Footballking16

You think they fire Ferentz after 20+ years? I don't know, too invested in him at this point. I think firing Ferentz amidst a pandemic could set Iowa back 5 years. Who knows what kind of budget they are looking at after they buy him out and all the lost revenue this last year. Iowa isn't really an easy place to recruit at (unless you've been doing it 20 years like Ferentz) and whoever replaces him is going to have an uphill battle without the ability to host or do in-home visits. I do think Iowa would be wise to get ahead and put Ferentz on some kind of retirement plan in the next 3-4 years where they can appoint a successor but outright firing him given the circumstances could be costly.

There isn't a win requirement for bowl eligibility this year due to the scheduling unbalance. I imagine you'll see a fair amount of lower tier bowls cancelled this year, especially in states with attendance bans. Depending on the # of bowls that actually take place, I think a 4 win IU team gets in, especially with a win already over Penn State. I see wins against MSU, Rutgers, and Maryland to get to 4 and then Purdue and IU should be a dandy.

But that isn't the gap between IU and Kentucky's roster, it's not even close. Unless you're Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, etc the only way you're going to win is recruiting kids to your system and developing them along the way. That's not a ridiculous statement at all. Indiana, nor Kentucky, is ever going to recruit at those levels so the next best thing is to recruit players to your system that buy in and develop them along the way. This is exactly what schools like Iowa and Wisconsin do. Once you get outside the the top 200-250 players in any given class, it's all about how you develop them. There's 5-6 schools year in and year out who land 50-60% of the kids in that 200-250 range.

There's a huge gap between a 5* and a 4* and 4* and a 3*. Dissecting recruiting rankings, skill position players seem to warrant more stars than lineman, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Outside the top 200-300 prospects in any given year, football is a development sport. I don't think there's much difference between a low 4* and a high 3*, at least in the sense you make it out to be. Unless you're stockpiling your two deep with 5* (Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, etc) I think recruiting rankings are pretty meaningless. Give me the coach/program who develops their players, especially their line the best.

I don't think it's any earth shattering revelation to conclude that the teams who recruit the best usually have the best success. But the gap between teams like Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Georgia are off the chart wide. The gap between teams like Indiana and Kentucky aren't nearly as wide as at the top. Per the 247 composite you referenced up top, Kentucky's average recruit score is 86.95 (out of 100). IU's average recruit score is 84.66. That's not a huge discrepancy. Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State are all 92+ and Clemson comes in at 90. Huge separation between them and the rest of the field.

How do you figure? Penn State has even more talent than Kentucky and was only favored by 6 points yesterday. No chance Kentucky is a 2 score favorite over IU this year if favorites at all.

I understand that. It was also his first game. Didn’t Saban lose to UL-Monroe his first game at Alabama? It’s going to be 2-3 years one way or another before you can thoroughly judge this hire.

Jury still out, he’s coached one game. Dantonio didn’t exactly leave Tucker with a full cupboard as MSU was on a steady decline and he resigned the day before signing day. Didn’t really leave MSU with much viable options. Couple that with the ongoing pandemic and lack of time preparation in the spring and summer getting familiar with his team, I think most MSU fans realized this was going to be a tough year.

Was more shocked at how bad Michigan State was than impressed with Rutgers. Rutgers capitalized on 5 first half MSU turnovers but really didn’t do much after that. Think Rutgers will he sent back to Earth next week.

Kentucky is on the verge of finishing multiple games under .500 while IU won the its most games last year since 1993 and appears on their way to winning at least 5 (if not more) games in a shortened season. Kentucky won a program best 10 wins two years ago but barely went .500 last year and is sinking fast this year.

Going to have to respectfully disagree with Trojan Dad on this one. True, Center Grove outgained Cathedral but they also had the ball for 10 minutes longer and ran 23 more plays (which obviously was their game plan from the start). However, the Irish D played lights out all night long. Steele had his moments but was never able to break one and Cathedral forced CG into many 3rd and longs and obvious passing down which you can tell isn't their style. But yes, hard-hitting game all around and another eventful game in this great series.

Yep. Fantastic D (especially the line) that really dictated the game and never allowed Carhedral to get into any rhythm. Didn’t have much success running on first and second down and were forced into obvious passing downs were CG could pin their ears and bring pressure.

Jordan didn’t play in the 1Q and never really got in sync with the game. Did draw 2 DPI’s that won’t show up in the box score but Cathedral didn’t do much to get him the ball. Wooten I believe caught one ball early in the game but not sure he was targeted after. Tragic.

Huh? Cathedral wasn’t trying to get a touchdown, they were trying to get a yard and win them the game. Criticize Coach Peebles all you want, his decision to go for it was the right call, his play call left some to be desired.

Was semi-invested in the Navy-ECU game, hehe. Facing a 4th and 2 around midfield up 4 with 2 minutes left (ECU had 1 TO left), Navy left their punt team off the field. Navy converted their 4th down, running north and south I should add, and ECU never saw the ball again. I’m guessing this is a more popular call than DT leads us to believe.

I’m in the same boat. Couldn’t tell from where I was at in the stands.

Have not seen any replays but on the ensuing drive after Cathedral took the lead, it appeared Steele fumbled with a clear recovery for Cathedral that was ruled down by contact. It looked bang-bang to me but other fans around (with a better view) were adamant it was out. Any inclination to that from watching it on TV?

Another aspect I want to commend last night was the officiating. Thought it was top notch. Clean game where the crew let the players decide the outcome on the field. It was decidedly better than last years game which was a flag fest. Only questionable call in my opinion was the no call on the intentional grounding at the end of the first half, but other than that, great work all around.

There’s nothing wrong with Cathedral’s (Arlington) playing surface, you have that right. That being said, the rest of Arlington’s facilities leave a lot to be desired. Center Grove, once again, hosted a fantastic football game that all Irish fans should be thankful.

Center Grove has phenomenal facilities and is always accommodating and I always enjoy visiting. The game day atmosphere is even better. Now....if it just wasn’t so far away there wouldn’t be anything to complain about 🙂

Haven’t had to punt but a handful of times all year up until last night and in instances where they did the game was no longer in doubt.

If Peebles thought there was even a chance of a touchback he probably punts it. But that wasn’t happening. Cathedral was on CG’s 46 on the 4th down play. Would have had to hit it at least 40 yards in the air from where he punted for a touchback to even be a possibility. Punted from the same spot on the field earlier and had a 12 yard net punt. The decision to go for it wasn’t hard at all. Just didn’t execute.

Definitely a feast or famine play. Has worked well for the Irish many times but also left them snakebitten a few times as well. It did for sure last night and if you can remember it did as well in last years regional game. Up 10-7 nearing the end of the third quarter, ran that play TWICE inside the 3 yard line and it fooled nobody and New Pal stuffed it twice. Completely flipped the script and we saw the outcome. Cathedral ran that play last night earlier in the 4th quarter with no success and when Jordan came in motion everyone in the building knew what play was coming.

You’re telling me Coach Ralph punts it right there? No chance. Agree wholeheartedly on the play call. The result of the play makes the decision look even worse, that’s called hindsight which to this day remains undefeated. Cathedral’s punting woes earlier in the game were well-documented as Cathedral punted from the same area of the field into the same wind. I think the people advocating for a punt automatically assume Cathedral’s punter was going to pin CG deep?? He failed to do so 3-4 other times in the game punting from the same area of the field.

Really!?! I never would have thought a 4th down stop would have shifted momentum. A yard and Cathedral is two kneels away from going undefeated while playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. Is that Cathedral’s problem? You weren’t saying this the last 3-4 years. Do any teams actually try and target a loss?