Indiana University Athletics
Focus On – Indiana Targets Rutgers
10/30/2020 12:00:00 PM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Six days. That burns in Tom Allen. Indiana's head coach can't let it go, won't let it go.
The Hoosiers were ranked six days last season. Then came a seven-point loss to Penn State, a 25-point defeat to Michigan, and that was the end of that.
Now here they are, No. 17 in the Associated Press poll, No. 19 in the coaches' poll, courtesy of an overtime thriller over Penn State that put the Hoosiers in national conversations as, perhaps, never before.
Allen doesn't want a repeat.
That means winning at Rutgers (1-0) on Saturday.
"(Penn State) was a big, big win for sure," Allen says, "but it is only one win. This (game) is just as big or bigger."
And then…
"It is our first road game, and we have to play better this week than we played last week. That is the key."
The Cream & Crimson goal is to push into the Top-15, the Top-10, and who knows.
A schedule with No. 13 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 9 Wisconsin provides that opportunity.
First, though, comes a Rutgers team that is nothing like the struggling squads of recent years. It showed that with its 38-27 win at Michigan State thanks to a defense that forced seven turnovers.
"They are a much-improved football team," Allen says. "They played really hard. They created seven takeaways, which is unbelievably impressive to me, and they are a really good team."
Greg Schiano is back for his second crack as Scarlet Knights coach, hoping to improve on the 68-67 run he had from 2001-11 before heading to the NFL.
He brings with him multiple transfers, including quarterback Noah Vedral, who played IU last year while at Nebraska, throwing for 201 yards and rushing for two touchdowns.
Last Saturday, Vedral threw for 189 yards and one touchdown against Michigan State.
"They have a lot of quality transfers," Allen says. "They really changed the way their team looks by bringing in new guys.
"It starts at quarterback. We did play against him last year. The thing that sticks out to me is his moxie. He is a kid that understands the game, he is a really good athlete, he can do a lot of things, he can run it, he can throw it, and he extends plays with his legs. He is a tough, gritty guy. We have a lot of respect for him as a player.
"We know we are going to have to play extremely well to contain him and keep him from being very effective in the run and throw game. They have several other players, as well."
The best thing to happen to the Hoosiers, Allen says, was Rutgers beating Michigan State.
"I think it was huge," Allen says. "I was thankful for that in some ways.
"You can say things a certain way, but if you put the film in and the film does not match, these guys are pretty smart guys. They know what the film means.
"When you put the film in, they are a completely different team than we played a year ago. Whatever thought that you had about Rutgers previously is erased. That obviously shows us that the film never lies."
Beyond preparing for Rutgers, Allen has taken advantage of the Penn State buzz to promote the program.
Yes, that means recruiting.
"This has been a huge opportunity for our program, a great opportunity to get recruits on the phone and parents on the phone," Allen says. "Just talking to them, they all watched the game, they all are buzzing about how everything finished, the way we handled the finish, the way we were prepared for the finish, the way we executed everything at a at a very high level, at a very intense time and under a lot of difficult circumstances.
"You can talk all you want about culture, but all I had to do was send them the video of the locker room. I can tell you all day about what it is like here, but you can see it for yourself on this video. You can see (Love Each Other) lived out in that locker room, you can see the passion that this program has, the edge that this team plays with, the fight and the grit of this football team by the way that we finished and did not get discouraged when it looked like we had a small chance for that victory."
Allen says probably 20 percent of his time this week has gone to media and promoting activities. He had the time after giving up his defensive coordinator job last season to focus on head coaching responsibilities.
"We planned for this," he says. "It has taken some time to get here, to be able to have the wins that match up with it."
IU prepares even as pandemic disruption hits the Big Ten. Top-10 Wisconsin (1-0), coming off a dominant victory against Illinois, had to call off its game against Nebraska after 16 members of the program tested positive for COVID-19, including head coach Paul Chryst.
"That absolutely is a discussion point for us," Allen says. "It makes you on high alert for everything that you do, whether it is travelling this weekend, the way that we are functioning here in this facility by keeping our masks on, or by staying socially distanced when we are away from here.
"We need to do a great job of being disciplined. It shows you how quickly things can change for your program and how quickly they could change for this whole season.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul Chryst and his situation and that he comes out of this totally healthy. The bottom line is, it is a very real thing for all of us."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Six days. That burns in Tom Allen. Indiana's head coach can't let it go, won't let it go.
