Surprised by the national media hate rhetoric regarding Indiana's CFP status.

[mobilehoosier]

Interesting to see media (ESPN/SEC particularly) trashing the Hoosiers.
I might be getting more BS because I'm in SEC county.
I didn't expect it.
Beat PU and move forward.
Go Hoosiers! I love this season and coach Cig's entrance to IU. Perfect fit and we are due.

 

[iubhounds]

This week has been mild compared to last week. On X, it has been an all out war for weeks vs SEC fans.

 

[YOTHN]

Its nothing new. The reality is Indiana came out of nowhere and dominated the B1G. Typically, we hand out wins to conference foes like candy on Halloween. If IU was its typical self, they would say the B1G is good. Washington, Michigan and Nebraska would all be 7-4. MSU would be bowl eligible at 6-5 and UCLA would be 1 win away this weekend from being bowl eligible. Suddenly the B1G looks good again.

Nothing we can do about that bias other than keep winning and over time that mentality will change.

 

[Baller23Boogie]

If you were to switch out the name Indiana with Michigan, there wouldn't be a discussion on whether we'd be in or not.

Win on Saturday. That's what we can control, so lets do it.

 

[Bligedy]

Our schedule hasn't been Murderer's Row but go look at a team like Notre Dame. IU would be no worse than 10-1 vs that schedule. I'm not sure ND would be 10-1 vs IUs schedule. OSU would maul them and then they'd have the inevitable annual screw up game.

Like you say, it's the brand.

 

[OpenWheels]

If you were to switch out the name Indiana with Michigan, there wouldn't be a discussion on whether we'd be in or not.

...

There wouldn't even be a question over whether we'd host a first round game, because we'd be ranked 3-5 in the country.

 

[iubhounds]

Our schedule hasn't been Murderer's Row but go look at a team like Notre Dame. IU would be no worse than 10-1 vs that schedule. I'm not sure ND would be 10-1 vs IUs schedule. OSU would maul them and then they'd have the inevitable annual screw up game.

Like you say, it's the brand.

and in 2025 all they will hear is ... you're not winning like last year ... your non-conference schedule sucks again. 1. they might win again like this year. 2. Yes, currently the 3 games they play sucks.

 

[Baller23Boogie]

and in 2025 all they will hear is ... you're not winning like last year ... your non-conference schedule sucks again. 1. they might win again like this year. 2. Yes, currently the 3 games they play sucks.

Next year, we've got Penn State and Oregon, both on the road.

We've got seven home game and five away games, those two plus Purdue, Iowa and Maryland.

We could easily be 10-2 next year depending on how our schedule plays out and of course what Cig gets done in the portal, which I fully expect him to have a rather large pool of players to pull from.

 

[iubhounds]

Next year, we've got Penn State and Oregon, both on the road.

We've got seven home game and five away games, those two plus Purdue, Iowa and Maryland.

We could easily be 10-2 next year depending on how our schedule plays out and of course what Cig gets done in the portal, which I fully expect him to have a rather large pool of players to pull from.

It will be interesting to see if he brings in a QB from the portal. I think Jackson can get the job done though as a starter. I need to look at their starting 22 though and see how many are seniors. I agree, they could be 10-2. Would a 9-3 record be acceptable? Funny how expectations have changed for the future after this year.

 

[HoosierJimbo89]

Our schedule hasn't been Murderer's Row but go look at a team like Notre Dame. IU would be no worse than 10-1 vs that schedule. I'm not sure ND would be 10-1 vs IUs schedule. OSU would maul them and then they'd have the inevitable annual screw up game.

Like you say, it's the brand.

IU didn't pay Northern Illinois $1.5 million to lose to them at home: could you imagine what the talking heads would say if IU did this? IU's only lost is to #2 Ohio State at the horseshoe, which is nothing to be ashamed of. The establishment doesn't want a David to become a Goliath, and the SEC wants everybody to believe that every other conference stinks.

 

[Baller23Boogie]

It will be interesting to see if he brings in a QB from the portal. I think Jackson can get the job done though as a starter. I need to look at their starting 22 though and see how many are seniors. I agree, they could be 10-2. Would a 9-3 record be acceptable? Funny how expectations have changed for the future after this year.

