bigrod

The people who funded this got exactly what they paid for: high priced players and a coach who thinks he is way better than he is. And, allowing their egos and his to be higher priority than the program.

Mike Woodson's biggest enemy is Mike Woodson. Or actually, maybe Mike Woodson's ego.

I knew this thread would grow its legs again soon. This is even sooner than I expected, but that was way worse than I expected. Wow...

So, we needed to play until midnight? :)

But they don't question Mike Woodson.

They're grasping at straws. Just one more season of mediocrity on Ballard's growing mediocre resume. And for all we hear of Steichen's offensive genius, the offense sure isn't scoring many points, no matter who is at QB. What. A. Mess.

Yep, control what you can control.

I have to say, I hope you're wrong. What has Ballard accomplished in his time there? If he's still around, it means that they are comfortable with his brand of mediocrity. They keep acting like his drafts are great, but we're not seeing it on the field.

I think (hope) he stays too, but I wonder if he loses both OC and DC. Hopefully they have been grooming replacements.

Ballard has to know he's on his way out, right? They aren't getting any better.

My guess is Ballard knows he has to win to save his job, so he isn't as worried about trying to let AR develop. What a mess...

At some point, we have to realize Ballard is not this genius he was made out to be when hired. He has done nothing but stack mediocrity on bad on mediocrity. His way of building the team is making them irrelevant year after year. Time to move on to someone who has a set and is willing to make big time decisions.

I always thought Eric Anderson never really got the credit he deserved. He was he did make all big ten in 91, so l guess maybe he was more appreciated than I remember. He was just a tough, steady, player who did all the little things to help the team win.

For me, I'll believe the expectations when I see it. I realize it was just a scrimmage, but while I saw some nice talent, I didn't see much to make me believe we are going to be a great shooting team (outside of Goode). I think this needs to be a good shooting team for a whole lot to change. But I'll be happy to be proven wrong.

Surely that's not the problem. He's accomplished so much. Just ask him.

I've been watching IU football for years and this team is just simply different than any team I can remember, even going back to the Mallory years. They are just fundamentally sound, play hard nosed defense, and a fun offense. The portal definitely helped, but you can also see the coaching in these players. Even when they were turning the ball over in the first half yesterday, this team was always in it because they didn't throw in the towel like years past. I'm having so much fun watching this team. Finally!

Not only not building a good secondary, but depending on a starter who is made of glass.

Brents injured again and on IR. Has he ever played 2 games in a row?

I agree. Last year, this was probably more like 38-17 win.

I agree with everything except extending him with an E8 appearance. Our biggest failure over the last 20+ years is sustainment. Personally, I'll be elatedly shocked by an Elite 8 out of Woodson, but either way, he needs to show he can put together more than a good year here and there. He needs to show that he can build the program for yearly success, especially if he's going to depend so heavily on the portal.

...and they just continue to mismanage every situation. That seems to be the one constant.

I guess maybe they're worried about cap space ;)

I would hope so. Could have really helped last year.

I hope you're right.

I'm having a hard time with even the "on paper" part. I'm not saying the roster isn't vastly improved, it definitely is, but there are just so many new pieces. Having all of them fit together with the current pieces and having minimal issues is a big ask. We had less new pieces last season and sometimes they didn't seem to fit together well into the season. Lots of new personalities and styles to expect a smooth transition in my opinion.