ND's Path to the 2015 Playoffs

IrishJayhawk

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Absolutely, and IMO would be a laugher in a bowl type scenario with a month to prepare.

This opinion is taking into account:
-BK learning quite a bit from the disastrous bowl prep of 2012
-The generic look of the 2012 defense being easy to exploit with a month to study it (Bama noted how easy it was to know where everyone would be every play)

But Joe Schmidt is on this team. 2012 in a romp.

I really don't know what to think. That defense was so good until Bama. But the offense was held together by bubble gum. What an interesting hypothetical...
 

mick2

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Riddle me this?
This is the best Notre Dame team since _________?

2012, but I think the 2005 Brady Quinn/Weis team beats the 2012 squad. or its at least a very close game.
 
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jakerbluegold

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This team could legitimately hang with anyone. I doubt the 2012 version could. I agree that a game between the two would be interesting, with the current crushing them, and I love that team!
 

ickythump1225

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I would take the current team over the 2012 in a head to head match up but that team did go 12-0 and make a run to the title game. This team needs finish strong and make some postseason noise to be remembered in the same light as the 2012 team.

I also think that BK is a better coach now than 2012. I think he's grown as a coach in the intervening time. He learned a lot from getting his ass kicked in Miami by Nick Saban.
 

Fbolt

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A huge part of Bama kicking ND's rump back in 2012 was ND's preparation. Not that ND didn't know how to prepare, but if you recall, they were short on depth, particularly on the OL. That prevented tough game like practices. This team has the depth.

Many are skeptical of ND v Bama. I don't think the Irish need to be overly concerned. The Irish were not lucky to get past LSU in the bowl last year-they won that game without 5 downs or a gimmick. LSU (their schedule has been tougher than I originally thought) has not impressed me this year and their loss did not surprise me. Bama can be beaten-they already have. I'd love to see the irish win the Championship going through Clemson, who needed ND to play their most mistake ridden game of the year by far, and Bama-any order.
 

shalom

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I would take the current team over the 2012 in a head to head match up but that team did go 12-0 and make a run to the title game. This team needs finish strong and make some postseason noise to be remembered in the same light as the 2012 team.

I also think that BK is a better coach now than 2012. I think he's grown as a coach in the intervening time. He learned a lot from getting his ass kicked in Miami by Nick Saban.

It's probably more that he might have more "his guys" now. In 2012 Kelly didn't even really have a QB he really liked, the defense was bailing out Golson and they had TR to come in as well. This year he has Kizer working from a limited playbook just getting it to his playmakers without making mistakes rather than depending on Kizer to make big plays like Golson had to. Basically BK has more weapons to run his system now. Let's see how BK does if he gets into the playoffs, I'm still not sold on him coaching to success in his big games.

As for who would win like most of these scenarios they would probably split a lot of the games if they played an infinite series to determine "who is best." To point: would 2012 have given up 2 scores immediately on their heels in Death Valley? Probably not. Golson might have been responsible for like 2-3 TOS though to let a less talented Clemson team into the game. Also keep in mind that the 2012 team already has an epic goalline stand versus Stanford in the books, ND will likely go into the Stanford game a couple points underdog and it's certainly not a given that they will beat that team.
 

CurtisCandy

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I'm not feeling super confident that Alabama goes undefeated through the rest of the season. I mean, I know it's a definite possibility, but I don't think it's a "gimme" by any stretch.

It was obvious that the key to stopping LSU was to clamp down on Fournette. Until Saturday, no one they faced had the horses up front on defense to do that. 'Bama is perfectly suited for it, and did so. Of course, with no running game, LSU's offense is way below average.

Going forward, I don't think stopping Miss. State has that cut and dried of a blueprint for keeping their scoring down. I believe this game is gonna be fairly close, and a bounce of the ball one way or another could swing it.

Then, of course, there's the Auburn game. We all know full well how big rivalry games have a knack for throwing out everything that we've learned about teams all season long.

And as far as Charleston Southern, Alabama should be dropped 10 spots in the rankings just for having the audacity to schedule that "game"!
 

BobbyMac

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Week 12:

Below is the:

Team...............Record......Opponent ............


