I don’t say this because of the murderer’s row that Miami faced in the playoffs or how they’ve peaked at the right time. I say this because they’re playing in Miami, they’re bigger in the trenches, they run the ball very well, and their defense is built to keep a QB like Mendoza under wraps.

This Indiana team reminds me of the 2014 Ducks team. We killed FSU because of their turnovers and then we got worn down by a more physical Ohio State team despite forcing four turnovers. If the Canes run the ball consistently without trying to be cute they can wear the Hoosiers defense down. They can’t rely on Beck. They have to play Mario-ball.

I think I'll be rooting for Miami. I don't like Cinderellas, and I don't like disruption to the status quo. Miami and Cristobol are just about the last team/person I want to root for, though. I might only dislike Notre Dame and Alabama less.

Nyet. IU rolls. They are that good. (And does anyone else find it interesting that they almost always start their defense toward the direction of the play... AT the beginning of the play ... before the ball carrier gets the ball? Sometimes I think they must be getting the O's play in advance. Hmm. Dunno.

But they are great in all 3 phases of the game.

Indiana just completely punked Alabama and Oregon, I’d expect more of the same.

Indiana in a game that is not as close as it will look. We are witnessing a historic run. I’ll say that until I’m proven wrong.

26 minutes ago, Gizmoduck said:

Indiana in a game that is not as close as it will look. We are witnessing a historic run. I’ll say that until I’m proven wrong.

Indiana’s rout of Oregon has me thinking they’ll hand it to Miami as well.

Mendoza, who languished at Cal for three years, will have extra incentive (not that he needs it) going up against Miami. He’s a local kid who wanted to play for the Hurricanes, and they didn’t offer him a scholarship.

After having won the Heisman, nothing would be sweeter for him than beating Miami on the biggest stage in college football …. In his hometown.

You could really tell Mendoza wants a shot at the U

If Mendoza plays like he did the last two games, Miami has no chance IMO.

Edited yesterday at 02:54 PM1 day by GeotechDuck

Doctor, Doctor, Mr. MD, what did I see that you don't see?

T-H-A-T was a clinic. It couldn't have started worse, but hope abounded with Oregon's first impressive drive that tied the game. Then ...

Curt Gignetti must have found a wormhole to the city Kandor on planet Krypton, visited Jor-El, and brought back a bottle of Superman Sauce to Bloomington, Indiana. A bunch of 3* players just blew out Blue Chip Roster Bama by 35 points and OBD by 34 points, and is on the way to breaking the BCR championship glass ceiling.

After coming up Roses, Curt and Fernando topped it off with Peaches and Cream in a 'home' game played in a stadium that is Dan Lanning's Kryptonite. D-A-N do not go A-T-L again, please.

In the Rose Bowl, Fernando had more TDs than incompletions. Last night, it looked like he had a laser in his hand. OBD's coverage was not terrible. Fernando's throws were on time and spot on.

Kalen DeBoer and Dan Lanning did not fall off the last pumpkin wagon through town. The Duck defense schooled a Texas Tech team that was averaging 40 points a game. Last night?

If Mario can defeat these guys with every advantage going his way, hats off. I watched Miami lose in Hard Rock Stadium to an average Louisville team. I saw Miami doing everything it could Thursday night to give the game away to an Ole Miss team with far less talent on both LOS than Indiana. Against a disciplined Indiana team, Miami will not overcome drive killing penalties.

I won't be surprised if Indiana has an equal number or more fans in the stadium on January 19th. I know for certain that Indiana will have the better coach on the sideline and a QB better than Carson Beck at his best.

I think the Hoosiers cover the 7.5. And you may hate teams wearing a Glass Slipper, but this game is Big for the B1G, and the Big Ten's reputation, a reputation that pundits and pollsters across the country are waking up to. Three in a row by three different B1G teams will halp seal the deal.

