It’s finally game week for Indiana, and head football coach Tom Allen couldn’t be more excited.
“It feels awesome to be able to be in game week mode,” Allen said. “We have been through so much to get to this point, so there is a lot of excitement from our players, from myself, and from our whole staff to be in this position.
“We are very thankful, very blessed. It has been quite the journey to get to this point.”
The Hoosiers open their season Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at home against Penn State. The opener comes nearly six weeks later than scheduled as the Big Ten postponed the start of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indiana was originally scheduled to open against Wisconsin, but that game was moved to Dec. 5 as the league reshuffled its entire schedule to accommodate an eight-game, conference-only regular season.
But that means the Hoosiers will now be opening with the No. 8 team in the land. Penn State is one of four teams in the top 25 that Indiana will face this season.
“I do think it adds a sense of urgency and a heightened focus to your guys when they know they are playing a team of the caliber of Penn State to open the season in everything that you do,” Allen said. “Obviously, we did not know this until a month or so ago, but at the same time, it has been something that once we knew we were going to conference only schedule, for the longest time we thought we were opening against Wisconsin. Either way, we knew we were going to have one of the top teams in the country as an opener.”
But this opener will be unlike any other, due to the pandemic. Only family of the team and staff will be allowed in Memorial Stadium for the game, there will be no tailgating in the parking lots around the stadium and the crowd noise will be piped in.
Another noticeable difference this year will be an “Equity Fist” patch and decal that will be worn on the Hoosiers’ jerseys and helmets to promote social justice.
“The players are excited about that as a sign of unity, as a sign of togetherness, peace and love that we want to promote, and the respect for others that are different than us and look different,” Allen said. “I want us to be a beacon of what it looks like to love each other and care about one another, no matter where you are from, and no matter whether you have differences or not.
“We have to be able to work together to make the world a better place, make Bloomington a better city, make the state of Indiana a better state, and have that impact across this country.”
While Allen is eager to be back on the sidelines, one Big Ten team will be without its coach Saturday.
Purdue’s Jeff Brohm tested positive over the weekend for COVID-19. Brohm’s brother Brian, the Boilermakers’ offensive coordinator, will be the acting head coach for the opener against Iowa.
“It’s the reality we’re all dealing with,” Allen said. “We’re around a bunch of people all the time. We test all the time, but we’ve put ourselves into this position. You try to stay healthy, but it’s a great reminder to not take anything for granted.
“We’re all one positive test from being in that position."