ACC

Clemson..........(9-0).........@ Syracuse
UNC................(8-1)..........Miami



B1G

tOSU................(9-0)..........@ Illinois
MSU.................(8-1)..........Maryland
Iowa.................(9-0)..........Minnesota


Big 12

Baylor...............(8-0)............Oklahoma
TCU..................(8-1)............Kansas
OSU..................(9-0)............@ Iowa St
OU....................(7-1)............@ Baylor


PAC-12

Utah................(8-1)............@ Zona


SEC

LSU..................(8-1)..............Arkansas
Bama................(8-1)..............@ Miss St
Florida..............(8-1)..............@ S. Car



Opponents Week 11 schedule:

Texas......4-5..... @ WVU
UVa.........3-6..... @ Ville
GT...........3-6..... vs VT
UMass......1-8..... vs E. Mich
Clemson...9-0..... @ Cuse
Navy.........8-1..... vs SMU
SC............6-3..... @ Col
Temple.....8-1..... @ USF
Pitt...........6-3..... @ Duke
WF...........3-6..... @ ND
BC............3-7..... Bye
Stanford....8-1......Oregon
 

ickythump1225

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It's probably more that he might have more "his guys" now. In 2012 Kelly didn't even really have a QB he really liked, the defense was bailing out Golson and they had TR to come in as well. This year he has Kizer working from a limited playbook just getting it to his playmakers without making mistakes rather than depending on Kizer to make big plays like Golson had to. Basically BK has more weapons to run his system now. Let's see how BK does if he gets into the playoffs, I'm still not sold on him coaching to success in his big games.
Well that is true but I do think BK has learned a lot since he's come to South Bend. Bk acknowledged that he wanted to play Alabama in the 2012 to gauge where the program was at compared to the best in the game (or something along those lines) and I think getting thumped was an invaluable education.

That being said our 2012 squad wasn't overly talented and our offense was severely limited. I knew going into that game we wouldn't be able to score more than 14-20 points and we'd have to rely on the defense to bail us out. Unfortunately we were not near Alabama's level.

As for who would win like most of these scenarios they would probably split a lot of the games if they played an infinite series to determine "who is best." To point: would 2012 have given up 2 scores immediately on their heels in Death Valley? Probably not. Golson might have been responsible for like 2-3 TOS though to let a less talented Clemson team into the game. Also keep in mind that the 2012 team already has an epic goalline stand versus Stanford in the books, ND will likely go into the Stanford game a couple points underdog and it's certainly not a given that they will beat that team.
Well I think this year's Stanford team might be a touch better than that team from 2012. Also we got to play that game at home in down pour (ask Clemson how that can work out for you), this year's game is on the road. I think on the whole this year's schedule is tougher than that 2012 schedule. For one this year's Clemson team is way better than that 2012 Oklahoma team. This year's Navy team might be the best Navy team in 50-60 years. That year Pitt was a bad team and we got them at home.

Obviously it's impossible question to answer but I just like this year's team to win a close one. I think our offense would find a way to score enough to put away a pesky 2012 team.
 

STLcardz-NDirish

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All in all I think It would be close, but if they played 10 times, 2015 would win 6. 2015 has depth on it's side

Kizer>Golson
CJ=Riddick/Wood
Fuller>Jones
Brown>Goodman
Hunter>Toma
Eifert>Lautau
Stanley= Z. Martin
N. Martin>Cave
McGlinchy>Lombard
Elmer>Golic
Watt>Nelson
Nix>cage
Day=KLM
Tuitt>Rochell
Shembo>Okwara
Teo>Schmidt
Jaylon>Spond
Fox=Onwualu
Russell=Russell (hah)
Luke>Jackson
Shumate>Matta
Refield>Farley
Kind of hard to compare some of the DL and LBs because of scheme, but in total

2015 11
2012 6
TIE 5

The talent gap between the Offenses is much steeper (in favor of 2015) than that of the Defenses
 
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K

koonja

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All in all I think It would be close, but if they played 10 times, 2015 would win 6. 2015 has depth on it's side

Kizer>Golson
CJ=Riddick
Fuller>Jones
Brown>Goodman
Hunter>Toma
Eifert>Lautau
Stanley= Z. Martin
N. Martin>Cave
McGlinchy>Lombard
Elmer>Golic
Watt>Nelson
Nix>cage
Day=KLM
Tuitt>Rochell
Shembo>Okwara
Teo>Schmidt
Jaylon>Spond
Fox=Onwualu
Russell=Russell (hah)
Luke>Jackson
Shumate>Matta
Refield>Farley
Kind of hard to compare some of the DL and LBs because of scheme, but in total

2015 11
2012 6
TIE 5

I like how you did this. I'd personally (and easily) take Riddick over CJ. I think what CJ is doing is great and I love the big play, but Theo was so shifty and ran so low and hard. I want an every down back that always gets a few rather than a back that can go the distance but also get stood up at the line. I love CJ and think he'd a player, just like Theo more.
 

