2025 College Football Playoffs

[Notre Dame Joe]

You don't think Cignetti knows how to sustain winning? Must not have googled him...

IU winning is miles worse for ND than Miami. Miles. Not sure how anyone doesn't agree. If they win, watch how quickly we find ourselves losing recruiting battles and hearing endless noise from their online fanbase. Maybe Miami has potential to be a superpower. IU is the already emerging superpower.

Just because they are in our home state? Or do we have to worry about emerging superpower Ole Miss?

 

[Notre Dame Joe]

Not to nit-pick, but IU has the second worst win percentage of major college football programs all-time.......note that the graphic does not take into account this year's team

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IU may not even be 3rd in state. Ball State is about .500 Win % with 6 MAC titles.

 

[JerseyIrishMan]

Just because they are in our home state? Or do we have to worry about emerging superpower Ole Miss?

If you can't see the difference between Ole Miss and IU, not sure what to tell you.

One of them is in back to back playoff appearances, fresh off a B10 title, the only top 4 seed in the 12 team format to win their first game (1-7)... 25-2 the last two years and just produced their first Heisman winner. HC and staff inked extensions and have been together for a very long time. Lot of continuity on that staff.

Oh yeah, they're also in our state and much easier to navigate admissions. If one sees nothing to be concerned with, they've got their head buried in the sand.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Not to nit-pick, but IU has the second worst win percentage of major college football programs all-time.......note that the graphic does not take into account this year's team

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My point had more to do with the poster's clip claiming that Indiana did something in two years that ND has been trying to do since the 90s. It's simply not true. ND did not join the arms race. In fact, they ran the opposite way for many years.

Weis got some stuff, BK got some stuff, Freeman is getting a lot of stuff. For the first time in my lifetime, I'm hearing that ND admin is "all-in" (which could mean a lot of different things). But the bottom line is that ND only seemed to recently be giving it "their all" when it comes to football. The results speak for themselves with a NCG appearance last year (beating said Indiana team btw). And we all know they would've made another run this year if given the chance.

My post was more about ND, than being 100% accurate on a take about IU's position among CFB teams. College football is not what it once was and it's easier more so now than ever for a bottom feeder like IU to strike lightning in a bottle. We'll see how long it lasts for them.

 

[JerseyIrishMan]

My point had more to do with the poster's clip claiming that Indiana did something in two years that ND has been trying to do since the 90s. It's simply not true. ND did not join the arms race. In fact, they ran the opposite way for many years.

Weis got some stuff, BK got some stuff, Freeman is getting a lot of stuff. For the first time in my lifetime, I'm hearing that ND admin is "all-in" (which could mean a lot of different things). But the bottom line is that ND only seemed to recently be giving it "their all" when it comes to football. The results speak for themselves with a NCG appearance last year (beating said Indiana team btw). And we all know they would've made another run this year if given the chance.

My post was more about ND, than being 100% accurate on a take about IU's position among CFB teams. College football is not what it once was and it's easier more so now than ever for a bottom feeder like IU to strike lightning in a bottle. We'll see how long it lasts for them.

Would've, could've, should've... Didn't.

If ifs' and butts' were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas!

How long it lasts for them... my guess? About as long as Cignetti is coaching.

I would hate for those that so readily dismiss IU football based on historic performance to manage my money. Clearly lacking vision, not only of the future, but what is in front of them. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

IU did strike lightning in a bottle... when they hired Cig. Not sure what to expect? Google him

 

[Notre Dame Joe]

If you can't see the difference between Ole Miss and IU, not sure what to tell you.

One of them is in back to back playoff appearances, fresh off a B10 title, the only top 4 seed in the 12 team format to win their first game (1-7)... 25-2 the last two years and just produced their first Heisman winner. HC and staff inked extensions and have been together for a very long time. Lot of continuity on that staff.

Oh yeah, they're also in our state and much easier to navigate admissions. If one sees nothing to be concerned with, they've got their head buried in the sand.

You must have had nightmares about Purdue.

 

[Crazy Balki]

If you can't see the difference between Ole Miss and IU, not sure what to tell you.

One of them is in back to back playoff appearances, fresh off a B10 title, the only top 4 seed in the 12 team format to win their first game (1-7)... 25-2 the last two years and just produced their first Heisman winner. HC and staff inked extensions and have been together for a very long time. Lot of continuity on that staff.

Oh yeah, they're also in our state and much easier to navigate admissions. If one sees nothing to be concerned with, they've got their head buried in the sand.

