… not Indiana.
Sorry, Hoosiers fans. Can’t do it. Would like to, but … just can’t.
I think Ohio State wins today in Bloomington, because the Buckeyes have been laying for this one for a year and also because this is not the Indiana team that beat them a year ago.
This Indiana team is good up front on defense, but not nearly as good on the back side. Which is a problem when the best player in college football is Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith.
This Indiana team does not get the same push up front on offense, which is why it struggled to run the ball against Nebraska last week.
This Indiana team has Josh Hoover at quarterback, who’s pretty good but no Fernando Mendoza. And this Indiana team has Charlie Becker and Nick Marsh, but the receiver corps otherwise is not what it was a year ago.
On the other hand …
On the other hand, when Nick Saban said this week we’ll find out what Indiana is made of today, he apparently missed what happened last week in Lincoln, Neb., when the Hoosiers showed us what they’re made of.
Got down 17- 6 to Nebraska in front of all those howling Cornhusker fans, and then got their mean on. Hoover hit the deep ball twice to Marsh, the defense decided to get relentless, and the Hoosiers gritted out a 20-17.
What that told everyone, or should have, that if you’re going to beat this Indiana team, you’d better step on ‘em and keep steppin’ on ‘em. You’d better kill ‘em dead, because they’re not going to stop coming after you until you do.
Which is why I think OSU wins today, but not by much. Say a touchdown. And IU will still be gettin’ after the Buckeyes when the clock hits zeroes.
I could be wrong, of course. I frequently am.
But I don’t think so.
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