You're listening to the Back Home Network presented by Home
Field Apparel. All right folks, welcome back to
Crimson Cast. Scott here with you and it's
starting. We are doing our football
preview shows. We'll probably release these in
the order which you record them and this is the first one that
I'm doing. We got a couple coming this
week. So excited.
We're like two weeks out from football.
This morning it was like 56° the bus stop.
Getting very excited. Have a great guest on.
We have Zion Brown from WIUX, also some indie star this
summer. Excited to have him on.
Before we get to Zion, just want to talk about a new sponsor we
have on the podcast, which is Upland Brewery.
Could not be more excited for this.
They make some fantastic stuff. One of my favorite beers the
they have a wheat beer, which is just awesome.
But today we're here to talk about the official craft beer of
Upland. Upland Brewery is the official
craft beer of Indiana University Athletics and their beer is the
Hoosier Game Day Logger. If you've been at any of the IU
sporting events, I'm sure you've seen it.
It's the Crimson and cream colored beer bottle.
It's fantastic. It's crafted by Upland Brewery
Company in the heart of Bloomington, and this beer
embodies the Hoosier pride in every can.
It features the iconic cream and Crimson candy stripes.
The Hoosier Game Day Lager is a classically smooth and
refreshing beer. It's in my freeze fridge right
now, and it's brewed to perfection with a perfect
balance of flavor. It's the ideal companion for
every game. You can do it tailgating.
You can do it at the game when you're cheering a Memorial
Stadium or assembly hall to watch your favorite sport.
IU athletics are always better with beer, I would agree and
capture the spirit of Hoosier basketball with every sip.
Find the Hoosier game day logger at Upland's nine family friendly
locations. There's one up here in Clay
Terrace in Westfield so you can join me.
I will be there for many IU Football Rd. games.
They're also your local liquor store, neighborhood bar, and
everywhere Upland beers are sold.
Upland Brewery Company reminds you to drink responsibly and go
Hoosiers. Zion.
You just turned 21 my friend. You're like 3 weeks in.
How much Upland have you hit and what what's been your favorite?
I turn 21 story thus far. So I haven't been to upland yet.
I need to. I just got back to Bloomington
yet or two days ago. So I will certainly be checking
that out in the next day or two. But for me, my, my, I turn 21
stories right now aren't anything crazy.
The thing about me is I have a summer birthday.
Obviously it was the end of July, but because of my
birthday, I'm I'm some people do it the other way around where
they would be going into their junior year of college.
Right now I'm going into my senior year, which means all of
my friends have had their like big Oh my God.
I'm 21 months ago. And so for me it was just kind
of like more of like a finally, like my friends can finally do
things with me and not like feel like they're leaving me out of
things. But so I haven't had anything
crazy going on, but I've just gone out, you know, once or
twice every week since I turned 21.
And yeah, it's been cool. But yeah, I don't have a huge.
Oh my God, I had a crazy first night because everybody I know
kind of has already experienced. That I love it as, as someone in
the mid 40s, I love how you just kind of casually throughout the,
you know, once I've gone out, you know, once twice every week
because once you hit the 40s, like I can go out once a week
and then I'm, I'm crushed for like 3 days.
So enjoy it. I remember I, I also am like
you, I had a July, I have a late July birthday and I also went,
started late. I mean, I was going 21 turning
into my senior year. So I know the feeling.
We're like junior year, that last, you know, four or five
months of school was like, dude, everyone's going out, everyone's
drinking and you're just either hoping you have the right fake
ID or it's like, all right, I guess I'm just hanging out with
you guys when you get back from the bars.
Yep, that is exactly how the last, like you said, probably
five or six months of my life work.
Well, you have a job to do after we're done with this.
I know it's like 9:00. We're recording this.
Wait till like maybe 11 and then go buy some Hoosier logger.
Go get some of the cans and they're great to have them.
They just look awesome in your fridge.
Like just having the candy stripes in your fridge looks
awesome. That's that's a way to impress,
impress the ladies. Now that you're 21, you come in,
you have a fridge full of game day log.
You're like, dude, Zion knows what's going on.
He knows what's up. Yeah, that that right now my
fridge has, like I said, I just moved into a new place.
It has water, grapes and beer so that we can just add more beer.
I love we need to have like a we were going to have you on
throughout the season. We got to have like a Zion
fridge update because like the college fridge is one of the
best. Like there, there will be take
out pizza, some take out probably Thai food.
And then, yeah, just like I love the grapes, beer and water.
