You Cannot Be Serious!

I was absolutely stunned by this performance. The Indiana Hoosiers went to the University of Virginia and got absolutely waxed by a team that lost to William and Mary. I am sure the Cavaliers played a good game and have improved a lot since their opening week loss but there is absolutely no reason IU should get beat 47-7. The Hoosiers got off to a pretty good start. They had driven into UVA territory and I thought they were going in for the first score of the day. However, Terrance Turner fumbled and the Hoosiers never recovered. Virginia dominated every aspect of the game and completely embarrassed Indiana.
After the game, Bill Lynch was quoted as saying that "Virginia is a very good football team." No they are not, very good football teams don't lose at home to an FCS school. Very good football teams don't get beaten by Southern Mississippi. Virginia is a mediocre football team with similar talent to Indiana. I still don't think Bill Lynch will be fired but I am going to stop defending him. The only positive from this game was that Darius Willis did not play. His injuries are beginning to be an issue and I hope this is not a trend that continues throughout his career. He is probable for the Illinois game. He needs to play because the rest of the Hoosier running backs are not getting it done.

Running Game
Indiana did not really have a chance to get the running game going because they fell behind so quickly. The stats are not pretty and there is no way to make this look positive. UVA was giving up 145 yards per game on the ground. IU only managed 82 yards and a 2.8 yards per carry average. I don't know why Zach Davis-Walker and Trea Burgess were getting a lot of reps. Demetrius McCray has been the better option so far. I guess it didn't really matter, nothing was working.

The Defense Disappears
Virginia came into this game ranked 100 or worse in most offensive categories. IU's defense had played pretty well up to this point. They were able to make things difficult for everyone except Ohio State. That changed on Saturday as IU turned the Cavaliers into an offensive juggernaut. UVA gained 536 yards (231 rushing, 305 passing) and scored at will. They had five rushing touchdowns and averaged better than five yards a carry. Absolutely horrific.

There were so many other negatives in the game but I don't really think any amount of analysis will help make sense of this debacle. The Hoosiers had a critical contest on the road. They could go to 4-2 with games against Illinois, Northwestern and Purdue left on the schedule. Win two of those three and you would be bowl-eligible. UVA was a 50-50 game and I thought very winnable. IU did not show up and their complete lack of execution was really surprising.

On a positive note, Indiana hosts Illinois this Saturday. The Illini have fallen from their Rose Bowl berth of two seasons ago with shocking speed. They are a team in disarray. Unfortunately, it looks like the Hoosiers are as well.

I will review the weekend in college football tomorrow. Until then, stay vigilant and God Bless America.