Indiana is why we shouldn't give up hope

[Coursesuper]

C34 isn't wrong. You are stuck on the word NIL even though it was not just NIL C34 was talking about. Indiana is spending money. Way more than us. Never did C34 say just in NIL. Cig is making over 11.6 million per year there. He has another 11 PLUS to spend on staffing. ETC.

In short, they did not get the cart before the horse. They got the off field staff that produces. The on field staff that produces. And now the NIL to keep it going.

Yep, this is why this thread is just so off base in the most Missippy Tate kinda way.

[msstate7]

C34 isn't wrong. You are stuck on the word NIL even though it was not just NIL C34 was talking about. Indiana is spending money. Way more than us. Never did C34 say just in NIL. Cig is making over 11.6 million per year there. He has another 11 PLUS to spend on staffing. ETC.

In short, they did not get the cart before the horse. They got the off field staff that produces. The on field staff that produces. And now the NIL to keep it going.

Even with their increased spending this season, they were 7th in the big 10 behind Rutgers.

The whole point of the thread was if you catch lightning in a bottle one season, it can totally elevate your program (spending for players, coaches, etc). Fine though, if you guys believe we have to spend top half of the sec to have any success, congrats then... we will never do anything.

I'm of the opinion that some coaches can totally raise the level of their players. Leach was one of these guys. He could win with guys that other teams couldn't compete with at all. This is why his lack of recruiting totally murdered our program bc no one else here could do that. I believe cignetti is another one of these guys, but he has some actual good players.

[msstate7]

Yep, this is why this thread is just so off base in the most Missippy Tate kinda way.

Wut? You guys argument is basically we can't win, ever.

[msstate7]

I asked ChatGPT about big 10 football only spending, and here's the answer...

Big Ten Football Spending (Estimated, Football-Only)
Tier 1: National Super-Spenders ($110?130M+)
These programs are consistently top-10 nationally in football expenses.
Ohio State
Michigan
Penn State

Tier 2: Power Programs ($90?110M)
High coaching salaries, major recruiting, strong travel & facilities spend.
Oregon
USC
Wisconsin
Iowa

Tier 3: Upper-Middle Spend ($75?90M)
Competitive budgets but below national elite.
Michigan State
Nebraska
Washington
UCLA

Tier 4: Mid-Level Spend ($65?75M)
Minnesota
Maryland
Illinois

Tier 5: Lower Big Ten Spend ($55?65M)
Purdue
Rutgers
Indiana
Northwestern

[BlackSailsDawg]

Even with their increased spending this season, they were 7th in the big 10 behind Rutgers.

The whole point of the thread was if you catch lightning in a bottle one season, it can totally elevate your program (spending for players, coaches, etc). Fine though, if you guys believe we have to spend top half of the sec to have any success, congrats then... we will never do anything.

I'm of the opinion that some coaches can totally raise the level of their players. Leach was one of these guys. He could win with guys that other teams couldn't compete with at all. This is why his lack of recruiting totally murdered our program bc no one else here could do that. I believe cignetti is another one of these guys, but he has some actual good players.

That's a little warped. Leach had no problems in recruiting and in coaching. He did not leave our team in shambles. It was tooled for his offense and the next guy tried to put a square peg into a round hole. Rehashing the past isn't going to make State better.

Cig is a great coach. Nobody can deny that. But Cig is susceptible as any other coach. Talent is needed. There is no way that Bama, nor OSU should have lost to them based on talent. These are teams getting by on talent alone. Bama lived off their talent this year. That coach will not be there after next year!

In short there are multiple paths a team can approach to be a competitive team.

- Great talent and decent coaching.
- Ok talent with great coaching.
- Great talent and great coaching.

And all in between.........

The issue comes to these. Where is there another Cigibaby? Are we going to throw money at "maybe he is"? Because we all know there are few Cigibabies in this world. Or, you can have decent coaching and pay top NIL money for a complete team. Do we have that top dollar to out bid the world? OR, maybe we get a good coach and spend more on NIL finding a middle ground in all of this.

