10/20/2022 football Edit

Hoosiers Leaning on 'Different' Mindset to Lead Them Through Rough Stretch

Keegan Nickoson • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

In my senior year at Indiana studying Sports Media and Sports Journalism. I live for the most outlandish takes on the IU boards. Fat Dan's has the best food in Bloomington.

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As the dark cloud that was the 2021 Indiana football season starts to inch its way towards Bloomington, IN and Memorial Stadium, one thing is giving Tom Allen, Connor Bazelak, and the rest of the Hoosier players hope:

This is not the same team as last year because this team knows that they are good.

"I think what's different about this team is that we know that we're good," said first-year Indiana quarterback Connor Bazelak. "The only team that has beat us is ourselves. Mistakes, turnovers, whatever. We've beat ourselves, we're the ones to blame... We easily could be 6-1 or 7-0."

Bazelak showed a lot of confidence in that answer, especially when he was initially asked about the burden he feels to keep the mental psyche of his team at a high level through this rough patch of the season.

He mentioned an emphasis on taking it one day at a time, but giving his teammates credit for their talent and work, saying they could "easily" be undefeated shows the supreme belief he has in his guys.

I asked Tom Allen whether he believed that's what makes this team different as well. He started his answer with a shrug of the shoulders, signaling he didn't really care what the media or fans thought of it.

"I do. And I know people can -- whatever you think about it. We've obviously lost four in a row now, which is not positive. But, you get to decide how you think," Allen said. "If you don't believe in yourself, why should anybody else? And so, our guys understand that. We put enough on -- have done enough good things each week to recognize that."

Bazelak mentioned it, and Allen reiterated it. The attitude coming into the facility after losses have almost caught them off guard.

They haven't flinched. They practice, lift, and study film with the intensity of a team that is, or at least as Bazelak believes should be 7-0.

"I do feel like that when you look in their eye and you watch how they prepare... You can tell some things. But that, to me, is really the key. And that just showed me that these guys understand what's in front of us. And they're a resilient group. They're a very tough-minded group. We've just got to find continuous ways to play better, to finish," Allen said.

"You see it all coming together. It's just a matter of time, we just gotta finish. That's all," said Indiana wide receiver Emery Simmons.

When asked about Andison Coby's late-game fumble, Simmons gave a strikingly similar answer to what Allen did about the mindset this team has to have.

"In one ear, out the other. You can't care about what other people say about you, or what they think about you. We know you were trying to make a big play," Simmons said.

"We gonna see who really wanna fight," Simmons added.

Allen didn't downplay, invoking a sense of urgency in his tone near the end of his answer when talking about the amount of good football in the Big Ten. He knows Indiana and himself don't have much time to rebound before the season can completely slip from their grasp yet again.

"You're playing against really good people. I think the Big 10 has always been good since I've been here. I think it's the best it's been. I think the East is the best it's ever been since I've been here," Allen said. "So, your margin for error is not very big... I think our guys recognize who we are. They recognize what we can become. And, obviously, the clock is ticking."

The depth and talent of this team are undoubtedly better than last season. Are they good?

That's up for debate.

But, the receivers are better, and the running backs are better. You have the same defensive backfield and better quarterback play.

The offensive line is still shotty, and the inconsistency all-around is -- in a word -- loud. If they were to put it together, and the blatant confidence from leaders on the team says they wouldn't be shocked to see that happen in the near future, they could get to six wins and clinch a berth to a bowl game.

This almost ignorant mindset of belief will have absolutely played a role if that ends up being the case.