23andCounting

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.

Get better or get used to it? The Indiana hate train will probably be sometime around October or November when they are back at the top again and a contender for the title. The Cinderella story was cute, and most fans throughout the country are on board. But as this story becomes a dynasty, and I'm betting it will, you'll start seeing the same kind of hate for your Hoosiers that you saw with Alabama.

Laughing at "NFL teams are doubting his viability as the #1 overall pick." Here we go again, overthinking absolutely crushes these people. Is the guy productive or not? Good grief, I need a job as a GM if these statements are true. No worries on my end. Notre Dame will finish in the Top 3, so it will be hard to disqualify them this year.

Coaches are already starting to mimic Cignetti in how they talk about their program. You're going to hear a lot of "trust the process" moving forward. They're also going take a good look at older players versus younger ones. They're also going to dive deeper into "production over potential"..............which they should have been doing for years anyway. Cignetti just boosted the stock in the kids are are a tad too short, a tad to thin, and a tad too fat. Production wins games, not potential. In short, 23 year old kids will become more common as more coaches try to emulate what Cignetti does.

Not surprised in the slightest. Notre Dame vs Ohio State felt more like a regional game. Did it resonate with someone from California, Texas, or Florida? Probably not so much. This years game? The Cinderella story vs a team that is back after two decades of mediocracy. Midwest vs the Southeast. That kind of game apparently has more appeal then two blue bloods battling it out who are both from the same part of the country.

It is quite comical listening to all of the talk about parity and how anyone has a chance to be the next Indiana. Outside of the Hoosiers, wasn't it pretty much the usual suspects? Texas Tech I guess. Bottom line: Cignetti. Next season we'll see the same schools at the top. Georgia, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas..........Blue Bloods. Oh, and Indiana. There will be no North Carolina. Won't be a Wake Forest. And won't be an Oklahoma State. IU is where they are because of Cignetti first and foremost. Sure, the NIL and the transfer portal helps. But I think it's time to pump the brakes on the "anyone can do it" fantasy. You better have a damn good coach to get you there.

Thrown off with "greatest team in history." Ohio State, LSU, Clemson, and Alabama have had some teams recently who were pretty good. Michigan. Greatest team meaning no one has gone 16-0? Sure, that's a fact, but as Coach said, other teams weren't afforded that opportunity.

Dating back how far? Just eleven teams seems a little bizarre to me.

Cignetti had a plan for Mendoza. He would continue a backup role this coming season seeing lot's of action continuing his development to be the starter for the Hoosiers in 2027. Sometimes you just have to trust the "process." And we've quickly found out that the process that Cignetti preaches is worthwhile if you follow it. In terms of development, this is a bad move on his part. Or maybe he just felt like following in his brother's footsteps at IU was just too much to overcome.

I don't fault anyone for their picks before the game. IU wasn't the only team playing with a chip on their shoulder. Miami also had something to prove, and in the end, it's why those two programs were playing for the hardware. Football is a game of inches, and that game could have gone either direction. IU won the first half, Miami controlled the second half. The difference in the game was a blocked punt for a touchdown. I really do feel that the better team found a way to win, so I'm taking nothing away from the Hoosiers. I'm just defending they guys who picked a team that was playing with the furry of a hurricane. Miami proved last night that they are clearly the second best team in the country among those invited to the playoffs. I also think some of those guys were just trying to offer an alternate perspective considering most throughout the country were calling for an IU win, a potential blowout, and a heavy favorite in Las Vegas. In the end, Indiana will be remembered, probably more so than any other championship team. And the movie they end up making out of it will ensure that no one forgets.

Congratulations Indiana fans.

I already said IU and ND could be #1 and #2 next season. Three thoughts here. 1. IU is being underestimated once again. Sure they lose this guy and that guy, bla bla bla. Cignetti is the key here. He's the best coach in the country and college and high school coaches all over are taking notes. 2. ND will finish the regular season ranked either #1 or #2. It will take an undefeated B1G or SEC team to outrank them. 3. Four SEC teams in the Top Ten compared to three for the B1G is comical. They still haven't learned?

Anyone who thought there was a chance Cignetti would go to the NFL wasn't paying much attention. My only concern was Penn State, and that was pretty minor. I'm not sure IU even needed to give the guy a raise to keep him. He seems like a, "meh, 8 million is fine with me," kind of a guy. He's clearly happy in Bloomington and is revered on a Bob Knight type of level. When you have the key to the city, you don't just leave. Advice Brian Kelly and Rich Rodriguez would have been best served following.

