My Two Cents: Crossing line of demarcation in Big Ten East is next challenge for Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — There are little lines drawn in the sand, and then there are great walls and borders that keep the haves from the have nots just about everywhere.

It's no different in college football.

A perfect example of that is the Big Ten East, arguably one of the two best divisions in all of college football along with the SEC West. There are the haves and have nots there too, with a line a demarcation that seems to almost never get crossed.

Bluebloods Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan are above the line, all former national champions who have ranked programs just about every year.

Below the line are Maryland, Rutgers and, of course, the Indiana Hoosiers. That wall is so high, it might as well stretch to the moon.

With the two best recruiting classes in school history, the Hoosiers are slowly trying to tear down that wall, and they get another chance on Saturday when they travel to East Lansing to play Michigan State. (Gametime 3:30 p.m.; TV: BTN). Moving up the imaginary ladder means beating the big boys more regularly.

That hasn't happened, hardly at all.

Since Maryland and Rutgers joined the conference in 2014 and the league went back to geographical borders for its two divisions, the three teams at the bottom of the Big Ten East have been no threat to the status quo.

Here's how bad it is the last five-plus seasons:

Rutgers (1-19): The Scarlet Knights upset Michigan 26-24 in its first year in the league in 2014, but has lost every game since to OSU, Penn State and Michigan State. They've barely been competitive against the big boys, and have been mostly embarrassed. The worst was in 2016, when Rutgers was beaten by a combined 224-0 by the four teams. That's a joke.

Maryland (3-17): The Terps beat both Michigan and Penn State that first year in 2014, but their only win since then was against Michigan State in 2016. They, too, have been no threat to the big boys after that first season.

Indiana (1-20): Indiana's only win during this streak was against Michigan State in 2016, the year the Spartans went 3-9. And even that win came in overtime, a 24-21 win for the Hoosiers.

This is Indiana's second chance to make some noise this season, but the first one was a disaster, a 51-10 defeat at home against Ohio State that was completely embarrassing to all involved.

This week, everyone is vowing to make amends, and to go to East Lansing and make a statement. If Indiana is to continuing showing progress, this is a game it needs to win, even if they are 14-point underdogs and are facing a Spartans team that's in the top-3 in the nation in rush defense.

It won't be easy.

"We're excited for the opportunity this presents,'' Indiana coach Tom Allen said of the game with the Spartans. "Getting back into Big Ten play is a huge part of what we live for here, and what we want to be in. That's a great environment we're going to be playing in. They'll have a great, loud crowd and (we'll) just talk about that with our guys, what that means.

"We expect our guys to elevate their level of play, their focus, their execution and be at their very best. I'm excited about where we are and anxious to get on the road together as a team and continue to build this program."

Part of the uptick in recruiting for Indiana has been getting into the state of Michigan and plucking a few quality players, including some that the Spartans really wanted. IU running backs coach Mike Hart, still the all-time leading rusher in Michigan history, is making good inroads there.

That's why going on the road and winning Saturday would be huge.

"In the past, we've had so many guys from Ohio here, so the Ohio State game was a big deal for that very reason. We've actually begun going into Michigan more here the last couple years and we have some guys on our team from there and more guys that will be joining us here next year,'' Allen said. "I think there's no question, you get a chance to go in to a young man's home state and show why he came here, that's what he wants to do.

"The bottom line is sometimes those are different motivations for guys based on who recruited them and who didn't and they know that. It's always good to go to an area where you want to recruit, have recruited and want to recruit further in the future. That always helps you because they are going to come here and play close to home and get a chance for their family to come watch them."

Sure, the future matters. It matters a lot. But Saturday is all about the present. It's all about scratching away at that line of demarcation, and it starts with Michigan State.

Can it happen? Sure. Let me give you an example from another Big Ten sport, but you might want to get some tissues first. There was a time when Indiana's basketball team beat Wisconsin 31 times in a row from 1980 to 1996. Well, since 2008, it's Wisconsin that now owns that series, winning 19 of the 21 most-recent games against the Hoosiers.

So, yes, tables can be turned.

And it starts on Saturday.

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