College Football Today.

[needles]

Me too. It goes to show it can be done with the right guy. I know, I know, and lots of cash.

 

[Bobbyk60]

Back to this Lane Kiffin drama. He pretty much made up his mind to go to LSU. They are opening the vault with his salary and a pledge of 30mil NIL fund. Ok, if you’re going to buy a team, then so be it. I for one still appreciate a solid coaching job like Cignetti is doing!!

 

[4Q_iu]

Me too. It goes to show it can be done with the right guy. I know, I know, and lots of cash.

I'll buy Cignetti as a Top coach when he produces seasons of this level of "talent"... it a sh*t ton of smoke, mirrors and (currently) enough ca$h to buy players...
he's been absolutely handed two consecutive seasons of the WEAKEST schedules possible

there was a time that was against the rules but the loosiers only care about winning a game -- they're as much an $ec team as any $ec team

 

[needles]

Word is that Mark Cuban had a partner in his early entrepreneurial days. That partner is bankrolling IU’s football fortunes…supposedly, allegedly. Nevertheless IU’s turn around is nothing short of a miracle. No hating here, only envy.

 

[treeman]

The Cignetti/IU story is pretty wild and he is one hell of a coach. If I had son that could play at the P4 level in football I'd send him Cignetti's way, I just like the way he goes about business. But let's be honest his story doesn't happen if it wasn't for the portal/NIL era. He made a calculated business decision to jump from James Madison to IU. He had an 11-1 JMU team the season before and was returning a ton of guys, he admitted he saw the IU schedule and saw 9-10 wins if he brought his JMU guys with him; he knew what he had. He was going to a place with 0 expectations and was playing with house money, smart guy. Ben McCollum did the same thing at Drake last year. He new what he had in his back pocket and made the jump.

I will say Cignetti being able to go 12-0 this year and currently ranked #2, CFP lock, and already in the same stratospheres as the Ohio States, Oregons, Texas, Notre Dames of the world is pretty wild, and I'd say is more impressive than what he did year 1. But we all know he has a monster $$$$$$$ backing him and fueling his machine. He is a hell of a coach, but he can't do what he is doing without the money.

 

[Bobbyk60]

The Cignetti/IU story is pretty wild and he is one hell of a coach. If I had son that could play at the P4 level in football I'd send him Cignetti's way, I just like the way he goes about business. But let's be honest his story doesn't happen if it wasn't for the portal/NIL era. He made a calculated business decision to jump from James Madison to IU. He had an 11-1 JMU team the season before and was returning a ton of guys, he admitted he saw the IU schedule and saw 9-10 wins if he brought his JMU guys with him; he knew what he had. He was going to a place with 0 expectations and was playing with house money, smart guy. Ben McCollum did the same thing at Drake last year. He new what he had in his back pocket and made the jump.

I will say Cignetti being able to go 12-0 this year and currently ranked #2, CFP lock, and already in the same stratospheres as the Ohio States, Oregons, Texas, Notre Dames of the world is pretty wild, and I'd say is more impressive than what he did year 1. But we all know he has a monster $$$$$$$ backing him and fueling his machine. He is a hell of a coach, but he can't do what he is doing without the money.

That’s my point with this Lane Kiffin drama. I’m hearing he wants the top NIL budget in NCAA Football. What kind of a challenge is that if all your doing is buying a team?

 

[4Q_iu]

Word is that Mark Cuban had a partner in his early entrepreneurial days. That partner is bankrolling IU’s football fortunes…supposedly, allegedly. Nevertheless IU’s turn around is nothing short of a miracle. No hating here, only envy.

No envy - but riddle me this... Mark Cuban and a slew of IU alumni have had scads of ca$h for years... why weren't they opening their wallets prior to Cignetti?

Lotta coaches on this list who'd have easily spent the $$$ that Cignetti is spending... I don't recall a cap on donations to any college at any time



As to his calculated moves... so be it but I expect the "experts" to lay out that story... all I heard during the IU / Purdue game was the 2nd coming of Bryant/Yost/Warner/Saban - all rolled into Cignetti

Still not buying the snake oil he's peddling

 

[Sycamorefan96]

Youngstown State with an all-time choke job today. They were up 35-7 at halftime against Yale and somehow lost 43-42. Illinois State, S Dakota, N Dakota, and S Dakota State all took care of business today.

 

[4Q_iu]

Youngstown State with an all-time choke job today. They were up 35-7 at halftime against Yale and somehow lost 43-42. Illinois State, S Dakota, N Dakota, and S Dakota State all took care of business today.

No doubt Yale has smarter players...

And they're on a mission to prove that Ivy League football has long been as good, better than a lot of FCS football

 

[sycamore tuff]

They too have a little cash saved up. I do believe yale still holds the record for most football championships.

 

[needles]

I’m with you on Cignetti, time will tell if he can sustain IU’s success. I’m thinking TOSU will handle them convincingly, and they will lose in the semi’s of the CFP. Certainly nothing to sneeze at. Damn good, in fact. And mean while ISU flounder’s, rolling along making excuses to why we can’t win.