That's that's a good mix. Maybe milk and eggs as you start
to get closer to graduation. Well, Zion, I want to I want to
start with this. You're a senior going into I,
you know, at IU. What is your relationship with
IU football? What I mean by that is you've
been covering and kind of watching it in a unique time
where they had a super high, a super dip, you know, for, for
someone like me in my mid 40s, I've been watching going to
football games since the mid to early early 80s.
And so I've probably come into this season and just into IU
football fandom with kind of like, you know, just a Theta
complete. It's like, Ah, well, you know,
that that's what's going to happen.
And IU, you know, that's that's what I expect to happen with IU
football. I'm curious, someone is a
younger fan who hasn't had, you know, you know the history of
it, but you haven't lived it. How how do you come into a
football season with IU? I'll just leave it there.
It's a question I've been curious to ask you.
Yeah, it, it's so interesting to me because like I was in high
school, my senior year was, you know, the year, the, the great
2020, you know, shorting season. And I didn't, I didn't actually
decide I was going to IU until like the spring.
So it was after football season, but like just watching that.
And then once I did decide like get to campus, they're ranked I
think 16th or 17th going into that next 2021 season.
And then it's been not at all what I expected when I got here,
right? I'm I'm thinking, OK, like, like
this team is probably going to make at least the bowl game
every year I'm here. You know, they have a chance to,
you know, make especially that first year, like maybe be in
another new year 6 bowl and condition or to get to one.
I should say not another one could say I screwed out of the
one the year before that. But so yeah, that's what I was
thinking. And they have not made a bowl
game in the three years I've been here.
So the the relationship, I guess would it be like, I guess I got
that glimpse, I would say in 2019 and 2020 of like I saw what
it could be from, from a distance.
I'm from Indianapolis. So I I watched, I paid
attention, I saw what it could be.
But I have not gotten to like fully experience, you know, a, a
bowl season or like a a season that is like fulfilling in the
way that those two seasons. Were as a student, I'm curious
to also ask you this, how, how do you view the excitement going
into this season? And it's tough to tell because I
know students aren't back on campus yet.
But you know, you had last year, not a great football year.
You had, you know, the the exiting of coach Allen.
Then you had the hiring of coach Signetti and you already saw,
you know, his, his one time he went on the the assembly hall
floor and had his comments like he kind of showed who he was.
He's done more of that at media day.
I'm just curious, as best you can tell, what's the vibe of the
fans? I I would ask this way, like was
the vibe as down as it felt for a lot of us at the end of the
Allen era with the students? And then have you noticed a
reinvigoration of students or are they, are they think they're
in kind of a wait and see mode? The first to the first point,
yes, the vibe was was certainly down.
Like it was just nobody was like super excited for games anymore
or anything like that. And to the second part, I would
say it's in wait and see mode right now because of the fact
that like now my class is the oldest class or the oldest
undergrad class we haven't seen, like I said, a successful or
even semi successful season yet. So even though that, you know,
it's a new era, new codes, like I don't think too many people,
especially, you know, the more casual viewers, like I can't
wait to get out to games this year.
Now, if they start three and O right, they end up winning their
first two games going to UCLA, even though that's a huge game
necessarily. But if they go and win at UCLA,
then maybe that starts to shift a little bit and they go three
and O. But right now I don't think it's
a a huge deal. Once again, like you said, no,
the students aren't fully back on campus yet.
I think one thing that actually will hurt them is that classes
start next week. So there's not there's usually
usually classes would start this week and we're recording this on
on August 20th and there and there's two full weeks of
classes and then it's week one this year, for whatever reason,
it's just that one week of class and then it's straight into that
first Saturday of the year, which I think may slightly hurt
that student attendance and and vibe week one, just because
there's not a lot of lead up of like, you know, oh, the the
football game, it's next week, right.
You know, you know what I mean? It's just not that same.
So we'll see. Yeah, I mean, I that's a great
point. I hadn't thought about that.
You know, I I wonder how that 330 start is going to go for
students. I do you see a full and fired up
student section game one or do you think it's going to take a
three and O start or, or to get things going?
You know, it's kind of an odd setup because you have the 330
start on Saturday, but like you said, it's only after one week
of classes and then you go into a Friday night game, which which
could be fun, but it's also like I could see, you know, students
being like, oh, I forgot, dude, it game.
It's Saturday morning. I forgot the game was last
night. I could see that happening as
well. You know, do you see, do you see
kind of a slow start with the student section this year?
I do I just for whatever reason, I don't know if they'll be there
right away like you said for that week one.
