Indiana’s Schedule - Easier than Rutgers

[PSAL_Hoops]

I’m tired of hearing how our BIG schedule stands out as being the clear easiest because we escape OSU, Oregon, Michigan and PSU.

Indiana only has to play OSU and Michigan on that list and the Michigan game is at home. That one sure doesn’t look much different from our Illinois or Wisconsin home games at the moment. Perhaps maybe OSU is a little harder than going to USC and playing them at their place with a start time in the middle of the night…. Sure, maybe. But both games are likely losses barring major upsets.

But then look at the rest of their schedule. It’s not even close. On the road they get NW and UCLA. They also get to play Purdue at home. Those are easily the 3 worst teams in the conference. We only get to play one of those teams. They also get to play Nebraska and Maryland at home while we have to go their places.

 

[read option]

The cream will rise to the top. Handle our business and the rest will take care of itself.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I’m not “worried”. I just think it’s bizzare that the buzz media narrative around our “improved” program continues to have this caveat in it that our schedule is so much easier than everyone else’s.

Put differently - no team’s potential path to 10-2 is easier than Indiana’s. On top of drawing the worst 3 BIG teams in conference play, they didn’t play a power conference team OOC or leave home.

 

[rutgersal]

I’m tired of hearing how our BIG schedule stands out as being the clear easiest because we escape OSU, Oregon, Michigan and PSU.

Indiana only has to play OSU and Michigan on that list and the Michigan game is at home. That one sure doesn’t look much different from our Illinois or Wisconsin home games at the moment. Perhaps maybe OSU is a little harder than going to USC and playing them at their place with a start time in the middle of the night…. Sure, maybe. But both games are likely losses barring major upsets.

But then look at the rest of their schedule. It’s not even close. On the road they get NW and UCLA. They also get to play Purdue at home. Those are easily the 3 worst teams in the conference. We only get to play one of those teams. They also get to play Nebraska and Maryland at home while we have to go their places.

“Only has to play Ohio State and Michigan” tells me you don’t fully understand the intensity of those games. These games, along with Penn State, take a lot out of our team. These teams are the deepest, most talented, best conditioned, and the games are most difficult on our schedule by far, not to mention, the toughest road environments. They are physically exhausting, more so than others.

Those programs, especially Oregons are also the best capitalized, and unlike our’s, their fanbases prioritize a winning football program, and provide significant support, to make it happen.

That’s why we come out flat the following weeks against teams like Maryland and Iowa. Michigan beat USC with their qb throwing for 32 yards, offset by their rushing attack producing 300+ rushing yards.

I gladly take our schedule over Indiana’s and wouldn’t think twice about.

Every game on our schedule is winnable this year.

Thank God we only play two of the three going forward.

For Rutgers to consistently compete with those programs, we need a Fieldhouse and we need NIL Support. The three stars we mostly recruit can only take you so far. We need to be able to recruit more 4 ⭐️ players.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

“Only has to play Ohio State and Michigan” tells me you don’t fully understand the intensity of those games. These games, along with Penn State, take a lot out of our team. These teams are the deepest, most talented, best conditioned, and the games are most difficult on our schedule by far, not to mention, the toughest road environments. They are physically exhausting, more so than others.

Those programs, especially Oregons are also the best capitalized, and unlike our’s, their fanbases prioritize a winning football program, and provide significant support, to make it happen.

That’s why we come out flat the following weeks against teams like Maryland and Iowa. Michigan beat USC with their qb throwing for 32 yards, offset by their rushing attack producing 300+ rushing yards.

I gladly take our schedule over Indiana’s and wouldn’t think twice about.

Every game on our schedule is winnable this year.

Thank God we only play two of the three going forward.

For Rutgers to consistently compete with those programs, we need a Fieldhouse and we need NIL Support. The three stars we mostly recruit can only take you so far. We need to be able to recruit more 4 ⭐️ players.

