IU buying out next year's Louisville game
- Thread starter Pazhoosier85
- Start date
I'd argue we've seen success with that recipe, but then tried to 'level up' too quickly by taking on the Cincinnatis, Navys, Wake Forests, Oregons, Missouris.
Kentucky as a home and home Labor Day tradition.
Rotating OH or IN MAC 2 for 1
WVU, Tenn, Pitt, Miss, Vandy or the like home and home (drivable P5)
Rotating OH or IN MAC 2 for 1
WVU, Tenn, Pitt, Miss, Vandy or the like home and home (drivable P5)
I guess success is in the eye of the beholder. It didn’t work for any of Allen’s predecessors dating back to the days of Lee Corso, and it’s not working so far for TA’s program.
I've
It actually did lead to some stability. Those cupcakes led to us being ranked in the top 10. ha It was the moment we upgraded opponents that we fell off. Your argument is completely backwards.
ha That is a recipe for going back to the mid-2000's IU where we literally couldn't even fill out allotted scholarships with MAC level players. No thank you. We have a top 10 schedule every year with 3 cupcakes. There is no trophy for having the hardest schedule and there is no enjoyment in watching our program get crushed every game including the non-conference.
Maybe to you.
The players want to play my schedule.
Fans....they're split. Most fans (I know) that pony up $6k plus VC donations, and buy pricey season tickets, prefer we bring in legit pre-season opponents, and set up a legit, drivable September game to a cool locale.
That guaranteed "Top 10 schedule" will be a thing of the past soon, with the new schedule diversification.
Bring back the Barrel, and rotating weekend trips to Oxford (both of em).
Look at our bowl seasons starting in 2007. Except for one year, we got there by beating 3-4 G5 teams. It's not complicated, ORdy
Most fans likely disagree with you. Because the worse IU gets, the worse the attendance seems to get. So if the idea is to make a team that is enticing the fans, look no further than the quote from the movie, Field of Dreams. "If you build it, they will come." Ok, i know the quote is truly "he will come" but the point remains. When we were playing cupcakes and winning routinely, the stadium was filling out because IU, at least optically, was looking like a good football team.
So most would pass on your logic, bring on the cupcakes!
IUFB needs to create wins even through scheduling by hook and almost crook. Bowls undeniably shine additional light on a program. We are now past the days of not filling available scholarships and building rosters by getting a large abundance of 2☆ commits. Progress has been made. Next hill is steeper and it's flawed thinking to add more weight to the climb. Fighting bigger beasts in non-conf is more weight.
Just don't see that as true. No one shows up for the cupcakes...and players don't want to play them.
Cincy in 2021 was what we should be doing. Packed stadium. Great atmosphere. Dropped the ball on a game we should have won, but that's the type of game fans want to see.
Kentucky(H&H), then Athens(OH) H&H, then Athens(GA) H&H.
👍
Not so sure. If we lost this weekend it would be very difficult to say the cancellation wasn't because we were scared.
Overall, think this a good strategic move. If Georgia & Alabama can schedule 3 easy teams we can too. No reason to play a tougher schedule than necessary until teams are given some kind of post-season credit for strength of schedule. However, with this change would like to see game 2 of season be a contest against a B1G rival to assess what we need to work on in the remaining 2 out of conference games.
I hear this. And yes, we've gone to every IU bowl since 2000....and they've been pretty fun (Tampa and SF were kinda lame). Gator and Tempe were a blast.
That said, you offer me:
1) 6-6 and a potential trip to the Fenway Bowl, OR
2) a Bourbon Barrel home game, a trip to Oxford OH, and the Vols coming in for a 2 for 1 series...
Just me, but I take #2. Players would too. They'd be convinced they could play #2, and still make a bowl (which they can). Beating Kentucky or Tennessee in September means a lot more, especially as the playoffs expand, and these bowls become lamer and lamer ESPN TV time fillers.
Some stability isn’t the same as building a sustainable program, and the top 10 ranking was a mirage based on a unique, non-repeating scenario that has been explained. My argument that leadership is the only thing that matters is spot on, and scheduling, while a short term benefit, doesn’t create a sustainably good program (and never will).
I agree that #2 would be preferable if I was comfortable that IU would make a bowl more often than not, but I'm not.
But let's say IU goes 4-5 in the B1G (historically on the high side for us) and 1-2 with a tougher non-con. Even with one of our better seasons we'd miss out on a bowl because of the non-con. A 3-0 non-con would end up at 7-5 and a decent bowl.
I think 2019 is a good example of that. Ball St., Eastern IL, & UCONN plus a favorable B1G slate ended up at a very winnable Gator Bowl. It was overall great for the program. And it wasn't TOO bad of punching down in the non-con.
