Indiana University Athletics
QUOTED: Indiana vs. No. 2 Ohio State
8/27/2017 2:34:00 PM | Football
By: Ben Segelbaum
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It's officially Ohio State week. With four days until the opener, if the Indiana football team's attention wasn't already all in on Thursday, it is now.
Here are five quotes that sum up the week.
"Really excited about the opportunity that it's going to create having College GameDay here," IU head coach Tom Allen said. "Biggest home opener in the history of our program. I know I've said that many times, but it is what it is. That's exactly the situation we find ourselves in."
Nothing sums up the opportunity in front of the Hoosiers more than Thursday being "the biggest home opener in the history of the program." All the hype, all of the work the Hoosiers put in comes to fruition when they take the field on Thursday night.
"I think we have a lot of good running backs," offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said. "There's no reason all those guys can't play. It keeps the guy in there fresh, it keeps everybody mentally into it. When it's their time, they have to go."
The Hoosiers offense will have to get over the absence of Devine Redding, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher and current Kansas City Chief. Led by running backs coach Mike Hart, they will have plenty of depth with the likes of Mike Majette, Cole Gest, Devonte Williams, Alex Rodriguez, Ricky Brookins and Tyler Natee, all of whom toted the ball last season.
"(Starting off well defensively) sets the tone," fifth-year senior cornerback Rashard Fant said. "It's what you want to be. It shows that you can have success. It shows where the standard is, but you also want to raise that standard. That's definitely what we want to do as leaders. Across the board we have a lot of leaders on this defense. We want to set the bar high for ourselves and go reach that bar."
Last season, the destructive defense led by Allen began its season with a performance at FIU that included a safety and two interceptions returned for a touchdown, a first in program history. The Hoosiers used that performance to carry them the rest of the season as they substantially improved in every major statistical category, also giving up 23 fewer touchdowns than 2015. This 2017 team returns nine starters from that defense, 31 letterwinners and 169 career starts.
"Very, very exciting," fifth-year quarterback Richard Lagow said. "When you put everything together, with the College GameDay experience, Ohio State, first game of the year, Thursday at 8 o'clock, a night game under the lights. It's kind of what you dream of when you're a little kid. You're watching it on TV, you're like 'I want to play in those game.' I think that's the attitude that everyone on this team has right now."
Returning for his second season at IU, Lagow comes back with his game at new heights. Lagow's offseason was filled with the Manning Passing Academy, a most outstanding offensive player for the spring honor, and his name on the watch list for three awards. Last season, Lagow finished second in the Big Ten for passing yards and fifth in touchdowns. With a different mindset, thanks to outside help and DeBord, Lagow looks to show it off right away against the second-ranked Buckeyes.
"(Playing Ohio State) is an opportunity we have to take advantage of," senior linebacker Tegray Scales said. "You don't get this opportunity often. It's one of the biggest openers in Indiana history. We embrace it and plan to take it head on."
Coming off a season in which he earned All-America honors, Scales is prepared to face a high-powered Ohio State offense. It's an opportunity for the nation's 2016 leader in stops and tackles for a loss to face a talent-laden offense.
Setting The Scene
•Indiana opens its 133rd season of football and its 58th year at Memorial Stadium (52,929; FieldTurf) on Thursday, Aug. 31, against the No. 2/2 Ohio State Buckeyes. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. EDT and ESPN will broadcast the game.
•ESPN's College GameDay Built by The Home Depot heads to Bloomington for the first time, live from 6-8 p.m.
•Rece Davis will host and be joined by Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack.
•A 2010 IU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Corso coached the Hoosiers from 1973-82 and led the program to its first bowl victory, 38-37, over No. 9 BYU in the 1979 Holiday Bowl.
•Corso will be presented with the Bill Orwig Award at the end of the first quarter. The award recognizes outstanding contributions made by a non-alumnus to IU Athletics and is named for the former AD (1961-75).
•Adnan Virk will host College Football Live (4 p.m.) and College Football Countdown (5 p.m.) inside Memorial Stadium, and he will be joined by Joey Galloway and Jesse Palmer.
