Indiana's historic 11-1 season has come with tremendous success, but it has also come with doubters at every turn.
When Indiana was 6-0 and became the first FBS team to earn bowl eligibility, there were doubters, when Indiana was 10-0 after escaping against Michigan, there were doubters, and when Indiana lost by 23 against Ohio State, there were more doubters than ever before.
Despite this, IU was given a spot in the first 12-team College Football Playoff and, of course, the doubters were clamoring about how and why Indiana shouldn't have received a bid.
The Hoosiers themselves, though, knew all along that they belonged, and used these doubters as fuel throughout the season.
With 33 transfers from across the country, 11 of those coming from James Madison along with Curt Cignetti, this is nothing new, but what is new is a chance to silence the doubters on a national stage in the College Football Playoff, and these Indiana players plan on taking advantage of that opportunity.
Defensive lineman Mikail Kamara said that this game against the Fighting Irish is a chance "to show all my production that I did at JMU wasn't a fluke. I think that's something important. And then especially just, really just me personally just all the work that I ever put in, really, to manifest and to show itself."
This sentiment is shared among several other Hoosiers, as playing to prove something has been something IU has felt all year, but in a game like this, that feeling of playing with a chip on their shoulder has only grown larger.
Kamara wasn't the only former JMU player who shares this notion of feeling disrespected, as several other former Dukes have felt this exact way throughout their entire careers, tight end Zach Horton being one of them.
Horton said that this game can be an opportunity to show the entire college football world that he has always belonged, this being because he felt he was overlooked at every turn, citing how he "transferred high schools and transferred to college and was under-recruited from high school."
This sets up a big stage for the former James Madison TE, Horton saying that he and his team have "felt like we have a lot to prove and that we are ready for these big-time games and that we can play no matter where we are at, and we can really stay confident."
Confidence is something that the offense has played with all season, truly from start to finish, but that confidence came from somewhere, and part of that is this sentiment of needing something to prove, but that wasn't the only cause.
Wake Forest transfer running back Justice Ellison outlined another reason why, citing a players-only meeting during summer camp.
"And so we had an offensive meeting, just players, and you know, that was a moment that I knew that we were going to be a very talented team. I knew that we were going to be a team that had fought through a lot of adversity and be really resilient" Ellison said, explaining that this was the moment he knew that this team could be special.
Ellison also went on to say "we let everybody know, hey, I believe in you, you believe in me, and we can do it together. We don't need the media and everyone else to believe in us, but we believe in each other" citing how they understand that there are outside voices denying Indiana, but their belief in each other will rise above all the doubters.
Their chance to prove exactly that comes this week, which brings us to the matchup against Notre Dame. Some are calling the biggest game in Indiana football history, but what should be recognized, according to these players, as just another chance to prove to the world that they were right, right about their belief that they've always belonged.
Wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, another JMU transfer, said "We know we're supposed to be here. We know we belong. But we're always going to have that chip," mentioning the chip on the shoulder that has always remained with this Indiana team.
Former JMU cornerback D'Angelo Ponds also shares this of feeling of being doubted throughout his career, saying "When I first transferred here there was a lot of naysayers or people saying whatever. But I definitely had a chip on my shoulder the whole season and felt like I had something to prove."
With the Hoosiers now 11-1, that doesn't mean that this has gone away either, as the opposite may actually be true, with the feeling of having a chip on their shoulder possibly continuing to get larger.
Mikail Kamara certainly believes this saying that "I think it's just something that's just there, right. I think it's something that we've all had because we've always been underdogs and now to come in this situation and still be looked at as an underdog that chip continues to grow to be honest with you."
And grow it certainly has, as Kamara mentioned just how much this chip has progressed, saying "No matter how many sacks I get, no matter how many plays Pond makes, Rourke makes, Fish makes, the chip just gets bigger and bigger every single time because you know if you have one good game -- but one bad game they are going to trip you so every single game, you've got to trip it."
Kamara said that each and every game is a chance to prove these doubters wrong, but this game can do so much more than that, as it can show the world not just that Indiana belongs, but that it can be successful in the biggest stage, against an in-state opponent and in a raucous road environment.
While it won't be easy to silence these doubters inside Notre Dame stadium, the key may lie in exactly what these players have been talking about all along: believing in themselves when nobody else has.
"We remember what everyone was saying during the season and remember what everyone is saying now. We're all we need. We going to go down there, just focus on us and try to handle business, you know" Elijah Sarratt said, letting everyone know that he and his team have the confidence to get it done in South Bend.
Throughout the entire season fans and media across the country have counted IU out, but that may be exactly what it needed to achieve this historic season, and possibly continue it by beating Notre Dame.
Quarterback, and former Ohio Bobcat, Kurtis Rourke believes so too, as he said, when talking about the upcoming CFP game, that he is "really using it to motivate me even more than I already have to go out there, have fun, enjoy it."
The very same doubters that Rourke is mentioning would tell you that the Notre Dame game has a good chance to be his last college game, yet Rourke shares the same confidence so many of his teammates have, saying "We'll talk about my last college game in four games."
While the doubters may not believe in IU, the Hoosiers have, and for this whole season. They've shown that on the field, playing with the poise and confidence that goes along with believing in yourself.
This confidence may allow Indiana to defeat the Irish, or it might not, but what is clear is that these Indiana Hoosiers believe in themselves despite all the voices that have doubted them, making the CFP first round matchup against the Fighting Irish the perfect opportunity to show that the Hoosiers are for real.
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