Pre-season projections are one thing. UNLV looks bad. I’m not mad about the North Texas or even Howard game on their own. It’s that fact that we refuse to play a single Power 4 or even high level G6 team that I find pathetic and stupid.
It's tough to know several years in advance who is going to be "good" when the schedules are drawn up.
It is but if you’re scheduling Boise State or Tulane or Memphis you know you likely aren’t getting your run of the mill G6 team. And I’ll take any Power 4 game. Any one. Doesn’t have to be the perennial powers.
Give me Florida or Mississippi State, just something.
and we most likely will…
All we have to do is get into the Playoffs and we’re nearly guaranteed to see them at some point…
Playing cupcakes does nothing for us anymore. Great players want to play in big games like Texas vs OSU. They should start out with one cupcake and then play an ND,Bama,Texas, Miami, or etc. And end the preseason with another cupcake.
We're the defending nations champs. We shouldn't be afraid to schedule one good or great team each year. It's not like our schedule is that difficult. We will most likely end the year playing 1 top 5ish team and 2 other top 15-20 teams. The problem with the current type of schedule is 10-2 might not get us into the playoffs.
We’d all love to see those big games, but the reality is that it makes much more business sense to give yourself the best shot at making the playoff. Given the likelihood of several quality conference opponents, playing cupcakes in pre-conference makes a lot of sense. If Texas beats a cupcake instead of losing to OSU last season they’re probably in the playoff over Oklahoma. Just seems like those games hurt more than help…
You're starting from the assumption our schedule is strong enough to make it if we go 10-2. I'm not sure it is most years. Also, Texas was very average for half the season. They had a 6 game stretch where they lost to 4-8 Florida, lost by 3+ TDs to Georgia and it took OT to beat Kentucky and MSU. And if my memory is correct one of the wins took a miracle. Texas wasn't that good of a team last year.
The other example is Miami. If they didn't schedule ND last year they would have missed the playoffs at 10-2. Now, most years our schedule is better than Miami's, but it's also not as difficult as most of the SEC schools or Big Ten schools who we will be competing with for spots if we end up 10-2. Also, there are benefits for the program when it comes to recruiting as well. Players want to play in big time games.
A hypothetical for you. If we lost last year to Oregon and Penn State, do we make the playoffs? I think it's an obvious no.
@snarlcakes how many years has Manning been in the Texas system? Saying at OSU? Our strategy, at QB and elsewhere, isn't to bring in 5 star high school kids and have them in the system for 3-4 years. When they replace a starting left guard with a soph, that soph has a year in system. We bring in a senior from some smaller school that has no concept of our system. So we just are not as ready at week 1. Matching your scheduling to recruiting is brilliant.
BTW, UNLV was considered a playoff possible team from the group of 6. Did you see what North Texas did to them last night? Crushed them. Last year, two of the teams we played were good teams.
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2026/aug/20/unlv-football-program-has-has-reached-a-new-level/
UNLV is 1-2. They suck and nobody in the committee cares if we beat North Texas. I disagree with IU not being ready. Cig is the best coach in the country and we can beat good teams Week 2 or 3 as well. Just like we do all the other weeks.
It’s that fact that we refuse to play a single Power 4 or even high level G6 team that I find pathetic and stupid.
Kennesaw and Old Dominion both made bowls, Kennesaw won their conference. ODU won their bowl. They were not terrible, they were decent teams.
and we most likely will…
All we have to do is get into the Playoffs and we’re nearly guaranteed to see them at some point…
Playing cupcakes does nothing for us anymore. Great players want to play in big games like Texas vs OSU. They should start out with one cupcake and then play an ND,Bama,Texas, Miami, or etc. And end the preseason with another cupcake.
We're the defending nations champs. We shouldn't be afraid to schedule one good or great team each year. It's not like our schedule is that difficult. We will most likely end the year playing 1 top 5ish team and 2 other top 15-20 teams. The problem with the current type of schedule is 10-2 might not get us into the playoffs.
We’d all love to see those big games, but the reality is that it makes much more business sense to give yourself the best shot at making the playoff. Given the likelihood of several quality conference opponents, playing cupcakes in pre-conference makes a lot of sense. If Texas beats a cupcake instead of losing to OSU last season they’re probably in the playoff over Oklahoma. Just seems like those games hurt more than help…
What is college football from a fans perspective? Some kind of bizarre exercise in schedule tinkering to make sure you have the very best chance of making the playoff?
