BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Welcome to rainy Memorial Stadium. We’re about 60 minutes from kickoff as the Hoosiers host Maryland in their first Big Ten Conference home game of the season.

Pregame – Indiana injuries today submitted to the Big Ten for the availability report, all players listed as out: K Derek McCormick, K Alejandro Quintero and DB Te’Derius Collins are all out. That means TE James Bomba could return which is good news for Indiana’s depth.

Maryland lists LB Neero Avery, DB Mykel Morman, K Gavin Marshall and WR Jahmari Powell-Wonson as out.

• Indiana is trying to be 5-0 for the first time since 1967. Hard to believe that the Hoosiers haven’t done it since then, but then again, some of the better Indiana teams in the period since then played tougher schedules than these Hoosiers have.

The strength of schedule question that looms over the Hoosiers won’t really go away until they play Nebraska … at the earliest. It will likely loom into November before Indiana plays Michigan and Ohio State.

• The rain is steady, but nowhere near as bad as it could have been. A level about misty is how I’d describe it. Winds are mild, but not insignificant. Not a great day to throw the ball, but not a complete washout either. I’ve witnessed games in this stadium that were worse.

• My Memorial Stadium rain day memory is from 1999. Northwestern was the opposition and it was played in a downpour. At the time, Memorial Stadium’s then-grass field was relatively new and it took a beating. That’s also the game that Adewale Ogunleye got hurt in. After a difficult recovery process, Ogunleye was able to have a long career in the NFL. I remember talking to him about that when I covered him as a member of the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XXXXI.

• What will the crowd be like today? I think it will be late-arriving … why sit out in the rain if you don’t have to? The grass lots are open – there was some fear they might have to be closed – so that helps with the logistics. I think the way I look at it is that it will be a good turnout for a rainy day, but it won’t be a sellout and it probably won’t be to Curt Cignetti’s satisfaction.

It’s a probable column topic, but Cignetti is being confronted by the fact that the state of Indiana does not live and die with college football. It’s going to take some time, and some proven success, to get the level of support he’s seeking. It will not happen overnight and it definitely won’t happen with inclement weather.

• Don’t want to stray too far off-topic, but one thing that will influence turnout today just a bit is the fact that so many high school football games were postponed on Friday night across the state, especially the southern half of the state. Many of them are being played concurrent with the Indiana game. (And Purdue’s game too.)

Why? It rained, it was windy for a bit, but it was not hazardous conditions. When I covered high school football, I covered games in worse conditions. It just seems that these kind of decisions are made ahead of time and well-intended ideas of safety-first can lead to being too cautious.

• Fashion report: Indiana never deviates from its red jersey, white pants, red helmet combo. Maryland, which has a lot of potential uniform combinations, went with a traditional look. Red helmet, white jersey, red pants. Boomer Esiason and Frank Reich approve.

• If you missed it late last night, Rutgers held off Washington 21-18 to remain unbeaten. Are you ready for the Indiana-Rutgers Big Ten championship game?

Other games in the Big Ten today include: Minnesota is at Michigan in the Little Brown Jug game. Nebraska is at Purdue in the noon windown. Wisconsin plays at Southern California in the 3:30 p.m. timeslot. Ohio State at Michigan State and Illinois at Penn State are in the 7:30 p.m. window. And we got our first true taste of Big Ten After Dark as UCLA hosts Oregon at 11 p.m.

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore issued a letter to the Catholics of his archdiocese on Wednesday urging the faithful to reject Maryland’s Question 1, a ballot initiative that he labeled an “extreme step of enshrining the legality of abortion” in the state’s constitution.

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore issued a letter to the Catholics of his archdiocese on Wednesday urging the faithful to reject Maryland’s Question 1, a ballot initiative that he labeled an “extreme step of enshrining the legality of abortion” in the state’s constitution.

Local pro-life activists in Maryland have also redoubled their efforts against Question 1 — spotlighting that the constitutional amendment, if approved by voters, would have a drastic impact on other controversial issues besides abortion — including parental rights related to their child’s procurement of abortion and minors’ “use of puberty-blocking drugs and surgical mutilation of reproductive anatomy.”

The Archdiocese of Baltimore sent Archbishop Lori’s message via e-mail and posted it on its Flocknote page. The cleric first reiterated the Church’s teaching on “the most fundamental right of all, the right to life.” He also underlined: “We are called by our faith to uphold human dignity at all stages of life, from natural conception to natural death.”

The archbishop continued by outlining the stakes with the ballot measure: “Question 1 seeks to enshrine abortion in the Maryland state constitution, an action that is both unnecessary and harmful … It is harmful because it would divert resources away from efforts that promote the well-being of women, children, and families.”

Archbishop Lori added that “[r]ather than taking the extreme step of enshrining the legality of abortion in the Maryland Constitution, we should work to create a culture where no woman feels as though she must choose between the life of her child and a bright future.”

The Archbishop issued his letter less than six weeks before Election Day. Meanwhile, pro-life groups in Maryland have mobilized due to the short window of time before the vote.

Maryland Right to Life posted a “Voter Alert” about Question 1 on its website. The nonprofit organization noted the broad scope of the proposal and continued with a list of other possible radical effects of the amendment — including how it “threatens parental rights to make medical decisions for our children,” “restricts free speech and religious exemptions,” and “threatens [the] existence of pregnancy resource centers.” 

The group also promoted the materials of Marylanders For Health Not Harm, a coalition decrying the “deceptive ‘Reproductive Freedom’ amendment.”

Laura Bogley, the executive director of Maryland Right to Life, quoted one of the bill’s sponsors, state Sen. Dawn Gile, who testified that the amendment “would create new and broader rights than abortion, including the right of an individual to alter one’s reproductive anatomy.” Gile’s campaign website also highlights her stance on the main issue: “I am proud to be endorsed by Planned Parenthood and Pro-Choice Maryland.”

Gile stood immediately behind Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as he signed a package of bills in May 2023 — including the one that authorized Question 1. The package also included another piece of legislation that she voted for — the so-called “Trans Health Equity Act” — which, according to an Associated Press report, “expands the number of procedures relating to gender-affirming care that are covered by the state’s Medicaid program … [including] any medically necessary treatment consistent with current clinical standards of care prescribed by a licensed health care provider for the treatment of a condition related to the individual’s gender identity.”

Bogley also gave her own blunt assessment of the ballot measure: “The deceptive … [amendment] is a Trojan horse, intended to trick parents into giving up their parental rights for abortion rights already fully protected in state law. … Maryland’s abortion laws would not substantially change, but parents would lose their rights and potentially lose custody of their children if they refuse to comply with the state’s radical agenda to transition children, causing our kids permanent reproductive harm.”

Maryland is among 10 states that will have ballot initiatives on abortion in November. Nebraska has competing pro-life and pro-abortion state constitutional amendments up for voter approval. Earlier in September, Missouri’s state Supreme Court upheld the inclusion of a pro-abortion state amendment on that state’s ballot. The other states that will have ballot measures on abortion in November are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota.