Game Thread: Monday, Jan. 19, 2025, No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 10 Miami (Fla.) | 7:30 p.m. ET| College Football Playoff National Championship Game (Miami, Fla.) | ESPN

[BamaMoon]

IU was zero mistake team ... rarely dropped balls, some amazing catches, opportunistic turnovers, even when Mendoza got harassed sacked he never lost the football. It was truly a magic run .. they were extremely lucky most of the time

adding to yur thought...they only lost 1 fumble ALL YEAR LONG in 16 games??? You could barely do that against "air" for 16 games.

That stat alone (with the other things they did right) is why they are the NCs.

They better enjoy it. Don't see another team like that getting those kinds of breaks. And they also did it in a year without many other great teams. They stuck out "as the best and most disciplined" but against other NC teams from recent years, I think they get routed!!!

 

[BamaNation]

Congrats to the Hoosiers. They were dominant and took advantage of every opportunity. Well coached with disciplined players. It was almost nostalgic to watch how they play

My kingdom for a RB like theirs who hits the hole hard and gets positive yardage on every play and a line that creates those holes. Wow.

 

[DzynKingRTR]

I would congratulate them, but they played a cupcake schedule and they cheated.

That’s what everybody said when it was my team, so now I get to play the “ discredit your accomplishment” game.

Asterisk, am I right?

 

[Cruloc]

Asterisk, am I right?

Now their roster can retire and start drawing that sweet NFL ....er....Indiana pension.

 

[editder]

If he throws the ball to the front part of the endzone Miami wins the national title. He severely under threw the ball. The underneath, not the over the top defender is the one who picked it. But if he would have just lofted the ball to the front side of the endzone we're having a much different discussion this morning. But, Beck just Becked... you knew it was coming.

I wasn’t saying he should have thrown it underneath to the same guy. I’m saying they should have gone with a midrange pass and take a little more time off the clock. If they had scored on that play with 44 seconds left, IU would have had a good chance to get into field goal range.

Edit: Also, you’re assuming that the over the top defender wasn’t going to grab the receiver and impede his route with a no-call by the officials.

 

[rolltide_21]

It’s 1988. The Fighting Irish come off a perfect 12-0 season. You walk up to an arrogant, fighting Irish fan and say, “The Hoosiers will win a football national championship before you do again.” What would be their response OR if this question were posed to you in 1988 what would you have said? I was three years old at the time, so I would’ve had no idea what you’re talking about, haha.

 

[BamaMoon]

One moment IU was a dead football program. Two years they are National Champions. IDK, something still does not feel right how about they did it.

Exactly "why" I was not rooting for them (I've got some other personal reasons, that don't apply for board purposes).

But most teams have to go through more of a struggle for several years to get there. Take Clemson under Dabo (just as an example). I know they had won a NC in the 80's, but for years they were "close" and we made fun of them and developed a word (Clemsoning) to describe their struggle.

IU went from the most losing program in college football history...the butt of all bad college football jokes...to winning it all in two years of being good.

That just doesn't compute (see my last comment below).

I would congratulate them, but they played a cupcake schedule and they cheated.

That’s what everybody said when it was my team, so now I get to play the “ discredit your accomplishment” game.

I feel the same way. Played an easy schedule and skated by alot of average teams by a whisker here and there. Got some great luck too...only 1 lost fumble all year? It's hard to go 2 or 3 games and do that!

So it's true. In the vacuum of a year with no really good teams, they magically won it all.

Asterisk, am I right?

Yeah, the asterisk is "The year IU and CCC figured out the transfer portal."

In 100 years, I doubt it would happen that way again!

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Asterisk, am I right?

*

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Congrats to the Hoosiers. They were dominant and took advantage of every opportunity. Well coached with disciplined players. It was almost nostalgic to watch how they play

My kingdom for a RB like theirs who hits the hole hard and gets positive yardage on every play and a line that creates those holes. Wow.

It is astonishing to have watched Cignetti do what he has done in two years at INDIANA of all places then look at our two year path that has paralleled it. Putting aside whether it is fair or unfair to compare what Cignetti has done to what DeBoer has done. It does cause one (as a fan) to start asking questions as to why/how could Cignetti do this at Indiana and yet DeBoer and staff's path has been so up and down with inconsistency? Like I said last night after the game, Cignetti has probably reset the time colleges give new coaches to turn things around. The traditional number was four years, now that it's been done in half the time, that will become more of the expectation. These blue blood AD's are going absolutely say "If INDIANA can turn it around in two years, then it isn't too much to ask that for our program".

 

[DzynKingRTR]

*

I think every championship Alabama won in my lifetime that I can remember has an asterisk according to people that hate Alabama.

I am not counting 78 or 79 since I was too young to remember.