Or an outlet for competitive enjoyment?
Texas lost to a bad Florida team. That’s why they weren’t in. The SEC was not going to get 6 bids. Oklahoma also had better wins than them. Including a non-con win against Michigan.
You can slice and dice and what if this to death, but IF there is a benefit to not scheduling top 10 teams in the non-con to avoid another loss. It is marginal at best.
When you advocate for a tough non-con or a weak one, you’re just reading tea leaves trying to guess what the committee is going to value.
They would have been in with one less loss, whether it be OSU or Fla. I’ll take getting in the playoff over big non-conference games 10/10 years, & so will Cig & our AD. That’s why they’ve scheduled how they have, less losses will beat quality losses more times than not for P4 teams.
and we most likely will…
All we have to do is get into the Playoffs and we’re nearly guaranteed to see them at some point…
Playing cupcakes does nothing for us anymore. Great players want to play in big games like Texas vs OSU. They should start out with one cupcake and then play an ND,Bama,Texas, Miami, or etc. And end the preseason with another cupcake.
We're the defending nations champs. We shouldn't be afraid to schedule one good or great team each year. It's not like our schedule is that difficult. We will most likely end the year playing 1 top 5ish team and 2 other top 15-20 teams. The problem with the current type of schedule is 10-2 might not get us into the playoffs.
We’d all love to see those big games, but the reality is that it makes much more business sense to give yourself the best shot at making the playoff. Given the likelihood of several quality conference opponents, playing cupcakes in pre-conference makes a lot of sense. If Texas beats a cupcake instead of losing to OSU last season they’re probably in the playoff over Oklahoma. Just seems like those games hurt more than help…
What is college football from a fans perspective? Some kind of bizarre exercise in schedule tinkering to make sure you have the very best chance of making the playoff?
Or an outlet for competitive enjoyment?
Texas lost to a bad Florida team. That’s why they weren’t in. The SEC was not going to get 6 bids. Oklahoma also had better wins than them. Including a non-con win against Michigan.
You can slice and dice and what if this to death, but IF there is a benefit to not scheduling top 10 teams in the non-con to avoid another loss. It is marginal at best.
When you advocate for a tough non-con or a weak one, you’re just reading tea leaves trying to guess what the committee is going to value.
They would have been in with one less loss, whether it be OSU or Fla. I’ll take getting in the playoff over big non-conference games 10/10 years, & so will Cig & our AD. That’s why they’ve scheduled how they have, less losses will beat quality losses more times than not for P4 teams.
They also would have been in if they won the Ohio State game. Derp.
You also don’t know that. So stop acting like you do. Could’ve been Notre Dame. Could’ve been BYU. Could’ve still been Oklahoma.
and we most likely will…
All we have to do is get into the Playoffs and we’re nearly guaranteed to see them at some point…
Playing cupcakes does nothing for us anymore. Great players want to play in big games like Texas vs OSU. They should start out with one cupcake and then play an ND,Bama,Texas, Miami, or etc. And end the preseason with another cupcake.
We're the defending nations champs. We shouldn't be afraid to schedule one good or great team each year. It's not like our schedule is that difficult. We will most likely end the year playing 1 top 5ish team and 2 other top 15-20 teams. The problem with the current type of schedule is 10-2 might not get us into the playoffs.
We’d all love to see those big games, but the reality is that it makes much more business sense to give yourself the best shot at making the playoff. Given the likelihood of several quality conference opponents, playing cupcakes in pre-conference makes a lot of sense. If Texas beats a cupcake instead of losing to OSU last season they’re probably in the playoff over Oklahoma. Just seems like those games hurt more than help…
You're starting from the assumption our schedule is strong enough to make it if we go 10-2. I'm not sure it is most years. Also, Texas was very average for half the season. They had a 6 game stretch where they lost to 4-8 Florida, lost by 3+ TDs to Georgia and it took OT to beat Kentucky and MSU. And if my memory is correct one of the wins took a miracle. Texas wasn't that good of a team last year.