Now if they if they happen to put up like let's say 40
something points week one, then maybe people are like, oh, OK,
OK, this is like serious right? But I just don't see it right
away. And you mentioned the Friday
night game. I remember when they opened on
Friday night two years ago against Illinois, I was calling
that game. It was a great game, right?
Like that was that Connor Baslak like 80 something yard drive
that he led to win the game. And at around halftime, close
game, people just started filtering out on a Friday night
and this is like, well, like it's just like so it was so odd
to see, but it is it was kind of the culture on the team at that
time once again, coming off a poor season.
So I think the Friday night probably will hurt them again
this year. But once again, I, I think it
just depends on what you do on the field because the year I
came in that 2021 year, we were all hyped up about it.
Even though they got destroyed at Iowa to, to start that year
that did like Cincinnati and the Michigan State games were still,
you know, crazy attendance for those games.
So if you give them a few wins and something to be excited
about, I think the students will show up.
And new student section this year yeah, you're moving over
like and I'm I'm kind of putting you a tough spot of making you
speak for all students. So Zion is speaking for all
30,000 IU students, but I'm, I'm curious, has anybody, are you
excited for that? Any friends excited?
And then I will, it's a two-part question.
I'm also curious, you know, when, when I was back in the
day, you know, when we had paper tickets when I went to school,
football was just all first come first serve.
Is that the way the student section is still being done to
your knowledge this year? Is it all first come first serve
or they're like reserve sections?
With the new section, are they changing up how students are
getting to sit in that area too? To my knowledge, it's the same.
I should have maybe gone back and looked at it when, when the
news was announced. But to my knowledge, it is still
first come first serve. And I don't know if there's like
a, a super big excitement about the change, but it, it just kind
of like is what it is right now. And then maybe once the the
season actually starts, it'll have a bigger effect and it'll,
you'll see it, you know, live in action.
But I I'm interested to see just how how much different it is now
that section has moved over. It is, you know, I, I asked you
earlier about being a younger IU fan.
It is, you know, it's, it's hard to get rid of some of those
memories that I have. I, I, I've been playing, as I
mentioned a couple times in this pot, I've been playing some good
NCAA Football 25. I started a dynasty with IU and
this might be saying more about my game plan.
I'm pretty good. I'm not amazing, but I'm pretty
good. But like the first game with IU
and playing FIU and you know, I'm up like 21 to nothing.
I'm doing great and then I'm going in for a touchdown.
I'm trying an option play. I pitched the ball.
They they've done something the latest update options are like
I'm fumbling all over the place. Could also just be me, but it's
like I I fumble an option trying to pitch it out, FIU just runs
back for a touchdown. I come back, I'm like, I'm going
to run that play again. I run it again.
I fumble again, FIU runs another one for a touchdown.
I'm like, my God, this sucks. Like this just reminds me this
is such an IE thing. I know this is a a fake video
game that I'm playing and I could just suck at the video
game, but it was like I I had I had like PTSD and it's like, Oh
my God, I could see this happening where suddenly it's
like FIU has run back two fumbles for return so.
It's tough. That happens week one.
We know who to blame. Yeah, no, it's totally going to
be me. And then we're just like, all
right, Sig, hit the reset button, hit reset.
So you know, high level, what are what are you excited for
with this team? It's it's an interesting team.
We have some pieces coming back, but just you know, I'm starting
to look at the depth charts, reading some stuff on bite sized
Bison and it is it's a whole new slew of players.
I mean, it's basically like a brand new team.
I think the question is going to be, you know, how do these guys
gel? How do they put it together?
What are you looking at that you may be the most excited for the
coming into this season? I think I'm like everybody else
where the receiving corps is kind of like the thing that fans
out to me, obviously led by Elijah Sarat, but there's
there's just so much talent there.
What I am slightly concerned about this.
I was thinking about this, you know, as we lead it LED into
this podcast these past few days.
It, I feel like there's a chance it could become like this
basketball thing where you know when, when you have a basketball
team that has like five really good role players, but it
doesn't work because you never know what style of play you're
playing and they never know how many minutes they're going to
get. I can kind of see that happening
with this receiving core, right? Like where it's a thing where
it's like, OK, Sirat's obviously the the one guy that'll probably
always be on the field. And then everybody else is kind
of shuffling around so much that that maybe the, the chemistry
with work isn't where it needs to be.
But like I, I want to see kind of week one what, what, what
Sigma side is kind of like the guys that he's going to use in
that core and how they go about that.
Yeah, I was looking. It's funny you mentioned that.
