Indiana 7-5 (3-5), 7th Big Ten
vs
Oklahoma State 6-6 (4-4), 3rd Big 12 - South Division

December 31, 6:00 pm, NFL Network

Play 13 was the motto for the 2007 Indiana Hoosiers. They adapted it after losing their coach, Terry Hoeppner, on June 19th. The players, coaches, and fans dedicated this season to a coach they loved and he would’ve been proud as the Hoosiers are going to a bowl game for the first time in 14 years. Oklahoma State has had an up and down year, most notably they are known to be coached by, Mike Gundy, the guy who flipped out on a reporter in a post game tirade.

The Cowboys are a team that relies on the run, ranking 7th in the nation in rushing offense. Most of those yards come from running back Dantrell Savage and his 1172 yards but quarterback Zac Robinson ran for 777 yards on his own. Add to that, the 2522 yards passing with 20 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions and one can understand why he beat out Bobby Reid. The Cowboys are going to have to find a way to sure up their passing defense which ranked 116th in the country since they will be going up against All Big Ten receiver James Hardy.

The Hoosiers have a duel threat quarterback of their own in Sophomore Kellen Lewis. Lewis leads Indiana in passing with 2839 yards passing 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and in rushing with 653 yards and 8 touchdowns on the ground. But the real threat of the Indiana offense is their tall, fast wide receiver James Hardy. Hardy caught 74 balls for 1075 yards and 16 touchdowns, and is poised to have a field day against Oklahoma State’s poor pass defense. Indiana on defense is a bit below average against the run and the pass, so while Indiana might be able to throw on the Cowboys, I believe the Cowboys can use a mix of run and pass to gain on the Hoosiers.

Looking at the team rankings, it isn’t hard to see that there will be a lot of points scored during this game. I believe James Hardy is a special player and he is someone who can take over a game, like Calvin Johnson did in 2006. Hardy is going to have a monster game against the Cowboys; maybe topping the 200 yard plateau in receiving yards for the game. The Cowboys will also score a lot of points but in the end I believe it will be Indiana’s desire to win that will lead them to their first 8 win season since 1993. Indiana 49 Oklahoma State 45

Picking Indiana to Win (34%)
ITB Brian Sakowski, Pitch Right, The Enlightened Spartan, Sportsbone TV, MidWest Coast Bias, Brant Chruscial, Jeff Brancolini, Jason Stiver, Cyril Tircuit, Sunny Verma, Lorena The Dodgerchick

Picking Oklahoma State to Win (66%)
Kansas It’s Business Time, Bastard Sons of Pinfall Marks, Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, Rizzo Sports, MizzouRAH, ITB Ron Juckett, ITB Charlie Swager, Football Frontier, The LSC Scoop, Corn Nation, Mrs Corn Nation, Brian Isaacson, Logan Jaffe, Lou Nemec, Timmy B, Greg Gowins, Richard Dixon, Rodney Polston, Pete Boivin, Matt Kieta