Lebowski

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.

I will be surprised if The Nandolarian doesn't produce. Rourke was hand picked, just like The Nandolarian. Buckle up, we're in for a treat. Every single starting QB in Coach Cig's system has produced. "That’s just a historical fact." -Coach Cig Gang, I cannot stress enough just how lucky we are to have a really good football coach and staff. We need to get accustomed to having a solid football team every year. Hopefully this year will quiet all the skeptics.

Losing Fish, Ponds or Kamara will be devastating, no doubt. So let's hope we don't lose any of them! LOL! Injuries happen and isn't anything new. The two LBs have a combined total of 307 snaps (Hardy 107 snaps and Jones 207 snaps) from last year. I don't know who starts but either one of them will be Fish's back up. I'm guessing Jones, but again, no clue if that will be the case. Assuming Jones is the back up, I still think he'll end up getting a lot of snaps this season. Definitely more than 200 and probably closer to double that number. It think the staff is going to want him to be the back up for Fisher so they have experience behind him if any type of injury happens. Quentin Clark must have really made an impression to the staff because, again, they didn't add someone in the portal. He only played 1 snap last year but he has had a full year of development in the books. And I think he gets a lot more snaps this year as well. Regarding the DL, Landino played 140 snaps over 12 games last year. He did that on an 11 win P2 team. He was recruited by Coach Cig and staff at JMU and they believed in him enough to offer him at IU. They didn't red shirt him for good reason. How many times do you see a DL that is barely a 3* make any kind of impact in their true freshman season? But he did. He might be an anomaly. I do fully understand your concern but I just have faith in this staff. They develop players, put the pieces together, and have won at every school they have coached. They've done it at every stop. IUFB finally has a coaching staff with continuity and that's why I'm so optimistic. Most importantly, let's hope no major injuries occur and this type of discussion is just for us to kill time until the season starts. Cause man, I don't even want to think about an injured Fish.

I'm not worried about the WR and the defense in general. Yeah, there are question marks about some back-ups on the D but they're still pretty solid with depth. LB - There are two LB's (Hardy and Jones) that can play both spots (WILL and MIKE) in a pinch. I'm guessing that's the reason why they didn't add another LB in the portal. It also means the staff probably likes where they're at in terms of depth. Quentin Clark comes to mind. And who knows what PJ Nelson and Jamari Farmer will do. Farmer is pretty much a clone of Hardy. DL - They added a lot of depth in the portal and we're going to see some solid rotation!!! They aren't going to replace CJ West so heavy rotation is what I fully suspect. I'm extremely high on Stephen Daley. Kellan Wyatt played a hybrid EDGE/LB type at Maryland, so who knows if he ends up on the line or with the LBs or both! DB - Another position that was hit in the portal. Some really solid players that can contribute and make impact plays to help Ponds. WR - They are stacked from top to bottom. The lowest guy in that room is Charlie Becker. They lost Morris but gained Brady from Cal, someone The Nandolarian is familiar with. Our defense should be really really good. Like win some important games good, even with injuries, should that god forbid happen. Bottom line, this team is the most stacked IUFB has ever had. A lot of the backups would be successful starters for a lot of our previous teams, which isn't saying much, but it gives you a picture. I am a biased homer and might be talking out of my ars but I truly feel like this is our best team we've ever had. For real.

The Dude abides. The roster is the most loaded it has ever been in its entire history. The only positions that worry me is QB and OL, due to lack of depth (injuries happen). All other positions, in my opinion, are good to go. Assuming a healthy roster, the Illinois game will tell us a lot.

No clue who "The Bank Shot Podcast" is and what kind of clout they have. What I do know is that it's glorious to see the trident on this list. And some of y'all are upset we aren't ranked higher! Frakin' love it! Times have changed fellow IUFB faithful. Times have changed. "We're going to change the way people think." -Coach Cig

I'd be surprised if the Big Ten would want to pursue any Florida school and vice versa. Notre Dame, Duke, Louisville, and Stanford would be the schools that I would bet on the Big Ten trying to land. All four of them have extreme benefits for the conference.

No clue. If that's the case, I'd assume it wouldn't happen until after the contract expires. Isn't the ACC contracted with ESPN, just like the SEC?

This is wild and I wonder if Belichick has anything to do with this. If that happens that'll cause an ACC panic. I would bet the house Clemson would join them. That would put the SEC at 18 schools and leaves the ACC scrambling just like the PAC12 pre SC and UCLA. It'll then be a race to scoop up the ACC schools to get to 20 in both the Big Ten and SEC. Notre Dame will be absolutely destroyed and forced to join a conference. Likely schools to join the SEC: UNC Clemson Florida State Miami Likely schools to join the Big Ten: Louisville Notre Dame Other schools in the mix: Duke, Va Tech, NC State, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Stanford