That's what I was focusing on too, was the wide receiver core
getting ready for this pod. You know, the two things that
stand out to me are a just how many new players are in that
wide receiver core? How many guys it's going to be
their first year at IU, But also just it's relatively small and
you have Macaulay at 65, Sarah, like you mentioned at six two,
but then Price is 59, Williams is 59, you know, crosses 511.
Cooper's 6 foot. You have a pretty small
receiving core. It's not bad.
I mean, it's not bad or good. It's just, I'm just mentioning
that, you know, it, it seems like over the years when Indiana
Indiana's had some pretty kind of sizable receiving cores, this
one does feel like it's going to be relatively slight.
So I do wonder if they're going to, you know, have to run more
kind of longer patterns, crossing routes, just kind of
open it up even more than probably what we're expecting.
They can't run the kind of slow possession offense that we've
seen in the past, least I don't think so with that small of a
receiving core. I agree and I I don't think
that's the plan. Right, I don't think not.
We're going. To see a lot of like short
crossing routes like obviously those would be part of the
playbook just as options for work, but I don't I don't
anticipate we see a lot of that. I think this team is is going to
run some longer developing routes and with the online, I
think the online should be able to hold up for that too.
So I anticipate a lot of kind of deeper shots or or intermediate
routes being run by by this group of guys.
What are your thoughts on Rourke coming into this season?
I, I, I think they're coming in right now with what they had
right, with, with Swordsby leaving and and bringing in
Cherry. I think, you know, there's not
much they could have done better, right?
He's, he had a very good 2022 season.
Was a little hurt last year, but I, I just feel like that steady
veteran presence for year one for Signetti.
I I feel like that'll be good for him.
Yeah, I I mean it does feel like it it you know, you have like
the Conor Basilak was kind of a an OK year.
I I, you know, that that would be my concern is going into it
is like, is that what we're going to get?
But every and we won't know until the game start, which is
kind of like a no no kidding Sherlock moment.
But you know, everything that I'm hearing reading is it does
feel like this coaching staff has a plan, has a real focus and
has an identity of what they're trying to do.
And it and I think that is as important as you're going to
get. And it's you know, I don't want
to say it's no knock on the Allen era because it is a knock
on the Allen era, but they had a plan.
But a lot of times that plan seemed ineffective or just
didn't seem to make a lot of sense where they kept running it
up the middle and then passing seemed to be a a secondary
option. It does feel like everything
that we're hearing is that, you know, coach Signetti has has a
plan. He saw it at James Madison, like
he he put together a very potent offense.
And so that that's kind of what I'm hoping.
But I think we're all in that same boat where it's just at
this point it's hope because we have nothing to to base it on.
Exactly like we have no clue how good work will be at this level
if he'll kind of bounce back from the the injury riddled
season that he just had in 2023 at Ohio.
But the the film and what he did in 2022, it stood out right.
Like you could see this guy was a a really good college
quarterback. It's just now finding out is was
that kind of a one year wonder? Was that like the best he'll
ever be? Or if he can translate that and
and put up similar production at the Big Ten level.
What are you what are your thoughts for the season as a
whole? What what to you is a a positive
season for for you? Look, I think it has to be a
bowl game, right? The way Kurt Dignetti has come
into here and and talked about, you know, no self-imposed
limitations, why can't we be Ohio State or Michigan?
To me, that means year one with this schedule, you should make a
bowl game, right? I think anything less than that
would be considered, you know, a bit of a failure.
Now, obviously, I don't think this team is going to win 10
games either, right? Like, I don't know, maybe
cursive Nettie thinks that. But like, realistically,
probably not going to happen. But to me, if you don't get to a
bowl game, you, you have to look at it and say, OK, maybe let's
let's temper expectations for what this arrow can be.
Yeah, you know, it's, it's funny.
I, I agree with you. I've not done my final kind of
preview with Galen where we'll go through every single game,
but I'm in the same boat. You are like, I I think a bowl
game is a realistic expectation for this team.
And and the thing that I think people are sleeping on outside
of the Indiana sphere is if you're just an outsider, you
look at this like, all right, man, Well, your team sucks.
Like you've been bad for a couple of years.
You have a new coach now you're talking about a bowl game.
Like, are you? Are you insane?
But The thing is you have to look at the schedule and I keep
going back to people that are outside of the Indiana sphere is
and I continue to talk about, you know, it's like this is a
schedule bowl game. It's not knocking where Indiana
is. I think Indiana is going to be
better. But when you look at the
schedule. So I'm going to take a moment
here and I'll probably mention this a couple times during
previews. So, you know, listeners
apologize. You'll be hearing this many
times. Bite sized Bison did a great
projection of the Big 10 standings throughout the year.
