The Most Dangerous Game: 2006

[Irish Envy]

Going along with our thread on how many wins you'll think our Irish squad will have next season, lets discuss what you feel is "The Most Dangerous Game" for the 2006 season.

For the sake of reference, our 2006 schedule is listed below:

September 2 at Georgia Tech
September 9 Penn State
September 16 Michigan
September 23 at Michigan State
September 30 Purdue
October 7 Stanford
October 21 UCLA
October 28 at Navy
November 4 North Carolina
November 11 at Air Force
November 18 Army
November 25 at USC

So let's hear it!

 

[SillyIrish]

The homer in me wants to say 12-0 but I think a 10 win season is definately possible. If they can get by those first four games 4-0 then there will be a possibility for a great show down in LA. Those first four will be brutal especially playing Mich. St. in the beginning of the season before they implode. I tell all my jerk PSU friends that if PSU played MSU in the beginning of the season in 05 it would have been a loss. God I hate PSU.

 

[Gizmo]

I'll give it a whirl. I say Michigan and USC will be our most dangerous opponents. These aren't very creative answers but I think they're the "right" answers and I will elaborate.

Michigan has the talent and their keys to the game are 1) be healthy, and 2) do the exact oppositve of what Lloyd says. I think as Irish fans we need to say a prayer for every day that Lloyd Carr is the head coach at Michigan. As a general rule I don't like longtime assistants in a program becoming head coaches. If they were talented and ambitious they would have gotten and taken their chance elsewhere. As long as Lloyd doesn't dig his team into too deep of a hole (I know, big if) they have a chance to win.

USC is dangerous because of their talent and the timinig of the game. They have been loading up on talent for years and by season's end their skill players will have a good deal of experience under the belts. And as much as it pains me to say this, Pete is a good defensive coach, at least at the collegiate level. But he's a great recruiter and he surrounds himself with talented coaches, both of which don't hurt.

All that being said I thought Tennessee would be one of our biggest tests this past year so take this with a grain of salt.

 

[Folsteam_Ahead]

this is a silly question to begin with....how do you think i came up with my name last october. the only dangerous game is the 1st quarter against tech. the rest is a preamble to the ntlchmp in 06 (technically 07 but f-it)

i know the rebuttals with come in the morning but someone has to be overly confident here and i accept that role bc nobody else has to this point. i take the first one of the 'season'. i admit it, it feels good

 

[jiggafini19]

Michigan the most right now. Georgia Tech too, but that's for obvious reasons....it is the next game on the schedule.

Ron English is going to change the culture at Michigan. Even if they should falter this year and Carr is let go, English could end up sticking around. Great recruiter. He'll have this defense on the attack and I'm sure they'll talk to Tom Brady again for insight on Charlie's offense.

 

[scooper]

I'm going with Tech. I'm not sure we can cover Johnson. The saving grace is Reggie Ball is one of the most erratic, inaccurate QB's out there. But he can run, which also tends to hurt us.

Their defense is fast and aggressive, but I think that plays in our favor. Our offense can make you pay for blitzing.

 

[BigIrish]

Michigan the most right now. Georgia Tech too, but that's for obvious reasons....it is the next game on the schedule.
Ron English is going to change the culture at Michigan. Even if they should falter this year and Carr is let go, English could end up sticking around. Great recruiter. He'll have this defense on the attack and I'm sure they'll talk to Tom Brady again for insight on Charlie's offense.

they can talk to tom all they want now, but it won't give them an edge. there's a season's worth of tape on Weis at the collegiate level, and for the most part, he's bringing back all his key personal. however, i can't help but think back to that interview that a pro linebacker gave when Weis got hired when he said that there was no point in watching tape on Weis because if he did it last week, you won't see it again this week. that helps me sleep at night...

i'm going to go out on a limb (sort of) and say MSU and Stanford. I think michigan continues to stumble with carr at the helm. g-tech will put up a strong first half. ucla has no defense, and offense is the one thing we've got. usc? i see them stumbling this year, unable to shake the hangover from last year. (by stumbling, i mean 2 losses.)

