Lebowski

I can't wait until they expand to a 24 or 32 team playoff. Personally, I think they should go ahead and adopt the FCS format like, yesterday.

1. Depends. Short answer, more than likely. But if there are multiple 10-2 teams it gets trickier. For example, if UM, Illini, a dark horse (say USC) and some SEC schools finish 10-2, then we got an uphill battle. Finishing undefeated or with one loss then we're back in the playoffs 100%. 2. PLAYOFFS!! Aside from winning it, a CFP appearance is the most prestigious accomplishment in college football. It's the reason we're currently get hammered by the SEC media about our appearance last year. They want that spot for a reason. We broke the status quo by going 11-1 in the Big Ten conference. Now the selection committee is changing the criteria on getting an at-large selection. Going forward, we should be looking at playing in a non CFP bowl as a participation trophy. CFP gets the eyes of the 5 and 4 star recruits, it brings in more money to the program, it improves the brand, it is the whole enchilada. It's the new tradition now. Wanting to play in a bowl over the CFP is like saying you would rather walk to your vacation destination instead of flying to it.

THIS^^^ Non-con games for the big dogs have the same issues we're talking about here in this thread. We're just new at this kind of stuff. LOL!

For me, the 2024 season alone is good enough to hoist a Coach Cig statue.

Give it time. A lot of folks are skeptic about IUFB. Many think last year was a fluke and are in a holding pattern. This year should change all that. Cost of living these days might also be another equation. Folks are pinching pennies, myself included.

Works for me. LOL! Make a 68 team for all I care. I was just pumping the 24 team layout because it already works for the NCAA. And the format is pretty good.

Oh please please come to fruition! FBS should just adopt the FCS 24 team model and be done with it.

Since Gov. Braun has been running things there have been some major changes regarding his power. He's able to remove and appoint IU Board of Trustees members. So far he's replaced 6 trustees with 6 conservatives. He's also been on record saying he wished IU is better aligned with what the school up north (lost to IUFB 66-0) was doing. Braun is a school up north (lost to IUFB 66-0) grad. He's got a lot of power at the moment. Just google "braun iu trustees" if you want to learn a little more about the current state of things. Just a friendly reminder, IUFB, 66-0.

I hope you're right. IUFB has never had this much support from the very top. She's a pioneer in that way and so far is an integral part to the equation of success.

I wasn't sure where to post this. Believe it or not, it's related to IUFB because she has fully supported the program. I am going to restrain from my personal opinion on the matter due to the political nature. From an IU athletic department point of view, if she is fired, it has potential to be a devastating hit to the football program.

Personally, I'm fine with Michigan's rank. They finished strong last year. This also helps the conference strength talking points, etc. etc.. However, I will not be surprised if they end up out of the top 20 due to a true freshman at QB. To be fair, they play at Oklahoma. I don't know why OK is even ranked but admittedly, I also don't know anything about the team. Regardless, that'll be a tough task for Underwood to produce in that environment on the road.

Possible record scenarios leading up to the big games. Illinois - 9/20 IUFB most likely will be 3-0 ILL might already have one loss against Duke. It's likely both teams will be unbeaten. My hope is IUFB is 3-0 and the Illini are at least 2-1 going into this week. It'll be a game most likely competing for a College GameDay/Big Noon Kick Off weekend should those records hold up. The other possible games competing this week are Florida at Miami, Oregon State at Oregon, Washington at Wash St. at Iowa - 9/27 IUFB might have one loss against ILL 3-1 or come into the game 4-0 Iowa has two road games against rival Iowa St. and Rutgers that could give them a challenge. Road games tend to be a bit of a wildcard and if they trip up with either or both of these two it wouldn't surprise me. However, if I had to guess, they'll probably be coming into the game either undefeated or with one loss. My hope is IUFB is 4-0 and Iowa is at least 3-1 or 2-2 going into this week. at Oregon - 10/11 IUFB 5-0, 4-1, 3-2 Ducks have a pretty interesting schedule. They host Oklahoma St 9/6, play a noon game at Northwestern 9/13, host rival Oregon St 9/20, and a night game at Penn St 9/27. (West coast schools traveling has its own set of challenges and they have a very big game in three different time zones from home.) Like IUFB, they have a bye week going into the game. On paper, Penn St. is their toughest game on their schedule, if they stay undefeated they are a clear favorite to defend the Big Ten title. However, I don't think they'll get through this schedule unscathed. If I had to guess, 1 loss minimum, 2 losses max. My hope is IUFB is 5-0 and Ducks are at least 3-2 or 4-1 going into this week. It'll be a game most likely competing for a College GameDay/Big Noon Kick Off weekend should those records hold up. The other possible games competing this week are South Carolina at LSU, Florida at Texas A&M, OSU at Illinois. at Penn St. 11/8 IUFB 9-0, 8-1, 7-2, 6-3 or the wheels have fallen completely off Penn St has a schedule they should be able to handle but the games that might challenge them are Oregon 9/27, at UCLA 10/4, at Iowa 10/18 and at O$U 11/1. The only two games that might trip them up are the Ducks and Bucks. So it's possible they could be coming into this week with 2 losses. However, they'll likely be unbeaten or have only one loss. My hope is IUFB is 9-0 and State is at least 6-2 going into this week. An on paper likely scenario is IUFB is 8-1 or 7-2 and State is 8-0 or 7-1. It'll be a really big game and most likely be a College GameDay/Big Noon Kick Off weekend should those records hold up. All kinds of possibilities can happen but the best case scenarios here really look doable should they compete and stay healthy like they did last year. Big Ten road games are tough and who knows how IUFB will handle them. It does look like that with every big game here there's a real possibility that all the teams will have already have a loss or two under their belt.

