The Hoosiers will need some breaks today to win at Wisconsin. Before the game even starts, they’ve already had a major setback with the loss of quarterback Michael Penix, Jr., tearing his ACL in last weekend’s victory over Maryland. Once again, history is not on our side, with Wisconsin leading the series 41-18-2. This time, however #10 Indiana is ranked higher, but this is primarily based on Penix’s achievements. They haven’t taken home the cheese in Madison since 2001. Utah transfer Jack Tuttle will start his first game in a Hoosier uniform with a ton of weight on his shoulders today. 

Will football continue to perform better than basketball, or at the end of the day will I be supporting two middle-of-the-pack programs? The Hoosiers round-ballers are once again expected to finish in the midst of the BIG and finished in the middle of the Maui Invitational with a 2-1 record to start the season. The team simply can’t shoot and consequently relies too heavily on lay-ups and rebounds from Trayce Jackson-Davis. A second setback this week was an ankle injury to Al Durham.  Sadly, misfortune of this nature may indicate that the athletic program is cursed with mediocrity. I can only hope that going forward that we show some resiliency. 

A gridiron victory over Wisconsin today would vault us to the top of the conference, with a faint chance of getting to the BIG Championship Game for the first time since its inception nine years ago. Ohio State is struggling with Covid interruptions that could put them in danger of not playing enough games to qualify. Purdue is also in the way of this achievement, another dangerous obstacle, as the Bucket Game moved out of its traditional Thanksgiving slot to take place in the middle of December. Basketball, as well, plays important games against Florida State, N. Alabama, and Butler. BIG match-ups begin in two weeks. Hopefully, it’s not a mediocre month for Indiana sports! Go Hoosiers!