Weekly Upset Alert (Who we need to lose this week)

[ickythump1225]

If TCU goes 11-1 with just a 3-point loss at Baylor or K-State goes 11-1 with just a 6-point loss to Auburn, I think they'd have pretty good arguments. They would've beat some pretty good Big-12 teams along the way. Plus, TCU's blowout win over Minny is looking better and better.

I don't think Baylor at 11-1 would beat us out. Crappy loss and horrible OOC schedule. I think that other two would have a decent argument plus the whole "conference champion" thing people will hype up over ND. Who knows though? Baylor might beat everyone by 50+ to end the year and have a good argument with that offense.

If we go 11-1 (knocking out ASU), the playoff IMO is already down to just 14 other teams left who could make it with 0 or 1 loss. Really not entertaining the notion of a team like Marshall, ECU, Duke, Nebraska, Minnesota being likely to win out or get in with their schedules.

Independent: Notre Dame
SEC: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia
ACC: Florida State
B1G: Michigan State, Ohio State
Big-12: TCU, Kansas State, Baylor
PAC-12: Oregon, Utah, Arizona

Yeah but our loss is better, way better, than either KSU or TCU's. FSU>>>>>>>Baylor and FSU>>Auburn. By the end of the season, so long as USC, Louisville, and ASU don't completely sh!t the bed we'll have just as strong of a schedule as them, if not stronger, and with a better loss. Besides, if all things are close to being equal this will play a part:

The Notre Dame/Florida State college football game drew an 8.5 overnight rating on ABC Saturday night, up 130% from FSU/Clemson last year (3.7), up 143% from FSU/Miami in 2012 (3.5), and the top overnight for any regular season game on the ESPN family of networks since Notre Dame/USC in 2012 (10.0).

The 8.5 is the fourth-highest in the eight-year history of ABC’s Saturday Night Football, trailing only Notre Dame/USC in 2012, Notre Dame/USC in 2006 (9.6) and Ohio State/Texas in 2006 (8.8).

Overall, the 8.5 is the highest for regular season college football on any network since last year’s Alabama/Auburn Iron Bowl on CBS (8.6).

CFB Week 8 Overnights: FSU/Notre Dame Earns Huge Overnight on ABC — Sports Media Watch

ND has been involved in 3 of the top 5 highest rated ABC cfb games in their history. Money talks.

When listing the tough games remaining for Georgia I was shocked. Total B.S. they avoid each other for so long. We just joined the ACC and we play FSU and Louisville in year 1...

UGA usually starts the year with 6-8 almost guaranteed wins if you include their normally craptastic OOC schedule and then playing dregs like Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and the usually awful GT. Now add into the mix that the only SEC-E team that has shown a consistent capability to beat UGA over the past 20 years, Florida, is garbage they have it made. Clemson was their big OOC game but Clemson sucks.

 

[IRISH in MT]

My 2 upset predictions for this week:

1) #21 U$C over #19 Utah (not much of an upset)

2) Washington at home over #14 Arizona State

 

[RDU Irish]

LSU needs to step up at some point this year and win a real game. Can they really go 0-4 against Ole Miss, Auburn, Miss St and Bama? I think they take Ole Miss this week because it is a home game. Then they have a bye followed by Bama, also at home. I like them better this week than I do in three weeks against Bama.

 

[Ndaccountant]

LSU needs to step up at some point this year and win a real game. Can they really go 0-4 against Ole Miss, Auburn, Miss St and Bama? I think they take Ole Miss this week because it is a home game. Then they have a bye followed by Bama, also at home. I like them better this week than I do in three weeks against Bama.

Have you watched LSU this year? Their defense is not up to their usual standards and their QB play is average at best.

Not saying LSU cannot rise up to the occasion, but LSU this year is closer to LSU under DiNardo than it is to a typical Les Miles team.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

After this year there will be a serious push for the increase to 8, which I now think is necessary. Conferences will want an autobid because at least one, probably two, will get left out, and if ND is left out due to a poor call then the public would be upset.

 

[RDU Irish]

Have you watched LSU this year? Their defense is not up to their usual standards and their QB play is average at best.

Not saying LSU cannot rise up to the occasion, but LSU this year is closer to LSU under DiNardo than it is to a typical Les Miles team.

....but they are ranked #23 in the country and play in the SEC West, they must be GREAT!!!!

Just saying, if they can't win 1 out of 4 against the best in their division then they suck. Them even cracking the top 25 before beating ANYONE is absurd.

I generally agree that they suck and will probably lose by more than 10 in both games.

 

[ACamp1900]

Honestly, I'm fairly confident both Baylor and TCU could beat/hang with FSU...

 

[JohnnyJasper]

After this year there will be a serious push for the increase to 8, which I now think is necessary. Conferences will want an autobid because at least one, probably two, will get left out, and if ND is left out due to a poor call then the public would be upset.

Yeah I've said from the beginning if there were to be a playoff, an 8 team would be much more successful than a 4 team playoff. It does add another game or two for the season and the players may not like it but I don't see it being that big of an issue. Much more margin for error and it allows legitimate teams that may be 5-8, a chance to prove themselves and go on a run. Sort of like the NFL with the wild card.

