The path to a title is simple...
1. Run the table in the regular season
2. Beat OSU for the B1G Championship
3. #1 seed and 1st Round bye in CFP
4. Beat 8 seed Georgia in Quarterfinals
5. Beat 4 seed OSU (again) in Semifinals
6. Beat 2 seed Alabama in the CFP Championship Game
The math works.
And IU will still not have beaten anybody.
Weak schedule lol
I think we are solidly behind Ohio State, and maybe an SEC team or two. Georgia, 'Bama.
Only due to depth of athletes. Those teams can suffer an injury and roll out another guy. We can at some spots, not others. But we seem to have better top line and depth over last year. And the way the team plays, if we're healthy, we can beat those teams. For us it's about every area clicking as a team.
But I think we'd be underdogs for good reason to OSU, they won it all last year and just reloaded.
Would be so awesome if the team can take care of business the rest of the regular season. Absolutely amazing if so. Some teams that can jump up in any one game and beat us.
What worries me this week is Cig stressing how physical the Oregon game was. Then Urban Meyer on his recap of it was saying the game was very physical. I hope we don't suffer a letdown. Physical games can lead to both physical and mental fatigue. Iowa was physical, Oregon was physical. No bye weeks for awhile...
haha! This is crazy talk. IU is not behind OSU in anything but the AP poll. OSU hasn't played anyone and still hasn't looked as good as IU. If IU goes 13-0 after beating OSU in the B1G championship game, will you then give IU credit or are you just going to devalue OSU and say there are still 2 SEC teams ahead of IU? I don't think there is a single SEC team that comes close to Oregon or OSU on a neutral site. A&M is the closest and they aren't close to either.
I am really worried about Penn State. Especially with all the coach talk. Those 5 stars didn’t suddenly lose their ability. Unless they’ve totally quit you’d think at some point they’d play for pride.
haha! This is crazy talk. IU is not behind OSU in anything but the AP poll. OSU hasn't played anyone and still hasn't looked as good as IU. If IU goes 13-0 after beating OSU in the B1G championship game, will you then give IU credit or are you just going to devalue OSU and say there are still 2 SEC teams ahead of IU? I don't think there is a single SEC team that comes close to Oregon or OSU on a neutral site. A&M is the closest and they aren't close to either.
I give us plenty of credit. Been on this train since before we played our first 'Cig game'. Still on board.
Ohio State has been a machine. IMO they would beat Oregon, as we did. Just like they did last year. (And Oregon is still very good, top 10.) They were on cruise control against Illinois, at Illinois, so they had no problems with them either just like we didn't.
Yes, we can beat OSU.
I give credence to the top couple SEC teams, whoever they are, to not wear rose colored glasses without really watching them play because their top couple teams are always tough. It would be silly to overlook loaded squads like Georgia, and we know Deboer is a good coach. This year I think we're stronger and OSU is stronger, but depth may come into play.
Teams were a bit different but mighty national champion OSU lost at Oregon last year.
that game isn't going to be cake walk. You're right. The athletes are still there. However losing Allar(qb). Changed their execution ability a bit
@openwheel To be clear, I am not doubting your fanhood! 
Your inability to overcome the natural hesitation to think IU very well could be better than any other team in the country, just shows how many times we've been through the ringer. We are worn out and tired and most of all, we know better.
With all of that being said, IU is truly growing and continues to improve. Illinois is a legit team. They play at Washington next week and if they can win at Washington, Illinois will have 4 games left. 3 at home (MD, NW and Rutgers) and one on the road (Wisky). If you do the math, Illinois will finish 10-2 with their only losses being to (possibly) #1 13-0 Indiana and #2 12-1 Ohio State. They will have a ranked win vs USC and I believe they will be a CFP team. The Washington game is crucial though.
Anyhow, I say that because some don't fully realize just how good IU is right now, but they are them dawgs. Seeing what Ole Miss has done tells me they would lose by 20pts to Illinois. We have allowed the AP Poll and ESPN to overhype each SEC program, but I think Indiana, OSU, Oregon, Illinois and USC would beat any of their teams on a neutral field. Washington would come close to joining that group, if not replace Illinois on that stage.
