The Musings

In which we address several issues, including IU's loss to Louisville, Reggie Wayne's comments about the turf-grass debate, Al Michaels' decline and other stuff that happens to be on my mind.

The Musings:

It’s a bummer that IU has decided to buy its way out of the last two games of this IU-Louisville series, especially after a highly entertaining and competitive game Saturday at Lucas Oil, a 21-14 Louisville victory.

Look, I understand the thinking behind doing so – it’s about stacking wins and helping to reach the magic six wins needed for bowl eligibility -- but would you rather watch a really compelling regional rivalry, or another useless game against some FCS school?

It's a bummer for the players, who want to play against the best. It’s a bummer for the fans, who showed up in strong numbers for Saturday’s game. I mean, nothing against the likes of Indiana State, but from an entertainment point of view, it’s a waste of time and effort. Yeah, if you’re IU, there aren’t a lot of automatic victories on the schedule, but are we really looking forward to next year’s non-conference schedule, which will feature Florida International, Charlotte and now, another FCS opponent?

In fairness, IU isn’t the only program doing this. Ohio State canceled a home-and-home with Washington, opting to play cupcakes. Same with Michigan, who canceled a home and home with UCLA, only to replace those games with Hawaii and East Carolina. And there are others who’ve taken the same approach with conference realignment.

“I would just say that in the last six months, the Big Ten has changed a lot,” Allen said. “We’ve added four teams to this conference that has changed the landscape of (the conference). I believe we have to adjust accordingly. To me, we have to do what’s best for our football program.”

I get the thinking behind it, but I don’t like it. Saturday was a good day for local college football. Good atmosphere, good game. If you’re looking forward to that IU-Florida International game, congratulations.

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Fourth and two inches -- actually, the refs said it was an inch-and-a-half --  and IU chooses to hand the ball off around 4 yards deep and run their back, Josh Henderson, on a slow-developing dive up the gut.

He got stuffed with the Hoosiers on the doorstep of a 21-all tie. Louisville then got possession with 4-plus minutes remaining and played keep-away, bleeding the clock all the way down.

Help me here: