Charlie Brown has a determined look on his face.  Lucy has talked him into believing she will hold the football on the ground so he can kick it.  He wants to have faith in her.  He really does.  Nothing is more important on this day that Charlie putting a toe to the leather.  He wants to watch the ball take off and soar.  He wants the ball to take flight and fly over the telephone poll or the clothes line or whatever he is aiming for with a determination he will never bring to math class.

Charlie Brown believes Lucy this time.  Lucy subtly made her earnest case that this time she will do the right thing.  Charlie looks where Lucy will hold the ball.  Charlie Brown then turns away from that spot and counts the steps he will use to bring his might forward in order to make proper toe to leather contact.  His heart is racing.  His palms start to sweat.  Everything in front of him looks suspended in silence.  Then, as we know, he takes off.

Yes.  When he arrives to the spot of his portent of glory with Lucy holding the ball, suddenly she removes the ball from the hold with a sneer on her face.  Charlie Brown, in mid-swing of his leg, realizes all that is happening and he has but one retort.  “AAUGH!!!”

Welcome to Indiana Hoosier Football.  Not exactly the refrain given by Coach Norman Dale before he took the court for the first time as the head coach of the Hickory Huskers.

Last Saturday night I found myself belly-laughing when the craziest thing I have ever seen on the Memorial Stadium field as the Indiana Hoosiers were playing the role of most gracious host to the 1-2  Akron Zips.  It was near the middle of the third quarter.  The ever polite Hoosiers kindly gave the Zips a 10-7 advantage.  Then, as the Akron kicker was about to kick off giving the ball back to the Hoosiers, he did a smart thing trying to keep the ball away from the best kick returner in all of the land.  He kicked a line-drive in the opposite direction of Hoosier lighting that is Jaylin Lucas.  So what happened to the ball?  The ball struck a Hoosier on the front line of the kickoff team and bounced back into the hands of an Akron Zip.  I laughed out loud.  Funniest thing I have ever seen on a field I have been visiting for fifty years.  Later in the quarter, Louie Freeman intercepted an Akron pass and took it 22 yards to pay dirt.  Indiana 14-10.  That play and a missed 32 yard field goal by the Akron kicker on the last play of the game tied at 17 were what eventually led to a Hoosier victory 29-27 in, gulp, 4 overtimes.  Or in the parlance of Charlie Brown, “AUGHH!!!!!”

That is how the season is playing out for the Indiana Hoosiers.  AUGHHH!  It seems to be getting worse all the time.  The next home game is not until October 21st.  I got a text message today about that game.  Me, a season ticket holder, got a text message today.  The message told me I was being given FIRST ACCESS to buy more tickets.  A two for one deal!  Starting at $30!  $15 each.  That is what we paid to watch Anthony Thompson run in 1988.  AUGHHH!!!!  This spells nothing but trouble for Indiana Hoosier Football.

This act of benevolence by the IU athletic department is true Big Ten Arrogance.  What they should send me is a thank you card for purchasing 2 seats that are now worth 8 seats.  Arrogance I tell you.  If they don’t invite me back to the press box, we can turn to this page and know why.  Ain’t that America for you and me.  John Cougar Mellencamp is the last guy I ever thought I would be quoting.  Things are that bad in Bloomington.

You have no idea how much it bothers me to have written the preceding paragraphs.  Your resident neighborhood Hoosier Homer is in shreds.  I’m just speaking the rights.  If things get better in a hurry, I will write about the post that got away from me and how wrong I was. That is a precarious spot I can only dream will find me.

On to this week’s picks!  You will notice my omission of Indiana in the list of games I am picking.  Those of you have read this space often will know why.

Last week:     9 winners    5 losers

Season:        42 winners    14 losers

Here we go.

Kentucky beats Florida…at home the Cats are better suited for a noon kick in Lexington than the Gators.

USC beats Colorado…In the this is the reason college football is in trouble department, this games kicks of at 10 AM local time in Boulder and 9 AM for those watching on the West Coast.  How dumb is that?  Television Greedy Dumb.

Boston College beats Virginia…At BC, the Eagles bounce back from their butt whipping by the Louisville Cardinals.

Georgia beats Auburn…On The Plains, this could be interesting.

Texas beats Kansas…The Horns are playing well.

Michigan beats Nebraska…Oh what a game this once was.  Where have you gone, Turner Gill?

Mizzou beats Vandy…The Tigers are pretty good.

Ole Miss beats LSU…It is in Oxford and the Rebs have to have it.  The Tide made the Rebs look silly last week.  That won’t happen two weeks in a row.

Oregon beats Stanford…Kicks off at 3:30 local time.  Imagine that.

