Perhaps the greatest college coaching performance of all time

Sheriff Coffee said:
That fourth down call, the QB draw, was an incredible call.
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That was a great call, but it was the QB more than the coaching. The coaching genius was realizing what Mendoza could be in the right setting. Indiana had a very good QB last year in Kurtis Rourke, but he folded a bit under pressure. Mendoza seems to play better after being lit up a few times. There were some other good adds in the off-season, but Mendoza was the key.
 
Yinz are missing the biggest difference here. Cignetti recruited kids with heart, determination, dedication to the team.

He wasn’t blinded by 40 yd times. Vertical leaps. Squat numbers. Doubt if they spend much time on social media trying to monetize their spot on the team.

True, much of it was by necessity since Indiana wasn’t going to get five stars across the board. I don’t know if they had any🤷🏽‍♀️

But he has an amazing ability to find winners. Kids that don’t stand out at all star football camps doing drills. Kids that couldn’t even afford to go to 5-6 camps to highlight themselves.

He just finds football players.

Then he makes them into a team instead of a group of individuals playing at the same time.

A true throw back. Vince Lombard. Chuck Noll. Bear Bryant. Joe Paterno.
 
IANit said:
That was a great call, but it was the QB more than the coaching. The coaching genius was realizing what Mendoza could be in the right setting. Indiana had a very good QB last year in Kurtis Rourke, but he folded a bit under pressure. Mendoza seems to play better after being lit up a few times. There were some other good adds in the off-season, but Mendoza was the key.
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I agree. But to your point, there was a pretty big discrepancy between Cigs account and Mendoza's. In the post on-field interview, Cig said that they Miami came out in a defense that they could beat with a play that they had put in just this week. He then kind of mumbled that it was the same play but blocking differently based on Miami's use and personnel in that defense. So they called timeout, took out the FG team and ran that play. Later, at the post game interview, Mendoza kind of agreed but said that Miami can out in a different defense, half man/half zone. He had a pass run option. And he said that he decided to bet on himself and run the play anyway. Of course, they had just called timeout so they couldn't call another and time was running down which disallowed an audible.

But to your major point, Mendoza has played really great when it was on the line. That run is, perhaps, the best QB run I've ever seen (given he's not a running QB, Miami had cheap shotted him several times, and that play was probably the ballgame). Same is true of crunch time against us, Ill, and tOSU.
 
The Spin Meister said:
Yinz are missing the biggest difference here. Cignetti recruited kids with heart, determination, dedication to the team.

He wasn’t blinded by 40 yd times. Vertical leaps. Squat numbers. Doubt if they spend much time on social media trying to monetize their spot on the team.

True, much of it was by necessity since Indiana wasn’t going to get five stars across the board. I don’t know if they had any🤷🏽‍♀️

But he has an amazing ability to find winners. Kids that don’t stand out at all star football camps doing drills. Kids that couldn’t even afford to go to 5-6 camps to highlight themselves.

He just finds football players.

Then he makes them into a team instead of a group of individuals playing at the same time.

A true throw back. Vince Lombard. Chuck Noll. Bear Bryant. Joe Paterno.
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I agree and I disagree.

Up until a few years ago, coaches had to go on what a kid did when he was 16 or 17 years old. They had to map what that kid would be like at age 22 or 23. Cigs is taking kids that are 21 or 22 and have played football at a good program. Mendoza=Cal, O'Roarke=OU, several players from JMU/Kent etc.

So how do you judge a 17 year old? You take great athletes and try to develop them into having heart, determination and dedication to the team.

So I agree with you but its a whole new world. Cigs just recognized it faster and stronger than anyone else. It was probably out of necessity. The top teams were getting those good kids and had commitments (Allar, for example). But the gloves are off now. This is the way teams will be built for major programs moving forward. You'll have a couple of Malachi Tony's or Jeremiah Smiths. You'll probably get a lot more Will Howards, Mendozas and Carson Becks.

BTW, did you catch the conversation about their WR Charlie Becker? He had a shot at winning the MVP on the great catches he made at critical times. He's also the kid that beat us. They said he's the fastest kid on the team and is 6-4, 204. He had 7 total catches this year until they played us. He had seven catches for 118 yards against us (he won the game for them). He then had
5 against Wisconsin for 108 yards, 21 YPC
1 against Purdue (didn't play much in the blowout)
6 against tOSU for 126 yards, 21 YPC
2 against Alabama for 51 yards 25 YPC
2 against Oregon for 48 yards 24 YPC
4 against Miami for 65 yards, 16 YPC
 
A number of years ago, my son was playing DE on a HS FB team that played a west coast style offense and a 4-3 defense. He was told to crash in rather than contain because the LBs would take care of the edge. The conference was small school and the LBs didn't read plays well, were slow, and didn't contain. It was insane to watch teams constantly fail by trying to force a popular or "modern" system when an old school I-formation and a 5-2 with contain would have been the most effective schemes.
Moral of the story: Select the players, schemes, and plays that are the most effective.
 
