itiswhatitis

I believe with a reduced participation/qualification format, there would be some teams that will never qualify. I see those teams probably closing up their programs after a few years and that would be a shame. Kids would feel, "what's the use since we never qualify?" and the numbers would start dwindling. Or in other cases, they might just transfer somewhere else and contribute to the dwindling numbers even more. With the all in format they get a chance to play in at least one game in the tournament. And don't give me that tired crap about, "why not just give everyone a participation trophy"? It's not just about winning, it's about those kids makings memories to take with them into adulthood I know former players are out there and have those memories because I've talked with a few of them over the years and not all of them were from winning programs either. You can see their eyes light up when they start talking about it. It's just another part of high school football that I enjoy. I can see why people want to seed the sectionals. I also like how Ohio does their playoffs. They use neutral sites. It works for them. The 2 teams playing in the game might be several miles from the neutral site. And the fans from the neutral site get a chance to watch a playoff game especially after their team has been eliminated. Like I said, it works for Ohio.

I'm not sold on Bama. LOL I've seen 2 of their games and neither one was very impressive on the defensive side. Yeah Tua is out and they are still winning, but not like a typical Bama team. I guess we'll find out real soon when they play LSU. I think LSU will probably win it this year. Joe Burrow has them winning at an historical rate. I was disappointed when he left Ohio State. He was one of the top quarterback recruits in the country when he was in high school. His senior year he put up ridiculous numbers. Something like 50+ TD passes and only 3 or 4 INT's. Crazy. They may not fear them, but they'll lose to them just the same. Sorry.

Personally? I'd like to see LSU play Ohio State in the National Championship game. Joe Burrow transfers from Ohio State to LSU and is making history there. Then has to play against his former team in the title game? Could you imagine the story lines for a game like that? LSU still has to beat Bama, but for now, my money is on the Tigers. Bama's defense isn't as good this year as the past few years.

I've stated before the Miners will need another effort like last week (2 penalties and zero turnovers). They won't be able to turn the ball over against a quality team like Mater Dei. I recall what happened in week one. Protecting the ball is of the highest priority. Can't stress that enough.

Apparently I have to point everything out. My "NO DOUBT" remark was in reference to Mater Dei's win over Central. Let's see.....a 2A team beating the 6th ranked 4A team on the road. How many other 2A or for that matter most 3A teams have that kind of win on their resume?. THAT "raised eyebrows" everywhere (NO DOUBT).

When considering all of that, I see why the IHSAA keeps the all in format.

What a let down, huh? Once they realign to the super conferences, the Big 12 will probably get disbanded. It should have been a few years ago. Their commissioner is a putz.

I was the one who made the comment and that is pretty much why I made it. SR always gets stronger as the season progresses, so their week one performance against how Mater Dei is playing NOW is slightly different. You only have to look a couple of seasons ago. SR beat Linton 17 - 16 in the season opener and then beat them 20 - 0 in the sectional. Obviously they are a different team in week one vs week 11. I also took into consideration that Mater Dei beat the 6th ranked team in 4A on the road just a few short weeks ago. It's tough to trump that kind of win. So it was NOT a slap in the face towards SR. Geez, what are you? A Democrat???

I'd have to agree about Young and the Heisman. He's a one man wrecking crew. His stat line against Wisconsin would make some players happy for a season let alone one game. 4 sacks, 5 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles in one game is insane! He'll go top 3 in the draft next year if not the #1 pick. I would hope he gets at least a few votes for Heisman. But as we all know,it normally goes to an offensive player. Perish the thought that a defender could ever be the best player in the country! The offense ALWAYS gets all the glory.

They lost to LCC in the regional in 2015.

Okay so you are saying Mater Dei by 28.

"Artificial"??? Then why all of the talk about conference wins being important? Sounds to me like with the "artificial" district thing there would be no need for conferences any more. I'm not trying to trash the idea, just trying to wrap my mind around it and how it may (or may not) apply to Indiana football. Just so it isn't back to the cluster system or something similar. That was really, really bad juju.

Just how much is "a lot"? Mater Dei won 40 - 21 last year. Do you think they will win by 19 or more again this year?

