Lebowski

I think that's legitimately up for debate. The only way to know that is if ND joins the conference. There is a history of every Big Ten opponent ND has faced and the only schools that have a winning record against them is OSU (4-2) and UM (19-17-1). PSU is 9-9-1 against the Irish. Looking at the USC history, ND holds the all time lead with 48-37-5. I think it's safe to say depending on the schedule with 20 teams in the conference ND could actually benefit. There could a be scenario where ND never plays OSU, UM, or PSU. An example schedule: USC, IU, UI, Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue, Northwestern, MSU, Minnesota I'm assuming USC would be a protected opponent. ND's schedule this year is comparable to OSU's. They have 3 top 10 ranked opponents. 2 of the 3 are home games. Might actually be a little tougher when it's all said and done. It will all depend on how schools like IUFB and Duke do in their respective conferences.

They've been able to participate in the CFP a couple of times, so personally I wouldn't mind if they'd join the B1G. They loss to the eventual champions and had a better showing then OSU against Bama in 2020-2021. In those two appearances they were undefeated 2018-2019, and won against #1 ranked Clemson during the regular season in the 2020-2021 season. Clemson got em in the ACC Championship. (2020 season ND played as a member of the ACC due to COVID) So if ND is a fake elitists it's safe to say every conference other than the SEC are fake elitists as well. Because there's not a good track record for other conferences in the CFP, unfortunately. The last four championship games have been blowouts and SEC domination. This season, for sure, unless of course they turned things around during the off season. But that would not be the case year after year. Here's a prime example of what I've been saying: In the 2018 season ND finished 13-0 ranked #4 in the final CFP rankings. With the 12 team schedule they don't get a bye, they would have been a 5 seed and have hosted a game against Penn State who lost to UK in the Citrus Bowl. PSU lost to UM, OSU and MSU that year. While ND beat UM. OSU would leap frog to a 4 seed although being ranked 6. The more this plays out the more ND will re-evaluate staying independent. And if they decide to join a conference why not have them join ours? I'm not trying to be a big advocate of ND here, so please understand that first and foremost. I'm just saying adding that football program to the Big Ten would improve the conference. And I think that's the overall goal of what the big wigs calling the shots are trying to accomplish because the SEC is king at this point. I don't agree with the current path but I also know I will still watch the product. Some things to note: While looking up ND's history, I saw that IUFB would have qualified for the 12 team CFP in 2020-2021. They would have traveled to OU. I'm so looking forward to this expansion.

No disagreement from me. They'll always have a path to the CFP but with the current format they'll never have a bye week. And with 20 team conferences it's fair to say those top six at-large bids will be tough to get for a school like ND. It's doable for them but I'm not sure it's easier per se instead of just joining a conference. It'll all depend on how they schedule.

My bad, forgot about that. Hopefully it'll jump to 16! LOL!

I think we're in a holding pattern regarding easy paths to the CFP due to the conference and playoff expansions. Even if it goes to a 12 or more team playoff system and 20 team conferences. If ND stays independent they will have to schedule against the 20 team conferences and not bottom feeder programs either. It might actually be easier to join a conference to get a bid into the CFP. 20 team conferences means less conferences. So instead of P5 we are most likely looking at P4 or P3. There are likely scenarios where conference championship games will have undefeated teams facing each other. And 3rd and 4th place conference teams with 1 or 2 losses. So it wouldn't be out of the the question to see the top 3 finishers in each conference get in the CFP while ND is set aside because they loss 1 game that year. You would think a 1 loss ND team would be automatic in a 12 team playoff system but that would all depend on their schedule. For example, this year they have OSU, Clemson, and USC on the schedule. They can't afford to lose to these opponents to where if they were in the conference they could lose to one of them and still be able to have a solid shot at getting a bid in the CFP. They won't be able to schedule Central Michigan and Tennessee St, also on their schedule this year. They might have to drop Navy and will with out a doubt have to schedule tougher opponents just to be able to sit at the table. ND scheduled IUFB in 2030 and 2031. At the current trajectory, that's not a good opponent for ND to have on the resume. Even though they are playing a B1G opponent that doesn't mean it's a quality one. If the CFP stays at a 6 team system it gets worse for them. They could go undefeated and still not get a bid. Especially if the scheduled 'P5' teams they played finished 3rd or below in their respective 20 team conferences.

