BTF

Fort Wayne city limits is 276,000. Metro is 422,000. Statistical area is 610,000. Indianapolis city limits is 887,000. Metro is 2,000,000. Statistical area is 2,400,000. I see the only advantage here being the size of the schools. Fort Wayne's largest two schools hover around 2400 with Snider coming in at 1800. Indy has schools that hover in the 3000-5000 range. It's not necessarily the size of the cities as much as it is the enrollments of the schools.

If Oregon can beat Ohio State (beginning of the season.......blah blah blah) and PSU and Nebraska can both come within 9 points of the Buckeyes, then Notre Dame can compete. Everyone puts Ohio State on a pedestal, but they've come up short in their last three playoff appearances, two of those losses embarrassing ones.

Notre Dame has some key players out as well. The quarterback is pretty important though, I'll give you that.

Agree. Cincinnati. I think they fail the overall eye test, but it's hard to look past their win in South Bend.

Everything IU has done over the last three decades has been braindead. A group of sports minded high schoolers could run the athletic department better than they do.

When the Irish come out and dominate, I never think that is a boring game. I'd rather see ND pound their opponent into submission in hopes that the committee will see that that could be one of the top four teams, versus having a heart attack in a game that comes down to the end. Notre Dame dominated a good Virginia team on their home field last night. Not sure what else they could have done. The defense is playing well and Coan has found his stride. Notre Dame showed me last night that they they are as worthy as anyone for that #4 spot. I feel that Georgia and Bama are two best teams with the other two spots wide open. But I also agree that Notre Dame is going to have a problem moving up four spots with games against Georgia Tech and Stanford to end the season. What will hurt ND is the fact that they have no victories over a Top 15 team.........unless Wisconsin finishes that high by seasons end.

What's the biggest takeaway this year? Was IU overrated last year because other teams were down because of covid? Or is it more about the fall off in quarterback play?

It's hard to beat a rival twice in one season. Snider struggled with Northrop the week before.

IU played today? That's how relevant this team is. IU has a history of poor decisions that cost the university dearly. Obviously Bob Knight. But since this is a football forum, the firing of Bill Mallory turned out to be embarrassing. Then getting rid of Dinardo was borderline brain dead.

You asked a question and I answered it based on researching two programs. You can research the rest.

I saw a game in which Carroll was only down 10-0 at halftime and at one point 16-8 in the third quarter. Westfield is multiple scores better than Carroll, but not the 37-7 you suggest. Carroll played sloppy on offense. Quarterback didn't seem to be on target. A little may have had to do with Westfield's defense, a little do to the cold, and maybe a little due to just having an off night. Carroll's struggles came after crossing the 50. Kudos to the Rocks for tightening up at that point. If these teams played ten times, I think Westfield would win all ten. Most of the games would go 2 or 3 touchdowns, but not 30 points.

"You're illuminating your lack of knowledge of the game with a comment like that." Bob Knight.

After watching the SAC's streak of having a semi-state representative for 34 years in a row come to an end tonight, it's only appropriate to bring up the topic of restructuring the conference in the off season. Teams from the Indy area proved last night that they are on a different level. This has nothing to do with the players, but everything to do with the programs. The growth of Indy area football programs have come along way over the last 20 years, and now it's just a matter of figuring out how to catch up. It took several years, but the HCC has finally caught up with the MIC. It only took a few years, but the SAC elevated the level of play from Homestead and Carroll. Now the question is, who can elevate the level of play from the SAC? The answer is simple. Restructure the conference so that teams can schedule at least one team outside the division during the regular season. How many would be ideal? Three or four? Who knows, but one game would be a good start. I'd like to see Snider, Homestead, and Carroll have the opportunity to schedule a team from the MIC, a team from the HCC, and a team from the region on an annual basis. Allow Dwenger to knock heads with Chatard. Luers possibly with LCC or one of those teams they used to tangle with from Ohio. That would do the trick. Instead of hitting a brick wall in the post season, our teams would know what to expect and know what to do moving forward to get to a championship level of play. This is no longer becoming a matter of opinion. It's becoming a matter of fact. If the SAC want's become a player again at a statewide level, they need to ditch the "ease of scheduling" line of thought and get rid of the 'island conference.' Twenty years ago, this Carroll team might have had what it took to reach state. Twenty years ago, this Dwenger team might have had what it took to reach state. This isn't twenty years ago. It's a new era. Make a change or get used to the status quo.

One would think about the same as winning the state lottery. But only the IHSAA can answer that question. It really goes to show how messed up the system is.

Snider's done it five times with six other contests decided by 3 points or less. Penn has six victories with one contest decided by less than 3.

Playing Snider is considered a bye? Obviously you've never been to one of those contests.

Is it possible that Ben Davis played their best game of the season and Brownsburg had an off night? Maybe Brownsburg underestimated a team with a 4-5 record? I mean, if the HCC is as pathetic as you make them out to be, then the SAC might as well just fold their entire conference based on last nights results.

What I'm hearing you say: Westfield waxed the SAC's best team tonight despite not playing well. Carroll's mistakes on offense were a result of Westfield's fine playmaking. The game should have been 37-7.

Try that again, you're setting yourself up for disaster.

It just goes to show that the IHSAA has a lot of work to do with regard to the tournament.

Take Sagarin with a grain of salt when it comes to the SAC. That being said, would I be surprised if Zionsville won by two touchdowns? Not at all. Homestead, Carroll, and Snider all beat Dwenger by multiple scores this year. It really just depends on how badly Dwenger wants it this time around. They brought it against Snider last week, which was expected for a rivalry game. They need to bring that same intensity Friday night.

I think most who follow high school football would favor Zionsville. Both have similar records, but it's widely accepted that the HCC is the better conference.

Valid

Looking forward to seeing what happens when a 5 loss team from the HCC meets up with a 4 loss team from the SAC. Zionsville pulled the upset last year. Can Dwenger return the favor this year? I think the Saints can win this game if they play with the same intensity they played last Friday against Snider. But since Indy has had their way with Fort Wayne over the last few years, I'll roll with Zionsville by 7.

Ohio State looks vulnerable. I wouldn't say that neither have a chance, although Michigan's chance is much better than MSU's.