Time to flip the page and move on to Navy. Always a tough game for the Irish, hopefully the lads and the coaches have put the Miami game behind them and have refocused on just beating Navy. Ohio State was faced with the same thing last weekend and boy did they ever refocus. Hopefully that will be our outcome as well. For Navy nothing really changes, it's assignment football and you can't take plays off. You have to stop their FB, or it's going to be a long game. Last year we only had 6 possessions. Because Navy (and all the triple option teams) hold on to the ball so long. You have to force them to punt to have some 3 and outs and you have to score TD's early to get them down a few scores. On Offense we always should have an advantage, we have a better OL, we have a great set of RB's who Kelly said are all ready and in good health, we have a QB who can beat you with his legs. We should be able to run for 400 yds on these guys. emphasis on the the "should". They come to South Bend losing 3 out of their last 4 games. Finally beating SMU last weekend in a scoring fest 43-40. 5 of their 9 opponents have scored 30 or more points against them. Our lone common opponent is Temple who beat them 34-26, we beat Temple 49-16 . This is one of those game where I'd rather win by 1 point and move on than lose of course...but after the Miami game I really would like to see a score sort of like the Temple game. It would be good for the ND fans and the team.
There will be special uniforms for this game. It's been declared the Rockne Heritage Game. These are the helmets. https://twitter.com/NDFBEquipment/status/930497997204541441
Have you been watching the Showtime series on Navy football? It's like the one they did on ND and FSU over the years. It's pretty interesting. As for the helmets, I don't care so long as those helmets are on the winning team.
This game scares me. After that massacre the other night, ND's incentive is gone. We also showed that our O-Line is not unbeatable and we can turn the ball over with the best of them. If Navy can run the ball and not turn it over thay have a chance. It would not shock me if we lost. I think we win an ugly squeaker. I'll be taking Navy and the points.
nd <t>The only way to win this one is to score every time we get the ball and hope that somewhere Navy has a turnover or two. They will suck up all the time in the game if you let them. If you get behind in the score you will have a long, long afternoon.</t>
I'll be really surprised if this game is close. Just get 2 TDs up on these guys and let them run the clock for you.
Irish are #8 in the CFP poll, and if we can beat Navy and Stanford we will finish the regular season in the top 10 at 10-2. That was pretty much the most anybody had hoped for back in August. The Miami loss was so big though that it's made everything seem like the season is a failure. Hopefully the team has moved on and will respond with a big win over Navy. Irish Women won last night at Western Kentucky.
Basketball is doing well, the Irish signed a large class of guys this week. All of them are well thought of by the recruiting services and seem to fit the Brey mold. The Men are off to a good start, have a game with Chicago State this week before heading to Maui where Michigan and LSU will also be in the tournament. Finish up Nov with a game at Michigan State. The women also had a good class and have started well. They were fortunate to get an NCAA exception to allow Neb transfer Jessica Sheppard to play this year. After Brianna Turner was declared out for the year, Sheppard who plays post was a welcome addition, we also have a couple of talented freshman who also play down low. They have a good non-conf schedule with Oregon State, Michigan and UConn coming up. Womens Soccer won it's 1st round match vs IUPUI, but have to go to College Station to face a very good Texas A&M. Mens soccer lost to UVA in the ACC Semi's and are waiting for the draw in the NCAA tournament. Volleyball having a good year but not one of the top ACC clubs, unless they finish really strong and win the ACC tournament likely no post season.
You really should watch the Showtime show on Navy. For SMU, they basically put their best young athlete at QB and he racked up a ton of yards on the ground. Nothing in the air though, and he got hurt in the game. They've had a lot of injuries at QB this year.
I did watch one of the episodes it was on the Memphis game and it was good. I read Mike Franks commentary on the game he said that Navy might go with Lewis who is the least talented of the QB's but the healthiest and save Abbey and Perry ( the guy who you referred to) for Army. Not get them beat up vs the Irish, as they are both nursing injuries that could get worse if they play in this game. https://irishsportsdaily.com/s/4582/frank-commentary
A couple of big recruits for 2018 will be at the Navy game. Tommy Tremble the TE from Georgia and Payton Wilson the LB from North Carolina. Plus there are a ton of 2019 and 2020 guys who will be at the game.