Yeah, I’m not buying that OSU is an another level nor is anyone else.
I certainly think we 'could well be' better than any team. That's not that a strong statement. If we're healthy if we play OSU, I'll likely feel we're going to win.
I just think they've earned the top spot over a couple years. Not worried who they played this particular season. They crunched Illinois too. Good win. They choked at Oregon last year, then smashed them in the playoff. Good win. I doubt OSU is weaker than last year, I think they're improved. They beat us solidly. But that was when we were weaker and couldn't handle the silent count. So now I think we're right there.
I don't know how strong the top SEC teams are. I just doubt they have had much trouble funding their NIL either. Some of them look pretty good.
We have to prove it on the field. I don't give a rats ass what the rankings say. I just know what I see. Have I seen better than us? No. I feel I've seen the offense leave points out there. If they continue to get better I think that's all we need.
@yothn Your point on Illinois vs OSU is spot on
Illinois moved the ball at will, the entire game, they just repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. Gifted OSU a shortfield on a terrible punt snap (think of our game against OSU last year), false starts on the goal line, refs refusing to call DPI on OSU. Throw in TO's and their receivers forgetting where the boundary line is and its not a great look for OSU only beating them by 18. Illinois OL also pushed their DL around
I wouldnt go as far as calling them a paper tiger, but I think they are much more beatable this year than they were last year. Their offense is worse, and so is their DL. Im also not sold on their defense as a unit being as dominant as the media makes it out to be - our defense has similar stats despite playing tougher competition.
@yothn Your point on Illinois vs OSU is spot on
Illinois moved the ball at will, the entire game, they just repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. Gifted OSU a shortfield on a terrible punt snap (think of our game against OSU last year), false starts on the goal line, refs refusing to call DPI on OSU. Throw in TO's and their receivers forgetting where the boundary line is and its not a great look for OSU only beating them by 18. Illinois OL also pushed their DL around
I wouldnt go as far as calling them a paper tiger, but I think they are much more beatable this year than they were last year. Their offense is worse, and so is their DL. Im also not sold on their defense as a unit being as dominant as the media makes it out to be - our defense has similar stats despite playing tougher competition.
Perfect explanation!
@openwheel I dont think we are behind UGA or Bama at all, especially UGA. The portal has sapped the depth of those teams, and based on their starters they seem to have whiffed on a few recruits.
Not sure if you have watched UGA this year, but their first string starters arent very good - Im not worried about the guys who cant beat them out. They should have lost to Auburn if the refs didnt screw Auburn (for the 2nd time this year), they got beat like a drum by Bama, and they also should have lost to Tennessee (still feel bad for their kicker, cant imagine the DMs he got). UGA is playing like a 4 loss team this year, not the 0-1 loss juggernaut we have all gotten used to.
Bama is also not that good. They cant run the ball at all and rely completely on Simpson, Germie Bernard and Ryan Williams. If they lost any of those guys, their offense would go to a standstill. They are also susceptible to getting run over on defense. This is a team that lost to a mediocre FSU squad, and would have been in trouble if Pavia didnt keep turning the ball over in their endzone. They also got lucky that Mizzou's QB whiffed a wide open receiver at the end of their game... Should have been a game winning TD instead of a INT but he made a terrible read. Of course this is why we play the games, but they look extremely beatable
I think we would beat either of those teams by at least 10, probably more on a neutral field.
Sure they have. They had Texas in week one, a very good team. Last week, they went to Illinois and beat them handily. (Yes, we curbstomped them worse.) They also beat Washington, who is now 5-1.OSU hasn’t played anyone and still hasn’t looked as good as IU.
Texas isn’t very good.
Sure they have. They had Texas in week one, a very good team. Last week, they went to Illinois and beat them handily. (Yes, we curbstomped them worse.) They also beat Washington, who is now 5-1.OSU hasn’t played anyone and still hasn’t looked as good as IU.
Lol Texas is a team that finishes 8th in the B1G....at best. OSU scored 14 pts on them. They beat Illinois but created 3 TOs near the red zone that produced 21 pts and still only scored 34 pts. Believe what you want. If they avg 2.9 ypc against Illinois, they won't even avg 1.5ypc against IU.
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