Indiana

Notre Dame Can NOT Lose to Indiana, Of All Teams

Published

1 year ago

December 10, 2024

Notre Dame Can NOT Lose to Indiana, Of All Teams

Indiana cannot be allowed to win in Notre Dame Stadium

Make no mistake about it, Notre Dame’s first-round opponent being Indiana has added some narratives and wrinkles to the discussion that wouldn’t exist if the Irish had been matched up with almost any other team.

This game brings state bragging rites into play, but that isn’t the biggest narrative.

If Indiana wins this game, it’ll be the biggest win in program history … and it’ll be in Notre Dame Stadium.

Does this narrative sound familiar? It should, because it has already happened once this year thanks to NIU’s upset win over the Irish.

As great as this year has been, and as amazing as the team has been, lose this and get knocked out of the CFP right away and no, the season isn’t a success. Double that if you throw in the embarrassment agianst Northern Illinois. Triple that if the Irish get knocked out be Indiana in the biggest win in school history.

The bragging rights owned by That Team Down South would be brutal.

This is a must-win in every sense of the word, practically and perceptually for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame v Indiana in the first ever #CFBPlayoff is an all-time historic moment for football in the great state of Indiana.
I’d sell my house to be inside Notre Dame stadium on December 20th 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uV1AtLg3dI
— Drue Tranquill (@DTranquill) December 8, 2024
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This Notre Dame team needs to be different

Notre Dame has failed in this kind of moment consistently for 30 years. What will it take to change the Irish’s fortunes? The right group of players led by the right head coach and staff. This team feels like that team. This coach feels like that coach. But Notre Dame must prove it on the field.

To their credit, the Irish have thrived under pressure this season which should encourage every Irish fan heading into this game.

From the Texas A&M game, to the required 10-game winning streak to lock in a hosting CFP spot post-NIU, this team has operated as if pressure has no effect on their performance.

A true compliment to all involved in the operation. Will this attitude carry over into CFP play?

For more Irish news & notes follow John on Twitter @alwaysirishINC, Always Irish on Youtube and or your preferred audio podcast provider.

Trust Notre Dame’s Staff to Prepare the Team for the CFP Grind

Notre Dame & Indiana Set to Make College Football History in the 2024 Playoff

Notre Dame’s Official CFP Bracket Released: Positives & Negative

LIVE REACTION: Indiana at Notre Dame to Open 2024 College Football Playoff

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Indiana

Slim chances for a white Christmas in Lafayette area and in Indiana

Published

4 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Slim chances for a white Christmas in Lafayette area and in Indiana

Indiana is unlikely to have a white Christmas because of forecasted warmer-than-normal temperatures.
Temperatures on Christmas Day are expected to be in the 40s or 50s, possibly reaching the 60s.
The normal high temperature for the Lafayette area this time of year is 36 degrees.

LAFAYETTE, IN — Hopes for a white Christmas are fading quickly in Indiana.

“I know earlier in the month we were thinking we might have a higher chance of a white Christmas,” National Weather Service meteorologist Cody Moore said, “but unfortunately, I have some bad news for you. A lot of long-range guidance has been consistent showing a pattern on Christmas Day featuring much warmer than normal temperatures for the region and the chance for some rainfall.

“It does look like we’ll be above average, temperatures at least in the 40s, maybe 50s,” Moore said on Wednesday, just three days after subzero temperatures pummeled the area.

With still eight days until Christmas, the forecasts closer to Dec. 25 might bump the expected high temps up even into the 60s, Moore said.

Normal temperatures this time of year for Lafayette are 36 for a high and 22 for a low.

“It looks like you might be able to keep your heavy winter jackets in the closet for now,” Moore said.

How will a Christmas with temperatures in the 40s, 50s or even 60s compare to Christmases past?

In 1982, Lafayette’s record-warm Christmas was 64 degrees. Its record cold temperature was 12 below zero in 2000.

So now that the dreams of a white Christmas appear dashed, what about January or February?

The Climate Prediction Center published a three-month forecast in November, and an update is expected in the next couple of days.

But last month, center’s forecast for January, February and March was for Hoosiers to have an equal chance of above and/or below average temperatures.

“We’ll see how that translates with the storm track,” Moore said.

The Climate Prediction Center forecasts warmer than normal temperatures in the southern United States and below normal temperatures in the Northern Plains.

“That puts the storm track right through Indiana, which makes sense because the Climate Prediction Center has Indiana as a bullseye for a pattern favoring above-normal precipitation,” Moore said. Temperatures will decide whether that precipitation falls as rain or snow — or ice or freezing rain.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

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Indiana

Freshmen from Indiana show potential in UConn-Butler game: ‘Heck of a player’

Published

16 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Freshmen from Indiana show potential in UConn-Butler game: ‘Heck of a player’

Former UConn forward, NBC Sports broadcaster Donny Marshall knows a thing or two about talented UConn guards.

The former Husky played for legendary coach Jim Calhoun and was teammates with the fifth pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, 10-time NBA All-Star Ray Allen. Watching UConn play against Butler on Tuesday night, Marshall said he sees a lot of Allen in reigning Indiana Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins.

Mullins made the second start of his career against the Bulldogs. The former Greenfield-Central star missed UConn’s first six games of the regular season with an injury, but the 6-foot-6 guard is quickly coming into his own and showing why he’s a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Against Butler, Mullins showed off his sweet jump shot, going 2 for 5 from 3-point range. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.

“He’s a scorer,” Butler coach Thad Matta said of Mullins. “He’s got a scorer’s mentality. He gets his shot off quick. They move him around and create some angles for him. Obviously, he’s a heck of a player.”

Mullins did most of his damage in the first half, scoring eight of his 12 points before halftime. The former five-star recruit was the highest-ranked player in UConn’s 2025 class. Butler’s top-ranked recruit, Azavier “Stink” Robinson isn’t the NBA prospect Mullins is, but he held his own after a shaky start to the game.

Robinson has been thrust into the starting lineup with starter Jalen Jackson out for the season with an ankle injury. Robinson looked out of sorts at times in the first half, going scoreless with two assists and a turnover. In the second half, Matta moved him off the ball, giving him catch-and-shoot looks, and opportunities to drive to the basket without worrying about running the offense.

The former Lawrence North star responded with one of the better halves of his career, scoring 10 points on 3 for 6 shooting, including 2 for 5 from 3 to go along with two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover.

Facing a veteran team like UConn, nothing comes easy. UConn’s guards harass ball handlers and getting into an offensive set is not easy. This time last year, Robinson was still in high school and, on most nights, the most athletic player on the court. Playing a UConn team where the goal is a national championship, Robinson was forced to grow, and he did not back down from the challenge in the second half.

“He’s coming along,” Matta said of Robinson. “That’s the first Big East road game of his career against maybe the best team in the country. It tells you how tough he is. He’s resilient. He keeps going.”

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Indiana

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Curt Cignetti has been named The Associated Press coach of the year in college football for the second consecutive season. He is the first coach to win the award back-to-back since it was first presented in 1998. Cignetti has led Indiana to unprecedented success, with a 24-2 record over two seasons. The Hoosiers are 13-0 this year, Big Ten champions for the first time since 1967, and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Cignetti received 47 first-place votes. Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea received two each, and Virginia’s Tony Elliott got one.

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