Magnanimous

It’s all brand name and familiarity for the talking heads. Ohio State’s schedule this year is comparable to ours last year. No one is criticizing them for not having played any real completion (sans maybe Texas, who was a mess at the start of the season). And if OSU won @Oregon this year they’d be ranked #1 and there would be no team ranked 2nd.

For all you 90s kids out there.

Michigan is terrible this year. They had a very fortunate schedule.

I know we’re now “that team” when I watch the rest of the country play. For the first time ever you can see how much better and more balanced we are than the standard college football team, including many brand name programs. We have size up front that, when combined with our play calling and ball IQ, rivals any top pass rush in the country. Our DBs actually pick the ball off and team tackle. Our offense knows which play to make given the situation. We can run over anyone. We have an elite tandem at WR, like OSU, plus another 3 deep with Riley, Becker and Williams. Our QB is poised, elite, and can run. Our coach is a football maven. Our special teams are efficient. OSU really hasn’t played a team like us. They’re rightfully 1a heading into the game, while we’re 1b, but it’s truly a toss up. This isn’t a “if we win it will be close/if they win it could get ugly” type of game. I truly believe that we can win and win by more than one score. I feel more confident going into this game than @Oregon. My biggest concern is the health of our o-line and if we can be balanced in our pass blocking. But we’re also indoors, at home, and you can tell that our team is excited at this opportunity and will not play scared for one minute.

How many more times do we need to do this before we start referring to West Lafayette as “Bloomington North” (ya know, like how we get called West Columbus by OSU fans…and because Purdue runs a high school program…)?

Alberto > Jeremiyah Love.

Just realized that Cig is a combination of Saban and Aldous Snow….and now I can’t unsee it.

I would assume that Cig plans to go his entire career at IU without giving up a point to Purdue.

Is it bad or the new normal that I have no idea who any of these guys are? The apathy of the last few years and constant roster turnover have not incentivized getting familiar with anyone until it’s proven to be worth the effort by the team’s performance (although I’m encouraged so far!).

Whoever they hire should keep him on staff as associate head coach. Kind of like how we should’ve with Mike Davis after hiring someone else after Knight left.

Penn State with their heads on straight is still top 4 in the Big Ten, too.

“Big Wink” level miss??

If Sark leaves after this year then it’s definitely on the table.

I don’t know…the distraction wouldn’t come from him, and Cig’s shadow looms large. It wouldn’t be a Bronny James to USC type situation.

Should be Arch.

Ohio State will either lose @Michigan and then go on a run or lose in the CFP. They play much better with a chip on their shoulder.

Texas A&M has not played an SEC team yet above this line.

We may not win 66-0, but I think Cig intends to go his entire career here without giving up a point to them.

Did they ever announce what exactly happened to Wyatt? And the report was likely “out for the season,” but it read like he could possibly come back for the playoffs.

While I’m not arguing that Ohio State should necessarily be below us, but they are getting way too much credit for how they’re winning (“playing with their food,” as the CFB pundits are putting it). They’ve played no one other than Texas. Their win @Washington is being given way too much weight.

Get Fernando two more 85% completion games with 5 TDs each against Wisconsin and Purdue and this should be put to bed.

Politely remind them that Ohio State finished fourth in the Big Ten last year and didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs!

Was this site down during the game? I was at the game, and with 100,000 people in attendance there was no cell service and no checking BTB during the game. Let me tell you all that that was a great win despite Penn State being 3-6.They still have top 15 talent playing for them and when they click they can compete with most teams. It’s incredible how much they have tripped up late in games this year, because they could easily also be 8-1 with a loss still to Ohio State. Yesterday felt like their last stand and they showed up against us. I’m from a Penn State family and have gone to games there since I was a kid. While it wasn’t a nighttime whiteout environment, their crowd still showed up and brought a lot of intensity once Penn State showed they were going to play with a pulse today. It affected our execution at some times, but Mendoza and Coogan were largely unfazed. But the point is that we got their crowd’s best in the second half and still rallied with complete composure. I wouldn’t look too much into this game from the “are we legit for barely winning?” lens. Penn State is a very talented team with a top 5 home field advantage. When it mattered most, with our best WR out of the game, we drove right down the field and won it. Some pundits will see this as a gritty road win against what was supposed to be a national title contending team. Others will hold it against us and say we got lucky to beat a winless Big Ten team. And all will say we clearly are a step behind Ohio State…It’s nonsense. We won in a situation that plenty of top teams lose every year, including Ohio State last season with Michigan. I also remember Ohio State once struggling with a Zander Diamont team at home the same year they won the title. We may get jumped by A&M this week in the rankings, but who cares. This team is a national title contending team, and we now have Wisconsin, Purdue and a bye to clean things up and get healthy for the Big Ten Championship, which we very much can win.

Would it be reasonable to say that after just one game (against Alabama A&M) that I like this team more than any IU team in the last 9 seasons?