Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.
Football returned to taking center stage this week. IU opened the conference season against Northwestern and pulled out a win despite some struggles across the board. Outside of Bloomington, the Big Ten had a wild day of league results on Saturday.
Also, Indiana got an update on athletes fighting for their eligibility and the basketball Hoosiers are hosting a scrimmage. As usual, we will conclude with a look at the weekly shows and the rest of the IU sports scene, which was led by volleyball opening conference play with victories.
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Here is what is in this week’s edition:
Football Struggles But Wins Conference Opener
Iowa Wins On Last Play As Part Of Wild Day In Big Ten
Daley, Wyatt And Alexis Are Eligible For Now
Basketball To Host Public Intrasquad Scrimmage On Friday
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Wins Big Ten Opener
Banner #1: Football Struggles But Wins Conference Opener
Top-five IU football’s defense of its national title continued on Friday at Memorial Stadium. After their victory over Western Kentucky, Northwestern came calling to Bloomington, as the Hoosiers are once again expected to be near the top of the conference and amongst the best teams in college football.
IU’s sold-out crowd responded to the challenge. However, facing a familiar foe in QB Aiden Chiles, his Wildcats gave the Hoosiers everything they could handle for all 60 minutes. QB Josh Hoover was again not sharp or accurate, missing several throws early that stalled drives. However, the defense held tight through halftime as Indiana led 12-0 into the locker room.
Then in the final 30 minutes, the script completely flipped. The offense got stronger, but the defensive secondary fell apart as Chiles carved the Hoosier defense up. In the end, aided by a facemask penalty, RB Lee Beebe Jr., and an early safety, Indiana barely found a way to eke out a 29-23 win. While the offensive skill positions and trench play look ready to contend for another title, the ceiling of this squad will depend on improved quarterback and defensive secondary play going forward as they are struggling at times.
Afterward, IU Coach Curt Cignetti spoke, and Inside the Hall had a photo gallery. Also, Ian Plaskoff wrote a column, and Zach Horowitz had five takeaways about the victory.
Finally, earlier in the week, the program held media availability before the contest. Cignetti gave his weekly update at a press conference. Also, star WR Charlie Becker and LB Isiah Jones were the players who spoke. Also, Jones joined former Hoosier Rhett Lewis on the Under the Hood podcast last week.
Banner #2: Iowa Wins On Last Play As Part Of Wild Day In Big Ten
IU was not the only one in the conference to take part in a close game, as a handful of tight contests occurred both in the Big Ten and nationally. The highlight of the day was Michigan losing to Iowa on a long touchdown on the final play of the game. This is a reverse of how the Wolverines controversially won in week one.
Also, Wisconsin came back from a huge deficit to upset Penn State, and Oregon outscored USC in a heavyweight shootout. Meanwhile, in blowouts, Ohio State easily defeated Illinois, UCLA had no problems with Maryland, and Nebraska dominated Michigan State. In a non-conference result between Indiana squads, Notre Dame had a simple victory over Purdue.
Banner #3: Daley, Wyatt And Alexis Are Eligible For Now
The saga of who is eligible at IU based on the NCAA’s new rules continued this week. After being ineligible against Western Kentucky, a Monroe County judge issued a temporary restraining order allowing all local athletes fighting for a fifth year to play for now, including Stephen Daley and Kellan Wyatt.
The NCAA will almost certainly appeal the ruling. However, for now, all these players will be allowed to compete. Amongst the other names, this impacts are volleyball star Avry Tatum, who returned to the lineup Saturday night, as well as basketball’s Sam Alexis, whose season has not started.
Banner #4: Basketball To Host Public Intrasquad Scrimmage On Friday
Speaking of basketball, fans’ first chance to see the squad will be this week. While the glitz of Hoosier Hysteria will not be part of it, the new-look team will nonetheless scrimmage on Friday at 6 pm with doors opening at 4:30 pm and it’s open to the public.
Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel
Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.
The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both
Jerod Morris and Tony Adragna have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.
Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?
Banner #5: Weekly Shows
Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Inside the Hall’s own Zach Horowitz discussed the eligibility situation with Daley and Wyatt.
The Back Home Network has many shows. As a result, it was on air several times this week with programming.
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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Volleyball Wins First Two Big Ten Games
No. 18 IU Volleyball opened up conference play with victories over UCLA and Maryland.
No. 2 Men’s soccer knocked off Penn State.
No. 18 Field hockey upset No. 13 Michigan this week. However, they fell to No. 2 Iowa.
Women’s soccer fell to both Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Thanks for your continued support of The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
The IU defensive secondary didn’t fall apart. The pass rush continued to overrun their QB and he ran around wild picking out receivers or running . This QB has been difficult for us two years at Michigan State and the failure if any was on the defensive line not containing him or getting him to the ground