Indiana University Football looks to become Bowl Eligible at Northwestern Saturday Afternoon
The Indiana Hoosiers are looking to do something that has not been done since 1967 and that is start a season 6-0 and a win over the Northwestern Wildcats Saturday afternoon at on Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium would make the Hoosiers Bowl Eligible for the first since the 2020 Season and the 14th time in School History. The game will kick off at 3:30 PM and televised on the Big Ten Network. Northwestern is playing in a temporary stadium that is home it’s Soccer and Lacrosse programs for the next two years while Ryan Field is being rebuilt with a brand new $800 Million Dollar facility. The temporary home of the Wildcats sits right on the shore of Lake Michigan in heart of the Northwestern Campus and The Wildcats are 2-1 in the new home this season with two more home games left.
Indiana is coming off a 42-28 win last week at home against Maryland and the Hoosiers are Ranked 23rd in the AP Poll and 24th in the Coaches Poll and it’s the first time since Week 1 of the 2021 Season the Hoosiers have been ranked and the Hoosiers have made an appearance in the AP Poll in 21 different seasons and the 4th time since 2019. IU Head Coach Curt Cignetti continues to change the narrative of the Hoosiers becoming the first coach in program history to start is tenure 5-0 and he would be the 7th different IU coach to take the Hoosiers to a bowl game. Indiana is 5-0 for the first time since 1967 and just the third time in Program History with the first coming in 1910.
Indiana racked up 510 yards of offense against Maryland and scored six touchdowns and the offense has scored 244 points averaging 48.8 points per game. It’s the first time since the end of the of the 2015 season that the Hoosiers have scored 40 or more points. Indiana has had three games of over 500 yards or more offense and that is the most since the 2020 season when they accomplished it four times. Indiana posted back-to-back 500 yards or more on offense since 2015 when they had 557 against Rutgers and 520 at Maryland. The Hoosiers had to overcome 4 turnovers against Maryland which is the first time since a 26-24 win over Purdue in 2016 that they have had four turnovers and won the game. Kurtis Rourke has been the driving force for the Hoosiers as the Quarterback nicknamed the “The Maple Missile” has thrown for 1,372 yards, 11 touchdowns, 2 Interceptions and been sacked 5 times on the season. The Hoosiers have done a good job of protecting their quarterback and he has been able to get out of the pocket on several occasions scoring 2 rushing touchdowns. Rourke threw 2 Interceptions and had a fumble and managed to throw for 359 yards and 3 touchdown passes against the Terrapins.
Indiana has had a solid defense in which they had 8 tackles for loss in four games this season which ties the most since 2018. The Hoosiers have allowed 65 points this season giving up 13 points per game. Indiana has 17 sacks, 4 interceptions, 1 interception return for a touchdown and 3 fumble recoveries. Indiana has been solid in all three phases with a high scoring offense, a solid defense and kicking game that has not missed a field goal or an extra point this season. The Hoosiers are able to get the defense off the field and forced Maryland to punt 7 times which has not always been the case for Hoosier teams of years past when they struggle to get off the field on third down or they get scored on in bunches.
Northwestern is 2-2 on the season and coming off a 24-5 loss on the road in Seattle to Big Ten Newcomer Washington 2 weeks ago. The Wildcats beat Miami Ohio 13-6 and Eastern Illinois 31-7 and losing to Duke 26-20 in Double Overtime. The key in this game is can a Northwestern Defense who has given up 51 points in four games stop a high-powered Indiana Offense who scored 31 or more points in every game and the Northwestern Defense has allowed 26 or fewer points in all four games. Northwestern defense has 12 sacks 4 interceptions and 2 fumble recoveries, and the offense is averaging 17.3 points per game. Mike Wright played the first three games at Quarterback 38-66 for 354 yards no touchdowns and 1 interception and was bench after the first two games. Wright completed 1 pass against Eastern Illinois in the late stages of the game Sophomore Jack Lausch got the start against Eastern Illinois thrown for 289 yards 2 touchdowns and 2 Interceptions while completing 28 of his 58 passes. Lausch was 8-27 for 53 yards and threw 2 Interceptions at Washington. Wright has a rushing touchdown on the season and carried the ball 18 times for 84 yards and Lausch had carried it 20 times for 83 yards combined the quarterbacks are 66-124 for 634 yards 2 touchdowns 3 interceptions and Lausch has been sacked three times.
