BTF

I know some posters don't like "pound for pound," but Gilbert's teams were right up there with the best. Good luck to the new coach.

"Trust your teammates."

Good points. Expanding on that: In the past, for a team up north to win the large division state title, you just had to be better than Carmel, Ben Davis, and Warren Central. You basically had two northern teams, Penn and Snider, competing with those three. Now you have Center Grove, Brownsburg, Hamilton Southeastern, Fishers, Westfield, Cathedral, and Avon. That's ten powerful programs for the north to contend with. Ten years ago, with Snider bumping down, all that was left was Penn............good luck with that. Fast forward to 2024 with Snider bumping back up, now it's 4 vs 10, with the inclusion of Carroll and Crown Point. The odds are still stacked against the north. There won't be a balance of power until Homestead, Lake Central, and Elkhart up their game.

Gameday moxie is important. Throw in a little swagger. Without it, you're done. Let the kids have fun.

Love the Warren Central pick-up. But after this year, no more Indy teams for at least a couple of years. I could be wrong, but I just don't think Snider cares for long road trips.

Mixing the schedule up a little bit could also be good for the gate?

Good catch. Mishawaka's not new to success by any means. I think the Cavemen are one of those overlooked programs who've been pretty stout for the last three decades. Not to mention 11 sectional titles over the past 15 seasons. They seem to reload at the coaching position with guys who stick around for awhile.

Love it. Go big or go home.

A Penn fan would know. Scrolling through past seasons, I believe I counted one of his five semi-state losses as a state finals appearance. 9 Regional titles 4 Semi-state titles

Warren Central has high expectations again this year, so yeah, the 100th meeting with Ben Davis could be a dandy. Here's what I have out of the Northeast: Warren Central at Snider........Round 2 Hamilton Southeastern at Carroll........rubber match Snider at Carroll........Carroll has that suburban Indy vibe. They've replaced Dwenger as Snider's fiercest competitor. Carroll at Center Grove........If you're going venture into Trojan country, might as well do it with a D1 quarterback. Leo at Luers...........4A Top 10 program takes on 2A's best.

He's 0-5 in state title games. Two of those games were competitive, so you could say he was close to winning twice. Nonetheless, the man took his team to the championship 5 times............impressive. There are some good programs out there who'd like to just go once............Merrillville and Mishawaka.

Absolutely not. Four teams have absolutely owned 6A. Doesn't leave a whole lot of hope for the other 28 teams. If a program like Cathedral won't bump up voluntarily, none of them will.

Are those 18 all starters? What about the other 45 that dress for a game?

Agree. I'm banking on ACC providing a solid contender most years, unlike the Pac-12 or the Big-12.

Freeman won't ever be let go for not winning the big one, just as Kelly wasn't let go. If he can average 9 or 10 wins per season, his job is safe as long as he's running a clean program. Willingham and Weiss aren't good comparisons. Willingham couldn't recruit and Weiss just flat out lost focus after awhile. I think Notre Dame attracts the type of kid that think's he's capable of taking the Irish to a championship level. And if he doesn't, well, he has one hell of a degree to show for his hard work and time. Can a championship be achieved using the current model? I think so. If you look back over the last 13 or so years, Notre Dame's had at least two teams that were a great quarterback away from winning the whole thing.

My vote is for Notre Dame to not sell their soul to the devil. Getting to a high profile bowl game with a bunch of smart kids should suffice. Throwing a bunch of academically unqualified young men into the university for the sole sake of winning a championship compromises the integrity of the university. And I'll be the first to admit, it's a breath of fresh air to see their kids intelligently articulate themselves during interviews after the game. The chances of Notre Dame winning a national championship is a lot lower than what it was back in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. The college football landscape has changed, integrity appears to be at an all time low. Finishing in the Top 10 is the new benchmark for the Irish unfortunately.

Love it.

The way I'm reading it, Bob is correct. The best Notre Dame can do is #5. The system already needs to be reworked though. I'm on board with the Big 10, ACC, and the SEC getting a first round bye. Each of those conferences are going to produce a legitimate contender. But with Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington jumping ship to the SEC and Big 10, I'm struggling with the Pac 12 and Big 12 getting that fourth spot. I get it, the NCAA wants the conference championship to mean something. But the Big 12 and Pac 12 aren't what they once were. Long story short? It's time for Notre Dame to make a move. The Big 10 makes the most sense. If Notre Dame wants their brand to stretch from coast to coast, the Big 10 will provide that and secure their annual game with USC. Keep Navy, ditch Stanford for Washington or Oregon. Replace Clemson with (cough cough) Maryland or Rutgers. Play one of those games on the road when hosting Navy that year. That way their brand on the East Coast remains. Notre Dame's only concern at this point is lack of brand in the Southeast.

I think Amstutz is in the top five percentile as a head football coach. Hate to see him go, but I get the decision. Those are gritty kids up there in Kendallville. Hopefully their football tradition is maintained. Good luck to the next coach.

Luke Amstutz leaves the head coaching position to become AD? Not an easy replacement, a major hit to the football program in my opinion.

Fair.

Why do you feel they lost that one game? There's flaws all over the place with these polls. Indy Lutheran isn't beating Carroll, sorry. They aren't beating Merrillville or Valpo either. No way no how. Side note: I do appreciate the polls and what they have to offer, we just have to acknowledge them for what they are. They're computers that process numbers. They've never seen a game.

I'll give it "semi-accurate," right up there with Sagarin. Great polls for sure, but they have their flaws. Westfield and HSE over Crown Point? Snider at #12? I'll pass.

Great video, thanks for sharing!

Got it. I was wondering how she was 7th in the nation and 6th in the state. Thanks for the education :). That comeback from down 9-1 had to be quite the scene. Gotta love high school sports.