@yothn not how it works haha
haha No, I get that. With so few games played, the lines are basically public opinion polls. The issue here is the rankings are skewing people's opinions but as we know, the rankings have no merit this early in the season.
Indiana would beat Illinois on a neutral field. At home, Indiana hasn't lost in a long time. Indiana at night, at home, on national TV, in a Red out.....Purdue comes to mind. True homefield advantage is foreign to IU fans because we never have it on par with other teams top end home games. IU walks away with this one....
@yothn I would be really shocked if this game gets out of hand one way or the other. Now Illinois was hit with some injury news today that isn't great for them, but this is setting up to be a classic clash.
https://twitter.com/Hoosier_Huddle/status/1968712788752081076
@yothn I would be really shocked if this game gets out of hand one way or the other. Now Illinois was hit with some injury news today that isn't great for them, but this is setting up to be a classic clash.
https://twitter.com/Hoosier_Huddle/status/1968712788752081076
Thats certainly the national narrative. I don't think the game is out of hand, like Nebraska was. But I can see something very similar to Washington or Michigan last year. I expect we walk away knowing Indiana is the clearly better of the two teams.
@yothn people seem to gloss over Illinois not having a lot of high end talent. Really, they only have 2 guys who are likely to get drafted - and with Scott out that leaves them with just 1 for our game.
IU meanwhile is loaded. Walter Football has Amare Ferrell as a first rounder. Everyone has Mendoza as a first rounder. Ponds is likely a 2nd rounder, would be a first if he was taller. Sarratt, Cooper, Kamara, Coogan, Evans, Hemby... We have tons of NFL talent.
Illinois is a good team, they just dont have the guys to win a matchup like this. Certainly not on the road.
@hoosierdaddy There's a reason the game is played on the field and not on paper though. I am not totally disagreeing that IU's has more overall talent, but that doesn't mean it's a lock.
@hoosierdaddy There's a reason the game is played on the field and not on paper though. I am not totally disagreeing that IU's has more overall talent, but that doesn't mean it's a lock.
Anything can happen on any given Saturday. I just tend to go with the odds. I understand people wanting to be cautious and meticulous with their words. I'm just not going to sit here and pretend to myself that this game is nearly as close as people want to make it out to be.
If I hear "Beatty is the reason Illinois will win".....one more time! The guy is definitely good.....but so is Ponds. I fully expect Haines to put Beatty on an island surrounded by a Pond(s) and we'll send the house on Altmeyer and the running game. As most QB's, he's awful when under duress and IU has the ability to get after the passer.
@thehoosierhuddle 100%, anything can happen, I just think our fanbase has a lot of reasons to be very confident going into this game. Im mostly tired of the national narrative that our team cant hang for no reason other than the logo on the helmet. Out of the teams that were in the playoffs last year, the only team initially ranked lower than IU was Boise State. Any other school with as much expected NFL draft picks would already be top 15 if not top 10.
@yothn Im not sure we are going to see much of a Ponds v Beatty matchup, a lot of Beatty's production has come from the slot. Maybe the coaches decide to have Ponds trail him, but I would guess its more a matchup vs Boykin or Ferrell
@thehoosierhuddle 100%, anything can happen, I just think our fanbase has a lot of reasons to be very confident going into this game. Im mostly tired of the national narrative that our team cant hang for no reason other than the logo on the helmet. Out of the teams that were in the playoffs last year, the only team initially ranked lower than IU was Boise State. Any other school with as much expected NFL draft picks would already be top 15 if not top 10.
@yothn Im not sure we are going to see much of a Ponds v Beatty matchup, a lot of Beatty's production has come from the slot. Maybe the coaches decide to have Ponds trail him, but I would guess its more a matchup vs Boykin or Ferrell
Let me put it in simpler terms, too. If anyone thinks we have a chance at Oregon or at Penn State, then we should feel confident that we win this thing convincingly vs Illini at home. The Illini aren't beating either of those teams on the road or at home. Again, that doesn't mean IU can't have a bad game but I just don't see that as likely, under Cigs watch.
@hoosierdaddy I understand the hesitation to not have IU higher. I don't agree with it, but I understand it. If that makes sense. It was obvious that people saw IU lost some major pieces and just didn't care to take a deep dive into who was coming in.
Both IU and Illinois are battling for that fourth CFP spot from the Big Ten.
I dont agree with that. Of course we could think we may get beaten yet still have a reasonable chance, not just a chance, against better teams.Let me put it in simpler terms, too. If anyone thinks we have a chance at Oregon or at Penn State, then we should feel confident that we win this thing convincingly vs Illini at home. The Illini aren't beating either of those teams on the road or at home. Again, that doesn't mean IU can't have a bad game but I just don't see that as likely, under Cigs watch.
Your idea is saying that football games go by the chalk.
But sure, we should think we will win, and maybe think we will win solidly. But someone can think this is a close matchup and may not get the bounces, yet have us still at good chances to beat better teams. Not as if Illinois sucks. Good team with talent at QB, some experience.
I dont agree with that. Of course we could think we may get beaten yet still have a reasonable chance, not just a chance, against better teams.Let me put it in simpler terms, too. If anyone thinks we have a chance at Oregon or at Penn State, then we should feel confident that we win this thing convincingly vs Illini at home. The Illini aren't beating either of those teams on the road or at home. Again, that doesn't mean IU can't have a bad game but I just don't see that as likely, under Cigs watch.
Your idea is saying that football games go by the chalk.
But sure, we should think we will win, and maybe think we will win solidly. But someone can think this is a close matchup and may not get the bounces, yet have us still at good chances to beat better teams. Not as if Illinois sucks. Good team with talent at QB, some experience.
Teams can have bad weeks, for sure. IU did vs ODU....but good teams still show up at some point. IU is a good team. They win by at least 2 TD's.
@yothn I’m in agreement. They keep saying Illinois should go man because Mendozas metrics. Then I saw Altmyer stats…..
It sucks that Illinois forbids mobile gambling on in-state teams. I like Indiana in this, even at -6.5.
@bradstevens Same here. I will gladly take a win, my Notre Dame co workers have been awfully quiet this year and its time the Illini coworkers joined them
In my experience, Illni fans are ghosts. I never really meet diehard Illinois fans so it's tough for them to be as obnoxious as other fan bases. That said, I've never liked Illinois as a school/sports teams, unlike some other B1G teams and historic rivals, so I hope we blow their doors off and get them labeled pretenders and Bielema a has-been.@bradstevens Same here. I will gladly take a win, my Notre Dame co workers have been awfully quiet this year and its time the Illini coworkers joined them