Running back Cam Porter has carried the ball 44 times for 234 and three touchdowns but did not play at Washington. The Wildcats have 544 total rushing yards on the season and 5 touchdowns. Joseph Himon Ii is the second leading. Rusher for the wildcats with 18 carries for 92yards and a touchdown against Eastern Illinois. AJ Henning is the lasing receiver with 25 catches for 229 yards 1 touchdown Brownsburg Indiana Native Bryce Kritz has 12 catches for 140 yards and tight end Marshall Lang caught the only other touchdown pass against Eastern Illinois. Kicker Jack Olsen has hit 6-9 field goals and 7-7 extra points.
This is the first trip to Northwestern since 2016 for Indiana and the first meeting since 2019 when Indiana won 34-3 but Northwestern won the previous four as the Hoosiers have not won in Evanston since October 23,1993 20-13 and are looking to end a five-game road losing streak to Wildcats on their home field. Northwestern is 7-3 in the last 10 Meetings with the Hoosiers and Northwestern is 28-18-1 all time against the Hoosiers in Evanston as Northwestern leads the all-time Series 47-35-1.
Indiana University Football loses Safety DJ Warnell Jr. to the Transfer Portal
Indiana Defensive Back DJ Warnell Jr. has entered the transfer portal, per reports. On3 was the first to report the news. The fifth-year senior is no longer listed on Indiana’s roster. He didn’t play in IU’s season-opener against Florida International but appeared in each of the next four games on special teams. He recorded four total tackles in those contests. Warnell transferred in during the spring portal window, so he spent just five months with the program. He was expected to provide depth in the secondary, but he was unable to earn a role in the first half of the season. The Dickinson, Texas native played two years at Arizona before joining the Hoosiers. Before that, he spent two seasons at UCLA. Warnell is the second safety to transfer out of Bloomington in recent days, joining Tyrik McDaniel. IU still has Bryson Bonds and Nic Toomer in reserve at the position, behind Josh Sanguinetti and Shawn Asbury II.
Big Ten Men’s Basketball Media Day Takes the Stage in Rosemont, Illinois
On Thursday, all 18 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Head Coaches and 32 Student Athletes were on hand for the Big Ten Basketball Media Days at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Illinois. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti kicked things off with a press conference and then the head coaches went three at time with a panel discussion moderated by Dave Resvine and Rick Pizzo of the Big Ten Network.
Indiana Head Coach Mike Woodson was joined on stage with Nebraska Head Coach Fred Hoiberg and USC Head Coch Eric Musselman. Woodson was asked at the end of discussion about the success of the Indiana Football Team and the job Curt Cignetti has done so far. “I’m loving it. I think Coach Cignetti has done a hell of a job. He’s put a great group of guys together. He’s got running backs. He’s got receivers. He has a hell of a quarterback. I couldn’t be happier for him because it’s been a while to see our programs even in the top 25. So, you have to give him a lot of credit for that. I’m waiting for Northwestern this week. We have them here at Northwestern. It should be a good ball game.” Woodson Said.
Woodson took the Hoosiers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament’s in his first two seasons as head coach but after a 19-win season and missing the NCAA Tournament Woodson feels that the program is not where he wants to be. “I think we took a step backwards last year by not making the tournament. That was kind of disappointing. But again, we got to move forward. The first two years a lot of those guys hadn’t been in the tournament for five years. Then they tasted it a little bit. At the end of the day along with these guys, this is about winning Big Ten titles and winning national titles. ” Woodson Said. Now in his fourth year in charge he knows what brought him back to Bloomington to get the program back to where it needed to be when he played for Bob Knight. “That’s why I came back. I remember the good days back when I played and some of the great years that Bob Knight had at Indiana that it’s been missing. To be back and I’m able to put my stamp on it, you know, it’s going to be great for me. I’m happy to be back, but we still got a long way to go as a ball club.”
