Bama Game Thread: Official PostGame Thread - Bama vs. IU...

[tusks_n_raider]

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[CoolBreeze]

Alabama fans in the post Saban world sound a lot like Post Osborne era Nebraska fans. At some point you have to accept the man is gone, the advantage we enjoyed is over, and that many teams would kill to be in our position. Sure we can be disappointed and expect serious changes after losses like this from the staff, but nuking the fridge after an 11 win season is a bit much. I’m still old enough to remember the rabid Osborne fans of the 90’s ran off Frank Solich and thought they struck gold with Callahan. Then they ran off Pelini and thought they struck gold with Frost 2 hires later. If you start firing good coaches you better be sure that you have the answer with the next hire because you create instability that no one will ever buy into again like what you see at Nebraska and Florida.

Nice post. We were always looking at a decline in the program after Nick left. NIL and the transfer portal exacerbated that effect. Need to feel blessed with what we have for a while and keep plugging away.

 

[M Squires]

Fine I will play under your unfair comparisons…

2024

Cignetti… brought nearly his entire staff and basically his whole team from JMU with him. So basically this a continuation of a program he built a JMU over the past 6 years and not something he just made up out of the blue. Played 2 ranked teams in year 1 and got blown out by BOTH of them.


DeBoer: brings in most of his staff. But his Mora award winning oline coach and his OC jet 3 days into being hired. Is forced to retain S&C, DL, and RB coach from the previous regime. Hires a new DC. Pretty much everyone that is worth a flip on that Washington team he had graduated or declared to the draft. Aside from Haynes… everyone on the 23 team that anyone wanted left or graduated. You can tell me that it is his job to keep them all you want to, but Saban was going to lose alot of the same people and it was a big factor of him retiring.

Okay let’s get to DeBoer’s season 1… plays 4 ranked teams goes 3-1 vs them. Loses on the road to Vandy, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Oklahoma maybe the only true bad loss out of all of them.

Verdict of 24: Cignetti played an insanely easy schedule at a place with zero expectations. He brought a staff that largely has been with him since Elon and JMU. He brought a good chunk of his JMU team with him too. DeBoer played against unquestionably a harder schedule and didn’t really get to enjoy having the players he had last year on the roster like Cignetti did.

Verdict on 25: I’m just gonna say it without going in depth. Indiana played a far weaker schedule and upgraded in key positions in the portal. Bama struck out and had mixed returns at best with the new OC.

Overall the big difference with Cignetti and DeBoer is that Cignetti has his guys and his team from the past 4-5 years in an environment that allows him to run it his way. At Alabama I guarantee you he wouldn’t have been afforded this luxury coming from JMU. The expectation would be “sign these guys that we have been paying our money to come here” and less of “Coach wants us to pay for this little known oline guy from Virginia and this quarterback that played at Cal”.

Is Cignetti a better coach than DeBoer… Now probably. A year ago probably not. 2 years ago definitely not? Things change and can change back just as quick. Just look at Belichick

You make a key point that Cignetti brought almost his entire staff from JMU. That’s same staff was also with him at D2 IU of Pennsylvania and Elon.

But when you say that Cignetti brought “basically his whole team with him” from JMU? That’s a major stretch.

He brought 12 players. Two of them (Kidwell, Stephens) got hurt before the 2024 season and never played at IU. One (Carpenter) was a JMU walk-on from when JMU was an FCS team. One was Kaelon Black, who hadn’t got carries at JMU and was buried his first year at IU. One (Tucker) was a freshman who never played at JMU.

That leaves Fisher, a zero star; Sarratt, who transferred to JMU from D3; and five other key JMU players who were two star or less out of high school. Only two of those five are on the 2025 IU team.

And technically, IU played then-number 25 Nebraska. Beat them 56-7. Also played both teams from the prior national championship game; beat them both. Only two losses were road games at OSU and ND.

 

[BamaInBham]

You guys are hilarious. Everyone defending CKD keeps moving the goalpost around. Don’t compare him to established coaches, don’t compare him to guys that use the portal and NIL better, don’t compare him to the Saban standard that just whipped our butts, don’t compare him to this and that.

Who can we compare him too? Only coaches that make him look good?

I’m done. I’ve said my peace. Season is over. It’s basketball season now, MLB is right around the corner.

I’m an Alabama fan, not a CKD fan. He’s had 2 years to win me over but my expectations are even lower now.

Well, he’s:
2-1 vs Kirby
2-0 vs Sarkisian
3-0 vs Lanning
2-0 vs Riley
Those are some established coaches.
He’s also 2-0 vs LSU and 2-0 vs AU.

We’ve heard 57 times how he’s failed, not really interested in the 58th time.

Yes, he’s flawed but what should Alabama do? They’d be idiots to fire him this year or next unless there is a collapse which does not appear likely. IMO, barring collapse, he should get 5 years. Even then unless there is someone who is clearly suitable or with undeniable promise Alabama should then bide it’s time as the football coaching community favorably views the understanding Alabama fan base.

There is simply no quick fix or clear savior who will ride to the rescue. Money and administrative wisdom are the key. Oh, that Coach Moore was around with his coaching id savvy, though Byrne has done well thus far on the big hires.

The advantages of the South, where most of the talent is, and of Alabama, unparalleled tradition, have almost disappeared or at least been greatly diminished. UGA hasn’t won a playoff game since 2022; with 5 teams in the CFP, the SEC hasn’t won one game vs a non-SEC, P4 team this year. To be fair, they’ve only played 2 and scored a total of 6 points. It may not be as bad as this year, but the SEC’s dominance has been gone for 3 or 4 years to likely never return. They are 1-6 vs P4 non-SEC teams the last 3 years in the playoffs. QB dominant, OM is their last hope this year.

 

[Rocky Mtn Bob]

You make a key point that Cignetti ....

You're a funny contributor. Your 1st 20 posts all you did was troll we Bama fans.

Post 21 ... you almost read like you're down-playing IU.

Curious.

 

[M Squires]

You're a funny contributor. Your 1st 20 posts all you did was troll we Bama fans.

Post 21 ... you almost read like you're down-playing IU.

Curious.

It’s simple- I’m a college football fan that is citing facts. Opinions are great for message board fodder, but that’s not what I have been slinging. Evidence and provably true information for me and from me.