PDB26

Yeah, I just wasn’t sure if all of the P4 would be reasonable in scope. Might be an unexpected boon to the G5.

As we used to say, my bad.

The Rose Bowl winner is almost certainly the favorite. But, to your point about OSU/Oregon 1, everyone left is still gettable. Seems like Penn State’s and Notre Dame’s defenses could keep Howard from looking like he did on Saturday. Or can a team goad Day into getting into a rock fight like Michigan?

No experience to fall back on, but doesn’t it seem unlikely that a court would enforce an agreement that prevents a player from working—functionally—for anyone for a year, especially when there have to be a lot of underrepresented athletes out there.

I don't get why you're confused. I said that IU had 13 transfers from JMU, not 30. The other 17 that came in for the '24 season were from elsewhere. You can only beat the teams that show up for kickoff, so no bones to pick with what IU did this season––it should be remembered by IU fans for being a historic season. I disagreed with a different post the insinuated the JMU players that followed Cignetti wouldn't be or weren't recruited by Ball State, so, therefore, they are worse than Ball State's players. The top-flight FCS teams, which James Madison was under Cignetti, can rumble with almost any mid-major. I'm not sure FCS James Madison would have lost to Ball State in 2021, nor do I think 2022 or 2023 Sunbelt James Madison would have lost to Ball State.

I get what you guys are driving at, but wasn’t it 13 guys from JMU? JMU probably would have been a tough out for Ball State even when they were FCS.

I would be surprised if they rely only on the front because they've lived in man all year and the whole defense is built around forcing early throws, throw aways, and bad throws. The defensive line doesn't generate any pressure on its own without Traore and Bothello, so sacks are a function of smothering coverage and chaos created at the line of scrimmage. I haven't noticed nearly as much safety pressure this year––at least two safeties coming from a two high look––and I think Golden's first year was the high point for that. ND's passing game is passable so long as they stay on schedule. Leonard's ability to improvise is crucial and somewhat mitigates his own underwhelming arm and the years-long problem of putting largely underwhelming receivers on the field. He's basically having the season that Hartman did last year, but the difference is he can move the ball on his own. Jeremiyah Love is probably the best back that IU will have seen so far, and the three-headed monster of Love, Price, and Leonard should push IU's run defense to the limit. I expect ND to lean on the run, and IU's aggressive run defense looks like it will be the most significant challenge the Irish have faced so far. As important as ND's run game is to the outcome on Friday, I think the key will be whether IU can crease ND enough on the ground. If not, I think ND wins by two scores.

I thought I'd give you a break on the Hoke and Rich Rod years. I know, it's crazy what it took to get a kid from so far away to commit to the program. Jokes aside, and––I was going to add this in my previous reply––Michigan is clearly moving into the future of the sport. They have shown they have the ability and will to play the NIL game, and they have the right coach. There's no reason to think that they won't consistently compete to win the league.

Agreed, that's crazy talk. Deboer's been successful everywhere he's been.

It's pretty damn good, and, who knows, if Michigan hadn't ducked the Buckeyes in 2020 they might even be on a five-gamer. I stand by what I said, and it's no slight against Michigan––who rightfully won the championship last season. Michigan is a program on the move. Not that they had all that far to go in the first place, but it's also not like they weren't finishing third or worse in their division on multiple occasions within the past 10 seasons. Those tiers were more of how I see the programs, their athletic departments, and how they've been permitted or chosen to operate. Oregon is probably only there because of the Nike money, as good as they've been since Lanning took over. I think all five of those programs would be consistently competitive with each other if they were in the same league.

You know, you’re right. I forgot everyone in the 18-team big ten plays each of OSU, Michigan, PSU, and Oregon each season. Just like IU did, right? OSU and, probably, Oregon are operating at a different level, call them 1A, but I think Notre Dame would slot right into that 1B tier of programs with Michigan and Penn State. Recruiting, facilities, name brand. That’s just the reality. Nothing against IU, they’ve had a great season, they’re a legit playoff team, and there’s some serious momentum behind the program that should give them a chance to really build the program up.

