Al_4_ISU

And that reason is Penn State has been a Top 15 program for the past 50 years, and has a massive fanbase in a state with 2 major media markets. Which of course has fuck all to do with this season.

Ok, put Penn State in there instead of Texas. Their schedule is really comparable to Indiana’s. Indiana is getting treated differently because they aren’t a blue blood. That’s my only point. I agree that Texas has a better schedule across the board, but just pointing out neither has a marquee win.

Right. When you separate out the ACC schools that are going to end up in the Big 10 or SEC (which may only be a couple of them at this point) I think it would behoove the Big 12 and ACC to merge into one entity. It won't make SEC/Big 10 money, but it the top few teams in that grouping would demand playoff inclusion.

Oh, they have a soft schedule. BYU has a better strength of schedule than Indiana. Dodging the heavyweights and feasting on the Big 12/ACC type of teams that comprise the bulk of that league is a time-honored Big 10 tradition. I still don't think they'd be questioned as much as a bigger brand. Look at Penn State. Who's their best win? USC? Illinois? WVU? It's one off those, I guess. Not that Indiana's is any better, but I just don't see anyone doubting Penn State. I think one thing that we haven't really grasped as a CFB community yet is that the transfer portal and NIL have actually lead to a proliferation of talent and increased parity everywhere. Guys want playing time. We might not see the juggernauts we're used to seeing going forward, and doormats can reverse course faster.

That was a big focus of the 2010 doc.

And I hate this shit. It's like when they say "well, so and so would be favored by X points right now". Upsets happen every single week. I don't give a flying fuck what the point spread says.

I don't listen to a ton of national shows other than Split Zone Duo and Solid Verbal, but I haven't heard much Texas questioning there. And I don't think Texas should be in question at this point either, by the way. A 1 loss SEC team has done enough in any year, IMO. I'm just using it as a data point to highlight the bias being shown Indiana. If Indiana were Michigan there would be no "do they deserve to be in?" discussions.

I think you're in regardless with your brand power and the SEC sticker to boot.

That's a great point as well. A Boise team without that star power is getting less consideration with the same record.

I agree with this as well. It just annoys me that they're doing this at all.

Anyone with a brain can see the Big 12 is a much tougher conference than the MWC. The committee is more interested in pushing their biases. Boise has been the loveable underdog for 20 years and with their "giant slayer" reputation are guaranteed national eyeballs. No way in hell Tulane would get that kind of treatment. And after the conference title games, Boise will be behind the Big 12 champ as that team will likely play 1-2 more ranked teams in the next couple of weeks and Boise won't. This is a brand exercise. Why is SMU 5 spots behind Miami with the same record? Why are talking heads saying Indiana has to keep it close in Columbus to get in, while no one questions Texas's place and Indiana and Texas each have the exact same best win, and Indiana's loss would at least be on the road in a top 5 toughest place to play? Starting in the first year of the 4 team playoff they've consistently shifted the goal posts in order to put together the best TV product (eyeballs that is - not necessarily entertainment value). It's not even a conspiratorial idea at this point.

Not that night. I don't think his wife was there, and this type of event was always a sausage fest for the most part. There were always stories that he paid for a cheerleader's abortion and shit like that.

That would be an entertaining football product for sure. Basketball would take a hit.

I mean, that's about the extent of it. There used to be this big Signing Day party at the Keg Stand (bar in WDM) during the Rhoads era that was put on by an ISU fansite. The coaching staff would take a party bus down from Ames, and everyone was clearly having a good time. We were all having a good time. A few hours into the event, I walk into the bathroom to take a leak and I immediately hear the unmistakable sound of someone aggressively inhaling through one nostril whilst the other is plugged. Toilet door flies open and Herman comes flying out of the stall and quickly yells "WHOOO" before slamming the door to the bathroom on his way back into the party. I finish my piss and act like nothing happened.

I'm about 90% sure I walked in on Tom Herman doing coke in the bathroom of a West Des Moines sports bar when he was ISU's OC.

That's what I assumed, but I couldn't see the connection. I can't throw too many stones. Some of my fanbase thinks it's cool to type out "Hoks" instead of "Hawks" as a way to insult them that I've still never been able to comprehend.

What the hell is an Alldumb?

I just read through some KSU boards, and I've changed my guess to something like this. Knowing absolutely nothing, my guess is some kind of severe mental health crisis for one of his kids. Which makes you sick as a parent. I hate KSU, but Kleiman has always struck me as a solid guy and I wouldn't wish that kind of experience on very many people.

Uhh, that sounds like a divorce. I realize he mentions his wife, but that doesn't sound great.

I heard last summer that he was seriously contemplating retirement. Perhaps he's already made that decision assuming that he'd go out on a better note, and is just struggling with that. I've seen the vague Twitter posts too but not sure to take it as anything more than speculation.

That was early in the season, and I'm told that doesn't count when it's Notre Dame losing to NIU. Or Tennessee losing to Arkansas (who lost to the lost place Big 12 team). Or Ole Miss losing to Kentucky. All extremely similar losses to CU losing at Nebraska.

It wouldn't break my heart if they won out. Obviously I want us to win out and play for the CCG, but that feels prime for committee fuckery. If we ended up 11-2 or 10-3 I'd be ecstatic regardless of whether or not we got into the conference championship. That Tech game was an all-time fuck up, and a classic example of why Matt Campbell is never coaching at a blue blood program. I think Colorado could beat about half of the SEC and Big 10 teams they might face.

That's definitely part of what's happening, but the 4 teams tied for first place went 11-1 in the non-conference and had a 3-1 record vs the other power conferences. Including BYU's win on the road over a team they're ranked behind despite having the same record. All of that just gets conveniently forgotten. It's an arbitrary fatwa, and I think you guys get that. It's part of what drove you out of the league in the end. When the major mouthpieces scream "YOU SUCK" for a decade, people believe it regardless of how true it actually is. Makes about as much sense as his actual behavior.

Left over chili. Left over dogs. Japs, cheese, mustard, kraut, salsa. Sleeping on the couch? Likely.

Right. And they don't act that way towards leagues/schools that objectively have fewer people giving a shit about them. I understand why posters on this board hate the Big 12. I don't understand why people in the CFB media apparatus do. It's always unpredictable, it's always entertaining, and generally shows off a lot of what people like about college football. Just without blue bloods. Which, while certainly a reason to pay it less, doesn't feel like a good reason to be so blatantly hostile and dismissive.