Game week!

Five days from today, almost to the hour, the Hoosiers begin the 2008 season with a home game against new-to-I-A Western Kentucky. Plenty of questions remain about the season and the program. Will Kellen Lewis, Ben Chappell, or both be the quarterback? How will IU's offense respond to the departure of James Hardy? Will the addition of Jerimy Finch and the return of most of the front seven take some pressure off of IU's newbie cornerbacks? Is the real Bill Lynch the guy from the middle years of his career at BSU, or the guy from the rest of his career? What is certain is that the long bowl drought is over. We won't have to read about it in the newspaper or hear color commentators discuss it during every game.

In light of the rapidly approaching season, a few executive decisions:

• I'll continue the position-by-position previews as the week transpires, in addition to previewing the WKU game specifically.
• I'm not going to be able to continue the 2007 retrospectives in any detail. The rest of this post will contain links and brief discussion of the last seven games of the 2007 season.

The season that was, abbreviated version:

• Game 7: Michigan State 52, Indiana 27. Here's the box, here's my unhappy recap. The euphoria of the Bucket game and the thrill of the first bowl bid in 14 years allowed me forget just how frustrating was the last half of the 2007 season. In 2006, IU obliterated MSU in Bloomington, scoring 46 unanswered points on the way to a not-as-close-as-the-score 46-21 win. In 2007, MSU got its revenge, dominating all but the scoreboard in the first half and finally expanding its lead in the second half. This was a splash of cold water after a 5-1 start.
• Game 8: Penn State 36, Indiana 31. The box; the recap. IU played Penn State for the first time since the 2004 gut-puch, a game in which PSU stopped IU on four consecutive plays from the one yard line to preserve a victory. Fumbles and mental errors by two of IU's best players, Kellen Lewis (three fumbles) and Tracy Porter (a fumbled punt return, and allowing a punt to bounce to the 5 instead of catching it at the 30 on IU's last possession) sealed IU's fate.
• Game 9: Wisconsin 33, Indiana 3. The box; the recap. Late October was not good to the Hoosiers. The final score really says it all. This one could have been as ugly as the MSU game if PJ Hill hadn't been injured during the game.
• Game 10: Indiana 38, Ball State 20. The box; the recap. After a rough few weeks, IU clinched a non-losing season and provisional bowl eligibility by beating a solid Ball State team by 18 despite too many turnovers. IU plays Ball State in game 3 of 2008, so we'll revisit this one soon.
• Game 11: Northwestern 31, Indiana 28. The box; the recap. Had IU not held on against Purdue, this game, and the handling of Ben Chappell during his brief injury substitution for Lewis, might have cost Bill Lynch a chance at the job. IU lost its fourth consecutive game to Northwestern, and all four games have been decided in overtime or by less than a touchdown.
• Game 12: Indiana 27, Purdue 24. The box, the recap. IU kept the Bucket in Bloomington for the first time in six years despite allowing Purdue to come back from a 24-3 deficit. While a blowout would have been nice, after a gut-wrenching collapse, IU managed (barely) to move the ball into Austin Starr's range, and the 49-yard game-winning field goal become one of the most memorable moments of the 2007 season nationally and one of the most treasured moments in IU's football history.
• Insight Bowl: Oklahoma State 49, Indiana 33. The box; the recap. This game followed the same script as the MSU game: IU was manhandled from start to finish by a talented team with a mediocre record, despite the deceptively close score. This game is the reason that I ranked Oklahoma State in my preseason blogpoll ballot: IU was no worldbeater last year, but this OSU team has lots of talent, particularly at the offensive skill positions. While the loss was disappointing, IU played in its first bowl game since 1993 and its first warm weather bowl game since 1991. It was progress, and by all accounts a great experience for players and IU fans.

UPDATE: ESPN's Adam Rittenberg notes that IU's depth chart is out and has some interesting observations on tight end, corner, and WR. Here is IU's week 1 depth chart, within the weekly release (pdf warning).

Oklahoma State 49, Indiana 33.

The Hoosiers' return to postseason play was an important outcome on its own, but IU was dominated by Oklahoma State, which should provide the team with plenty of offseason motivation. Here's the box score. Anyone who watched the game knows that the final score doesn't really reflect the full extent of OSU's dominance.

