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5 minutes ago, MoyeCowbell said:

In all seriousness, I hope CTA has "88" printed on as large a poster board as possible and placed right at the entrance/exit of the locker room so all players see it every day.

'Is this what you want to be?'

I honestly cant recall a program that lost momentum as quickly as we did from '20 to '21.  Makes me wonder if the success '20 wasn't just a by-product of the chaos caused by Covid.  

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41 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

I honestly cant recall a program that lost momentum as quickly as we did from '20 to '21.  Makes me wonder if the success '20 wasn't just a by-product of the chaos caused by Covid.  

It's so sobering, disheartening, and possibly... apropos. Is IU destined to be a doormat with an occasional (re: generational) blip that spikes interest? That really sucks, if so.

But all that said, the '20 season brought me SO MUCH JOY. Everything about that season (save for the Bowl loss) was awesome. Even the failed comeback against OSU was a positive in my eyes, as it reinforced a sense of Hope and upward trajectory for the program.

I'm at a loss for how quickly that has evaporated.

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2 minutes ago, MoyeCowbell said:

It's so sobering, disheartening, and possibly... apropos. Is IU destined to be a doormat with an occasional (re: generational) blip that spikes interest? That really sucks, if so.

But all that said, the '20 season brought me SO MUCH JOY. Everything about that season (save for the Bowl loss) was awesome. Even the failed comeback against OSU was a positive in my eyes, as it reinforced a sense of Hope and upward trajectory for the program.

I'm at a loss for how quickly that has evaporated.

We probably never will have the depth and big boys across both OL/DL to compete against the Michigans and Ohio States etc but when we’ve had some special talents at the play making positions like WR, RB, QB we’ve been very very competitive. Injuries can certainly derail things for us but also it brings into question what the heck happened to Penix and our receiving group last year. They came in as experienced and talented (on paper) as any in the BIG and well they just simply stunk it up. Whether they read their own press clippings or didn’t put the work in I don’t know but I was very disappointed in them. I knew we wouldn’t force the number of turnovers that we did in 2020 to give us that big advantage as relying on turnovers is not something you can reliably predict (look at Iowa late in the season and how they fell off) but man we just did not take a step forward with our key playmakers last year. If we can make advances in closing the gap in the trenches then to me it will come down to our qb and playmakers on the outside giving us a shot at upsetting the big boys every once in awhile…and that’s about all you can ask for.

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45 minutes ago, btownqb said:

So we handled adversity better than everyone else in 2020....🤷‍♂️

What about going 8-5 the year before that?

Look.. if our top 3 QBs go down again, we're screwed. It's as simple as that. 

Things were wonky even before Penix went down.

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2 hours ago, 5fouls said:

I honestly cant recall a program that lost momentum as quickly as we did from '20 to '21.  Makes me wonder if the success '20 wasn't just a by-product of the chaos caused by Covid.  

Losing our D coordinator to South Alabama to be head coach was big. Our D coordinator changed to much of our coverage last year. And obviously from the 19 year losing our O coordinator to Fresno State.. those were 2 really big losses and we missed on our replacement hires.. can’t do that with the BIG East as brutal as it is.. The talent is still there and yes obviously QB gotta stay healthy. 

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1 hour ago, btownqb said:

So we handled adversity better than everyone else in 2020....🤷‍♂️

What about going 8-5 the year before that?

Look.. if our top 3 QBs go down again, we're screwed. It's as simple as that. 

I think we handled Covid and preparation much better than others in the B1G that year. We had basically zero cases all year until the Purdue week. We were mostly full strength and able to practice the whole year…while others didn’t handle Covid well and missed games and practices. whatever we did in preparation we did better than others imo. That said when that advantage went away we didn’t perform well. I agree…we knew Ol was an issue but the disappointment was QB and WR play for me…before and after the injuries last year. Hoping for much improvement. 

Edited by dgambill
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27 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

Things were wonky even before Penix went down.

Against Top 10 Iowa and Top 5 Cinci, I agree. We wouldn't have been 2-10 without our absurd amount of injuries. We had MSU on the ropes with one healthy corner and a backup QB, and the backup QB played like poop. 

Hell.. had Cinci beat with McFadden. They had 30 plays for 35 yards when he was in the game. 