The other example is Miami. If they didn't schedule ND last year they would have missed the playoffs at 10-2. Now, most years our schedule is better than Miami's, but it's also not as difficult as most of the SEC schools or Big Ten schools who we will be competing with for spots if we end up 10-2. Also, there are benefits for the program when it comes to recruiting as well. Players want to play in big time games.
A hypothetical for you. If we lost last year to Oregon and Penn State, do we make the playoffs? I think it's an obvious no.
I’m starting from no such assumption, why put words in my mouth? You know what’s a lot less likely? Making it at 9-3. If Texas doesn’t lose to OSU last year they have the same # of losses as OU & own a head to head victory. Look at how the committee handled ND & Miami, who lost to juggernauts SMU & Louisville mid-season.
Obvious no based on what?
I’ll stick with Cig & Dolson, it seems they might know what they’re doing, but you should get ahold of them & tell ‘em they’re doing it wrong…
If this were 2006 and not 2026 I would agree with scheduling in-state cupcakes for the non conference, as IU needed as much local exposure as they could get in-state while simultaneously padding the overall W/L to squeeze out 6-7 wins to get bowl eligible. They have exposure on lock these days (nationwide I might add). They still need the cupcakes but for different reasons that Marv pointed out in regards to how Cig constructs a roster. And it doesn't hurt them to schedule successful small schools and/or teams from states that are football hotbeds because that gives the staff firsthand looks at their rosters and conversely those players get firsthand experience what it would be like playing home games for IU.
A good friend will bail you out of jail, but your best friend will be sitting next to you in the cell saying "that was f***ing awesome"
and we most likely will…
All we have to do is get into the Playoffs and we’re nearly guaranteed to see them at some point…
Playing cupcakes does nothing for us anymore. Great players want to play in big games like Texas vs OSU. They should start out with one cupcake and then play an ND,Bama,Texas, Miami, or etc. And end the preseason with another cupcake.
We're the defending nations champs. We shouldn't be afraid to schedule one good or great team each year. It's not like our schedule is that difficult. We will most likely end the year playing 1 top 5ish team and 2 other top 15-20 teams. The problem with the current type of schedule is 10-2 might not get us into the playoffs.
We’d all love to see those big games, but the reality is that it makes much more business sense to give yourself the best shot at making the playoff. Given the likelihood of several quality conference opponents, playing cupcakes in pre-conference makes a lot of sense. If Texas beats a cupcake instead of losing to OSU last season they’re probably in the playoff over Oklahoma. Just seems like those games hurt more than help…
What is college football from a fans perspective? Some kind of bizarre exercise in schedule tinkering to make sure you have the very best chance of making the playoff?
Or an outlet for competitive enjoyment?
Texas lost to a bad Florida team. That’s why they weren’t in. The SEC was not going to get 6 bids. Oklahoma also had better wins than them. Including a non-con win against Michigan.
You can slice and dice and what if this to death, but IF there is a benefit to not scheduling top 10 teams in the non-con to avoid another loss. It is marginal at best.
When you advocate for a tough non-con or a weak one, you’re just reading tea leaves trying to guess what the committee is going to value.
They would have been in with one less loss, whether it be OSU or Fla. I’ll take getting in the playoff over big non-conference games 10/10 years, & so will Cig & our AD. That’s why they’ve scheduled how they have, less losses will beat quality losses more times than not for P4 teams.
They also would have been in if they won the Ohio State game. Derp.
You also don’t know that. So stop acting like you do. Could’ve been Notre Dame. Could’ve been BYU. Could’ve still been Oklahoma.
The juice isn’t worth the squeeze, but you don’t have to take my word for it, take it up with Cig & Dolson, who obviously agree that P4 teams are hurt more with an additional early “quality” loss & aren’t willing to risk it. For Big & SEC teams less losses is better than an early non conference win. Fvck off with your derp, the question is about the impact of scheduling or not scheduling big non-conference games.
A 10-2 Texas would have almost certainly been in at the expense of one of their conference compatriots by having either less losses or a head to head win, but thank goodness you cleared up that no one on an internet message board knows these things with certainty.🙄
@oneeyedundertaker it is a derp. Deserves a derp. You’re reading tea leaves and pretending to know the what the committee would’ve done. Really, derp, stupid.
