Of all the teams that have 1 loss, ND's was to the highest ranked opponent. How come that is never taken into account? And while we're at it, how about the fact we played the majority of games against teams that had two weeks to prepare and heal? Ask any coach and he'll tell you that's a big advantage.
That's all true, but it's also true that the second half of our schedule was against teams that were bad and several of those teams didn't have their starting QB. I don't want to take anything away from the team, they got better as the year went on after that loss to Cincy. But not against good teams. Truthfully, nobody but ND fans care about other teams having an extra week to prepare for us, certainly isn't a metric the committee will look at and all those teams, except Cincy, lost to us anyway.
"That's all true, but it's also true that the second half of our schedule was against teams that were bad and several of those teams didn't have their starting QB" So why isn't that held against teams like Alabama that just beat a bad team that had a backup QB playing on 1 leg?
Let me start.by saying that I don't think that Alabama is good enough this year to be in the playoffs and they will only be in the playoffs if they beat the number one team in the country. Gipper, you cited one game against our perennial rival, but we also played 3 teams in the top 25 and beat 2 of those. So if we make it, we will have played 4 teams in the top 25 and beaten 3 of them including no. 9 and no. 1. How many top 25 teams has Notre Dame played? How many have they beaten? I really try to be objective in my comments, I'm not.taking shots at ND.
Somehow 4 loss teams if they play Alabama remain in the top 25 like aTm. and Ark. ranked 25. Miami was 14 and was mediocre, Fla. was ranked 11th when you played them (and won by 2) and they were terrible. Honestly at this point Old Miss. is the only quality opponent you've played. ND has played 12 FBS opponents Ala. 11. And as far as "rivals" are concerned, I guarantee you that EVERY team ND plays is up for the game and most had 2 weeks to prepare.
I don't think, personally, that Auburn was a "bad" team in the same sense as Ga.Tech and Stanford were bad teams. But I think Alabama gets some leeway for their record of 6 Nat'l Titles and except for his first year Saban has put out a team that was in the Nat'l title conversation every year. I think that if ND and Alabama played this weekend Alabama would be favored by more than a touchdown. It's just a year that pretty much everybody on our schedule had worse years than expected. Wisconsin was a train wreck when we played them, they were supposed to be a team that won 10 games, USC was a pre-season top 25 team, UNC was a pre-season top 10 team, Toledo was supposed to be the best team in the MAC 21 starters returning. Even Va.Tech was supposed to be a trap game, you know it was on the road at night in Lane Stadium. A lot of people thought that UVA with their QB would be a huge challenge for the Irish. Well none of that came to be, just Cincinnati lived up to expectation. Now do I think we are as deserving as Oklahoma State, yes. Do I think we are as deserving as a 2 loss Alabama, yes. This season to me has been a great season, if we don't end up in the CFP I won't spend a lot of time crying that we were cheated. Hopefully we have a good bowl and get a win and finish 12-1. Before the season if you'd have asked me my expectation for the season, it would have been 10-2. Lose to one of Wisconsin or USC and then maybe Cincy or some other team. After the FSU and Toledo games I would have tempered that to 8-4 or best 9-3. We could have just as easily started 0-2.
Really, I want to know why 8-4 Purdue isn't as highly ranked as Ark. or aTm. Purdue knocked off teams ranked 2 and 3 when they played them and yet they get no love while other 4 time losers are ranked.
There's a feeling that we shoulda beat Minnesota...ran up 500 yds of offense (giving up quite a bit less) and lost 20-13. If we had won we would be playing in Indy this Saturday. In the Sagarin computer rankings (of course they aren't perfect but it's all algorithm and no bias) aTm is ranked 13th, Purdue 23rd, and Tennessee 33rd.
Terry, if Alabama loses.to Georgia,.they should NOT be.in the.playoffs. I have.been adamant about.that for years.
I think that's a good question, 2 of their losses were to top 10 teams in ND who really on that day the Irish were lucky to come away with the win and Ohio State. They lost to a resurgent Wisconsin and to a good Minnesota team. But they are only a couple of slots behind those 2 teams. Ark is #23 and A&M is #24, Purdue is #30 based on the "others receiving votes" Wisc and Minn also just ahead of them. I think voters favor SEC West Teams over Big 10 West when they fill out their ballots.
"Sagarin doesn't agree with Gipper's opinion so it is.invalid also" Sagarin ranks Purdue in the top 25 but I guess you want to invalidate their rankings. If they were it could be said that ND played 3 top 25 teams and beat 2 of them.
No I don't have a problem with any of the rankings. There are.some differences in all of them. I'm not the one complaining about them. Of course the CFP committee ranking this Sub day is the only one that matters.
I find it interesting that a month or so ago if you read the ND Boards most of the talk was they were hoping that we'd not make the CFP and get beat again, by Georgia this time. Nobody wanted us to lose inorder to not make the CFP they just wanted to not make it. The conventional wisdom was that we had a good chance of winning a New Years 6 bowl and finishing on the up beat. Now the tenor is the committee is going to screw us over because we aren't in a conference. Most feel like gipper, that we aren't being treated fairly.
I should just keep my mouth shut but here goes. I agree with KP that Bama does not belong in the playoffs except if they beat Georgia. If Cincinnati loses to Houston they don't belong either. My logic is that if ND plays them now they win by two TDs and they have not looked all that dominant coming down the stretch. What if Georgia gets smoked by Bama? Do they stay in the top 4? Michigan cannot afford any slip ups and they are a really good team. ND is on the outside looking in but they finished as strong as anyone in the country and just need someone to slip up. I have nothing but respect for Bama and Georgia but I think the SEC is not as strong each year as advertised and that the entire conference is elevated by association to the big dogs. A&M is close. Before this next round of games, the top four teams by my line of sight are Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma State.
This year is a great example of why an expanded playoff is needed even if it kills the traditional bowl season. Granted expanding to 12 doesn't mean there will be no griping that they were screwed by not being included. But we'd have 12 teams that are good teams and as always 3 or 4 really good teams. Just looking at the current AP rankings we'd have 8 teams who are locks and 9,10, 11 and 12 would be where people would have some griping over who deserves those slots. Even with 64 teams in the Mens basketball tourney they eventually expanded to 68 to quiet down those schools who always felt the committee screwed them.
Pete Sampson reporting that Kelly has offered Marcus Freeman the DCoord job at LSU and will make him the highest paid Coordinator in College Football. Bastard!
How can we go to a bowl game, esp a NY6 game with basically no coaching staff if the HC and both Coordinators are gone.