It’s likely the new NBC deal gives ND the freedom to end their independence on their own terms, short of a the CFP doing it for them. ND left a lot of money on the table by not being in the big ten, and the I always thought they paid too steep a tax for their independence. I’m sure anyone with some knowledge of the athletic department’s finances between 2015-2020 would agree—off the record. This new arrangement puts them on a more level footing.

But Weiss, Willingham, and Davie all notched wins against Michigan, too. Reference to these three, Hoke, and Rich Rod really doesn’t make much of a point at all outside of demonstrating both programs have been laid low by making some serious errors in the not too distant past.

I don't think it will be because of injuries if the Irish lose. This Notre Dame team is deeper than any I can remember in the past 30 years. They've been without the offensive and defensive linemen for almost the entire season, so they might as well be the starters out of camp––especially with the way the offensive line has developed. I won't say 15 is quite equal to what 20 brought in coverage, but he moves well and is longer and much more physical.

SC was definitely not stellar this year, but they have very good players and are much more of a threat than their record indicates. I'll give you the SEC because that's a whole different world, but that Big 10 talk is certifiable. ND would regularly be in the top four in that league.

It's nothing new, and the Irish average over 6 yards a carry running into loaded boxes.

Just so I'm clear, that's not the closest I could get, but it was, in my opinion, the most hassle-free and literally free. The stadium sits about a half mile inside the campus boundary so it's not exactly analogous to the dropped into the middle of a city situation you get in Ann Arbor.

This is the fifth season since I moved away, but for years prior to that I never had trouble street parking within a mile of the stadium's south gate. I always used the streets south of the old nine hole golf course that sits on the western edge of campus. Can't say if there are new street parking ordinances in South Bend that will pose a challenge.

It was obvious from the time they announced the format that more likely than not that the losers of the SEC/B1G championship games would have the inside track for the 5 and 6 seeds except in years where ND is able to go 12-0 or the losers of those championship games get dog-walked. 12 teams is probably too many, but the format would be improved by abandoning the auto-bye for conference champions. I would expect the playoff to expand to 16 as soon as possible, and I doubt they ever consider contracting the field. The conference championship games will be a thorn in the side of any format that gets chosen.

I thought I heard a report within the past couple of weeks that committee would not engineer the bracket with the goal of avoiding rematches.

But the Supreme Court never ruled on the permissibility of NIL, NIL rules, or NIL recruiting inducements. Alston was on the narrow issue of whether NCAA rules prohibiting members from offering full cost of attendance scholarships was permissible under the Sherman Act. Cavanaugh's threatening concurrence and evisceration of the NCAA's theory of amateurism as pro-competitive rule making is what let the floodgates loose on NIL. The NCAA isn't bound by Alston in a way that would prevent it from changing the rule to permit schools to make cash offers to athletes. The NCAA then adopted NIL rules which in part classed collectives as boosters, thereby prohibiting collectives from making offers as NIL recruiting inducements. The rule has been challenged under the Sherman Act by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia in a recent action in federal court in Tennessee, and the NCAA has been temporarily enjoined from enforcing that rule because the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits at trial. Basically, the rule prohibiting collectives from making NIL offers as recruiting inducements is likely to violate anti-trust law––so far as the federal judge in Tennessee is concerned.

Not for me, as someone who doesn't have a vote, but I suspect that will be a substantial part of it for those who are voters. I'm simply saying, I reckon he'd undeniably be a contender for the award if he had enough touches to inflate his stats. The Heisman is as much about showcasing and overwhelming the media environment as anything else––whether that's with stats like Jeanty, or a unique or interesting story combined with excellence like Te'o or Travis Hunter. Love is a phenomenal player and has had a great year with basically the same yards per play as Jeanty.

Doesn't get enough touches, but, if he did, he'd absolutely need to be in the conversation. I agree he's had a phenomenal season.

Yes. There are basically 10 6As not in Metro-Indy.

I saw that picture before I posted. I was still surprised they went with the upgraded school bus. Just my two cents.