You don’t know that Michigan is better than Illinois this year. I don’t care what their ranking is - Vegas made Washington a home favorite next week. On a neutral floor right now, Michigan and the Illini would be an even money game.

I also think your vastly underestimating how much easier it is to beat Purdue or NW compared to Wisconsin and Minnesota. The former are bad enough teams talent wise to be taken down on off days. NW has no offense whatsoever and their crowd will be a complete non-factor in that road game. Meanwhile - we’re going to get a packed house in Nebraska.

@USC and @ OSU are both extremely difficult and would be long shots for either team to pull off. ESPN predictor gives both teams the same 16ish percent chance of winning right now - for perspective. Indiana has slightly better odds probably because they are rated a bit higher to date.

 

[BigEastPhil]

The Indiana HC ( Cignetti) is the real deal.

Wouldn’t shock me if he leaves Indiana after this year to become the HC of Florida or if any other big school comes chasing after him.

 

[WhiteBus]

I’m tired of hearing how our BIG schedule stands out as being the clear easiest because we escape OSU, Oregon, Michigan and PSU.

What? Who has been saying this?
And thinking that having Ohio State and Michigan is weaker than anything we have on the schedule is foolish.
Don't know why you are all butt hurt about our schedule. After all these years of Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan most Rutgers fans were thrilled about getting a break finally!

 

[RU-Kidding]

The cream will rise to the top. Handle our business and the rest will take care of itself.

This!!!!!

 

[bigmatt718]

The Indiana HC ( Cignetti) is the real deal.

Wouldn’t shock me if he leaves Indiana after this year to become the HC of Florida or if any other big school comes chasing after him.

Florida would be wise to at least interview him.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

What? Who has been saying this?
And thinking that having Ohio State and Michigan is weaker than anything we have on the schedule is foolish.
Don't know why you are all butt hurt about our schedule. After all these years of Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan most Rutgers fans were thrilled about getting a break finally!

If your asking the question, I assume you must not listen to any of the BIG podcasts. I spend a lot of time in the car driving to and from work so I make my rounds listening. Our luck with the schedule is talked about on them all the time.

My argument isn’t that those 2 games are easier - rather, I am saying that their other 10 games are collectively much easier than all of our other games (taking USC out of the mix and putting that one in the OSU / Michigan category where it rightfully belongs.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

I’m not “worried”. I just think it’s bizzare that the buzz media narrative around our “improved” program continues to have this caveat in it that our schedule is so much easier than everyone else’s.

Put differently - no team’s potential path to 10-2 is easier than Indiana’s. On top of drawing the worst 3 BIG teams in conference play, they didn’t play a power conference team OOC or leave home.

Because of Indiana's non-conference (& lower half of the B1G) schedule, it may come back to hurt them if they go 10-2 while looking for a spot in the CFP. The committee is not some BS AP poll or some video guy voting for a coach in the coaches poll.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Here’s a comparative breakdown which proves my intended point in the OP.

Indiana’s games - easiest to hardest side by side with Rutgers:

WI (worse than Wagner) vs Howard
FIU (lost to Monmouth) vs Akron
Charlotte vs UCLA
Purdue vs Minny
@ UCLA vs Wisconsin
@ NW vs @ VTech
Maryland vs @ Maryland
Nebraska vs @ Nebraska
Michigan vs Illinois
@ OSU vs @ USC

FIU and Akron are probably a wash and let’s consider Howard and WI a wash too since both are cupcakes. My point is that while Indiana’s two hardest games are tougher than ours - we have 6 other games that are materially harder than theirs.

 

[RUfromNJ]

RU's wins these last 2 weeks are better than any of their 5.

 

[WhiteBus]

If your asking the question, I assume you must not listen to any of the BIG podcasts. I spend a lot of time in the car driving to and from work so I make my rounds listening. Our luck with the schedule is talked about on them all the time.

My argument isn’t that those 2 games are easier - rather, I am saying that their other 10 games are collectively much easier than all of our other games (taking USC out of the mix and putting that one in the OSU / Michigan category where it rightfully belongs.

