CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Four => Big Ten => Topic started by: medinabuckeye1 on November 29, 2025, 05:06:52 PM
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Playing for the #1 seed in the CFP and probably also the Heisman.
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Who gets to wear the home jerseys?
Both are 12-0
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Good win by the Buckeyes today. Overcame road game, hostile crowd. Chippy after the whistle bs, and win with humility. No flag planting BS.
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They really need to rethink these things. They were created as cash grabs, but with the playoffs it makes no sense for the top two teams to play each other in a game that really has no meaning whatsoever.
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if they weren't both undefeated it would have meaning
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I was in 4th grade, the last time Indiana beat Ohio State.
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if they weren't both undefeated it would have meaning
It could, but the conferences should probably figure out a way for these bonus games to be meaningful. Like, theoretically, Oregon v. Michigan for a guaranteed playoff spot or something like that.
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I was in 4th grade, the last time Indiana beat Ohio State.
And you'll probably be dead before it happens again.
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Who gets to wear the home jerseys?
Both are 12-0
Ohio State based on cumulative league record of league opponents.
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And you'll probably be dead before it happens again.
If so, I hope it's because it doesn't happen for a long time, not because I don't live to see another Saturday.
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It could, but the conferences should probably figure out a way for these bonus games to be meaningful. Like, theoretically, Oregon v. Michigan for a guaranteed playoff spot or something like that.
well, it's kinda an important bonus for most - Conference champ
now if ya wanna create another bonus game to try to get another conference team in the playoff - match UCS vs Michigan if ya think it will help
Oregon is in - no sense jeopardizing that
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If so, I hope it's because it doesn't happen for a long time, not because I don't live to see another Saturday.
Same same...
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I was in 4th grade, the last time Indiana beat Ohio State.
5th grade the last time Wisconsin beat Ohio State?
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LOL. Purdue's beaten Ohio State 5x since I've been able to legally drink :57:
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Let's wake up Cincy!
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Good win by the Buckeyes today. Overcame road game, hostile crowd. Chippy after the whistle bs, and win with humility. No flag planting BS.
Wrong thread. Day was very classy without a doubt. The players showed that 18-22 years olds can do dumb things even with good leadership.
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Day admitted, that it took some effort on his part to stay classy
good for him
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(https://i.imgur.com/CnQ5BQC.jpeg)
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This will be Indiana's first ever 1 v 2 game as prior to this season, they had never been ranked above #4. Here is Ohio State's history in 1 v 2 games and what they led to:
- 1968 season: On January 1, 1969 #1 Ohio State defeated #2 USC 27-16 in the Rose Bowl to claim the NC.
- 2002 season: On January 3, 2003 #2 Ohio State defeated #1 Miami 31-24 in 2OT to claim the NC.
- 2006 season: On September 9, 2006 #1 Ohio State defeated #2 Texas in Austin to solidify their hold on #1.
- 2006 season: On November 18, 2006 #1 Ohio State defeated #2 Michigan in Columbus to solidify their hold on #1.
- 2006 season: On January 8, 2007 Ohio State became the first team to ever play three 1v2 games in a single season when they lost to #2 UF for the NC.
- 2007 season: On January 7, 2008 #1 Ohio State lost to #2 LSU in NOLA for the NC.
By my count Ohio State is 4-2 (3-2 as #1, 1-0 as #2) in 1v2 games.
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On Saturday Ohio State will be playing for the first B1G Championship since 2020 which seems like a long time because frankly it is for the Buckeyes but Indiana will be playing for their first league Championship in nearly 60 years.
Indiana last on the league in 1967. That year the league had three co-champions: Indiana, Purdue, and Minnesota. It was one of those three-way ties where they each went 1-1 against each other:
- Purdue beat Minnesota 41-12 in West Lafayette on November 11
- Minnesota beat Indiana 33-7 in Minneapolis on November 18
- Indiana beat Purdue 19-14 on November 25
Indiana went to the RoseBowl based on two now antiquated rules:
- Purdue was eliminated by the 'no repeat' rule because the went to and won the Rose Bowl after the 1966 season.