Mendoza comes home, plays the team with the campus Fernando walked by on his way to school, and schools Mario and The U.

14 hours ago, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

I don’t say this because of the murderer’s row that Miami faced in the playoffs or how they’ve peaked at the right time. I say this because they’re playing in Miami, they’re bigger in the trenches, they run the ball very well, and their defense is built to keep a QB like Mendoza under wraps.

This Indiana team reminds me of the 2014 Ducks team. We killed FSU because of their turnovers and then we got worn down by a more physical Ohio State team despite forcing four turnovers. If the Canes run the ball consistently without trying to be cute they can wear the Hoosiers defense down. They can’t rely on Beck. They have to play Mario-ball.

Not a chance. At least Miami will have more than 1,500 fans in attendance, not that it will help...

This will be another game over at halftime. Too many players on Indiana with 3,4,5 and 6 years experience.

Edited yesterday at 07:20 PM1 day by 1Ducker1

The Fighting Google Me 42

The Fighting Mario’s 10

With all due respect, nope.

IU 38 - Miami 18

5 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

Doctor, Doctor, Mr. MD, what did I see that you don't see?

T-H-A-T was a clinic. It couldn't have started worse, but hope abounded with Oregon's first impressive drive that tied the game. Then ...

Curt Gignetti must have found a wormhole to the city Kandor on planet Krypton, visited Jor-El, and brought back a bottle of Superman Sauce to Bloomington, Indiana. A bunch of 3* players just blew out Blue Chip Roster Bama by 35 points and OBD by 34 points, and is on the way to breaking the BCR championship glass ceiling.

After coming up Roses, Curt and Fernando topped it off with Peaches and Cream in a 'home' game played in a stadium that is Dan Lanning's Kryptonite. D-A-N do not go A-T-L again, please.

In the Rose Bowl, Fernando had more TDs than incompletions. Last night, it looked like he had a laser in his hand. OBD's coverage was not terrible. Fernando's throws were on time and spot on.

Kalen DeBoer and Dan Lanning did not fall off the last pumpkin wagon through town. The Duck defense schooled a Texas Tech team that was averaging 40 points a game. Last night?

If Mario can defeat these guys with every advantage going his way, hats off. I watched Miami lose in Hard Rock Stadium to an average Louisville team. I saw Miami doing everything it could Thursday night to give the game away to an Ole Miss team with far less talent on both LOS than Indiana. Against a disciplined Indiana team, Miami will not overcome drive killing penalties.

I won't be surprised if Indiana has an equal number or more fans in the stadium on January 19th. I know for certain that Indiana will have the better coach on the sideline and a QB better than Carson Beck at his best.

I think the Hoosiers cover the 7.5. And you may hate teams wearing a Glass Slipper, but this game is Big for the B1G, and the Big Ten's reputation, a reputation that pundits and pollsters across the country are waking up to. Three in a row by three different B1G teams will halp seal the deal.

Mendoza comes home, plays the team with the campus Fernando walked by on his way to school, and schools Mario and The U.

I was watching an interview on how Ohio State beat Miami in the 2003 national championship. They cited their ability to get four yards on first down and lean on the run to slow the game to a crawl. Fortunately, they had the talent and personnel to do that.

This caused Miami’s prolific offense to get out of sync which was aided by Ohio State’s very underrated defense. The knee injury to McGahee didn’t help Miami, but the Buckeyes defense was playing well anyway.

The reason why I have such a hot take on the national championship game is because of the following reasons:

1) I believe Miami has the running game to slow the game down and keep Mendoza on the sideline. I think if they hadn’t tried to get cute on a couple of drives they could’ve closed Ole Miss out without much drama. Their lack of composure needs to be remedied as well.

2) Miami has a great pass rush. It’s better than any one I’ve seen in the Big 10. Bain and Mesidor are a DC’s dream. This will be the best pass rush Mendoza has faced.

