Leadership Woes, and Bucket=Bowl

Saturday’s loss to Northwestern was hard to swallow. Turnovers again played a major role, but one key turnover became a momentum-breaker for us, swinging the game into Northwestern’s hands.
Kellen Lewis went down about half way into the second quarter, and was replaced by red-shirt freshman, and Bloomington native, Ben Chappell. At the time, we were up 14-3, and a quick handoff seemed the most sensible plan. I’m not sure if offensive coordinator Matt Canada, or head coach Bill Lynch, was the one who thought otherwise, but someone did, and barely warmed up, they had this young man try to throw out to Hardy. Only, he missed. NW picked it off, and ran untouched into the end zone, bringing the score to 14-10 and changing the mood.
This was clearly not the only error. I know you’ll all be stunned to hear that Lewis fumbled the football in this game, although on his behalf, I contend that it was NOT a fumble at the end of the game. There were some stupid penalties- Tracy Porter hits a guy who called a fair catch, we were offsides a time or two, just little things that add up in a big way, especially when you realize how close we were to winning this game.
The biggest issue was the coaching. Again. I have been disappointed time in and time out (or lack thereof, per my earlier postings) by the play calling and overall lack of strong leadership for this squad. We have a talented group of players who are so misguided, they are unable to convert the talent into solid games and wins.
I don’t know if perhaps Lynch and his crew are afraid to push these kids, who obviously suffered emotionally from the loss of coach Hep, but given what I’ve heard him say in post-game interviews and talk shows, Lynch doesn’t have the fire and drive that this team needs in it’s leadership. That’s not to say he’s not capable of being a good coach, but I don’t think he can be a head coach. Not at this level. These kids need strength and fire to push them in the right direction. We need someone who will push Lewis to help avoid the fumbles. Ride Porter so he’s not so soft defensively. Teach these guys to work as a strong cohesive unit. I just don’t see that happening under Lynch’s tutelage.
Mike P. and I had a conversation on Friday regarding Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, and his potential release from UT. The Vols are historically a strong team, and a big part of that has lain in the hands of their leadership. I’d love to think we could have that here, but money would be an issue. Unless he takes the same approach as Terry Hoeppner did, coming here because THIS was where he WANTED to be, I just don’t see that in IU’s future.
I want this team to win. I want them to Play 13 this season. I want that not only because it was Coach Hep’s dream, but because these kids deserve it. These kids play hard- yes, they make mistakes, but all teams will when not properly guided. I want this because I’ve been following Hoosier football my entire life, and I know that time and again, we get the short end of the football stick because we’re IU, and we play basketball here, not football. That’s BS, and we all know it. I think we can do both, and do them well. With the right leadership.
So now, we fight for the Bucket, and a Bowl. It’s going to be a big weekend at the Rock. We’ll see you there.