Yeah the officiating crew would have to call timeout for a conference and make up some new on-the-spot "Brady rule" to keep him from getting a safety. LOL He's won a lot of hardware over the years, but is the most protected wuss in the league.

Colts win another "squeaker" to go to 5 - 2 and hang onto first place in the AFC South. Big game this Sunday in Pittsburgh. I love how people are ripping on Brissett. All the man does is win. That sack he avoided in the end zone yesterday and then zipped a 35 yarder to TY was incredible. Not too many QB's in the league could make that play. Maybe Rogers Brees, and Mahommes. Not sure even Brady could have done it (at least avoid the sack part). Every game the Colts have played has been decided by a score or less this year. Oh well, they aren't all going to be pretty, but a win is a win. This team isn't built to score 30 - 40 points per game. It's built on defense and that is who is winning most of the games. The offense is built on running the ball and short passes. Ball control if you will. Brissett is more of a game manager type QB and that is fine, but that play he made yesterday was MVP type stuff.

I happen to notice this morning: in this week's Sagarin ratings, the top 22 teams in 2A all won except #2 Pioneer. This should be a really great 2A tournament this year. Barring some upsets, there should be some really great matchups down the road. Lots of good programs with some really great teams in the North AND the South.

And again I ask, "what about independents?" Cathedral is an independent. Would you leave them out of the playoffs because they aren't in a conference?

That is the one position (QB) the Buckeyes are a bit thin at. They were talking about it on the broadcast yesterday. We had been talking about it a couple of weeks ago at work. Thought it was funny that they mentioned it yesterday since we had noticed it 2 weeks ago. Hopefully Fields stays healthy the rest of the season. IU is fortunate to have 2 starting caliber qb's.

I like your chances too. If your defense continues to play well, I see no reason why you shouldn't be in the sectional final. Best of luck to the Warriors and good health!

One thing is for sure, only one WILL be in the final. LOL The Warriors are in a good spot. Now just take out Forrest Park and you'll get to meet one of them in the final. I think both of the these finals will be great ball games. Don't know much about FP but shutting out Tell City says they must have a decent defense. I've already talked on here in other topcis about North Knox's defense so it could be a low scoring game. Maybe a turnover decides who wins?

I must be a jinx to Notre Dame. I've rooted for them a few times over the years and I think they've lost every time. LOL Had hopes they would win, but they made Michigan look a top 5 team in the country. Harbaugh finally wins a game against a highly ranked opponent. Hope he enjoys it as long as he can because you-know-who is waiting for that last game of the season. Another beatdown coming?

Yeah this is one year that the conference belongs to the Buckeyes like it did in 2014. I think you could assemble an All Star team from the rest of the conference and Ohio State would still beat them. I see no weaknesses in this team at all. As long as Fields stays healthy this team is unbeatable. If he goes down, that will probably kill their chances of winning everything. They can lose Dobbins at RB and still probably win it all. They can lose lost a wide receiver and still win it al. But lose Fields and they probably won't win. Martell was a good backup but he transferred. They don't have much on the bench at QB now.

Becoming bowl eligible after just 8 games is a big deal for the Hoosiers and will do wonders on the recruiting trail this year for Allen. Win the bowl game this year and it will do wonders for recruiting the next couple of years. There is something going on in Bloomington! Holy crap the defense STILL needs to get more consistent. That first quarter was really bad. I felt as though Nebraska was going to run away with the game early on. Ramsey is a robo quarterback. Dude is super accurate and doesn't make mistakes even when plays break down. He's smart enough to throw the ball away and not force anything, when nothing is there and also is good at scrambling. I get Penix is the starter, but having Ramsey in your back pocket is a huge bonus! Glad for the Hoosiers he decided to stay and not transfer. Allen had good things to say about him after the game.

And if Norte Dame wins out, then they could very well claim the fourth spot. Leave Alabama out of it this year! Go Irish! Chase Young for Heisman! 4 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 5 tackles for loss. For most guys that is a season. He did it in one freakin' game today! He has 13.5 sacks for the year so far. C'mon touchdown club, give it to a defender for once!

It was reported he got a concussion on the opening kickoff. But the 2 kids that replaced him did well if I remember correctly. The Miners had zero turnovers and only 2 penalties against North Posey. They are going to need a repeat to stay in the game with MD.