Now, the double digit prediction win is a huge guess, but when a favored team is down at the end of the game they might try to make plays they normally wouldn’t when trying to come back. For example, a run blitz on 3rd and short with under two minutes left and down 3 points. It’s a great opportunity to break through the line for a long run (remember Oregon/Stanford in 2010?). Keep in mind, a ten point win is double digits.

Thank you, Doctor, for providing more of your champ game thoughts.

Yes, Miami has a fearsome pass rush, but Mendoza has a quick release and is en fuego. Back-to-back games against quality Ds where Mendoza has thrown more TDs than incompletions. Indiana's O-line will be the best Miami has played against in the postseason.

The Ducks' DBs had Indiana's receivers covered, but with the quality of Indiana's receivers, you can't stop a passing attack when the QB is making perfect throws. I think Indiana is better than Miami at every position on offense, including QB.

Texas A&M was exposed late when it played its only SEC opponent that finished with a winning record and lost when its offense struggled.

Ryan Day played with a slow tempo on offense in the first half, just what Miami wanted to see. Ohio State did not run the ball that well all season; the O-line was the Buckeyes' weakest position. Ohio State's QB was up for the Heisman Award, but his inexperience showed in the Cotton Bowl.

Miami played undisciplined football against an Ole Miss team not talented enough to take advantage of the miscues.

Of course, Miami, playing on its home field, could win it all. But Indiana is on a roll and just blew out two teams, Bama and OBD, that I think would defeat the Canes.

It's a fascinating champ game. Indiana fans will show up in droves and will be loud. And I do not see Cignetti and friends being outcoached.

In 2019 (2020 NCG) I thought the Clemson Tigers had the talent to take down LSU. However, they tried to score with them and it didn’t work out so well. When teams have similar styles of offense the more talented offense wins. When they have opposite styles it can lead to upsets although the examples are few.

The 1986 Nittany Lions, 2002 Buckeyes, and a couple of Stanford/Oregon games come to mind (2012 for them and 2015 for us).

Miami and Indiana have one common opponent in OSU. Both played them tight and held them to two scores.

Doctor, no matter which team wins it all, it's going to cost a lot of money to rock hard in Miami. 🤑

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/breaking-news/article/national-championship-game-ticket-prices-are-historically-high-ahead-of-indianas-matchup-against-miami-160159214.html

Yes, those ticket prices are high. And, trips to Pasadena and Atlanta weren't cheap for Hoosier fans. But, any long-term Hoosier fan understands the net cost per season of amortizing the cost of this 3-game run over 100 years of futility.

Dr J you’re relying on a game played in 2003, before most of the players in the coming NC game were born, and another game played in 2020, when they were still in high school? Really?

7 hours ago, Grandpa Duck said:

Dr J you’re relying on a game played in 2003, before most of the players in the coming NC game were born, and another game played in 2020, when they were still in high school? Really?

I don’t think the timeline is relevant. The strategy from the coaches can still be the same. The players just have to execute the coaches plan.

Against Ole Miss, Miami had two 13 play drives and two 15 play drives, so they can chew up a lot of clock if they choose to use up most of the 40 seconds between plays. This strategy is right up Mario’s alley.

Keep in mind that the new rules keep the game clock running after first downs and when a player goes out of bounds the refs start the game clock when the ball is spotted instead of when it’s snapped.

The best way to beat a QB as prolific as Mendoza is to limit his possessions during the game.

Doctor, if Miami doesn't turn the ball over, if Miami can stay out of the penalty box, and if Indiana cannot sustain competitive zeal for the fourth consecutive game after the champ game, Rose and Peach bowl wins, Miami playing at home, has an excellent chance of pulling off an upset.

If your prediction is correct, I'll be here to give you a solid pat on the back.

Mendoza did not touch the football for the first seven minutes of the Peach Bowl game. Then? His game has improved, the Indiana offense as a whole has improved, and no one had heard of WR Charlie Becker when Indiana visited Eugene. Today's Hoosiers can score in a hurry.