I mean, I don't want to take anything away from Indiana, but let's dissect this:

Last year, Indiana got curbstomped by ND. Don't @ me with the final score after they got 2 garbage time TDs.

This year, they beat the crap out of an insanely overrated and mediocre Alabama team. Keep in mind, Georgia also beat the living crap out of Bama, and Ole Miss just beat Georgia.

I expect Indiana to win, but I wouldn't write Ole Miss off. This is a team playing with significant amount of salt right now. And with talent to boot.

 

[JerseyIrishMan]

I mean, I don't want to take anything away from Indiana, but let's dissect this:

Last year, Indiana got curbstomped by ND. Don't @ me with the final score after they got 2 garbage time TDs.

This year, they beat the crap out of an insanely overrated and mediocre Alabama team. Keep in mind, Georgia also beat the living crap out of Bama, and Ole Miss just beat Georgia.

I expect Indiana to win, but I wouldn't write Ole Miss off. This is a team playing with significant amount of salt right now. And with talent to boot.

This is a fair take. If they win a title this year, it will not be good for us / the rest of CFB. All I'm saying.

 

[JerseyIrishMan]

You must have had nightmares about Purdue.

Are they 25-2 in the last two years and just won a B10 championship and Rose Bowl? Do they have a Heisman winner or a coaching staff going deep in the playoffs with a roster of players hardly anyone else wanted? The arrogance is laughable.

 

[Irish#1]

If you can't see the difference between Ole Miss and IU, not sure what to tell you.

One of them is in back to back playoff appearances, fresh off a B10 title, the only top 4 seed in the 12 team format to win their first game (1-7)... 25-2 the last two years and just produced their first Heisman winner. HC and staff inked extensions and have been together for a very long time. Lot of continuity on that staff.

Oh yeah, they're also in our state and much easier to navigate admissions. If one sees nothing to be concerned with, they've got their head buried in the sand.

TBH, I'm not sure this really impacts ND all that much. They are in the same state, but not in the same conference, play each other regularly or compete for the same instate players.

Whether they are an emerging super power in CFB is still unknown. Next year will tell us.

 

[JerseyIrishMan]

TBH, I'm not sure this really impacts ND all that much. They are in the same state, but not in the same conference, play each other regularly or compete for the same instate players.

Right... but if/when their success is sustained, then we will find ourselves fighting for, and in some cases losing out on, instate / regional prospects. And they're on our schedule in 2030/2031, which hard to believe, is not that far away.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Right... but if/when their success is sustained, then we will find ourselves fighting for, and in some cases losing out on, instate / regional prospects. And they're on our schedule in 2030/2031, which hard to believe, is not that far away.

There is a caveat though w/ ND. Ask yourself why their retention is so good. If there’s a kid at IU that is splitting reps or 2nd string & wants to start, is he going to stick around another year to get that ”coveted IU degree”? You know the answer. Why do you think so many former NFL players have directed their sons to ND? Again, it’s a caveat so not the end all but IU as of now is a “portal program”. ND still invests in the HS ranks during the recruiting process & then augments their roster w/ the portal. I don’t think they’ve added anything but single digits in the portal thus far but I’m sure that could change w/ more kids portaling out. Regardless of IU’s current success (which clearly has a lot of people shitting their pants), they’re not why ND succeeds or doesn’t succeed. That’s all on ND.

 

[JerseyIrishMan]

There is a caveat though w/ ND. Ask yourself why their retention is so good. If there’s a kid at IU that is splitting reps or 2nd string & wants to start, is he going to stick around another year to get that ”coveted IU degree”? You know the answer. Why do you think so many former NFL players have directed their sons to ND? Again, it’s a caveat so not the end all but IU as of now is a “portal program”. ND still invests in the HS ranks during the recruiting process & then augments their roster w/ the portal. I don’t think they’ve added anything but single digits in the portal thus far but I’m sure that could change w/ more kids portaling out. Regardless of IU’s current success (which clearly has a lot of people shitting their pants), they’re not why ND succeeds or doesn’t succeed. That’s all on ND.

Truest statement around this whole discourse. Nice post.

 

[burmafrd1944]

Indiana has as has been said Lightning in a Bottle with Cig

how long that lasts plus how long he stays is up for grabs

but this idea that IU is somehow a huge problem for the Irish is beyond stupid. While there is a fair amount of good talent in Indiana, its far from the favored hunting ground of the big powers

ND as it is right now is excellently positioned to continue its run

IU has no impact on it

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

This is a fair take. If they win a title this year, it will not be good for us / the rest of CFB. All I'm saying.