Iowa beats Michigan State…The Hawkeyes were shut out last week at Happy Valley.  They are back at Kinnick Stadium this week to prove to their fans that they still have something in the tank.

Notre Dame beats Duke…Oh I hope the Dukies win.

Tennessee beats South Carolina…I love it that there is another part of the world where USC does not mean Southern Cal.

Alabama beats Miss. State…They have to.

Washington beats Arizona…Michael Penix, Jr continues to pass his way to the Heisman Trophy.

Get after it.  I suppose I have here.

Danny Johnson

Last week I was in the rafters of this place.  Actually I was in the press box and it was a great experience.  The end result was Louisville 21 Indiana 14.

This was my office for the day.  The food was great.  The people were decent.  You are not in a press box to make great friends.  Everyone is too busy for that.  All of us have an agenda for the day.  It is either written down or planted firmly in memory.  You watch the game.  You hope you have something to contribute to someone who may be reading or watching or listening and then you move on.

But I did enjoy my vantage point.  I was asked today what the coolest thing about being in the press box is.  Silence.  That was my answer.  Behind the glass and in a comfortable seat with more room than you’ll find elsewhere to watch the game, the quiet that goes with it is perfect.  You can think.  You can work.  You can’t root for either team, as you are instructed not to before the game.  You are reminded this is a “working” press box.  You have to cuss under your breath when your team makes a play call that just ruined the day.

Another thing I enjoyed last Saturday was being seated above this goal line.  It was a heartbreaking place in the 4th quarter.  But at least I got a clear view of a 4th and Goal from inside the one for the Hoosiers that made me pause and ask myself if I actually need to be doing all this or not?  I am a Homer.  I was a quiet Homer in press box.  Still, this old Homer was mortified with a play call that saw most of the Louisville defense in the Hoosier backfield before the IU running back who was handed the ball could figure out which Cardinal was going to tackle him.

I hemmed and hawed a bit.  But I think this was the worst thing on a field that I have seen for the Hoosiers since Scott Bonnell missed that 26 yarder against Purdue in 1989.  Some will think I need to mention the 2020 Gator Bowl when the Hoosiers imploded at the end and lost to the Tennessee Vols  23-22.  Yep, that one belongs.

Oh well. On the upside, Indiana found a quarterback in Tayven Jackson.  Now…if Indiana can only keep him.

Guess what?  It starts all over this weekend.  Another opening kick-off.

Get your popcorn ready.

Last week: 10 winners and 4 losers.

Season total: 33 winners 9 losers.

So what will it be this week?

Indiana beats Akron…The Hoosiers need to run the ball.  And please, don’t run the option.  It might work against Akron.  But it ain’t working against anybody with defensive speed up front.   Hope the lights are fresh on the Hoosier side of the scoreboard.

Swissconsin beats Purdue…I hope I am terribly wrong here.  Still can’t stand Bucky.

Ole Miss beats Alabama…I did not see this coming.  But I just don’t think Bama can stop Jaxon Dart.  Sorry Brother Tim.  I picked your boys to win it all.  What do I know?  I know it is not over yet.  It will be Saturday night.

Kentucky beats Vandy…The Dores will give them a game.  They always do.

Florida State beats Clemson…Yes, in the presence of Howard’s Rock.  That aberration that was last week’s game against Boston College was wake-up call for the Seminoles.  The will be WIDE AWAKE against Clemson.

Marshall beats Virginia Tech…Uh-oh.  Homer is at it again.  This is a big game in Huntington.   remember seeing the Herd beat Purdue at The Joan a few years ago.  The place loves the big boy conference teams when they come calling.

Louisville beats Boston College…I doubt there was much butt that did not get chewed after the abysmal second half that almost got away from the Cards against the Hoosiers.  Jeff Brohm might send Indiana play caller Walt Bell a Christmas card before season’s end.

Oregon beats Colorado…In Autzen Stadium?  Are you kidding me?  The boys from Boulder can’t do it again.  Can they?

UCLA beats Utah…This will be a fun one to watch.  The Bruins are going on a PAC-12 farewell tour.  And it will be a successful one.

LSU beats Arkansas…Evening game in Baton Rouge.  The Tigers won’t be looking at their trip to Oxford next week just yet.

Penn State beats Iowa…Two mules fighting over a turnip!  I love it.

Notre Dame beats Ohio State…A man can dream.  Why not?

North Carolina beats Pitt…The Tar Heels go up and down the field against the Panthers.

Minnesota beats Northwestern…I deserve a soft ball too.