Podcasts is where you getting this 😂
That's what has you in an uproar??
Haven't seen this come up on BTN, ESPN... you know legitimate sources.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

RU's wins these last 2 weeks are better than any of their 5.

In fairness - they blew out all their opponents so far. But yes - on paper, @ VTech and home vs Washington are tougher games than any they’ve played so far and are actually tougher than most of their games being they drew two of the easiest BIG opponents on the road.

 

[RU205]

Indianas offense looks good.

 

[BoogieKnight]

Indianas offense looks good.

And that’s the key. If we laid it on VT and/or UW we’d likely be ranked. My question is why is Illinois still ranked with a loss? But I actually prefer it this way heading into Nebraska. Let our boys play with that extra chip on their shoulders. They are going to need it Saturday.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Podcasts is where you getting this 😂
That's what has you in an uproar??
Haven't seen this come up on BTN, ESPN... you know legitimate sources.

It’s still being mentioned pretty much everywhere including the sources you cite above. It comes up as a talking point in every conversation the talking heads have about our improvement, Tweets, etc. It was discussed in many preseason articles and continues to be part of the narrative when RU comes up in side bar conversations in the commentary of our game, post game analyses, etc.

All I’m saying is that if you take out each of our two easiest and hardest games - our middle 8 games are much more challenging than Indiana’s and probably a bunch of other BIg teams whose schedules I haven’t looked at as closely. To me - that means we would have a much tougher path to a “special season” which for the purpose of this discussion I define as 10-2 than them.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

And that’s the key. If we laid it on VT and/or UW we’d likely be ranked. My question is why is Illinois still ranked with a loss? But I actually prefer it this way heading into Nebraska. Let our boys play with that extra chip on their shoulders. They are going to need it Saturday.

They deserve to be ranked. The lost @ PSU.

@ Nebraska is a tough game. We are a 7 point underdog in a game they already won.

 

[rutgersal]

You don’t know that Michigan is better than Illinois this year. I don’t care what their ranking is - Vegas made Washington a home favorite next week. On a neutral floor right now, Michigan and the Illini would be an even money game.

I also think your vastly underestimating how much easier it is to beat Purdue or NW compared to Wisconsin and Minnesota. The former are bad enough teams talent wise to be taken down on off days. NW has no offense whatsoever and their crowd will be a complete non-factor in that road game. Meanwhile - we’re going to get a packed house in Nebraska.

@USC and @ OSU are both extremely difficult and would be long shots for either team to pull off. ESPN predictor gives both teams the same 16ish percent chance of winning right now - for perspective. Indiana has slightly better odds probably because they are rated a bit higher to date.

There’s a hierarchy in the Big Ten. It’s fair to assume Ohio State and Michigan are better than everyone else, though I’m not quite sure where Oregon slots in just yet, as they have Phil Knight as their benefactor. Illinois just lost to Penn State.
According to my eyes, Michigan would smoke Illinois, as I just watched them destroy USC on the ground and I watched Illinois lose to Penn State. Sure Michigan is not as good as Texas, but neither is anyone else, save for perhaps Georgia and Alabama.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

There’s a hierarchy in the Big Ten. It’s fair to assume Ohio State and Michigan are better than everyone else, though I’m not quite sure where Oregon slots in just yet, as they have Phil Knight as their benefactor. Illinois just lost to Penn State.
According to my eyes, Michigan would smoke Illinois, as I just watched them destroy USC on the ground and I watched Illinois lose to Penn State. Sure Michigan is not as good as Texas, but neither is anyone else, save for perhaps Georgia and Alabama.

I see you completely dismiss any impact of playing a game on the road vs at home as Michigan is yet to play a road game.

Let’s see how Michigan looks away from the Big House at Washington. Maybe your right and Vegas is wrong.