Brother, I'd be happy with 8 wins every year with the occasional playoff talk. We get that I would hope everyone would be ecstatic based on our history.

As far as a portal qb, I would bet a VERY large sum of money we get one. He's not going into next year with Jackson, two redshirt freshman with minimal experience and maybe a true freshman if we can get one that we like to flip. He values experience more then potential.

With that being said, I'm not saying whoever he gets out of the portal is going to be the automatic starter, but it'll be someone with college football playing experience.

 

[CG Paul]

Brother, I'd be happy with 8 wins every year with the occasional playoff talk. We get that I would hope everyone would be ecstatic based on our history.

As far as a portal qb, I would bet a VERY large sum of money we get one. He's not going into next year with Jackson, two redshirt freshman with minimal experience and maybe a true freshman if we can get one that we like to flip. He values experience more then potential.

With that being said, I'm not saying whoever he gets out of the portal is going to be the automatic starter, but it'll be someone with college football playing experience.

Regarding your first paragraph, we’re past that now and exactly where Cig plans for us to stay. Although, you’re speaking for yourself so that’s fine. I don’t feel our history should limit where we can actually be and feel good about.

I agree with your second paragraph.

I think he’ll be looking for his starting qb though.

 

[Bowlmania]

Interesting to see media (ESPN/SEC particularly) trashing the Hoosiers.
I might be getting more BS because I'm in SEC county.
I didn't expect it.
Beat PU and move forward.
Go Hoosiers! I love this season and coach Cig's entrance to IU. Perfect fit and we are due.

Yeah, it's mostly an SEC thing. This is a sub-par season for that conference, with a number of traditional powers down, so they're in whiny mode.

 

[Kelly_32]

If we go 9-3 next year I'm going to whine just like the SEC homers this year that we should be in the playoffs!

 

[td75]

Cignetti has a ton of portal shopping to do after this year. With the money at his disposal and the huge season we are experiencing, he should be able to attract a monster portal class.

He needs linemen, WR, RB, a QB, and more!! It's going to be very interesting to watch it unfold...and yes, please get a stud QB. I'm not sold on Jackson.

 

[mushroomgod_1]

If you were to switch out the name Indiana with Michigan, there wouldn't be a discussion on whether we'd be in or not.

Win on Saturday. That's what we can control, so lets do it.

You can't get around the fact that we don't look the part physically. Visually, just comparing bodies, we look the part of a mediocre BT also ran. What made us special was the mojo the O played with. Confidence, crisp passing, no dropped passes, very few penalties, no fumbles, no dumb plays......for the most part, gone the two 2nd halves of our two most important games. Almost completely shut down, and playing scared instead of playing with confidence. Quite a few other BT teams have good defenses and mediocre to bad offenses. That makes us Minnesota or Illinois or Iowa or Nebraska.

So.....I have absolutely no issue with other fanbases questioning our inclusion. There's no guarantee our O can get its s*** together. There's no doubt that the IU team that played Nebraska belonged. The D has improved. The O just needs to get its mojo back. I'll be there Saturday hoping it does.

 

[Baller23Boogie]

Regarding your first paragraph, we’re past that now and exactly where Cig plans for us to stay. Although, you’re speaking for yourself so that’s fine. I don’t feel our history should limit where we can actually be and feel good about.

I agree with your second paragraph.

I think he’ll be looking for his starting qb though.

We can say we're past that, but this year and next year's schedule aren't going to be the norm. We're going to have years where we have Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Michigan all on the schedule at the same time.

I'd also like to add that do we not think USC and Michigan aren't going to get there programs turned around. The way they recruit, they're going to be back near the top sooner then later.

I'm not saying we're not going to be up around those teams (I firmly believe we will), but the Ohio State game showed that our margin or error is so slim compared to those elites that it's going to take time before we're consistently up there.

Minimum of 8 wins a season i would think would be a pretty good reference point. He'll, they're talking about 9 win teams getting in this year, so a baseline of 8 seems reasonable to me.