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Things certainly snow balled last year for us. Yes injuries killed us but honestly we just didn’t put up a lot of fight as the season went on. There were wins out there for us even with a beat up roster but it seemed the kids packed it in…or the coaches couldn’t change up the system and adapt the game plan. Kind of the opposite of 2020..where we fed on the first win of the season and the optimism and confidence grew week after week. Just looking for more consistency this year. Not a specific win total but more a competitive fight consistently week in and out.

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54 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Things certainly snow balled last year for us. Yes injuries killed us but honestly we just didn’t put up a lot of fight as the season went on. There were wins out there for us even with a beat up roster but it seemed the kids packed it in…or the coaches couldn’t change up the system and adapt the game plan. Kind of the opposite of 2020..where we fed on the first win of the season and the optimism and confidence grew week after week. Just looking for more consistency this year. Not a specific win total but more a competitive fight consistently week in and out.

2020 was also played in front of no fans. That really helped on the road. 

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55 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Things certainly snow balled last year for us. Yes injuries killed us but honestly we just didn’t put up a lot of fight as the season went on. There were wins out there for us even with a beat up roster but it seemed the kids packed it in…or the coaches couldn’t change up the system and adapt the game plan. Kind of the opposite of 2020..where we fed on the first win of the season and the optimism and confidence grew week after week. Just looking for more consistency this year. Not a specific win total but more a competitive fight consistently week in and out.

Our defense will Be good again with Allen taking back over.. really in my opinion comes down to what O coordinator Bell can do with our offense. Can he be creative enough which should help the OLine and everyone perform better.. I really can’t think of worse play calling than what I witnessed last year. 

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My honest opinion.  This is a rebuilding year.  I am concerned about both sides of the line of scrimmage and let's see what we have at receiver.  Bazelak should give us solid and reliable QB play which is the biggest negative we had last year and why went 2-10.   I am very happy with secondary and LB.  RB and TE will be fine.

But our receiver corps has some good recruits in there, but will a few emerge and give us some playmaking?  Can't answer that yet.  DJ Matthews is a good player.  Camper, the Juco, is supposed to be good.  Jacquez Green, Swinton, Omar....McCulley....do we have enough guys who will be reliable let alone explosive?

The positive version of me says that our O line will be a lot better.  There is some addition by subtraction and let's leave it at that.  The big thing for me will some of our young O linemen step up and be ready?  On the D line, Tevis from Cal is supposed to be good.  Elliott and Sio can play the run.  Head is back for another year.  It feels like he started when Mallory first got here, so he knows the defense. 

Allen will be hands on with the defense.  That's a plus.

Just too many question marks for me to say anything but a rebuilding year.  But there is also a pathway to success if certain things gel.  I am rooting for the latter.  I do think, at a minimum, we will be a lot steadier than last year.  

Edited by BobSaccamanno
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4 minutes ago, BobSaccamanno said:

My honest opinion.  This is a rebuilding year.  I am concerned about both lines of scrimmage and let's see what we have at receiver.  Bazelak should give us solid and reliable QB play which is the biggest negative we had last year and why went 2-10.   I am very happy with secondary and LB.  RB and TE will be fine.

But our receiver corps has some good recruits in there, but will a few emerge and give us some playmaking?  Can't answer that yet.  DJ Matthews is a good player.  Camper, the Juco, is supposed to be good.  Jacquez Green, Swinton, Omar....McCulley....do we have enough guys who will be reliable let alone explosive?

The positive version of me says that our O line will be a lot better.  There is some addition by subtraction and let's leave it at that.  The big thing for me will some of our young O linemen step up and be ready?

Just too many question marks for me to say anything but a rebuilding year.

I think we will surprise and get to a bowl game. It’s crucial we right the ship before all momentum is lost. If Allen can’t do it at IU I’m not sure anyone can. 

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1 minute ago, BobSaccamanno said:

My honest opinion.  This is a rebuilding year.  I am concerned about both lines of scrimmage and let's see what we have at receiver.  Bazelak should give us solid and reliable QB play which is the biggest negative we had last year and why went 2-10.   I am very happy with secondary and LB.  RB and TE will be fine.

But our receiver corps has some good recruits in there, but will a few emerge and give us some playmaking?  Can't answer that yet.  DJ Matthews is a good player.  Camper, the Juco, is supposed to be good.  Jacquez Green, Swinton, Omar....McCulley....do we have enough guys who will be reliable let alone explosive?

