College Football Thread

[Pagoda]

Thanks for pointing this out Stew.

 

[spe317]

I miss the days of ugly people on sports shows. When sports became an entertainment industry (as do so many things these days) something akin to authenticity dies. 

[Dave from Dayton]

4 minutes ago, spe317 said:

I miss the days of ugly people on sports shows. When sports became an entertainment industry (as do so many things these days) something akin to authenticity dies. 

Dandy Don Meredith, Frank Gifford and Howard Cossell on Monday Night Football..  a real treat.  

[Stuhoo]

2 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

As some of you may know, I have had a 180 turnaround on my opinion of Paul BaldTrollDumb@$$. Yes - he trolls hard. But if you pay attention his trolling is really comical and masterfully done, and when he pulls back the curtain and speaks truth, he is really funny and really perceptive.

Here is an interview from this week where he pulls back the curtain and is funny and perceptive:

 

 

1 hour ago, spe317 said:

I miss the days of ugly people on sports shows. When sports became an entertainment industry (as do so many things these days) something akin to authenticity dies. 

 

[Magnanimous]

Losing 38-3 to Indiana will do that…

https://www.secrant.com/rant/alabama-sports/the-anticipation-i-once-felt-for-football-season-is-gone/124285106/

[Lebowski]

12 hours ago, Magnanimous said:

Losing 38-3 to Indiana will do that…

https://www.secrant.com/rant/alabama-sports/the-anticipation-i-once-felt-for-football-season-is-gone/124285106/

[Pagoda]

21 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

As some of you may know, I have had a 180 turnaround on my opinion of Paul BaldTrollDumb@$$. Yes - he trolls hard. But if you pay attention his trolling is really comical and masterfully done, and when he pulls back the curtain and speaks truth, he is really funny and really perceptive.

Here is an interview from this week where he pulls back the curtain and is funny and perceptive:

 

This show is staged for arguments and generally garbage, but in this segment Pawwwwl took our side on this debate vs the SEC shills.  It’s jarring!

[jermhoosierfan]

3 hours ago, Pagoda said:

This show is staged for arguments and generally garbage, but in this segment Pawwwwl took our side on this debate vs the SEC shills.  It’s jarring!

Like he said in another video, he lost too much money betting against IU last year.  LOL I do love me some Shay

[Demo]

Wow, maintaining their delusions is REALLY freaking expensive. The sports equivalent of the 60yo 50lbs overweight thrice-divorced dude buying the Ferrari. 

[Lebowski]

I'm not really a big follower of preseason polls for various reasons but the coaches poll, which is the one I typically think carry's weight, had 17 teams represented from the Big Ten and SEC combined while 8 represented the ACC, Big 12, and Independents. That's 68% of the entire poll belonging to the Big Ten and SEC. I started to think about this and asked myself the question: Is that a true representation of today's college football?

https://www.afca.com/polls/

2025 Season (Postseason losses in Italic and 2026 Preseason Ranking)
ACC v SEC: 8-6 (Losses from #10 Ole Miss, Miss St., #25 Mizzu, #8 Texas A&M, USC, UK, Florida, #11 Bama)

• Ole Miss finished the season 13-2 and lost to Miami in the CFP.
• Mississippi St. finished the season 5-8 and lost to Wake in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. (How they got asked to play the game is beyond me but that's for a completely different discussion.) Wake finished the season 9-4 and is currently not ranked with zero votes. 
• Missouri finished the season 8-5 and lost to Virginia in the Gator Bowl. UV finished the season 11-3 and is currently ranked 32 with 40 votes.
• A&M finished the season 11-2 and lost to Miami in the CFP.  
• UK finished the season 5-7 and got boat raced by UofL 41-0. UofL finished 9-4 and is currently ranked 26 with 153 votes. 
• Florida finished the season 4-8 and lost to Miami. The Gators received 147 votes just missing the top 25. They are currently 27th ranked
• South Carolina finished the season 4-8 and lost to #23 Clemson. They are currently tied for the 30th rank receiving 50 votes.
• Bama finished the season 11-4 and got boat raced at Florida State in week one. FSU finished the season 5-7.

ACC v Big Ten: 2-4 (Losses from Minnesota and #1 O$U)

• Minnesota finished the season 8-5 and lost at California in week 3. The Gophers are currently not ranked with zero votes.
• O$U lost to Miami in the CFP. 

Big 12 v SEC: 3-1 (Lone loss was #13 LSU)

• LSU finished the season 7-6 and lost to #24 Houston in the Kinder's Texas Bowl.