And so you know that he took all of the projected standings of
where they thought where media members thought teams were going
to finish and kind of ranked them based on the ranges.
If you look at that, so Indiana has three games, FIU, Western
Illinois, Charlotte, which are non conference games, which
let's just assume they're three. You know, I hope so.
We're just going to have to assume that if you look at all
of the other Big 10 games. Based on teams that are below
Indiana in those standings, and I'm not saying that those
standings are, you know, you're going to beat everybody who's
below you and beat, you know, lose everybody who's above you,
but those are all teams that theoretically are ranked below
Indiana. The teams that I have there are
UCLA, Maryland, Northwestern, Michigan State and Purdue.
Those are all teams that are ranked below us.
Maryland is ranked right at where we're at.
So we're going to be positive and say we beat the team that's
with us, which is Maryland. It's a home game and then we can
beat every other team that's worse than us on that list.
That puts us at 5:00 and 4:00 in the Big 10.
That's eight and four for the year.
That's a pretty Goodyear. I mean that that's going to a
bowl. That's easily going to a bowl.
That's also being 6 and O going into the Nebraska game.
You are bowl eligible after your first six games.
So I'm with you and I also think this is a reason why, you know,
Signetti, I don't say took the job, but This is why you make a
coaching change. You look at this and you know,
we've been talking about since podcasts for like 2 years.
This schedule is set up to get you to a bowl, and the way the
big tennis shook out, it really is set up to get you to a bowl.
Absolutely. And yeah, I, I wouldn't,
wouldn't be surprised if that played a part in, like you said,
Signetti taking his job is looking at the schedule and
saying, OK, you're one, I can do something here, right?
And, and that's why, like I said, I think that's why
anything sort of a ball would feel like a disappointment.
I, I think I would project them to be around seven wins this
season. So it's doable.
Like you said, they could go into that Nebraska game six and
out or five and one, and it wouldn't be anything crazy, but
they could go into that game having already five or six wins
on the board. Yeah, no, that that would be
wild, them going in six and out to that Nebraska game.
But it's not, you know, I, I've mentioned that to other friends
and they think I'm insane, but it's like it's FI.
You just go through the list. It's FIU, it's Western Illinois,
You're at UCLA. But that's not an insane Rd.
gaming. That's a UCLA team that I'm not
sure is much better than us. Again, they have a lot of
questions. They have some new coaching, but
that's not a home environment that, you know, I think it's,
it's not a crazy environment. We'll just say that I think it's
going to be a good number of IU fans at that game too.
LA has a very big IU alumni population.
You come back to Charlotte, you're home for Maryland.
You know, you're at Northwestern, but it's at
Northwestern, which is like not their stadium.
They're playing basically like a high school made-up, you know,
made-up field right on the, the banks of the, the, the, the, the
lake out there. Yeah, you could be six.
And, oh, and then you're like, you're playing Nebraska at home.
And Nebraska doesn't exactly have a stellar record over the
last five years of, you know, closing out games either.
So I, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility.
I also know that, you know, where you get in trouble with IU
footballs when you just start saying, all right, that's a win.
That's a win, That's a win. Like it never works out that
way. So they'll probably be, you
know, four and two, maybe three and three going into that.
But I I have a hard time honestly seeing the three and
three going into that Nebraska game or unless things are really
off the rails. I think if they are three and
three, that's where you're like, OK, this is because then you you
get to that Nebraska game and you're like, are there three
more wins on this schedule if you're three and three winning
into that game? So I think you definitely look
at this schedule and feel like this is this team should at
least be four and two heading into that week and then going
from there to try to get those extra two wins to make a bowl
game. As someone who's got one last
year covering the team, you know, and you've covered the
team under the Allen Air, what are your thoughts on just the
difference of the approach than just the way that you have the
coaching styles between Allen and Signetti?
It it is a whole lot different and, and you can tell now we've
gotten to a point, I'm not sure if it was like this in the
spring with the guys who hadn't played for Signetti yet, but now
we've gotten to a point where you can tell it is it is wearing
off on everybody else, right. Just going to, I was at Big 10
media days near the end of July and just reading the stuff from,
from fall camp, it's like, OK, they're starting to like have
that same energy about the team and about themselves and, and
bringing in that tough love and knowing that, hey, every day is
going to be kind of rigorous as far as what is expected of me
here. And it's not necessarily just
kind of no, no disrespect to Carmel, but it's not the same
level of maybe complacency, you know, and, and so I could tell
it's starting to wear off once again.
