JIMMY THE GREEK SAYS

jimmythegreek

The opening odds start here
(13) Indiana -5 over Washington U:
I had to do a double take to make sure this line was correct, but I also realize that the Huskies are the runner up to the National Champions last season. The 13th ranked Hoosiers (7-0 4-0) are one of nine undefeatedfs's left in FBS play heading into week 9, and are sure on a collision course to contend as one of the top 12 come playoff time. Last week at Memorial Stadium,, Justice Ellison (9-105 11.7 2 TD) led a ground game that amassed 5 scores and 215 yards as the Hoosiers humbled Nebraska 56-7. Ellison opened the scoring just 5 minutes in with a 5 yard rushing TD, then later added a 28 yard run which gave Indiana a 28-7 lead over the Cornhuskers. Ty Son Lawton (8-64 8.0), Kaelon Black (4-22 5.5), and Myles Price (3-23 7.7) each scored rushing TD's in the rout. Kurtis Rourke (17/21 189 1 TD 1 INT) only played just one series into the third quarter due to a hand injury, and his backup Tayven Jackson (7/8 91 2 TD) got some quality experience during mop up time. Indiana outgained Nebraska 495-304, and forced 6 turnovers while committing only one of their own. Dylan Raiola (28/44 234 3 INT) moved the ball well for the Cornhuskers, but also made some critical first half mistakes due to turnovers and only were successful on one scoring drive. Jacory Barney Jr. scored on a 7 yard TD run for Nebraska's only points. Meanwhile, first year Big Ten participants Washington (4-3 2-2) were crushed by Iowa 40-16 2 weeks ago coming off of their bye at Kinnick Stadium. Kaleb Johnson (21-166 7.9 3 TD) scored 3 times, runs from 6 and 8 yards and caught an 18 yard scoring pass from Cade McnaMara (8/14 168 2 TD) as Iowa improved to 4-2 at the time and 2-1 in the Big 10. The Huskies outgained the Hawkeyes 393-328 but also committed 3 turnovers. Will rogers (22/34 195 1 TD 1 INT) took a lot of short drops underneath gaining yards in bunches, but he was eventually replaced by Desmond Williams Jr (12/16 71 1 TD) who stuck to the gameplan with more of the same. Jonah Coleman gained 80 yards on 9 carries (8.9) but the rest of the Huskies backfield failed to reach the end zone. The Iowa defense also recorded 5 sacks, 3 by DL Aaron Graves.

Curt Cignetti has certainly turned around this program to eye popping aspirations and has Hoosiers fans thinking big when it comes to the postseason. Formerly part of James Madison, in 2023 he went 11-1 and you'll see the irony of why I mentioned him later in this thread. He compiled a 52-9 record overall (.852) with the Dukes including 3 straight FCS berths before JMU converted to FBS last season. As for Rourke (135/181 1941 15 TD 3 INT) is making a clear case for a Heisman candidate completing about 75% of his passes. He also has a solid, balanced receiving core led by Elijah Sarratt (32-578 3 TD), Omar Cooper Jr (19-411 3 TD), and Myles Price (23-289 1 TD) who act as Indiana's 3 headed monster downfield. However, their real strength is clearly in the ground game led by the tandem of Ellison (73-514 7.0 8 TD) and Lawton (76-393 5.2 8 TD), Indiana is averaging nearly 49 ppg with the 5th ranked overall offense. They gain about 516 total yards on average and are 11th in the country in passing with 311 yards through the air on average. It is however important to know that Rourke's status for this game was up in the air due to a thumb injury he suffered last week. If he can't go, in will step Tayven Jackson (12/18 225 3 TD) who is more than capable of handling the task to start under center. Now Washington certainly are no slouches on defense giving up only 17 ppg, but are weak against the run yielding 167 yards on average overall. Indiana has to be mindful that the Huskies are the top passing defense in the country overall allowing only 123 yards per contest through the air. Carson Bruener leads the team with 45 tackles, and Isiah Ward has 4 of his team's 15 sacks despite the Huskies 4 picks thus far this season. Head coach Jedd Fisch knows that he's going to have to slow down the tempo of the Hoosiers' high octane offense and hope to make some stops and possibly cash in some turnovers if he wants his team to stay close, and for that matter, remain bowl eligible.

Rogers (153/212 1820 13 TD 2 INT) has also looked sharp under center more than halfway through the Huskie's inaugural season in the Big 10. He has 2 prominent targets, Giles Jackson (47-542 2 TD) and Denzel Boston (40-540 9 TD), two playmakers with almost identical receiving yards thus far this season. However, Coleman (99-681 6.9 5 TD) is the lone workhorse in the backfield for Wazzu, as he has all of their rushing TD's to date. The Huskies are not exactly a powerhouse when it comes to scoring averaging about 24 ppg, but look to capture time of possession, especially when it comes to league foes who like to run and gun both on the ground and through the air. Their win 3 weeks ago against the defensing champions Michigan went a long way at the time but losing big to Iowa brought them back down to earth. Their passing attack generates 295 yards per game, ranked 15th, but are only 73rd in the country with 159 rushing yards. Aiden Fischer leads Indiana with 67 tackles Mikali Kamara has a team leading 7 sacks of his team's 22. Amare Ferrell has 3 INT's of his team's 8. TO date, this could be the Hoosiers' toughest test on defense, as while they allow almost 14 ppg, they did yield 28 and 24 to Maryland and Northwestern respectively, although most occurred with the games well decided.

The Hoosiers offense has been an unstoppable force, as QB Kurtis Rourke has emerged as a superstar in Bloomington. The Hoosiers will certainly get their fair share of points, but keep in mind, the challenging line proves that the Huskies are also no slouches, despite not playing quite up to their potential on the offensive side of the ball. Washington is capable of spoiling IU’s undefeated season if it can get past the reoccurring red zone woes that have plagued its offense this season. The Huskies have outgained every single one of their opponents. They have a top 25 offense that’s averaging more than 450 yards per game, but just haven’t been able to put enough points on the board. Play with caution, especially if Rourke is listed as out.

I'll have a second Saturday play coming up later.
 

jimmythegreek

The opening odds start here
Play 2 will be

James Madison -24 even over Southern Mississippi

GL to all in week 9

YTD 12-4 .750 +7.60
 

jimmythegreek

The opening odds start here
No Rourke? No problem. A great effort from the defense forcing 2 Rogers picks and 125 rushing yards from Ellison keeps Indiana rolling by 2 TD's and staying undefeated! Hope those who followed cashed!
 
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