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IU 56 ISU 3

They jokingly nicknamed Sarratt "Waffle House" because he is always open

Mendoza: 17/24 216 yards 4TD 0INT

IMO, too early in the staff's tenure to get a very accurate read into how the staff prefers to operate / strategy for roster building. We will get a sense for that over time after a few cycles are under their belt IMO. I think cost was an "overweighted" factor in their first cycle because they had to fill 13 spots, so they couldn't pay top dollar for some guys. HS kids being the more affordable way to build makes sense intuitively. Don't think players like Rippey are "build" the program types though. And they definitely won't accept getting paid like one. Point being, bang for buck, IMO highly rated HS point guards aren't the best value in this market / are big gambles to take. Tying up big money for a guy who may not be able to deliver what you need from him. I'd rather get the next Javon Small than Rippey or any other freshman. You pair a guy like that with some combo of Allmond, Taylor and Muurinen + some portal guys, you got a pretty solid roster... IMO

I'd comfortably assume that most competitive programs in need of a lead guard will prefer to hit the portal instead of handing the keys over to a freshman anyway.

Steve Ballmer is living proof that having billions of dollars does not mean you have outlier smarts. This is no more sophisticated than mob tactics in Waste Management lmao. What a story. Wonder if he will be forced to sell.

IU 38 them 10

Good thing it was the first game of the season and good college football teams improve week to week early in the season. First time following CFB/IUFB?

We are going to win at least 8 games this year and if today's game from Mendoza makes you think we are going to win 6 or 7 I think you're way overreacting. Enjoy your evening too. Lol

Miss this guy on the line.

I acknowledged in a different post that ND has a talent advantage but the same principle of improving during the season holds. They figured out a way to make it work and I trust our staff to do the same with Mendoza, who I don't think is nearly as challenged as Leonard as a QB. By no means to I expect another CFP run, but I'm not ready to cap the ceiling after one game is all. Definitely need Mendoza to be great and some luck to make another run.

Because some guys grade a given throw as risky on a scale of -2 to +2 doesn't really tell you much in a meaningful way. People extrapolate PFF grades to all sorts of wacky arguments, like calling a QB that threw 6 INTs last year a poor decision maker and turnover prone. Lol

PFF is about as analytical as it gets. Based off subjective data though. PFF aka Pretty Flawed, Frankly. Lol Maybe he had a very high "expected turnover %\throw" ... he still threw 6 picks last year. That's the objective data. Regardless I don't think we have to worry about Mendoza creating a ceiling of 6-7 wins for this team. At least not after one performance. Let's see how things look come B10 season.

... so you don't have "deep analytics" to support your claim? :)

All true. That said, if Riley Leonard could game manage ND to the CFB title game, I think Mendoza could manage us into the CFP. Leonard was god awful most of the year as a passer and they became a very one dimensional offense. Trusting in Cig. 1-0. Like you said, time to straighten things out.