Battle of the Bison: Howard @ Indiana / Indiana Hoosiers LIVE 98

Indiana Hoosiers LIVE 98 — Battle of the Bison (Howard @ Indiana) Hosts: Alec Keezer & Bradley Loomis | Presented by FanDuel IndianaVOCFB Intro (00:00–00:50) Week 2 is here: Battle of the Bison, Howard at Indiana. Keezer and Loomis recovering from Week 1 and glad football is back. NFL starts Wednesday; Tuesday is the one clean window for the show. Frame for the episode: overreactions and underreactions from opening weekend, then the Howard preview and the rest of the Week 2 slate. Overreactions & Underreactions (00:40–~32:00) Overreaction: LSU is the best team in the country / should be the national title favorite Keezer leads: LSU’s beatdown of Clemson (outgained by ~500 yards, Clemson had no pulse late) was the most impressive Week 1 win. Lane Kiffin + LSU athletes looks like the Ohio State / Indiana / Miami / Notre Dame tier. Loomis doubles down: +1400 on FanDuel to win the title is “ludicrous.” They should be the favorite. Dabo still puts NFL athletes on the field; this was not a talent-disparity excuse game. Winnie Watkins and the portal class looked the part. Public-enemy-No.-1 status and Week 3 GameDay (Ole Miss–LSU) are good for the sport. SEC “expel LSU” talk is theater. Underreaction: Indiana’s defense did not regress to pre-Cignetti levels This is the segment that sparked the show. People calling the North Texas game (16 points allowed, outgained) proof the defense is back to old Indiana. Keezer: “absolutely driving me crazy.” Elijah Hardy’s “not up to standard” quote is the right internal standard, not doom. Cignetti teams grow exponentially; the Week 1–2 jump and season-long progression matter more than one FCS-style opener. Jamari Sharp’s chase-down fumble was the turning point in that game. They will not look like that vs. Western Kentucky or in Big Ten play. Loomis agrees and is deliberately under-reacting after years of overreacting to this unit. Underreaction: Oregon will be fine Close win over Boise State showed grit, not fragility. Same situation as two years ago when Oregon went undefeated after a similar early test. Boise is a G5 blue-blood / now Pac-12 program that regularly sends players to the league. Getting blood flowing early is useful. They dropped Oregon to No. 8 in the “goon pool” only because LSU, Ole Miss, Miami, and Notre Dame rose. Other over/under takes UCLA already belongs in the top-25 conversation after a decisive road win at Cal (Nico, Woods/Thomas/Wayne Knight backfield, defense stepped up). Chesney transfer-monster path is live. Michigan: Keezer’s overreaction is they will be looking for a new coach at season’s end. Loomis underreacts — Whittingham isn’t the core problem; money allocation / Bryce Underwood situation is. Underwood look, body language, and “he’s our QB for now” comments are ugly. Market will self-correct on paying high-school QBs this much. Florida State is not a dead program; the job is still one of the best in the country. Norvell got them to 12-0 and then the program lost its pulse after the playoff snub. They need a reset. Norvell will coach again (JMU rehab circuit, etc.). Receiver watch: Jeremiah Smith vs. Malachi Toney as the two-horse “who has the sicker week” race. Generational WR (and RB) draft class incoming. Also nods to Winnie Watkins, Becker/Marsh, Amari Thomas (Houston), Iowa’s emerging receiver, Deuce Alexander. Indiana vs. Howard preview & related notes Howard is the Week 2 home opponent (“Battle of the Bison”). Defense talk above is the main Indiana-specific Week 1 hangover. Expect a clear jump this week; this is not the unit that takes the field in October or January. Later slate mention: Western Kentucky after Howard is the next real litmus (WKU also plays Georgia the week before Indiana). Keezer planning to be at South Carolina–Mississippi State Week 3 while still following the Hoosiers (Camario Taylor scouting / possible future portal interest, though Taylor is viewed as a Mississippi State lifer). Week 2 slate & picks (roughly 1:19:00–end) Big Ten / relevant Minnesota vs. Mississippi State (pick’em): both QBs (Drake Lindsey, Camario Taylor) look like future NFL guys. High-level potential; lean Minnesota at home / conference. “Do not touch” if you’re betting. Maryland –12.5 at UConn: like Maryland to cover. Illinois –5.5 vs. Duke: both have Illinois on upset watch. Like Duke / Manny Diaz. Michigan State –17.5 vs. Eastern Michigan: Spartans at home, not laying the points. EMU QB is a Michigan State returnee. Nebraska –28.5 vs. Bowling Green: Nebraska and the points. UCLA –12.5 vs. San Diego State: like the Bruins