23andCounting

Credit to the Bruins for pushing, arguably the best team in the state, to three overtimes. Homestead is a machine. Wonders how many swimming state titles they'd have if they had 3/4 the enrollment Carmel has. Just waiting for them to get there in football now. It's possible in that community.

I'm also proud of the universities that our state offers. But I'd argue that the surrounding states could all say the same thing. IU and Notre Dame boast basketball and football programs that most states can't duplicate though. Two of the greatest sports movies ever made were rooted from our great state of Indiana.............Hoosiers and Rudy. Another good sports movie that most have probably never seen is Miss Madison. It's a great movie depicting a true story of the Budweiser boat races in Madison on the Ohio River. There was a time that Madison was on the verge of being kicked off the circuit due to their small market. It's still alive today and well worth the trip if you head down on 4th of July Weekend. Watch the movie, you won't regret it.

That's quite an experience to be part of. Thanks for sharing.

Classic. Good watch for anyone who hasn't seen it.

That never really came to mind. Just looking forward to a good game between North and Noble.

BTF Holtz accepts your compliment.

I guess if that's the only reason to determine who one wants to root for. I suppose I'm on board with it. Honestly not sure I'm even going to watch this game. Maybe I'm just not a big fan of the NFL when my Steelers aren't relevant, but this game just provides zero interest to me.

Honestly had no idea Lou Holtz was 89 years old until now. Life just gets away from us I guess. If I'm understanding correctly, maybe it was a car accident about a year ago that resulted in his decline in health? I hate to see that, maybe he would have lived to be 100.

Would anyone in their right mind question whether or not he's on ND's Mt. Rushmore?

I'm seeing both sides of the coin here. I get what @Muda69 is saying. Maybe the standard needs to be a little higher moving forward. But at the end of the day, I really have no idea if he was left out because of the cheating scandal or out of "jealousy." If it's the latter, than shame on them.

Never would have guessed that of Purdue, but I guess their enrollment is about the same as IU's. Neither school ranks in the Top 34 in terms of enrollment. Does that mean that IU and Purdue graduate their students at a much higher rate than everyone else?

I think your peer group is more than likely an anomaly. If I asked six Notre Dame/IU fans, they are going lean more toward that ND in football and IU in basketball, I've never heard anyone say "the same," though I'm sure they are out there. I'm not sure the same type of person who goes to a ND game is likely to travel to Miami to see the Hoosiers. Maybe I'm wrong. If you throw alumni out of the equation and just polled fans from our state north of Downtown Indy, I think most will say they like both Notre Dame and Indiana. That pocket around Lafayette is a different story. I don't know many Purdue fans who like Notre Dame. Probably due to their history of losing to the Irish in football.

Kidding of course. I do like this game, I hope it continues. It's good for Carroll to see the best of the best and it's good for Center Grove to get a taste of the North.

I doubt CG will renew with Carroll, they were banged up pretty bad after that game.

Thanks for the update. That game intrigues me. A battle of two very good 4A programs. One is very good, the other is hit or miss with the potential to be very good. Either way, it's a good game. I would bump it up to number nine on my list, dropping Snider/Warsaw down to number ten.

I get it, no such thing as a "gimmie." I just see the writing on the wall. This team is going to play inspired every week. The same inspiration that IU and Miami played with this past season. There were many who thought this past Notre Dame team was better than the one that went to the championship game the season before. Although this next team loses arguably the two best RB's in the country, they might be even better yet. Something to look forward to I guess. The games will be determined on the field.

Miami in South Bend will be double digits. The Irish will play pissed. We'll see how the season goes, but I don't think there's anyone on the regular season schedule stopping this team. Freeman just continues reloading this program.........#2 ranked freshman class coming in. There hasn't been this much talent on Notre Dame's team since the Holtz years. Portal pick-ups were pretty good too.

Agree regarding Alabama. What a collasso fail that was. I don't care what conference you're in, if you lose three games, I have no desire to see you lose a fourth amongst the twelve best teams in the country. Might as well give Tulane a shot rather than hear them say "we would have if they let us in." In short, I'm all for a two loss Power 4 over a mid-major. But not three.

I've seen plenty of those over the years. White RB's are the biggest victim in my opinion. Twenty years ago, I think black QB's were overlooked, but no longer the case. Cignetti is re-writing the book, and everyone is taking notice.

Funny you mentioned that. I was going to start a Production Over Potential thread. At the end of the day, Cignetti just opened the door for the kid that's a tad too short and slow, but put up big numbers. Who was the RB from Center Grove who went to Ball State? He's a good example. His numbers in high school should have impressed Power 4 schools if I'm remembering correctly. After that, he did the rest, ending up at UCLA and the NFL. The model is pretty simple. Pick kids who produce and are used to winning. The winning part is an important component too.

Goes to show that fans across the country appreciate a good Cinderella story. But yes, 4 of 7 is impressive.

And it showed when they were humiliated by Indiana. I think the committee was under a lot of pressure to include the Tide this past playoff. Hopefully the 3-loss experiment is over. That should be a rule anyway. I'd rather see a one loss Ball State team vie for a title rather than a three loss B1G or SEC team. I'm sorry, but if you lose three regular season games, you're not winning the championship. Might as well give a mid-major a shot at that point.

They'll be playing the entire season with the same chip on their shoulder that IU and Miami had this season. There won't be a slip up.........12-0.

Although @Irishman makes a good point when looking at some other program's schedules, Indiana being one of them, Irish fans know that this schedule isn't going to impress anyone. I've been saying all along that Notre Dame can only afford one loss with this schedule. And yes, even if they do lose a game, I don't see how they're not in considering that sad three loss Alabama team got in this past season. The committee learned their lesson this season. I can't imagine they'll put eight B1G & SEC teams in ahead of a one loss Irish team in 2026. That being said, I've got the Irish going 12-0 winning all games by double digits. Unless an SEC or B1G team goes undefeated, the Irish will finish the season ranked #1. Take it to the bank, keep the receipt.

I'm Notre Dame through and through, but I know something good when I see it. I'm also proud to say that Notre Dame will remain a Top 5 program as long as Marcus Freeman is at the helm. I'd say the same for Indiana. Calling for a dynasty might be bold, but the Hoosiers are minimum Top 5 for the foreseeable future.