We have no clue how that will actually affect the what they do
on the field, but this team is definitely at the point where
they are taking on the mantra of their coach.
Yeah, no, they, they, they are. And, and do you, what was the
student reaction or your reaction?
Just kind of the, the early Signetti vibes, You know, when
he came out and said the stuff at Assembly Hall, you know,
like, did did anybody any of this?
Because for, for us as IE football, you know, kind of life
where he's like, we took notice, like, oh, this is different.
Did did that, did that really resonate with students or was it
just kind of a cut here and here and there, here and there and
then gone? That's a that's a good question.
Like definitely that got students hyped up.
Yeah. But I'm not sure if it just was
this like a normal, just, hey, that was exciting, or if it was
like you said, the way you reacted like, wow, like nobody's
kind of like talked about IU football like this in the past.
But it definitely got people riled up that game.
What? I can't, I can't remember.
What game was that? Who were they playing that
night? Do you remember?
That's a great that's, that's so funny.
I don't, but I also, I'm I'm getting old, man.
I barely remember what I had for dinner last night.
I don't remember who they were playing.
It wasn't it wasn't Purdue. I don't think it was Purdue,
Michigan or Ohio State. So it wasn't like any of the
teams he mentioned it. Was Maryland, It was Maryland
because it was it was December, but it was that that first Big
10 game that you play in December of the basketball
season. And so, yeah, that was the
Maryland game. And so that's why there was a
decent student crowd. I believe it was a Friday night.
And yeah, people were just going crazy when he said that.
And and I think the students, once again, I'm not sure if they
had that same like, wow, reaction.
It's more so just like, yeah, like, let's go, let's do this,
you know? Yeah, so you know, we're talking
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All right, Zion, back to you. Well, let's finish this up.
What you know, we talked about what our expectations were, what
you thought, you know, what a good season was for you.
What you know, it's, it's always the question you got to ask at
the end. Where do you think this season
ends for IU? Do you want to give a win total
like Bull noble? I'll kind of let you run with it
however you want to go. But what are your your personal
projections for IU this year? Yeah, so I think I do have them
at 7:00 and 5:00 is the record. I'll I'll settle at I'll go
losses to since there's there's more wins and losses, that'll be
easier to say the losses, I'll say losses to Maryland,
Nebraska, Washington, MI and Ohio State.
I think those are the five games they lose and they they win the
other seven. And obviously that, I mean, they
make a bowl game. I'm really bad with like
remembering which bowl games are like, yeah, the big which ones
go to which conference go to which games.
I don't know what game they would actually end up in in that
scenario, but I have to go Southern 5 and end up in a bowl
game. Any chance you see them pulling
an upset over one of those? I mean, you just said they're
all losses, so no. But any chance you see them
getting close to pulling an upset against one of those, you
know, top tier teams they're playing?
Yeah, I think the Maryland and Nebraska games are both
winnable, right? And I think once we get to the
Maryland game, we still probably won't know.
I don't know what Maryland's schedule looks like.
We still probably won't know a whole lot about IU still going
as far as how good they are going into that game.
So like, it wouldn't surprise me if they won that game and you
mentioned it, if the Nebraska game was in Lincoln, I just
chalk her up as a loss. But the fact that it is here,
Nebraska, like you said, it's a it's a new team now, especially
even more so than last year. But like you said, they just had
the the tendency to blow to blow games over the last four or five
years. So I can see either of those
games ending up as wins. Yeah, I, I'm, I'm.
Looking at that Washington game as a really interesting game
because I think it's a better team than we are.
I'm, I'm not saying that, but they lost a ton.
I mean, they lost their coach, they lost a lot of the players
that got them there. And before Caitlin de Boer got
there, it's not like Washington was tearing it up year in, year
out. They don't really have that
amazing base. I think they're going to have a
little bit of a regression to the mean.
And that's that's a scenario where you could have an IU team.
They're going to have probably the biggest head of steam going
into a game at that point. Because they could be, you know,
they could be 6 and O going to Nebraska.
They could be six and one going into Washington.
Help. They could be 7 and O going into
Washington. They can be five and two.