Texas was not a shoe in at 10-2 with how they played in the SEC. A win against Ohio state would’ve made up for that. My stupid hypothetical is just as valid as yours.
and we most likely will…
All we have to do is get into the Playoffs and we’re nearly guaranteed to see them at some point…
Playing cupcakes does nothing for us anymore. Great players want to play in big games like Texas vs OSU. They should start out with one cupcake and then play an ND,Bama,Texas, Miami, or etc. And end the preseason with another cupcake.
We're the defending nations champs. We shouldn't be afraid to schedule one good or great team each year. It's not like our schedule is that difficult. We will most likely end the year playing 1 top 5ish team and 2 other top 15-20 teams. The problem with the current type of schedule is 10-2 might not get us into the playoffs.
We’d all love to see those big games, but the reality is that it makes much more business sense to give yourself the best shot at making the playoff. Given the likelihood of several quality conference opponents, playing cupcakes in pre-conference makes a lot of sense. If Texas beats a cupcake instead of losing to OSU last season they’re probably in the playoff over Oklahoma. Just seems like those games hurt more than help…
You're starting from the assumption our schedule is strong enough to make it if we go 10-2. I'm not sure it is most years. Also, Texas was very average for half the season. They had a 6 game stretch where they lost to 4-8 Florida, lost by 3+ TDs to Georgia and it took OT to beat Kentucky and MSU. And if my memory is correct one of the wins took a miracle. Texas wasn't that good of a team last year.
The other example is Miami. If they didn't schedule ND last year they would have missed the playoffs at 10-2. Now, most years our schedule is better than Miami's, but it's also not as difficult as most of the SEC schools or Big Ten schools who we will be competing with for spots if we end up 10-2. Also, there are benefits for the program when it comes to recruiting as well. Players want to play in big time games.
A hypothetical for you. If we lost last year to Oregon and Penn State, do we make the playoffs? I think it's an obvious no.
I’m starting from no such assumption, why put words in my mouth? You know what’s a lot less likely? Making it at 9-3. If Texas doesn’t lose to OSU last year they have the same # of losses as OU & own a head to head victory. Look at how the committee handled ND & Miami, who lost to juggernauts SMU & Louisville mid-season.
Obvious no based on what?
I’ll stick with Cig & Dolson, it seems they might know what they’re doing, but you should get ahold of them & tell ‘em they’re doing it wrong…
Obvious based on our schedule wasn't that difficult. If we end up 10-2 we don't make the BTT game and our 2 best wins would have been against Michigan (18) and Iowa (24). Not a chance we make it over ND. And we would have most likely also been behind BYU, Texas, and Vandy.
You keep comparing us to Texas, but our schedule isn't anywhere near their schedule. Assuming they hadn't scheduled OSU and ended up 10-2. They would have made because they had wins against the 7,8, (2 playoff teams) and the 14 ranked team.
By the way the best argument against my stance for the playoffs is we're more likely to be 10-2 instead of 11-1 if we play a tier 1 team week 2. And how much does that decrease our chances of making the playoffs? I'm not sure. However, you have to balance that with the fact we're going to be behind a bunch of 10-2 teams most years when we're 10-2 because of our easier schedule.
@oneeyedundertaker it is a derp. Deserves a derp. You’re reading tea leaves and pretending to know the what the committee would’ve done. Really, derp, stupid.
Texas was not a shoe in at 10-2 with how they played in the SEC. A win against Ohio state would’ve made up for that. My stupid hypothetical is just as valid as yours.
Texas would have been in at 10-2, but it's because they still played 4 other top 14 teams, besides OSU, and went 3-1 against them. For comparison IU played 1.
I don't mind the N. Texas game. Texas is still one of the top states for high school talent, so a better than average number of Texas athletes just got some IU exposure. That could pay off a couple of years down the road.
Nobody was gonna stay for Indiana State or Butler. Shit games in bad weather aren’t worth staying for. Nobody cares if they beat an in-state shit school or an out of state shit school.
@bar-down Yeah, I almost skipped going. May rain, going to be a blowout, good games on tv. I went but left at half. Mainly had people I wanted to tailgate with. I know why we do it and but I really wish we had one competitive game early. Not too competitive, but not one we should win by 50.