Of course, I agree with your take on Miami's three impressive postseason wins. Caveat: The long Ohio State layoff showed. I think that A&M played a soft in-conference schedule and was overrated, and Ole Miss did not have the depth and the talent to take advantage of the opportunities gifted to them by the Canes.

I also understand why Miami DBs are not playing WR 😁.

1-7. The record for teams coming off of too-long playoff layoffs. The 1 was put up by Indiana and the Hoosiers, a team that defeated solid Ohio State, Alabama, and Oregon teams. Also, a pretty good run.

Miami has the star players. Indiana has the better-coached and more disciplined team; the sum of the parts is greater than the whole kind of team.

At the essential position, QB, Indiana has the better player. Indiana may not have an individual WR with the skill of Toney, a running back with the skill of Fletcher, but again, Indiana, on the whole, has the deeper group.

In this movie script, written by Cig, with the second act coauthored by Fernando Mendoza, how can the Heisman winner not return to his hometown and capture the first title for the 'losingest' program in the history of the sport?

Gene Hackman's and Joey Chitwood's Hoosiers didn't lose, I don't see these Hoosiers losing this game.

I also do not see the game being over at halftime, but I do see Indiana pulling away for a two-score or better win.

Tickets for the champ game are going for far more dinero than for last season's battle of the brand names, Ohio State vs. Notre Dame. I think we'll see more eyes on this game than last year's champ game.

For the benefit of 'our conference', I want to see a third Big Ten team win the title for the third year in a row. (Not the team I wanted, but Wait Till Next Year in Las Vegas!)

Thanks for a terrific post to ponder.

You say that the strategies were the same in that 2003 game as they are today? I think not!

When Chip Kelly came to Oregon as the OC in 2007, he brought with him the mesh, making quarterbacks who didn’t run the ball about as common as hen’s teeth, thereby also changing the pass rush and blitzing. It took a couple of years but all of college football began to mesh. The change in offensive strategy changed defenses dramatically.

Chip also spread receivers to the sidelines more frequently than the offense had done previously, thereby not only changing how the defense was positioned, but also requiring faster and more agile linebackers.

Chip also had the Ducks running a “hurry-up” offense throughout the game, where before it was used only at the end of the half and, provided the score was close, at the end of the game. Before that innovative change, time of possession was an important statistic. Today it is often irrelevant.

The faster pace of play put a greatly increased emphasis on conditioning and increased substitutions which requires deeper rosters.

Dr. J you maybe might just need to reconsider.

Love for Cig and the Hoosiers -

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I remember another group of misfits that won a championship with 95% of the team undervalued, the 77 BLAZERS. I dont think anybody will stop Indiana. But Ive been wrong before.

2 hours ago, Grandpa Duck said:

You say that the strategies were the same in that 2003 game as they are today? I think not!

When Chip Kelly came to Oregon as the OC in 2007, he brought with him the mesh, making quarterbacks who didn’t run the ball about as common as hen’s teeth, thereby also changing the pass rush and blitzing. It took a couple of years but all of college football began to mesh. The change in offensive strategy changed defenses dramatically.

Chip also spread receivers to the sidelines more frequently than the offense had done previously, thereby not only changing how the defense was positioned, but also requiring faster and more agile linebackers.

Chip also had the Ducks running a “hurry-up” offense throughout the game, where before it was used only at the end of the half and, provided the score was close, at the end of the game. Before that innovative change, time of possession was an important statistic. Today it is often irrelevant.

The faster pace of play put a greatly increased emphasis on conditioning and increased substitutions which requires deeper rosters.

Dr. J you maybe might just need to reconsider.

I wasn’t talking about Chip. I was talking about Mario using the strategy of slowing the game down against Indiana. Much like what Ohio State did to the 2002 Miami team that was heavily favored and had a huge talent gap.

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