 

[DyedBlue]

Prior to NIL, the cash was spent on a facilities war because players could not be paid. Donors at IU (or perhaps some government bonds) somehow got the money together to build top flight training facilities and to modernize and enclose the stadium (OK, I preferred the grassy open ends, but that is just me).

While that was needed to have a minimal chance to recruit talent, it did not break the stranglehold the established elite programs had on the recruiting process and the 'environment" of 80,000+ fans in the stands. What incentive did a kid have to try a bottom dweller?

NIL comes along and now teams cannot stockpile at no cost a third and second string lineup better than the teams they are playing. (See how quickly Saban and others retired when the process changed!!) A team this has hurt is LSU which no longer is keeping it highly desired in state talent home to play for the Tigers. Money is luring too many of them away now.

They have to decide how much to pay individuals via all of the faucets that can be opened. But realistically, it brought some programs with lots of cash back to life (think MIami, SMU and even IU) because now each could build a competitive roster for perhaps 30+MM/year. While Texas, OSU, and some others spend $50MM+, the very elite guys may be eating up too large a share of that to hold onto quite good players who actually develop into better players in another system.

Does IU's $30MM/year roster match OSU's $50MM/yr roster. Not yet, but it is hard to say what will develop down the road. So, yes, OSU should handle IU. It clearly has the better talent at wide receiver and in the trenches. But Cignetti noted that his 30 years as an assistant with most of them responsible for recruiting has given him an immense background in talent evaluation and development which has paid off in this open transfer portal era. Don't swing and miss and pay the right price is the current path to success.

 

[Bobbyk60]

I’m with you on Cignetti, time will tell if he can sustain IU’s success. I’m thinking TOSU will handle them convincingly, and they will lose in the semi’s of the CFP. Certainly nothing to sneeze at. Damn good, in fact. And mean while ISU flounder’s, rolling along making excuses to why we can’t win.

As Lee would say! “Not So Fast” I think IU will give TOSU all they want, if not win the game!! Ya, I’m doubling down that IU beats them!!

 

[Bobbyk60]

Prior to NIL, the cash was spent on a facilities war because players could not be paid. Donors at IU (or perhaps some government bonds) somehow got the money together to build top flight training facilities and to modernize and enclose the stadium (OK, I preferred the grassy open ends, but that is just me).

While that was needed to have a minimal chance to recruit talent, it did not break the stranglehold the established elite programs had on the recruiting process and the 'environment" of 80,000+ fans in the stands. What incentive did a kid have to try a bottom dweller?

NIL comes along and now teams cannot stockpile at no cost a third and second string lineup better than the teams they are playing. (See how quickly Saban and others retired when the process changed!!) A team this has hurt is LSU which no longer is keeping it highly desired in state talent home to play for the Tigers. Money is luring too many of them away now.

They have to decide how much to pay individuals via all of the faucets that can be opened. But realistically, it brought some programs with lots of cash back to life (think MIami, SMU and even IU) because now each could build a competitive roster for perhaps 30+MM/year. While Texas, OSU, and some others spend $50MM+, the very elite guys may be eating up too large a share of that to hold onto quite good players who actually develop into better players in another system.

Does IU's $30MM/year roster match OSU's $50MM/yr roster. Not yet, but it is hard to say what will develop down the road. So, yes, OSU should handle IU. It clearly has the better talent at wide receiver and in the trenches. But Cignetti noted that his 30 years as an assistant with most of them responsible for recruiting has given him an immense background in talent evaluation and development which has paid off in this open transfer portal era. Don't swing and miss and pay the right price is the current path to success.

May I remind you IU has

Prior to NIL, the cash was spent on a facilities war because players could not be paid. Donors at IU (or perhaps some government bonds) somehow got the money together to build top flight training facilities and to modernize and enclose the stadium (OK, I preferred the grassy open ends, but that is just me).

While that was needed to have a minimal chance to recruit talent, it did not break the stranglehold the established elite programs had on the recruiting process and the 'environment" of 80,000+ fans in the stands. What incentive did a kid have to try a bottom dweller?

NIL comes along and now teams cannot stockpile at no cost a third and second string lineup better than the teams they are playing. (See how quickly Saban and others retired when the process changed!!) A team this has hurt is LSU which no longer is keeping it highly desired in state talent home to play for the Tigers. Money is luring too many of them away now.

They have to decide how much to pay individuals via all of the faucets that can be opened. But realistically, it brought some programs with lots of cash back to life (think MIami, SMU and even IU) because now each could build a competitive roster for perhaps 30+MM/year. While Texas, OSU, and some others spend $50MM+, the very elite guys may be eating up too large a share of that to hold onto quite good players who actually develop into better players in another system.

Does IU's $30MM/year roster match OSU's $50MM/yr roster. Not yet, but it is hard to say what will develop down the road. So, yes, OSU should handle IU. It clearly has the better talent at wide receiver and in the trenches. But Cignetti noted that his 30 years as an assistant with most of them responsible for recruiting has given him an immense background in talent evaluation and development which has paid off in this open transfer portal era. Don't swing and miss and pay the right price is the current path to success.

