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Other than Ohio State, Penn State is about the only other B1G team with a chance to get in the playoffs. They will have to roll into Columbus on the 23rd of this month still undefeated. Which means they will have beaten undefeated Minnesota on the 9th. Lose to Minnesota and Penn State will be out of the picture no matter what they do in Columbus If Minnesota wins out, I don't see them climbing high enough in the polls to get into the top 4. They are currently in 13th place. Then again if it is them and undefeated Ohio State in the B1G championship and the Gophers win, that might influence voters and get them a spot. However, I don't see anyone in the B1G taking down the Buckeyes this year. I think it will be Ohio State and either Bama or LSU in the final. Clemson isn't as strong this year and I believe would lose to any of the other 3.

Yeah I caught that. Still finding it amusing about the limos though.

I think both semi-final games will good ones. Of the 4 teams remaining, in round one there were 3 shutouts, and 3 blowouts (blowouts were by North Knox, Mater Dei, and Linton, the three shutouts were by Forrest Park, Mater Dei and Linton). With the defenses that each team seems to have, I don't see any blowouts and expect both games to be somewhat lower scoring. I'm thinking 20 points will be enough to win in either game. After all of that, now watch both games become shootouts. LOL Put that Bob Kostas on 'em, boy! BEST OF LUCK AND GOOD HEALTH TO ALL WHO PLAY THE GREATEST GAME ON THE PLANET!!!

# 1 vs #2 in the Sags. Can't do any better than that. On paper these teams look evenly matched with SOS (14 and 9) and common opponents (6-1 and 7 - 0). The first meeting was 7 - 3 for Avon at home. I see it as another defensive game and the first team to 14 wins. Which team? Hard to beat the same team twice in one season. I'd call it for Avon but think Brownsburg wins at home this time. Oh the score? 14 - 11.

Unfortunately I have a family thing in Ohio this weekend. Won't even be in town!

Good way to look at it. I don't believe in luck, but I do believe in being at the right place at the right time.

Wait a tic....where's the grammar police when you need them? LOL "Thru"??? Seriously? I think you MUST have meant throw. And you call someone else out for bad grammar?

LOL Aren't all of those "old oil money" guys rednecks? And you are probably right about the limos. That would be a sight: a fleet of limos pulling up to a game and the football team all pile out of them. LOL Slightly intimidating???

Cool story! Have done something similar but it involved 2 different high school games in the same night. Bloomington you say or were you just going to school there then?

I remember when Sheridan played Linton in the 1998 semi-state game, the Blackhawks showed up in a charter bus. It was kind of impressive actually. Then they thumped Linton in the game. LOL I'm sure there is some rich daddy somewhere in Texas that probably has his own plane and could fly the team to the game. But then they would still need a bus to get from the airport to the game, right? Unless they all parachuted out on the field. LOL

Hilarious ts32! That guy has been posting the same thing on almost every Linton game this year. I think they are the new token troll on the GID. LOL I just ignore them. They remind me of the saying: "it's better to be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt".

Well in all honesty, Texas is bigger than some countries in the world. LOL Well if it is Texas, everyone is rich in Texas. LOL

Thanks Irishman. Most appreciated my man! Been fortunate to have so much support in all of this. No man is an island as the saying goes. Always have enjoyed our posting back and forth on here over the years. Believe it or not, 4 years ago when I was going through a really rough time, the GID was kind of like therapy for me. It gave me an outlet to take my mind off things. Most people will never know how much it helped.

I should have said they are scoring more, giving up less and a bigger winning margin against better competition. Also should have added while the players may change from year to year, as long as that coaching staff stays, the Miners will keep on rolling along. Can't say enough good things about Coach Ollie and his staff. They are one of the best in the state. And I REALLY like this year's Linton team. Hard to pick just a few guys. So many are making plays on both sides of the ball. You don't hear the same few names over and over. Good depth.

