I can't ML Indiana. Maybe they win and maybe I play them ats, but it is a tall ask. A team with a poor O and a sometimes good D against a team as steady and solid as Wisconsin, hard to find how they do it. IU has no running game. An OL that is getting overwhelmed, a banged up starting QB (Ramsey), a turnover prone backup QB (Lagow) and one good WR. I guess if the same Wisconsin team that was in Champaign shows up in Bloomington there is a chance.
Virginia, maybe. They are a little lost right now, but I do believe their improved play we saw earlier is real. Mendenhall's team was in a close game last year at GT as a 10 pt road dog (trailed by 7 before 4th qrt pick-six) in his first season here and coming from BYU actually played GT 2014 & 2013 (won both) plus faced Air Force several years prior. So his background as a DC and knowledge vs option assures me they should be prepared, and last year shows me they can also execute the plan. Only two Ds held GT to fewer yards rushing than UVA last year, BC and Clemson...the top 6 tacklers from last year's GT game return. They have some quality players throughout, DL Andrew Brown, LB Micah Kaiser, DB Juan Thornhill (missed last week-could return), DB Quin Blanding. Even with limited output the last couple weeks, the potential for more still exists on O with Benkert some quality WRs and an on-off running game. The OL got reshuffled midgame due to injury last week and that group didn't perform well, maybe with a week of practice with it's new lineup it can get better. GT D is good, but can be beat by competent teams, of which UVA should be, but not playing up to that level lately. The biggest concern here is the current issues on UVA's O and the typical consistency GT plays with. The success of this ML will require an improved O we haven't seen in a while and a D that plays at a very high level, better than they have. They can do both, but will they?