IU moved the ball respectably on the first drive but settled for a field goal. The next time IU managed a first down, the score was already 21-3. IU had a decent drive but failed on the fourth down conversion and the game essentially was over at that point. I thoughy an early killer play was the facemask on Tracy Porter, which turned a 7 yard loss on second down into an OSU first down when IU still led 3-0. Certainly, OSU was a better team and likely would have won anyway, but any kind of a stop early on might have taken the pressure off the offense. Still, as bad as the IU defense was, it's hard to explain IU's lack of success against what during the regular season was a terrible OSU pass defense.

If this is James Hardy's last game as a Hoosier, he should be proud of his outstanding career, but nothing about his final game will make any sort of highlight reel. Hardy missed some catchable balls early that might have changed the direction of the game.

The statistics were deceptively close. OSU outgained IU 513-399. OSU had the advantage in yards per play, 6.2 to 5.2. IU ran the ball effectively, although that mostly was a result of some long Lewis scrambles. IU won the turnover battle 2-0, which further highlights the Cowboys' dominance. In the first half, IU gained 156 yards and OSU 327. That really tells the story more than the final stats.

I really have to wonder how in the world OSU lost six games. Zac Robinson is an amazing talent, and freshman receiver Dez Bryant, who I didn't even mention in any preview post, is going to be a star.

This was a good season. Because of the offseason turmoil involving the absence and eventual death of Terry Hoeppner, most pundits picked the Hoosiers to finish at or near the bottom of the standings. Certainly, IU played a favorable schedule, but managed to win seven games and produce the first winning season since 1994 and first bowl since 1993. IU sold the vast majority of its ticket allotment and it was great to see the sizable group of fans that followed the Hoosiers to Arizona. Hopefully, in terms of player development, recruiting, and fan support, 2007 and the Insight Bowl will be a first step for IU's program.

Gameday!

Here's a nice preview from Pete Fiutak of Fox Sports, even if he does pick the Cowboys. OSU remains approximately a 4.5 point favorite, which, given OSU's high-production offense and the tougher schedule, is fair.

It looks like a nice day in the Valley of the Sun. Sunny, with the high of 65 occurring around kickoff time.

Some last minute, trivial odds and ends:

• Technically, this is IU's first game against the Big 12 Conference. Although the Big 12 is the obvious successor to the Big 8, technically (and much to the chagrin of the Big 8 holdovers) the Big 12 is a new conference that began play in 1996. IU's last game against a current Big 12 member was in 1992, a 20-10 win over Missouri in Bloomington. That was the last game of an eight year series against the Tigers, and the Hoosiers were 6-0-2 against Mizzou during that stretch. IU's last loss to a current Big 12 member was a loss to Colorado in 1979. IU has a modest 2 game winning streak against the Big 12 members (the 1992 Missouri game and the 1991 Copper Bowl against Baylor) and a ten game unbeaten streak.
• IU has a respectable 25-17-6 record against current Big 12 members. IU has never played Iowa State, Texas A&M, or Texas Tech.
• Believe it or not, IU's 9 wins against Nebraska are the most wins IU has against any major non-conference opponent other than Kentucky.
• IU's only previous game against Oklahoma State was in 1930, a 7-7 tie in Bloomington against what then was known as Oklahoma A&M.
• Oklahoma State is 1-8-1 against Big Ten opponents. The Cowboys have never played Illinois, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, or Wisconsin. The only OSU win over a Big Ten school was a 6-0 win over Iowa in 1930, the same year that the Hoosiers and the Cowboys tied.
• Two of OSU's 17 bowl appearances have been against Big Ten schools: the Cowboys lost 33-20 to Purdue in the 1997 Alamo Bowl and 33-7 to Ohio State in the 2004 Alamo Bowl.
• The 1991 Copper Bowl against Baylor (then of the Southwest Conference) is IU's only postseason appearance against a current Big 12 team.

Meet the Cowboys.

Just about 24 hours until the Insight Bowl kicks off. I've discussed OSU's team stats, but here are the individuals worth watching tomorrow.