The Spin Meister said:
Yinz are missing the biggest difference here. Cignetti recruited kids with heart, determination, dedication to the team.

He wasn’t blinded by 40 yd times. Vertical leaps. Squat numbers. Doubt if they spend much time on social media trying to monetize their spot on the team.

True, much of it was by necessity since Indiana wasn’t going to get five stars across the board. I don’t know if they had any🤷🏽‍♀️

But he has an amazing ability to find winners. Kids that don’t stand out at all star football camps doing drills. Kids that couldn’t even afford to go to 5-6 camps to highlight themselves.

He just finds football players.

Then he makes them into a team instead of a group of individuals playing at the same time.

A true throw back. Vince Lombard. Chuck Noll. Bear Bryant. Joe Paterno.
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I feel like Matt Campbell fits that mold, but without Cignetti's overt swagger. Just quiet confidence. I am optimistic that we found the right kind of coach for today's environment.
 
sr108 said:
It’s more than just the QB, It’s older players with experience, beating younger 4 and 5 star players, at least in the case of Indiana.
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Kind of makes you wonder what really happened to PSU this year because we had a very experienced team and QB.
 
sr108 said:
Kind of makes you wonder what really happened to PSU this year because we had a very experienced team and QB.
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There is a poster on X that said he's got the inside info after getting an exclusive interview with a player. Says he's going to drop it Wednesday night. We'll see.

But from what I've heard, CJF got crazy pedantic. Like three walk throughs on game day. Players scared to make a mistake. Players thinking instead of doing. But I'd like to hear more about the interplay between position coaches and coordinators. Coordinators and CJF. It will come out sooner or later.
 
IANit said:
That was a great call, but it was the QB more than the coaching. The coaching genius was realizing what Mendoza could be in the right setting. Indiana had a very good QB last year in Kurtis Rourke, but he folded a bit under pressure. Mendoza seems to play better after being lit up a few times. There were some other good adds in the off-season, but Mendoza was the key.
Click to expand...
Yes, Mendoza did a great job on that run. He's a load when he runs and breaks tackles. But if Miami would have had one of their talented DE's meet him in that hole he ran through we'd just as easily be talking about the Miami D that won the game for them and questioning why Cignettin was being overly aggressive with that call.....

Mendoza is clearly the most accurate passer in college football this season and I'd love to see him in a Steelers uniform, but any NFL team would be beyond stupid to trade away their #1 pick.

The play early in the game where Mendoza handed the ball off but continued with the fake as if he had it and then got destroyed by the Miami DB should be an intro to the type of hits he needs to avoid in the NFL. His future NFL team needs to keep him healthy so he can throw the football....
 
GregInPitt said:
Yes, Mendoza did a great job on that run. He's a load when he runs and breaks tackles. But if Miami would have had one of their talented DE's meet him in that hole he ran through we'd just as easily be talking about the Miami D that won the game for them and questioning why Cignettin was being overly aggressive with that call.....

Mendoza is clearly the most accurate passer in college football this season and I'd love to see him in a Steelers uniform, but any NFL team would be beyond stupid to trade away their #1 pick.

The play early in the game where Mendoza handed the ball off but continued with the fake as if he had it and then got destroyed by the Miami DB should be an intro to the type of hits he needs to avoid in the NFL. His future NFL team needs to keep him healthy so he can throw the football....
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Agreed. Cig said they put this play in, at least the blocking, last week. When they got to 4th and 5, Miami ran out this defense and Cig called timeout to take advantage of it. They knew the DEs would go wide and Mendoza would have a hole through the DL. Miami basically has no linebacker. They brought a single saftey in the middle about five yards deep. The left tackle comes out to block him but he gets inside causing Mendoza to have to cut to his right. Once free, Mendoza pretty much has the first down and gets hammered at the 7, about a yard inside the first down marker. But he keeps his balance and has a few yards before getting hit again as he dives into the endzone.

The only way that play doesn't get the first down is if the Indy OL can't make the block on the guy at Safety. He does, but Mendoza has to read it and make a great cut, before making the first down,.

 
Sheriff Coffee said:
There is a poster on X that said he's got the inside info after getting an exclusive interview with a player. Says he's going to drop it Wednesday night. We'll see.

But from what I've heard, CJF got crazy pedantic. Like three walk throughs on game day. Players scared to make a mistake. Players thinking instead of doing. But I'd like to hear more about the interplay between position coaches and coordinators. Coordinators and CJF. It will come out sooner or later.
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Players play like their head coach coaches. If the head coach puckers, so will the team.
 
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