Hold your horses. IU spent 10mil NIL this year, and has 2 4 star players, and the rest are 3 and 2 star players. In this scenario, coaching prevails!

 

[needles]

I honestly hope you are right, Bobbyk60, but in the end TOSU’s talent and equally good coaching will prevail.

 

[4Q_iu]

Prior to NIL, the cash was spent on a facilities war because players could not be paid. Donors at IU (or perhaps some government bonds) somehow got the money together to build top flight training facilities and to modernize and enclose the stadium (OK, I preferred the grassy open ends, but that is just me).

While that was needed to have a minimal chance to recruit talent, it did not break the stranglehold the established elite programs had on the recruiting process and the 'environment" of 80,000+ fans in the stands. What incentive did a kid have to try a bottom dweller?

NIL comes along and now teams cannot stockpile at no cost a third and second string lineup better than the teams they are playing. (See how quickly Saban and others retired when the process changed!!) A team this has hurt is LSU which no longer is keeping it highly desired in state talent home to play for the Tigers. Money is luring too many of them away now.

They have to decide how much to pay individuals via all of the faucets that can be opened. But realistically, it brought some programs with lots of cash back to life (think MIami, SMU and even IU) because now each could build a competitive roster for perhaps 30+MM/year. While Texas, OSU, and some others spend $50MM+, the very elite guys may be eating up too large a share of that to hold onto quite good players who actually develop into better players in another system.

Does IU's $30MM/year roster match OSU's $50MM/yr roster. Not yet, but it is hard to say what will develop down the road. So, yes, OSU should handle IU. It clearly has the better talent at wide receiver and in the trenches. But Cignetti noted that his 30 years as an assistant with most of them responsible for recruiting has given him an immense background in talent evaluation and development which has paid off in this open transfer portal era. Don't swing and miss and pay the right price is the current path to success.

You SERIOUSLY expect us to believe players WEREN'T being paid in a pre-NIL environment?!

There's simply MORE money today and the "schools," collectives - insert term here [ _ ] can pay kids above the table, in the open/clear.

 

[4Q_iu]

I’m with you on Cignetti, time will tell if he can sustain IU’s success. I’m thinking TOSU will handle them convincingly, and they will lose in the semi’s of the CFP. Certainly nothing to sneeze at. Damn good, in fact. And mean while ISU flounder’s, rolling along making excuses to why we can’t win.

Please STOP trying to compare ISU (and any of it's athletics programs) to a P5/P4/P2 institution - the math doesn't math.

Doesn't matter if that math is alumni based, fanbase based or media rights revenue based, the Math doesn't Math.

 

[4Q_iu]

I’m with you on Cignetti, time will tell if he can sustain IU’s success. I’m thinking TOSU will handle them convincingly, and they will lose in the semi’s of the CFP. Certainly nothing to sneeze at. Damn good, in fact. And mean while ISU flounder’s, rolling along making excuses to why we can’t win.

they'll have to survive and advance from the Quarters... a neutral site; they've played one legit top flight team this season, I wouldn't put a penny on them except to fold like a cheap suit.

I think a repeat miracle win ala State College vs. PSU will be a minimum to win.

 

[DyedBlue]

May I remind you IU has

Hold your horses. IU spent 10mil NIL this year, and has 2 4 star players, and the rest are 3 and 2 star players. In this scenario, coaching prevails!

I do think that we fundamentally agree. My $30MM number came directly from Coach Mallory at one of the coaches' shows early in the season. Today, I tried to verify it, but is quite hard to do because schools are holding their spending close to the vest to maintain some leverage with individual players. Everything I could find was some analyst's estimate w/o documentation or detailed data.

Cignetti is quoted in one article that the values he has to deploy are a lot more than what he was promised when he took the job.

Your point about the number of 4* players IU has relates to my point that CC's experience in talent evaluation and recruiting has been able to unearth players the star system missed. With some digging, I found that Elijah Surratt and Aiden Fisher, two of the B10's top performers, were both 0* recruits out of HS. And, I imagine he got them on the cheap to some degree. So, judicious application of NIL funds and a sharp eye for talent and skill at development have proven to go a long way.

Fernando Mendoza was a 2* at a less than mediocre Cal program but was putting up some interesting numbers. I suppose we have all heard that Fernando's recruitment was heavily influenced by the rapid progress his younger brother was making in the IU system. He could see how rapidly his brother's physical skills and situation recognition skills were advancing and didn't want to fall behind him. Considering his a leading candidate to win the Heisman, IU got a deal no matter what is NIL package is.

There is a lot of money in those wallets/purses of IU alums. The success achieved so far will lead to an even greater level of contributions. Lots of schools with big budgets, so everyone cannot win 10+ games/year so who knows what happens going forward, but for sure the deck is being reshuffled each year.

 

[Bobbyk60]

I’m sure IU will after this season really pick up the NIL fund, but very doubtful they spent 30mil. That’s the amount LSU pledged to get Kiffin away from Ole Miss. Anyways, we’ll see what IU has on Saturday night.