temptation

ND is one fanbase I WON’T take crap from...

Now this we can agree on. Michigan was slated to be the youngest of the 130 FBS schools in 2020 BEFORE Covid. Throw in your starting QB requesting a transfer three weeks before the season starts as well as your best offensive and defensive player opting out and you have the perfect storm. 2 starting offensive linemen and two defensive linemen then get hurt in week 2 along with a starting line backer. The secondary has gotten ripped apart but it starts with the lack of a pass rush. Maybe shuffling the coaching deck and taking your lumps in 2020 is the best plan. I don't know.

Harbaugh is shell of his former self because of some things going on in his personal life. No excuse as he has a job to do and gets paid handsomely to do it. He doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him and only a handful of insiders in Ann Arbor know the story and one (John U. Bacon) has shared it.

Center Grove did carry the water for the top conference in Indiana and one of the best in the Midwest. I'm sure they'll take it. Fixed it for you. They were 4 scores better than everybody not named Lawrence North this year...

Carmel and Ben Davis simply have an enormous numbers advantage over everyone else. (You could throw Warren in there too.). Taking nothing away from their programs or coaching staffs but facts are facts. Warren and CG have identifies. Warren’s has shifted by necessity but they’ve gone from a dominant offense that tries to outscore you every week in the 2000’s, to a defense that is going to challenge you for every yard. CG’s has been discussed multiple times on here. They have a culture and identity in place from the ground level (youth leagues) up. They are fundamentally sound annually and will run their system to a T but also adapt it to fit their personnel. I agree that the spread is often a recipe for failure come tournament time and that could be the case but you are still asking schools in the 2500-3000 range to compete with those in the 4000-5000 range which is a tall order. Center Grove has figured out a way to navigate that mountain and perhaps Westfield is next.

What’s next? ”We are taking it one game at a time?” You have a book of these things?

The depth of the MIC is their biggest advantage. In 2020 alone, I don’t think it’s far fetched to say that the MIC boasted 7 of the top 15 teams in the state. Hell, 0-10 LC played Lafayette Jeff fairly close. The bottom of the HCC needs some work. I think Noblesville at least has optimism for a bright future...FC is in no man’s land.

I disagree. The HCC has started to win its fair share of head to head battles (all be it in the regular season) with MIC schools and the Indy suburbs are beginning to develop next level players at a higher rate than the Marion County schools (the MIC should thank the lord for CG).. I know that’s a sketchy comparison as Carmel and CG are MIC schools by name only. Their socioeconomics/geography align (DT will tee off on this) with HCC schools more so than their MIC brethren. They just can’t get over the hump in November for some reason. I don’t get it.

Yes. Cathedral and CG have made some pretty solid outfits look foolish this fall.

Westfield is also experiencing faster growth than any corporation in the metro area. They'll be 3000+ before you know it.

Baggage.

Good points and while no district boundaries are perfect (as you mentioned), a quick analysis yielded the following results. Lawrence Township: 56 percent difference between the highest (Brook Park) and the lowest (Crestview/Amy Beverland). Washington Township: 39 percent difference between the highest (Willow Lake/Greenbriar/Nora) and the lowest Allisonville. Pike Township: 20 percent difference between the highest (Deer Run) and the lowest Eagle Creek. 79 percent is immense.

5A was Indiana's largest class prior so I went from 2010-2019 which included both Fishers and Lawrence Central (pre-MIC) winning titles.

By 2030? Easily. Hell, as dominant as the MIC has been it "only" got 8 out of 10 in the last decade.

I'll gladly take that bet. DT was correct in stating that the HCC was a bit disappointing this season and took a step back but simple socioeconomics and the upgraded commitment that HCC schools are putting into football is astounding. Common sense suggests that someone outside of the MIC will get one soon. Maybe later rather than sooner, but if you are giving me until 2030, I will take that bet.

Recruiting is no longer (if it ever was) a logical complaint that can be used as open borders basically allow every school to "recruit." The public schools just justify it in the current era by saying, "Privates have done it for years and we are just trying to keep up." Basketball "recruiting" is as rampant as its ever been, especially in central Indiana right now. It has become about stockpiling as much talent as you can based on summer leagues and friendships formed in the offseason between players and coaches as well as players and other players. The "real" recipe (folks are going to get tired of me saying this in every thread) is the fact that families that send their kids to parochial schools are most often affluent, two parent households, with college educated parents who place a high priority on education. THAT is the difference more so than "keeping all of their talent from their feeder schools." Privates will always have an advantage and its not due to recruiting as much as it is due to SES.

Never said you made a specific prediction kind sir, but outside of "defense wins championships" your justification defaulted to two idioms with no substance.

Free and reduced lunch rates have jumped an average of about 2 percent annually in Wayne Township in the last two decades. The earliest data provided on the DOE website is 2006 and at that time 54 percent of Wayne Township students were on free and reduced lunch. Fast forward to 2020 and that number is now just over 70 percent (though the district has gone to universal free breakfast and lunch as of last year). BD will continue to remain competitive at the state level simply because of the fact that they have the second largest talent pool in the state (4500 students) to choose from.

I have never come out and stated that I support retaining him, but I am having trouble coming up with a realistic candidate who has an overall body of work/resume that compares to Jim's. One thing is for sure, the UM athletic department WILL NOT cut corners that other programs are willing to cut. That is not an excuse but eliminates anyone with baggage (Hugh Freeze comes to mind). There is a pretty significant backstory as to why Harbaugh is not the same guy that he used to be and its actually pretty sad/depressing. I think if he somehow gets to 3-5/4-4 this season, he gets a Covid pass but the D coordinator falls on the knife. Did ND fire Brian Kelly after their 4-8 season? How has that turned out? There are many parallels to both the ND/UM program on and off the field.

A LOT has changed since the early 1990's. Good call/research. Still mind blowing.

I mean, you could easily make the case, sure. We will never know.

The numbers are easy to access. What townships are you referring to? Lawrence, Washington and Pike I assume?

Dwenger should be livid...

Warren was also "playing with no pressure" and was "playing motivated football"...

Nah, no way. There will certainly be some large discrepancies, but as someone who has lived in and around Marion County my entire lifetime, I am pretty confident that there is not THAT large of a discrepancy within a school district. 79 percent is enormous.