[BlackSailsDawg]

Wut? You guys argument is basically we can't win, ever.

That's not what they argued. They are simply pointing out that money is going to make or break a team at this point. And that's not a NIL comment alone. You want to offer Cig 15 to 20 Million per year? Then you got to have 15 to 20 million to pay if he accepts. It's not just NIL.

And here it is for you. Should we have a playoff moment next year, Either we step up to pay Lebby 12 million, our QB 4 Million plus others along with staff increases or they will all be gone. See... That's not just NIL we are talking about.

[BlackSailsDawg]

I asked ChatGPT about big 10 football only spending, and here's the answer...

Big Ten Football Spending (Estimated, Football-Only)
Tier 1: National Super-Spenders ($110?130M+)
These programs are consistently top-10 nationally in football expenses.
Ohio State
Michigan
Penn State

Tier 2: Power Programs ($90?110M)
High coaching salaries, major recruiting, strong travel & facilities spend.
Oregon
USC
Wisconsin
Iowa

Tier 3: Upper-Middle Spend ($75?90M)
Competitive budgets but below national elite.
Michigan State
Nebraska
Washington
UCLA

Tier 4: Mid-Level Spend ($65?75M)
Minnesota
Maryland
Illinois

Tier 5: Lower Big Ten Spend ($55?65M)
Purdue
Rutgers
Indiana
Northwestern

So their tier 5 is spending more than us. You are making our point.

[Coursesuper]

Wut? You guys argument is basically we can't win, ever.

In my opinion you have the cart before the horse. There is no lightning in a bottle. It’s build the foundation properly and work your ass off after that. Unlike your get rich quick scheme. Indiana invested, built the infrastructure and got a good guy. This investment preparation and hard work is paying off for them in a big way. They used the portal for the right guys for their program, which is the most valuable thing to have.

[msstate7]

So their tier 5 is spending more than us. You are making our point.

This is the OP...

Indiana is why we shouldn't give up hope
They're in the best conference, and they've rose to the top while having no history and less resources than their rich conf neighbors.

...
what do you disagree with that on?

[msstate7]

In my opinion you have the cart before the horse. There is no lightning in a bottle. It’s build the foundation properly and work your ass off after that. Unlike your get rich quick scheme. Indiana invested, built the infrastructure and got a good guy. This investment preparation and hard work is paying off for them in a big way. They used the portal for the right guys for their program, which is the most valuable thing to have.

I literally just posted where they're in the bottom tier of big 10 spending .

[Coursesuper]

I literally just posted where they're in the bottom tier of big 10 spending .

Chat GTP ain’t exactly the kinda concrete data points I’m looking for. I agree with you that Indiana is a nice story and it would be nice to replicate what they are doing. That said our situations are not exactly similar.

[Quaoarsking]

Indiana is literally a "get rich quick" success story. They had 3 straight losing, non-bowl seasons (with a combined 3 conference wins across them) from 2021 to 2023. Then they fired their coach and got a really good one, and spent a lot of money on players and transfers and immediately made the playoffs in 2024 and by 2025 were blowing out Alabama as the #1 team.

I'm not saying we can easily replicate what they did, but the idea that they spent years laying down a foundation is just not true. They just spent money AND got a really good coach.

[Quaoarsking]

Wut? You guys argument is basically we can't win, ever.

The "Missippy Tate" people are the ones who say we can't possibly expect better than 7-17 (1-15) so we should just be happy with it.

[BlackSailsDawg]

This is the OP...

Indiana is why we shouldn't give up hope
They're in the best conference, and they've rose to the top while having no history and less resources than their rich conf neighbors.

...
what do you disagree with that on?

I don't think anybody has an issue with any of that.

[msstate7]

I don't think anybody has an issue with any of that.

I've literally had to depend that the whole thread