That's still like, wow, we're we're going for bowl eligibility
in the middle of October. When I look at the schedule, I
honestly think that's probably, you know, an easier game to win
and maybe the next week at Michigan State, which everyone
kind of is chalking up to a win because it looks like Michigan
State might be a mess. Michigan State could be bad, but
that's still at East Lansing, a place that IU is not played well
historically, which you could say for almost any road value in
the Big 10. But I just, I look at the way
the beginning part of the season adds up with the road games
being UCLA and kind of Northwestern with a huge
asterisk. I, I look at Washington as a, as
a really interesting scalp that maybe you could get before you
go into kind of the, the, the meat of the schedule where you
play Michigan and Ohio State. Yeah, Washington is just such AI
think IU fans will probably, if they don't realize this, get to
realize this throughout the their time in the Big 10 coming
up here. It's to me probably the most
interesting program in in all of college football because like
they will have years like last year where they get a great team
and get the national championship and they will have
years where they where they win two games.
Like there's no other program. I don't think in college
football that like just swings as quickly and as much as
Washington does as a program. So once again, like you said,
they lost so much between transfers and the and the NFL
talent they had on that team. I have no clue what to expect
from them this year, how good they will be.
So I I could see that end up being a game IU can win.
But like you said, I still would say going in there, they're more
talented even with everything they lost.
So right now I'm I think it's a loss for IU.
But if we get there and it looks like IU is at their level and
it's in Bloomington, it could certainly become a win.
Yeah, I mean that that this is what is so fascinating with IU
schedule this year is, you know, a lot of years you feel like you
have a good understanding of where some of these Big 10 teams
are outside of Michigan and Ohio State, which I know where they
are. They're way better than we are
everybody else. I'm not quite sure what's going
on with them and they're they're question Marks.
And if all of them go the the negative direction, we could be
in for a great year that that never is the way it happened.
Some of these teams that we're not sure of are going to go the
other way and probably exceed expectations.
But you know, UCLA, it's a new coach.
Like who knows what's going on at UCLA.
Northwestern is kind of up for grabs.
Nebraska seems to be on the uptick, but I feel like every
year it seems like they're on the uptick and then it doesn't
really turn into a team that is that much of an uptick.
We just talked about Washington. Michigan State also has a new
coach in the same spot. And Purdue seems to be a hot
mess. Like, I just, I don't remember a
year where there's so many question marks in the Big 10 of
the teams that we're playing, where I'm really just not sure
what to expect out of basically every team we're playing outside
of Ohio State, Michigan. Yeah, and and certainly I mean,
IE fans will not miss the the Big 10 E finally, finally being
removed from that. Is it?
It makes for easier schedules like this, even though they
still do have Michigan and Ohio State, you know, there's not
that Penn State game there as well.
And it makes for a schedule like this.
So there's a lot of question marks, right?
I feel like right going into the season, it is Michigan, Ohio
State and Penn State in the Big 10 that kind of, no, we know are
probably going to be top 15 teams.
Outside of that, I don't know how far the drop off is or if
another team is in that category.
Nobody really seems to know in Oregon.
I'm so sorry, I forgot Oregon, I apologize.
Oregon. So it's those four and then the
rest is like, who knows, right? So it'll make for such an
interesting conference season. I will, I will end on this.
We'll take a step back from IU football.
Is there anything else you want to say about IU football?
You know, you mentioned forgetting Oregon, which is
normal. I've had the same thing where
it's like I'm reading, you know, I'm doing a little basketball
preview too. And it's like what you say, Oh
yeah, UCLA in the Big 10. Like it's, it's a wild thought
as as as a younger, younger participant in this podcast.
What are your thoughts on the conference realignment?
Because because for those who are a little bit older, you
know, I, I understand everything behind it.
It all makes sense. There's still a part of me that
I'm starting to get a little old man, get off my lawnish where
it's like I, I don't know how I feel about this.
I do kind of miss some of the, the regionality of college
sports and I feel like they're they're losing something.
Obviously doesn't matter and they're going to go forward
This. I'm just curious, what are your
thoughts of how all the conference realignment is gone?
Because you, you haven't really grown up with, you know, 20-30
years of experience of, you know, these conferences being
set up. You've kind of come of age in an
era when it's just basically everyone's moving all the time.
Right. And it still feels weird, like
you said, I'm not, I haven't grown up in the same way with it
as you have. But like, even to me, for some
reason sometimes, especially in basketball and football and five
in basketball, for some, for some reason, Maryland is still
in the ACC to me every now and then when I think about this and
it's just, it's going to be very strange.
Like just the fact that a game like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
isn't going to be played anymore.
To me, that's like crazy. I remember I've watched so many
like very good games between those two teams and just just
stuff like that. It it, it is so odd.
