BTF

That's definitely a big piece of the puzzle.

If you live anywhere in Indiana other than west central, if you don't have a college degree, or if you have a degree from Ball State, then you're probably a fan of both ND football and IU basketball. There's really no shame in it. It's just people in Indiana rooting for universities that reside in Indiana. Loyalty to your home state.

Temp knows why Clemson and Ohio State will fail this season. They'll fail because they are on ND's schedule. It's almost a curse. ND's strength of schedule is never as strong at the end of the season as it is at the beginning.

I'd love to see Pitt in the Top 10. That city has lost so many marquee recruits to other programs over the years, it's almost a crime. Clemson and Ohio State will both be flops next year. You know exactly why.

Hmmmm, I'm not sure most Michigan fans would agree with the first statement. Maybe I'm wrong. Lmao at the second sentence. Mainly because there is some truth to it. If it means anything to you, I go to at least one basketball game a year. Notre Dame's fan base for basketball is alumni, South Bend residents, 50% of ND football fans residing in Indiana, and 10% ND football fans residing in other states.

Dante isn't even a factor right now in their #1 ranking. They're #1 without him. The odds are against ND to retain that ranking, but I'm not sure I'd bet against Freeman's capabilities. I'd be thrilled with Top 5. I mean, this is Notre Dame after all.

Honestly? I know a lot of Notre Dame fans and none of them ever bring up the Michigan game. The Irish program is too busy focusing on retaining their #1 ranked 2023 recruiting class and getting back the playoffs. I can assure you they've moved on from what happened in Ann Arbor. Haters are gonna hate.

I also like Michigan football when they aren't playing a team from Indiana. I just hate that they are a liberal college.

Maybe it depends on where you reside in the state. Up here in Fort Wayne, we've considered Carmel an Indy team all the way back in the 80's.

I honestly knew nothing about Hamilton Southeastern until 2005. Probably because they were in one of the smaller classes prior to that. I see that they had some successful teams in the 90's. When they did reach the "big boy club", it looks like it took 4-5 years to overcome Carmel for the right to play a Fort Wayne team.

I didn't recognize Westfield as an Indy suburban school until after 2010 sometime when they played Snider for the first time. Before then I viewed them as a small town school . I imagine I'm right, as Indy grew to them. It's comparable to how Fort Wayne grew toward Carroll and Homestead. They were considered the country kids in the 80's and 90's.

Dabo Swinney..."My transfer portal is right there in that locker room because if I'm constantly going out every year and adding guys from the transfer portal, I'm telling all those guys in that locker room that I don't believe in them, that I don't think they can play," Swinney said. "We're also not doing our job as coaches and recruiters if we're bringing in a bunch of transfers." This is the point I was making all along with Coan leading the way and Pyne sitting on the bench. It's not that I dislike Coan. I have a lot of respect for that guy and he's a very good player. I just felt like Kelly was overcommitted to a guy who was never with the program from the beginning.

I second that. Good work!

Interesting stat. It makes sense at the NFL level. The talent of the players is so off the charts, a team can prosper by slinging the football through the air. I think it's different at the high school and college level though. Especially high school. Maybe I'm an idiot, but if I'm a coach, I building my team around defense, ground game, and limited punting. How did Vince Lombardi put it? "There are four potential outcomes when passing the football, and three of them are bad."

I was speaking of Pyne's opportunities when he got them. He looked very good, but Kelly continued his commitment to Coan. At least Kelly knew when to set Coan on the bench. Coan playing every rep against Oklahoma State was ultimately their death sentence. The regular season proved that Coan will go 3-5 offensive series in a row with stagnant offense. That's where Buchner and Pyne came in and helped the team tremendously. In fact, if it weren't for the performances of all three quarterbacks, Notre Dame wouldn't have been playing in a New Year Six bowl game. If it's not broke, don't fix it. Freeman/Rees tried fixing something that was already working, and as a result, have started the new era 0-1.

I don't see that being an annual thing. I hope it is as I love the competition and enjoy seeing Luers in the mix. But that's something that happens once every ten years or so.

Fort Wayne could be trending that way as well. Carroll took a share of the SAC title in 2021. Homestead took the title outright in 2019 and 2020. Three years may not be enough to draw any conclusions, but as the student populations of those two schools continue to grow, the likelihood of them staying at the top is pretty strong. These suburban schools with large student bodies and a wealth of resources are becoming too much to overcome for the city schools. We'll see what 2022 brings. Right now it's a crapshoot between Snider, Dwenger, Homestead, and Carroll.

You have a valid point. Not as it relates to this topic though.

Then according to the masses, you DO love the Indy 500 and go to it annually, even though you don't. If the masses say you are a Blue Blood, then you're probably a Blue Blood regardless of what the minority think.

Blue Bloods will remain in tact I think. We're just going to see a whole new crop of powers...................Jackson State.

I like seeing the traditional powers knock heads against one another no matter the level or sport. Do I prefer the underdog eventually winning the big show? Absolutely. I'd rather see St. Peters take down a traditional power for the title versus taking down Houston. Most people around the state were probably rooting for Carroll or Merrillville to take out Westfield. We all love that sort of stuff. What I'm finding more and more is that most people around the country still equate the name Indiana with basketball royalty. Obviously this is coming from middle age and retired men. But the message is out there. Indiana is still synonymous with basketball greatness, like it or not. The same can be said for the likes of Hobart, Penn, or whoever else you want to throw in there. Penn is absolutely a Blue Blood through and through. Fading fast? No. Fading slowly? Possibly. Their resume over the last 10 years is still pretty impressive.

I see that now. I researched a lot of schools in putting this together. There's bound to be a typo hear and there. Leave it to someone from Northeast Indiana to screw up the classification of a school in SW Indiana!

While on the road today, I tuned into ESPNU. Coincidently, they were discussing the importance of Indiana basketball becoming relevant again. They were referring to the Hoosiers as a Blue Blood and that college basketball isn't the same when they aren't in the mix. I thought they made a very good point, but I'll reconfigure their point into high school football: "High school football is better when ___________ is playing at a high level and competing for the championship." This is how they were defining Blue Blood status. I thought this was an interesting way to look at it. Hobart and Penn would be good examples to fill in that blank. What about Bloomington South. You don't even need numbers and stats to come up with a list using that method.

Yes, I'm just going by where they are currently. Not necessarily what class they were in when they had most of their success. Correct

Best of the best over a specific period of time? I like your list as a starting point, all locks for sure. But there are other power programs that don't have the luxury of 3000+ students or unlimited boundaries. Pound for pound should be taken into consideration. How would Pioneer or Adams Central do if they had 3000 students? They'd give the MIC powers a run for their money. And you can't discount what Penn, Snider, Hobart, and Dwenger have achieved over four decades.