cthomas

What is the problem with competing for playing time? I would think that being part of arguably the best IU football team ever, plus the benefits on campus that go with that, would be enough. I don't understand today's kids.

It will at least be a measuring stick for where we are now. Hopefully, it exposes things that still need to be done.

ND football fans, the entitled people on the planet.

I don't know what this season will bring, but looking at the roster it seems to be significantly better than last year. We can argue about coaching all day and all night, but just by rolling the ball out without any coach, they should still be better.

I'm at the point that I'm not going to believe anything until I see the kid in the IU team photo.

That's the thing about Rourke, he sees the defense and makes the exactly the right decision, very quickly. And he does as if he has all the time in the world. He is the perfect complement to our coach. Calm and collected at all times. I hope that enough of that has rubbed off on Jackson that he can do what we need to continue our success. I'm sure CCC will do everything needed to make him successful. I've just become really comfortable with Rourke leading one of the best offenses in the country. Gus Johnson suggested that Rourke should be in the Heisman discussion. I'm not going to argue.

I like TJ a lot but don't think he can do the things that KR can do. Rourke is an elite qb in my opinion. He just makes it look so easy. CCC has said that TJ lacks consistency and is Rourke's strength. This might put more pressure on the defense.

Yes. I remember that year very well. Does have kinda the same feel. I listened to every game on the radio and watched the Rose Bowl game. I had great hopes for the next season until some social issues derailed the year. But the Rose Bowl year was special.

College athletics today is a marketplace. Whether for players or coaches, you have to be able to make wise decisions about who you keep and who you let go. The trick is being smart about value.

I agree. If we are serious about competing with the big boys, we need to compete in the compensation arena as well. Pay him enough and he will probably stay.

I'm not sure it does. If he doesn't want to play here then he should definitely go somewhere else. It's not a program breaker in my opinion. The portal changes everything. I really wanted Fland last year. Didn't get him. What we did get in the portal is better, maybe much better, in my opinion. My point is that in today's world, high school players matter less and less. Let kids go somewhere, see how they play, then make the good ones a great offer in the portal. I used to really want Indiana kids. But if they don't want to play in Indiana, then good luck wherever they go. I no longer care.

I'm not sure what the difference is. Playing time should be earned in practice. A player who is afraid to compete for minutes may not be a player I would want. I don't know anything about the conversations that go on between the staff and the players, so I just respond to speculation and inference. But, I will reiterate, if guarantees of playing time are involved, I'm not interested. That's just me.

The Cigs 31 - Cornholers 17 I don't know how we got this coach, but he is impossible to bet against.

Given our history, I'm shocked that IU ended with this guy as our coach. I hope it's a sign of competence returning to the athletic department. Or maybe it's just a case of blind squirrel syndrome.

I agree. High school players asking for or demanding promises of playing time without competing for or earning the minutes completely turn me off.

I lost serious interest in this recruitment a while ago. The drama surrounding high school kids is just too much. A second or third year portal guy is likely to be better than a freshman who really wants to be gone after one year. And money allocated to him goes back into the pot for someone else.

I'm willing to let this season play out. I'm also willing to let people evolve and grow. Can CMW do that? I don't know but he is not the only one looking at the program and wanting better results. I also believe that he honestly cares about IU basketball. So, this season will tell us everything we need to know.

We owe them for the 69-17 beat down in 1978. I think we were undefeated at the time. A total waste of my Saturday afternoon.

I agree in terms of his approach to the game. But I think CCC doesn't have the personality demons that CBK had. CBK was a brilliant basketball coach who couldn't get out of his own way. I don't see any of those faults in CCC. If we can keep him here he will take IU football to places it has never been.

Absolutely right. The NCAA has been mostly a worthless organization. Honestly, something new is needed to deal with the new reality. In my delusional world I thought that there were good guys and bad guys. Now I know that there were just varying shades of gray. The marketplace is seriously messed up in terms of how it values different occupations in my opinion. The money going to anyone to play a game or coach a game does t mesh with the needs of our world. Just my opinion, nothing else.

I understand the reality in today's world. I don't have any influence on, but I don't have to like it. Giving everything a dollar value just doesn't align with my 60's values. And by the way, GET OFF MY LAWN!

In my opinion this is completely out of control to the point of being ridiculous. My answer to the is he worth it question is, no.

I'd be heart attack level surprised if Mgbako returns for year three.

I don't want to bag on CTA because I think he is a good man who never should have been made IU's head coach. I never thought that LEO was ever going to be something that would be successful in big time college football. He was a cheerleader instead of a coach. CCC is the coach IU has needed forever. The more I hear him speak, the more I am convinced he is the right guy at the right time.

I actually like being under estimated. Take us lightly and we'll kick your @$$. It's amazing to me that an IU football team can beat a team by double digits on the road and we still talk things we didn't do particularly well. We are in uncharted territory. I haven't felt this way about IU football since 1967.