When IU scheduled UL they were clearly thinking they were going to be trending up to the tier where they could schedule harder & still get good results. Similarly, they must have been thinking they'd be approaching elite by the end of the decade with the ND home & home. Better start making moves on that quick.
Well, besides me disagreeing with your philosophy overall, you've got a huge issue with your H&H idea. we should no longer ever be doing a 1:1 with a MAC school. Probably not even a 2:1.Just don't see that as true. No one shows up for the cupcakes...and players don't want to play them.
Cincy in 2021 was what we should be doing. Packed stadium. Great atmosphere. Dropped the ball on a game we should have won, but that's the type of game fans want to see.
Kentucky(H&H), then Athens(OH) H&H, then Athens(GA) H&H.
Idaho and WKU attendance last year exceeded our attendance vs Illinois, Maryland and Penn State.
Maybe there is a disconnect but your example in 2019 is exactly the cupcake pre-conference schedule we are requesting. Power 5 schools on the schedule is what we were looking to remove. UConn had 4 total wins from 2018-2022. MAC level schools down to FCS are the cupcakes we're asking for. If we can't beat a MAC school, I don't want people in the stands seeing that team anyways!
If the teams at the top have cupcake schedules, and all of their conference schedules are easier than IU plus I've never heard a Michigan or Ohio State player have concerns with their schedules, then why is that a concern at lowly IU? The end result for those teams is a trip to the CFP, but we aren't satisfied unless we roll out the hardest schedule in the country? I refuse to play make believe that our schedule would be lacking for our fans with 3 cupcakes when we'll have a top S.O.S. in the country with those cupcakes.
I may not have been clear. I'm with you.
I think 2019 was the perfect OOC schedule for IU at that point. 2 absolute wins & 1 MAC team. That's the 1st tier for me.
The 2nd tier is 1 FCS, 1 MAC, & 1 FBS challenge (Wake Forest & UVA several years back and UL would be that). I'd like to see that schedule if IU is consistently winning 4 or 5 in conference (which would be a huge improvement).
The 3rd tier is 1 FCS/MAC, 1 FBS middling program, and 1 marquee game. That's what you see with the big boys, but it also comes with the expectation that they're going to win at least 9 games/season. We're so completely not there yet.
What good is it if we beat PU but lose to Louisville? I'd rather the last game mean something than a participation trophy. This isn't basketball. IU is not normally (if ever) competing to get into the playoffs. We're looking for a bowl. Good out-of-conference wins mean very little. If you beat 3 crappier teams before the BIG, you have a much better shot at going to a bowl than if you enter 2-1, 1-2 or 0-3. Let's be real here. IU Shouldn't be playing any teams better than middle of the rode Mac (or better than IU historically or on paper). Once you start winning (going to bowls) year in year out, go for it. But that has happened at IU for the most part. Maybe a a good 5-6 years during Mallory, but that's really it in the history of the program. IU plays a top 20 schedule almost every year. Why make it even more difficult?
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Perfect. When IUFB has made several bowls in a row and is viably up to the challenge .
That is funny. If you are going to schedule based on attendance. You would have to schedule NFL teams and I am still not sure that would workJust don't see that as true. No one shows up for the cupcakes...and players don't want to play them.
Cincy in 2021 was what we should be doing. Packed stadium. Great atmosphere. Dropped the ball on a game we should have won, but that's the type of game fans want to see.
Kentucky(H&H), then Athens(OH) H&H, then Athens(GA) H&H.
13th-If you (and the likes you got) took the time to review the conversation you would see that I was referring to the above comment about Michigan which suggested we go with their non-con schedule.
There isn't a chance in hell a school like Tennessee or Georgia is going to agree to a H&H with Indiana. They stand absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose. Plus it's one less home game a year for them. There is zero incentive for an SEC school to play on the road in the non-conference.
BUT. If we win this weekend our whole outlook changes. We may decide not to cancel the series. AND we save a million dollars which we can put into the Tom allen buyout savings account, (just in case). And by the way, where is this million coming from?
And why the hell would we schedule Tennessee or Georgia? Are you out of your mind? Let's beat them in a bowl game.
The million comes from the home game we'll schedule to replace it.
I’m neither surprised nor particularly bothered that IU dropped the game. But if it were up to me I would’ve kept the game on the schedule and then used the buyout $$ to stabilize/upgrade Allen’s staff in the offseason.
With the wrong coaching, IMO scheduling doesn’t really help. With the right coaching, IMO scheduling doesn’t really matter.
Coaching > scheduling
Coaching > bowl bids
Coaching > attendance
With the wrong coaching, IMO scheduling doesn’t really help. With the right coaching, IMO scheduling doesn’t really matter.
Coaching > scheduling
Coaching > bowl bids
Coaching > attendance
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I read it. I just don't care what other schools are doing. IU should worry about IU.
