2026 IUFB: CHAPTER 3

[Demo]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

As for the “Dante Moore is it” advantage argument, here is the Athlon Sports preseason QB ranking for 2025:

 

and for 2024:

 

Athlon going down with the Drew Allar ship. 

[Stuhoo]

9 minutes ago, Demo said:

Athlon going down with the Drew Allar ship. 

And the “Hudson Card is better than Rourke” ship.

And you just know that they’ll go with “Dante and Nico better than Hoover” narrative.

And the “Oregon and Ohio State better than Indiana” narrative.

It’s lazy and it ignores what are the most important contributors to winning.

[str8baller]

7 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

Per 247 composite rankings, the five most talented rosters last season were:

1. Georgia
2. Bama
3. OSU
4. Texas
5. Oregon

4/5 were playoff teams. OSU probably was the most talented roster and they might be again. I’m confused as to your point…lol. IU got snubbed from those lists last year but they’ll be there this year. I’d be willing to bet 4/5 of IU/OSU/Oregon/ND/Georgia make the playoffs. 
 

Coaching matters and so does QB play. Hence some of us saying it is a *slight* edge having a returning top 5-10 QB. Even Cig said in that 30 min film breakdown there were some plays Mendoza just made that he either didn’t coach or had only seen a few times in his career. That’s the difference between a national championship and a 2nd or 3rd round exit sometimes.  
 

I think the 3 best teams will be IU, OSU, and Oregon. IU’s advantage, imo, lies in a defense that could be better than the previous two versions (maybe the same with the Oline). A dominant Dline can carry a D like no other position group. But I don’t think there will be a ton of separation between them and Oregon/OSU.
 

The difference between the ‘24 OSU game and last year’s was disproportionately on Mendoza. The D played awesome from horrible field position all game in 24 but Rourke got smacked around, rattled, and threw some awful balls (plus some shoddy special teams play). Mendoza got absolutely drilled the first series but came back to lead some huge drives on the back of Heisman-level throws. I’m willing to bet Hoover is better than Rourke, but I’d be nervous betting money he equals Mendoza’s season.  
 

I think the B1G will be a dogfight all the way through.