I’ll be in Bloomington for the Indiana-Akron game.  Hopefully the report will be better.  I think it will be a good showing by the Hoosiers.  They are wearing black jerseys and britches.  More importantly, they are wearing Red helmets with the “Block I“.  Be still my beating heart.

Have a great weekend!  Speak the rights when you need to.

Danny Johnson

It was tough to watch how the Indiana Hoosiers lost to the Louisville Cardinals 21-14 Saturday in Lucas Oil Stadium.  How tough?  When Tayven Jackson turned around to hand the ball off to Josh Henderson on 4th and goal at the half yard line, I knew what the result would be and I immediately thought about Lewis Grizzard.  I knew he had been there with his beloved Georgia Bulldogs.  For the first time, I completely understood.

I LOOK FOR MORE FOLKS IN LUCAS OIL STADIUM AGAINST INDIANA TODAY.

Last week the Crimson Tide let me down.  Unlike others, I don’t think BAMA is out.

Last Week:  11 winners   3 losers                                                                                             Season    :  23 winners   8 losers

The Indiana Hoosiers have to beat Louisville if they plan on packing for a trip at the end of the season that means they get play another game.  I have felt that way since the ink on the schedule was wet.

What’s up with these ACC-Big Ten matchups?  This isn’t basketball.  Michigan steered clear of it, just like they never open the season with a Big Ten opponent.  But they are Michigan and you are not.

Indiana beats Louisville

Florida State beats Boston College

LSU beats Mississippi State

Penn State beats Illinois

Alabama beats South Florida

North Carolina beats Minnesota

Duke beats Northwestern

Georgia beats South Carolina

Virginia Tech beats Rutgers

Tennessee beats Florida

Kentucky beats Akron

Ole Miss beats Georgia Tech

Pitt beats West Virginia

Colorado beats Colorado State

That’s all folks!   Kind of in a hurry.

Enjoy the day and speak the rights.

Danny Johnson

I tell my high school English students that there are some circumstances in life that come along and one piece of advice will go a long way.  Act like you’ve been there before.

Tough spots are tough spots.  You know the old saying.  When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

You will be hard-pressed to find a football man who is a more ardent supporter of the Indiana Hoosiers Football Team and Coach Tom Allen than yours truly.

I am a football man.  I have seen 72 of the FBS schools play in person in my day.  I am a football man.  Have attended games at SEC, Big Ten, C-USA, PAC-12, MAC, and ACC stadiums and let’s not leave out Notre Dame Stadium.  I am a football man.  I have never seen a game in Assembly Hall. We could keep going.

After Indiana’s 23-3 loss to Ohio State in the season opener, I thought I was going to implode in Section 9 of Memorial Stadium in Bloomington.  The score was 7-3 with just a few minutes left to go in the first half and the Hoosiers had the ball looking to add more points.  They failed miserably.  The didn’t act like they had been there before.  When your best running play of the day goes for 13 yards against a stout defense, you run it again.  The Hoosiers did not run it again.  When you are apparently playing for a first down with time to spare on a clock you want to see run out of time, you milk the play clock.  The Hoosiers did not milk the play clock.  When you run three running plays and find yourself at 4th and three on the opponents’ 40 with less than two minutes left in the half, you don’t gamble with a passing game that can’t get out its own way.  The Hoosiers gambled with a passing game that couldn’t get out of its own way.  When you just denied a pass to the best receiver in the country, you don’t act like Braveheart and hoist an imaginary sword and act like you are forcefully returning it to its scabbard and draw a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty.  The Hoosiers acted like Braveheart and drew a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty at the worst possible time.

All of this nonsense took place in the space of a few minutes when the Hoosiers decided we must not belong here.  Playing Ohio State, the Hoosiers were at home and still acting like they had never been there before.  I think I believed more in the team than they believed in themselves.

Living in an Indiana county that borders the Ohio River and whose southern tip sits 14 miles from Louisville, you better know I have heard from Louisville fans leading up to Saturday’s Indiana-Louisville game at Lucas Oli Stadium in Indianapolis.  Some Cards fans have been gracious.  Some have thought they were being gracious by saying Indiana might give Louisville a good game.  Others have poo-pooed the Hoosiers with vehemence.

Seeing how Indiana Football acted on their own home turf against Ohio State with a chance to make something happen only to pee down their leg, I’m not sure who is right.

My advice to the Indiana Football team before the U of L game is go be football players.  Don’t be Hoosiers.  Be football players and ACT LIKE YOU’VE BEEN THERE BEFORE!  Do that and you will find your way back home again.

And tell Braveheart not to bring his sword.

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

Last week was an exercise in Hoosier Footballdom.  We will get to that later in the week when there is more time and more space since last week’s Ohio State game.

