Thats fine.Which could mean, top ten?
There are 135 plus D1 FBS teams. If we're in the top ten for age that likely reflects a strategy, again, to which Cig should be commended, as should Miami.
They are still raw about the horseshit claims OF the ages
Why? The players were eligible. What's there to be "raw" about? Be grateful we have a coach who thinks.
Why be raw? I told you why. The claims were wildly inflated for awhile and directed at Indiana, not other schools. Claims like we were the *oldest* (Not top 10) Average age of team over 23, 24. (Not starters, team.)
Average age of starters of 23, thats probably in the ballpark. Someone here posted 22.7 or so. They posted a spreadsheet. They came up a tenth or two higher for Miami but said the didnt know all the birthdays so too close to call.
,
@bar-down So who were the 24 year-olds who were major contributors on the team? I don’t think you can even name one. I definitely can’t. The “narrative” I’m talking about is the one pushed by anti-IU members of the media, like Rob Parker, that IU only won because they had older players than everyone else. That deserves pushback because it’s bullshit. If you want to embrace it, fine, but you should understand the implications…
Kaelon Black
Riley Nowakowski
Louis Moore
Off the top of my head. Salomon VanHouse as well, but he wasn't a major contributor, IMO.
@iugradman Exactly. As noted in my post, Cig should be lauded for the strategy. Why some are citing one other school like Miami or are getting offended by it like @hurryinghoosiers is silly. It's a wise tactic. In fact other NCAA sports are considering enacting age limits to mitigate the advantage. Taking offense to recruiting players who have been around is tantamount to taking offense to the amount of money a program spends. If it's within the rules a coach would be stupid not to do it. Cig is a smart cookie. @hurryinghoosiers not so much.
Calling me stupid while you miss my point is ironic.
You are an asshole throwing out unnecessary and unprovoked insults while lying about iu being older than everyone else
The key to IU’s success was not being older than other teams.
Sure we were a team on the older side, but not in some outsized way. We had plenty of younger guys step up just like the older ones.
Cig and staff scouted, developed, and coached better than anyone. They went 16-0 while spending much less on the roster than the “big” programs. It was a coaching masterclass.
@hurryinghoosiers "...lying about IU being older than everyone else." Don't mischaracterize what I wrote. Your assertion that you're not stupid is belied by your posting history. Have you ever played a sport at a high level? Age and experience make a marked difference. It's precisely why the NCAA is exploring rule limitations across sports. For many years you had five years to play four, etc. IU was an "old" team comparatively. That's a boon to Cig. Your posting is a boondoggle.
@tammany Absolutely a coaching masterclass. Age was a contributing factor. As it was for Miami.
@boogie I wouldn't get hung up on "major contributor" either. A mature roster impacts the program's culture, practices, strength, on and on. If IU's average age was, for the sake of argument, 22.7 years, that's old. Many graduate college at 21. That's a mature team. And, yet again, to the credit of Cig.
... If IU's average age was, for the sake of argument, 22.7 years, ...
It wasnt. (I wonder what it will be now though with our 29 year old sophomore punter, lol)
Anyway, yeah, Cig purposely went after mature guys since he had proof they were ready to contribute and already had been at their schools. That was smart.
@openwheel Totally smart. He's amazing. The guy is a rock star. It feels like a simulation that all of this has even transpired at IU.
@boogie I wouldn't get hung up on "major contributor" either. A mature roster impacts the program's culture, practices, strength, on and on. If IU's average age was, for the sake of argument, 22.7 years, that's old. Many graduate college at 21. That's a mature team. And, yet again, to the credit of Cig.
For the sake of argument, let's lie about the average age?? Idiot
Maybe do some research so you don't have to lie to make a point.
@hurryinghoosiers You posted that I wrote IU had "the oldest team." Never wrote that. That's a mischaracterization. Are you disputing that IU had one of the older teams? That it was a fiction? If so, show your work. You misrepresented what I wrote in an effort to support a baseless claim. IU recruited older players. A simple premise. A fact. And it panned out as it was smart, which you are not, on any subject or topic.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/indiana-path-cfp-national-championship-game-2026/
4. A veteran bunch
No, this is not meant as a slight to Indiana, though some on social media have used the average age of Indiana's starting lineup (which is around 23 years old) to denigrate its accomplishments this season. Cignetti and his staff deserve recognition for quickly adapting to the modern era of college football, which allows coaches to immediately flip their roster by recruiting and adding experienced players. It's obviously a winning formula.
If CBS is incorrect, show your work. It's been reported widely enough to assume that it's not baseless. Your ignorance on any topic has likewise been widely reported and it's obviously accurate. So if CBS is wrong show it. I'm not taking the time to go player by player...for you.
And yet again, why anyone thinks this is a dig at Cig I'll never understand. It was great coaching acumen. Or to dumb it down for you Coach smart.
@hurryinghoosiers You posted that I wrote IU had "the oldest team." Never wrote that. That's a mischaracterization. Are you disputing that IU had one of the older teams? That it was a fiction? If so, show your work. You misrepresented what I wrote in an effort to support a baseless claim. IU recruited older players. A simple premise. A fact. And it panned out as it was smart, which you are not, on any subject or topic.
IU was above average more than likely but they likely faced multiple teams that were older than them, like Miami.
People constantly posting on Facebook that IU only won because we were older than everyone. Trying to marginalize the accomplishment. When that fell flat. They lie that we paid our team $40 million which cigs even came out and publicly said that was also a lie
more than likely
Miami made the national championship game. Clearly there's some evidence that strategy made a difference. "...more than likely." You're flailing. You won't get smarter so perhaps try to grow thicker skin. Opposing programs bitching about our maturity are desperate and should be summarily dismissed as we again laud Cig for his forward thinking. We played within the rules and did something I never thought possible. It's one of the most remarkable stories in sports' history.
@boogie I wouldn't get hung up on "major contributor" either. A mature roster impacts the program's culture, practices, strength, on and on. If IU's average age was, for the sake of argument, 22.7 years, that's old. Many graduate college at 21. That's a mature team. And, yet again, to the credit of Cig.
I was responding to the post asking who on last year's team was 24 or older because they didn't know of any players.