Boilernation

We should end up seeing Allar fairly soon. I don't think it's possible for Clifford to make it through the season without missing time for injuries. The guy looks like he takes a beating every game.

Agreed! I could be a fan of the juggernaut that is 2022 Georgia and I would still be nervous about a night game in Iowa City. Teams just go there to be tricked into dying.

Poles.

Agreed. I'm hoping they open up the offense more this weekend. If they do I can completely understand why they went vanilla against the San Fran and GB defenses to develop the run game. This is clearly a rebuilding year from Pace's viewpoint. You have to spend the rest of the season figuring out if Fields is your guy or if you need to target a QB high in the draft. Unfortunately, based on the limited attempts he has thrown the ball, the advanced analytics are completely awful and the all 22 field view is showing he's missing open WR's. The worst was I believe on the flee flicker that was a big gain. Yes, it worked out well and the Bears gained 30'ish yards. But, he completely missed that the WR on the opposite side of the field raised his hand signal that he was abondoning the curl/comeback route because he was behind the DB and was going to run a deep route. I believe it was St. Brown who did that and was behind the secondary for a TD. I heard it discussed yesterday on the radio. Can we all agree now more Packers vs. Bears in prime time? I'm sure Packers fan enjoy the beatdowns on National TV. No mas for me. Not enjoyable to watch.

Early indications are they had no faith the O-Line could pass block and game planned for the running game.

Yeah. Doesn't really matter. The Packers didn't even need Rodgers as they were able to run at will against the Bears. Oh well. It is what it is. The is clearly a rebuild year and the talent left over by Pace sucks. At this pont it's hard to even tell if Fields is the guy as his O-Line can't protect and his WR's certainly can't get open. I'm just hoping to see positives as the season progresses. For starters it was nice to actually see a strong running game last night with Montgomery.

As in not being so worried about the Syracuse DB that talked trash all game? Durham was so bothered by him that he picked up a 15 yards personal fout penalty after the go ahead TD so he could talk trash to that Syracuse DB.

Wow, was not expecting that type of beatdown from Zionsville. Looking forward to seeing how they follow it up against HSE.

Agreed. 30 yards of penalties after scoring go ahead TD is completely absurd!!! The refs had some AWFUL calls go against Purdue, especially the reverse of the fumble that would have given Purdue the ball with a chance to score at the end of the 2nd quarter. At the end of the day Purdue had a PAT blocked, missed a makeable FG, and committed 30 yards worth of personal foul penalties after scoring the go ahead points with less than a minute to go. That gave Syracuse the ball at the 50 yards line for their final drive. Maybe I'm being overly critical, but Purdue didn't have any DB's back guarding the goal line on the final play. You can't get let a WR get behind the secondary on the post corner with less than 20 seconds to go in the game.

Is it a total cash grab and experience for someone like Kelly? He's not an idiot. He knows those fans want 3 things: Beat Saban, Win the SEC, Win another National Title. You're yesterday's news if it's not done often enough. Either Kelly has a massive ego and wants to win a National Title at an SEC school or he was intrigued by the cash and experience of coaching in the SEC at a storied program. Or, the idea of being able to recruit at a school that has a revolving door of 4 and 5 star in-state talent that likely doesnt' have to worry about admission standards. Probably a little of all of the above.

Yeah, Coach O was literally Born on the Bayou and he wasn't even a fan favorite when hired. The writing was on the wall as soon as it was obvious he couldn't replicate an offense that had multiple 1st Round Picks and 2 offensive coaches with NFL coaching ability. I honestly don't think they would care if the coach was a guido from Brooklyn as long he beat Saban and won SEC/National TItles.

Yeah, I don't know if I would be excited about the move to the Big 12 if I were Central Florida. The writing seems to be on the wall that any program not in the SEC or Big Ten shouldn't feel confidant about their future. Their recruiting isn't good enough to be near the top programs, but it doesn't need to be. They will still land a handful of 4 star recruits from across the country as well as solid 3 star recruits that had impressive offer lists. They have consistently been amount the Top 5 in recruiting in the Big Ten. That's why I said there is no reason they can't consistenly be a 8-10 win program with the right coach. It was an utter embarassment for Frost that he could out recruit nearly every team in the Big Ten West yet was so awful on the field. Wisconsin has won at least 8 games 18 times since 2000. You can't tell me Nebraska isn't capable of doing it as well when they out recruit Wisconsin on a consistent basis.

The guy wins at every level. Literally. Grand Valley State: 13 seasons. Won at least 8 games in 10 of the seasons. He was the Division 2 Runner-Up in 2001 and the Division 2 Champion in 2002 as well as 2003. Central Michigan: 3 seasons. From 4-7 in 2004 to 2006 MAC Champion Cincinnati: 3 seasons. 10-3, 11-3 and 12-0 Notre Dame: 12 seasons. At least 10 wins in 6 of his last 7 seasons with ND. The guy can clearly coach despite how much people love to hate on him. I would not be the least bit surprised if he broke through and won a National Title at Baton Rouge.