 

[Ndaccountant]

Honestly, I'm fairly confident both Baylor and TCU could beat/hang with FSU...

I think Baylor would be in trouble. It becomes a game of who is more likely to come up with defensive stops, Baylor or FSU. I think Baylor would struggle mightily to stop FSU while FSU would come up with more than enough.

TCU is also more like Baylor now than what they were back just a few years ago. I would not trust their defense to come up with any stop.

 

[ACamp1900]

They should have went back to something like the old bowl system for the first step... Big and Pac champs play in the Rose... SEC and ACC champs play in the Sug... Big 12 champs and a quality at large in the Cotton... and one other bowl with lat larges or whatever...

keep it the same every year with little adjustments and have the winners advance to the 4 team playoff

 

[HoosierMP33]

Yeah I've said from the beginning if there were to be a playoff, an 8 team would be much more successful than a 4 team playoff. It does add another game or two for the season and the players may not like it but I don't see it being that big of an issue. Much more margin for error and it allows legitimate teams that may be 5-8, a chance to prove themselves and go on a run. Sort of like the NFL with the wild card.

It would be HUGE $$$$.....At the end of the day, that's what it's always about....let an independent and 2 teams from 1 conf into a 4 team playoff....see how well other conf commish.'s, AD's, and univ. president's like missing out on the money....change won't happen in 12 years when the contract is up...it'll happen within 4 because money is always the driving factor....

ppl that say the reg season won't matter are the same ones who fail to see how big college and pro basketball is....how much money pro baseball makes....and the best example, how well things work for the NFL who want to expand their reg season and their playoff's don't always boast the best teams; nor the Super Bowl representative of the actual 2 best teams in the league....yet they seem to do pretty well, now don't they? 5 conf champs and 3 at-larges....have your 13 person panel rank and seed the final 8 so we get the right match-ups....settle it on the field! Then the SEC can have 4 teams in and ND can spank 2 or 3 of them yearly!

 

[RallySonsOfND]

8 is good.

First round is at the higher seeds stadium.

 

[HoosierMP33]

I guess to get this thread back on track....I'm pulling for any and all upsets....except for those of who we have left on our schedule....and I want LSU to absolutely blow-out and destroy Ole Miss.....make it an absolutely embarrassing loss....

I will never say I'm rooting for U$C....I hope Utah understands our situation and decides to help us in shanking a few field goals and misses some key blocks and doesn't score as many points as their opponents....

 

[CurtisCandy]

I think LSU has a real shot at pulling the upset this weekend. In a low-scoring, defensive struggle, anything can happen, and I do believe - while they still have issues - LSU has been getting better.

I also think Penn State might keep it interesting with Ohio State.

Edited to add: I also think the filthy Condoms beat Utah.




When both those games turn into huge blowouts for the favorites, I will be back here to delete this evidence.

 

[drayer54]

Stanford beating Oregon... ND crushing ASU....

Those two things happen and all is well in the world

 

[Bishop2b5]

How the living fuck has UGA and Bama not met in the reg season since 2008!?!? smdh, are they in the same conference or not??

Couple of issues. Before the SEC expanded to 14 teams a couple of years ago, we played all 5 of our division opponents each year, 1 traditional rival from the other division, and 2 teams from the other division in a home & away series that rotated, so that you faced every team from the other division pretty regularly. Expansion meant each team had to play 6 divisional games, so the 2nd cross-divisional game got dropped and we all play a 6-1-1 schedule. Saban's been pushing for a 9 game 6-1-2 schedule, but the other coaches oppose it. Also, when Mizzou and Texas A&M came in, the SEC had to shuffle schedules dramatically and the rotation of cross-divisional opponents got reordered, which is why UGA didn't rotate back onto our schedule earlier.

 

[ACamp1900]

Respect you Bishop, seem like a good enough guy, but two teams in the same damn conference not playing each other for five years is completely inexcusable and BS... just my opinion. I did like when Saban pushed for a legit schedule though, props to him for that.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

They should have went back to something like the old bowl system for the first step... Big and Pac champs play in the Rose... SEC and ACC champs play in the Sug... Big 12 champs and a quality at large in the Cotton... and one other bowl with lat larges or whatever...

keep it the same every year with little adjustments and have the winners advance to the 4 team playoff

It would just be so late, too far into January.

 

[IrishLax]

So this is a pretty obvious/stupid "wet blanket" type post... but does anyone else not care about the playoffs at this juncture?

There's just so many permutations and combinations that it seems a bit fruitless to worry about more than our next game right now. The way I see it, after the ASU game -- if we win --- then I'll start closely looking at the landscape. But right now I think we're too far out to make any good judgments.

 

[ACamp1900]

So this is a pretty obvious/stupid "wet blanket" type post... but does anyone else not care about the playoffs at this juncture?