- Indiana was selected over Minnesota based on the 'longest loser rule' because Minnesota had been to two RoseBowls earlier in the 1960s while Indiana had never been.
Interestingly, the 1967 season is also the last league title for Minnesota while the Boilermakers have fared much better with one league title since then (2000).
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Thinking about 3 alternative scenarios
1. What if the Big Ten has 2 separate 9=team divisions where the 2 division winners go to the CCG.
2. What is the Big Ten had 3 separate 6-team divisions and the 2 best division winners go the CCG
3. What if the Big Ten had 4 automatic qualifiers that made the CFP with wild card games to determine who gets the #3 and #4 spot.
I might dig into these in more detail in separate posts below.
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So what if the Big Ten had 2 separate 9-team divisions? You could try to split teams geographically
Geographic Divisions
West
1. Oregon 8-1
2. USC 7-2
3. Iowa 6-3
4. Wash 5-4
5. Minn 5-4
6. NW 4-5
7. Neb 4-5
8. UCLA 3-6
9. Wisc 2-7
Overall. 44-37
East
1. Ohio St 9-0
2. Indiana 9-0
3. Mich 7-2
4. ILL 5-4
5. PSU 3-6
6. Rut 2-7
7. MSU 1-8
8. MD 1-8
9. Pur 0-9
Overall 37-44
If there were geographic East-West divisions, Oregon would play whoever won the OSU/Indiana game in the regular season.
Also the West Division would be the clear winner in overall records
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What if the Big Ten had 3 separate 6-team divisions
North Division
1. Oregon 8-1
2. Iowa 6-3
3. Wash 5-4
4. Minn 5-4
5. Neb 4-5
6. Wisc 2-7
Overall 30-24
South Division
1. Indiana 9-0
2. USC 7-2
3. ILL 5-4
4. NW 4-5
5. UCLA 3-6
6. Pur 0-9
Overall 28-26
East Division
1. Ohio St 9-0
2. Mich 7-2
3. PSU 3-6
4. Rut 2-7
5. MSU 1-8
6. MD 1-8
Overall. 23-31
So OHio St and Indiana would be the 2 best division winners and would play in the CCG.
Overall the North Division would be the winner in Overall records, with the south 2nd and the East in last place.
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We've hashed all this out before, but the problem with 9-team divisions is that it's not really a single conference any longer. If you play a 9-game conference schedule, you literally play each team from the opposite division once every 9 years. Maybe that's okay (because 16- or 18-team conferences are stupid anyway), but it's still not a single unified conference. (The NFL gets around this with 16-team conferences by having the divisional 2-play model, a 17-game regular season, and then a conference playoff before the Super Bowl, none of which I think is palatable in CFB.)
3 divisions helps with that because you have 5 division games and 4 cross-division games each season. But then... Who goes to the CCG? Winning your division can't be an automatic CCG berth. And I think you know how I'm not a big fan of a lack of objectivity.
4 "pods" may also be a viable solution. With rotating alignment such that the four pods form annual divisions, you can ensure regular scheduling of everyone in the conference, an objective process to determine CCG eligibility, etc... But for that you need either 16 teams or 20 teams, because 18 doesn't evenly divide by 4.
Once you start having superconferences, this is just going to be a problem. Maybe superconferences aren't such a good idea...
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Common results:
Illinois: IU: 63-10 OSU (@): 34-16. Edge: IU
UCLA: IU: 56-6, OSU: 48-10. is one blowout better than another?
Penn State: IU (@): 27-24, OSU: 38-14. Edge: OSU
Wisconsin: IU: 31-7, OSU (@): 34-0. Both blowouts
How ridiculous is it that they only have four common opponents!?!
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Common results:
Illinois: IU: 63-10 OSU (@): 34-16. Edge: IU
UCLA: IU: 56-6, OSU: 48-10. is one blowout better than another?
Penn State: IU (@): 27-24, OSU: 38-14. Edge: OSU
Wisconsin: IU: 31-7, OSU (@): 34-0. Both blowouts
How ridiculous is it that they only have four common opponents!?!
