The Deuce: the entire game only featured 18 possessions

that is helping create parity more than anything.

the B1G championship game in 2015, featuring MSU and Iowa in an absolute rock fight including a 22 play possession by MSU in the 4th quarter had 22 possessions in it.

the last time OSU won a B1G championship game before the clock rules changed was in 2020 and featured 24 possessions. After 18 possessions the score in that game was only 13-10 Ohio State. They went on to win by 12 points.

the clock rules are the explanation for the parity. it's more important than NIL or the transfer portal.

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Specifically about their d-line. Did they just get ridiculously lucky with diamonds in the rough? Did they do really well on the transfer market? Maybe OSU actually isnt that great?

Good coaching can explain a lot of their success, but they also passed the eye test—their on field talent on the D-line looked top tier, which is not something you almost ever see at a non-blue blood program.

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We saw it this year with our own fans, where Bert’s rebuild that has led to Illinois winning 8+ regular season games in 3 of the last 4 seasons was being viewed in comparison to what Indiana is doing.

And every new coach at a P5 job is going to have a portion of their fanbase thinking that what Cignetti did will be possible for them again.

It’s never going to happen again. Not for us, not for any other program. And as great as Cignetti clearly is, no coach is this good. Indiana will remain way better than they have any right to be as long as there, but I have to believe that this was a once in a million roster from an evaluation/development standpoint too. A team full of 3 star or below players should never be able to compete athletically and in the trenches with Ohio State and Oregon like they did this year. It defies all logic.