There's just so many permutations and combinations that it seems a bit fruitless to worry about more than our next game right now. The way I see it, after the ASU game -- if we win --- then I'll start closely looking at the landscape. But right now I think we're too far out to make any good judgments.

I'm pretty much here.

 

[tussin]

So this is a pretty obvious/stupid "wet blanket" type post... but does anyone else not care about the playoffs at this juncture?

There's just so many permutations and combinations that it seems a bit fruitless to worry about more than our next game right now. The way I see it, after the ASU game -- if we win --- then I'll start closely looking at the landscape. But right now I think we're too far out to make any good judgments.

I'm pretty much here for every conference outside the SEC. At this point, I don't care too too much about what's going on in the B1G, Big 12, or Pac 12.

That being said, I am starting to look and root for scenarios that will prevent two SEC teams from getting in. It would be nice if that scenario became increasingly unlikely as we approach late-season.

 

[drayer54]

I'm pretty much here for every conference outside the SEC. At this point, I don't care too too much about what's going on in the B1G, Big 12, or Pac 12.

That being said, I am starting to look and root for scenarios that will prevent two SEC teams from getting in. It would be nice if that scenario became increasingly unlikely as we approach late-season.

Bama over MSU- I pick it this way

MSU over Ole Miss- Yep

Auburn over Bama- Ehhh, hopefully

Georgia over Auburn, very possible

 

[Crazy Balki]

No way? If they're 12-1 and we're 11-1? Way.

No, because ND's SOS is better, MUCH better in fact. Oregon's best win would be against Arizona State presumably. If we win out, ASU would be on our list as well, and on the road to boot. They'd have to go by loss, which ND would win easily. Losing by 4 off a bogus call against the defending champs on the road looks a lot better than losing by a touchdown at home to an unranked team.

Michigan State has an even tougher time, because their strength of schedule is worse and they lost to Oregon by 19. Not to mention, whoever they play in the B1G title game wouldn't be a quality team since the West division is sh*t.

This isn't computers anymore. The committee saw what happened in Tallahassee, and they know ND is a contender. If they win out, they've earned their spot.

 

[drayer54]

People love Oregon. Fancy uniforms and that duck mascot make people think the team is awesome ever year. Plus two players had boo-boo's for the Arizona game. It gets worse if they blowout Stanford.

 

[ACamp1900]

People love Oregon. Fancy uniforms and that duck mascot make people think the team is awesome ever year. Plus two players had boo-boo's for the Arizona game. It gets worse if they blowout Stanford.

hahaha, because being THE high powered offense in the country and consistently competing for the championship of arguably the nation's best conference has nothing to do with it...

 

[Andy in Sactown]

hahaha, because being THE high powered offense in the country and consistently competing for the championship of arguably the nation's best conference has nothing to do with it...

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KmhP0dUcWEs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[drayer54]

hahaha, because being THE high powered offense in the country and consistently competing for the championship of arguably the nation's best conference has nothing to do with it...

Every year they get propped up on the polls and then they always disappoint. I think they would resemble an A&M if they got plopped into the SEC... and I'm not a SEC cheerleader.

 

[ACamp1900]

Every year they get propped up on the polls and then they always disappoint. I think they would resemble an A&M if they got plopped into the SEC... and I'm not a SEC cheerleader.

Okay, I was like laughing with you a minute ago, but this is the stupid statement of the day...


Every year they compete for the Pac 12... and every year, because the Pac 12 is so deep they only lose 1 or 2 games... that's not disappointing... that's impressive. They've won at least 10 games every year since 2008 and won 12 games something like three/four years in a row... and if you think they are on par with A&M I would question your football IQ...

I mean, you're a good poster and i'd never call you stupid but...

Just joking (Had to get that in there)...

Anyway I strongly disagree on Oregon, I believe you put them in the SEC over the last five years, they win 1/2 SEC titles... and are in the thick of all of them... Honestly, Bama is the top program in the country over that span, Oregon is probably number two... and that has nothing to do with Pac 12/SEC I think both conferences are about equally difficult to win, just my opinion.

 

[drayer54]

Okay, I was like laughing with you a minute ago, but this is the stupid statement of the day...


Every year they compete for the Pac 12... and every year, because the Pac 12 is so deep they only lose 1 or 2 games... that's not disappointing... that's impressive..

Is this not the logic we always hear for every single overrated SEC team? Flashy offense and usually disappoints? Minus the Bama slashing, I think it is a fair comparison. I'm not trying to disrespect the reigning Alamo Bowl champions, but I think they usually find themselves propped up as some sort of acknowledgement that the West Coast plays ball too...

If we do get stuck watching Oregon against and an SEC team, I'll cite this post.

 

[ACamp1900]

Is this not the logic we always hear for every single overrated SEC team? Flashy offense and usually disappoints? Minus the Bama slashing, I think it is a fair comparison. I'm not trying to disrespect the reigning Alamo Bowl champions, but I think they usually find themselves propped up as some sort of acknowledgement that the West Coast plays ball too...

If we do get stuck watching Oregon against and an SEC team, I'll cite this post.

Stupid...