Bobref

A shame the game can’t be played. Notwithstanding bad teams, there have been some great games in this series. But I was an eyewitness to the greatest of them all: the 1971 38-31 Hoosier victory at Memorial Stadium. The game included Purdue Pete getting knocked cold with his own sledgehammer in the end zone, and the two marching bands brawling with one another on the field. A band fight! Nothing can ever top that!

Of course, Michigan fans have probably learned to suppress that gag reflex by now. 🤮

Mission accomplished.

And I never thought I’d take the contrary view. But it’s got nothing to do with “deserving.” The goal is to get the 4 best teams together and let them duke it out. Do you honestly think ND is better than Ohio State? I’m not asking if ND could beat them. Lots of strange things happen on a football field. I’m asking whether you can watch those 2 teams play, and conclude that ND is the better of the two?

“Fair?” The only concern here for the B1G is making sure that when the music stops, they have one of the 4 chairs left.

I don’t think so, especially if it’s a comfortable win. I don’t think playing the third time in the season will be all that attractive a prospect. Clemson is the champ. And you’ve got to knock the champ out to win if you’re the challenger.

Has anyone ever seen Mike Hutton and @DTin the same place at the same time? Think about it. 😉

33-3 sounds about right.

Yes, I’ve found that interesting, especially in light of the fact that if a coach is disqualified, he must leave the playing area and have no further contact with the team for the duration of the game. Of course, the guy in the white hat is the boss of everything that goes on out there, literally. While the rules don’t mandate that a disqualified player leave the field, the referee is absolutely within his rights to insist that he be expelled from the premises before the game can continue.

If the kid is a juvenile, that sort of thing is possible. It’s not exactly like a criminal prosecution. A different system in several meaningful ways. That may be possible.

I can tell you from the Ohio experience that there will be significant disruptions to the conference structure. The exact nature and extent of the disruptions is impossible to predict because of the number of variables. It all revolves around scheduling, obviously, and there are many different approaches to “gaming” the system, i.e., putting together a schedule that is likely to yield the maximum number of playoff points. At a minimum, conferences that have schools in many different classes like the SAC will see either significant restructuring or disappear altogether. Probably considerably more independents, too.

On the face of it, that seems logical. Fewer tournament games = less revenue. But actually the opposite will happen, for two reasons: 1. While there may be fewer tournament games, there will be more regular season games. In fact, with 5A and 6A teams able to schedule an 11th game in the bye week, there will actually be more total games played in the season than under the present system. Regular season games are a better deal than a first round sectional for the host school anyway, since they don’t have to split the pot. Keep in mind that all the revenue ends up in the same place, whether it’s tournament revenue or regular season revenue: it all goes to the schools after IHSAA operating expenses are deducted. 2. To the extent playoff games generate more revenue than regular season games, the qualification/seeding format creates a new class of games: “playoff-like” regular season games. More important, with more at stake, than regular season games, these games might include a week 9 matchup between two 4-4 teams. Under the current system, that game is basically a “I hope I don’t get anyone hurt for the start of sectionals” game. But under my format, that could essentially be a playoff game. More “playoff-like” regular season games = more regular season revenue. So, fewer tournament games might mean less tournament revenue. But it doesn’t mean less total revenue. And from the schools’ standpoint, that’s what really matters.

Here’s my dream system: 6 classes: 32 in 6A & 5A, 64 in 4A - 1A. Top 16 in 6A & 5A, top 32 in 4A - 1A make the playoffs. Ratings system similar to the Harbin system in Ohio, that takes into account both strength of schedule and won-loss record. 10 regular season games. 5 week tournament, with 6A and 5A getting a bye the first week, in which they are free to schedule another game if they choose. 8 sectionals in each class, teams grouped geographically, seeded in accordance with ratings. Higher seeded teams always have home field in sectional. Classes reseeded after sectional, divided into north and south, and then matched up 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc., in the regional and semistate, both of which are played at neutral sites. Explore the possibility of semistate “doubleheader’s” at suitable venues. Keep the Success Factor, but double the points needed to move up & stay up, and double the cycle to 4 yrs., using a rolling calculation. By the way, one of the collateral benefits of the implementation of my system will be a doubling (at least) of the traffic on the GID. 😉 Change my mind.

And a big reason for Notre Dame’s success over the last several years is their offensive line, currently rated # 1 nationally in this publication.

