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Coach Cig’s Water Cooler Tailgate: Gotta Light?

I'm sorry....any moron calling out 'coaching' after the best season in IUFB history (in year 1) deserves a lifetime ban from this site for being dumber than dirt

Dumb take. Nobody is calling for Cig’s head, but our game plan offensively was terrible. Rourkes pick inside the 20 ruined the offense, it couldn’t recover after that. No adjustments.

Even a good coach can have a bad game. This was a bad game, particularly as it relates to offensive scheme and play calling. Ohio St had far more fluke plays. We just got our asses whooped in this one.
 
What do you watch like 3 football games a year?
No I love college football. Always have. The coaching was bad. He went way too conservative. That doesn’t detract from the season and what a remarkable job that he did. He deserves a statue outside the stadium.

 
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We were able to play from in front all year. That makes the RPO game very effective and neutralizes the talent differential (which was there with regards to the IU offense vs ND defense….the IU defensive line belongs in this game).

I think he knew we didn’t have the OTs to protect Rourke in the drop-back game.

The Rourke interception was a killer…had a chance to get the lead.
 
No I love college football. Always have. The coaching was bad. He went way too conservative. That doesn’t detract from the season and what a remarkable job that he did. He deserves a statue outside the stadium.


We run a RPO offense.

Rourke was reading what the defense gave us, which was run the ball because they weren't loading up the box. The times we did take shots, he was just off target.

Our offense looks a lot better if we hit those shots, but Notre Dame had us locked down downfield.
 
We run a RPO offense.

Rourke was reading what the defense gave us, which was run the ball because they weren't loading up the box. The times we did take shots, he was just off target.

Our offense looks a lot better if we hit those shots, but Notre Dame had us locked down downfield.
I get that. There were also opportunities during the game to go for it. Roll the dice. As the media is piling on why talk tough then play scared
 
No I love college football. Always have. The coaching was bad. He went way too conservative. That doesn’t detract from the season and what a remarkable job that he did. He deserves a statue outside the stadium.


I'm just pissy grrrr
 
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We run a RPO offense.

Rourke was reading what the defense gave us, which was run the ball because they weren't loading up the box. The times we did take shots, he was just off target.

Our offense looks a lot better if we hit those shots, but Notre Dame had us locked down downfield.

That is all true. But as part of this, I was watching a West Wing yesterday and Bartlett says that many think that the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a pitch in baseball. He said that coaches told him the hardest thing to do is walk into the locker room of the Super Bowl at halftime and rip up the playbook and tell the team what has gotten you there isn't working so you need to do something else.
 
It was a good year. I have a ham that will go in the oven this afternoon. Going to watch some football and enjoy not dealing with idiots at work.

Oh….and cheer on the Vols

That last line is going to be hard. The Gator Bowl experience of drunken Vol fans singing Rocky Top all day, all night, is still a fresh wound. And sing is being polite, scream is most the way to what they were doing. Plus the two SEC announcers last night suggesting the B10 is crap really has me in a foul mood on the SEC.

But damn, it is hard to ever want tO$U to do well.
 
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No I love college football. Always have. The coaching was bad. He went way too conservative. That doesn’t detract from the season and what a remarkable job that he did. He deserves a statue outside the stadium.

Conservative doesn’t matter if we execute. We didn’t. A missed block and a loss— several. A missed tackle and a 98 yard run. On the road against an excellent team, ya can’t miss blocks and tackles. The biggest game in IU football history and we played like it. ND played like they belonged. We’ll get there too.
 
That is all true. But as part of this, I was watching a West Wing yesterday and Bartlett says that many think that the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a pitch in baseball. He said that coaches told him the hardest thing to do is walk into the locker room of the Super Bowl at halftime and rip up the playbook and tell the team what has gotten you there isn't working so you need to do something else.
It wasn’t working because we were outplayed at the line, playbooks have nothing to do with that. Can you imagine playing for James Madison and then going to the NCAA championship tournament in just 12 months?

 
It wasn’t working because we were outplayed at the line, playbooks have nothing to do with that. Can you imagine playing for James Madison and then going to the NCAA championship tournament in just 12 months?

When what you’re doing isn’t working you change. You don’t keep doing it. As digressions said every first down was a worthless run. Stop taking fair catches. Do something! Do anything to spark some excitement and energy. Certainly he knew yesterday was a possibility.
 
It wasn’t working because we were outplayed at the line, playbooks have nothing to do with that. Can you imagine playing for James Madison and then going to the NCAA championship tournament in just 12 months?


Playbooks do matter, to an extent. As great of a coach as he was, as stubborn as we knew him to be, there were times Knight played zone. He hated it, but we did it.

An idea was to try Jackson for a series. Rourke wasn't his usual self. Maybe Jackson hits a pass. Maybe his better scrambling gets us yards. Maybe nothing changes.

