Indiana, Army football battling to maintain relevance
After Indiana University Athletic Director Fred Glass fired basketball coach Tom Crean March 16 this year, it took him nine days to hire his replacement, Archie Miller. It seemed like a long time as I constantly checked Twitter for updates and exchanged numerous emails with my "contacts" back in the Hoosier state. You knew that Glass had done his due diligence, because Miller was a top tier candidate with a proven track record.
When the news of IU football coach Kevin Wilson resigning hit on Dec. 1 of last year, it was accompanied by the news that Glass had already appointed defensive coordinator Tom Allen as the permanent replacement, complete with a six-year contract. That hire seemed rushed since Allen had only coached at the Division 1 level since 2011 and people like Charlie Strong and P. J. Fleck were still on the market. Why not at least kick the tires on some already proven models?
Indiana is not a football power. The glory days of the program were from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s under Coach Bill Mallory when they played 0.463 football and played in six lower-level bowls over 13 seasons. Not so good? It was a damn site better than the two bowl appearances from the previous 90-plus football seasons and the 0.400 winning percentage the Hoosiers have accumulated to date.
Wilson pushed the Hoosier to two consecutive 6-6 regular seasons and two straight bowl games. He resigned amidst reports of abusive coaching practices. Clearly, he had to go, but can Allen keep it going in a positive direction?
As the defensive coordinator, Allen improved the Hoosier's defense to the point they rated 57th out of 128 rated teams last year. Unfortunately, their offense was rated 88th. While Zach Osterman of the IndyStar.com sees reason for optimism on the defensive side of the ball, I am worried that Allen will have trouble keeping pace with the offensive game and IU might be primed for a regression.
Army running attack primed for great season
Kerry Miller of BleacherReport.com is predicting the Army Team, the pride and dream of every heart in gray, will field the number one ranked rushing offense this year. Let's not get out ahead of our ourselves, though. Army has ranked in the top ten in rushing the last nine seasons and that has produced an average of four victories per year.
We do know that Army will run, run often and sometimes punt. All that running leads to hefty time of possession numbers and a rested defense. This symbiotic relationship has led to the Army defense achieving a top 20 rating according to Oddsshark.com last year.
Army coach Jeff Monken has legitimately improved the Black Knights and finally lead them to a victory over Navy last year. Quality recruits are signing to play at West Point now that guaranteed trips to Afghanistan and Iraq are no longer handed out with diplomas. A regression to another Army football "gloom period" seems less likely for the "sons of slum and gravy."
Additional Army football sources
For some of the best Army football coverage and analysis, I recommend two blogs: Forgotten Five, specifically the work by contributor Alex Funderburke, and Casa Cabeza, by Dan Head.
Funderburke is the son of one of my West Point classmates, Joe Funderburke. Alex is a young hot shot writer with a goal of becoming legitimate sports media.
Dan is a West Point classmate, as well. He and I are going to do a joint venture starting in August where we preview all of the NFL divisions. Dan will take the NFC and I will cover the AFC beat.
When the news of IU football coach Kevin Wilson resigning hit on Dec. 1 of last year, it was accompanied by the news that Glass had already appointed defensive coordinator Tom Allen as the permanent replacement, complete with a six-year contract. That hire seemed rushed since Allen had only coached at the Division 1 level since 2011 and people like Charlie Strong and P. J. Fleck were still on the market. Why not at least kick the tires on some already proven models?
Indiana is not a football power. The glory days of the program were from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s under Coach Bill Mallory when they played 0.463 football and played in six lower-level bowls over 13 seasons. Not so good? It was a damn site better than the two bowl appearances from the previous 90-plus football seasons and the 0.400 winning percentage the Hoosiers have accumulated to date.
Wilson pushed the Hoosier to two consecutive 6-6 regular seasons and two straight bowl games. He resigned amidst reports of abusive coaching practices. Clearly, he had to go, but can Allen keep it going in a positive direction?
As the defensive coordinator, Allen improved the Hoosier's defense to the point they rated 57th out of 128 rated teams last year. Unfortunately, their offense was rated 88th. While Zach Osterman of the IndyStar.com sees reason for optimism on the defensive side of the ball, I am worried that Allen will have trouble keeping pace with the offensive game and IU might be primed for a regression.
Army running attack primed for great season
Kerry Miller of BleacherReport.com is predicting the Army Team, the pride and dream of every heart in gray, will field the number one ranked rushing offense this year. Let's not get out ahead of our ourselves, though. Army has ranked in the top ten in rushing the last nine seasons and that has produced an average of four victories per year.
We do know that Army will run, run often and sometimes punt. All that running leads to hefty time of possession numbers and a rested defense. This symbiotic relationship has led to the Army defense achieving a top 20 rating according to Oddsshark.com last year.
Army coach Jeff Monken has legitimately improved the Black Knights and finally lead them to a victory over Navy last year. Quality recruits are signing to play at West Point now that guaranteed trips to Afghanistan and Iraq are no longer handed out with diplomas. A regression to another Army football "gloom period" seems less likely for the "sons of slum and gravy."
2014 Army/Navy Game in M & T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
For some of the best Army football coverage and analysis, I recommend two blogs: Forgotten Five, specifically the work by contributor Alex Funderburke, and Casa Cabeza, by Dan Head.
Funderburke is the son of one of my West Point classmates, Joe Funderburke. Alex is a young hot shot writer with a goal of becoming legitimate sports media.
Dan is a West Point classmate, as well. He and I are going to do a joint venture starting in August where we preview all of the NFL divisions. Dan will take the NFC and I will cover the AFC beat.
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