We dropped to 8th in the Coaches Poll

[whywork2]

If I'm bothering you, I'll leave.

I am not bothered by any of the posters who root for other teams. I have no problem with them voicing their belief we have a weak schedule. I respectfully disagree and I think the majority of the Notre Dame fans can answer their claim pretty easily. As long as they don't belabor their point endlessly and aren't strictly trolling I enjoy the input and opinions from non Notre Dame fans too. I'm just one of many posters here on the Irish board so I can only speak for myself.

Just for example I think SocalJim has been a good poster here on the board. He states his beliefs and doesn't look to pick fights and isn't rude. I welcome his posts and enjoy them.

 

[poewelch84]

I'm not going to bother with the whole "haven't played anyone" crap. Because that's all it is. You can do the same things with basically all teams in college football, including Notre Dame. No team is playing top5 teams every week. There are 128 teams in FBS and only about 10-15 of them would be deemed as "quality" among someone trying to make such an argument. It's always easy to poke at teams in college football, so long as you aren't trying to present an alternative - which such discussions rarely do.

On that topic of the SEC West specifically, I'll just say this - any team in college football would flaunt such a schedule big team, especially if they won. And no team would be all that confident about the outcome if they were playing in the SEC West.

But continuing on.

The SEC West teams will eventually drop in the rankings as they play themselves. I don't want to get into a big long post about how rankings work, but the high current rankings is a result of people not knowing exactly how the SEC West is going to play out. Is Alabama going to win out? Who is going to win Ole Miss vs Miss St? Will Auburn win out? These are all big questions that will have the biggest impact on the rankings in all of college football right now.

So yes, in that manner as far as rankings go, some teams are going to be dropping out of the top5 before the season is over. Just like FSU and Notre Dame this past weekend. We knew 1 had to lose, and we knew 1 would drop a little after the game. However, when you get 2 or more teams with an even record, with their losses being against the other top teams, that is when/why you'll end up seeing more than 1 team from a conference like the SEC. And that doesn't just apply to the SEC - Notre Dame is in the exact same boat if it hopes to make the playoffs still while FSU goes as well.

Like I said the SEC West is the best division in College football but A&M and LSU being overrated has helped boost the rest of the West more than it might have. LSU I still think will be a good team the rest of the way at least a top 25 however if you really look at A&M I will say they haven't beaten anybody since week one when they had the entire off season to prepare in South Carolina. With wins against Lamar (FCS), Rice (3-3 Notre Dame did play them as well), and an Overtime win against Arkansas (3-4 probably better than that but they do play in the SEC West). Then against anyone good they've been beaten up like a rag doll so they are the most overrated team in the SEC in my opinion.

 

[4down20]

Like I said the SEC West is the best division in College football but A&M and LSU being overrated has helped boost the rest of the West more than it might have. LSU I still think will be a good team the rest of the way at least a top 25 however if you really look at A&M I will say they haven't beaten anybody since week one when they had the entire off season to prepare in South Carolina. With wins against Lamar (FCS), Rice (3-3 Notre Dame did play them as well), and an Overtime win against Arkansas (3-4 probably better than that but they do play in the SEC West). Then against anyone good they've been beaten up like a rag doll so they are the most overrated team in the SEC in my opinion.

Again, you can't blame it on hype when data based computer polls are saying the same things in even greater detail.

Here is a composite of the computer polls.

College Football Ranking Composite

The teams A&M has lost to are according to it's average: #1, #2 and #3. So basically, because they lost to what is currently considered the 3 best teams in the nation statistically, they must suck?

LSU lost to #2 and #4. Must be terrible as well?

 

[jjc2009]

Again, you can't blame it on hype when data based computer polls are saying the same things in even greater detail.

Here is a composite of the computer polls.

College Football Ranking Composite

The teams A&M has lost to are according to it's average: #1, #2 and #3. So basically, because they lost to what is currently considered the 3 best teams in the nation statistically, they must suck?