TV Money. Follow the money. Here's a interesting write up. I don't know the validity of the website but I thought the writer covered some interesting things. 'In his 1984 dissent of the Board of Regents decision, Justice Byron White (a Colorado football alum) wrote that the NCAA’s existence could be “threatened by unbridled competition in the economic sphere.” While college administrators have used his line of thinking to claim athletes’ economic competition would kill college sports, it appears that their own economic ambitions could sink the system.' https://frontofficesports.com/tv-money-built-power-5-then-destroyed-it/ I foresee a legal battle with student-athletes wanting a piece of the network money pie. Buckle up.

I foresee a B1G and SEC only conference in the future. Much like what pro leagues have. (NFL: AFC v NFC, MLB:NL v AL, NBA: EC v WC, etc. etc.) And I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is what the NCAA desires. It's unfortunate because non-P5 schools are screwed. In my neck of the woods, schools like UE and USI will be toast if the NCAA turns into a two conference association.

I doubt it. I would think they're going to give the new flex schedule a try for a cycle or two.

Top 100 OT out of Mount Horeb, WI 247 Rivals On3

Terminating Fitz tells me the media might have actually had their ducks in a row on this. Because Fitz was a lifer.

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The NW-Fitz thing is unfortunate. I never played at the college level so I'm completely oblivious with the ins and outs and what have you but I played the sport for 10 years and I recall being hazed with the teams I played on only once. I was a sophomore starting DB on the varsity and was 'hazed' by my fellow defensive LBs (all upperclassmen). And I wouldn't really consider it hazing. They picked me up in the locker room and carried me over to the toilet and began to attempt a swirly (Is that what they call these days?) only to pull me up before it ever happened. And this happened after a couple weeks into the season to where I was able to prove to hold my on own on the field for the team. It was all in good fun and all parties involved, including myself, never really felt threatened or came off as serious. Basically, a lot of smiles and zero issues. It felt more like an initiation and welcome to band of brothers more than anything. Were there incidents (questionable wtf moments) in the locker room where a one off player confrontation occurred? Yes. Were those confrontations personal? Yes. Were they ever a team building thing? No. Can I count on one hand how many times it occurred? Yes, once. Were the two players involved reprimanded by the coaching staff? Abso-effin'-lutely! So my question to anyone that has played at the next level. Is this a thing (the hazing part, not the accusations of abuse etc. etc.) that occurs at the college level often?

Doing away with the divisions is a huge upgrade for IUFB. They no longer will face arguably the three best football programs in the conference year after year. They will now only face Purdue year after year. 2024 Schedule Conference Away: MSU, Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin Home: Maryland, Minnesota, PSU, Purdue, UCLA Non-Conference Away: Louisville Home: FIU, Charlotte 2025 Schedule Conference Away: Illinois, Maryland, OSU, Purdue, USC Home: Iowa, Michigan, MSU, Rutgers Non-Conference Home: Old Dominion, Louisville, Indiana State

I don't think they're focusing on MAC recruits per se. I'd imagine they're just not getting any interest from their first options? I do think however they are ramping up more on the portal than high school recruits. As they should because it makes sense if you think about it. The current portal situation is a perfect storm for schools like IUFB and last year CTA took full advantage of it. I wholeheartedly agree about getting both P5 and upgrades from the portal but IUFB historically just isn't that type of football program, unfortunately.

Or a shift in recruiting strategy now that NIL and the transfer portal is in the mix? IUFB's 2023 transfer class was in the top 20. I've said this on here before but this would be my strategy if I were coaching. I'd focus on the portal and try to land recruits that can fill holes. From what it looks like this is the same direction CTA is going. He landed 23 transfers and 14 high school recruits last year. Whether or not it works remains to be seen. But yeah, not getting solid P5 recruits interested to begin with is a cause for concern, for me at least. Somewhat related but unrelated, in my opinion, until IU Athletics gets serious about IUFB this will always be an issue. The NIL dollars allocated don't seem to be distributed very high to the program and that makes a difference. I just don't see the Athletic Dept. ever getting serious about the football program based on the program's entire history. It's also cheaper to not focus on the football program. I think the AD is happy to see the program finish .500 or very close to .500. They probably see that as a success. Just like us sorry saps cheering for IUFB, I think the department is exuberant when they have a winning season. It's a shame but wouldn't surprise me.

The optics don't look good for sure. I personally don't take too much stock into those rankings now that the transfer portal is here. Because by the time these kids step foot on the grid iron in Bloomington there will be transfers added to the class. Keep in mind last year's class due to the transfer portal ended up boosting in rank when it was all said and done.

Top Ranked LS out of Phoenix, AZ 247 On3 Kohl's

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ATH, expected to play WR, out of Cincinnati, OH 247 Rivals On3 Twitter