2025 IUFB Season

[MemphisHoosier 2,517]

With four games left I took a stab at Redshirt status & eligibility for the team.  The main takeaway, and it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has watched this staff, is that very few freshmen are on track to burn this year of eligibility, the staff has been strategic on putting younger players in position to gain experience & exposure.

 

Group I - Have Exceeded the 4 game threshold

Sr. - Sarratt, Brady, Staes, Wyatt, Daley, Fisher, McCarthy

Jr. - Ponds, Ferrell

So.- Becker, Nduckwe, Landino, Hardy

Fr. - Bond and Jaylen Bell

 

Group II - Played 2-3 games, worth monitoring

Fr. - Wilkin (2 games) and Reese (3 games)

 

Group III - Played 0-1 games, On-Track to RS for the '25 season

Sr. - Tyler Morris (Injured)

Fr.  - Jacob Bell, Cuono (1 gm), Chandler (1 gm), Kendrick, Thiry, Barker (1 gm), Parker, Marek (1 gm), Calhoun, Burrus Jr., Abram, Hall, Garcia (1 gm), Nelson (1 gm), Amari Kamari, Zacharey Smith, Seaonta Stewart, Byron Baldwin (1 gm)*

*Baldwin saw his first action of the year against UCLA, I fully expect him to see the field the rest of the season

 

[LIHoosier 28,549]

IU stays at #2 in the Coaches Poll but #3 aTm gets 2 first place votes while IU doesn't get any.

[Hovadipo 63,022]

53 minutes ago, LIHoosier said:

IU stays at #2 in the Coaches Poll but #3 aTm gets 2 first place votes while IU doesn't get any.

Those GD coac….Operations Directors!

[LIHoosier 28,549]

IU stays at #2 in the AP, going from 6 to 11 first place votes

[MemphisHoosier 2,517]

29 minutes ago, LIHoosier said:

IU stays at #2 in the AP, going from 6 to 11 first place votes

I'm amazed Iowa hasn't snuck into the back half of the rankings.  No 'big wins' but they have handled business dominating Wisco, Minney, etc.

[Pagoda 6,225]

5 minutes ago, MemphisHoosier said:

I'm amazed Iowa hasn't snuck into the back half of the rankings.  No 'big wins' but they have handled business dominating Wisco, Minney, etc.

Yep.  #17 in SP+ and #20 in FPI.  But they aren’t media darlings.

Washington has a similar issue.

[DChoosier 10,312]

26 minutes ago, Pagoda said:

Yep.  #17 in SP+ and #20 in FPI.  But they aren’t media darlings.

Washington has a similar issue.

Yep. Iowa and Washington should be top 25.

Mid tier BT teams just don't seem to attract the attention that SEC teams do.
As an example Tennessee beat a crappy UK team and rose 3 spots to 14th…LOL. Their 6 wins are Syracuse, East TN State, UAB, a poor MS State in overtime, a poor Arkansas by 3 and UK.  

#19 Missouri has beaten Central Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Umass and Auburn.
 

SEC has some good teams but the “ranked gauntlet narrative” is overblown as they seem to get lower tiered teams ranked. 

[LamarCheeks 22,758]

AP rankings ... 

[str8baller 7,976]

4 hours ago, LIHoosier said:

IU stays at #2 in the Coaches Poll but #3 aTm gets 2 first place votes while IU doesn't get any.

I think it’s better for Cig and the boys if they keep the ever so slightest chip on their shoulder.

[DChoosier 10,312]

Looking like Kelly is finished at LSU.

He is 64 but the good news is that the $53,000,000 buyout he is owed should make it relatively easy for him to delay taking social security until he turns 70. 

[rcbowla 8,390]

2 lesser talked about injuries that I'm really wanting to know if anyone has any info....R.Nowakowski and B.Franke. Franke wouldn't seem big on the surface but losing the guy that limits ST opportunities for opposing teams as well as he does is pretty big imo. Anyhow, any word?

[CSP 12,329]

1 minute ago, rcbowla said:

2 lesser talked about injuries that I'm really wanting to know if anyone has any info....R.Nowakowski and B.Franke. Franke wouldn't seem big on the surface but losing the guy that limits ST opportunities for opposing teams as well as he does is pretty big imo. Anyhow, any word?

Oh I think Franke would be a massive loss

[WayneFleekHoosier 52,086]

2 lesser talked about injuries that I'm really wanting to know if anyone has any info....R.Nowakowski and B.Franke. Franke wouldn't seem big on the surface but losing the guy that limits ST opportunities for opposing teams as well as he does is pretty big imo. Anyhow, any word?

Yea, injury bug bit us good. Hope these guys aren’t too far off.


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[LamarCheeks 22,758]

FWIW -- Andy Staples of on3.com was on the Dan Patrick Show this morning. He was mostly talking about coaching openings, but then ...  

DP: Can Indiana win the national title? 

AS: Yes. This Indiana team can. This Indiana team is loaded. This Indiana team has a bunch of NFL dudes. Curt Cignetti tried to tell us and we didn't listen. They brought back almost all of what made last year's team special, and then they upgraded at quarterback when they got Fernando Mendoza from Cal. So they can absolutely compete with anybody. 

