NCAA Football Indiana Football

Four months almost to the day after he was suspended for the perennial favorite "unspecified violation of team rules," Kellen Lewis has been reinstated to the IU football team. There is still no word on what, exactly, got Lewis sent to Bill Lynch's Naughty Chair, and it's a good bet we'll never officially know.

This is great news for all 34 fans of IU football, who had to endure the departure of the freakishly good wideout James Hardy, now a Buffalo Bill. The recent resurgence of IU football came largely from the Lewis-Hardy connection, who feasted on the bones of defenses that persistently failed to cover the underneath routes. (Not that I'm bitter about that or anything.)

IU now moves into a Hardy-less future, but having Lewis back calling the signals should provide some much-needed continuity for a team that needs leadership. The Hoosiers installed a no-huddle offense in spring practice, all of which Lewis missed. If Lewis can pick up the new system Indiana could make a run at the top four of the Big Ten, which figures to be as wide-open as it ever has been. If not, well, at least the bowl drought is over.

You know it was some really bad weather in Indiana when a artificial turf surface is ruined. Indiana University's Memorial Stadium switched to AstroPlay turf in 2003. You know, to save money and allow the field to be used for more activities.

Well after the state of Indiana was buffeted last week by strong wind and heavy rains, there was flooding everywhere. Including Memorial Stadium.

[Indiana Athletic Director Rick] Greenspan said high winds this week drove a "phenomenal amount of rain under the carpet" and created a 10-inch deep sinkhole from the middle of the field inside the south end zone to the fence separating the field from fans.

"When it got down to (the south end), part of the turf just collapsed like one of those landslides you see in California where the foundation just goes out from under it," he said.

IU football coach Bill Lynch said there was a lot of water on the field when the staff arrived Thursday morning. When it drained, there were sinkholes and lumpy sections of carpet.

This picture (sorry, we don't have the rights to show it) shows the turf looking like a funhouse floor. Indiana is still trying to determine whether they can repair or have to replace the whole thing. The costs are expected to be $750,000 to $1 million.

The biggest issue, though, is time. It will take about 4 weeks to replace the turf. Then they have find a company capable of doing the work on short notice. The season opener is August 30, the absolute date it must be repaired or replaced. In the meantime, practices and football camps scheduled to take place on the field have been moved or canceled. Where the football team conducts summer training camp in August is now in question

To say that there haven't been a lot of great moments in the history of Indiana University football is more than an understatement. In 108 seasons of football the Hoosiers have won exactly two conference titles. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the University of Chicago has seven Big Ten football titles, and they quit playing big-time football in 1939.

Terry Hoeppner looked to be the one who could turn it around. He was that rarest of breeds, a proven college coach who didn't consider a stint in Bloomington to be an act of violence against his professional reputation. Hoeppner arrived from Miami University in 2005 and quickly installed self-confidence in his Hoosiers. He wasn't able to get them to a bowl game in his first two seasons, but anybody who followed the Big Ten had to figure it was just a matter of time.

Time, unfortunately, was running out. Hoeppner had a brain tumor and, following a rigorous course of treatment, the university announced that he would not coach in 2007. A few days after IU's announcement, Hoeppner died.

There are times you just wish the clock could stand still for a few days or weeks. But it doesn't, ever. The Hoosiers had only a little time to grieve for their coach. Most of us quietly wrote off Indiana's upcoming season, figuring the Hoosiers couldn't recover from the tragedy. We were wrong, of course.

Troubling news out of Bloomington today, as incumbent starting quarterback Kellen Lewis was suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. Coach Bill Lynch declined to provide any additional details, but it doesn't sound good. One blog (DISCLAIMER: blogs are not to be trusted. Ever.) claims that multiple credible sources assert that Lewis is done, done, done.

If true, the news is devastating; put simply, the Indiana offense needs Kellen Lewis. In his first two seasons at the helm of the Indiana offense, Lewis amassed 57 touchdowns (42 passing, 14 rushing, one receiving) and well over 6,000 yards of total offense. Lewis was a freshman All-American in 2006, and was named to the All-Big 10 second team by both the coaches and the press. Meanwhile, behind him on the depth chart is redshirt sophomore Ben Chappell and, like, a traffic cone.