"We're going to change the culture, the mindset, the expectation level, and improve the brand of Indiana Hoosier football. There will be no self-imposed limitations on what we can accomplish." -Coach Cig 12/1/2023

It's their schedule and the fact that they're returning every starting OL (think IUFB 2023 had the OL stayed together). But digging deep into the roster and last year's production, on paper, they have some major holes to fill. We'll see it pretty early on for them when they travel to Duke.

It's preseason. I would have thought they'd crack the top 15 but whatever. The silver lining to it is we play three on the poll. Regardless, it's effin' glorious to see Indiana in a top 20 coaches poll. Times have changed.

Thanks for the info. Wasn't sure about when they sold out that game. Yeah, their schedule is 2024 IUFBesqe for sure, but that's it. Everything else isn't even remotely close to what was accomplished by our beloved Hoosiers last year.

I cringe just to bring it up but did the 2021 Cincy game sell out this early? Also, I'm just going to say it, Illinois is not as good as everyone thinks. When you dive deep into what they 'accomplished' last year and what is returning, they have some major holes to fill. I could be wrong and eat crow. But looking at the numbers, on paper, our front 5 should be able to handle their DLs and they lost major production from their avg offense last year. Altmyer's 2024 numbers have some hidden production from elsewhere that are now rookies in the NFL or have transferred out. Sure they have a lot of returning starters but when you really look at who isn't on the roster from last year's team you start to see some really big question marks. Our run game will be the key to the game. Their game at Duke will tell us a lot as well.

Yeah, well, the Dude abides.

He and I engaged the conversation to begin with. I hope I'm not coming off as combative. If I am that's certainly not my intention.

I'm just going to say this and leave it at that. I think AH1971's point is that IUFB isn't a blue blood. I could be wrong. But if I'm correct, we all agree that's true, for now. All of this winning stuff is new to us IUFB faithful. His causes for concern are legitimate concerns. He's pointing out that losing a significant impact player at any given position will break this current team. The only thing he doesn't address (or maybe he is, I'm just not seeing it) is the success rate of this coaching staff. Most of the staff have been coaching for decades. They've seen their fair share of major injuries to their football teams. They've had to start underclassmen due to injuries. They've even started true freshman when the position is earned. They have also been able to develop players at a high success rate. And they win, a lot. I could also be reading that he thinks the staff won't pull off wins with a completely decimated roster. I could be wrong. But if I'm correct, I don't disagree with that premise. I don't think any coach will win with a completely decimated roster at any level, blue bloods included. The beautiful thing about this sport is there are 22 positions to fill in order to field a team. I highly doubt we'll be seeing a roster full of backups. The numbers are just too high for that to happen. It can happen but the likelihood is low. My point being, this coaching staff knows how to handle these type of things. Losing someone like the starting QB is a big hit, but the coaching staff will make it work with RS underclassman or upperclassman that've been here for the long haul or what have you. We see is that happen all the time with good coaches. Good coaches have back up plans and back up plans to the back up plan. I'm not as concerned as AH1971 is but he does have some valid points folks. I just don't think we're going to see the days of a team below .500 (regardless of how bad the injury bug hits the team) with the current head football coach. I could be wrong and eat a poop ton of crow for making that statement, but this coach has never had a losing season, ever, so I like my chances.

I'd be shocked IUFB going 5-6 with a backup QB. I don't think you're giving this coaching staff any credit on how they handle adversity and most importantly, development of players.

Updates to the position and depth chart. It looks like Quentin Clark has been moved to DL more specifically STUD. @AH1971 I'm with you regarding the LBs. I've added that position to my list. Let's hope Kaiden Turner had an offseason for the ages.

To be fair, this year is somewhat different because we have a brand new QB coach. However, I do have faith in Coach Cig to make sure that doesn't really change things for the worse. There might be growing pains but I'd be shocked if that were the case. Because both Coach Cig and Coach Shanahan know what they're doing and will absolutely work around what kind of offensive plays work best for The Nandolarian. They have consistently worked around the personal they have to work with. We're probably going to see a lot more QB mobility type play calls. Things like rollout plays, QB draws, etc. etc.