I think the best case scenario from and ND program perspective would be Oregon or Ole Miss.

 

[Notre Dame Joe]

I think the best case scenario from and ND program perspective would be Oregon or Ole Miss.

I kind of like the Ole Miss tradition of never winning anything yet still being treated like a blue blood. No one can remember when the rebels had a better season than this one. Also this story should end with complete SEC embarrassment.

 

[Notre Dame Joe]

Are they 25-2 in the last two years and just won a B10 championship and Rose Bowl? Do they have a Heisman winner or a coaching staff going deep in the playoffs with a roster of players hardly anyone else wanted? The arrogance is laughable.

No, Purdue's hey day was much better with multiple wins over Ara's Irish. Somehow Notre Dame survived The boilermaker onslaughr and add one of our best eras.

So far we see that IU has had an okay and a very good season. There are going to be several programs every year who can say that.

 

[Rebel]

I kind of like the Ole Miss tradition of never winning anything yet still being treated like a blue blood. No one can remember when the rebels had a better season than this one. Also this story should end with complete SEC embarrassment.

Believe me when I say that Ole Miss is never treated like a blue blood, especially not in the SEC.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

1. Full props to IU for what they have done the last two years. Big Ten Basketball school with zero football tradition other than having a team. Their two best football seasons ever, back to back. Props. Can't stress it enough. They won some tough road games this past season, beat Ohio State when no one thought they could. Not long ago, they were not beating the teams on their schedule that are on their schedule now.

2. What does this roster methodology look like long term? Their recruiting classes have left a lot to be desired. The Covid year stuff is basically over, so no more 6th year seniors out there knocking around 19 year old sophomores. They may very well be able to just play the portal every year and keep winning 10+ games a season. We won't know until we know. They have a team full of 4th, 5th and 6th year guys. A James Madison core that has been with this staff for years on top of that. What does it look like 2-4 years from now? Nobody knows yet.

3. NFL teams and P4 college programs are going to have interest in IU assistant coaches if this keeps up. It's the nature of the business. They'll want to do more than talk too. Contact will be made via back channels, offers will be made. We saw what happened to Bowden's FSU when Richt and Amato finally left. We see now what Clemson looks like without Elliot and Venables as the top lieutenants. At some point, will Haines and Shanahan leave IU for HC jobs or NFL jobs? If so, what is Cignetti's reach on the carousel and what does it look like? Nobody knows yet.

4. 100% with @IRISHDODGER Notre Dame has their destiny in their own hands. That's all their is to it. They will conduct business the way they see fit and if Notre Dame fans don't like it, there are other programs to follow and support. Indiana is going to do what they do and we'll see what that looks like down the road. Both programs seem to have their arrow pointing up right now because they have made what have turned out to be good head coaching hires. Let's see what it all looks like further down the road, but in the end, the two programs are not connected to each other other aside from geography.

 

[Black Irish]

If the championship game is Oregon vs Ole Miss we can call it the Meh Bowl.

 

[Notre Dame Joe]

Believe me when I say that Ole Miss is never treated like a blue blood, especially not in the SEC.

I don't know about their internal business. IN the media Ole Miss is discussed like a Michigan State or a Pittsburgh, minus the titles.

If the championship game is Oregon vs Ole Miss we can call it the Meh Bowl.

CheeriOOs?

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Believe me when I say that Ole Miss is never treated like a blue blood, especially not in the SEC.

Agreed. Even their fanbase will attest to that. They know where they rank in the big scheme of things.

 

[greyhammer90]

I kind of like the Ole Miss tradition of never winning anything yet still being treated like a blue blood. No one can remember when the rebels had a better season than this one. Also this story should end with complete SEC embarrassment.

I would say Oregon fits that bill much more. They're definitely not a blue blood but I think anyone under the age of 30 would be surprised at how much they came out of nowhere. If not for the logo joke, I think a lot of younger people would be surprised that they've never won a NC (nevermind that they have six less NCs than Pitt).

 

[IrishinSyria]

Indiana has as has been said Lightning in a Bottle with Cig

how long that lasts plus how long he stays is up for grabs

but this idea that IU is somehow a huge problem for the Irish is beyond stupid. While there is a fair amount of good talent in Indiana, its far from the favored hunting ground of the big powers

ND as it is right now is excellently positioned to continue its run

IU has no impact on it

It’s not a huge problem but it’s equally stupid to pretend like the sudden rise of another instate power has zero impact on ND.