Meanwhile, Vegas considers us a heavy 7 point underdog @ Nebraska - a win the Illini already pulled off. There’s no reason to believe Michigan would win at PSU either to this point. They beat USC and Minny at home by 3.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

Here’s a comparative breakdown which proves my intended point in the OP.

Indiana’s games - easiest to hardest side by side with Rutgers:

WI (worse than Wagner) vs Howard
FIU (lost to Monmouth) vs Akron
Charlotte vs UCLA
Purdue vs Minny
@ UCLA vs Wisconsin
@ NW vs @ VTech
Maryland vs @ Maryland
Nebraska vs @ Nebraska
Michigan vs Illinois
@ OSU vs @ USC

FIU and Akron are probably a wash and let’s consider Howard and WI a wash too since both are cupcakes. My point is that while Indiana’s two hardest games are tougher than ours - we have 6 other games that are materially harder than theirs.

I wouldn't call Howard and WI a wash. WI won their first game in 3 seasons. Howard has at least finished first or second in their league that last two seasons. Anyway you look at it, IU schedule is weaker than Rutgers. I still think IU will have trouble with physical teams like Nebraska, Michigan, Washington, and OSU. All four are likely losses for IU. Final record for IU: 8-4

 

[cubuffsdoug]

I see you completely dismiss any impact of playing a game on the road vs at home as Michigan is yet to play a road game.

Let’s see how Michigan looks away from the Big House at Washington. Maybe your right and Vegas is wrong.

Meanwhile, Vegas considers us a heavy 7 point underdog @ Nebraska - a win the Illini already pulled off. There’s no reason to believe Michigan would win at PSU either to this point. They beat USC and Minny at home by 3.

Michigan is nowhere as good as last year, but I think they are better what they looked like at the beginning of the season. I wouldn't call them a tier 1 B1G team. They are more likely in the second tier B1G team as of now. Things can change over the course of the season.

Tier 1: Ohio State, Oregon, State Penn, and USC
Tier 2: Indiana, Illinois, Rutgers, Iowa, Michigan, and Washington
Tier 3: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, and Michigan State
Tier 4: Purdue, Northwestern, and UCLA

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I wouldn't call Howard and WI a wash. WI won their first game in 3 seasons. Howard has at least finished first or second in their league that last two seasons.

Yeah I get that. It’s not technically a wash (WI is literally the worst FCS team) but I’m calling it that from the perspective that our second and third team units would easily beat either team so both are automatic wins for either team.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Michigan is nowhere as good as last year, but I think they are better what they looked like at the beginning of the season. I wouldn't call them a tier 1 B1G team. They are more likely in the second tier B1G team as of now. Things can change over the course of the season.

Tier 1: Ohio State, Oregon, State Penn, and USC
Tier 2: Indiana, Illinois, Rutgers, Iowa, Michigan, and Washington
Tier 3: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, and Michigan State
Tier 4: Purdue, Northwestern, and UCLA

I hope your right but I think Nebraska is better than what your crediting them for. Vegas clearly thinks they are better than us. They are 7 point favorites at home so they would likely still be favored if the game were at Rutgers.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

I hope your right but I think Nebraska is better than what your crediting them for. Vegas clearly thinks they are better than us. They are 7 point favorites at home so they would likely still be favored if the game were at Rutgers.

Vegas hasn't paid attention to Nebraska the last few years. There isn't a worse team when it comes to winning close games. This isn't the 90s where Tom Osbourne is walking through the door. People have to stop looking at the name on the front of the jersey. Look at the players, coaches, scheme, and results. They all speak to something Vegas continues to overlook.

 

[Scarlet Jerry]

It is true that the talking heads mention our “easy” schedule, but what they really should be saying is our “easier” schedule than the gauntlet we’ve had to run in PRIOR years. I don’t think our schedule as a stand-alone is “easy” by any means.

We will have a better sense of where we stand after this weekend. If we can beat Nebraska at their place on Homecoming, then the rest of the season looks very interesting. The rankings will then take care of themselves.

