Indiana Hoosiers 2010 Season Preview/Prediction
The College Football season may be 5-6 weeks away but our man Kyle Hunter has been deep in study and will provide his take and 2010 College Football Predictions on as many NCAA teams as he can before the 2010/11 season kicks off.
We start from the top and move our way down so keep checking in for more college football previews for the 2010-2011 NCAA Football Season!
2010 NCAA Football Predictions – Teams | Analysis | Previews Online
Big Ten 2010-2011 Football Previews: Indiana Hoosiers
Coach: Bill Lynch
2009 Record: 4-8
Indiana Gambling Odds from Sportsbook.com to win BCS: +5000
Indiana football isn’t exactly filled with tradition, but Bill Lynch and the Hoosiers are trying to change that. Indiana reached a bowl game in 2007, but they have slid backwards a bit since then. Last year the Hoosiers were just 1-7 in the Big Ten, but they lost three of those games by three points or less. The Hoosiers have quite a few holes, but they also have some talent and they have the ability to pull off an upset here and there.
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The name of the game at Indiana right now is offense, but in order for them to make the step up to at least the middle of the conference, they’ll need the defense to improve on last year’s woeful numbers.
The Indiana defense gave up just shy of 30 points per game last season, a figure that is extremely difficult to overcome.
Team Strengths:
Indiana is loaded with talent at the wide receiver spot. Tandon Doss is a game breaking receiver and he is definitely the best return man in the Big Ten. Damarlo Belcher and Terrance Turner are very solid receivers as well. Darius Willis is an impressive tailback that could do some damage if the line will block well enough for him. I think the team would be well-served to get Willis more involved in the passing game as well. 
Ben Chappell has the skills and maturity to be a reliable quarterback for the team. Chappell will be counted on to sling it around quite a bit this year, so he’ll have to make sure he makes wise decisions with the football.
Team Weaknesses:
The entire defensive side of the football is a real weakness for Indiana at this time. Last year the Hoosiers had one of the worst defenses in college football, and they lost seven of their starters from that defense as well. Particularly troubling is the fact that Indiana tends to let teams stay on the field with third down conversions. In 2009, Indiana’s opponents converted on third down at a ridiculously high 48% clip.
The defense will be scrappy, but they lack the overall team speed to contain many of the offenses the Big Ten will have.
The offensive line wasn’t great last year, and it lost a couple of very solid players. In order to be the efficient offense it has a chance to be, the lineman will need to step up. Run blocking has been a problem in the past and it very well could be this year as well.
The placekicking was a real weakness last year as Nick Freeland hit just 14-25 on his field goal attempts. Those missed field goals hurt badly in the close losses the Hoosiers have had in the last couple of years.
2010-2011 Indiana Football Prediction: 5-7
The talent is there in the skill positions on the offense for Indiana to score plenty of points. The defense is likely to have some serious problems against the best teams in the league.
I could see Indiana possibly upsetting someone at home, but this team just won’t be balanced enough to beat the big guys very often.
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