They also both played Purdue
I like College Football Nerds. Their question is whether or not Indiana' has the ability to "scale".
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So what if the Big Ten had 2 separate 9-team divisions? You could try to split teams geographically
Geographic Divisions
West
1. Oregon 8-1
2. USC 7-2
3. Iowa 6-3
4. Wash 5-4
5. Minn 5-4
6. NW 4-5
7. Neb 4-5
8. UCLA 3-6
9. Wisc 2-7
Overall. 44-37
East
1. Ohio St 9-0
2. Indiana 9-0
3. Mich 7-2
4. ILL 5-4
5. PSU 3-6
6. Rut 2-7
7. MSU 1-8
8. MD 1-8
9. Pur 0-9
Overall 37-44
If there were geographic East-West divisions, Oregon would play whoever won the OSU/Indiana game in the regular season.
Also the West Division would be the clear winner in overall records
We've hashed all this out before, but the problem with 9-team divisions is that it's not really a single conference any longer. If you play a 9-game conference schedule, you literally play each team from the opposite division once every 9 years. Maybe that's okay
yup, that's Okay because it's not really a single conference - just a group negotiating TV contracts
It's 2 conferences
3 or 4 or 5 pods is silly
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What if the Big Ten had 4 automatic spots in a 16-team CFP?
Scenerio #1: Big Ten has a CCG where both teams make the CFP and then has 2 Wild Card games to determine automatic spots #3 and #4
Big Ten CCG: Indiana (9-0) vs Ohio St (9-0)
WCG for #3 Spot; Iowa (6-3) at Oregon (8-1)
WCG for #4 Spot: Michigan (7-2) ar USC (7-2)
In this case, it really feels like the WCG's are not needed, since Oregon already beat Iowa and USC already beat Michigan. Why play again?
Scenerio #2: Big Ten has 4 wild card games to determine the 4 spots
WCG #1: Illinois (5-4) at Ohio St (9-0)
WCG #2: Washington (5-4) at Indiana (9-0)
WCG #3; Iowa (6-3) at Oregon (8-1)
WCG #4: Michigan (7-2) at USC (7-2)
Again in this case, the games seem unexessary to me. Worse part is Indiana and Ohio St don't get to play for the Big Ten championship and might get knocked out of the CFP with an upset loss.
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My final alternate scenerio: what if the Big Ten had a champions week where every team gets to play a 13th game?
Rule #1 : top 2 teams play in the CCG regardless of whether its a rematch or not.
Rule#2: other teams must play the highest ranked team still available as long as its not a rematch
Edit: Rule#3 : teams with 5 conference games have to play the champions week game on the road. Teams with 4 conference road games get to host a home game during champions week, unless they are in the CCG.
CCG: Indiana (9-0) vs Ohio St (9-0)
Game #2: Illinois (5-4) at Oregon (8-1)
Game #3: Washington (5-4) at USC (7-2)
Game #4: Iowa (6-3) at Michigan (7-2)
Game #5: Minn (5-4) at PSU (3-6)
Game #6: NW (4-5) at Mich St (1-8)
Game #7: Neb (4-5) at Rutgers (2-7)
Game #8: Wisc (2-7) at UCLA (3-6)
Game #9: Purdue (0-9) at MD (1-8)
I admit this idea has some flaws in it, especially when it comes down to who gets to be the home team. Maybe a rule should be added that only the teams with 4 home conference games get to host during champions week. But if that can be sorted out, I kinda like this idea.
Edit: I tweaked the matchups so that everybody gets at least 5 home conference games except for Ohio St and Indiana. Essentially the old Big Ten east plus Oregon and UCLA played 5 road games this year, so they all should get a home game. Since Ohio St and Ind were both supposed to be home teams, i flipped the highest ranked road team (USC) to a home game instead
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My final alternate scenerio: what if the Big Ten had a champions week where every team gets to play a 13th game?
It would be fun for fans, but the conference brass would never agree to it.
We want to get 4 teams in the CFP. If you're basically forcing the #3 and #4 teams in the conference to play each other, you guarantee one of them a loss.