Zac Robinson, sophomore quarterback. Robinson emerged as OSU's starter early in the season and has become a reliable dual threat for the Cowboys. Robinson completed 59.2 percent of his passes and threw for 20 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Robinson ran for seven touchdowns and was OSU's second leading rusher with 77 yards (6.2 yards per attempt). Quite remarkably, Robinson was sacked only seven times. For reference, Kellen Lewis, whose numbers are comparable otherwise, was sacked 29 times.

Dantrell Savage, senior running back. Savage came to OSU as a juco transfer and has a solid 1992 rushing yards in his two year career. This season, Savage played in only 10 games, but ran for 1172 yards and 5.9 yards per carry. He scored 8 touchdowns and caught 25 passes for 258 yards. Other than a respectable 10/55 performance in the opener against Georgia, Savage has broken the 100 yard barrier in every game he has played, and never did worse than 4.4 yards per carry. The OSU rushing game is formidable.

Kendall Hunter, freshman running back. Hunter is a true freshman, and while his playing time has been sporadic, he has 663 yards rushing and 6.7 yards per carry. All of Hunter's good games were in September and October, so perhaps he hit the freshman wall, but he, Robinson, and Savage present a challenge for IU's less than stellar run defense.

Adarius Bowman, senior receiver. Bowman missed the Cowboys' last two games with an injury, but will play in the Insight Bowl. In ten games, Bowman caught 61 balls for 932 yards and 7 touchdowns. He was even better as a junior, with 1161 yards and 12 touchdowns. Bowman is 6-4 and so the media has been all over the James Hardy comparison.

Jacob Lacey, junior cornerback. Lacey leads the Cowboys with five interceptions.

Nathan Peterson, senior defensive end. Peterson leads OSU with six sacks and 14 tackles for loss.

Oklahoma State by the numbers.

The Insight Bowl is just five days away, and with tonight's Motor City Bowl between Purdue and Central Michigan, the Big Ten's bowl season is underway. The bowl retrospectives will continue tomorrow, but it's time to take a look at the Cowboys statistically. As the look back at the Cowboys' season indicated, Oklahoma State has a pretty potent offense:

GENERAL

Record: IU 7-5; OSU 6-6

Conference record: IU 3-5; OSU 4-4

Sagarin: IU 61; OSU 43

Sagarin schedule strength: IU 83; OSU 20

Scoring margin: IU 379-321 (+58); OSU 401-351 (+50)

OFFENSE

Total offense: IU: 393.3; OSU 484.1

Rushing yards per game: IU 155.6; OSU 245.8

Rushing yards per carry: IU 4.2; OSU 5.4

Passing yards per game: IU 237.8; OSU 238.2

Passing yards per attempt: IU: 7.1; OSU 8.1

Scoring offense: IU 31.6; OSU 33.2

Rushing touchdowns: IU 16; OSU 26

Passing touchdowns: IU 26; OSU 23

Interceptions: IU 11; OSU 9

Fumbles/lost: IU 38/18; OSU 21/11

DEFENSE

Total defense: IU 394.2; OSU 446.7

Rushing yards per game: IU 155.4; OSU 154.7

Rushing yards per carry: IU 3.7; OSU 4.1

Passing yards per game: IU 238.8; OSU 292

Passing yards per attempt: IU 6.6; OSU 8.0

Scoring defense: IU 26.8; OSU 29.2

Rushing touchdowns: IU 20; OSU 20

Passing touchdowns: IU 18; OSU 25

Interceptions: IU 18; OSU 12

Fumbles recovered: IU 11; OSU 7

SPECIAL TEAMS

Field goals: IU 19/21; OSU 10/18

Punting (gross/net): IU: 37.8/35.1; OSU 42.5/34.9

Oklahoma State's offense is significantly better in nearly every offensive category, other than touchdown passes. On the other hand, IU's less-than-outstanding defense is consistently better than OSU's. OSU's defensive weakness (pass defense) is IU's strength. IU's defensive weakness, while a bit skewed by IU's strength of schedule, tended to be rushing defense, at least against strong, physical teams like Michigan State, Penn State, and Wisconsin. Rushing offense is OSU's strength. Like IU, a decent chunk of OSU produced a significant percentage of rushing yards from the QB position. Zac Robinson was second on the team with 125 attempts, 777 yards, and 7 touchdowns. Unlike IU, OSU had more success with a traditional running game: Dantrell Savage led the team with 1172 yards and 5.9 yards per carry. More on the individuals tomorrow.