1992 - didn't belong, fsu should have been there
2009 - If colt hadn't gotten hurt
2011- didn't belong there, okie lite did
2012- if Ohio State weren't on probation
2015- I am not sure the argument here but I'm sure there is one
2017 - didn't belong there, Ohio state did
2020- covid doesn't count

 

[BamaMoon]

It is astonishing to have watched Cignetti do what he has done in two years at INDIANA of all places then look at our two year path that has paralleled it. Putting aside whether it is fair or unfair to compare what Cignetti has done to what DeBoer has done. It does cause one (as a fan) to start asking questions as to why/how could Cignetti do this at Indiana and yet DeBoer and staff's path has been so up and down with inconsistency? Like I said last night after the game, Cignetti has probably reset the time colleges give new coaches to turn things around. The traditional number was four years, now that it's been done in half the time, that will become more of the expectation. These blue blood AD's are going absolutely say "If INDIANA can turn it around in two years, then it isn't too much to ask that for our program".

I sure hope that's not what they think...unless it's the Auburn program....which is already what they have done for years chasing Bama!

CCC caught lightning in a bottle.

I'll eat crow if they win another NC in the next year or two and if they don't sink back into mediocrity in a few years. Probably not to the level they were...but I just do not see his plan working out that way as the new model for new coaches (or even ones who have been at their schools a long time).

 

[Bamabuzzard]

I sure hope that's not what they think...unless it's the Auburn program....which is already what they have done for years chasing Bama!

CCC caught lightning in a bottle.

I'll eat crow if they win another NC in the next year or two and if they don't sink back into mediocrity in a few years. Probably not to the level they were...but I just do not see his plan working out that way as the new model for new coaches (or even ones who have been at their schools a long time).

I don't know, and the reason I hesitate to say he caught ligntning in a bottle is because he's won big every place he's gone. Also, the more you hear him talk, you realize he LITERALLY runs his program EXACTLY like Saban did in the early dynasty years. He makes no bones about it either, he gives Saban FULL CREDIT for how he runs his program and he says "It works". The guy comes across as an arrogant tool, but the more I hear him talk the more he comes across as he's succeeding because he's implementing what he learned under Saban at Alabama into his programs. We KNOW it works so if he's doing it, why WOULDN'T it work for him?

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I think every championship Alabama won in my lifetime that I can remember has an asterisk according to people that hate Alabama.

I am not counting 78 or 79 since I was too young to remember.

1992 - didn't belong, fsu should have been there
2009 - If colt hadn't gotten hurt
2011- didn't belong there, okie lite did
2012- if Ohio State weren't on probation
2015- I am not sure the argument here but I'm sure there is one
2017 - didn't belong there, Ohio state did
2020- covid doesn't count

Yes, and the Braves winning in 1995 didn’t count because of a strike.

Phil Jackson even actually said that about the Spurs winning the NBA championship in 1999.

The problem is that in almost every case, the teams all know the rules and they play the same number of games. The Covid pandemic was an exception, but Alabama wound up playing a team with half the number of games Alabama had played.

There were folks who said that about the 1982 Washington Redskins because the season was shortened by a strike. Funny, the teams all played the same number of games and the Redskins had to win more playoff games just to make the Super Bowl.

But you see, the Redskins were the only team in the NFL in 1987 that didn’t have any players crossed the picket line and they had a bunch of unity so somehow that was an advantage that deserves an*because other teams something something.

Nobody was suggesting an asterisk when Washington was trailing Denver at the end of the first quarter in the Super Bowl or when they were trailing Miami entering the fourth quarter of that Super Bowl.

Hank Aaron had something like 3,000 more at bats than Babe Ruth did.

So what?

He still hit more bombs, period.

Ruth didn’t play in the 1963-68 wide strike zone era, didn’t have to travel on plane, didn’t play day games after night games, only played against all-white teams, didn’t face specialty relievers, and didn’t have the talent on his own team diffused across the sport by expansion. Aaron didn’t hit in front of Lou Gehrig for 9 seasons, either.

 

[editder]

Exactly "why" I was not rooting for them (I've got some other personal reasons, that don't apply for board purposes).

But most teams have to go through more of a struggle for several years to get there. Take Clemson under Dabo (just as an example). I know they had won a NC in the 80's, but for years they were "close" and we made fun of them and developed a word (Clemsoning) to describe their struggle.

IU went from the most losing program in college football history...the butt of all bad college football jokes...to winning it all in two years of being good.

That just doesn't compute (see my last comment below).

I feel the same way. Played an easy schedule and skated by alot of average teams by a whisker here and there. Got some great luck too...only 1 lost fumble all year? It's hard to go 2 or 3 games and do that!