We had a great year, thrilled about it. Cig is a great coach. But that doesn't mean he can't be questioned. FDR was a great president, but 9066 was an atrocious order
 
That last line is going to be hard. The Gator Bowl experience of drunken Vol fans singing Rocky Top all day, all night, is still a fresh wound. And sing is being polite, scream is most the way to what they were doing. Plus the two SEC announcers last night suggesting the B10 is crap really has me in a foul mood on the SEC.

But damn, it is hard to ever want tO$U to do well.
I will have no problem at all wanting Tennessee to win.
 
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Playbooks do matter, to an extent. As great of a coach as he was, as stubborn as we knew him to be, there were times Knight played zone. He hated it, but we did it.

An idea was to try Jackson for a series. Rourke wasn't his usual self. Maybe Jackson hits a pass. Maybe his better scrambling gets us yards. Maybe nothing changes.

We had a great year, thrilled about it. Cig is a great coach. But that doesn't mean he can't be questioned. FDR was a great president, but 9066 was an atrocious order
Oh I think this is gonna burn Cignetti and keep that fire going. Remember this was his first time in this situation too. He will learn.

We gotta coach. Now let’s get one for basketball.
 
Oh I think this is gonna burn Cignetti and keep that fire going. Remember this was his first time in this situation too. He will learn.

We gotta coach. Now let’s get one for basketball.
It will. He’ll have regrets. We won’t make the playoffs again unless they keep expanding. Alabama will get picked over an iu next time. This was the time to throw caution to the wind. That’s why it’s frustrating

That’s okay. We got a legit coach and will have many great seasons ahead under him imo. Football is in good hands
 
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Playbooks do matter, to an extent. As great of a coach as he was, as stubborn as we knew him to be, there were times Knight played zone. He hated it, but we did it.

An idea was to try Jackson for a series. Rourke wasn't his usual self. Maybe Jackson hits a pass. Maybe his better scrambling gets us yards. Maybe nothing changes.

We had a great year, thrilled about it. Cig is a great coach. But that doesn't mean he can't be questioned. FDR was a great president, but 9066 was an atrocious order
Sure playbooks matter. But inorder for them to matter, ya gotta execute.

So a racist can be a great president?
 
Oh I think this is gonna burn Cignetti and keep that fire going. Remember this was his first time in this situation too. He will learn.

We gotta coach. Now let’s get one for basketball.
Cignetti is going to have a huge chip on his shoulder, which I hope can transfer to next year’s team. And that team is going to look a lot different. New portal guys and recruits. I’m getting too old to adjust.

IU has a basketball game at noon. I’ll watch but I’m rapidly losing interest. We haven’t done anything of note since fvcking 1987. This was a great football year but it could be our peak. Much like the Bengals. Get to a Super Bowl with Burrow but slowly falling back to mediocrity. IU may be the perennial 8-4, 7-5 Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois/Michigan State second tier - which is obviously an improvement - team, but not a threat to osu, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State. So, hello average, have a seat.

It’s tiresome and I’m old. Don’t have much time to have that one great moment. Hoping it comes in the 2026 season when we play osu at home. That would be just the third time in my lifetime.

But I just can’t get into the basketball thrill like I once did. We won’t make the tournament and if we do by some miracle we’ll suffer another embarrassing loss. So, I’m like, Blech. I was thinking this morning that I can’t name one guy on any of the other 17 teams in the conference. Hell, I can probably only name a handful of the coaches. Years ago you could name the starting lineup for just about every Big Ten team - their guys had been there a while, as you watched them develop, and you knew who the freshmen of impact were coming in. Now it’s “who the hell are these guys; they’re all interchangeable.” Damn, there are times I feel that way about our team, given the portal.

So, fvck it, I’m depressed. Won’t watch it but I sure as hell hope Tennessee kicks the snot out of osu.
 
Cignetti is going to have a huge chip on his shoulder, which I hope can transfer to next year’s team. And that team is going to look a lot different. New portal guys and recruits. I’m getting too old to adjust.

IU has a basketball game at noon. I’ll watch but I’m rapidly losing interest. We haven’t done anything of note since fvcking 1987. This was a great football year but it could be our peak. Much like the Bengals. Get to a Super Bowl with Burrow but slowly falling back to mediocrity. IU may be the perennial 8-4, 7-5 Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois/Michigan State second tier - which is obviously an improvement - team, but not a threat to osu, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State. So, hello average, have a seat.

It’s tiresome and I’m old. Don’t have much time to have that one great moment. Hoping it comes in the 2026 season when we play osu at home. That would be just the third time in my lifetime.

