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Tom Allen says Hoosiers preparing for ‘completely different’ Rutgers team
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After one week change is blowing in the wind in the Big Ten conference.
Rutgers snapped a 21-game league losing streak Saturday by clobbering downtrodden Michigan State and forcing seven turnovers in a 28-27 win in East Lansing. Three hundred miles to the south-east, the Indiana Hoosiers were in the process of knocking off the top-ten ranked Penn State Nittany Lions inside Memorial Stadium, winning on a spectacular play in overtime, 36-35.
Rutgers and Indiana!? Well it’s true, and this Saturday those schools will meet in Piscataway, New Jersey as 1-0 teams, trying to avoid the proverbial post-victory let down, with the Hoosiers ranked as high as 10th in the country in some polls.
Indiana head coach Tom Allen is not taking Rutgers for granted under first year head coach—in his second stint at the school—Greg Schiano. For whatever reasons, Schiano can crack the code at Rutgers and get the Scarlet Knights to play tough football when no one else on earth seems to have any idea how to make it happen.
Allen knows preparing for Rutgers this season is nothing like previous seasons, and said as much to Bloomington Herald-Times reporter Jon Blau.
Tom Allen on Rutgers:
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) October 26, 2020
"Completely different team than you saw on film from a year ago."
"New quarterback, new system, new coordinators … that's the challenge at hand."
"How can we get better from Week 1 to Week 2?" Allen adds. "That's all we are going to talk about." #iufb
If SHI Stadium in Jersey had a reputation for being a bit of a dismal house under normal conditions, Saturday could set the all-time mark. Due to draconian Covid-19 restrictions in the state, the ballpark will be totally empty outside the teams and support staff. No friends, family, or fans of any kind will be allowed to attend the game.
Mark Schipper is a reporter, sportswriter, and aspiring novelist living in Chicago, Illinois.