MSU will enter the game with an attitude that they deserve to be there, and frankly, they do. Although I can't picture Charlie's squad getting pinched two years in a row, it could happen. Stanford will always be aggressive and motivated as long as Harris is at the helm.

 

[irishnd31]

Michigan State definitely. That team had no business beating us last year, let alone sticking that God awful flag in or grass. Until we start beating these guys on a regular basis, this team (besides USC) will be a team that I look at on our schedule and cringe.

 

[Aerosmith777]

Gotta say USC. I know they're replacing a lot, but so are Penn State and UCLA (the next two most dangerous to me, respectively) and USC has yet to have a bad season in the past 4, so until I actually see they lost anything on the field, I'll have to go w/ the condoms.

 

[sblxdoc]

I'd have to say GTech. Opener for the season, away game...you know that team and place will be fired up. This will set the stage and momentum for the next 2 games, which we all know are huge.

 

[domerfor life]

MSU is the most dangerous game. We always seem to have a hard time matching their intensity. They always play like world-beaters against us. Drew Stanton is back. The first four games are tough, but I think that we can win them all. I look for us to win at least 10 games.

 

[ND Lifer]

Michigan is always a tough game for ND. The outcome usually is down to the final minutes of the game. We've been beating up on Michigan lately, so that will be motivation for them. With their old OC back, I look for them to show much better on offense. Defense will be a question mark. If we get by Michigan, then I believe the USC game is going to be the game that will decide if we go to the NC game in Arizona or not. I don't thing MSU will be any worry at all. Weis will have ND way up for this game due to the classless flag planting act that MSU performed after last years game. I figure this to be an ND blowout.

 

[AlbuquerqueIrishFan]

As usual, we have a brutal schedule and many dangerous games to select from. But, Michigan St. is the most dangerous. They have had our number lately and we need to beat them at their place this year.

 

[jiggafini19]

I don't like playing Air Force and Army before USC.

Two weeks in a row against that high school-ish offense those schools run before going out to L.A. to face that high powered offense of the Trojans? Makes me nervous. They have Navy right before UNC, so that's 3 Academies in four weeks before USC.

The defense had better be ready. The Trojans will be awful good by then.

 

[Indydomer]

My vote is for Tech. Tough place to play especially to start off the season. They have an aggressive defense and a Johnson is great. That stadium also gets extremely loud. If we come out on fire and put them on their heels I think we'll get em, but if not our corners better step it up. I think wooden will be a great corner this year. Not a shut down corner but damn close. I just have a feeling, and hopefully ferrine, bruton, lambert, walls, and mcneil can step up and give us some options for some nickel or dime packages. There is a ton of talent in that group, one of them ought to be able to be a good nickel or dime back.

Of course Michigan and USC will also be tough, but I think this is Charlies year. He has all the talent with one year under his belt. The defense will be improved. Like I said before if some of our young kids can step up, including our young linebackers, we can show offenses different looks this year. He'll outsmart Lloyd's dumbass and the poodle this year.

Michigan State's luck has run out. This group of players has been beat by them a couple times and I think they will be extra pumped for this game. They will embaress MSU this year and stick that flag where the sun don't shine.

 

[Vince Young]

Our toughest games by far will be Michigan, Penn State and USC. But none of them are "the most dangerous game," because the players and coaches are all fully aware of how tough those teams are, and will be WAY up for those games. We'll be ready.

No, the most dangerous game is Michigan State in East Lansing. In recent years, our guys have had an alarming tendency to not take Sparty seriously enough. They're a bit like Notre Dame under Ty Willingham... a team with a great deal of talent that can burn you badly IF you're not prepared. (See Michigan and Tennessee in '04.) But if you ARE prepared, they'll fold like lawn chairs. (See USC in... well, every game against Ty.)

Sparty believes they can beat us. And if our boys don't treat that game just like the USC game, Sparty will be right.

 

[Óglaigh_na_hÉireann]

I'm definitely going with Michigan. Those first three games will be the hardest point of the season, but the most rewarding also. If we win all three, there's a decent chance we'll be headed to the Fiesta Bowl undefeated.