 

[mushroomgod_1]

Cignetti has a ton of portal shopping to do after this year. With the money at his disposal and the huge season we are experiencing, he should be able to attract a monster portal class.

He needs linemen, WR, RB, a QB, and more!! It's going to be very interesting to watch it unfold...and yes, please get a stud QB. I'm not sold on Jackson.

Also, I'm not sure Cig is sold on Jackson. He seems very particular about his QBs, and there seems be something he thinks is missing....perhaps the quickness of his decision-making? He certainly has looked good at times, so hard to say what's going on there.

 

[td75]

You can't get around the fact that we don't look the part physically. Visually, just comparing bodies, we look the part of a mediocre BT also ran. What made us special was the mojo the O played with. Confidence, crisp passing, no dropped passes, very few penalties, no fumbles, no dumb plays......for the most part, gone the two 2nd halves of our two most important games. Almost completely shut down, and playing scared instead of playing with confidence. Quite a few other BT teams have good defenses and mediocre to bad offenses. That makes us Minnesota or Illinois or Iowa or Nebraska.

So.....I have absolutely no issue with other fanbases questioning our inclusion. There's no guarantee our O can get its s*** together. There's no doubt that the IU team that played Nebraska belonged. The D has improved. The O just needs to get its mojo back. I'll be there Saturday hoping it does.

What are we missing physically speaking?

 

[Baller23Boogie]

You can't get around the fact that we don't look the part physically. Visually, just comparing bodies, we look the part of a mediocre BT also ran. What made us special was the mojo the O played with. Confidence, crisp passing, no dropped passes, very few penalties, no fumbles, no dumb plays......for the most part, gone the two 2nd halves of our two most important games. Almost completely shut down, and playing scared instead of playing with confidence. Quite a few other BT teams have good defenses and mediocre to bad offenses. That makes us Minnesota or Illinois or Iowa or Nebraska.

So.....I have absolutely no issue with other fanbases questioning our inclusion. There's no guarantee our O can get its s*** together. There's no doubt that the IU team that played Nebraska belonged. The D has improved. The O just needs to get its mojo back. I'll be there Saturday hoping it does.

Would you believe that if you took out our sack yardage, we outrushed Ohio State, and it would have been by a substantial amount had that late long run not happened? Up until that run, they were averaging something well under 3 yards a carry.

Also, our defense held them on a pair of red zone stops, one at the goal line.

Physicality was not a problem. It was their speed that we couldn't handle.

 

[OpenWheels]

You can't get around the fact that we don't look the part physically. Visually, just comparing bodies, we look the part of a mediocre BT also ran. ...

Not when only the starters or those actually playing are on the field...

Sure, Urban Meyer walking around comparing Ohio States roster of 80+ who could start, versus ours with maybe 35-40 starters has us not look the part. Their backups outclass ours in size.

But we have not looked outclassed physically by all that much against most of the B1G under the Tom Allen years, and slightly better this year. Sure, a little bit against the very best. But not starters vs starters or those actually playing.

When I see our O-line create space for our running game it looks the part. When I see our defensive line get a bunch of TFL or sacks it looks the part. When I see our smaller DBs knocking away passes they look the part.

Yeah, less of that happened against Michigan and Ohio State, but worked just fine against the remaining B1G. And I'd like to see Boise, Tulane, and a bunch of other teams ranked near us at the horseshoe and see if they look the part.
,

 

[Hatchets7times]

Cignetti has a ton of portal shopping to do after this year. With the money at his disposal and the huge season we are experiencing, he should be able to attract a monster portal class.

He needs linemen, WR, RB, a QB, and more!! It's going to be very interesting to watch it unfold...and yes, please get a stud QB. I'm not sold on Jackson.

A duel threat Q.B
The one thing our Q.B. now doesn't have.
Extending plays ..When things go south.
It's a must have...

 

[td75]

A duel threat Q.B
The one thing our Q.B. now doesn't have.
Extending plays ..When things go south.
It's a must have...

I thought Jackson was a duel threat QB...That said, Cignetti isn't sold on him for whatever reason.

I agree, pursue a big time DT kid that can come in and take over.