I hope you're right and I'm wrong. I'd much prefer a blowout.

This makes the wild wild west look tame. It's just a matter of time before congress steps in. I'm not overly confident in congress when it comes to fixing anything really, but I do think they can help the s*** show that's the NCAA in it's current form. In fifteen years, we'll look back saying, "remember what it was like in 2025?"

A few reasons I think you're wrong: 1. Miami beat Ohio State by ten. Indiana beat them by the grace of God. 2. Miami is playing with the same chip on their shoulder that Indiana is. Indiana has a bunch of two and three star kids out to prove everyone wrong. Miami was left out of the playoff conversation until the last weak, so they also have reason to prove everyone wrong. 3. People throughout the country were saying Indiana couldn't beat Alabama. Then they were saying they couldn't beat Oregon twice. Now no one is doubting them against Miami and they are heavy favorites. That's a little concerning to me. I won't doubt the Hoosiers like I have in the past, so here goes: Indiana 24, Miami 17

They'll also have a higher concentration of talent. Does that mean anything? I'm not sure yet. Do you prefer a 2-star who's been in your program for four years who gives 100% of himself? Or do you prefer the 4-star, in his first year with the program, who's only 95% all-in? The difference in the 5%, in my opinion, is the hunger to prove doubters wrong. Also saw where Notre Dame has nine 5-star recruits on their roster. That's a first in program history. I like the Irish to win every one of their games by double digits this next season.

Indiana and Notre Dame are making statements that they could potentially be the best two teams in the country next year. Both teams are checking boxes. Great coaching, key returning players, strong portal transfers, strong recruiting class. Indiana's biggest challenge will be duplicating the hunger they had in their first two seasons under Cignetti. They have better players now, but will they have the same hunger and chip on their shoulder that the guys from James Madison had? Something tells me that Cignetti will keep Indiana at the top of the rankings all through the 2026 regular season leading up to the playoffs. Notre Dame returns their top eight defenders from a defense that was playing as good as anyone in the country not named Indiana. Couple that with the return of CJ Carr and the insane amount of talent they brought in at the WR position, what's keeping this team from being Indiana's number one contender for college football primacy? We all know they will be playing with a massive chip on their shoulder. And the schedule SCREAMS undefeated. Miami as NO shot next year in South Bend. I said it here, I said it now, so keep this receipt. Indiana and Notre Dame will end the regular season ranked #1 and #2. I have more confidence in Notre Dame in this than I do Indiana. The likelihood of IU having a hiccup along the way due to their schedule seems more likely than that happening to the Irish. That could throw off my prediction of them finishing one and two, but not my prediction that they'll be the best two teams in the country when it's all said and done.

Best team in the best conference and their schedule was easy? Where are you hearing this from? Can't take someone serious that says Indiana had an easy schedule. Notre Dame was BY FAR the best team on their schedule up until the playoffs. Barely beating Florida State and losing to Louisville and SMU is a very bad look for Miami. THEN............it happened. Notre Dame was ranked ahead of them in the first playoff ranking and suddenly they started playing like the the team everyone thought they were when they were ranked #2 early in the season. Throw schedules out the window, doesn't even matter. Right now, IU and Miami are playing like the best two teams in the country.

Was that just one fan with special needs? That can't be the overall vibe of the fanbase. IU beat Penn State, who in my opinion, could have beaten half the teams in the playoffs. The rest of the schedule speaks for itself. I get it, Miami beat Notre Dame, a team that is still being talked about as had having potential to win the whole thing. But that was over four months ago when the Irish were working with a brand new quarterback and defensive coordinator. If Miami wins this game, it's because they played the best game of their season coupled with Indiana having just an average game.

My source: https://outsidethehuddle.net/list-of-future-sac-non-conference-opponents/ Scroll over Prep Football on the black tab, then you can click on Future Opponents. Great site for high school sports in NE Indiana. I think this guy might formally be the Pigskin Prophet from the New Sentinel. Outstanding high school football coverage when the paper was still alive.

I was surprised at my findings regarding New Haven due to all the housing starts. Maybe I'm looking at unreliable sources. It was Homestead that shocked me the most. I'm pretty sure their enrollment went down.

Observation: Homestead (SW FW) dropped in enrollment.......starting to resemble more of a 5A program. Carroll (NW) appears to be the only community in Fort Wayne that is growing. New Haven (SE) dropped. Leo (NE) appears to have dropped.