STLcardz-NDirish

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I see what your saying. I agree riddick is more of your every down back, but CJ's big play ability has to count for something. Riddick would never beable to replicate a run like CJ had against LSU on that jet sweep.
 
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GATTACA!

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All in all I think It would be close, but if they played 10 times, 2015 would win 6. 2015 has depth on it's side

Kizer>Golson
CJ=Riddick/Wood
Fuller>Jones
Brown>Goodman
Hunter>Toma
Eifert>Lautau
Stanley= Z. Martin
N. Martin>Cave
McGlinchy>Lombard
Elmer>Golic
Watt>Nelson
Nix>cage
Day=KLM
Tuitt>Rochell
Shembo>Okwara
Teo>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Schmidt
Jaylon>Spond
Fox=Onwualu
Russell=Russell (hah)
Luke>Jackson
Shumate>Matta
Refield>Farley
Kind of hard to compare some of the DL and LBs because of scheme, but in total

2015 11
2012 6
TIE 5

The talent gap between the Offenses is much steeper (in favor of 2015) than that of the Defenses

FTFY
 

NDPhilly

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Who would have thought we could have a defensive backfield of Freshman converted RB Keivarae Russell, Bennett Jackson, Zeke Motta, and RS FR Farley, and still have a top 5 Defense in the country.
 

IrishSteelhead

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ND's Path to the 2015 Playoffs

Russell=Russell (hah)


I would actually disagree with this one, and say 2012 Russell>>>2015 Russell. Freshman Russell seemed leaner, quicker, and hungrier to make a play. Current Russell seems a step slower, more well fed, and hungrier to celebrate after the play.
 

Irish#1

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The committee tends to place more emphasis on how a team is playing at the moment, so any loss late in the season is pretty much going to cancel any teams plans. Clemson might get in as the #4 seed if the go undefeated and lose the ACCCG in a tight one simply because they are #1 right now. Any other team will probably drop out of the top four with a loss including OSU.

It will be interesting to see how the Big 12 shakes out. How crazy is it that these teams are meeting each other so late in the season? Since late losses hurt more, I wouldn't be surprised if the try to schedule these head to heads earlier in the year.
 

rocket66

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ND's Path to the 2015 Playoffs

11/27 could potentially be a huge day for us obviously with the Stanford game, but also Navy/Houston play that day. Would be huge if the teams playing in the following week's Pac 12 and AAC championships were all 4 ND wins.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

GoIrish41

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All in all I think It would be close, but if they played 10 times, 2015 would win 6. 2015 has depth on it's side

Kizer>Golson
CJ=Riddick/Wood
Fuller>Jones
Brown>Goodman
Hunter>Toma
Eifert>Lautau
Stanley= Z. Martin
N. Martin>Cave
McGlinchy>Lombard
Elmer>Golic
Watt>Nelson
Nix>cage
Day=KLM
Tuitt>Rochell
Shembo>Okwara
Teo>Schmidt
Jaylon>Spond
Fox=Onwualu
Russell=Russell (hah)
Luke>Jackson
Shumate>Matta
Refield>Farley
Kind of hard to compare some of the DL and LBs because of scheme, but in total

2015 11
2012 6
TIE 5

The talent gap between the Offenses is much steeper (in favor of 2015) than that of the Defenses

I like your list, but I'd make some adjustments.

ZMart is better than Stanley
Day is better than KLM
Redfield is not better than Farley
I liked Cierre and Theo, but CJ is better
 

Blaise

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11/27 could potentially be a huge day for us obviously with the Stanford game, but also Navy/Houston play that day. Would be huge if the teams playing in the following week's Pac 12 and AAC championships were all 4 ND wins.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly this.. I think ND needs to worry less about other 1 loss teams and more on the teams they beat to keep winning... Undefeated Big 12 hops us.. but if Stanford vs USC in Pac, Clemson wins ACC, Navy vs Temple are all in conference championships.. It matches up better than anyone including Oklahoma...
 

ulukinatme

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Riddle me this?
This is the best Notre Dame team since _________?