Lou Holtz receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Coach Lou still an important member of the Notre Dame family. https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30443996/lou-holtz-receives-presidential-medal-freedom-president-donald-trump Lou Holtz receives Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump 12:05 PM CT AP WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump on Thursday called Lou Holtz "one of the greatest coaches in American history" as he honored the college football Hall of Famer and political ally with the nation's highest civilian honor. Holtz, whose 34-year coaching career included the 1988 national title at the University of Notre Dame, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom during an Oval Office ceremony. Holtz led six different programs to bowl games and is an outspoken Trump backer. "He's really a life teacher," said Trump, noting the respect and loyalty Holtz earned from the many players he mentored. Holtz had a 249-132-7 record over a career that, in addition to Notre Dame, included stops at William & Mary, North Carolina State, the University of Arkansas, the University of Minnesota and the University of South Carolina. He also coached the NFL's New York Jets to a 3-10 record in 1976. Holtz, 83, said that being honored by Trump made the award particularly meaningful. "I'm even prouder to receive it from President Donald Trump," said Holtz, who added that Trump was the "greatest president in my lifetime." A graduate of Kent State, Holtz also served seven years as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. The West Virginia native was among the speakers at this year's Republican National Convention, offering Trump a strong endorsement while attacking the president's Democratic rival, Joe Biden. In his remarks, Holtz called Biden a Catholic "in name only." Biden is a practicing Catholic. Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John I. Jenkins, later issued a statement admonishing the former coach for using the university's name in his remarks, saying it "must not be taken to imply" that Notre Dame endorses Holtz's views, any candidate or any political party. Jenkins also admonished Holtz for questioning the "sincerity" of Biden's faith. Trump announced the week after Holtz's convention speech that he would honor the retired coach with the medal. "Wherever Lou went, football glory followed," Trump said at a ceremony that included about 30 people, most of whom did not wear masks. Holtz disclosed on Nov. 19 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Holtz is one of several sports figures Trump has awarded the Medal of Freedom during his time in office. Others include former NFL Hall of Famer and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page, Olympic track and field athlete and former Rep. Jim Ryun, golfer Tiger Woods, businessman and motorsports icon Roger Penske, Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, pro basketball greats Bob Cousy and Jerry West, and baseball legends Babe Ruth and Mariano Rivera.

This is an interesting approach to using seeding to make some regular season games more meaningful. But I’m not sure why the half-measure, if you’re convinced more meaningful regular season games is a good thing. You’ve basically shortened the exhibition season from 9 games to 6-8, depending on your class.

Sign me up for this!

🤔

As is the case annually, several recent threads have touched on the debate about the best playoff system for Indiana football. This is not about that ... at least, not directly. If Indiana had never utilized any playoff format — just played a 10 game regular season like they used to, and that was it — and decided to start from scratch to design one, what would it look like? The goals of the playoff are as follows, in no particular order, and attributing whatever weight to each goal you think appropriate: Determine a worthy champion in each class. Make the caliber of Indiana high school football as good as it can be. Generate revenue. Increase the visibility of and interest in Indiana high school football by making as many regular season games as meaningful as possible. Also, any explanation or justification that accompanies your proposal cannot give either of these two reasons: 1. “It’s always been that way.” 2. “Because we can.” Now, you are now the czar of the IHSAA. You have absolute power. Aside from appointing me to the newly-created position of “Grand Poobah of Football Officiating,” how do you exercise your power over the form the post-season takes? What do your playoffs look like?

You’re certainly correct that an entity is free to design any playoff system it wants, for whatever reason. That’s why 99.9% of the playoff systems in football require a demonstration of regular season success in order to participate in post-season games leading to a championship. What those people know, and what Indiana refuses to acknowledge, is that a playoff system is a tool by which to elevate the caliber of play in the regular season. That is the opportunity we are missing. And it would have worked after a few tweaks, including increasing the size of the playoff pool, but for two things: 1. The IHSAA found a way to avoid any criticism of the selection or seeding outcomes, something which had been widespread. 2. Blind and unthinking allegiance to the conference system, which would have been disrupted in a major way.

And this is the problem. There is an entire generation of coaches and fans who have never known anything but the all in, and who, as a result, have been infected with the “entitlement” mentality. It is exactly the opposite of the valuable lessons football is supposed to teach us: that nothing comes without earning it, and that you only get back what you put into it. If the practical reality of trying to run an all in tournament with that many schools is the only reason states like Ohio don’t have an all in tournament, what about those states that have a lower number of football playing schools than Indiana? There are 33 states that have a lower population than Indiana, and about the same number that have fewer schools. What’s their excuse? Ohio has had their taste of the all in. If it’s a superior system, people are going to start beating the drum for change. But I certainly don’t hear anything like that coming from the East. The fact is, the all in format makes the regular season less than it could be. The adherence to the all in system limits Indiana football. Do you even know the history of the all in format? It wasn’t a measured decision, arrived at after conscious deliberation on the question of what is best for Indiana football. It was done to settle a lawsuit, and to avoid any criticism of the IHSAA over selection or seeding. Not very good reasons. But the “justification” for the all in has been lost to time, as the vast majority of coaches, administrators and fans have never known anything else. We went from 64 schools in the playoffs (a little over 20% of the schools) to over 300. If the problem was that not enough schools made the post-season, then increase the number. But the IHSAA just basically threw up their hands and caved to the easy way, the way that doesn’t require anything more than just showing up. Interesting, we laud the high school football experience for what it teaches kids about life: work hard and you will be rewarded, you get what you earn, etc. But our all in format teaches them the opposite: you can give less than your all, including basically giving nothing, and still make the tournament. By doing so, we are missing the chance to reinforce those life lessons. And it’s those valuable lessons football teaches that justify us letting our kids do to one another that which would get them arrested if it happened on the street.

Hard question to answer, as different places have different attributes. In terms of how they take care of the officials, probably Valpo or Crown Point. For “atmosphere,” I’ll take The Inferno during the Kennedy years, in a dead heat with the Boneyard in Russ’ heyday. As a big game venue, hard to beat a packed Demaree. Nicest playing field is probably Ames in Michigan City.

Was there many times ... and never once felt I had a good game.

Have I mentioned how much I hate the Brickie Bowl?

Wasn't that ultimately exposed as some sort or pyramid scheme?