Indiana (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State
(6-6)
Dec. 31st,
6:00 p.m. ET, NFL Network
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2007
Insight Bowl History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, & More
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Oklahoma St |
Indiana |
|
Total Offense |
|
9th 484.08 ypg |
63rd 393.33 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
103rd 446.67 ypg |
68th 394.25 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
28th 33.42 ppg |
38th 31.58 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
76th 29.25 ppg |
58th 26.75 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
7th 245.83 ypg |
54th 155.58 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
60th 153.83 ypg |
61st 155.42 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
48th 238.25 ypg |
49th 237.75 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
116th 292.83 ypg |
76th 238.83 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
63rd -0.08 |
58th 0.00 |
|
Oklahoma
State
at Georgia
L 35-14
Fla Atlantic
W 42-6
at Troy
L 41-23
Texas Tech
W 49-45
S Houston St
W 39-3
at Tex A&M L 24-23
at Nebr. W 45-14
Kansas St
W 41-39
Texas
L 38-35
Kansas
L 43-28
at Baylor
W 52-17
at Oklahoma L 49-17 |
Indiana
Indiana State W 55-7
at WMU
W 37-27
Akron
W 41-24
Illinois L 27-14
at
Iowa W 38-20
Minnesota W 40-20
at Mich St
L 52-27
Penn
State L 36-31
at
Wisconsin
L 33-3
Ball State
W 38-20
at
Nwestern L 31-28
Purdue W 27-24 |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
OSU |
5
highest
1 lowest |
IU |
|
4.5 |
Quarterbacks |
4.5 |
|
4 |
RBs |
2.5 |
|
3 |
Receivers |
4 |
|
4 |
O
Line |
3 |
|
3 |
D
Line |
3.5 |
|
3.5 |
Linebackers |
3 |
|
2.5 |
Secondary |
3 |
|
3 |
Spec
Teams |
4 |
|
3.5 |
Coaching |
3.5 |
|
The Insight Bowl might have come up with
some strange matchups over the years, and tends to be a dumping
ground for teams looking for a place to go, but it's managed to
produce some fantastic bowl games.
Now if just someone could see it.
Last year's 44-41 Texas Tech overtime stunner over Minnesota might
have been the most entertaining game of the bowl season, but on the
NFL Network, and lost in the crush of a huge day of bowls, no one
saw it. This year, it's part of a smorgasbord day of six games and
it might get overlooked with the Sun (USF and Oregon) just ending,
the Music City (Kentucky and Florida State) at halftime, and the
Chick-fil-A (Clemson and Auburn) kicking in, not to mention the
various New Year's Night plans that everyone will be getting ready
for.
Indiana probably isn't going to give two hoots about where the game
falls in the day's pecking order. This is the program's first
post-season date since the 1993 Independence Bowl coming off its
first winning season in 12 years. Late head coach Terry Hoeppner had
a goal of a 13th game, and the players and coaches have achieved the
dream with a thrilling, but uneven year.
Oklahoma
State was best known this year for some coaching news of its own
with the all-timer of a rant from Mike Gundy after a newspaper
article about now-backup quarterback Bobby Reid. Still looking to
make a Big 12 splash in the Gundy era, the Cowboys won last year's
Independence Bowl over Alabama but wasn't consistent in a
disappointing year.
Even with one of the most explosive offenses in America, finishing
ninth with 484 yards per game and seventh in rushing averaging 246
per outing, the Cowboys were only able to pull off one remotely
decent win, a 49-45 shootout over Texas Tech. There were blowout
losses to Georgia and Oklahoma, a stunning 41-23 loss at Troy, and
yet another late collapse to Texas. Beating Indiana wouldn't exactly
make OSU's season, but in its fifth bowl games in six years, it
would show the program is at least above-average.
The Hoosiers have the offensive talent to keep up the pace and make
this a blast of an offensive shootout after scoring 27 points or
more in ten of their 12 games. Needing a win in their final two
games to secure a bowl game, a 31-28 loss to Northwestern appeared
to end the dream, but an
Austin Starr 49-yard field goal in the final minute beat
Purdue to get them here.
It this the culmination of the rebuilding process or just the
beginning for IU? A relatively young team with most of the key parts
coming back (especially if WR James Hardy chooses to return for his
senior season), and with head coach Bill Lynch now the full-time
head man after filling in for Hoeppner this season, this could be a
launching pad.
