After reaching the Insight Bowl following the 2007 season, Indiana University football had hoped to improve on both its standings in the Big Ten Conference and a second straight bowl bid.
However, after a tumultuous offseason, Coach Bill Lynch and the Hoosiers have a long road ahead of them.
Following the end of the 2007 campaign, Indiana had high hopes pinned on quarterback Kellen Lewis and his Michael Vick-like running abilities. However, Lewis appears to have found himself in trouble with the law, landing him an indefinite suspension from the team, said Lynch.
In the meantime, Lynch has begun installing a Ben Chappell-friendly system in preparation for the naming of Chappell as a starting QB. However, Chappell, a Bloomington native, is unproven, having thrown an interception in his one and only play this past season. Hoosier fans must hope that Lynch's throwing friendly vs. running friendly system is more to Chappell's liking.
Although Lewis is both with/off the team due to suspension, CB Tracy Porter and WR James Hardy both left and were drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. The gaping holes left by these two will be sorely felt, specifically the height of Hardy downfield and his ability to grab slightly off-target balls thrown by Lewis. No true leaders have stepped forward to fill the shoes of these two, however, the leadership of Nick Polk, a S/WR should help.
On the defensive end, the return of Greg Middleton will definitely help, but the lack of size found on both the OL and the DL still hasn't been addressed. Chappell, as a pocket passer much like Peyton Manning, will need protection that wasn't provided to Lewis, a scrambling QB.
The 2008 Indiana Hoosiers football team can only hope to muster together a five- or six-win season, with likely wins coming over Western Kentucky, Murray State, Ball State, Minnesota, and Central Michigan, with another potential (but a stretch) Big 10 win over Iowa.
Likely losses will come to Illinois, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Michigan State. Toss-up games are Penn State and the Oaken Bucket game, Purdue.
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3 months ago
Just curious...does the author have a factual basis for the statement "Lewis appears to have also followed in Vick's footsteps and found himself in trouble with the law?" I've been following this situation closely and was not aware that Lewis' issues were (a) legal or (b) to a level comparable to Vick's.
3 months ago
They're not on the level of Vick's obviously, nor was he charged to the extent of my knowledge, but my understanding is that he was seen at several parties around campus inebriated (and I'm not talking drunk either), in addition to his team rules violations. All in all, it's a bad situation, but I'm sure you know that.
3 months ago
Tiffany, most knowledgable observers have Penn State finishing #2 in the Big Ten, which means the Nits will have to beat everybody in the conference with the exception of Ohio State -- how do you figure the Indiana/PSU game is a toss-up???
3 months ago
Just a good old fashioned hunch. We've played them close in the past, and I've just got a hunch we'll play them close again. I could be incredibly wrong (which wouldn't suprise me), but I figured I'd give it a shot. Another loss for IU isn't going to matter much in the overall grand scheme of things.
3 months ago
I find it really hard to read an article that places on-campus drinking on the same level as murdering dogs.
from 3 months ago
I never said it was on the same level...you can't make the simple connection that both of them broke the law? I never once said that they both committed the same crime, I stated that he was "following in Vick's footsteps and found himself in trouble with the law." There is no mention of their respective crimes anywhere.
3 months ago
Still, "following in Vicks footsteps is insinuating he did something terrible. Whats the connection other than they are both black QBs? There are plenty of college players who've done much, much worse.
from 3 months ago
Or perhaps you're just interpreting it that way. Lewis could be purple and I'd still say the same thing. I made a comparison regarding both their playing styles and their off the field incidents with law enforcement. Are there players who have done much worse? Absolutely. However, I'm adressing Kellen Lewis in this article, not these other players.
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