This is the best take I've heard since the playoffs began. The rampant hypocrisy among the "experts" is frustrating, but I think we'll quiet the naysayers with continued success next year. Go IU!
IU lost 2 games, both of which are in the final 4! The other team which came remotely close to IU, Mich., just beat Alabama. ESPN looks really stupid & childish @ this point
Very well-presented analysis, Galen! Though I normally don’t post my humble opinions on line, I’ve been much more vociferous in comments about the ridiculous opinions of Finebaum and Herbstreit. (How Finebaum has any shred credibility is beyond me.) Clearly, they have been mandated by the management of ESPN to express their absurd pro-SEC bootlicking. Though the IU loss to ND was disappointing, I relished the beat down that the Irish handed to Georgia yesterday. Looking forward to saying hello to you in person sometime in B-town.
I like Herbstreit and think he’s just advanced and gotten comfortable with sharing his opinions more openly. Sometimes you’re just wrong. He owes IU an apology. Late season losses have always torpedoed playoff chances, so ole miss and Bama have no one to blame but themselves. I think the difference this year that po’d them was that non-name schools like IU and SMU made it.
I hated the “auto home game” for the 5-8 seeds. It’s way too much of an advantage for teams that are so close to each other. Then that home team gets what 80%+ of the tickets?!?! You don’t see NCAA bball tourney games being played on home courts. I didn’t like that at all and I think that’s round of games would have been much more competitive.
I feel like some of the narrative has a lot to do with money and certain entities wanting to keep their money cycling through. If the SEC sucks (which it did) isn't a profitable venture for espn as far as eyes watching their product and subsequently advertising will gravitate to other more watchable products like the B1G (minus purdue)
I’m sorry, folks. This is gonna make some of you mad but, Indiana was the beneficiary of a very weak Big Ten schedule. I do believe they belong in the playoff. They won every game in front of them except for a game that they definitely had no chance. You gotta give them credit for that, the final score of the Notre Dame game was not indicative of what the game actually was. The real score was 27 to 3. You got your ass kicked. Plain and simple. The fact that you were able to score a couple of touchdowns at the end of the game and make it technically closer than Georgia was able to make it does not mean that you were on Georgia’s level. You’re not and you’re not not even close. Go Irish!
Don’t disagree. We did get a scheduling break by not having PSU or OR on our schedule, but we’ve had plenty of years where we had killer schedules w OSU, UM and PSU, so getting a break is just the odds coming around. IU did all it could and needed to, but when you get to the top tier teams like OSU, ND and yes, UGA we need more athletes. Be interesting to see if CCCis able to upgrade the talent pool enough where we can compete with those teams. Not an Irish fan, but probably am this year with the teams remaining! Good luck!
@@kkott-IUdo you think the Irish are in the same league as OSU this year? I'm not a fan of any of the remaining teams (maybe PSU?) but don't see ND, or anyone else competing with OSU at this point.
@@NikiS-e8x I’m not a very knowledgeable fball fan, but to my eye; no. But, that’s assuming OSU is clicking on all gears all the way through. I thought ND was the 2nd best team I’ve seen though with no real weaknesses. I think you have 2 advantages: coaching and chemistry, which are 2 pretty big ones! Both have to get past their semi games, but that’s what I expect the NC to be. One of the few times I’ll be cheering for ND! Good luck!
@@NikiS-e8x I’ll answer that question. The answer is yes! That sounds like a Homer, but allow me to explain. Ohio State’s biggest weapon is their receiving corps. They’re explosive. They don’t have a great offensive line, which means that they have to get the ball to their receivers quickly and allow them to make plays after the catch. The best way you stop that is by having defensive backs that can tackle really well. That is the best part of our defense. what killed Oregon and Tennessee was miss tackles. That’s not going to happen when they face Notre Dame. I’m not saying that we’re gonna win that game. If we play them. I’m saying they’re not going to blow us out like they did Oregon in Tennessee. We will be able to do to them what they allowed Michigan to do. they are going to have to be able to run the football in order to open up the passing game and I don’t think they can.
I don't think you can start to do the "real score" thing in this case. If you do that, you have to start saying the real score in the OSU-Oregon game was 35 to 8. The game was over by the end of the first half. Or the Notre Dame Georgia game was 20 to 3 (Georgia was broken after the kick return). Or Tennessee got beat 40-something to 10 because Ohio State rested their starters in the 4th. Such was the case in the other 2 games in playoff week 1. If you start introducing these hypotheticals, you have to start introducing others as well. For example, Indiana has the ball in the red zone and threw a pick. The very next play Notre Dame runs 98 yards for a TD. If that doesn't happen, your looking at a 10, 14, or 15 point swing in Indiana's favor. Notre Dame certainly was the better team, but the game is 60-minutes. The fact was that Indiana's defence kept them in the game long enough, that Notre Dame had to keep playing to finish with a win. Deciding to end a game 5-minutes early isn't a reasonable thing to say, as those stats aren't any less meaningful than the first 5-minutes. The best case for this is the Texas and AZ State game. ESPN was eulogizing AZ State with 5-minutes to go, and they forced their way back into it. They had a case for winning it, too, if the refs had made a different decision down the stretch. They should have won, as Texas had a must-have 4th and 13 in OT, but they blew coverage, and Texas scored. I'm done with my effort post.
This is the best take I've heard since the playoffs began. The rampant hypocrisy among the "experts" is frustrating, but I think we'll quiet the naysayers with continued success next year. Go IU!
