of these top 5 lists have been easy to create and it’s difficult to determine which stats and pieces of film and bits of research matter and which ones don’t. That being said, this is our first non-individual ranking (we’ll be ranking the lines and a couple of other positions as units) so this list did require a slightly different approach. To get our list, advanced stats like adjusted line yards, adjusted sack rate and power success rate were considered as was factors like experience and recent recruiting history. 

Please note, this is not a B1G power ranking. Only teams that IU plays in 2015 are being considered for these lists. So, Wisconsin and Minnesota fans, your team isn’t being slighted, they just aren’t eligible for this particular ranking. 

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2015 Season Preview: October 24 Indiana at Michigan State

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2015 Season Preview: October 24 Indiana at Michigan State

Written By: Nick Holmes (@HoosierHolmes)

WEEK 8: MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

Going on the road and winning in the Big Ten is no easy task. Coming home with a victory after a trip to East Lansing? Nearly impossible. The last time the Hoosiers accomplished this feat was back in 2001. The 2001 season is statistically significant for another reason that will come up again later in our preview. Michigan State finished with an 11-2 record in 2014 and have their eyes set on a greater prize this fall, an opportunity to represent the Big Ten in this year’s College Football playoff. Aside from an Oregon squad who will be playing in just their second contest post the Marcus Mariota era, the Spartans have a pretty easy schedule leading up to the Old Brass Spittoon game with the Hoosiers during week eight. 

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Top 5 Series: Opposing Wide Receivers

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Top 5 Series: Opposing Wide Receivers

Written By: Nick Holmes (@HoosierHolmes)

Welcome back to our weekly Top Five Series, where we identify and rank the top players at each position on the Hoosiers 2015 schedule. This week will be putting the most talented wide receivers under a microscope. We found that selecting our top five pass catchers was as equally as difficult as picking out the top five running backs, but for a decidedly different reason. There were so many good choices at wide receiver it was hard to pare it down to just five. Whereas at running back, we had trouble coming up with a consensus top five as there are so many questions marks surrounding the position in the Big Ten this year. Here are what we believe to be the top wide receivers who will be attempting to take advantage of the Hoosiers inexperienced secondary.

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