But thank you Buckeye fans for showing up.  Photos like this are rare in Memorial Stadium.  I enjoy them.

Last night the Indiana Hoosiers played the Indiana State Sycamores.  The Hoosiers won 41-7.  It should not have been this close.  When you root for IU, you take 41-7 or 2-0 in your favor and celebrate nonetheless.

The best part of the evening was hanging out with this guy, my old friend Kelly Samons.

Let’s get to this week’s games!

Last week 12 winners and 2 losers.  Indiana and Purdue kept me from 14-0.  I know, the homer had no business picking Indiana to beat Ohio State.  The homer is a dreamer and a believer too.

Wake Forest beats Vandy…  In Winston-Salem, this one will be clase.

Georgia beats Ball State…  Of course they do.

Nebraska beats Colorado… Matt Rhule has something up his sleeve and the Buffs aren’t ready to pull it off in consecutive weeks, are they?  Sorry Prime.

Notre Dame beats NC State… Remember when they two played in a monsoon as the remnants of Hurricane Matthew where moving through the Research Triangle?

Virginia Tech beats Purdue…It is in Blacksburg.  If the Boilers can’t beat Fresno on the Northern Plains, it won’t work out on a different farm.

Iowa beats Iowa State…Two mules fighting over a turnip.  Football still lives somewhere.

Ole Miss beats Tulane…How good can these Rebs be?  We get a taste today.

Michigan State beats Richmond…Itsy bitsy Spiders need not apply in East Lansing.

Miami beats Texas A&M…The Jimbo and Bobby Show would make great reality TV and I’ve never watched one of those shows.  Where are cameras when we really need them?

Michigan beats UNLV…It’s against all odds for the boys from Vegas.

Arkansas beats Kent State…Met a former Kent State fullback from my day last week in Bloomington.  Great guy.  Still can’t pick the Flashes today.

Marshall beats East Carolina…Homer alert…Homer alert…Go Herd or Go Home!

Bama beats Texas…In Tuscaloosa?  Yes, this will be embarrassing for the Horns.

UCLA beats Sand Diego State…The boys from Westwood make the drive to San Diego and come back ready to go the beach tomorrow.

Have a great weekend, all!

Before we go, a shout out to the North Harrison Cougars for defeating the Charlestown Pirates last night.  This Friday will be a good one in Blevins Stadium as the 4-0 Cougars invade the home artificial turf of the Brownstown Central Braves who are also 4-0.  The Braves will need to make sure their chin straps are buckled tight.

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson

First things first.  The North Harrison Cougars defeated the Corydon Central Panthers tonight 42-6.  The Cougars are 3-0 on the season.  Go Cougars Go!

Right now I’m watching Louisville having a hard time with Georgia Tech.

Jacob Merritt for Ohio State.  I am for the Hoosiers.

Tomorrow the last college football season we still recognize begins in earnest.  There will still be a PAC 12 this year.  USC and UCLA will still be members.  So will Oregon and Washington.  That all changes next year.  I am still struggling to make sense of this.  Word came down today that Stanford and California will join the ACC next year.  Last I heard, ACC stands for Atlantic Coast Conference.  See what I mean.

Let’s get to the games.

Indiana beats Ohio State…I was going to leave this one alone until I talked to Mom about it.  She said she still believes in miracles.  I BELIEVE.

Kentucky beats Ball State…UK is pretty darn good.

Purdue beats Fresno State…This is a daunting task for the Boilers.  This will be a big win for them.

Iowa beats Utah State…Another classic 20-3 Iowa defensive gem.

Washington beats Boise State… Michael Penix begins his air assault.

USC beats Nevada…Look out for the Trojans.  They may be one of the last four.

Alabama beats Middle Tennessee…Milroe at QB for the Tide is a good move.

North Carolina beats South Carolina…Drake Maye will be on fire.

Wyoming will beat Texas Tech…CBS visiting Laramie in primetime?  Wow.

Illinois beats Toledo…The boys from Champaign will be ready here.

Penn State beats West Virginia…Classic matchup with a great deal of history.

Tulane beats South Alabama…The Green Wave still rising after the bowl win over USC.

BYU beats Houston…We know the Cougars will win this one.

UCLA beats Coastal Carolina…Not much of a home opener.  NC Central shows up in The Rose Bowl in two weeks.  Not impressed.

I have to believe this is the first time in my lifetime, if ever, that ABC, NBC, and CBS will be showing college football night games on the same night.  That tells you how powerful this college football is.

I will be in Bloomington tomorrow with my good friend Adam Disque.  We worked together at Medora many years ago.  He is a good Hoosier.

Speaking the rights.

Danny Johnson