Week 9 v Northwestern: Game Notes, Depth Chart, Etc

[Hotcarl]

I can't completely agree with that. Minnesota had nothing to do with the below gifts we handed them or unfortunate circumstances of the game.

1.) Ravioli missing Dane Key for 2 open touchdown's that cost us 10pts.
2.) A bullshit targeting penalty that cost us our LT and moved us out of the red zone.
3.) Our best olineman & linebacker getting injured early in the game and not returning.
4.) Our OC going brain dead and only running the ball 3 times on non-first down plays. 3!!! We were also extremely effective running the ball on 1st down which makes it even more perplexing.
5.) Hunter slipping as he was cutting up field towards the end of the 1st half when it looked like he might house it. Hunter also dropping a wide open deep ball that was actually put right on him.
6.) A blatant missed hold on the long WR screen pass for Minnesota that essentially put the game away and a very questionable holding penalty on Jones on 4th down to extend a scoring drive.

We played absolutely awful but that game broke for Minnesota at every turn and we did nothing to help ourselves.

This exact mentality is why Minnesota has beat us 6 straight. We never learn

 

[Dawgsauce]

 

[Dawgsauce]

Will cracks me up. How could you not love Nebraska with a fan like that guy?

 

[Cavalot]

Indiana has NFL players all over their roster. They have 9 starters who will get drafted in 2026, including 2 likely first rounders. When you add their 2 transfer draft picks from last season to this season, that means 8 transfers from James Madison will get drafted.

If you want to criticize Rhule and staff for not finding, evaluating, and signing talent on par with Cignetti that's fine and warranted.

But I'm going to continue to push back on people who think Cignetti is just out scheming everyone with inferior talent.

Coach Cignetti killed it with kids from Maryland, Florida, Jersey, and Virginia who weren't allowed to play high school football in 2020 and 2021. He outworked everyone.

I'm also not convinced there is any other G5 coach in the country that could be hired and then be able to drag 16 starters with him who could make a difference.

They're a lot more talented than Nebraska.... But everything else you wrote is accurate.

You just made my point. They pulled kids from James Madison...8 of which will get drafted. 16 starters from JM and I guarantee- damn-tee you there stars don't align with ours. It's not about schemes. Its about producing great players and getting the most out of them at all times.

We haven't done that in years...decades!

 

[Cavalot]

Yep, need more EJ's and Barney's. I was hoping at some point the last little bit of losing mentality would be out of the program.

I don't think anyone is settling for losses. I just don't think kids are being coached to play with a championship mentality. They are being coached, and they are saying the right things. But we don't play with fire in our bellies. We don't play with everything we have in the tank and a killer mindset on top of that.

We have 4 keys to winning defense each week. Communication, Discipline, Fast, Physical. When all keys are in focus our team can plays with greatness. Nebraska is missing at least one each week on both sides of the ball. More times than not it's the FAST/PHYSICAL part. Sad!

 

[Kaladin]

 

[NEHusker54]

Did you hear that guys. We are smart

 

[Kaladin]

Did you hear that guys. We are smart

 

[BigRedSob]

Did you hear that guys. We are smart

 

[Frogsker30]

Did you hear that guys. We are smart

First time in my life!!

 

[turek420845]

Did you hear that guys? We are smart.

FIFY

 

[Herbie]

FIFY

 

[Gman1228]

How fast do we hear the boo birds on Saturday? I’ll say in the 1st quarter after the 3rd sack of the game.

 

[Baron Winnebago]

How fast do we hear the boo birds on Saturday? I’ll say in the 1st quarter after the 3rd sack of the game.

You really think they start booing with 11:47 left on the clock in the first?

 

[Herbie]

You really think they start booing with 11:47 left on the clock in the first?

It’s a possibility

 

[ShortSideOption]

Indiana has NFL players all over their roster. They have 9 starters who will get drafted in 2026, including 2 likely first rounders. When you add their 2 transfer draft picks from last season to this season, that means 8 transfers from James Madison will get drafted.

If you want to criticize Rhule and staff for not finding, evaluating, and signing talent on par with Cignetti that's fine and warranted.

But I'm going to continue to push back on people who think Cignetti is just out scheming everyone with inferior talent.

Coach Cignetti killed it with kids from Maryland, Florida, Jersey, and Virginia who weren't allowed to play high school football in 2020 and 2021. He outworked everyone.

I'm also not convinced there is any other G5 coach in the country that could be hired and then be able to drag 16 starters with him who could make a difference.

They're a lot more talented than Nebraska.... But everything else you wrote is accurate.

Ya, but he's making them draft picks, they aren't draft picks from jump street. I'll repost what I said to you on DM when you tried to make this point...

2024 where Cignetti took them to the CFP in year 1, his portal class had 31 commits. Only 7 of those were from Power 4 schools. 2 of those guys transferred out, 1 guy is a reserve player, 3 of them ended up starting, and 1 played a significant role but wasn't a starter.

Closing the loop on my point, if 24 of those guys are from JMU, MAC schools, or other places like that, I don't think he was bringing in NFL caliber guys that demanded high NIL. He is making them NFL ready. I'd argue if you can get to Indiana and play under this guy right now, you have a really good shot at getting drafted.

