they should ban Notre Dame from the playoff for a few years for all their horrible losses in the playoff. They are living off their reputation from 50 years ago. If they did not have that reputation they would be the equivalent of Ball State.
Notre Dame is actually (and obviously) a good team. They’re well-coached. They have a lot of good players, and perhaps a handful of players who are really good. But what I saw against Clemson last night was pretty much what we saw against Alabama in 2012. Even if they go undefeated, they probably don’t have the talent to compete with the very best 2 or 3 teams in the nation. I’m sure Brian Kelly and the Irish coaching staff prepared like mad, but Clemson’s speed and athleticism are things that they can’t prepare for by watching video.
50 years ago Notre Dame was on TV almost every week and other teams were not. NCAA actually put in a rule to limit teams on TV that was aimed at ND.
Now all the top teams are on TV every week so that big advantage for ND is long gone. and the speed issue is also a big problem for ND.
Coach Kelly is good enough as a recruiter and coach to develop teams that are consistently good. They beat teams they’re supposed to beat: USC, Michigan, Florida State - teams that used to be great but are now either mediocre or just outright bad. It was hard to argue against Notre Dame’s resume but I think a lot of observers feared this might be another disappointment.
On that note, I have to say that we’re 5 years into the CFP and it’s becoming a little, dare I say, boring. Clemson and Bama again - who woulda thunk?
It’s like the NBA. (Warriors/Cavs)
another change from the glory days of ND vs. now is that back then southern teams were 100% white. Nothern teams had black athletes back then.
We just need to set the bar a little higher for ND to be able to get in, like requiring them to win, say, 18 games instead of just 12.
I must say I’m pretty impressed with both of those coaches. I think I’m even more impressed with Swinney than Saban because he was basically unknown and in a relatively short amount of time recruited and coached his teams to compete with Saban’s.
Who is going to challenge these teams next year? Let’s look at Clemson’s out of conference schedule:
Texas A&M (8-4)
Charlotte 49ers (5-7)
Wofford Terriers (9-4 FCS)
@ South Carolina (7-6)
In conference, there’s
Boston College (7-5)
Florida State (5-7)
Wake Forest (7-6)
@ Louisville (2-10)
@ North Carolina State (9-3)
@ North Carolina (2-9)
@ Syracuse (10-3)
Georgia Tech (7-6)
Looks like the games they have to worry about are @ NC State, @Syracuse, and Texas A&M. Just win 2 of those 3 and they’re in the playoff again.
Now for Alabama:
Out of Conference-
Duke (8-5)
New Mexico State (3-9)
Southern Mississippi (6-5)
Western Carolina (3-8 FCS)
In Conference-
@ South Carolina (7-6)
Mississippi (5-7)
@Texas A&M (8-4)
Tennessee (5-7)
Arkansas (2-10)
Louisiana State (9-3)
@Mississippi State (8-4)
@Auburn (8-5)
Looks like the hardest games will be @ A&M, LSU, @MSU, and @Auburn. Again, win 3 of those 4 and they’re guaranteed a playoff spot.
I realize that 2018 performance doesn’t always mean 2019 difficulty, but it seems to me that we need to expand the field if we don’t want to have these same two teams in year after year after year.
One benefit of an 8 team playoff is that it would give more chances to knock Bama off its perch.
This shit runs in cycles. Just a matter of time till some dirt comes out on 'Bama and they get violated and penalized back to the dark age by the NCAA. Then it’ll be two other teams crushing for a few years.
Seen it before, see it again.
Miami coach Richt retired . Houston fired Applewhite after only 2 years
Lou Holtz’s Irish were pretty diverse and pretty damn good. The Irish have won in the post-segregation era. And it should be pointed out that while Charlie Weis wasn’t half the coaching mind he thought he was, he was a damn good recruiter. If somehow the Irish could recruit like Weis and coach like Kelly, the Irish would probably be able to hang with Bama or Clemson for at least a half, and who knows…maybe even make the entire game worth watching. It’s not like Notre Dame’s awful, and I like a lot about their program. But they kinda have some ridicule and snark coming their way when they refuse to join a conference and then get humiliated on the big stage. Just join the Big 10 already.
Miami already has a new coach , Manny Diaz who was their DC. He took the Temple job 2 weeks ago so Miami has to pay Temple $4 mil to get him. Not bad for Temple getting that cash for basically doing nothing.
I’m guessing that Richt’s retirement means that the Canes problem is more than just not playing well - they probably have some recruiting to do. Good luck with that…in Florida. I mean, it’s not like the Canes have any competition down there. lol
Miami has always recruited very well right there in S. Florida. There is a lot of talent there. Florida is a very large state population wise so there is enough talent also for Florida and FSU and other schools like UCF. (Only CA and TX have bigger population than Florida. )
Richt was a good coach when he coached my Dawgs, but he wasn’t good enough to take us over the hump. Decent recruiter, but not the money-launderer, er, recruiting genius Smart is.
in some cases these sudden examples of coaches quitting means NCAA trouble is around the corner.
Well LSU tried to give UCF another undefeated season, but I guess the players and coaching staff gave it a second thought and concluded they didn’t want to play another 7-overtime game and wanted a 10-win season after all.
To be honest, the most limiting factor for ND against Clemson was their QB play. And I hate to say it, but obviously Alabama and Clemson are just miles ahead of everyone else. The last two Big Ten playoff appearances resulted in shutout drubbings at the hands of 'Bama and Clemson. PAC 10 and Big 12 haven’t done anything.