Scarlet Jerry

 

[William J. Leggett]

Florida would be wise to at least interview him.

Honestly… I would take a wait and see on him at this point. He is having a great year so far, but against a VERY weak schedule to date and mostly with his players that transferred in from James Madison from a very good team (that he did build) the year before.

I’ll be honest, I am not to familiar with him and need to go back and look at his past accomplishments prior to last year at JM, but recall success at that level (at JM). I don’t recall many accomplishments at this level in his long career though. I think it would be wise that teams look for a little more sustained success (at this level) and proof he can really build/rebuild beyond this one year (plug and play) and the success he had at a lower level.

I am NOT saying he isn’t great or won’t get it done, just saying I’m a little hesitant. Look at Billy Napier at Florida or the Kansas coach now. If I am a AD I would take a long look, but also want to see more long term success in a hire. They have NW this weekend which is another cupcake and won’t tell us much, but the week after they get Nebraska and then Washington. If Indiana blows those two teams out, THEN I would be in full agreement with you. I have a suspicion they will come back down to earth…

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Vegas hasn't paid attention to Nebraska the last few years. There isn't a worse team when it comes to winning close games. This isn't the 90s where Tom Osbourne is walking through the door. People have to stop looking at the name on the front of the jersey. Look at the players, coaches, scheme, and results. They all speak to something Vegas continues to overlook.

That’s fair but we have to keep the game that close first before any of this even becomes a factor. I’m worried about our run D not being able to contain them which will allow them to have a balanced attack on us much like Washington. On the road, our D has to be better than it was to stay in the game. If Nebraska is able to move the ball easily on the ground that is going to open things up for their star frosh QB at home.

 

[robjknight]

Let’s just beat Nebraska and move on!

 

[rutgersguy1]

I've said a few weeks ago that their schedule and our are about the same. I don't see any massive difference in either direction. If you want to say one is harder than the other that's fine but it's not some massive difference imo.

5 games are exactly the same.
UCLA, Maryland, Washington, MSU, Nebraska

The cupcakes are the same, it's not like it anyone played NDSU or SDSU or something. FIU and Akron also the same

Then the difference is
Charlotte, NW, Purdue, Michigan, OSU
VT, Minn, Wisc, Illinois, USC

If you want to say one is harder than the other I can go along with that but I won't say man our schedule is way harder than theirs or vice versa.

They look good and I think they are willing to be physical. Their DL did a nice job on Maryland and were harassing and hitting Edwards often. More impressive is that they were -4 in the TO department and still took control of the game eventually. Rourke threw 2 INTs on 2 straight passes and bounced back from it. Those 2 things shows some resilience of him and the team. Obviously not something they want to repeat though because they might not be so fortunate the next time.

I said a few weeks back I see very likely they look like a bowl team and maybe an upper bound of 8 wins. Some questioned that. I still stay with that but the probability of 7 or 8 wins has gone up since then obviously. They're not a basement B10 team this year and look like a mid level B10 team.

I think they should win NW and Purdue and that would put them at 7. OSU and probably Michigan should be losses. I wouldn't completely rule out a competitive game against Michigan though if IU stays healthy to that point. Michigan is winning but it's hard to win easily when you're 1 dimensional. Games end up competitive even if you win.

The rest of the games MSU, Washington, Nebraska I could see go either way for them.

 

[cubuffsdoug]

I hope your right but I think Nebraska is better than what your crediting them for. Vegas clearly thinks they are better than us. They are 7 point favorites at home so they would likely still be favored if the game were at Rutgers.

You have to excuse me because I have a natural hate for the Debbie Downer Huskers. 😊

 

[rutgersguy1]

You have to excuse me because I have a natural hate for the Debbie Downer Huskers. 😊

I wonder why 😉

 

[WhiteBus]

I've said a few weeks ago that their schedule and our are about the same. I don't see any massive difference in either direction. If you want to say one is harder than the other that's fine but it's not some massive difference imo.