But I just can’t get into the basketball thrill like I once did. We won’t make the tournament and if we do by some miracle we’ll suffer another embarrassing loss. So, I’m like, Blech. I was thinking this morning that I can’t name one guy on any of the other 17 teams in the conference. Hell, I can probably only name a handful of the coaches. Years ago you could name the starting lineup for just about every Big Ten team - their guys had been there a while, as you watched them develop, and you knew who the freshmen of impact were coming in. Now it’s “who the hell are these guys; they’re all interchangeable.” Damn, there are times I feel that way about our team, given the portal.

So, fvck it, I’m depressed. Won’t watch it but I sure as hell hope Tennessee kicks the snot out of osu.
Iu basketball is unwatchable. It’s just an awful product. Incredibly boring. I’d rather see a reality show on that shed. Fball will settle into where it belongs as you say. We don’t have the infrastructure resources history etc to land the 5 stars to compete with the big dogs. That’s okay. 8-4 is still fun. But yes you are running out of time to have that moment. And the bad news. It won’t come through iu. The good news? You can make that moment yourself. You’re retired. Have resources. And are in a great state. Competition BBQ. Spend this winter researching rigs. Spend the next two years learning. Then hone your trade. These competition bbq guys aren’t the brightest bulbs out there. I suspect within five years you can be amongst the elite. And if I were a betting man, get your moment on stage….
 
Iu basketball is unwatchable. It’s just an awful product. Incredibly boring. I’d rather see a reality show on that shed. Fball will settle into where it belongs as you say. We don’t have the infrastructure resources history etc to land the 5 stars to compete with the big dogs. That’s okay. 8-4 is still fun. But yes you are running out of time to have that moment. And the bad news. It won’t come through iu. The good news? You can make that moment yourself. You’re retired. Have resources. And are in a great state. Competition BBQ. Spend this winter researching rigs. Spend the next two years learning. Then hone your trade. These competition bbq guys aren’t the brightest bulbs out there. I suspect within five years you can be amongst the elite. And if I were a betting man, get your moment….
Wow, are you off.

I eat bbq; I don’t cook it. Hell, I don’t even know where the keys to the ovens are, in either place. I clean. I don’t have the patience for any of the intricacies involved in anything to do with food prep. I can appreciate those who do, but it’s totally out of my reach.
 
Totally outclassed last night. Being there was kind of miserable. Seeing them play like complete shit. Every facet of the game was poor. Offense was downright bad. Defense was OK but the tackling was very poor. Special teams again stunk.

It was a magical season and Cig is the right guy. While all these 0 and 1 star Johnny Try Hards make for a good story, we need dudes. Bigger, faster, stronger. The gap is wide right now. Our DL doesn’t rotate in guys. Those guys played the entire game. That is not a winning proposition.

Here’s my one Cig concern. Both of our humiliations came with 2 weeks to prepare. Yes, those games were against top level opponents, but both times IU was sloppy and looked overwhelmed. Aside from the opening TD drive against OSU, the offense looked downright awful in both games.

I was pissed last night driving home. Today I just feel despondent. We can celebrate the season and also have a clear headed, sober evaluation of the shortcomings.
 
Wow, are you off.

I eat bbq; I don’t cook it. Hell, I don’t even know where the keys to the ovens are, in either place. I clean. I don’t have the patience for any of the intricacies involved in anything to do with food prep. I can appreciate those who do, but it’s totally out of my reach.
Shit. I was just looking into this one. The Big Pig Jig. Targeting 2030 with some smaller competitions in advance. Forget it.

 
Cignetti is going to have a huge chip on his shoulder, which I hope can transfer to next year’s team. And that team is going to look a lot different. New portal guys and recruits. I’m getting too old to adjust.

IU has a basketball game at noon. I’ll watch but I’m rapidly losing interest. We haven’t done anything of note since fvcking 1987. This was a great football year but it could be our peak. Much like the Bengals. Get to a Super Bowl with Burrow but slowly falling back to mediocrity. IU may be the perennial 8-4, 7-5 Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois/Michigan State second tier - which is obviously an improvement - team, but not a threat to osu, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State. So, hello average, have a seat.

It’s tiresome and I’m old. Don’t have much time to have that one great moment. Hoping it comes in the 2026 season when we play osu at home. That would be just the third time in my lifetime.

But I just can’t get into the basketball thrill like I once did. We won’t make the tournament and if we do by some miracle we’ll suffer another embarrassing loss. So, I’m like, Blech. I was thinking this morning that I can’t name one guy on any of the other 17 teams in the conference. Hell, I can probably only name a handful of the coaches. Years ago you could name the starting lineup for just about every Big Ten team - their guys had been there a while, as you watched them develop, and you knew who the freshmen of impact were coming in. Now it’s “who the hell are these guys; they’re all interchangeable.” Damn, there are times I feel that way about our team, given the portal.