So it's true. In the vacuum of a year with no really good teams, they magically won it all.

Yeah, the asterisk is "The year IU and CCC figured out the transfer portal."

In 100 years, I doubt it would happen that way again!

Why do they keep calling it a turnaround? A turnaround would be if their leaders were made up of players who were there as sophomores and freshmen two years ago (or at least maybe a player or two left over).

This isn’t just a shot against them; it’s the new normal everywhere.

 

[BamaMoon]

I don't know, and the reason I hesitate to say he caught ligntning in a bottle is because he's won big every place he's gone. Also, the more you hear him talk, you realize he LITERALLY runs his program EXACTLY like Saban did in the early dynasty years. He makes no bones about it either, he gives Saban FULL CREDIT for how he runs his program and he says "It works". The guy comes across as an arrogant tool, but the more I hear him talk the more he comes across as he's succeeding because he's implementing what he learned under Saban at Alabama into his programs. We KNOW it works so if he's doing it, why WOULDN'T it work for him?

IDK, CNS decided it wouldn't work for him...at least the players he recruited, which were 4 and 5 stars.

That's why I don't think recruiting a bunch of 2 and 3 stars has sustainability even with CNS's way of doing it.

We'll see...

 

[BigAlinKnoxville]

It is astonishing to have watched Cignetti do what he has done in two years at INDIANA of all places then look at our two year path that has paralleled it. Putting aside whether it is fair or unfair to compare what Cignetti has done to what DeBoer has done. It does cause one (as a fan) to start asking questions as to why/how could Cignetti do this at Indiana and yet DeBoer and staff's path has been so up and down with inconsistency? Like I said last night after the game, Cignetti has probably reset the time colleges give new coaches to turn things around. The traditional number was four years, now that it's been done in half the time, that will become more of the expectation. These blue blood AD's are going absolutely say "If INDIANA can turn it around in two years, then it isn't too much to ask that for our program".

Actually... Saban's first year with us was 2007 and we went 7-6. The very next year, we were undefeated until Florida beat us in the SECCG.

That was a pretty strong two-year turnaround.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

IDK, CNS decided it wouldn't work for him...at least the players he recruited, which were 4 and 5 stars.

That's why I don't think recruiting a bunch of 2 and 3 stars has sustainability even with CNS's way of doing it.

We'll see...

Here's the thing, when Cignetti brings them in they're no longer two and three star players. Those stars are from when they were coming out of HS. After two years of being in college a lot of these guys have worked themselves into higher quality players. Demeco Ryans was a three star recruit coming out of HS. By the time he was an upperclassmn he was nowhere near a three star player. He had worked himself into a four/five star player. After two years of being in college those HS recruiting stars become irrelevant.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

I don't know, and the reason I hesitate to say he caught ligntning in a bottle is because he's won big every place he's gone. Also, the more you hear him talk, you realize he LITERALLY runs his program EXACTLY like Saban did in the early dynasty years. He makes no bones about it either, he gives Saban FULL CREDIT for how he runs his program and he says "It works". The guy comes across as an arrogant tool, but the more I hear him talk the more he comes across as he's succeeding because he's implementing what he learned under Saban at Alabama into his programs. We KNOW it works so if he's doing it, why WOULDN'T it work for him?

I’m repeating myself but again I’m Stunned at how dismissive some of the fan base is being towards Cignetti and what he has done at Indiana.

It should be objectively impressive in this landscape to engineer such a turnaround in 2 seasons for a perennial doormat program.

They had a SOS in the 30s before the CFBP so it’s not like they had some super soft schedule.

They beat the #1 team, #3, #5, #9 and #10 AND two other Bowl teams that finished 9-4

The entire Final 4 was CNS tree HCs and they beat two of them Back to Back.

They would have beat OM too if they had the chance.

It’s impressive and honestly worth giving them credit without any qualifying statements or back handed compliments.

They’ll keep winning with Cignetti.

 

[BamaMoon]

Here's the thing, when Cignetti brings them in they're no longer two and three star players. Those stars are from when they were coming out of HS. After two years of being in college a lot of these guys have worked themselves into higher quality players. Demeco Ryans was a three star recruit coming out of HS. By the time he was an upperclassmn he was nowhere near a three star player. He had worked himself into a four/five star player. After two years of being in college those HS recruiting stars become irrelevant.

And then Cig has to play the "pay for play" game that everyone else is playing.

It's going to change if he wants to stay at the top. Maybe he's the next "Saban." But I just don't think it is as easy as implementing CNS's tactics. Everybody has been trying that for years.

IF Cig never wins another one. He's a legend at IU. Good for him. I just think the next step of maintaining it will be harder than winning the first.

 

[countrytider]

Man, I wish we had Cignetti. Oh well.