Him having 9 starters that will get drafted in 2026 is him making them get drafted due to coaching and evaluating, not that he just had more talent than everyone.

 

[Hotcarl]

Ya, but he's making them draft picks, they aren't draft picks from jump street. I'll repost what I said to you on DM when you tried to make this point...

2024 where Cignetti took them to the CFP in year 1, his portal class had 31 commits. Only 7 of those were from Power 4 schools. 2 of those guys transferred out, 1 guy is a reserve player, 3 of them ended up starting, and 1 played a significant role but wasn't a starter.

Closing the loop on my point, if 24 of those guys are from JMU, MAC schools, or other places like that, I don't think he was bringing in NFL caliber guys that demanded high NIL. He is making them NFL ready. I'd argue if you can get to Indiana and play under this guy right now, you have a really good shot at getting drafted.

Him having 9 starters that will get drafted in 2026 is him making them get drafted due to coaching and evaluating, not that he just had more talent than everyone.

I completely agree with you. It’s why the yearly “they lost NFL draft pics so they’ll suck next year” posts about our opponents always backfire.

 

[ShortSideOption]

Ya, but he's making them draft picks, they aren't draft picks from jump street. I'll repost what I said to you on DM when you tried to make this point...

2024 where Cignetti took them to the CFP in year 1, his portal class had 31 commits. Only 7 of those were from Power 4 schools. 2 of those guys transferred out, 1 guy is a reserve player, 3 of them ended up starting, and 1 played a significant role but wasn't a starter.

Closing the loop on my point, if 24 of those guys are from JMU, MAC schools, or other places like that, I don't think he was bringing in NFL caliber guys that demanded high NIL. He is making them NFL ready. I'd argue if you can get to Indiana and play under this guy right now, you have a really good shot at getting drafted.

Him having 9 starters that will get drafted in 2026 is him making them get drafted due to coaching and evaluating, not that he just had more talent than everyone.

Let's dive deeper... from the article linked at the bottom, the 7 top draft prospects for 2026 for Indiana:

1 - Fernando Mendoza - QB - 3 star committed to Cal out of high school
2 - Elijah Sarratt - WR - 3 star transferred to Indiana from JMU
3 - Omar Cooper Jr - WR - 4 star at Indiana before Cignetti got there
4 - Carter Smith - OT - 3 star at Indiana before Cignetti got there
5 - Mikal Kamara - Edge - 3 star transferred to Indiana from JMU
6 - Aiden Fisher - LB - 0 star transferred from JMU
7 - D'Angelo Ponds - CB - 3 star transfer from JMU

4 transfers from JMU, 2 were already at Indiana, and one that committed to Cal out of high school. Let's not act like Cignetti has this unfound treasure chest of talent that he's getting to work with. Nebraska could have got any one of these dudes out of high school. Cignetti turned them into draft picks due to either identification in the recruiting process, or coaching. Or we are losing recruiting battles for these NFL draft picks to JMU, Indiana, and Cal. Which is a completely different conversation.

Who are top 2026 NFL Draft prospects for Indiana, aside from QB Fernando Mendoza?

Mendoza has been stellar this season, but he's far from the only NFL-caliber talent on the Hoosiers' roster.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Carm]

Let's dive deeper... from the article linked at the bottom, the 7 top draft prospects for 2026 for Indiana:

1 - Fernando Mendoza - QB - 3 star committed to Cal out of high school
2 - Elijah Sarratt - WR - 3 star transferred to Indiana from JMU
3 - Omar Cooper Jr - WR - 4 star at Indiana before Cignetti got there
4 - Carter Smith - OT - 3 star at Indiana before Cignetti got there
5 - Mikal Kamara - Edge - 3 star transferred to Indiana from JMU
6 - Aiden Fisher - LB - 0 star transferred from JMU
7 - D'Angelo Ponds - CB - 3 star transfer from JMU

4 transfers from JMU, 2 were already at Indiana, and one that committed to Cal out of high school. Let's not act like Cignetti has this unfound treasure chest of talent that he's getting to work with. Nebraska could have got any one of these dudes out of high school. Cignetti turned them into draft picks due to either identification in the recruiting process, or coaching. Or we are losing recruiting battles for these NFL draft picks to JMU, Indiana, and Cal. Which is a completely different conversation.

Who are top 2026 NFL Draft prospects for Indiana, aside from QB Fernando Mendoza?

Mendoza has been stellar this season, but he's far from the only NFL-caliber talent on the Hoosiers' roster.

www.nytimes.com

From what Corn found, Cig found a number of his JMU them during Covid - there was no HS football in their states for two years. No film, no visits. No one recruited them as a result. Never would have gotten them if they could have played HS football

 

[Herbie]

From what Corn found, Cig found a number of his JMU them during Covid - there was no HS football in their states for two years. No film, no visits. No one recruited them as a result. Never would have gotten them if they could have played HS football

He said he was making visits and watching kids practice when the state told them not to. Was the only one out watching kids play