ESPN way too early 2015 poll: ND #12

[IrishinSyria]

I couldn't care any less if he thinks he is doing what is best for him by shutting it down. For his career arc however, I think it's an awful move. Football, like all sports, is a game of reps. You need reps and you need game reps. You play. You get experience. You get better. Sitting for a year will not make you better.

Is this really true for running backs? I mean I get that vision and reading blockers is important, but I think it's a position that values physicality very very highly and mental ability much less so.

 

[BobbyMac]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Statistically significant on Day and Stanley returns. Last year Irish brought back 65 career starts on OL & DL combined. Next year: 141.</p>— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteSampson_/status/555430788024385537">January 14, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Can't let this post go unnoticed Whiskey. Love it. Unfortunately, the boo-birds don't understand how next year's team is different from the last 5. The '15 squad is being judged for the sins of its older brothers.

Wouldn't you love to have the mashables to compare the '15 team's total starts and total minutes played by returnees compared to the 2012 team and the Top 25 programs for next year?*

* I asked because if anyone has it...

.

 

[Luckylucci]

Can't let this post go unnoticed Whiskey. Love it. Unfortunately, the boo-birds don't understand how next year's team is different from the last 5. The '15 squad is being judged for the sins of its older brothers.

Wouldn't you love to have the mashables to compare the '15 team's total starts and total minutes played by returnees compared to the 2012 team and the Top 25 programs for next year?*

* I asked because if anyone has it...

.

When you add in the fact that Kelly and Longo's philosophy is continuously increasing workload or productive reps/snaps, the depth from the young players is really intriguing.

 

[scUM Hater]

I still think all the injuries this year will help in the long run. Tough to take the losses this year, but the future is bright.

 

[BobbyMac]

When you add in the fact that Kelly and Longo's philosophy is continuously increasing workload or productive reps/snaps, the depth from the young players is really intriguing.

I was going to add... I'd rather have ND's experienced 4 star sophomore's than Bama's 5 star newbs.

 

[greyhammer90]

I was going to add... I'd rather have ND's experienced 4 star sophomore's than Bama's 5 star newbs.

Down boy, down!

 

[Circa]

Tin foil hats, and bunched panties . . . YUM!

Hey now Bog.. It's now Yumbo! Ham and cheese, Pigs and cows

 

[Crazy Balki]

Barring some catastrophic scandal like the one's of recent years (knock on wood), I see this team running the table. Only games that really concern me are Clemson and USC, possibly Stanford, but I don't think they'll be all that great this year. Clemson in DV is always difficult, but I think ND will go into USC with a huge chip on their shoulder after most of them watched their younger brothers get spanked from the sidelines. I know guys like Russell, Schmidt, Day, Jones and Redfield are nice and pissed off about that game.

A lot of people are surprisingly buying the ND hype. I mean, there's a ton of homers and haters that have trolled the idea of ND actually being good in 2015. I've seen ND ranked as high as 5 on peoples pre-season rankings. Have to avoid injuries/suspensions this year. Simply cannot have any more of those issues.

 

[DonnieNarco]

I would never assume we would go undefeated, but I would not be terribly surprised.

 

[Buster Bluth]

Barring some catastrophic scandal like the one's of recent years (knock on wood), I see this team running the table.

This is how you set yourself up for disappointment.

 

[Crazy Balki]

This is how you set yourself up for disappointment.

This isn't setting myself up for disappointment. This is realizing the talent we possess and assessing what a realistic goal is. No matter what my expectations are, this is a playoff or bust year for ND. They are squarely under the 8-ball right now, and are in deep danger of falling back in obscurity if they don't churn out some momentum. And since we're dealing with presumptions of the future based on nothing but a feeling, I'd say ND is owed a pretty damn good season based on the sh*t they've been going through over the last 2 decades. Hell, even the one season that was successful ended in horrific disappointment.

I can expect our team to go 6-6, but that doesn't mean I won't be disappointed when they do.

 

[IrishinSyria]

This isn't setting myself up for disappointment. This is realizing the talent we possess and assessing what a realistic goal is. No matter what my expectations are, this is a playoff or bust year for ND. They are squarely under the 8-ball right now, and are in deep danger of falling back in obscurity if they don't churn out some momentum. And since we're dealing with presumptions of the future based on nothing but a feeling, I'd say ND is owed a pretty damn good season based on the sh*t they've been going through over the last 2 decades. Hell, even the one season that was successful ended in horrific disappointment.

I can expect our team to go 6-6, but that doesn't mean I won't be disappointed when they do.

I'm working on a spreadsheet to help illustrate just how unlikely running the table is right now. My goal is to get it to show the % chance of winning 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 games given how likely people think ND is to beat each team on their schedule, but I'm a shitty statistician so I'm stuck at showing the odds of running the table (anyone more smarter then me, feal free to help out).

Anyway, here's the link feel free to play around with it. I've given us an unrealistically high 90% chance of beating each team to start. That comes out to a 1 in 4 chance of running the table.

I only bring this up, because I feel that we will be a great team next year. But if people are putting all their hopes on a playoff run... well, expect to be disappointed. The sample size is so small and the margin for error so thin that even the best teams need a little luck on their side.

 

[pkt77242]

Way-Too-Early 2015 College Football Top 25: Ohio State, TCU, Auburn lead pack - College Football - SI.com
#16 for SI

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

2014 record: 8-5
Key Losses: WR DaVaris Daniels (suspended in 2014), TE Ben Koyack, RB Cam McDaniel, OL Christian Lombard, CB Cody Riggs, P/K Kyle Brindza

Key Returnees: QB Malik Zaire, QB Everett Golson, WR Amir Carlisle, WR William Fuller, WR Chris Brown, WR Corey Robinson, RB Tarean Folston, OL Ronnie Stanley, OL Nick Martin, OL Steve Elmer, C Matt Hegarty, DL Sheldon Day, DL Jacob Matuska, DL Isaac Rochell, DL Romeo Okwara, LB Greer Martini, LB Jaylon Smith, LB James Onwualo, CB Cole Luke, S Elijah Shumate, S Max Redfield, CB KeiVarae Russell (suspended in 2014), DE Ishaq Williams (suspended in 2014)

How this ranking will be right: Do you see how many guys the Fighting Irish are bringing back? In what was basically a worst-case scenario season, Notre Dame still won eight games, including the Music City Bowl over LSU, so things can only go up from here.

How this ranking will be wrong: The Irish get lost on a team-building tour of the RV Hall of Fame after entering an RV that has a sign hanging on the door that says “No Tresspassing.” That RV acts as a Stargate, sending them into another dimension, and Notre Dame is forced to forfeit the entire season. The whole ordeal will later be immortalized in a J.J. Abrams film.

 

[IrishinSyria]

Way-Too-Early 2015 College Football Top 25: Ohio State, TCU, Auburn lead pack - College Football - SI.com
#16 for SI

I do agree that 8 wins is a hard everything went wrong floor for the team. Anything lower than that will be the end of the Kelly era .