 Big 12 v Big Ten: 4-3 (Losses from UCLA, #22 Iowa, Nebraska, #14 USC)

• UCLA lost to Utah in week one and finished the season 3-9. 
• Iowa lost at Iowa St in week 2 and finished the season 9-4. 
• Nebraska lost to Utah in the Vegas Bowl and finished the season 7-6.
• SC lost to TCU in OT at the Alamo Bowl

I didn't even look at records of the Independents because there's a small sample size and I tend to think, regarding the poll, that's a solid representation of that group. Also, I might have missed some records because I didn't double check my work so if you see something off please correct it. 

Breaking it down, I think it's fair to say the ACC is not being represented properly due to last year's head-to-head against the SEC. Louisville, Virginia, and Wake Forest are pretty much getting the shaft. I'm assuming Wake has some sort of major change this season because them not getting a single vote is strange to me. Also, I was surprised Georgia Tech didn't reach the top 25. BUT VIRGINIA! They are returning a ton of experience!! 8 returning starters on the O and 7 on the D with 2 transfer starters on O and 1 transfer starter on the D. Look for the Cavs to make a ton of noise this year. They have a favorable schedule as well. I'm not sure what the coaches are thinking when it comes to Virginia. 

It's pretty clear that coaches think the Big Ten and SEC stand alone to everyone else but the numbers just don't suggest it. 

[Home Jersey]

30 days until our first game.

I cannot wait for IUFB to get here.

Chapter 3 may be the best yet... after being 16-0 national champs, that is hard to believe and should be scary for everyone else.

I never want the Cignetti era to end. 

[HoosierReb01]

And Kellan Wyatt is officially returning to IU this season!

[Home Jersey]

Getting Wyatt and Daley back is insane. We already had a front 7 widely considered top 10 in the country. We just may have the best now.

Tucker, Landino, Daley, Wyatt, Hjelle, Obizer, Osunsanmi, Burnham, Ndukwe is just outrageous depth and talent. 

Jones and Hardy back with a lot of experience behind them and some talented young guys too.

We will be among the best teams in the nation on both sides of the ball yet again. 

[cthomas]

1 hour ago, Home Jersey said:

Getting Wyatt and Daley back is insane. We already had a front 7 widely considered top 10 in the country. We just may have the best now.

Tucker, Landino, Daley, Wyatt, Hjelle, Obizer, Osunsanmi, Burnham, Ndukwe is just outrageous depth and talent. 

Jones and Hardy back with a lot of experience behind them and some talented young guys too.

We will be among the best teams in the nation on both sides of the ball yet again. 

How often has IU football ever been able to say that? I know, NEVER but it's so hard to comprehend what Cignetti has done here. Like, immediately!

[Home Jersey]

There's a reddit thread on the Wyatt news and an interesting back and forth with some OSU fans.

One of them said Ryan Day went out and hired this OC specifically to modify the offense because of how badly IU and Miami's DLs were able to beat them. Says they'll be doing more Sayin under center making pre-snap reads and 2 TE sets since their shotgun read based offense got mauled by our speed and athleticism. Some are a little skeptical about their OL but most expect it to be much improved returning 4 starters who now have much more experience.

No doubt that'll be a tough game, really glad it's at home. I like the odds of Haines confusing Sayin and our crowd being loud. That's going to be one of the best IU home game environments in any sport of the decade, at least. Probably since the turn of the century. 

[Brass Cannon]

3 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

There's a reddit thread on the Wyatt news and an interesting back and forth with some OSU fans.

One of them said Ryan Day went out and hired this OC specifically to modify the offense because of how badly IU and Miami's DLs were able to beat them. Says they'll be doing more Sayin under center making pre-snap reads and 2 TE sets since their shotgun read based offense got mauled by our speed and athleticism. Some are a little skeptical about their OL but most expect it to be much improved returning 4 starters who now have much more experience.

No doubt that'll be a tough game, really glad it's at home. I like the odds of Haines confusing Sayin and our crowd being loud. That's going to be one of the best IU home game environments in any sport of the decade, at least. Probably since the turn of the century. 

I saw next to no decision making ability by sayin last year. Should be interesting 

[Brass Cannon]

USC just lost their starting Center.  Really rough their schedule and this being a must win year.  

[skhoosier2]

3 hours ago, Brass Cannon said:

I saw next to no decision making ability by sayin last year. Should be interesting 

He looked like a deer in the headlights. But I thought they made some decent adjustments at halftime to get him away from the pressure. He will be battle tested this season where he had seen nothing up to the B1G championship which is why the media was clamoring about how they would handle a competitive close game. I expect him to be better this season but I don’t know if I’m buying putting him under center solves pre snap read issues. 

[Demo]

Wait, wait, wait, IUFB tickets are NOT sold out? It literally never occurred to me to even check. 

[Pagoda]

14 minutes ago, Demo said:

Wait, wait, wait, IUFB tickets are NOT sold out? It literally never occurred to me to even check. 

Looks like they’re selling off a very small amount that weren’t allocated for season tickets or bought up by season ticket holders/donors.