Great work, the corruption of college football coverage must continue to be exposed. Thanks for sharing your knowledge
IU lost 2 games, both of which are in the final 4! The other team which came remotely close to IU, Mich., just beat Alabama. ESPN looks really stupid & childish @ this point
And those 2 teams could very well be in the national championship game.
@dillonmorningstar7386 that would be too good!
Galen, your analysis is always spot on.
Very well-presented analysis, Galen! Though I normally don’t post my humble opinions on line, I’ve been much more vociferous in comments about the ridiculous opinions of Finebaum and Herbstreit. (How Finebaum has any shred credibility is beyond me.) Clearly, they have been mandated by the management of ESPN to express their absurd pro-SEC bootlicking.
Though the IU loss to ND was disappointing, I relished the beat down that the Irish handed to Georgia yesterday.
Looking forward to saying hello to you in person sometime in B-town.
I like Herbstreit and think he’s just advanced and gotten comfortable with sharing his opinions more openly. Sometimes you’re just wrong. He owes IU an apology.
Late season losses have always torpedoed playoff chances, so ole miss and Bama have no one to blame but themselves. I think the difference this year that po’d them was that non-name schools like IU and SMU made it.
I hated the “auto home game” for the 5-8 seeds. It’s way too much of an advantage for teams that are so close to each other. Then that home team gets what 80%+ of the tickets?!?!
You don’t see NCAA bball tourney games being played on home courts. I didn’t like that at all and I think that’s round of games would have been much more competitive.
Good discussion points.
SEC/ESPN are still pissed about The BigTen's TV agreement? 🤨
The Tournament is an invitational, the teams participating in a playoff, PLAY their way in! Duh! 🙄
I feel like some of the narrative has a lot to do with money and certain entities wanting to keep their money cycling through. If the SEC sucks (which it did) isn't a profitable venture for espn as far as eyes watching their product and subsequently advertising will gravitate to other more watchable products like the B1G (minus purdue)
Georgia had no business being in this tournament...🤭😏
I’m sorry, folks. This is gonna make some of you mad but, Indiana was the beneficiary of a very weak Big Ten schedule. I do believe they belong in the playoff. They won every game in front of them except for a game that they definitely had no chance. You gotta give them credit for that, the final score of the Notre Dame game was not indicative of what the game actually was. The real score was 27 to 3. You got your ass kicked. Plain and simple. The fact that you were able to score a couple of touchdowns at the end of the game and make it technically closer than Georgia was able to make it does not mean that you were on Georgia’s level. You’re not and you’re not not even close. Go Irish!
Don’t disagree. We did get a scheduling break by not having PSU or OR on our schedule, but we’ve had plenty of years where we had killer schedules w OSU, UM and PSU, so getting a break is just the odds coming around. IU did all it could and needed to, but when you get to the top tier teams like OSU, ND and yes, UGA we need more athletes. Be interesting to see if CCCis able to upgrade the talent pool enough where we can compete with those teams. Not an Irish fan, but probably am this year with the teams remaining! Good luck!
@@kkott-IUdo you think the Irish are in the same league as OSU this year? I'm not a fan of any of the remaining teams (maybe PSU?) but don't see ND, or anyone else competing with OSU at this point.
@@NikiS-e8x I’m not a very knowledgeable fball fan, but to my eye; no. But, that’s assuming OSU is clicking on all gears all the way through. I thought ND was the 2nd best team I’ve seen though with no real weaknesses. I think you have 2 advantages: coaching and chemistry, which are 2 pretty big ones! Both have to get past their semi games, but that’s what I expect the NC to be. One of the few times I’ll be cheering for ND! Good luck!
@@NikiS-e8x I’ll answer that question. The answer is yes! That sounds like a Homer, but allow me to explain. Ohio State’s biggest weapon is their receiving corps. They’re explosive. They don’t have a great offensive line, which means that they have to get the ball to their receivers quickly and allow them to make plays after the catch. The best way you stop that is by having defensive backs that can tackle really well. That is the best part of our defense. what killed Oregon and Tennessee was miss tackles. That’s not going to happen when they face Notre Dame. I’m not saying that we’re gonna win that game. If we play them. I’m saying they’re not going to blow us out like they did Oregon in Tennessee. We will be able to do to them what they allowed Michigan to do. they are going to have to be able to run the football in order to open up the passing game and I don’t think they can.
I don't think you can start to do the "real score" thing in this case. If you do that, you have to start saying the real score in the OSU-Oregon game was 35 to 8. The game was over by the end of the first half. Or the Notre Dame Georgia game was 20 to 3 (Georgia was broken after the kick return). Or Tennessee got beat 40-something to 10 because Ohio State rested their starters in the 4th. Such was the case in the other 2 games in playoff week 1.
If you start introducing these hypotheticals, you have to start introducing others as well. For example, Indiana has the ball in the red zone and threw a pick. The very next play Notre Dame runs 98 yards for a TD. If that doesn't happen, your looking at a 10, 14, or 15 point swing in Indiana's favor.
Notre Dame certainly was the better team, but the game is 60-minutes. The fact was that Indiana's defence kept them in the game long enough, that Notre Dame had to keep playing to finish with a win. Deciding to end a game 5-minutes early isn't a reasonable thing to say, as those stats aren't any less meaningful than the first 5-minutes.
The best case for this is the Texas and AZ State game. ESPN was eulogizing AZ State with 5-minutes to go, and they forced their way back into it. They had a case for winning it, too, if the refs had made a different decision down the stretch. They should have won, as Texas had a must-have 4th and 13 in OT, but they blew coverage, and Texas scored.
I'm done with my effort post.