LSU lost to #2 and #4. Must be terrible as well?

There may be some middle ground here. "Suck"? Probably not. Mediocre and therefore utterly undeserving of their preseason ranking, yes. In A&M's case, it's not just the fact that they lost but the manner in which they lost. They were blown out in those contests. A better case can be made that LSU isn't as bad as their record indicates, but then again, this is not the same LSU we are used to seeing, especially on defense. Not by a wide margin.

 

[socaljim242]

Since the second week, I've said there would be 2 SEC teams, FSU or ND, and either the Pac12, or Big 12 champ. Now, I think the Big 12 has played their way out of it, and I think only Oregon can make it from the Pac12, but the Big10 champ is back in play. I really think that ND's biggest issue is that while we have a good loss, we have no really quality wins. We actually need ASU and SC to keep winning so beating them will mean something.

So you're rooting for USC now?? Wooohooooo!!! lol.

 

[socaljim242]

Notre Dame outgained them on the ground and in the air. More first downs. More time of possession. Lead about 95% of the game. I was happy with the way we played , proud of the way the team represented itself. Time to focus and win out. We'll worry about all the rest later.

Did you think Florida State won the championship last year? Everyone thinks so. But Auburn out gained them , more first downs, had the ball longer, Auburn had the lead with 15 seconds left and FSU only won by 3 points. Winston is an idiot but he passed at will in the second half while you guys dominated other parts of the game. A rematch in this case wold be very interesting.

 

[Lillyliverd]

Again, you can't blame it on hype when data based computer polls are saying the same things in even greater detail.

Here is a composite of the computer polls.

College Football Ranking Composite

The teams A&M has lost to are according to it's average: #1, #2 and #3. So basically, because they lost to what is currently considered the 3 best teams in the nation statistically, they must suck?

LSU lost to #2 and #4. Must be terrible as well?

A&M didn't just lose to the 3 best teams, A&M got spanked by the 3 best teams. In all of the A&M losses, A&M was down by at least 28 points at some point in the 4th quarter. Not saying A&M sucks but they damn sure are no where close to the best.

 

[socaljim242]

A&M didn't just lose to the 3 best teams, A&M got spanked by the 3 best teams. In all of the A&M losses, A&M was down by at least 28 points at some point in the 4th quarter. Not saying A&M sucks but they damn sure are no where close to the best.

You both played Rice.

ND 48 Rice 17
A&M 38 Rice 10

 

[4down20]

There may be some middle ground here. "Suck"? Probably not. Mediocre and therefore utterly undeserving of their preseason ranking, yes. In A&M's case, it's not just the fact that they lost but the manner in which they lost. They were blown out in those contests. A better case can be made that LSU isn't as bad as their record indicates, but then again, this is not the same LSU we are used to seeing, especially on defense. Not by a wide margin.

I don't disagree with this.

 

[Lillyliverd]

You both played Rice.

ND 48 Rice 17
A&M 38 Rice 10

And your point is?

You forgot to mention that A&M has got the shit beat out of them by top teams while ND was a referee call away from beating FSU on the road.

 

[Lillyliverd]

While we are at it:


USC lost to BC
BC lost to PITT
PITT lost to Akron


So it is good for you USC fans you don't play Akron this year.

 

[socaljim242]

And your point is?

You forgot to mention that A&M has got the shit beat out of them by top teams while ND was a referee call away from beating FSU on the road.

My point is its been a wacky season. Hard to gauge teams this year. USC is obviously better team than BC so what that loss proves is USC couldnt beat them that day.

 

[socaljim242]

And your point is?

You forgot to mention that A&M has got the shit beat out of them by top teams while ND was a referee call away from beating FSU on the road.

