One year ago, IU football coach, Tom Allen, could do no wrong. He was the darling of the BIG with coaching offers from other schools and players that loved him and each other. The term LEO (Love Each Other) was emblazoned on helmets, uniforms, and merchandise. It was one big love fest in Bloomington as he jumped in the air with enthusiastic support for his team. They knocked off Penn State on a last second plunge and nearly beat the Buckeyes on their home turf. Recruits were knocking on his door and the transfer portal a one-way street to Memorial Stadium. Fans, like me, drank the Kool-Aid, thinking that at last IU was becoming a football school, when it wasn’t really even a basketball school any more. 

Yesterday, the Kool-Aid was more like First Aid, with quarterback after quarterback helped off the field. The Buckeyes came to town with a vengeful mission of putting the Hoosiers in their place. They showed why they are so much better by humiliating the Tom Allen Hoosiers on national TV. Earlier this year, they made the same statement by trouncing Archie Miller’s struggling hoopsters in Columbus, after winning their 25 straight football matchup with the Hoosiers. Today, it’s 26 consecutive Buckeye gridiron wins, and once again another higher preseason ranking in basketball! What have we done about it other than stealing Thad Matta to help improve our basketball recruiting? Are we starting to hear “Fire Tom Allen” chants already from the football faithful? How many of his current players will check out the transfer portal this week?

Ohio State is currently the superior sports school, although IU soccer just beat them 3-0, a decisive drubbing. It does not seem to have the same humiliating impact as the 54-7 football score, including a painful 30-0 second quarter. Adding to the frustration, 78-59 was the final in last year’s only head-to-head hardwood meeting. New basketball coach Mike Woodson rarely lost to Ohio State when he was a player. Hopefully, that will be the case for his teams in future Buckeye basketball encounters. However, will I ever see a football victory over Ohio State in my lifetime? Please pass the Kool-Aid, I need a healthy dose to get through this devastating loss!