Making the suspension even worse is the early departure of superfreak wideout James Hardy, who will likely be taken in the first round of next month's NFL draft. With those two, the Indiana offense was a terror last season--Indiana topped 30 points in eight of their 13 contests. In light of the suspension, the Hoosiers now look positively toothless.

Tuesday was the deadline for underclassmen to declare their entry into the NFL Draft. Below, a look at the damage done across the Big Ten in the NFL Damage Report. Yes, the NFL is still interested in the occasional Big Ten player.

Ohio State
Gone	DE Vernon Gholston
Back	WR Brian Robiskie, LB James Laurinaitis, LB Marcus Freeman CB Malcolm Jenkins, OT Alex Boone
Damage	Gholston will be a major loss. The Detroit junior was a terror all year long -- if OSU hadn't busted three coverages at the wrong time he would have made an enormous impact on the national title game -- and perhaps the best defensive end in the Big Ten since Simeon Rice. OSU has a lot of talent, but guys like Gholston are rare no matter how many hyped recruits you've reeled in. But the unfortunate reality for Big Ten fans is that OSU got off easier than everyone expected. Jenkins and Laurinaitis have been projected in the top half of the first round by most draft services, but elected to return. A few likely first-day picks in Robiskie, Freeman, and Boone elected to stick around, as well. Despite the loss of Gholston OSU is a big winner here.

Michigan
Gone	WR Mario Manningham, WR Adrian Arrington, QB Ryan Mallett (transfer)
Back	DT Terrance Taylor, DE Tim Jamison
Damage	Manningham's departure was assumed from last summer, but Adrian Arrington's dynamite Citrus Bowl might have been the decisive factor in his decision to enter early; both departing leaves Michigan thin and young at wideout. Third WR Greg Mathews comes back, but he seems a steady possession type in the mold of Jason Avant, not a gamebreaker like Manningham was and Arrington was developing into. Mallett's departure will mean little to Michigan fans if Rich Rodriguez can reel in uberrecruit Terrelle Pryor. Meanwhile, a couple defensive linemen who could have gone somewhere on the first day return; Michigan brings back every contributor from a pretty decent defensive line from a year ago. They'll have to make their returns count for Michigan's defense to keep what looks like a shaky-at-best offense in games.

"Old School" is the College Football FanHouse's irregular look back at the rich history of college football, usually through the medium of embeddable flash video. Check out the Old School archive for more famous plays and infamous hair.

Right, right, done the Anthony Carter thing before, but this clip combines so many awesome things that you're just going to have to watch it. Amongst the things you are going to behold:

• A set from a late-70s coaches show, complete with Music of Ultimate Funk.
• A play that was immediately ruled illegal after its execution.
• A seriously pissed off you guys Lee Corso.
• The most stunning finish in Michigan history... well, the most stunning positive finish, anyway.
• One announcer who loses his mind and starts rambling about football Valhalla.

Ready, set, go:



The banned play was the audacious clock-stopping lateral that landed in the hands of a red-clad madman. Said red-clad madman was one Lee Corso, then Indiana's coach. Bob Ufer is the man who hasn't been as happy in all his cotton-pickin' 59 years; he also once described Ohio Stadium as "Ten thousand alumni and seventy-four thousand druck drivers". You'll occasionally see "Honk if U-fer Meeeechigan" bumper stickers around the state 27 years after his death.

Michigan went to 7-1 with the victory and would crush Wisconsin 54-0 the next week, but lost its final three games to finish 8-4. Anthony Carter would go on to be pretty good.

A few hours from now the Indiana Hoosiers will take the field to play Oklahoma State in the Insight Bowl. Depending on where you look, the Hoosiers are currently considered 6.5 or 7 point underdogs against the Cowboys. It doesn't matter though.

Whether the Hoosiers walk away from tonight's game with a victory or loss doesn't take away from a season that can only be considered a success in Bloomington. After all, the last time Indiana played in a bowl game was in 1993 when we were all singing along to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and Harrison Ford was still looking for the one-armed man.

