Don't get me wrong, a one-win season in the Big 10 and a five-win season overall is not how I was expecting this season to go. I had high hopes; perhaps seven wins and a good bowl game. Really though, with Bill Lynch as head coach, I should have known that that was just a pipe dream. But I allowed myself to believe that it was possible, and I was really disappointed in IU football and still am. So many close losses, including one absolutely heartbreaking one to Iowa where Damarlo Belcher dropped a what-would-have-been game-winning touchdown pass with less than 20 seconds left.
But today, just let me be a little happy.
I don't want to fall into the ranks of those who consider their team's season a success just because they beat their nemesis in the last game of the season. It's not just that IU beat Purdue, which we haven't done in any sport that I actually pay attention to in probably three years. Sure, beating Purdue is always awesome, regardless of how good either team is. It's the fact that they played their nuts off, on the road, with seemingly nothing to play for other than pride.
My dad made a point around the fourth quarter that Ben Chappell looked like most quarterbacks did near the end of their careers -- he compared him to Joe Namath at the end of his career, when he was like 50 or something. Not in ability, but in a physical sense. He was so beaten up, he could barely move, let alone lead a team down the field in a last-minute desperation run. But it didn't matter. He, like the rest of the team, toughed it out and played through whatever injuries he had. Big props to him.
I can't say that without recognizing what Purdue did, though. They did the same thing -- played their hearts out with little to gain...no bowl eligibility, no .500 season, nothing except to beat IU, their arch-rivals. Rob Henry had a broken finger, or something involving a finger injury, but he played his nuts out just like Chappell did. Big props to Purdue as well. Also: Ryan Kerrigan is scary good, and just scary in general. I would not want to meet him in a dark alley...ever.
One more thing about that game: For everyone watching the Big 10 network telecast, what was the deal with the announcers talking about the Ben Chappell-Ryan Kerrigan rivalry? Is there any reason for that, or were the announcers just stupid and drunk?
Whatever. Good win for IU, glad to see an end to their road game losing streak in the Big 10. Doesn't make a season, but at least we got a highlight finally.
Okay. So on to basketball now.
For those that don't know (probably a lot of people), IU has been dominating recruitment-wise. In the past few weeks, they've gotten two HUGE recruits, Cody Zeller and Yogi Ferrell (both of which I'm facebook friends with HA! and Yogi retweeted me on twitter once. Suck it). Add that to three 4-star recruits for 2012, two 4-stars in 2013, and two 5-stars in 2014, and you have yourself a pretty solid recruitment period. The best thing about this is that all of those recruits that I just mentioned except for one is from Indiana. It's good to be on top of recruitment in a state featuring a formerly top 10 team (Purdue...I say formerly because they lost to Richmond tonight) and a National Champion runner-up from last year in Butler.
And, they're 6-0 and look so much better than they did last year. I'm not saying they're going to win the Big 10 or anything, but the only way IU can go from here is up, especially with these recruitment classes.
So yeah, it feels pretty good to be an IU fan right about now. This is honestly the first time I've been truly happy with IU athletics since the 2007 football season. And yes, IU basketball was killer at the beginning of that year, but I was never really happy because all of those guys except for Eric Gordon and maybe DJ White were douches, including Kelvin Sampson. And yes, it is still way too soon to talk about Sampson. But Tom Crean ftw, Verdell Jones, Christian Watford, Maurice Creek, Derek Elston, Jordan Hulls, and budding superstar JEFF HOWARD ftw, among many others.
That Jeff Howard bit is a joke, but I do still think it's really cool that somebody from Westfield is an Indiana basketball player. And he actually plays, which is really cool too. Props.
I think that's good for now. Now, to watch the end of this Notre Dame-USC game -- another game that is pretty meaningless, but they're both playing balls-to-the-wall as far as I can tell, so I'll watch anyway. Also, nice job dropping that wide-open pass, moron that goes to USC.
Peace out, dawgs.
Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoosiers
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