5 games are exactly the same.
UCLA, Maryland, Washington, MSU, Nebraska

The cupcakes are the same, it's not like it anyone played NDSU or SDSU or something. FIU and Akron also the same

Then the difference is
Charlotte, NW, Purdue, Michigan, OSU
VT, Minn, Wisc, Illinois, USC

If you want to say one is harder than the other I can go along with that but I won't say man our schedule is way harder than theirs or vice versa.

They look good and I think they are willing to be physical. Their DL did a nice job on Maryland and were harassing and hitting Edwards often. More impressive is that they were -4 in the TO department and still took control of the game eventually. Rourke threw 2 INTs on 2 straight passes and bounced back from it. Those 2 things shows some resilience of him and the team. Obviously not something they want to repeat though because they might not be so fortunate the next time.

I said a few weeks back I see very likely they look like a bowl team and maybe an upper bound of 8 wins. Some questioned that. I still stay with that but the probability of 7 or 8 wins has gone up since then obviously. They're not a basement B10 team this year and look like a mid level B10 team.

I think they should win NW and Purdue and that would put them at 7. OSU and probably Michigan should be losses. I wouldn't completely rule out a competitive game against Michigan though if IU stays healthy to that point. Michigan is winning but it's hard to win easily when you're 1 dimensional. Games end up competitive even if you win.

The rest of the games MSU, Washington, Nebraska I could see go either way for them.

He just likes to create drama. He jumped on the storming of field and emphatic that we would and should. wrong! This thread is a big nothing burger.

 

[rutgersguy1]

Really I like seeing IU do well. I even like the brashness/confidence of Cignetti. I might feel different if he was at a blue blood but at IU I like seeing it...inject some life there.

Whether it be IU or Duke or Kansas etc... in recent times or whichever underdog, I'm happy to see the underdog doing well because as a RU fan I see us in them. Plus just as a sports fan who doesn't like to see the underdog do well.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

He just likes to create drama. He jumped on the storming of field and emphatic that we would and should. wrong! This thread is a big nothing burger.

If you think this is a drama thread, feel free to ignore it. I’m comparing the schedules. I think ours is a harder path to 10-2. Feel free to disagree. I will not respond to you anymore in this thread because it doesn’t add value to the discussion to debate the definition of drama.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I've said a few weeks ago that their schedule and our are about the same. I don't see any massive difference in either direction. If you want to say one is harder than the other that's fine but it's not some massive difference imo.

5 games are exactly the same.
UCLA, Maryland, Washington, MSU, Nebraska

I never said “massive” just that I don’t think ours stands out as easier just because we don’t play OSU and Michigan. If anything it’s harder overall.

The games you mention above are not quite the same. Your stripping out the venue which is a huge factor. I’d much rather get UCLA on the road and play Nebraska at home. Wouldn’t you? As an example.

 

[rutgersguy1]

I never said “massive” just that I don’t think ours stands out as easier just because we don’t play OSU and Michigan. If anything it’s harder overall.

The games you mention above are not quite the same. Your stripping out the venue which is a huge factor. I’d much rather get UCLA on the road and play Nebraska at home. Wouldn’t you? As an example.

I didn't bother too look if games were home and away and that can make a difference. But if it's not massive then it doesn't really matter. On a scale of 1-10 if we're at 6 or 6.5 and they're at a 5 what's the big deal. If we're at a 9 an they're at a 4 then I can see yea okay but I don't see big differences. If I don't see big differences then its not a big deal imo.

It's a good solid team on offense/defense. The fact that you're even talking about them as 10-2 in any sense, easy schedule or not is something in itself. This is IU, not OSU. I don't expect double digits wins for them though. Besides, even if the schedule is easy, they've looked the part. They blew teams out of the water and again it's IU, not OSU. They beat UCLA by a better margin than Oregon did. How did Oregon look against Idaho? ND/NIU? PSU/BG? Don't just take for granted beating up on teams up that aren't suppose to be hard to beat.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I didn't bother too look if games were home and away and that can make a difference. But if it's not massive then it doesn't really matter. On a scale of 1-10 if we're at 6 or 6.5 and they're at a 5 what's the big deal. If we're at a 9 an they're at a 4 then I can see yea okay but I don't see big differences. If I don't see big differences then its not a big deal imo.

