For Indiana, They Don't Get Much Bigger Than This

Ben Fishman
College Sports 24/7
9/20/13

-Bloomington
    Are you ready Hoosier fans? For Kevin Wilson and Indiana, it doesn’t get much bigger than tomorrow. The Hoosiers will welcome an SEC opponent into Memorial Stadium for the first time in Wilson’s tenure.
    Missouri is good. Missouri is fast. Missouri is the SEC. And the SEC has won the last seven National Championships. For Indiana, the opportunity to take a bite out of the SEC is the only chance the entire Big Ten has this year. National analysts always talk about how dominant the SEC is, especially compared to the Big Ten, and now Indiana has a chance to represent Team Delany.
    This should be seen as an open message to Hoosier Nation. Tomorrow is a big one. If this is going to be the team that takes Indiana back to the postseason, then that march will almost certainly begin at 8pm Saturday night. Hoosier administrators are expecting close to 50,000 people in attendance for the primetime game.
    Things like this don’t happen at Indiana often. It’s a basketball school. Yet here the Hoosiers stand, 2-1 on the year and heading into their bye week after the Tigers come to town. Yet here the Hoosiers stand, ready to take on an SEC team in front of what could be a potential sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium.
    Nat Sudfeld, whose numbers rank right up there with the A.J. McCarron’s and Johnny Footballs of the world, will need to have a stellar performance against the speedy secondary of Missouri. The Hoosiers defense must be ready to stop James Franklin, Missouri’s senior quarterback.
    The magnitude of this game probably won’t be seen until kickoff, but Indiana and Kevin Wilson know how important this one is. The Hoosiers could be 3-1 heading into a home tilt against Penn State in two weeks, and were a couple missed plays away from actually entering this one at 3-0. If the defense plays the way it did last week against Bowling Green, then Indiana can steal one at home.
    So come on out Hoosier fans. Basketball hasn’t started yet. Pack the Rock the way Fred Glass always dreamt of it. It will be a sight to see. Saturday night primetime. Indiana football. SEC opponent.
    This one will be special.