Less than 10 hours away from kickoff, Indiana football is looking to make a statement and win its first Big Ten game since 2020 against Illinois on Friday. The Hoosiers have a lot riding on this season as basically a “make-or-break” season for Tom Allen and the Indiana football program. Will we see something similar in 2019 and 2020, or will the Hoosiers regress and continue its horrid pace set from the 2021 season? These questions are about to be answered in Week 1 as the Hoosiers look to take down the Illini at home.
Bold predictions for Indiana football vs. Illinois
#3. Tom Allen restores faith in Hoosier Nation
After the 2021 season, where the Hoosiers went 2-10 and 0-9 in Big Ten play, Tom Allen and Indiana football earned some backlash from Hoosier Nation as it seemed like IU was playing its way back down to the sub-par program it was prior to Allen taking the head coaching job in 2017.
The head man in charge knows that the program earned this doubt for the upcoming season, but from Big Ten Media Days, it seems to be a motivation factor for Allen and the Hoosiers:
"“I get it, we earned it. That’s part of the process you go through. I feel like our team understands that we’ve got a chip on our shoulder and something to prove.”"
Taking things in stride is part of the Tom Allen way to move forward as a program and the full focus as the season approaches in Week 1 against the Illini.
"“…you pick anybody out of there (IU locker room), and they’re going to say one thing. It’s about September 2nd. That’s our focus. That’s all we’re worried about. We talk about ear muffs and blinders in our program, and that’s part of it.”"
I believe Tom Allen leads this Indiana football program and the defense back to what it was in 2020 and starts off the season at Memorial Stadium with a statement win against Illinois, allowing just one touchdown from the Fighting Illini with the home crowd behind them.