It's so strange. Everything before this year,
like I said, like stuff like Maryland, Rutgers moving, stuff
like the Big East falling apart football wise and kind of
redoing itself. It was like, man, that kind of
sucks. But it wasn't like, wow, I can't
believe this is happening now. I'm at the point where Oregon is
in the Big 10 and I know they're probably going to be a top ten
team and I just kind of blanked on them when I was thinking the
top of the the best of the best in the Big 10.
It's just, it is so odd. It is not going to feel right.
I, even though I'm younger, it's not something that I'm like, oh,
this is fine. Like, no, it's strange man.
And I obviously I, I have, I completely understand all the
reasons for it, right? That has been well documented
over these last two or three years.
It's just very strange to look at and feel.
Yeah, no, it is. And but we'll get it this year
and you know, it'll start. But for all of that talk, it's
like I'm going to UCLA, like I'm flying to LA for that game.
It's like it's I'm fired up to see a game in the Rose Bowl.
It's not the Rose Bowl, but it is.
It is a game. Well, Zion, plug yourself.
You're at WIUX this year. You're doing stuff with them.
Go ahead and plug all the all the stuff you're doing this year
and any of your socials you want to you want to get out there.
Yeah, like you said, I'll be on Wix this year.
I will also be at that UCLA game calling that game on Wix.
So you can listen to that. I'm doing victim plus men's
soccer this year, coupling games there.
You mentioned home field. I I'm done with the Indy Star
for now, but story that came out in in July.
So go and check that out. You can probably just Google any
star home field and it'll come up.
I wrote a story great, great story on, you know, Connor and
Krista and how they kind of built that up from from Hoosier
crowd and everything like that. So yeah, those are there's a few
places you can kind of find me throughout the year.
What? What's your?
Plan at you know, what's your plan after graduation?
You, you, all of us have been been there.
We've been seniors. We're we're looking for like are
you where, where are you at? Where are you looking at for
your senior year? And then what you know past past
senior year. I want to broadcast somewhere
that is the the, the plan, the goal of the hope.
I don't have anything set up like it is.
It's a it's a market in the industry where you kind of have
to wait till like February or March to really start looking.
But yeah, I want to broadcast game somewhere.
Well, I. Wish you luck.
We'll we'll have you back throughout the year.
Let's, let's have you back a couple times and yeah, let's try
and get together in in LA before that game.
There's going to be a lot of lot of stuff going on.
I that's going to be my 1 prediction for the early year.
I think there's going to be a significant number of fans of
that IUUCLA game. I've always been yeah.
I just, I think New York has always had a really good IU
alumni base. There's a really good alumni
base in LA for IU. And I think I think it's going
to activate and you know, if they're two and OA little bit of
a little bit of excitement, I could see again, we're not going
to take over the stadium. But, you know, IU fans get
engaged in ways that are that are sometimes surprising to
programs. Like I remember going to the the
the Gator Bowl down in Florida, we're playing Tennessee and
Tennessee, we basically had a half and half crowd.
And it's like Tennessee has years of football experience.
They are no question of better football legacy program than we
are. But it's like we were right
there with them and fan supports, right?
Yeah, that's, that's my early calls.
I think that UCLA game has a lot of fans.
So when you're broadcasting it, if if we got a lot of IU fans
there you you mentioned like hey, Scott and Crimson cast
mentioned this. Give me give me a shout out
during the, during the broadcast and the other.
End of that is, you know, let's just be honest, there is no
reason for UCLA fans to be like excited about IU come to town.
Exactly right. So so it's not like they're
going to pack that the way they would.
I don't know their schedule, but I assume one of like Ohio State,
Michigan or Penn State might go there.
And there's no reason for them to be like excited about IU the
way they would for one of those other games.
No, it's a. It's a great point and.
I've been, I've read a little bit like it looks like they're
from their perspective, they're just completely glossing over
this game. So that's a win.
Like moving forward, they're just like, oh, we're part of the
Big 10 now we get to just talk. But IU game is a win.
Like this is fun. This is what Big 10 teams do.
And and it very well may be a win, but I do see a good IU fan
contingent there, which will be fun.
So Zion, it was great having you.
We'll look forward to having you back.
Enjoy the beginning of your senior year.
Go get a Hoosier game day. Logger.
Logger from Upland Brewery, Very easy for me to say and for all
you listen to us there. Thank you for joining.
We will have more football previews as this week and weeks
leading up to the season starts, so until next time, this is
Scott for Crimson Cast signing off.