Indiana lost the Old Oaken Bucket to Purdue today by a score of 62 - 10. Words can't really express the embarrassment Hoosier fans feel over this latest football humiliation. Here is my stream of consciousness during the first 15 minutes of the game:
Neither of these coaches will be back next year. Kellen Lewis is from Jacksonville? No wonder he sucks. They are going to be 3-9 one year after their bowl. Purdue is kicking onsides? They are clowning us. 17-0 in the first quarter. Goodbye Billy. Don't let the door hit you etc. I'm done with IU football forever if Lynch is retained. But he was 8-2 at DePauw!!! He looks forlorn. Like he knows there is a -1% chance Lewis could lead a 24 point comeback. Yes, a negative chance. In fact, if IU got like 6 turnovers and defensive scores. . . Lewis would definitely throw several picks on obvious running downs just to make sure. All the little things that have gone wrong. Penalties, fumbles, dropped picks, and it is still the first quarter. Punting into the end zone from the 40 when you are down four scores?! Good job you held them below 30 in the 1st quarter.
FLASHBACK: On November 26 of last year Indiana University announced that it was removing the interim tag and making Bill Lynch its head football coach. This turn of events prompted us to post a not-so-ringing endorsement. Just under a year later our initial reaction appears justified. Was this the worst hire in recent Hoosier history? No, but only because of the Kelvin Sampson disaster. All I can say is thank goodness the AD, Rick Greenspan, is stepping aside next month.
A special thank you to Bob Kravitz for insisting that Lynch should be hired last year. Funny that despite a long search I couldn't find a link to that column.
DZ Comments: The original piece by Kravitz is gone from the Star. Here's a blogger's breakdown of it.
UPDATE: Kravitz was gutless today. He avoided Weis (yikes!) and Lynch altogether. The weird thing about the whole Lynch situation is how painfully obvious it was from the start. Indiana had 8 home games. They didn't play OSU or Michigan. They played two MAC teams.
They won 3 games.
I wouldn't say Kravitz avoided the issue, so much as buried it at the bottom of his column. Here's his take:
Now, though, there will be questions about the future of the guy across the field, Bill Lynch, whose Hoosiers were thoroughly embarrassed. This effort recalled Gerry DiNardo's farewell performance in 2004, a 63-24 loss here in West Lafayette.
Let's just say this: It's possible this was Lynch's last game. But it's not likely.
First, lame-duck athletic director Rick Greenspan will not make the decision. IU let a lame-duck president named Adam Herbert hire Kelvin Sampson, and that didn't work out so well. If anyone is going to make a move any time soon, it's going to be incoming AD Fred Glass, although I don't see that happening. Not right now.
Second, Lynch signed a four-year extension last year after leading the Hoosiers to the program's first bowl appearance in 14 years. It would be both rash and financially irresponsible to pull the plug after one bad season/horrendous performance. At the very least, he needs another year.
Kravitz is correct about the complicating factors that will effect Fred Glass's decision. But the question is do you compound a terrible decision made by your predecessor with a mistake of your own?
Saturday, November 22, 2008
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8 comments:
There's no excuse for a 62-10 beating by Purdue, even in West Lafayette.
Lynch was fine last year, but he should have stayed an interim coach.
Also, you forgot to mention two big things that could swing the game in the Colts' favor this week: Merriman is on IR, and Michael Turner is in Atlanta. Remember that Turner has been the one to bail the Chargers out the last three times they've played. Also, Rivers doesn't have a strong arm. There's so much hang time on his throws, I expect the Colts cornerbacks to have enough time for tea and scones before picking them off. Although admittedly, the Chargers Jacksonville-esque receiver corps has me worried.
I think that without the Zombie, this game is close, but still in the Colts favor. With the Zombie, they might as well hand out forks at the gate so the fans can stick them in the team and management, since they're done.
He owns the nations longest Division 1 loosing streak. Is anyone really surprised? REALLY?
When did IU football become real? We won a berth to the Jack Shit Bowl, which we lost horribly, and we continue to be horrible. Color me unsurprised.
It became a real program for a brief moment under Hep. Then he passed away.
Even if you acknowledge the clutchness of Hep's hiring, Rick Greenspan has been the worst AD I've ever heard of.
If it makes you feel any better, my graduate alma mater just lost today, despite being favored, in double OT, after leading by 10 for nearly all game, to a school ranked 118 out of 119 in the Bowl Series Division (or whatever the hell it's called).
Of course UW was rankes 117, so losing to WSU at 118 was no great leap. At least we got rid of Ty Willingham. Bring on Lane Kiffin!
(Even though we lost to USC by just 3 last year, my kids have never seen the Huskies win. It's like being a Colts fan, circa 1990 all over again. Except I care a lot less.
I'm not sure it's possible for Rick Greenspan to have screwed up Indiana athletics moreso than he did. Years from now, we'll be hearing about how he was secretly on Purdue's payroll the whole time.
Here's the deal. I'm not looking for IU to go to the Rose Bowl any time soon. Realistically, I'd be happy with a winning season and a crap bowl every year. They don't have to challenge OSU for a National Title and top tier recruits. That's what we have basketball for. But dammit, at least be respectable so my Illinois friends have slightly less to shove in my face.
There are two people who don't want to run into me at an airport somewhere, Rick Greenspan and Kelvin Sampson. Both of these men have done more damage to my beloved IU than anyone in the school's entire history. And both of them were paid a ton of money to do it.
it could be worse. You could have started 7-1 then dropped 4 straight ending with 55-0 in a rivalry game, in your last home game in your old stadium where the entire team quits in the 3rd quarter. Then be going to Detroit to get stomped by undefeated Ball State for your bowl.
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