Indiana would lose that Independence Bowl to Virginia Tech by a score of 45-20.

After five and a half months in interim limbo, Indiana University has decided it can live with Bill Lynch as its head football coach. According to the Indianapolis Star, Lynch has signed a four-year contract to be the head Hoosier.

All the college football world knows IU's story. Former coach Terry Hoeppner died of a brain tumor on June 19 of this year, far too late in the cycle to find another coach before the start of the season. The university tabbed Lynch to get the football team through this season. Lynch stepped up to the plate and continued the momentum Hoeppner established. The Hoosiers went 7-5 this season and will likely play in their first bowl game since 1993.

This was a smart move by IU. Going 7-5 at Indiana isn't easy. Lynch may not have distinguished himself in his prior stint at Ball State (1995-2002) but that was then and this is now. It's important to the future of IU football that this precious momentum be maintained. Switching coaches now just wouldn't make much sense, especially when you haven't gone bowling in fourteen years. It would make the job considerably less attractive to other coaches who might otherwise be interested in the IU job.

Like I said, it's a good move for IU. As a Hawkeye fan I was sort of hoping they'd hire somebody who had no idea what to do with Kellen Lewis and James Hardy.

So much for a close one in Madison Saturday.

Wisconsin jumped on Indiana early, took advantage of a porous run defense, and rolled to a 33-3 win at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday. The loss keeps Indiana stuck at five wins overall, while Wisconsin moves to 7-2 overall (3-2 Big Ten).

The Badgers took advantage of a very slow start by Indiana to jump to an early lead. Wisconsin drove for an opening-drive field goal, then got a quick punt from the Hoosiers. The Badgers took the ball and drove 52 yards for the game's first touchdown, as sophomore P.J. Hill barreled in from a yard out. That made it 10-0 Wisconsin, and the Hoosiers found themselves being outgained 92 yards to minus-one.

A bad start for IU got worse on their next possession. Josiah Sears fumbled the ball away just short of midfield, and Wisconsin was able to turn that miscue into points when freshman Zach Brown ran for six yards and his first collegiate touchdown. Indiana added a field goal to get on the board late in the first half, but they went into halftime down 17-3, outgained 211-93, and with a run defense that was getting abused for a third straight week. Wisconsin had 136 yards on the ground, making it 696 rushing yards allowed by Indiana in their last ten quarters of football. However, the run game took a hit in the first half, as Hill left the game in the second quarter. A lower leg injury kept Hill from returning to the game, leaving Brown and Lance Smith as the primary running backs for Wisconsin.

For Indiana football, these are heady times. The Hoosiers haven't qualified for a bowl game since 1993, when Bill Mallory roamed the sidelines in Bloomington, and Trent Green was the starting quarterback. Cam Cameron couldn't generate a turnaround, and Terry Hoeppner died before he could see it through.

In Hoeppner's place, new head coach Bill Lynch, a veteran head coach who most recently was head man at Ball State, has done a marvelous job. His job has been twofold: Get players to play to their potential, and get them to focus in the wake of the death of their beloved head coach.

It's because of that storyline that I argue Saturday's game is much more important for Indiana than it is for Wisconsin. Sure, the Badgers (6-2 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) could win out, finish 10-2 (6-2) and qualify for a really nice bowl game. However, this season has been unsettling in Madison, in large part because the defense just hasn't performed to expectations. And it's not likely that they'll run the table against a schedule that includes Ohio State (road) and Michigan (home) in the next two weeks. Possible, yes, but far from likely.

For Indiana (5-3 overall, 2-3 Big Ten), a win Saturday would be a significant step. Not only would it be their most impressive win of the season (they've won at Iowa, but the Hawkeyes are clearly not as good as in recent years), but it would give them the six wins required to be bowl-eligible. Even if it's the Motor City Bowl, a bowl game would be a big deal for this program.

But is this the week? The Hoosiers don't want to stick themselves in a spot where they are 2-6 in Big Ten play and hoping that they can still get to one of the Big Ten bowl tie-ins. However, the Badgers have a strong offense, and their defense is hungry to prove itself against a solid offense after they destroyed Northern Illinois last week.