The Indiana football team spent Thanksgiving together with a practice in the morning and a team meal in the afternoon.
Normally, players who live close to Bloomington would have been allowed to go home for Thanksgiving. But with the pandemic continuing to rage across the country, the players and staff all remained in town and celebrated the holiday together.
And, normally, the 12 th-ranked Hoosiers would be preparing for their season finale against Purdue this weekend. But with the season starting seven weeks late because of the pandemic, Indiana has four games remaining on its schedule.
“I think our guys have done a really good job of staying locked in and focused,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said Thursday. “But it is kind of a weird feel. Even last week, we found it hard to believe that this week is Thanksgiving. Everything is out of sync in regard to the flow of a regular season.”
The regular season continues Saturday with a noon game at home against Maryland.
The Terrapins are 2-1 and this will be their first game in three weeks. Maryland had games against Penn State and Michigan State cancelled due to a number of positive COVID-19 tests among its players and staff, including head coach Mike Locksley.
“Coach Locksley has done an excellent job there building that program, and I know it means a lot to him to be there and he has recruited well,” Allen said. “And they have a lot of good football players and they're playing with a ton of confidence right now, playing their best football than they have in a long time, and we expect to see that on game day.”
Indiana will be looking to bounce back from its first loss of the season last Saturday to No. 3 Ohio State. The then-No. 9 Hoosiers fell behind by three touchdowns at the half before rallying to within 42-35 at the end.
“I'm anxious to see, excited to see our team respond,” Allen said. “That is what this is about. That is what life is about and how we respond to the things that we are presented, both the good and the bad. And so, to me that is what great teams do, they respond. And so, I am looking forward to seeing our players do that on Saturday.
“And that is why this week has been very, very important, even though it is a different kind of week and we are in Thanksgiving and the holiday part of the year. But much to be thankful for.”
Following Saturday’s game, Indiana has a road game at Wisconsin then hosts Purdue on Dec. 12 in the regular-season finale. Indiana will then play the team from the Big Ten West Division that finishes in the same place it did on Dec. 19.
The Hoosiers have been winning in all three phases this year. Indiana’s offense ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring at 34 points a game and fourth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 23.8 points per game. The Hoosiers have also made a league-best seven field goals.
