Earmuffs and blinders.
For Indiana head football coach Tom Allen the two items he has talked about routinely this season are not for his health, but rather a way to keep his team locked in and focused on what is going on right in front of them.
After the Hoosiers upended Penn State in dramatic fashion and media from around the country began asking for Allen’s time, Allen said the team was leaning on its earmuffs and blinders to stay focused and ignore the outside noise.
Earmuffs and blinders helped the Hoosiers end its losing streak to Michigan, earn a win over Michigan State for the first time under Allen, come storming back against Ohio State in the second half and pick up a win at Wisconsin last week.
“The team has really focused on earmuffs and blinders and playing at a high level no matter what,” Allen told Indiana broadcaster Don Fischer Thursday during his weekly Inside Indiana Football radio show.
And, now with the season halted and Indiana remaining 12th in the College Football Playoff rankings for the third week in a row, Allen says now is the time to really adhere to the earmuffs and blinders talking points for the 6-1 Hoosiers, who are ranked 8th in the latest AP Top 25 poll.
Fischer asked Allen about the Big Ten opting to change the rules away from the six-game minimum and put Ohio State into the conference championship game over the Hoosiers, who had met the minimum number of games, but lost to the Buckeyes 42-35 last month in Columbus.
Allen said Indiana had its chance and didn’t cash in.
“You have to win on the field. The bottom line is I can’t control any of that stuff. We are going to focus on the task at hand with earmuffs and blinders. I have to practice what I preach. My dad taught me to shut your mouth and let your pads do the talking… We are going to press on, won’t blink and will get better,” Allen said.
Fischer also asked Allen about the College Football Playoff rankings, as the committee pegged the Hoosiers 12th, below the likes of Iowa State, Georgia and Oklahoma, all of whom have two losses, and a one-loss Miami who lost by 25 points to Clemson and only has one ranked win.
Allen told Fischer he was “shocked and very disappointed” when the CFP rankings were released Tuesday and that is focused solely on the body of work the Hoosiers have amassed this season, which includes wins over ranked Penn State, ranked Michigan and ranked Wisconsin.
“We are one of two programs to have three wins over ranked opponents this year, us and Alabama. For the first time since 1945, we have beat three ranked opponents. Penn State was ranked when we played them, and we beat them," Allen said. "We played Wisconsin after losing our starting quarterback, and we beat them with our number two quarterback. We aren’t the same team of 20 years ago. We aren’t the same team of 10 years ago. We aren’t the same team of three years ago. That's the part that is frustrating, because we are not that team, and we showed it on the field. The AP thought we were. The coaches thought we were, and I was surprised. I thought the playoff committee would put us there on Tuesday. But, you know what, I can't control that."
Allen believes the CFP committee is still thinking Indiana of the past, and not the program taking the field every weekend. He also noted the belief that they are looking down on Indiana’s strength of schedule.
“I am going to state the facts and people need to make decisions. We can’t be a part of Ohio State’s strength of schedule and negate our strength of schedule,” Allen said.
Allen said his team will continue its earmuffs and blinders mantra and use the ranking as motivation to close out the season.
“Earmuffs and blinders. I’m not deaf or blind, but I will continue to use these things as motivation. We are going to continue to put those logs on the fire, just keep that thing stoked up, just keep it burning on the inside, and we are going to keep getting better. Our guys are going to be so stinking ready to play. I can’t wait. This team still has plenty to prove. I am proud of this football team… we have a special thing here, and the best is yet to come for Indiana football,” Allen said.
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