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

About this episode
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 big after Week 1; SDSU is a real program but this UCLA looks different.
Iowa –13.5 vs. Iowa State: Iowa at home until proven otherwise.
Ranked / national
Miami –56.5 vs. Florida A&M: like Miami (line is a bad number).
Louisville –37.5 vs. Villanova: Louisville looked formidable even in a loss; like them to cover.
Missouri –5.5 at Kansas: split. Loomis likes Kansas ML (Lance Leipold vibes). Keezer likes Missouri talent.
Oklahoma at Michigan: both like Oklahoma and the points. Michigan defense may keep it from becoming a 30-point game; more like a touchdown or two. Wake-up-call week in Ann Arbor.
Penn State –23.5 at Temple: Penn State big.
Oregon –23.5 at Oklahoma State: Oregon big. OSU’s lack of scoring vs. Tulsa is the red flag.
Texas A&M –14.5 vs. Arizona State: A&M and the points. Marcel Reed is the X-factor. Don’t disrespect Kyle Field.
Washington –27.5 vs. Utah State: Washington wins; Loomis takes Utah State +26.5 after the Wazoo result.
Alabama –10.5 at Kentucky: Alabama big. Keelon Russell’s first true road start.
BYU –7.5 vs. Arizona: BYU big. Bear Bachmeier Heisman-finalist lean; BYU far and away the best team in the Big 12 right now.
Tennessee –12.5 at Georgia Tech: Tennessee big. GT–Colorado was two 6-6-ish teams.
Texas Tech –26.5 at Oregon State: Tech is the better team; both like Oregon State points (Corvallis is weird, “Death Valley of the West,” Houston held them last week). Not a money-line play.
Ohio State at Texas (Texas –1.5): Keezer loves Ohio State on the number and the money line. Better team, better coached; home-field won’t be enough. Expect a more explosive game than last year’s snoozer.
Utah –12.5 vs. Arkansas: Utah.
USC –30.5 vs. Louisiana: Trojans big.
Others noted: Ole Miss over Charlotte, LSU over Louisiana Tech, Notre Dame vs. Rice (not on every book), Georgia vs. Western Kentucky (watch for Indiana’s following week), UCF at Pitt (Heinicke / high-total watch), Cal at Syracuse, UNLV at North Texas, Memphis–Boise State (playoff-implication G5).
Closing (~1:48:00–end)
Week 2 slate is clearly better than Week 1: more Power-4 vs. Power-4 and SEC–Big Ten intersection.
Goon pool will move once real resumes form. So far only LSU, Ole Miss, and to a lesser extent UCLA made statements.
Minnesota–Mississippi State is Keezer’s non-Ohio State/Texas game of the week.
Nothing from Indiana’s Week 1 changes the season outlook. Excited to watch the defense and the team evolve.
Recap video Saturday after Howard; live show back Sunday (time TBD).
CTAs: like/subscribe Indiana VOCFB and Voice of College Football, follow @AlecKieser, @Bradley_Loomis8, @theVOCFB. Set fantasy lineups — NFL starts tomorrow.
Clip-friendly moments
LSU/Clemson “beatdown of the highest order” + Kiffin sideline basketball (~3:57–7:00)
Indiana defense underreaction / “save me with that” fan-base rant (~9:40–12:30)
Bryce Underwood / “that’s why you don’t pay high-school kids” (~26:30–28:20)
Jeremiah Smith vs. Malachi Toney two-horse race (~30:00–31:20)
Ohio State over Texas conviction (~1:41:00)
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