TCY, Indiana Hoosiers!
 

Indiana, our Indiana, Indiana, we’re all for you!
We will fight for, the Cream and Crimson,
For the Glory of old IU!

Never daunted, we shall not falter,
In the battle, we’re tried but true!
Indiana, our Indiana, Indiana, we’re all for you!

Ok, so this is the first Dynasty I’ve put together in almost 20 years… certainly the first time on this iteration of the board (as opposed to the previous ones in the good old days).. Always my favorite of the Solecismic games, I’ll be taking over my alma mater Indiana University, in the always tough Big10 (especially with the pro-Michigan bias, lol)
I’ll be placing the Sol8 in Texas, cause lord knows they need more recruits. I’ll be using the traditional Bowl System, as I’ve never been a fan of the Playoff System.

I’ll be very hands off the initial year, focusing only on recruiting. I will set my primary formations to what I foresee long-term (Single Back, 4-3). As they’re not my players, I’ll be focusing on doing what I want to do roster-wise… As it’s been a LONG time since I’ve played, I’ll not be imposing any house rules at this time, other than one contact per recruit per week. If this goes well, then perhaps I’ll adjust as we go. I recruit regionally almost exclusively, starting with the nationally ranked recruits in Indiana, then working Ohio, Illinois, and Kentucky. Finally, Michigan, Tennessee, and Missouri will be other interest areas. If lots of players fall out, I’ll generally scour for under-recruited players nationally after Week9.

Give me some time to work out the kinks as I find my sea legs on this thing... but please let me know if I lay out a rhythm that is particularly effective or ineffective.

2004

Recruiting preliminary target list (16):
QB, RB, WR, TE, C, G, T, DE, DE, DT, DT, ILB, OLB, CB, S,

Week1:

Indiana looks to have a great set of recruits this year with lots of position distribution. We have Week1 offers out to several Indiana recruits: T, C, ILB, OLB, DE, DT, and a S. Ohio has some RB and DE in their top 1000 recruits which should match well with what we’re trying to do in Indiana. I really like doubling up on high schools for storyline purposes, so I expect we’ll emphasize that focus when the opportunity presents itself.

Week2:

We expand a few more scholarship offers (including a couple of RBs in OH). I like to have an extra scholarship offer out for each position (i.e. 2 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, etc.) to be prepared for being recruited over.
Indiana opens the Chas in Cinti era with a 42-13 win at home over Central Michigan. Redshirt Jr, Ralph Coffey opens with 150 yards rushing. An 80+ yard kick return and 90+ yard interception return certainly artificially inflated the score. The roster is very poor, and it wouldn’t surprise me if 50-60% of the incoming class gets in the two deep (and I’m very aggressive with redshirts).

Week3:

A big game at Oregon highlights the schedule this week. But before we get to the game, recruiting awaits. We have 2 early visitors which is something I’m not used to seeing this early in a career. Lonnie Shannon, a DE from Fort Wayne Northrup HS (655 in Nation) and Erik Morton, a DT from Indianapolis North Central HS (566) are eager to get on campus.
Indiana falls to Oregon, 59-7. Unfortunately, I think this is a far more representative result to what we expect to see this year.

Week4:

More visitors have joined the ranks. Bryant Legins, a C from Muncie Southside (270); Melvin Vance, a G from Hamilton SE HS in Fishers, IN (951); and Vincent Shepherd, an OLB from Indianapolis Lawrence Central HS have all committed to an official visit with our Hoosiers.

Indiana faces Kentucky in a trophy game. The Bourbon Barrel goes to the winner. IRL, the Kentucky series fell off the schedule in Football much like it did in Basketball. Albeit so both teams had a bit more flexibility in scheduling to get to bowl eligibility. Indiana still has the Bourbon Barrel in the trophy case having won the last game in the series.

In this world, the Wildcats knock off the visiting Hoosiers, 31-6. The season is beginning to spiral as the Hoosier fans start to realize the extent of the rebuild in store.

Week5:

A couple more visitors are touring campus. Patrick Stegall, a DT from Southport HS in Indianapolis (974) and Preston Shepherd, a T from Madison Consolidated HS in Madison, IN (99).

We host Michigan State this week and are 5 point underdogs at home. I expect an absolute shellacking.
Michigan State manhandled our Hoosiers, 42-14.

We have our first recruit!

DT Erik Morton joins the squad for 2005. Our scout rates him at 59 (I see him a bit better). Indianapolis North Central HS has a 39 athletic prep, and 83 academic prep. A great addition, and first recruit for the Chas era.

NOTE: Any hints on adding pictures/tables?

Nice to see UK on the schedule! Too bad you got crushed. But realistic for IU football. I will be following along. GO HOOSIERS!

I'm hoping to get this a little more frequent... I must be one of the few that is still just slammed with work... Hopefully a few updates per day...

I believe you use {code}{/code} for tables, with ] and [ replacing } and {. And use the Courier or Courier New font to get things to line up.

Indiana so tough, as a mediocre program in a tough conference... as I recall, it's hard to get the wins that can help build up prestige.

Good luck!

Thanks, Kodos... expect to start getting this ramped back up tomorrow/Saturday..

@Quik, don't I know it... as a 30 year season ticket holder IRL, I call it "character building"