temptation

I do feel an obligation to quickly defend Michigan's schedule and agree that we will find out a lot about them this weekend against Maryland. As most know, college football schedules are made years in advance and at the time Colorado State and Hawaii were scheduled, they were rolling and consistently bowl teams winning 7-8 games. Both teams had recent coaching changes and are in the rebuilding process to say the least but hindsight is 20/20. As for UConn, it was an emergency replacement as Michigan had a home and home scheduled with UCLA. (By no means a juggernaut, but a power 5 team nonetheless.) When the Big Ten adopted the 9 game conference schedule, Michigan was slated to have four home conference games in 2023, plus a road game at UCLA. The athletic department, coming off of COVID, was not willing to only play 6 home contests in 2023 so UCLA was dropped and UConn was added. Moot point now, but just wanted to point it out.

Wow. A damning accusation considering the head coaches’ resume.

FWIW: ESPN’s FPI has the Hoosiers dropping their final 9. Win probability: at Cincinnati: 12% at Nebraska: 37% vs Michigan: 8% vs Maryland: 36% at Rutgers: 34% vs Penn State: 14% at Ohio State: 2% at Michigan State: 10% vs Purdue: 25% I am on record is saying the Hoosiers will win one more but I’m starting to second guess that as some of those numbers seem low based on what we saw these past three weeks. I could honestly see a path to 5-6 wins.

When teams have similar talent (Purdue/Syracuse) one mistake can cost you the game obviously. In the case of Penn State/Purdue, the Boilers can't overcome a talent disparity AND coaching malpractice. Funny that IU is sitting at 3-0, but I would be hard pressed to find anyone who states they are clearly better than a 1-2 Purdue team. I swear Purdue invents new ways to lose games.

Here is my question and why I just can't with the hypocrisy of the left. How is this inhumane, but the Biden administration flying migrants to places IN THE MIDDLE of the NIGHT in the first place is just being glossed over? People just hear what they want to hear. To me, its pretty obvious at this point. If you convince enough of these asylum seekers that you were their savior and fly them to swing states like Florida, then you take Texas too (a state that is turning purple) your path to the presidency just became a near cakewalk. This is about using them as political pawns to ensure lifetime Democratic voters which is exactly what the left is accusing the right of doing.

No one on this forum was more bullish on North Central entering this season than I was. A complete swing and a miss. I just don't get it.

How has their run blocking improved so much but they are still atrocious in pass protection?

Small sample size for me anyway as I did not keep tabs on him prior, but DeBoer strikes me as a potential future NFL guy. Seems like an offensive mastermind.

They’ll always have that 2018 regional game against Warren…

Kid owns the MSU secondary.

BD…that being said Cathedral was my pick in the preseason and I’m sticking with them.

You have Cathedral #59 in the US…I have them #4…in INDIANA.

Still dislike Franklin but watched this last night and thought it was hysterical.

Winning in that environment is impressive, I’ll give Penn State that. Playing the atmosphere is sometimes tougher than the actual opponent in my opinion. That’s why Iowa still makes me nervous.

Drinking that Penn State Kool Aid after their win over the 14th best team in the SEC huh? If Jeff Brohm had a brain they would have lost in West Lafayette and couldn’t run the ball against PURDUE. Plus they are still coached by James Franklin…the second most overpaid coach in college football behind Mel Tucker. Citing revenge for OSU huh? Their D is still charmin soft and the game is still being played in late November. I like Michigan’s chances.

Completely overlooked Leach and Elvis. Embarassed.

@ Iowa still makes me nervous. Crazy nonsense always seems to happen there…must be the pink locker rooms. Thankfully it was announced as a noon game today. Want no part of the hornet’s nest that is Kinnick at night.

LOL, gimme the reasoning on Minnesota… New Mexico State, Western Illinois and Colorado are powerhouses huh?

Misquoted him/her...sorry. "ill take over at 6-8 wins.....i trust the coaching....i trust the conditioning, i know the DNA most of these kids come from, and im not just saying that because im a former player, coach or alum....the far east side had been counted out recently, every since WEST left." Will re-visit in weeks. Poster showed up and acted offended for about 10 days and then disappeared once the season started.

Paging @FAREASTSIDEWC...was here every day in the preseason leading up to week 1. I believe also called 8 regular season wins for the Warriors.

Can't just yet. Michigan lost a lot on D last year and has played three high school teams.

Should have been able to score on OSU, Marshall and Cal too...

Carmel @ North Central: This used to be a decently competitive backyard rivalry but not as much anymore. Two teams and programs that are miles apart on a map but worlds apart on a football field. Hounds roll early and often here. Carmel wins 45-10. Lawrence Central @ Center Grove: Expected let down game for the Bears last week after the emotional win at Warren but they made enough plays late to squeak one out against a pesky Pike team. A different animal awaits this week. I think LC has enough playmakers to make it interesting but CG pulls away late. Trojans win 30-14. Lawrence North @ Ben Davis: Another let down warning as BD comes off a big rivalry win at Warren. Lawrence North is reeling and will not have the horses to keep up with the potent BD offense. Giants overcome a slow start and win this one 38-20. Warren Central @ Pike: Upset alert? Warren has looked mediocre since week 2 and simply cannot seem to get out of its own way. Pike played competitively with Carmel longer than I expected and had a solid LC outfit on the ropes on the road last week. I am calling the home team here in a mild upset. Pike wins 31-27. What say you?

Huge week for the conference as we will know a lot more about who the front runner is/is not around 10pm on Friday night. Fishers @ Avon: No shame for the Tigers in losing to top-ranked (depending upon which poll you prefer) Brownsburg last week. Looks like they moved the ball but the defense let them down. Won't be an issue this week and will spoil the Orioles' homecoming and stay alive in the conference race...for one more week. Fishers wins 38-14 Franklin Central @ Noblesville: I have these teams neck and neck in my latest rankings and have a lot more faith in the Flashes than I do the Millers. I feel like Noblesville's ceiling is a bit higher but it depends on which team shows up. Franklin Central's close loss to Zionsville a couple of weeks back looks a lot more impressive now, considering what the Eagles have done since. I am going with the road team here. FC wins 24-21. Westfield @ Brownsburg: Does the torch officially get passed on Friday night? Westfield is coming off of its first conference loss in three years so it will be interesting to see how they respond. Brownsburg can stay on pace for that late season showdown with HSE with a win. All of the marbles on the line. The way it should be. Everyone else in the conference needs the Rocks to pull it out on the road. I say Brownsburg makes a statement. Dogs win 30-21. Zionsville @ Hamilton Southeastern: HSE has lived up to the offseason hype and like Brownsburg needs a win to keep pace for the conference crown. Zionsville seems to have steadily improved week to week after suffering some graduation losses in 2021. They have grown up. Won't be quite enough in my opinion though. I am going with the Royals here. 27-17. What say you?

The scariest part for me? I think the Texans and Jags are possibly the two worst teams on the schedule.