Nebraska has a sellout streak dating back to the 60's and some of the finest athletic facilities in the country. I don't believe for a second they can get back to being a National power as I think some of the advantages they used to have dried up. But, they have the fan following and resources to be a consistent Top 20 team. Nebraska can still recruit at a level much higher than Central Florida.

Agreed. If I'm Nebraska I'm sending a blank check to Stoops. You already know he knows how to overcome a state with very little D1 talent and recruit Regionally. He's proven he can compete in the SEC with inferior recruiting rankings. And he currently has to deal with Calipari making sure everyone knows Kentucky is a basketball school. Why not go to Nebraska where the fan support rivals Kentucky and you are THE show in Lincoln?

Great point! I forgot how soon the turnaround was in promoting Freeman. You can't let the inmates run the asylum. In fairness to Freeman, he still has a lot of time to write his story at ND. But, you can't convince me they couldn't have found a better option had they done their due dilligence and opened the job up to outside candidates. It's entirely possible that Nebraska will have a better hire than Freeman. I firmly believe the football Gods are through with punishing the Huskers for firing Pelini and they'll end up with a really good coach capable of consistent 7-10 win seasons. I realize that's not good enough for ND fans; however, it currently looks better than Freeman.

I fully agree. That loss to Marshall was BAD, VERY BAD. I get the following: Charles Huff has Penn State and Saban ties on his resume and is on his way to getting a Power 5 job Marshall's roster is full of portal transfers from legitimate Power 5 programs But, Notre Dame essentially let Ohio State beat them twice. They looked like they never recovered from the Ohio State loss and were completely out gameplanned and schemed by Marshall. I heard on one podcast that Marshall's coaches were happy ND never adjusted and didn't just go with a power running game in the 2nd half. They didn't think they could stop ND if they put some power on the line and tried running the ball. This is clearly an outsiders viewpoint as I've made it clear I have no love towards Notre Dame, but I feel like they were shocked to be dumped by Kelly, saw they had a pretty backup they could take to the dance in Freeman, and rallied around his charisma and outstanding recruiting abilities. But, sitting one state away, was a proven coach in Fickel that seemingly was never even considered. Who knows. Maybe ND used agents to send feelers out to prospective coaches and the responses they received made it clear Freeman was their best option.

Interesting. I haven't been able to see Valpo this year. Why do you have them over Crown Point?

I'm feeling very pessimistic about that one. Purcell Pavilion!! Admittedly, I had to Google that one. Congrats. You are now the 2nd person I've encountered who actually likes ND basketball. I can actually tolerate watching them win. Brey seems like a good one.

Kind of a dead week in the Duneland. Nothing noteworthy on the schedule until the 23rd when Crown Point travels to Valpo and then the following week when Valpo takes down Merrillvile. Chesterton @ Valpo: The Trojans are spiraling down the drain after a promising showing in Week 1 vs Hobart. Valpo is gearing up for a run at the Duneland crown. Vikings by about 17. LaPorte @ Lake Central: Good gets back in the win column and Lake Central moves to 3-2 heading to Michigan City. Blue Indians by 23. Michigan City @ Merrillville: I would love to see Mason pickup another W against The Ville, but it's not happening this year. Pirates by 18. Portage @ Crown Point. The Red Indians have apparently twice caught lightning in the bottle: the 1977 season and the hiring of Craig Buzea as the football coach in 1993. Unfortunately, Buzea now holds court on the Crown Point sideline and Portage is the way to their 10th losing season since the Buzea/Portage divorce. Crown Point by 28.

Thanks! I aways thought it was in reference to the Chicago Southside Irish Catholics that love ND. For instance, did Rudy really play at Joliet Catholic or was that just fictionalized for the movie?

Let's be clear, it also comes down to results. I'm fairly confidant the reversible jacket IU/ND fan that likes them for "being Indiana teams" choose them over Purdue becuase of historical success. I was a huge ND football fan in Middle School and High School. I was at Soldier Field for Ron Pawlus' first start as QB1. I just started caring less and less about ND the more connected to Purdue I felt.

I could be wrong, but I think the term "Subway Alum" was coined by the Chicagoans following Notre Dame.

I get it. Notre Dame is located in South Bend. They have tremendous history and residents of Indiana will jump on the bandwagon. Though outside of location, what is "Indiana" about them? I don't see research parks creating jobs across the state with the ND name on them. I don't see Veterinarian's from across the state going to ND for traininng and/or consultations. I don't see medical facilities across the state with ND's name on them. I'd wager less than 5% of their student body is actually from Indiana. Illinois, Illinois State and don't forget about the downstate Saluki's! A lot of Chicagoland HS kids end up at Southern. That's where my parents met.

Ben Davis Brownsburg East Noble Fort Wayne Carroll Mater Dei Gibson Southern Fort Wayne Snider Tri-West Northview Franklin