 

[CG Paul]

Minimum of 8 wins a season i would think would be a pretty good reference point. He'll, they're talking about 9 win teams getting in this year, so a baseline of 8 seems reasonable to me.

Okay, but that’s different than being happy with eight wins and sniffing the playoffs every now and then. At least to me it is.

Maybe just my interpretation. 🤷‍♂️

 

[YOTHN]

I thought Jackson was a duel threat QB...That said, Cignetti isn't sold on him for whatever reason.

I agree, pursue a big time DT kid that can come in and take over.

I don't think he has shown quick decision-making skills. If Jackson has time in the pocket, he can play pretty well and that showed vs Nebraska. Against Washington he struggled to get over 100yds, had a 49 QBR. I think we passed it just 19 times and ran it over 50 times. I'm not saying coaching for a year can't improve that and the experience certainly helps but there was a vast difference in play at the position with Jackson in there.

 

[mushroomgod_1]

What are we missing physically speaking?

Do you see anybody that looks like WR Smith from OSU? How about DB Downs? Did you see the punt return? Who can do that for us?

Guys like Rourke, Kamara, Carpenter, Price are over-achievers. Nothing wrong with that. A lot right.

Someone mentioned teams like Boise and Tulane. I'll add BYU. Over-achievers. Like us. And we were the #1 achiever in the country until Rourke hurt his thumb. Since then the O has fallen off the cliff.

Teams like OSU, Michigan, PSU and most of the SEC pass the airport test. Teams like IU, BYU, KSU, Boise don't. Makes it fun to beat them.......doesn't change the fact that there is a big talent differential..

 

[Cortez88]

What are we missing physically speaking?

Size, athleticism, and depth with both attributes. I think it was Meyer in pregame saying he worried about IU because they looked like a different team compared to OSU. We need to built both lines up. Bigger, faster, stronger. I love Fisher but he’s playing BIG10 LB at the size of a safety. That takes a toll deep into games.

 

[Cortez88]

I thought Jackson was a duel threat QB...That said, Cignetti isn't sold on him for whatever reason.

I agree, pursue a big time DT kid that can come in and take over.

Jackson is much more a traditional drop back QB. He didn’t run much in high school either.

 

[mrhighlife]

It's mind boggling the amount of shit IU is taking but no one is talking about Notre Dame, SMU, Bosie St., Miami and Arizona St. Like why the fu** is Boise St ranked 4th? Who cares that they are going to win their conference. Their conference is garbage. SMU? Give me a fu**ing break.

 

[Bligedy]

You can't get around the fact that we don't look the part physically. Visually, just comparing bodies, we look the part of a mediocre BT also ran. What made us special was the mojo the O played with. Confidence, crisp passing, no dropped passes, very few penalties, no fumbles, no dumb plays......for the most part, gone the two 2nd halves of our two most important games. Almost completely shut down, and playing scared instead of playing with confidence. Quite a few other BT teams have good defenses and mediocre to bad offenses. That makes us Minnesota or Illinois or Iowa or Nebraska.

So.....I have absolutely no issue with other fanbases questioning our inclusion. There's no guarantee our O can get its s*** together. There's no doubt that the IU team that played Nebraska belonged. The D has improved. The O just needs to get its mojo back. I'll be there Saturday hoping it does.

Urban Meyer disagrees with this.

 

[OpenWheels]

It's mind boggling the amount of shit IU is taking but no one is talking about Notre Dame, SMU, Bosie St., Miami and Arizona St. Like why the fu** is Boise St ranked 4th? Who cares that they are going to win their conference. Their conference is garbage. SMU? Give me a fu**ing break.

Why we gotta get in, and play one of those teams. Or even Penn State or maybe Notre Dame.

Gotta be in it! Let's go Hoosiers!

 

[IUNCAAChamps2012]

Rourke got the yips after we couldn’t come close to stopping their blitz. I got a bit worried when he missed on the simple screen pass to Price. It looked well blocked but Rourke rushed it and threw it at his feet (Price’s reaction showed he knew it woulda been a big gain too).

Rourke needs to show he’s locked in again this week. Any rough patches and it’ll be worrisome for potential CFP games.