The positive version of me says that our O line will be a lot better.  There is some addition by subtraction and let's leave it at that.  The big thing for me will some of our young O linemen step up and be ready?

Just too many question marks for me to say anything but a rebuilding year.

And if somehow we end up 6-6... that should big time celebrated. 

That will mean over a 4 year time frame we would have been 22-23 with 3 bowl appearances and will have played a HUGE majority vs. PW5 teams... plus 2 games vs Cinci. 

We haven't had many 4 year stretches that good. This was always going to be a long process. 

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2 minutes ago, btownqb said:

And if somehow we end up 6-6... that should big time celebrated. 

That will mean over a 4 year time frame we would have been 22-23 with 3 bowl appearances and will have played a HUGE majority vs. PW5 teams... plus 2 games vs Cinci. 

We haven't had many 4 year stretches that good. This was always going to be a long process. 

Would be an incredible stretch for IU football.. being in the BIG East every year is brutal.. really hoping this is last year for divisions which should really help us and make it way easier to be consistent with bowl games and building momentum 

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Great point about our 4 year stretch.  I agree with you guys that 6-6 would be success and do-able if things gel and come together.

Besides record, the biggest thing I'd like to see is young talent emerge.  I don't expect much from the '22 class because that is a lot to ask.  Ton of kids to like in that class, but they need to figure out where the restrooms are before they are all-League.  But some of the guys who are in their second or third years, I would love to see some guys emerge.  Can't list them all, but I am thinking of Cooper Jones, Beau Robbins, Sales, Benson, Fiacable, Katic, AJ Barner, Holloman (rb), J. Green, Swinton, and on and on.  

If some of those guys step up, then this year's class ('22, which is stacked) can start emerging next year, and boom, now are building something really good.

Edited by BobSaccamanno
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1 hour ago, 5 championships said:

Our defense will Be good again with Allen taking back over.. really in my opinion comes down to what O coordinator Bell can do with our offense. Can he be creative enough which should help the OLine and everyone perform better.. I really can’t think of worse play calling than what I witnessed last year. 

Losing Wommack hurt very badly, as he and Allen worked very well together. There was a distinct and identifiable swagger that the defense had while Kane was in his powder blues.

Warren had big shoes to fill, and ultimately, was unsuccessful*.

As you and many others have noted, having CTA back in the defensive cockpit (with Wilt) will hopefully return some of that lost confidence and production.

*I do wonder what could have been if McFadden didn't get tossed against UC. The whole season could've played out differently.

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3 hours ago, MoyeCowbell said:

Losing Wommack hurt very badly, as he and Allen worked very well together. There was a distinct and identifiable swagger that the defense had while Kane was in his powder blues.

Warren had big shoes to fill, and ultimately, was unsuccessful*.

As you and many others have noted, having CTA back in the defensive cockpit (with Wilt) will hopefully return some of that lost confidence and production.

*I do wonder what could have been if McFadden didn't get tossed against UC. The whole season could've played out differently.

Oh ya we don’t lose that game if he doesn’t get tossed on that BS call! Losing Mathew’s was a huge blow as well. He was really the only WR that could get consistent separation

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Per CBS/sleeper picks for a Nati:

 

Pac-12: Washington

Odds to win Pac-12 championship: +1600

With a schedule that ranks as one of the easiest in the league and an offensive mind now in charge of the program in Kalen DeBoer, the Huskies should make a quick return to relevance following last season's 4-8 debacle. Merely having a pulse on offense will get this team back to respectability as enough talent remains on defense for Washington to stay solid on that side of the ball.

With USC and Utah both missing from the schedule, road games at UCLA and Oregon are the only significant roadblocks in league play for a program that is still the last from the Pac-12 to reach the College Football Playoff. There is no one in the Pac-12 that a Washington team with a competent offense cannot beat on a given Saturday in 2022.

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12 minutes ago, btownqb said:

This Cale Gundy stuff isn't real, right? He read a word of an iPad and now he is not allowed to coach? 

I honestly appreciated his statement.  He acknowledged what happened, was transparent, and was willing to accept responsibility.  But should this incident cost him his job?  Are there other means of accepting responsibility without losing the job (for coaches or other professions)?  I really struggle to say yes to that if it was a one time offense.  Fair disclosure: I have no idea if there have been other occurrences or if this was a first time offense.  

Edited by thirdgenhoosier
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