Oklahoma State's 2007 season.

Before I get into this post, if you couldn't read the box score in the Rose Bowl post below, I have edited the post. You can view the full size version by clicking on the image.

Here's a quick overview of the Cowboys' 6-6 season, with game recaps linked:

• September 1: L 14-35, at Georgia. This was one of OSU's few poor offensive performances. The Cowboys were within a touchdown at the half, but managed only 266 net yards and only 2.1 yards per rush.
• September 8: W 42-6, Florida Atlantic. FAU beat Minnesota this season, but couldn't win in Stillwater. This game appears to be what ultimately lead to Mike Gundy's outburst against the columnist. Longtime QB Bobby Reid was benched in favor of Zac Robinson, who threw for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns. OSU dominated, outgaining FAU 488-203 and averaging over 7 yards per offensive play.
• September 14: L 23-41, at Troy. Obviously, this was the Cowboys' low point of the season. Troy, which finished 8-4 and won the Sun Belt, jumped out to a 34-10 lead early in the third quarter. OSU moved the ball reasonably well but turned the ball over five times and allowed 562 offensive yards.
• September 22: W 49-45, Texas Tech. Not much defense in this one. The two teams traded scores all day, and Robinson threw a 54 yard TD pass to Brandon Pettigrew late in the fourth quarter. Tech's Graham Harrell threw for 646 yards, but OSU ran for 366 yards on 61 attempts and added 244 yards in the air. Believe it nor not, the teams somehow found the time to punt twice each.
• September 29: W 39-3, Sam Houston State. OSU allowed 355 yards but generated over 500 of its own in this rout.
• October 6: L 23-24, at Texas A&M. Other than Troy, this looks like the other what-if game for OSU. The Cowboys led 17-0 at halftime in College Station before A&M's Javorskie Lane took over. Lane scored two rushing TDs and caught another, and even managed a 49 yard pass completion on a halfback option. In this game, OSU's Bobby Reid played well after Robvinson was injured late in the game.
• October 13: W 45-14, at Nebraska. OSU won in Lincoln for the first time since 1960. OSU won with a balanced attack and averaged nearly six yards per carry. Robinson returned from injury was was 12-19 for 244 yards and no interceptions.
• October 20: W 41-39, Kansas State. This was another shootout, much like the Texas Tech game. Both teams gained over 500 yards each. Zac Robinson didn't pass well (11-25) but rushed for over 100 yards. OSU won with a field goal with two seconds remaining.
• November 3: L 35-38, Texas. As in the A&M game, OSU blew a big lead. The Cowboys led 21-0 early in the fourth quarter and led 35-14 at the beginning of the fourth, but the Longhorns rallied to win. Again, both teams gained over 500 yards. Texas broke a 35-35 tie with a 40 yard field goal as time expired.
• November 10: L 28-43, Kansas. OSU stayed competitive, but the Jayhawks controlled this one for most of the way. Kansas outgained OSU 529-471, but Zac Robinson again had an excellent game passing and running.
• November 17: W 45-14, at Baylor. This one was 28-14 at halftime but the Cowboys pulled away in the second half. OSU had another 500+ day and rushed for 343 yards (6.7 per).
• November 24: L 49-17, at Oklahoma. The Sooners led 14-0 and OSU never really challenged. OSU's offensive performance was less than stellar, with only 299 yards. OSU still rushed for five yards per carry but the passing game was awful.

I'll take a look at OSU by the numbers something soon. The Cowboys seem fairly similar to IU. Unquestionably, the offense is OSU's strength. Like Kellen Lewis, Zac Robinson is a duel threat, a respectable passer who is his team's second leading rusher. My biggest concern is OSU's rushing game. More later.

Football odds and ends.

