Author: Mike Schumann

Who has the advantage when Indiana is playing defense Friday evening at Notre Dame? Notre Dame has the No. 3 scoring offense in the nation, and Indiana has the No. 6 scoring defense. So much like the other sides of the football, both look dominant on paper. Below are some keys notes and numbers for Indiana’s defense against Notre Dame’s offense, along with a quick look at the special teams. Indiana (11-1) and Notre Dame (11-1) kick at 8 p.m. ET Friday in South Bend. NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME vs. INDIANA RUN DEFENSE Rankings: Indiana:  No. 1, 71 yards per…

Who has the advantage when Indiana has the football Friday evening at Notre Dame? Indiana has the No. 2 scoring offense in the nation, and Notre Dame has the No. 3 scoring defense.  So both look dominant on paper. But neither team has played a particularly difficult schedule, and both teams have shown signs of weakness against some of their better competition. Below are some keys notes and numbers for Indiana’s offense against Notre Dame’s defense. Indiana (11-1) and Notre Dame (11-1) kick at 8 p.m. ET Friday in South Bend. INDIANA RUNNING GAME vs. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Rankings: …

Friday night will mark one of the coldest games in the history of Notre Dame Stadium. No records will be broken, as a late November contest in South Bend against Iowa in 1964 saw 13 degrees at kickoff with snow. It might be one of the ten coldest games there ever, but it won’t be that bad when Indiana and Notre Dame get rolling at 8 p.m. ET. But it won’t exactly be pleasant either. The current forecast at kickoff is calling for 28 degrees, cloudy, with 11 mph winds and a 15% chance for snow. And if anything, the…

Indiana landed a commitment from Wisconsin transfer tight end Riley Nowakowski on Wednesday. Nowakowski is coming off a 2024 season with the Badgers that saw him catch a career high 11 passes for 74 yards in 12 games. According to PFF, Nowakowski was targeted 13 times and had no drops this season.  He played a total of 410 snaps.  Only two Wisconsin players with at least as many snaps had a higher pass blocking grade.  He did not allow any pressures in 28 pass blocking snaps, and had the eighth-best pass blocking grade in the nation among tight ends with…

Indiana guard Jakai Newton had surgery and will be out indefinitely, IU Athletics said in Wednesday release: “Indiana redshirt freshman guard Jakai Newton underwent successful surgery to treat an injury to his lower body. He will be out indefinitely but is expected to return this season. This injury is not related to the one he had prior to the start of the 2023-24 season,” according to the release. Injuries have been a recurring theme for Newton, who missed all of the 2023-24 campaign with a knee-related issue.  If there are silver linings in this news, they would be (1) the…

Everything you’ve come to know about this historic 2024 IU football season stood in the balance a year ago. Because for Kurtis Rourke, coming back to college for a sixth and final season wasn’t the only option on the table. Whether it meant landing a spot somewhere in the NFL or joining his brother Nathan in the CFL, the then 23-year-old Rourke was seriously considering passing on his final season of college eligibility. At 6-foot-5 with a big arm and plenty of accomplishments, Rourke no doubt would have landed somewhere as a pro this season. But an attractive situation at…

Indiana is rebuilding its defensive line for next season via the transfer portal. Texas State interior defensive lineman Dominique Ratcliff announced on Tuesday afternoon he has committed to IU for the 2025 season. The 6-foot-3 and 280-pound Conroe, Texas product has one season of eligibility remaining.  He started his career at Louisiana, where he played one game in two seasons (2020-21) and redshirted the 2021 campaign. Ratcliff played in 36 games over the last three seasons for Texas State.  Over that span he recorded 64 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and five sacks. According to PFF, Ratcliff’s strength is run…

After some mixed messaging on social media over the weekend, UAB transfer running back Lee Beebe, Jr. cleared the air on Tuesday. He’s a Hoosier. Beebe, Jr. posted a graphic on his accounts Tuesday with pictures and video of him in an Indiana uniform.  His message was simple:  “100% committed,” Beebe, Jr. said. Beebe’s Jr.’s Tuesday announcement clarified some inaccurate reporting by multiple media outlets that indicated he “planned to reopen his recruitment.”  There’s no indication that ever happened. Instead, what appears to be the case is Beebe, Jr.’s agents attempted to reopen his recruitment after he had already signed…

To the victors go the spoils, and for Indiana that means the postseason recognition keeps rolling in. On Tuesday two IU players earned Football Writers Association of America All-American honors. Linebacker Aiden Fisher was named to the first team, and cornerback D’Angelo Ponds was named to the second team.  It marks the first time since 1945 Indiana earned a pair of FWAA All-Americans. Also on Tuesday, coach Curt Cignetti earned his third and fourth national coach of the year awards. Fisher gives Indiana their third All-American linebacker in five years, following Aaron Casey in 2023 and Micah McFadden in 2020. …

In its three losses this season, Indiana has given up at least 85 points in each game, and an average of nearly 88 per contest. So to say the defense has been an area of concern this season would be an understatement. Indiana has played six games against high major competition this season, and they’ve allowed an average of 1.12 points per possession in those contests.  Is that a lot?  A year ago the Hoosiers lost all 11 games where they allowed that many points per trip.  Let’s just say it’s a difficult amount to overcome. It’s important to focus…