In your scenario, do the B1G b1gw1gs *really* want to see Oregon get upset by Illinois and fail to make the CFP?
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It would be fun for fans, but the conference brass would never agree to it.
We want to get 4 teams in the CFP. If you're basically forcing the #3 and #4 teams in the conference to play each other, you guarantee one of them a loss.
In your scenario, do the B1G b1gw1gs *really* want to see Oregon get upset by Illinois and fail to make the CFP?
Agreed with one exception. There has been some talk about guaranteed bids for the SEC and B1G. If we had four guaranteed bids then IL/Ore isn't going to cost us a bid it is simply to determine which team gets the bid. It effectively becomes a playoff game.
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Maybe I'm just a biased or overly optimistic Ohio State fan but my take on the B1GCG is that Indiana's success will not "scale" and the Buckeyes win relatively comfortably.
Indiana is MUCH better than Ohio State at beating the everloving daylights out of bad teams. Their four biggest B1G wins are a 45 point win at UMD, a 50 point win vs UCLA, and 53 point wins vs IL and at PU. Ohio State has no wins that big. In fact, in three of those cases Ohio State played the same team and won by a smaller margin:
- IU beat IL by 53, tOSU beat the Illini by 18
- IU beat UCLA by 50, tOSU beat the Bruins by 38
- IU beat PU by 53, tOSU beat the Boilermakers by 24
Against the other two common opponents, Ohio State had the larger MoV:
- Ohio State beat PSU by 24, IU beat the Lions by 3
- Ohio State beat UW by 38, IU beat the Badgers by 24
I think the difference is in what the committee calls 'game control'. Ohio State's three closest B1G wins were 18 point road wins over M, IL, and UDub. Indiana's were one-score wins over IA and PSU and a 10 point win over Oregon. Against the best teams they have played, IU has not been able to put the games away. The only team Ohio State didn't put away was Texas way back in week 1.
There is another issue here that I think plays into this. Some of this is something that you might call "Helmet Privilege". Part of the reason that Ohio State didn't beat (at least) UCLA and Purdue by 50+ like Indiana did is simply that Ryan Day knows that Ohio State doesn't need to beat UCLA and Purdue by 50+. Ohio State's is one of the biggest helmets in the sport and they are the defending Champions so nobody is going to question whether or not Ohio State belongs so long as they win double-digit games. Indiana was never ranked above #4 prior to this season, hasn't won a league title in almost 60 years, and just in general has mostly been a doormat for as long as anyone can remember so I think that Cignetti faces a different calculus.
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Yeah, it's most definitely by design. OSU is playing keep away in the second half, instead of going for the 70 burger.
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(https://i.imgur.com/7vv4vvC.jpeg)
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I was in Kinnick for that 1985 game
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I was in Kinnick for that 1985 game
I was too. Over 40 years ago now. Wow!
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I really liked Hayden and really disliked Bo
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would be something if Indiana won then ran the table in the playoff and won a Natty.
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that's why I'm kinda rootin fer the Hoosiers
Stinkbomb would melt down
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The Nerds have their preview up:
https://youtu.be/Wvj09_kzjyM?si=Zp0M5bGypHmTw0i-
They start out talking about the mini-controversy over GameDay going to the #3 vs #9 SECCG rather than the #1 vs #2 B1GCG. I agree with their take. #1 vs #2 games in the past were always monumental but the structure has changed. Frankly, the B1GCG has less impact nationally than any of the others because both teams are going to get byes anyway. The SECCG matters because they aren't both getting byes unless TxTech loses so they are basically playing for a bye. The B12CG matters because BYU is playing for a bid and somebody (ND or Miami) is losing a bid if BYU wins. The ACCCG matters because UVA is in with a win and if Dook wins that probably gets JMU in. The AAC CG matters because it is a de-facto playoff game with the winner getting a bid.
They point out that both teams have played relatively weak schedules. I've pointed out since early this season that their B1G schedules are surprisingly weak. Their point is that both teams are likely to be stressed in ways that they haven't been this year. They both picked Ohio State but close enough that an Indiana win wouldn't be shocking.