 

[OpenWheels]

That screen pass was weird, it's almost like Price was too far downfield, he looked screened a little by our own blockers. But it wasn't a good toss.

 

[ElMeson]

Would you believe that if you took out our sack yardage, we outrushed Ohio State, and it would have been by a substantial amount had that late long run not happened? Up until that run, they were averaging something well under 3 yards a carry.

Also, our defense held them on a pair of red zone stops, one at the goal line.

Physicality was not a problem. It was their speed that we couldn't handle.

They punted twice the entire game and scored on every possession but one in the 2nd half and punted once in the first half. Once they got rolling we weren’t going to stop them. You can paint it however you want but our OL was physically dominated. We had 151 total yards and only 90 at the start of the 4th quarter.

 

[mushroomgod_1]

Jackson is much more a traditional drop back QB. He didn’t run much in high school either.

Yes......I'm not sure if he is a fearless tough guy....which is basically what you need to be to be a true "double threat". Not to say he's slow. He's more athletic than Rourke.

 

[mushroomgod_1]

Rourke got the yips after we couldn’t come close to stopping their blitz. I got a bit worried when he missed on the simple screen pass to Price. It looked well blocked but Rourke rushed it and threw it at his feet (Price’s reaction showed he knew it woulda been a big gain too).

Rourke needs to show he’s locked in again this week. Any rough patches and it’ll be worrisome for potential CFP games.

It felt like the Michigan game was mentally draining for him after Michigan shut down the short passing game. His reaction to the 2nd half against OSU was just self-preservation. His lack of quickness left him pretty defenseless. Fortunately, Purdue's DL and LBs look nothing like those of Michigan or OSU.

 

[mushroomgod_1]

It's mind boggling the amount of shit IU is taking but no one is talking about Notre Dame, SMU, Bosie St., Miami and Arizona St. Like why the fu** is Boise St ranked 4th? Who cares that they are going to win their conference. Their conference is garbage. SMU? Give me a fu**ing break.

ND looks pretty legit. We can play with and/or beat any of the others. We're just a target because we were so highly ranked and had the misfortune of playing OSU on a good day for them. And the others with the exception of Miami or SMU will be automatic qualifiers, so no use to rag on them.

 

[red hornet]

Let's not cut Tayven Jackson short on talent. He is very good & will get better with experience. Right now Coach Cignetti wanted to ride the horse that had got him to this point. Yes Coach will bring in a portal QB but don't be surprised if Tayven beats him out.

 

[Bowlmania]

You can't get around the fact that we don't look the part physically. Visually, just comparing bodies, we look the part of a mediocre BT also ran. What made us special was the mojo the O played with. Confidence, crisp passing, no dropped passes, very few penalties, no fumbles, no dumb plays......for the most part, gone the two 2nd halves of our two most important games. Almost completely shut down, and playing scared instead of playing with confidence. Quite a few other BT teams have good defenses and mediocre to bad offenses. That makes us Minnesota or Illinois or Iowa or Nebraska.

So.....I have absolutely no issue with other fanbases questioning our inclusion. There's no guarantee our O can get its s*** together. There's no doubt that the IU team that played Nebraska belonged. The D has improved. The O just needs to get its mojo back. I'll be there Saturday hoping it does.

I think the opposition the last two games had a little something to do with how we looked.

The Ohio State and Michigan defensive rosters are loaded with Sunday players. Michigan has two guys on the DL who will be first round picks. Ohio State has perhaps the best defense in the country.

Now that we've got the NFL portion of our regular season schedule out of the way, our offense should return to form.

Finally, this is Cignetti's first year. Going forward, expect significant increases in roster size, speed and talent.

 

[Army88]

It's mind boggling the amount of shit IU is taking but no one is talking about Notre Dame, SMU, Bosie St., Miami and Arizona St. Like why the fu** is Boise St ranked 4th? Who cares that they are going to win their conference. Their conference is garbage. SMU? Give me a fu**ing break.

Boise State is Not ranked 4th, but they are they are potentially in the “first 4, bye position”. The only reason they might be in the 4th/bye position is the crazy CFP rule of the top 4 have to be conference champions, regardless of ranking.