For the most part, the two teams are roughly the same as they rely
on playmaking dual-threat quarterbacks and hope for their defenses
to not be awful, and they can each score from anywhere on the field.
So yes, even with all the choices for bowl games, and with other
plans you're going to have, this will be one of the bowl games
worthy of paying attention to.
Players to watch: Oklahoma State was supposed to be Bobby
Reid's team, but early on, sophomore Zac Robinson proved
he was the better quarterback option with dangerous running skills
and an accurate arm. Despite being just a sophomore, he makes good
decisions and has been great at ball security with 20 touchdowns and
eight interceptions throwing just two picks in the last seven games.
It's possible he's just scratching the surface, originally
considered a big receiver prospect and still improving as a passer.
He ran for 100 yards three times this year, and OSU scored 49 (vs.
Texas Tech), 41 (vs. Kansas State) and 45 (vs. Baylor), winning all
three games.
Looking to pressure Robinson, or at least keep him contained, will
be IU sophomore DE Greg Middleton, who led the nation with 16
sacks to go along with 50 tackles. While still a bit one
dimensional, he's not all that bad against the run when he's able to
use his tremendous quickness in pursuit. Forget about everything
else; his worth is as a pass rusher extraordinaire, cranking out two
in three of the final four games. It's possible this could be his
national coming out party leading to several 2008 preseason
All-America lists.
Offensively, IU is all about the combination of QB Kellen Lewis
and WR James Hardy, who hooked up 74 times for 1,075
yards and 16 touchdowns on the year. At 6-7 and 220 pounds, Hardy is
a matchup nightmare with a great burst on deep balls and a knack for
making plays around the goal line with at least one touchdown grab
in every game but one, and with 36 scores in 32 career games. Lewis
has major problems with turnovers, but when he's on, he's one of the
Big Ten's most explosive players with 653 rushing yards and eight
touchdown runs along with 2,839 passing yards and 26 scores. While
he's not all that big, he's tough as nails.
OSU's offense will revolve around Robinson, but it'll try to get
senior Dantrell Savage going early. One of the Big 12's
leading rushers with 1,172 yards and eight touchdowns, he ran for
100 yards of more in each of the last nine games with stunning
consistency no matter who he went against. While not a power runner,
he has warp speed with the ability to crank out big yards in chunks
averaging 5.86 yards per carry.
Oklahoma State
will win if... Kellen Lewis has an awful game. For the most
part, the IU sophomore makes up for bad passing games by running
well, and vice versa, but if the OSU linebackers can turn him into a
pocket passer and keep him from getting to the outside on his runs,
they should be able to bottle him up. The key will be generating
pressure, which is much easier said then done for an OSU pass rush
that doesn't show up for quarters at a time, but this isn't a strong
IU offensive line and it can be run by. If the Cowboys can win the
turnover battle by forcing Lewis to put it on the ground a few
times, and if Robinson is the best quarterback on the field, they'll
win.
Indiana will win if... it runs for 200 yards or more.
It's not like IU doesn't have running back talent; it just doesn't
use it enough. Junior Marcus Thigpen has been a top kick returner
and has been a strong receiver, but he wasn't utilized much as a
runner until tearing off 140 yards on 19 carries against Purdue. IU
is 4-0 when Thigpen gets 15 carries or more, and the team was 5-0
this season when it ran for 200 yards or more. Granted, the only
time the production came against a team with a pulse was in the
season finale over the Boilermakers, but Oklahoma State can be run
on. The statistics look better than they really are because every
offense fattened up on the abysmal Cowboy secondary. If IU commits
to the run early, and doesn't try to hit a home run with every pass,
it should be able to move the ball at will.
What will happen: Oklahoma State has the better team with
more weapons, more speed and more athleticism. It also has a defense
that couldn't stop you and a few friends from throwing for 300
yards. This will be like a basketball game with various momentum
swings and scoring runs. Indiana will play an inspired game with its
defense playing a wee bit better than OSU's, but it won't matter.
The Cowboys will have too much firepower.
Line: Oklahoma State -4.5 ... CFN Prediction:
Oklahoma State 38 ... Indiana 30
2007
Insight Bowl History, Each Team's Best Bowl Moments, & More