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Question... Let's say it's a blowout and a major OSU rout.
How bad does the blowout need to be before Indiana drops to #5 and doesn't get the bye?
Are we talking the OSU/UW 59-0 level of a few years ago? Would that even do it?
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Ohio State 24, Indiana 23
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Question... Let's say it's a blowout and a major OSU rout.
How bad does the blowout need to be before Indiana drops to #5 and doesn't get the bye?
Are we talking the OSU/UW 59-0 level of a few years ago? Would that even do it?
First of all, I think there is actually a zero percent chance of this happening. I say that not only because I don't think Ohio State is THAT much better than Indiana but also because even if they are, why bother? Ohio State is already #1 in the AP Poll and #1 in the CFP rankings so they have literally NOTHING to gain from beating the daylights out of Indiana. If you recall, the situation in 2014 was VERY different because Ohio State's place in the 4-team playoff was very much in doubt so the Buckeyes had a BIG reason to run the score up as much as possible on Wisconsin.
What I am saying is that if Ohio State has a 28-0 lead at halftime (I HIGHLY doubt this, just an example to answer @betarhoalphadelta (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=19) 's question), I think the final would probably be something like 31-7.
All of that said, I don't think that a 100-0 loss would cost Indiana a bye because the #5 team in the rankings right now is a team that Indiana beat by two scores on #5's field. Ie, Indiana isn't dropping behind Oregon no matter what. I also don't think that there is any scenario that would result in Ohio State not getting a bye. If Ohio State lost badly to Indiana there would be an argument that Ohio State did worse against that common opponent so Oregon should jump them but:
- The committee has been consistent about the CG not hurting you, and
- While Oregon would have the better common opponent result against Indiana and they already have a better common opponent result against RU, Ohio State has better common opponent results against PSU, UDub, UW, and MN and would have a 1/2 game better overall record so yeah, not happening.
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I do enjoy the Purdue fan's question.
How bad will Indiana have to get killed for them to close the university, rescind all diplomas, and ban the mention of them ever existing?
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sounds like something I'd ask Medina about the Wolverines in a tiebreaker thread.
He'd be like "the likelihood of that happening is so remote that I'm not even going to bother tracing it out."
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A fella can dream...
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(https://i.imgur.com/eEe689C.jpeg)
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(https://i.imgur.com/hnr9AN5.jpeg)
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(https://i.imgur.com/hnr9AN5.jpeg)
only 2 years in, but the new format with the 18 team super league certainly seems to have better quality CCG matchups.
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the West wasn't good
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Nor Indiana.
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Congrats to Indiana!
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Curt proved it!
It's possible!
Huskers, Hawks, & Boilermakers - Curt's sayin there's a chance
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Congrats to Indiana!
YUP,Hoosiers talent and tenacity are not imagined they earned their 1st Big Ten Title since 1967.And they snapped a 30-game losing streak against the Buckeyes. While tOSU Defense played a great game Mendoza's gutsy performance may have garnered him the Heisman. IMO he wouldn't really care they want the National Championship. If RYAN DAY can't patch up the O-line that seems to have holes somewhere every year then I hope they do.
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(https://i.imgur.com/jIIUqXK.png)
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Curt proved it!
It's possible!
Huskers, Hawks, & Boilermakers - Curt's sayin there's a chance
This is the part of the outcome I actually love. I’m now hoping the Hoosiers win it all. It’s like a low payroll team winning the World Series. I don’t love the system where the teams with the biggest checkbook have the biggest advantage and I say that knowing who Michigan is. I have understanding from being an Indians/Guardians fan. I’ve always been an underdog story guy and this Hoosiers team captures that this year.
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(https://i.imgur.com/jIIUqXK.png)
Cigarette is one of the great coaching hires I've ever seen. how was he so far off the radar of every big program? does not even make sense. he was an assistant at Bama under GOAT Saban from 2007-2010 and then for almost 14 years he's in the wilderness at tiny little shit hole jobs until Indiana hires him in 2024.
how did a guy this good go unnoticed for so long? how did a helmet not snatch him up before Indiana got to him?