The Hoosiers were ranked six days last season. Then came a seven-point loss to Penn State, a 25-point defeat to Michigan, and that was the end of that.
Now here they are, No. 17 in the Associated Press poll, No. 19 in the coaches' poll, courtesy of an overtime thriller over Penn State that put the Hoosiers in national conversations as, perhaps, never before.
Allen doesn't want a repeat.
That means winning at Rutgers (1-0) on Saturday.
"(Penn State) was a big, big win for sure," Allen says, "but it is only one win. This (game) is just as big or bigger."
And then…
"It is our first road game, and we have to play better this week than we played last week. That is the key."
The Cream & Crimson goal is to push into the Top-15, the Top-10, and who knows.
A schedule with No. 13 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 9 Wisconsin provides that opportunity.
First, though, comes a Rutgers team that is nothing like the struggling squads of recent years. It showed that with its 38-27 win at Michigan State thanks to a defense that forced seven turnovers.
"They are a much-improved football team," Allen says. "They played really hard. They created seven takeaways, which is unbelievably impressive to me, and they are a really good team."
Greg Schiano is back for his second crack as Scarlet Knights coach, hoping to improve on the 68-67 run he had from 2001-11 before heading to the NFL.
He brings with him multiple transfers, including quarterback Noah Vedral, who played IU last year while at Nebraska, throwing for 201 yards and rushing for two touchdowns.
Last Saturday, Vedral threw for 189 yards and one touchdown against Michigan State.
"They have a lot of quality transfers," Allen says. "They really changed the way their team looks by bringing in new guys.
"It starts at quarterback. We did play against him last year. The thing that sticks out to me is his moxie. He is a kid that understands the game, he is a really good athlete, he can do a lot of things, he can run it, he can throw it, and he extends plays with his legs. He is a tough, gritty guy. We have a lot of respect for him as a player.
"We know we are going to have to play extremely well to contain him and keep him from being very effective in the run and throw game. They have several other players, as well."
The best thing to happen to the Hoosiers, Allen says, was Rutgers beating Michigan State.
"I think it was huge," Allen says. "I was thankful for that in some ways.
"You can say things a certain way, but if you put the film in and the film does not match, these guys are pretty smart guys. They know what the film means.
"When you put the film in, they are a completely different team than we played a year ago. Whatever thought that you had about Rutgers previously is erased. That obviously shows us that the film never lies."
Beyond preparing for Rutgers, Allen has taken advantage of the Penn State buzz to promote the program.
Yes, that means recruiting.
"This has been a huge opportunity for our program, a great opportunity to get recruits on the phone and parents on the phone," Allen says. "Just talking to them, they all watched the game, they all are buzzing about how everything finished, the way we handled the finish, the way we were prepared for the finish, the way we executed everything at a at a very high level, at a very intense time and under a lot of difficult circumstances.
"You can talk all you want about culture, but all I had to do was send them the video of the locker room. I can tell you all day about what it is like here, but you can see it for yourself on this video. You can see (Love Each Other) lived out in that locker room, you can see the passion that this program has, the edge that this team plays with, the fight and the grit of this football team by the way that we finished and did not get discouraged when it looked like we had a small chance for that victory."
Allen says probably 20 percent of his time this week has gone to media and promoting activities. He had the time after giving up his defensive coordinator job last season to focus on head coaching responsibilities.
"We planned for this," he says. "It has taken some time to get here, to be able to have the wins that match up with it."
IU prepares even as pandemic disruption hits the Big Ten. Top-10 Wisconsin (1-0), coming off a dominant victory against Illinois, had to call off its game against Nebraska after 16 members of the program tested positive for COVID-19, including head coach Paul Chryst.
"That absolutely is a discussion point for us," Allen says. "It makes you on high alert for everything that you do, whether it is travelling this weekend, the way that we are functioning here in this facility by keeping our masks on, or by staying socially distanced when we are away from here.
"We need to do a great job of being disciplined. It shows you how quickly things can change for your program and how quickly they could change for this whole season.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul Chryst and his situation and that he comes out of this totally healthy. The bottom line is, it is a very real thing for all of us."
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