This game may not hold as much interest on Skybox as it does here in Indiana, but I thought I'd open a topic for whatever conversation might ensue. For starters, here's a stat that has me worried: IU's QB Kurtis Rourke completed 70.4% of his passes over the entire season for 2,827 and 27 TDs with only 4 INTs. That last stat, displaying incredible accuracy, concerns me. Any thoughts?
OK some stats to sooth the worry. ND is 3 in pass yds. allowed, 4th in interceptions and first in turnovers gained. I'll take the home team.
Through the 1st half, ND appears to have IU’s number. I saw a stat that may be a mistake (ESPN supplied so a mistake it might be). They said that IU hasn’t won in South Bend since the late 1800’s. I don’t see them ending the streak. I wouldn’t want to be a player in the IU locker room at halftime.
IU DL has played very well with the exception of the 98 yd TD, Riley has played well but not dominant. He's made some good throws and has made some key runs/scrambles. Irish defense for the most part has played very well, IU QB hasn't been able to find any groove. He's made a couple of very crisp passes on slants but that's about it. They have to figure out how to get to him, he's had a lot of time on too many of his passes. Overall good 1st half by the Irish.
1898. They haven’t played often except for the early 1950s. I was there the last time they played in 1991.
Georgia DL and overall defense is likely to prove to be too much for the Irish. I hope we play well though and keep it close. Longhorns with a better OL and QB couldn't beat them in 2 tries.
The game turned out about the way I expected. Irish deserved the win. Indiana still had a great and surprising season.
I don't want to say anything to make fans of either team mad...but I had not really bought into IU (even though they creamed my hapless Boilers). I was going to come here and state that this shows that schedule strength is indeed important...then at the end of the game the announcers made the point that they felt strength of schedule would and should be looked at a bit harder in the future. In my opinion, despite the great year that IU had (and Kudos to them) this was a case of an over-rated team facing a vastly under-rated team.