Notre Dame

[RollTide72]

Ivan Maisel's (From ESPN.com) take on the Irish:

Notre Dame is an inkblot and project on it what you will. The Irish finished 10-2, which is great. They played an easy schedule, which means they're phonies. They appear headed for a BCS bowl for the second consecutive year, which is great. They haven't beaten anyone they shouldn't have beaten in Charlie Weis' two seasons, which is not good. Two years in, Weis has turned around a program that appeared mired in mediocrity. Two years in, an athletic gap between the Notre Dames and the USC/Michigans of the world remains wide. We could go on like this all day.

:142smilie :toast: :iagree:

 

[RollTide72]

and this from Sports Illustrated...

and this from Sports Illustrated...

Two losses against BCS-bound opponents by 26 points (Michigan) and 20 points (USC), yet Notre Dame is a lock to earn a spot in one of the game's most lucrative bowls. Yeah, that seems right, doesn't it? Of the top 12 teams in the latest BCS rankings, it's the Irish who are the least deserving of a bid (Say what you want about Boise State, but the Broncos beat everyone on their schedule). Look at the way Notre Dame performed in the losses to the Wolverines and Trojans and tell me it's still one of the best teams in the country. Its only serious wins came against Georgia Tech and Penn State, while they had to comeback and beat sub par Michigan State and UCLA (who was without its starting QB) But come Jan. 3 the Irish (who are 10th in the latest BCS standings) will likely be in the Sugar Bowl vs. the SEC champ while teams like Wisconsin (7th) and Auburn (11th) will be shut out of the showcase bowl games. It's as much an indictment of a system that is won't allow three teams from the same conference a BCS invitation, a system that ought to be retooled to give the best 12 teams a shot, period, not the best teams that meet certain qualifiers. This year it means that the Badgers and Tigers are automatically left out while Ohio State and Michigan takes the Big Ten bids, while the SEC champ (Arkansas or Florida) and likely LSU take its invites. It also means the Irish will be able to reap the benefits of being one of the best teams in the country because of a 10-2 mark and a system that allows them to play in a top-teir bowl, even if with two blowout losses in their biggest games, they have shown they don't belong.

 

[CWood97]

The good news for all of college football is that ND won't be sniffing the BCS for at least 2 years after this one.

God I hope the Rose committee is smart enough to take LSU against UM. Does anyone really want to see ND get their ass kicked in another bowl game? Put them against GT or Wake so it'll at the very least be competitive.

 

[Roger Baltrey]

ND is a Joke! And so far these bowl matchups sucks just like the BCS system. ND-Michigan in the Rose Bowl? You have to be kidding. Wake Forest??? Best bowls will be between the 24th and 30th. :mj07:

 

[RollTide72]

and this from College Football News

and this from College Football News

Notre Dame was overrated to start the season, it?s overrated going into the BCS, it was overrated last year. This is a team that got by over the last two seasons on a near-miss in a classic loss to USC. In other words, it?s Cal.

Michigan whacked the Irish 47-21 in South Bend. Fine, so the Irish beat Georgia Tech, who?ll probably win the ACC title, but the next best win this year was against, um, uh, Navy? UCLA? Remember that it took a miracle meltdown to beat the Bruins as well as Michigan State. This team has no secondary, no pass protection, and got by on bombing away and hoping for the best.

 

[Marra]

And now we have to hear about this Claussen kid for four freakin years...going to make me sick. How much better is he going to be than Quinn? Not much, I presume. Unless he can play DB as well.

 

[vivalas]

Not sure why they are overrated when they are rated 10th? So they are not in the class of USC, OSU and UM but who is? Let's look at the list at who ND might keep out of a BCS game

Arkansas: Blown out against USC, lost to LSU, quality win against Auburn

Wisconsin: Lost to UM, no quality win, maybe Iowa

Auburn: Blown out by Georgia should have sealed their fate

Nd: Blown out by UM and USC , beat G Tech and maybe Penn St.

Seems like they are placed right where they should be. I don't see any of the above teams hanging with OSU, USC, UM in a featured game. This isn't ND bias. The only team I think that deserves it possibly more than ND that could get shutout is Louisville.

 

[babyjack]

If ND is that bad.....why do the teams that beat them (UM & USC) use it in their arguments as a quality win?

The bottom line is that ND is definitely not as good as Ohio St., USC or UM. They're probably not as good as LSU.

But other than those 4 teams.....no one else is head and shoulders above them. All of the other teams have flaws just like ND.

All of these articles bashing ND are written because they help sell their publications. People want to read about ND. Especially the haters.

How many people would stop and read or click on a link for an article about Wisconsin or Louisville or Boise State being undeserving of a BCS bowl. Very few.

Does ND deserve to go to a BCS Bowl? I'd say not before the four teams I mentioned above and Florida. But after those teams I'd say they deserve to go just as much as anyone else.

Everyone wants to bash their schedule. Well what quality wins do the other potential BCS teams have? How many wins do those teams have against other bowl teams?

ND has defeated 5 teams that have made bowls this year. I know all the haters will say "well almost all teams make a bowl nowadays". So for each team that should be picked ahead of ND in a BCS game, please list the number of teams they've defeated that will be playing in a bowl. If it's more than 5, then I'll agree that they should chosen instead.

 

[Dice34]

Ivan Maisel's (From ESPN.com) take on the Irish:

Notre Dame is an inkblot and project on it what you will. The Irish finished 10-2, which is great. They played an easy schedule, which means they're phonies. They appear headed for a BCS bowl for the second consecutive year, which is great. They haven't beaten anyone they shouldn't have beaten in Charlie Weis' two seasons, which is not good. Two years in, Weis has turned around a program that appeared mired in mediocrity. Two years in, an athletic gap between the Notre Dames and the USC/Michigans of the world remains wide. We could go on like this all day.

:142smilie :toast: :iagree:

:iagree: good post..........I know it easy to play armchair quarterback or coach for that matter, but I'm almost certain Slim charlie weis was shook on the sidelines last saturday nite......some of his play calling had me mystified....and when they flashed the camera on his mug it looked like he was lost.....he hasn't stepped up in the big games