[Lebowski 4,131]

13 hours ago, rcbowla said:

2 lesser talked about injuries that I'm really wanting to know if anyone has any info....R.Nowakowski and B.Franke. Franke wouldn't seem big on the surface but losing the guy that limits ST opportunities for opposing teams as well as he does is pretty big imo. Anyhow, any word?

Franke is our long ball FG attempts as well. I'm assuming we lost him for a significant amount of time. It would be a massive massive loss. Let's hope my assumption is wrong and he's able to return. 

[Stuhoo 92,168]

14 minutes ago, Lebowski said:

Franke is our long ball FG attempts as well. I'm assuming we lost him for a significant amount of time. It would be a massive massive loss. Let's hope my assumption is wrong and he's able to return. 

Gonna disagree here, but it's not a knock on Franke:

• Franke hits kickoffs for touchbacks pretty much 100% of the time. He's crazy good.
• Warren handled kickoff duties and hit for a touchback on about 1/2 of his kickoffs. He had multiple five yard deep in the end zone kickoffs. 
• On the kickoffs that weren't touchbacks, Warren must be getting some really good height, because none of them got returned as far as the 20 yard line, which is better than a touchback

 

• Now admittedly, a non-touchback comes with risk of a big return (it also comes with risk of a fumble or holding/illegal block penalty that would really pin back the offense).
• For me the biggest void without Franke is that it limits our field goal range to 50 yards instead of about 58. That matters about once every three or four games, and even then there's no guarantee that Franke will hit from that distance.

In summary? Sucks to lose Franke for awhile, but it's not nearly as serious as an injury would be to an offensive lineman, another defensive end injury, a serious injury to Fisher, or lord forbid, an injury to Fernando. Those would be every play injuries with notable dropoff.

 

[WayneFleekHoosier 52,086]

11 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Gonna disagree here, but it's not a knock on Franke:

• Franke hits kickoffs for touchbacks pretty much 100% of the time. He's crazy good.
• Warren handled kickoff duties and hit for a touchback on about 1/2 of his kickoffs. He had multiple five yard deep in the end zone kickoffs. 
• On the kickoffs that weren't touchbacks, Warren must be getting some really good height, because none of them got returned as far as the 20 yard line, which is better than a touchback

 

• Now admittedly, a non-touchback comes with risk of a big return (it also comes with risk of a fumble or holding/illegal block penalty that would really pin back the offense).
• For me the biggest void without Franke is that it limits our field goal range to 50 yards instead of about 58. That matters about once every three or four games, and even then there's no guarantee that Franke will hit from that distance.

In summary? Sucks to lose Franke for awhile, but it's not nearly as serious as an injury would be to an offensive lineman, another defensive end injury, a serious injury to Fisher, or lord forbid, an injury to Fernando. Those would be every play injuries with notable dropoff.

 

Good summary. I love this team and worry about everybody. lol. 
 

Fisher and Kamara now too. 

[Lebowski 4,131]

1 minute ago, Stuhoo said:

Gonna disagree here, but it's not a knock on Franke:

• Franke hits kickoffs for touchbacks pretty much 100% of the time. He's crazy good.
• Warren handled kickoff duties and hit for a touchback on about 1/2 of his kickoffs. He had multiple five yard deep in the end zone kickoffs. 
• On the kickoffs the weren't touchbacks, Warren must be getting some really good height, because none of them got returned as far as the 20 yard line, which is better than a touchback

 

• Now admittedly, a non-touchback comes with risk of a big return (it also comes with risk of a fumble or holding/illegal block penalty that would really pin back the offense).
• For me the biggest void without Franke is that it limits our field goal range to 50 yards instead of about 58. That matters.

In summary? Sucks to lose Franke for awhile, but it's not nearly as serious as an injury would be to an offensive lineman, another defensive end injury, a serious injury to Fisher, or lord forbid, an injury to Fernando.

 

I'm strictly talking about his FG attempts. He played a massive role in our win at Autzen. Franke misses that 58 yard FG going into the half, than that game potentially changes for the worse. 

There will be another scenario where we'll have to make a 50+ yard attempt in a crucial situation. That's just how it works and having that reliable option in your back pocket makes play calling much easier and doesn't create any limitations when trying to get points. It's potentially a massive massive loss if he's unable to kick. Radicic will have to step it up and who knows what is max range is. 

Regarding KO, before the UCLA game, Franke was leading the nation in TB with 46 and only giving up 2 returns. That's a very big deal because it limits any potential 'hidden yardage'. Hidden yardage is a stat that play a big role in field position. 

ST is the 3rd phase of the game that typically win games (field position through hidden yardage, blocks, etc. etc.) and the average fan doesn't really know that's that case. I like to compare it to the 'hustle stat' in basketball. You don't really see the importance of it until you see it, if that makes sense.

[Hovadipo 63,022]

You don’t miss Franke until his replacement shanks a kickoff and the opponent gets the ball at the 40 in a Gotta Have It. 

[JSHoosier 22,320]

https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/strong-coaching-is-putting-indiana-football-in-position-to-succeed/