Not much is going athletically during finals week, but here are a few tidbits:

• Franklin Central running back Darius Willis committed to IU earlier in the week. Willis was considering Purdue, Kentucky, and Boston College. That seems better than the profile of our typical recruits.
• Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Larry Fedora is the new coach at Southern Mississippi, and the Tulsa World confirms that Fedora will not coach in the Insight Bowl. Like IU, OSU's strength is its offense, so this departure certainly will not hurt the Hoosiers' chances.
• The Hoosiers are well-represented on the All-American teams recently named by the AP and Sports Illustrated. Austin Starr: first team SI, second team AP. James Hardy: third team AP, honorable mention SI. Greg Middleton: second team SI, third team AP.
• Per Hoosier Scoop, and as is now noted in the sidebar, WXIN-59 of Indianapolis, the local Fox affiliate for Bloomington and most of central Indiana, will carry the Insight Bowl, including in high definition.

A quick look at Oklahoma State' history.

Before delving into the 2007 OSU Cowboys, I thought I would take a quick look at the program's history--the 2007 Insight Bowl is still three weeks away, after all.

Academically, Oklahoma State, which is the state's land grant school, bears more resemblance to Purdue than to IU. The school was known as Oklahoma A&M until 1957. Athletically, OSU is more similar to IU. OSU's basketball program, both recently and historically, is more accomplished than the football program. While many readers will recall the Cowboys' recent Final Four appearances under Eddie Sutton, OSU was a mid-century powerhouse under the legendary Henry Iba, who led the Cowboys to consecutive NCAA titles in 1945 and 1946. Here's the tale of the tape (with credit to Stassen and College Football Data Warehouse):

First year of football: IU: 1887; OSU: 1901

Wins (through 2006): IU: 430 (#88); OSU: 484 (#63)

Winning Percentage (through 2006): IU: .42601 (#101); OSU: .49035 (#84)

Previous bowl appearances: IU: 8; OSU: 17

Last Bowl appearance: IU: 1993 (Independence Bowl); OSU: 2006 (Independence Bowl)

Bowl wins: IU: 3; OSU: 11

Last bowl win: IU: 1991 (24-0 over Baylor in Copper Bowl); OSU: 2006 (34-31 over Alabama in the Independence Bowl)

Conference titles: IU: 2; OSU: 9

Last conference title: IU: 1967; OSU: 1976

Helmet change, again.

Per Ken Bikoff of Inside Indiana, IU will be sporting a third helmet design in the Insight Bowl. Because of positive feedback about the design of the throwback helmet:

IU will keep the stripes, but will switch to the interlock IU logo (seen in the header at the top of this blog) instead of the block I. This will be the sixth helmet variation for IU in the last eight seasons. It will be the third variation of the interlock IU helmet (which previously has been worn with a white facemask and a crimson facemask).

Broadcast issues.

IU enjoyed its best football season in 14 years, but because of the ongoing dispute between the Big Ten and various cable outlets, only one of IU's 12 games was widely available to most Indiana cable subscribers. Now that the Hoosiers have been rewarded with a bowl bid, the game is again on a cable network that isn't universally available, the NFL Network. Jason points out an article in the Indianapolis Star indicating that WXIN 59, the Indianapolis Fox affiliate, may be allowed to pick up the game. Nothing is certain yet, and the article suggests that WTTV 4 is to widely distributed to be an acceptable alternative. That is unfortunate. Although IU is within the Fox 59 viewing area, the game is of interest to the entire state. Hopefully they will work something out. In the meantime, Fox 59's phone number is 317-632-5900.

IU to Insight Bowl.

Reported by numerous sources, although not the IU site, yet. The Hoosiers will play Oklahoma State in Tempe. The Insight finally announced the game time: 5:30 EST on the NFL Network. The game will take place on the 14th anniversary of IU's last bowl game, a 45-20 loss to Virginia Tech in the Independence Bowl. The game will be on the 16th anniversary of IU's last bowl win, a 24-0 win over Baylor in this very bowl--back when it was called the Copper Bowl and played in Tucson.

Obviously, I'll have lots to say about this matchup in the next four weeks. While these things are always subject to change, I'll take a look at Oklahoma State, of course, as well as a look at IU's bowl history and other issues. As I have said, any bowl would have been an important step for this program, but man oh man, am I glad we aren't playing a MAC school in Detroit (and that's not intended to be a slam on Purdue--no Big Ten team should be rewarded in that way). I'm happy that the players, the coaches, the band, the cheerleaders and everyone will be rewarded with a warm weather bowl after so many rough seasons.