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Group think,not sure Saban even ever mentioned him but might have.And Mark Cuban deserves a little bit of credit,can't win the race w/o the horses.And quite a few people slept on Mendoza also
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Hail to IU. I'm stunned they held OSU to 10 points. That's legit. Their schedule hadn't been great, but to beat Oregon in Autzen, hold on in their close call vs PSU, and then to beat OSU like that, they earned it. Best IU team of all time. That's huge!
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shut 'em out in the 2nd half, thanks to a friggin kicker
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Well . . .
I had half of this game figured right. I didn't think that Indiana's offense would scale against Ohio State's defense and it didn't. Ohio State held Indiana to 13, I figured <20. What I didn't expect was for Ohio State's offense to have the same problem only worse and only score 10.
There isn't really any excuse for having the WRs that Ohio State has, holding the opponent to 13, and losing. That should never happen.
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Congratulations to Indiana! There must be massive celebrating in Bloomington.
Curt Cignetti may have outdone Bill Snyder as the best rebuilder ever.
I hope that the Sooners can get by Bama (for the 2nd time this year) and meet the Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl.
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me too
99% of the fans in america feel that way
you have that cornsidered advantage
hopefully the officiating crew feels that way
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Well . . .
I had half of this game figured right. I didn't think that Indiana's offense would scale against Ohio State's defense and it didn't. Ohio State held Indiana to 13, I figured <20. What I didn't expect was for Ohio State's offense to have the same problem only worse and only score 10.
There isn't really any excuse for having the WRs that Ohio State has, holding the opponent to 13, and losing. That should never happen.
the stoopid announcers made a lot of the Hoosiers "rolling" coverage and cornfusing Sayin
I discounted this commentary. I'd guess Sayin had seen this before and this was not the reason he had a subpar game.
Sayin is obviously young and inexperienced, but he should have trusted his receivers to win those battles.
the biggest factor probably was the early INT that influenced his decision making along with the pressure from the Hoosiers that he wasn't prepared for.
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the stoopid announcers made a lot of the Hoosiers "rolling" coverage and cornfusing Sayin
I discounted this commentary. I'd guess Sayin had seen this before and this was not the reason he had a subpar game.
Sayin is obviously young and inexperienced, but he should have trusted his receivers to win those battles.
the biggest factor probably was the early INT that influenced his decision making along with the pressure from the Hoosiers that he wasn't prepared for.
Don’t forget- both QBs threw one TD and 1 pick. Sayin completed more passes, better completion %, and more yards than Mendoza.
He also drove them down late for the potential winning TD. It is not on him.
Indiana was the better team because their D- line out played OSUs O-line. Especially on 3rd and 4th downs.
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It did appear to me that Sayin was having a hard time seeing anyone open. seemed like tOSU had 8 guys on the field
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Oh, I won't forget but the voters will
also, both kickers missed a chip shot
pretty even game, evenly matched teams, especially in the trenches
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It did appear to me that Sayin was having a hard time seeing anyone open. seemed like tOSU had 8 guys on the field
that would be on the O-coordinator
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the stoopid announcers made a lot of the Hoosiers "rolling" coverage and cornfusing Sayin
I discounted this commentary. I'd guess Sayin had seen this before and this was not the reason he had a subpar game.
Sayin is obviously young and inexperienced, but he should have trusted his receivers to win those battles.
the biggest factor probably was the early INT that influenced his decision making along with the pressure from the Hoosiers that he wasn't prepared for.
I would say that The Hoosiers did something OSU has already seen several times this year - and had no problem overcoming. They played their safeties super deep ( sometimes 3 of them!), and their LBs super deep too.
The difference that I could see is that they also use tons of twisting and movement from their defensive line, and got tons of pressure in Saiyin, often quickly.
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Oh, I won't forget but the voters will
also, both kickers missed a chip shot
pretty even game, evenly matched teams, especially in the trenches
If we play our cards right maybe there will be a rematch for all the marbles - after all the game was in Indiana :57: Remember Tide got a do over in '11 i think it was - will have to earn it though
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I like the bucks in a rematch
would really like a rematch - means the SEC sucks