Michigan Head Coach Dusty May takes over a Wolverine Program after a Final Four Appearance at Florida Atlantic in 2023 and May will take the new-look Wolverines to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Feb. 8 to face Indiana, which also went through significant changes in the transfer portal going into coach Mike Woodson’s fourth season. “Once I saw the guys that coach Woodson was able to get this year and the team they’ve put together, I’ve tried not to think about that game.” May has not been a part of the Indiana Basketball program for 24 years but he has memories of Coach Knight that will always carry with him. “As an assistant coach, I don’t think I used a lot of what coach Knight did and spoke. But immediately after becoming a head coach, I caught myself saying a lot of his expressions and phrases and thinking about a lot of the things that he talked about,” May said. “But most importantly, his ability to take complex concepts and make them seem simple, make players understand in a quick, efficient manner. Efficiency of language, outside of the four-letter words and stuff that he was very adept at. But I learned so much. There’s no question, I wouldn’t be here today without the coaches I grew up playing for, and then just being around coach Knight every day.”
Michigan hired May to replace Juwan Howard, and the Wolverines were picked to finish ninth in the Big Ten in the unofficial preseason poll. May overhauled the roster with six transfers – Vlad Goldin (Florida Atlantic), Sam Walters (Alabama), Roddy Gayle Jr. (Ohio State), Tre Donaldson (Auburn), Danny Wolf (Yale) and Rubin Jones (North Texas) – as well as three freshmen: L.J. Cason, Howard Eisley Jr., Phat Phat Brooks and Justin Pippen. After the Coaches Roundtable was concluded their individual podiums where coaches and student athletes were asked questions from all assembled media in attendance. Indiana was represented by Fifth Year Senior Trey Galloway and Redshirt Sophomore Myles Rice who joined the Hoosiers after transferring from Washington State in the Offseason. The Coaches and Players did a 15-minute interview on the Big Ten Network and other creative content opportunities. With the Conference expanding from 18 Teams coast to coast and three time zones there is no question that the Big Ten is going to get a of attention because of the quality of players and team is joining this new era of Big Ten Men’s Basketball.
Caitlin Clark Named 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year
Indiana Fever Guard Caitlin Clark was named the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year, the league announced today. Clark received 66 out of 67 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Clark is the third player in franchise history to receive WNBA Rookie of the Year Honors, joining Aliyah Boston (2023) and Tamika Catchings (2002). Clark was also named the Associated Press Rookie of the Year on September 22. Clark was also named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team with Kamilla Cardoso, Leonie Fiebich, Rickea Jackson and Angel Reese. “I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season – my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season. I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited for what the future holds,” Clark said.
The four-time WNBA Rookie of the Month, three-time WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week and WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month in August started all 40 regular season games for the Fever and had a groundbreaking debut year, marked by numerous WNBA records. In 2024, Clark became the first rookie in WNBA history and franchise history to record a triple-double. On July 17 during Indiana’s first matchup of the regular season against the Dallas Wings, Clark recorded 19 assists – the most assists in a game in WNBA history. Clark received the most All-Star Game votes in WNBA history with 700,735 votes and became the first player in league history to earn WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month honors in the same month.
Indiana selected Clark with the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. In the NCAA record books at the University of Iowa, Clark finished as the NCAA all-time leading scorer across men’s and women’s college basketball (3,951 points), the all-time leading scorer in women’s NCAA Tournament history (480 points), first in field goals made (1,293 made field goals), first in 3-point field goals made (548 made 3-point field goals) third in assists (1,144 assists) and fourth in free throws made (817 made free throws). In honor of being named the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Clark will receive $5,150 and a trophy designed to commemorate the achievement.
Big Ten Women’s Basketball Media Day Takes the Stage in Rosemont, Illinois
On Wednesday, All 18 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Head Coaches and 32 Student Athletes were on hand for the Big Ten Basketball Media Days at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont Illinois. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti kicked things off with a press conference and then the head coaches went three at time with a panel discussion moderated by Mike Hall and Kylen Mills of the Big Ten Network.
Indiana Head Coach Teri Moren was joined on Stage with Kelly Graves of Oregon and Cori Close of UCLA. Moren talked about traveling to the four new West Coast Teams and seeing some new places. ” I’ve been to Oregon and UCLA” Moren Said. “I have never been to USC, and we are not doing that this year, but we are going to Washington, and I have never been to Washington so looking forward to that trip” Moren added. Oregon Head Coach Kelly Graves is looking forward to the welcoming the conference to Eugene with a new look floor. “I am excited for the rest of the Big Ten to see what a great venue Matthew Knight Arena is” Graves Said. “We have avid fans; we have great fan support for a long long time. They Understand Basketball and it can get loud in there” Graves added. Oregon had a unique floor that had a bunch of trees and slogan “Deep in the Woods” but that has been replaced by a new floor that according to Coach Graves ” Is spectacular.”
