IU fan here. Really looking forward to Saturday's contest. As others have stated this game will be on one of the alternate BTN channels. I use Hulu live, and it shows on there. As well as direct tv and such. Id like to preview our team a little.
We may be without our starting QB who is dealing with a shoulder injury. He is young but has all the tools and talent you could want in a QB. We will probably start Peyton Ramsay , who is a tough, gritty kid. He is a good leader and locker room guy you want on your team. However, he is very limited as far as arm talent goes. He does not possess a strong arm, the entire playbook cannot be utliized with him under center. His delievery does not allow much yards after catch as it just takes too long to get to the receiver. He is very much a game manager style QB , who is also prone to at least 1 mistake per game. I doubt he would start for another BIG 10 team.
Our offensive and defensive lines have been troubling thus far this season. We have yet to establish a rushing attack even vs D2 Eastern Illinois, even with a strong stable of running backs who were seen as the strength of the team preseason. Pass blocking was fine until the OSU game, but OSU brought pressure from the edges our tackles just could not stop, Not many teams field a defensive line like Ohio State. Our defensive line has been a weak spot for many years. This year is no different. Struggle to put pressure on the QB or get a solid push, all pressure will be generated through blitzes , and we will blitz a lot.
Our strength on defense is in our secondary, a lot of speed and athleticism. A lot of youth that oozes talent. Our defenses best days will be ahead of them, IU is really set in the secondary for years to come. If Uconn puts their head down and tries to run through tackles often our backers and secondary will bounce off. We have not shown to be a very good tackling team. 20 missed tackles in the season opener vs Ball state and another 20 vs Ohio state.
Our programs are similar in the fan base loves to support the basketball program and we have a hard time filling our stadium for even top 5 matchups in football. Often times our stadium will be 3/4 full and after halftime it will be 1/4 full. The fanbase support just is not fully there. Our administration has not fully invested the time , effort, and money into our football program and so it seems fans have not either.
Vegas has this line completely wrong, if Ramsey starts there is noway this is a 28 point game. He is not a QB who generates those types of point totals. I do think we have more talent, speed, and size than Illinois, but maybe only one notch above them. I would say if we have a perfect game on both sides of the football I could see this being a 31-14 type of game. If Uconn comes out smacks us around early and gains a lead or makes us play from behind I dont know how this team will respond and the upset could be on. I will answer any questions you may have about the team, and look forward to an injury free, good football game Saturday!