 

[Domer95]

Svo,
I take "Dangerous" game to mean like a 'trap game' or one you at first think will be easy, but might not be....Yes, Spoiled Children, scUM and GaTech will be TOUGH, oh yeah and MSU will too until we FINALLY F'IN BEAT THEM THIS YEAR...

I'll say AT AIR FORCE could be our most 'dangerous' game this year. Late in the season, we're 9-0 (...hopefully)...a bit banged up, high altitude, funky offense, literally TOUGH opponent, Service Academy, oh yeah and maybe looking ahead to Spoiled Children two weeks later...

or maybe I'm just cynical, in that my "Senior Day" game was a.....LOSS TO AIR FORCE that we had no biz losing to....

 

[guff]

After what happened last year there is no way ND loses to Mich State. NO WAY! As a matter fact, Sparty better prepare himself for beating.

PSU worries me. They have speed on offense, their D should be pretty good and JoePa may be old but I still think he's a pretty good game day coach.

 

[jiggafini19]

PSU worries me. They have speed on offense, their D should be pretty good and JoePa may be old but I still think he's a pretty good game day coach.

They lose Michael Robinson, Paul Poluszny is hurt and they return 4 starters on each side of the ball from last year's Big Ten Championship team.

I like ND getting them early for the home opener based on the key people they've lost.

 

[weisfaninmass]

My vote is for Tech. Tough place to play especially to start off the season. They have an aggressive defense and a Johnson is great. That stadium also gets extremely loud. If we come out on fire and put them on their heels I think we'll get em, but if not our corners better step it up. I think wooden will be a great corner this year. Not a shut down corner but damn close. I just have a feeling, and hopefully ferrine, bruton, lambert, walls, and mcneil can step up and give us some options for some nickel or dime packages. There is a ton of talent in that group, one of them ought to be able to be a good nickel or dime back.
.

I agree with GA Tech. The expectations will be for a #1 or #2 ranking going into the year, with BQ winning the Heisman, Shark All American etc etc. The amount of pressure will be at an All Time high on these kids. And they were playing the underdog role for much of last year. Not anymore. If ND loses out of the gate to Tech it will be a disaster for the program - a Mark May moment.

 

[kickerbg31]

I think GaTech as well. Reggie Ball will cause problems with his legs, and Calvin Johnson is the best receiver in college football (sorry Shark).

MSU does not scare me at all. I think the team will be up for that game because Charlie is going to be reminding them all week about last year's loss and the flag planting incident.

 

[jiggafini19]

scUM returns 7 starters on each side of the ball. Not good.

I'm VERY worried about that game now more than ever.

 

[maison bleu]

Well, by the time of the Michigan-ND game, UM will have played Vanderbilt and Central Michigan in the Big House. The boys from South BlaND will have played GT on the road and Penn State at home.

Sounds like a significant advantage for hiND-eNDers to me, tho' I hate to admit it, of course.

 

[jiggafini19]

Well, by the time of the Michigan-ND game, UM will have played Vanderbilt and Central Michigan in the Big House. The boys from South BlaND will have played GT on the road and Penn State at home.

Sounds like a significant advantage for hiND-eNDers to me, tho' I hate to admit it, of course.

Your guys will be well rested, Maison. At home against Vandy and CMU? Scrimmages.

 

[jiggafini19]

Michigan State definitely. That team had no business beating us last year, let alone sticking that God awful flag in or grass. Until we start beating these guys on a regular basis, this team (besides USC) will be a team that I look at on our schedule and cringe.

They return 13 starters from the team that beat ND in OT last year and the game is up there.

 

[irishnd31]

C-Dub will have the boys ready and jacked for this one. His first collegiate loss was to these guys and something tells me that he will remind the boys of the flag planting incident from last year.

 

[OhioIrish3]

USC and Penn State are going to be the 2 toughest. MSU does not scare me, Charlie wont lose to them again, Georgia Tech will be tough but i think that it being the first game and everyone so fired up, i dont think they will be much of a problem