Saturday, September 6, 2008

A beat-down, but expected

The Hoosiers beat up on Murray State tonight, taking a 45-3 lead in the third quarter. The first two offensive drives were nothing much to speak of, but after that things started to click. I was particularly pleased to see the IU running backs play so well. That had been a mentioned point of emphasis for the team on many pre-game shows and throughout the media.

The idea is Kellen Lewis is not going to single-handedly beat a quality team. You need a couple running backs that can get tough yards on third down and move the chains. Today we got that, from Marcus Thigpen, who had 100 yards rushing. According to the ESPN box score, Lewis had one rush for -2 yards in the game, which is really surprising. Ben Chappell is in the game now and has already led the team on a two TD drives.

Unfortunately, this win doesn't really show much about how good the Hoosiers really are. Next week, we'll know a little more. Ball State (2-0) comes to town after beating Navy on Friday night. The Cardinals can score points. It will be a good test for the Hoosier defense.

Note: It's now final: IU wins 45-3. It was a pretty impressive game statistically -- only 149 total yards allowed, including 27 yards rushing. The offense ran up 475 total yards, 261 on the ground.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Are you ready for some football?

The NFL season gets underway for almost everyone on Sunday, including the Steelers and Bears.

The Steelers play the Houston Texans here.

I like the Steelers in this game. They are a 6 1/2-point favorite and I think the Texans just don't have enough defense or offense to stay in this one. I also have fantasy issues, as Willie Parker is one of my starting running backs. So I'm hoping the Steelers run the ball a lot.

The Bears on the other hand, visit the Colts in the first game at Lucas Oil Stadium. As much as I would like to see the Bears take care of business, I suspect the Colts will tear the Bears a new one. The line is 9 1/2 in favor of the Colts, and I have to think Peyton Manning (my fantasy QB), Joseph Addai (my other fantasy RB) and Marvin Harrison (my fantasy receiver) will have a good day.