I think it was the tougher schedule happening at the same time with a down year. I know the program went 20 years without a losing record so having a losing season makes people want to search for answers as to "why"? If they were still playing their old schedule, they probably would have won 7 or 8 games but lost in the tournament. I mentioned in another post I've noticed the Miners are back in the state top 50 in average points per game, average points allowed per game and margin of victory. To me that is an indication that they are now playing with the competition and in some cases ahead of the competition. I would still like to see the schedule tweaked a bit more. Drop a couple of teams and add a couple more. I know some people still want those old "rivalries" or teams from the local area, but when it's one sided, it's time for a change. I'd love to see the Miners play an Edgewood, or Northview, or one of the Bloomington schools, or Vincennes Lincoln. Heck I'd even like to see them play Jasper. While the Miners haven't had much success in the 2A tournament (yet) they will. They'll get accustomed to the competition. They did in 1A. Took them a while to win the sectional but they did. Took them a while to win regional, but they did. Took them FOREVER (LOL) to win Semi-state, but they did. They will start winning in 2A. Can't say for certain when, but they'll get there.

Never felt you were. It's all good. I get you are frustrated over the attendance thing. So am I. I haven't been to as many games these days as I used to. Hey, maybe I'm part of the problem LOL

Hold the cheese but add hot mustard!

I hear ya TD. Seen it happen also. Maybe if they start winning and going to bowls, more people will watch them play. Just a guess. Maybe change the culture of the team, change the culture of the fans? This is only the fourth time the Hoosiers have been bowl eligible in the last 25 years. Gonna take a season or two to get people on board with winning I suppose.

Thank you! Third time in the last 4 years. Some days just getting out of bed and getting dressed is an accomplishment. LOL

Don't think they would consider driving 3 hours to a game every week (well for the away games). I think Linton likes being independent and can set their own schedule that way. As you know, they have upgraded it from years past. I don't think they would shy away from playing HC teams, but do not see them ever joining the conference. Being in a conference is like buying real estate: location, location, location. Obviously the HC is fortunate to have some great programs all within the same location. Other conferences are not as fortunate. From a fan's point of view, I actually like the Miners being in 2A. I think it's where they "belong". Personally, I hope they never go back to 1A.. Kind of a "been there, done that" thing if you get my meaning. Now I want to see them win a 2A title.

But then again, a LOT of mornings are rough any more. LOL Age + just finishing up 22 radiation treatments. It all takes a toll on ya. I've heard it isn't the years, it's the miles. But the older I get the more I don't believe it.

Talk about blah, blah, blah. You call agreeing with a Bobref opinion fact? LOL

Two factors in this game: Andrean is at home and their SOS is superior to Boone Grove's. Boone Grove's SOS is 252 and Andrean's is 126. That's like 40% better competition for Andrean. Their schedule is one of the toughest in all of 2A.

Yeah. It's been a rough morning. LOL

Want to talk pain? Linton knows pain; 1997 - Lost in semi-state to Knightstown, 14 - 7. Knightstown had possession of the ball near the end of the 3rd quarter on their own 12 yard line and the score tied 7 - 7. They ate almost the entire fourth quarter on an 88 yard drive (converting fourth down 3 times) to score the winning TD and left Linton about 1 1/2 minutes on the clock. Linton started moving the ball but ran out of time at the Knightstown 36 yard line. And this loss was only the beginning of the heartbreak trail. 2004 - Lost to Ritter in the semi-state in overtime, 21 - 20. Linton scored but the extra point was blocked. 2008 - Lost to Ritter (again) in the semi-sate, 30 - 26. Linton had the lead in the fourth quarter. Ritter scored 20 unanswered in the fourth quarter to win. Courtesy of the Tyronne Walker. show 2012 - Lost to Scecina in the semi-state in overtime, 17 - 14. Linton went for the win and was stopped at the one foot line only to check into the heartbreak hotel once again. Make no mistake about it Linton knows all too well about tournament pain.