•For the first time outside the College Football Playoff Semifinals and National Championship games, ESPN's Megacast production will cover the game with six alternate offerings for fans on ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN3.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It's officially Ohio State week. With four days until the opener, if the Indiana football team's attention wasn't already all in on Thursday, it is now.
Here are five quotes that sum up the week.
"Really excited about the opportunity that it's going to create having College GameDay here," IU head coach Tom Allen said. "Biggest home opener in the history of our program. I know I've said that many times, but it is what it is. That's exactly the situation we find ourselves in."
Nothing sums up the opportunity in front of the Hoosiers more than Thursday being "the biggest home opener in the history of the program." All the hype, all of the work the Hoosiers put in comes to fruition when they take the field on Thursday night.
"I think we have a lot of good running backs," offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said. "There's no reason all those guys can't play. It keeps the guy in there fresh, it keeps everybody mentally into it. When it's their time, they have to go."
The Hoosiers offense will have to get over the absence of Devine Redding, a two-time 1,000-yard rusher and current Kansas City Chief. Led by running backs coach Mike Hart, they will have plenty of depth with the likes of Mike Majette, Cole Gest, Devonte Williams, Alex Rodriguez, Ricky Brookins and Tyler Natee, all of whom toted the ball last season.
"(Starting off well defensively) sets the tone," fifth-year senior cornerback Rashard Fant said. "It's what you want to be. It shows that you can have success. It shows where the standard is, but you also want to raise that standard. That's definitely what we want to do as leaders. Across the board we have a lot of leaders on this defense. We want to set the bar high for ourselves and go reach that bar."
Last season, the destructive defense led by Allen began its season with a performance at FIU that included a safety and two interceptions returned for a touchdown, a first in program history. The Hoosiers used that performance to carry them the rest of the season as they substantially improved in every major statistical category, also giving up 23 fewer touchdowns than 2015. This 2017 team returns nine starters from that defense, 31 letterwinners and 169 career starts.
"Very, very exciting," fifth-year quarterback Richard Lagow said. "When you put everything together, with the College GameDay experience, Ohio State, first game of the year, Thursday at 8 o'clock, a night game under the lights. It's kind of what you dream of when you're a little kid. You're watching it on TV, you're like 'I want to play in those game.' I think that's the attitude that everyone on this team has right now."
Returning for his second season at IU, Lagow comes back with his game at new heights. Lagow's offseason was filled with the Manning Passing Academy, a most outstanding offensive player for the spring honor, and his name on the watch list for three awards. Last season, Lagow finished second in the Big Ten for passing yards and fifth in touchdowns. With a different mindset, thanks to outside help and DeBord, Lagow looks to show it off right away against the second-ranked Buckeyes.
"(Playing Ohio State) is an opportunity we have to take advantage of," senior linebacker Tegray Scales said. "You don't get this opportunity often. It's one of the biggest openers in Indiana history. We embrace it and plan to take it head on."
Coming off a season in which he earned All-America honors, Scales is prepared to face a high-powered Ohio State offense. It's an opportunity for the nation's 2016 leader in stops and tackles for a loss to face a talent-laden offense.
Setting The Scene
•Indiana opens its 133rd season of football and its 58th year at Memorial Stadium (52,929; FieldTurf) on Thursday, Aug. 31, against the No. 2/2 Ohio State Buckeyes. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. EDT and ESPN will broadcast the game.
•ESPN's College GameDay Built by The Home Depot heads to Bloomington for the first time, live from 6-8 p.m.
•Rece Davis will host and be joined by Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack.
•A 2010 IU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Corso coached the Hoosiers from 1973-82 and led the program to its first bowl victory, 38-37, over No. 9 BYU in the 1979 Holiday Bowl.
•Corso will be presented with the Bill Orwig Award at the end of the first quarter. The award recognizes outstanding contributions made by a non-alumnus to IU Athletics and is named for the former AD (1961-75).
•Adnan Virk will host College Football Live (4 p.m.) and College Football Countdown (5 p.m.) inside Memorial Stadium, and he will be joined by Joey Galloway and Jesse Palmer.
•For the first time outside the College Football Playoff Semifinals and National Championship games, ESPN's Megacast production will cover the game with six alternate offerings for fans on ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN3.
Players Mentioned
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