Going to be a cold nasty day for the Navy game. I see the forecast is for a high of 51 and 100% chance of rain. More than a few fans are critical of the stadium not having the traditional grass, but with weather like we are expecting on Sat at least it won't be a mud pit!
Not really much comfort to know we have played an excellent schedule..when we have lost to the 2 best teams we played. But still it confirms that the Irish can have a great schedule and remain as an independent. Something I think most Irish fans desire. No. of Playoff Committee Top 25 Teams Played and CFP Committee Current Rank Notre Dame ------5 [3,7,11,17,19] Auburn-------------4 [2,7,16,20] Penn State--------4 [9,17,23, 24] Georgia------------3 [6,8,16] Ohio State---------3 [4,10, 17] Oklahoma----------3 [9,12,13] Clemson------------2 [6,19] Alabama -----------2 [16, 20] Miami----------------1 8 Wisconsin-----------0 That's right ZERO
play the best, beat the best, be the best should always be the formula at ND. Anything less would be inexcusable. The day that stops being ND, we might as well join a conference and start giving a **** about half the teams in the country.
Corey, I agree with all of that. That is the path that Notre Dame has chosen, but you have to live with the downside as well. You have no conference championship game. For example, Alabama is not ignoring (read "not giving a ****) half of the teams in the country. We try to schedule a top ranked out of conference opponent every year. This year it worked out that FSU was ranked #2 or #3 in the country when we played them. They turned out not to be that good, but we sought them out 2 or 3 years ago. Who could have known. I think we play Miami in 2019 or 2020. Will that be a good matchup? Who knows. Then we will play Tennessee, LSU and Auburn and probaby Florida. All of those teams have won National Championships in the last 10 or 20 years. Not too bad. If we were going to ignore half of teams in the country, I would choose the other half.
Notre Dame <r><QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE> After last day Saturday nothing will surprise me,<br/> <br/> If they play Perry at QB they will be a lot harder to beat. Hey, it’s Navy..They are always a pain in the arse for the Irish!😠</r>
KP, I agree with you, at the same time, not everyone is Alabama and I know you know that At the same time, you can schedule those games knowing full well that if you lose them, that conference membership will save you if it's your only loss especially with the title game. If you drop a few along the way, you still get to play for a conference title. We've seen that in the SEC (in the East especially) in recent years. Hell, this year the Barn might actually win the SEC and they have 2 losses. Conference affiliation might just get them into the playoffs with 2 losses... that's kinda outrageous, but it is what it is. ND plays an all or nothing game. I don't think you'll find any of us apologizing for it, or wanting it any other way. It's a high wire. It's arrogant, but it's the way we want it. Some take the bridge to cross the river, a very small handful of teams walk the tight rope. What doesn't seem to get recognized is that if ND runs the table, we're in and we should be. period.
So if Notre Dame wins out with losses to Miami and Georgia and finishes 10-2 and Auburn beats Georgia (badly) and then beats Alabama (heaven forbid) and then beats Georgia again (SECCG) and finishes 11 -2. Should there be 2 loss teams in the playoffs?
I guess it depends on how the rest of the trees shake out. I mean, right now if I am Wisconsin I'm pissed. I don't know if many people have watched them, but that's a very good team. (I'm jinxing the hell out of them right now). But from an ND fan's perspective, it's rather comical. When ND was on their run, it was all about 'well they don't play in a Power 5 conference.' When talking about UCF, it's the same. Then someone mentions Wisconsin and it becomes 'Well, who have they played?'. Last time I checked, it's a power 5 conference with one division that several talking heads claim is the best and deepest in college football. If the Wiscy runs the table, they should be in before ANY ONE LOSS TEAM. I mean, either this conference thing means so much, or it doesn't. How's life down South anyway?
I'm biased but in general terms I think Notre Dame's coast to coast schedule mitigates the lack of a conference championship game. For many conference teams a plane ride is a treat. At ND it is part of a normal week.