BTF

Center Grove and Cathedral are in a league of their own. The Irish embarrassed one of the better teams in Ohio last night on their home field. That being said, no one in 6a is ready for CG. In fact, CG even being in the playoffs takes the excitement out of it. The game to anticipate will be Merrillville vs Westfield given that Westfield gets past Sectional 3.........about 4:1 odds to do so. I agree that Valpo's season isn't over by a long shot. Again, it's all about second place. There is no excitement with regard to Cathedral. The big question is who will come out of 5a north. I like Zionsville, Snider, and Valpo as the favorites.........probably in that order. Dwenger proved last night that they can't be counted out either. They had the #2 team in the entire state of Indiana playing catchup the whole second half :).

You beat me to it. You said "convincingly," and there it is. They have some athletes.

Merrillville looks good.

It's my understanding that Homestead has their own stream whether home or away. Doesn't matter, it doesn't seem to want to be found on youtube...........just checked.

Go to the Merrillville/Valpo thread page 3. The link is there

Search it on youtube. You'll find it. Homestead has their own stream.

I would agree that things are a bit different 20 years later. So it's possible for the Valpo team to be as good as it was in 2001, but more of a Top 10 or 15 team in 2021 versus being a Top 5 team in 2001. I remember the team of 20 years ago very well. They destroyed what I thought was a pretty good Snider team that year. This new version under the direction of Bill Marshall intrigues me. Biggest game in the state tonight in Valpo. Environment is sure to be rockin.

Is the Top 10 field better or worse than it was in 2001?

Valpo is a great program. They seem to be good every year and about every 4 years or so they put together a scary good team. It's been like that for decades it seems.

For anyone not affiliated with Snider or New Pal. Most of us had heart trouble during and after the game.

They're that good that you wouldn't give Snider or Zionsville a chance against them? I would agree that they might be the favorite at this point, not sure I'd be shocked though if they weren't the team representing the north.

Dwenger is down. Snider is up. Right now it's looking like Snider could go 2-0 against the Saints this year, but all bets are off when these two rivals play one another. An argument could be made that this is the best rivalry in the SAC.

It's all good. There's lots of passion for this great sport whether you're from Indy, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Evansville, Columbus, Lafayette, The Region, and all areas in between. Expecting 6000+ in Valparaiso, 7000 at Carroll, and 4000+ at Dwenger this Friday.

Good stuff. I'll never claim to be an expert in that area of the state. I can barely predict winners in the SAC.

I don't recall anyone from the region stating that they would beat Center Grove or Cathedral. From what I'm gathering, they'd be happy with just an appearance at state. Even if they do believe they can beat the Indy schools, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of enthusiasm. I guarantee if Snider makes it to state, they'll be there to win it, not just show up and lay down.

It should be. With regard to SAC title implications, I don't think Snider should be penalized since it was South who cancelled and Snider had a 99.75% chance of winning that game. Which pretty much means that if they played 400 times, South might find a way to win one.

I'm still intrigued with Merrillville even if they were to win by 7 pts. I think Valpo is having one of those years where they are right up there with the best, but falling just a little *short. I see this game being tight with two teams capable of making deep runs. I agree that a 14pt win against the Vikings would open some eyes, but lets not underestimate how good Valpo really might be. *All teams not named Center Grove or Cathedral will fall short this year. After Westfield and Carmel, the rest of the field is a crapshoot.

The game feels big even from Fort Wayne.

Good work TigerFan! Five intriguing games to say the least. 1. Quite possibly the best two teams in all of Northern Indiana. Merrillville ends the streak 2. Everything leads to Luers being the favorites in this one. Don't ever count out Dwenger though, those kids play with as much passion as anyone in the state. Luers by multiple scores 3. Agree. Two very good football teams with much in common. They could both be 6-0 and they could both be 4-2. The three losses by a combined total of 12 points came to, in my opinion, two teams that would rank in the Top 20 regardless of class. Carroll wins 4. I'd love to see the kids from Turtle Town come out on top. Throw the ranking out the window though, I think Busco is in trouble. Central Noble by multiple scores 5. Gotta go with Mishawaka in this one. I'd say they are more battle tested and the two teams they lost to are pretty good. Cavemen win by 10

Yes

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Jakeone is excited about this Luers team, and rightfully so. I'm sure it bothers him that Sagarin doesn't have an accurate read on the SAC. Everyone knows Luers, Snider, Carroll, and Homestead are all Top 20 programs. Bingo. You and everyone else on this forum. Don't get so worked up. It's not the ratings fault that the SAC is closed.

I don't get what everyone's beef is with Dabo. I'm curious to know though. I think he has better character than Saban.

I agree, and after the season is over, Pyne will enter the transfer portal.

Nonetheless, he is a senior, and he jumped ship from Wisconsin to come to Notre Dame to play in his final season. His commitment to this young man is obvious. We've seen glimpses of Buchner and Pyne being able to move the ball better than Coan. And with an offensive line that continues to allow pressure on our quarterback, it only makes football sense to utilize someone who can avert those defenders by scrambling out of the pocket..........Buchner and Pyne. Kelly's commitment to "this" senior is plain as day. Don't get me wrong, I like Coan, and if the offensive line were better he'd probably be our man. But under the circumstances we are in, he might just be the third best quarterback on this team.