When USC visits Simon Sjkodt Assembly Hall for the first time in January Trojan Head Coach Lindsey Gottlieb is excited for the chance to play in a historic venue that she has never been in before. “Assembly Hall, you grow up as a basketball fan” Gottlieb Said. “We get to Indiana, I’ve never coached there, we never played there, I’ve heard that fans are right on top of you. There are a million answers we can say, and we only get to go to half of them each year, but Assembly Hall will be cool one for me” Gottlieb Added. Fans across the conference will get to see the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Juju Watkins up close and personal this season it will remind fans of a player who is now in the WNBA in Caitlin Clark that brought a buzz and a different level of excitement to Women’s College Basketball. “I think Big Ten fan bases and opponents will be excited because she just brings that level of intensity that makes the game better” USC Head Coach Lindsey Gottlieb Said while talking about her star player.
For Michigan State Head Coach Robyn Fralick, she gets to see the grows of Women’s Basketball every day through her eight-year-old daughter Clara who had a school Assignment to draw what she wants to be when she grows up and she drew a Michigan State Basketball player. “it’s unbelievable” Fralick Said. “I Actually got to take her first WNBA game this year, so we were at the Chicago Sky vs New York Liberty. She has a Caitlin Clark Jersey. She has an Angel Reese Jersey; she shoots in the driveway and call herself different professional players names”. Fralick Said. The Michigan State players have embraced Clara, and she has embraced them. “Her favorite place to be is at our practice, the team is unavailable with her, she feels like she is part of the huddle”. Fralick added “It’s amazing and better than ever, I am fortunate to see it not only through the eyes of my players but the eyes of an eight-year-old.”
After the Coaches Roundtable was concluded their individual podiums where coaches and student athletes were asked questions from all assembled media in attendance. Indiana was represented by Graduate Students Sydney Parrish and Chloe Moore-McNeil. The Coaches and Players did a 15-minute interview on the Big Ten Network and other creative content opportunities. With the Conference expanding from 18 Teams coast to coast and three time zones there is no question that the Big Ten is going to get a of attention because of the quality of players and team is joining this new era of Big Ten Womens Basketball.
Bloomington South Home while Bloomington North and Edgewood hit the road for Week 7 of High School Football
Week 7 of Indiana High School Football has Bloomington South hosting Columbus North in a huge Conference Indiana Showdown while Bloomington North travels to Columbus East and Edgewood travels to Sullivan. All three games kickoff at 7pm this evening. Bloomington South is 4-2 overall and 3-1 going into their final Conference Indiana game of the season facing Columbus North. The Panthers shutout winless Southport 41-0 last Saturday Morning and have outscored their opponents 190-132 this season. Columbus North is 5-1 and 2-0 in Conference Indiana. The Bulldogs routed Terre Haute North 51-10 last Saturday and have three conference games remaining including Bloomington North at home next Friday which could go a long way in deciding the Conference Indiana Championship. Columbus North has outscored their opponents 207-60 this season. Columbus North is looking for its first win over the Panthers since October 1, 2021, when they won 34-10 at Columbus North.
Bloomington North is on five game winning streak losing the opening week of the season at Mooresville. The Cougars routed New Albany 52-7 last Saturday Afternoon and have scored 220 points on the season and giving up 94. The Cougars are 3-0 in Conference Indiana and travel to Columbus North next week and host Southport in two weeks to close out the regular season. Columbus East is 4-2 on the season and enters the game with a four-game win streak after dropping the first two games of the season by a combined score of 69-6. The Olympians have outscored their opponents 169-52. Bloomington North has won the last two meetings in this series by a combined score of 66-7.
Edgewood is looking to bounce back after a 43-14 loss to Indian Creek on the red-carpet last Saturday Afternoon. The Mustangs are 2-4 on the season and have scored 81 points in their two wins and 17 points in their four losses. Sullivan is 2-4 on the season after dismantling Owen Valley 56-0 last week. The Golden Arrows put up 48 points in their season opening win over North Knox but been outscored 153-51 in their four losses. Sulivan has won the last four meetings with the Mustangs and Edgewood’s last win in the series came on September 19, 2014, in Ellettsville when the Mustangs won 14-6. Edgewood is looking for its first win at Sullivan since September 16, 2011, when the Mustangs won 35-28.