It's a good solid team on offense/defense. The fact that you're even talking about them as 10-2 in any sense, easy schedule or not is something in itself. This is IU, not OSU. I don't expect double digits wins for them though. Besides, even if the schedule is easy, they've looked the part. They blew teams out of the water and again it's IU, not OSU. They beat UCLA by a better margin than Oregon did. How did Oregon look against Idaho? ND/NIU? PSU/BG? Don't just take for granted beating up on teams up that aren't suppose to be hard to beat.

I didn’t intend this as a comparison of RU vs. Indiana in terms of who is better.

The point I was trying to make was about Rutgers, with Indiana simply thrown out as a comparative example.

For Indiana, the media narrative has primarily been “wow” look at that surprise team. The only mention of a weak schedule is in the context of looking at the MOV of the games they’ve played so far - acknowledgement that they haven’t played anyone yet, or left home. In contrast, the talk on RU has been that we were gifted a cream puff BIG schedule. Looking at the 2 schedules side by side - I don’t see that.

If you prefer, I could’ve picked Iowa’s schedule instead. Maybe that’s a clearer example as they literally have an identical schedule as us (home/away) 4 games - Washington, Mich St, Maryland and Wisconsin. We both play Nebraska and Minny (swap home and away). They get OSU instead of USC but they also get to play NW instead of Illinois.

 

[rutgersguy1]

I didn’t intend this as a comparison of RU vs. Indiana in terms of who is better.

The point I was trying to make was about Rutgers, with Indiana simply thrown out as a comparative example.

For Indiana, the media narrative has primarily been “wow” look at that surprise team. The only mention of a weak schedule is in the context of looking at the MOV of the games they’ve played so far - acknowledgement that they haven’t played anyone yet, or left home. In contrast, the talk on RU has been that we were gifted a cream puff BIG schedule. Looking at the 2 schedules side by side - I don’t see that.

If you prefer, I could’ve picked Iowa’s schedule instead. Maybe that’s a clearer example as they literally have an identical schedule as us (home/away) 4 games - Washington, Mich St, Maryland and Wisconsin. We both play Nebraska and Minny (swap home and away). They get OSU instead of USC but they also get to play NW instead of Illinois.

I don't see that much in the mainstream CFB media. Usually I see IU/RU happy there is no more B10 east and that's about it or schedule is doable, nothing about creampuff. Mind you, IU is still playing Michigan/OSU this year lol but whatever, the point is the same. You see how much I post in game threads on weekends and CFB news, notes stats etc..I don't come across anything that talks about cream puff schedule for either team only that the B10 east is gone and we don't have to play PSU/Michigan/OSU every year and that's about it.

If you look hard enough, I'm sure you can come across anything but I don't see anything like that from most of the CFB mainstream media.

I posted this over the weekend in the games thread and that's usually the kind of thing I'll come across with regards to mainstream CFB media.



7. The death of the Big Ten East has been a blessing for Indiana and Rutgers.

No one was happier to see the new division-less Big Ten schedules than Rutgers and Indiana. Finally, after a decade spent in the East division with annual games against some of the biggest powerhouses in college football, these two schools no longer have schedules that require you to pencil in three or four losses right off the bat. Indiana is 5-0 for just the third time in program history in Curt Cignetti’s first season as head coach, backing up all of his big talk. Rutgers is 4-0 for the first time in over a decade, with a remaining schedule that does not include Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State or Oregon. Most years, we’d be talking about whether Rutgers and Indiana can reach the six-win threshold for bowl-eligibility. Now, we might be discussing how good a bowl game they can make. And that’s pretty cool.