Sure, we recruit nationally and will compete with top teams no matter where they are. And, sure, for some percentage of players the prospect of an ND degree will be a meaningful factor in our favor.

But we’ve already lost a priority target to Indiana in Marsh. And there’s going to be a lot of good players who are not willing to play in the god forsaken hellscape that is the state of Indiana, which means that we’ll inevitably be competing with Indiana for those precious few difference making studs who are willing to look past that geographic reality. Equally inevitable is that we’ll lose some of those competitions.

 

[Notre Dame Joe]

It’s not a huge problem but it’s equally stupid to pretend like the sudden rise of another instate power has zero impact on ND.

Sure, we recruit nationally and will compete with top teams no matter where they are. And, sure, for some percentage of players the prospect of an ND degree will be a meaningful factor in our favor.

But we’ve already lost a priority target to Indiana in Marsh. And there’s going to be a lot of good players who are not willing to play in the god forsaken hellscape that is the state of Indiana, which means that we’ll inevitably be competing with Indiana for those precious few difference making studs who are willing to look past that geographic reality. Equally inevitable is that we’ll lose some of those competitions.

The bolded portion shows that you see it's not a problem. If Wake Forest went on a historic run then they might have some impact on our recruiting and could offer a better climate. The only negative specific to IU would be if for some reason there is a very good player who's determined to remain in the state of Indiana. Now he suddenly has two options and might choose Indiana where he would have chose Notre Dame.

That's a lot of ducks that have to line up, not worth the worry.

 

[burmafrd1944]

It’s not a huge problem but it’s equally stupid to pretend like the sudden rise of another instate power has zero impact on ND.

Sure, we recruit nationally and will compete with top teams no matter where they are. And, sure, for some percentage of players the prospect of an ND degree will be a meaningful factor in our favor.

But we’ve already lost a priority target to Indiana in Marsh. And there’s going to be a lot of good players who are not willing to play in the god forsaken hellscape that is the state of Indiana, which means that we’ll inevitably be competing with Indiana for those precious few difference making studs who are willing to look past that geographic reality. Equally inevitable is that we’ll lose some of those competitions.

its only a concern for those who are dying for something to worry about

 

[IrishinSyria]

The bolded portion shows that you see it's not a problem. If Wake Forest went on a historic run then they might have some impact on our recruiting and could offer a better climate. The only negative specific to IU would be if for some reason there is a very good player who's determined to remain in the state of Indiana. Now he suddenly has two options and might choose Indiana where he would have chose Notre Dame.

That's a lot of ducks that have to line up, not worth the worry.

I mean not really, right? The point is that we’re fishing in a smaller pond than other programs. We need kids who are (a) academically qualified, (b) capable of elite play and (c) ok with playing in Indiana.

Old Indiana’s recruiting focused on (c). New Indiana wants to recruit kids who meet (b) and (c). A hypothetical elite Wake Forest team only cares about (b).

That means there’s going to be more overlap between the kids we’re targeting and Indiana’s targeting than between us and, say, any southern school. That’s not a huge deal, we’re going to have to beat elite schools for recruits in any scenario, but it’s obviously worse than the scenario where we’re the only elite program in the state and it’s weird to pretend otherwise.

 

[burmafrd1944]

I mean not really, right? The point is that we’re fishing in a smaller pond than other programs. We need kids who are (a) academically qualified, (b) capable of elite play and (c) ok with playing in Indiana.

Old Indiana’s recruiting focused on (c). New Indiana wants to recruit kids who meet (b) and (c). A hypothetical elite Wake Forest team only cares about (b).

That means there’s going to be more overlap between the kids we’re targeting and Indiana’s targeting than between us and, say, any southern school. That’s not a huge deal, we’re going to have to beat elite schools for recruits in any scenario, but it’s obviously worse than the scenario where we’re the only elite program in the state and it’s weird to pretend otherwise.

minor concern

 

[DillonHall]

its only a concern for those who are dying for something to worry about

I'm glad the dementia helped you forget your "foolish" take on the playoff situation. Since when have we lost recruits/transfers to IU?

 

[stlnd01]

Some of you all need to get out of Indiana. Yes they're having a great run. It'll pass. Probably next year. Certainly whenever Cignetti moves along. They are not some existential threat to Notre Dame football; they are a basketball school that made a really good hire.