USC beat Stanford by three at their house and ND beat Stanford by three at home. lol. No rhyme or reason this year.lol. Watch out ASU beat them by more. lol

 

[Lillyliverd]

I was being sarcastic with my chain of reasoning that Akron is superior to USC. I follow the PAC12 closely and this year the PAC is full of dangerous teams; not saying great teams, just dangerous. I think Oregon should take the north but it is going to be a dog fight in the south with 4 teams with only one conference loss. Even UCLA with 2 conference losses still has hope. From the north, you can't sleep on cellar dweller WSU. Halliday, is leading WSU with the #1 pass attack in the country and they were tied with Oregon in the 4th quarter. WSU will be playing with nothing to lose and I would not be surprised if they pull off an upset or two down the stretch. I am really looking forward to seeing how things play out in the PAC.

 

[whywork2]

Did you think Florida State won the championship last year? Everyone thinks so. But Auburn out gained them , more first downs, had the ball longer, Auburn had the lead with 15 seconds left and FSU only won by 3 points. Winston is an idiot but he passed at will in the second half while you guys dominated other parts of the game. A rematch in this case wold be very interesting.

I know that Florida State won the championship last year. I deal in reality. Notre Dame lost the game for versus Florida State, that's just a miserable fact.

 

[socaljim242]

I was being sarcastic with my chain of reasoning that Akron is superior to USC. I follow the PAC12 closely and this year the PAC is full of dangerous teams; not saying great teams, just dangerous. I think Oregon should take the north but it is going to be a dog fight in the south with 4 teams with only one conference loss. Even UCLA with 2 conference losses still has hope. From the north, you can't sleep on cellar dweller WSU. Halliday, is leading WSU with the #1 pass attack in the country and they were tied with Oregon in the 4th quarter. WSU will be playing with nothing to lose and I would not be surprised if they pull off an upset or two down the stretch. I am really looking forward to seeing how things play out in the PAC.

Yeah the south is a toss up. USC is looking good and a win over UCLA and that would set up a great game with the Irish. Don't sleep on ASU they can be very dangerous in the desert.

 

[socaljim242]

Wondering if the ND administration is regretting getting involved with the ACC. The irish pride themselves on academics and they've got the Florida State reputation and now the news of UNC having been playing fast and loose with the football teams grades and classes.

 

[jjc2009]

Wondering if the ND administration is regretting getting involved with the ACC. The irish pride themselves on academics and they've got the Florida State reputation and now the news of UNC having been playing fast and loose with the football teams grades and classes.

Well, there's still Duke, Wake Forest and Virginia. All elite academic institutions. I think it still beats the alternatives for southern footprints: SEC (I don't think they'd want us, there's too much of a culture clash and that's hardly a bastion of academic integrity), Big 12 (they have a very sorry history of academics for their student atheltes as well, their grad rates for their players are as bad, or worse, as anywhere else in the country)

 

[Irish7478]

Wondering if the ND administration is regretting getting involved with the ACC. The irish pride themselves on academics and they've got the Florida State reputation and now the news of UNC having been playing fast and loose with the football teams grades and classes.

I really don't think ND's academic reputation is tied to that of every team in its conference. I don't think Northwestern is that concerned about being in the same conference with Rutgers, any more than Vanderbilt is concerned with Mississippi State or Stanford is upset about being in with Southern Cal. You simply do your best to be excellent in all areas, and let the other schools worry about themselves.

 

[socaljim242]

I really don't think ND's academic reputation is tied to that of every team in its conference. I don't think Northwestern is that concerned about being in the same conference with Rutgers, any more than Vanderbilt is concerned with Mississippi State or Stanford is upset about being in with Southern Cal. You simply do your best to be excellent in all areas, and let the other schools worry about themselves.

"In perhaps the most prestigious college ranking, a new report lists colleges with most global billionaire grads." 2014

1.Uni. Pennsylvania
2.Harvard
3.Yale
4. University of Southern California
5. Princeton University
6.Cornell University
7. Stanford University
8.University of California at Berkeley
9. University of Mumbai
10. London School of Economics

Yeah USC sure brings down that Pac 12 prestige. But nice try. LOL