Indiana 29 - Northwestern 23 Well that dynasty fell quickly...
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Level 1
Indiana hasn't lost a game since ND beat them.
In 2024.
Close wins do not equal the fall of a dynasty. That said, Indiana is hardly a dynasty.
Kind of reminds me of when Rocket Ismail played for Notre Dame
Invincibility with no vulnerability -
Level 1
A win is still a win
Maybe they drop a few spots, but it's still a valid win (not tainted like Michigan vs Western Michigan).
I think the real dropoff will be seen starting next year, given that the new "5 for 5" rule will take effect.
Coach Cignetti feasted on getting polished, experienced 5th and 6th year seniors from the transfer portal. It's easy to see that his starters are well-disciplined, experienced, and don't make rookie mistakes. That plus they've had more strength and conditioning than conventional players (1st through 4th year).
It was a very shrewd move of Cignetti, and he took advantage of the rules.
While those guys aren't going to be on par with true juniors who are outstanding (going pro early), or well-developed super talent 4th year seniors, they're the next best thing, and when you have strength in numbers, it certainly shows.
A polished 5th or 6th year 3 star senior player will (most of the time) be better than a true freshman 4 star player, just based on experience and development.
Starting next year, there will be almost no 6th year seniors available due to the "5 for 5" rule, and that there won't be any more players who were the beneficiaries of the 2020 COVID exemption policy.
Those polished 5th year seniors in the portal are going to be poached more aggressively, and with more coaches turning towards the transfer portal to get quick results, he will lose out on a sizable portion of what would have been his potential roster.
That being said, if he can develop his own players in-house, then maybe he can avoid the dropoff. I don't know how well he can develop his own at this level, since James Madison University isn't quite in the realm of what is seen in the Big Ten.
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Level 1
Lets give N'Western some credit.
They played their purple and white asses off and never quit. Their MSU QB who lost his statring job in Spartyland looked pretty good to me. As a fan, it was a fun game to watch. Until ND expells the ghost of NIU, we probably shouldn't cast too many stones.
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Level 2
Aiden Chiles always had the talent
He was rated the #7 QB in 2023, coming out of high school, and has never been a one trick pony.
He never stunk up the field at Oregon State or Michigan State either.
At OSU, he was a true freshman, essentially a scout teamer behind DJ Uiagaleili and two others, but showed some real promise under Jonathan Smith.
At MSU he had a pretty bad supporting cast, and Jonathan Smith couldn't make the pieces of the new team fit. He still put up reasonably good numbers, despite that fiasco.
I firmly believe, that if Smith had stayed at Oregon State, Chiles would have had some very good numbers.
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Level 1
No problem. Billionaire Mark Cuban, the Hoosier $ugar Daddy, will up the ante on the next NIL deals.
He loves to tell his friends how he bought a natty for his beloved alma mater.
What a guy!
End of conversation