Author: Seth Tow

As the Big Ten released its 2023-24 men’s basketball conference schedules on Tuesday, IU learned what its complete schedule will look like for the upcoming season. The conference had previously announced every team’s slate of opponents, so the Hoosiers already knew which teams they’d see once and which they’d see twice this year. But now there’s a full order of play. Here are six quick thoughts on the slate. It’s tough to pick out a part of the schedule that’s overwhelmingly tough. The hardest string of consecutive opponents looks like the end of January, when IU hosts Purdue, then plays…

IU head coach Tom Allen, co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri, and select players met with local media on Monday to look back on the Louisville game and start looking ahead to Akron and beyond. Here are a few key things discussed. Note: Offensive coordinator Walt Bell is also usually at IU’s weekly press conferences, but he was absent Monday as he and his wife welcomed their third child. Defensive breakdowns Indiana’s defense had a rocky first half against Louisville, with some big plays allowed in the secondary proving to be the difference in the game. Young defensive backs Jamari Sharpe and…

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s game against Louisville was always going to be a barometer game. After a season-opener against a College Football Playoff contender, and an FCS opponent in week two, this was IU’s first matchup of the season against a team around the caliber it can reasonably aspire to. It didn’t go IU’s way, as the Cardinals left Lucas Oil Stadium with a 21-14 win. The Hoosiers seemed destined for a blowout loss in the first half, and then an impressive comeback in the second half. The end result was something in between. They have plenty to feel both good…

Despite a nickname suggesting otherwise, Louis Moore’s journey from Mesquite, Texas to IU football has not always been sweet. Poteet High School coaches dubbed him “Sweet Lou” because of how smooth he looked on the field, both in practices and games. Then-defensive coordinator Rodney McLain recalled a clutch over-the-shoulder, toe-tap catch Moore made by the sideline during a senior year game at McKinney North, and called it a “Sunday type of catch.” Safeties coach Anthony Byrd said the way Moore flew around the field, whether at wide receiver or defensive back, made coaches swoon. “He would be running past people,…

Even before taking the field on Saturday, this has already been a big week for Indiana football. At the program’s weekly Monday press conference, head coach Tom Allen announced that redshirt freshman Tayven Jackson will be IU’s starting quarterback going forward. He and redshirt freshman Brendan Sorsby had been battling for the job going back to spring camp, and the competition extended through Indiana’s first two games. So it will be Jackson leading the Hoosiers out on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend against Louisville. Allen, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Walt Bell, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach…

Among Indiana’s group of talented wide receivers, two have a unique relationship. Omar Cooper Jr. and Donaven McCulley were not only high school teammates at Lawrence North in Indianapolis. McCulley was Cooper’s quarterback when they played together for the Wildcats. McCulley moved to wide receiver ahead of his sophomore season at IU in 2022, as Cooper arrived in Bloomington. So this is their second year together in the Hoosiers receivers room. But as McCulley takes on an expanded role, and as Cooper emerges as a redshirt freshman, these longtime teammates are in more of a spotlight. Their relationship, since they…

Former IU women’s basketball star Ali Patberg is adding an assistant coach title to her existing responsibilities for the Hoosiers, a source confirmed to The Daily Hoosier. The program legend joined the IU women’s basketball staff last season as team and recruitment coordinator. She’s back in the same role this year, but with the added duties that come with the additional title. Patberg is able to join the coaching staff because of the NCAA rule change allowing teams to employ up to five assistant coaches. Only three of those five are allowed to go off campus to recruit, and Patberg…

Quarterbacks: C+ This will be a theme for Indiana’s offensive grades: the unit played poorly against Ohio State and well against Indiana State. Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby exemplified that. The redshirt freshmen could not get anything going against the Buckeyes, both running and passing. OSU is an obviously talented defense, and IU’s conservative game plan made it even harder for the quarterbacks to make an impact. We started to see more of what Jackson and Sorsby can do against Indiana State, as both guys played well. Neither was perfect, and a lot of FBS quarterbacks would look good against…

BLOOMINGTON — Through two games, Indiana has yet to name a starting quarterback. The plan after fall camp — as head coach Tom Allen said last week — was always for both Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby to play in the first two games. Sorsby started against Ohio State last week, and Jackson started Friday against Indiana State, as IU ran away with a 41-7 victory at Memorial Stadium. Allen was not ready to declare either redshirt freshman the starter after his team’s first victory of the season. That decision, he said, will come ahead of next week’s game against…

Indiana’s quarterback competition will be the center of attention Friday night against Indiana State. The Hoosiers used both Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby against Ohio State, and they’ll do the same against the Sycamores. Sorsby started last week, Jackson will start this week. Both redshirt freshmen played around the same number of snaps last week, and the distribution should be similarly even this week. It’s a period of continued evaluation as the Hoosiers look for one of the two players to pull ahead and win the starting job. So far, that hasn’t happened. “Overall, I don’t think either one of…