So, fvck it, I’m depressed. Won’t watch it but I sure as hell hope Tennessee kicks the snot out of osu.
The early 90s teams were outstanding and capable of winning championships. In fact, I think Ted Valentine stole a win from IU in the 1992 Final Four and IU probably would have beaten Michigan, yet again, in the final. The 1993 team was probably even better, but Alan Henderson’s injury derailed them in the Elite 8. When Knight was fired IU had the longest consecutive NCAA appearance streak in basketball and his returnees and incoming Freshmen had IU set up for another championship run.
 
Totally outclassed last night. Being there was kind of miserable. Seeing them play like complete shit. Every facet of the game was poor. Offense was downright bad. Defense was OK but the tackling was very poor. Special teams again stunk.

It was a magical season and Cig is the right guy. While all these 0 and 1 star Johnny Try Hards make for a good story, we need dudes. Bigger, faster, stronger. The gap is wide right now. Our DL doesn’t rotate in guys. Those guys played the entire game. That is not a winning proposition.

Here’s my one Cig concern. Both of our humiliations came with 2 weeks to prepare. Yes, those games were against top level opponents, but both times IU was sloppy and looked overwhelmed. Aside from the opening TD drive against OSU, the offense looked downright awful in both games.

I was pissed last night driving home. Today I just feel despondent. We can celebrate the season and also have a clear headed, sober evaluation of the shortcomings.
Even the Kid Down the Hall punked me. Got his J.D. at Maurer and his MBA at ND - “and you’re rooting for the Irish?”

“Cignetti got his ass handed to him. Deal with it. IU is too fvcking woke.”
 
The early 90s teams were outstanding and capable of winning championships. In fact, I think Ted Valentine stole a win from IU in the 1992 Final Four and IU probably would have beaten Michigan, yet again, in the final. The 1993 team was probably even better, but Alan Henderson’s injury derailed them in the Elite 8. When Knight was fired IU had the longest consecutive NCAA appearance streak in basketball and his returnees and incoming Freshmen had IU set up for another championship run.
Oh, I know all that. But the slide began after 1987.

A good case can be made that Knight could have had six banners. 1975, obviously. 1973, when we lost to UCLA and the infamous Downing/Walton charging/block call. And, 1992.

Some people will just never totally understand what an exhilarating era that was.
 
So a racist can be a great president?
Ah, so you have never read 9066, that surprises me. The order authorized the military commanders to remove anyone suspected of sabotage or spying from militarily sensitive areas. That would have included Germans and Italians and Henry Ford.

The problem was DeWitt who decided all Japanese were a risk and the entire west coast was militarily sensitive.

And a law worded with no real checks and balances.
 
IU may be the perennial 8-4, 7-5 Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois/Michigan State second tier - which is obviously an improvement - team, but not a threat to osu, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State. So, hello average, have a seat.

If IU gets to that 7-5, 8-4, 9-3 level on a consistent basis, that will be fine by me. Average? If that's average, then average is underrated. Hell, Mallory was barely able to get there on a handful of occasions, and he's considered the best of the modern era.
 
Sure playbooks matter. But inorder for them to matter, ya gotta execute.

So a racist can be a great president?
I don't think it's a controversial take to watch the game and realize the last 5 minutes of offense was much much different then the first 55. It's also not much of a stretch to recognize we should have been attacking the same way at the start of the 3rd quarter.

ND didn't have much time to throw either. This is off memory and without checking, but I only remember two passes over 15 yards for them. One in each half. I'm guessing their ADoT was about 8. Ours over the last 5 minutes was probably higher than that, but only slightly.

ND's strategy to combat the pressure was better than ours, until the end. Those plays in the last 5 minutes worked and they knew we were in a passing situation. It's hard to argue that the same strategy wouldn't have worked at the start of the 3rd, while we still had the threat of the run.

Having said that, love the coaches. Love the team. And I'm excited for next year and the opportunity for them to prove themselves again.
 
Oh, I know all that. But the slide began after 1987.

A good case can be made that Knight could have had six banners. 1975, obviously. 1973, when we lost to UCLA and the infamous Downing/Walton charging/block call. And, 1992.

Some people will just never totally understand what an exhilarating era that was.
‘93 was the number 1 team going into the tournament, but Henderson’s injury was too much to overcome. Of course, ‘82 was a what might have been team. If Turner didn’t have his car accident and Isiah hadn’t gone pro it would have been a favorite. Oh well.
 
If IU gets to that 7-5, 8-4, 9-3 level on a consistent basis, that will be fine by me. Average? If that's average, then average is underrated. Hell, Mallory was barely able to get there on a handful of occasions, and he's considered the best of the modern era.
“Average” can be okay as long as we’re always competitive and splitting with the top tier programs. Beat osu at home, play well in Columbus and occasionally pull out a victory on their horrible turf.
 
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