I would say '93 too, but that '93 squad was better. There is a lot to be said for the 2012 and 2005 squads, but that '93 squad could hang with anyone and went toe to toe with the eventual champ and won (Fuck you, BC, for keeping us out of the big game).

When you think about it, talent is important to a football team's success, but coaching, motivation, culture, playing as a team, and things of that nature are probably more important in the grand scheme of things. Look at that 2005 squad. Many of them were the result of poor Willingham recruiting, and yet that team was motivated and was in pretty much every game. Offensively they scored a lot of points on some very good teams, but unfortunately they weren't always that great playing team defense. The 2012 squad was an interesting bunch. The defense kept us in every game, but offensively you never knew what you were going to get with Golson and Rees in at different times.
 
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koonja

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I don't understand OK St potentially jumping 10 spots for beating a team no one knew nothing about because of their OSU-like schedule. It's not like they beat a team we knew was ~5-10. They beat a team we had to put at 5-10 because they were undefeated but hadn't played a good team to prove their worth. I'm fine with OK St jumping 6, maybe 7 spots. 10? No sir.
 
C

Cackalacky

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I would say '93 too, but that '93 squad was better. There is a lot to be said for the 2012 and 2005 squads, but that '93 squad could hang with anyone and went toe to toe with the eventual champ and won (Fuck you, BC, for keeping us out of the big game).

When you think about it, talent is important to a football team's success, but coaching, motivation, culture, playing as a team, and things of that nature are probably more important in the grand scheme of things. Look at that 2005 squad. Many of them were the result of poor Willingham recruiting, and yet that team was motivated and was in pretty much every game. Offensively they scored a lot of points on some very good teams, but unfortunately they weren't always that great playing team defense. The 2012 squad was an interesting bunch. The defense kept us in every game, but offensively you never knew what you were going to get with Golson and Rees in at different times.

No doubt... IMO that was the last "great" team ND fielded. I have been hard on the coaches up until recently but this team is fantastic and everyone is really playing well. I still think the 2012 team was good not great and that it was a bit premature for them to reach the championship game. Its great we got there but we were not ready for that game (both the coaches and the players).
 

aubeirish

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I don't understand OK St potentially jumping 10 spots for beating a team no one knew nothing about because of their OSU-like schedule. It's not like they beat a team we knew was ~5-10. They beat a team we had to put at 5-10 because they were undefeated but hadn't played a good team to prove their worth. I'm fine with OK St jumping 6, maybe 7 spots. 10? No sir.

Do not be troubled. I saw OK State play a few times this season. They played by far their best game of the season last Saturday, especially on defense. I'm fairly certain that they will lose another game. If they don't, well they probably deserve to be in there. For me, it doesn't matter what other teams do at this point. I can tell you this though, there won't be many undefeated teams by the end of the year. Take care of your business and no way we are out.
 

ulukinatme

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I don't understand OK St potentially jumping 10 spots for beating a team no one knew nothing about because of their OSU-like schedule. It's not like they beat a team we knew was ~5-10. They beat a team we had to put at 5-10 because they were undefeated but hadn't played a good team to prove their worth. I'm fine with OK St jumping 6, maybe 7 spots. 10? No sir.

If they knock off Baylor in two weeks, if they haven't jumped us by then, I expect them to. I'm hoping Baylor or Oklahoma knock them out though, and Baylor then gets beat by Oklahoma, TCU, or one of the others. OK State should be ahead of all the Big 12 teams at this point for knocking off TCU, even if neither team was tested prior to that game. I really don't know why Baylor is as high as they are in the Coaches poll, other than the record...they're getting their first fucking test of the season in the 2nd week in November. I agree to an extent though, TCU did not always look good against mediocre competition, and in their first decent game they looked bad. It shouldn't really count as a big win since we knew little about TCU, but it'll still go down as a Top 25 win for OK St.
 

RDU Irish

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So what is the best non-conference

Baylor - Lamar, SMU, Rice
TCU - Minnesota, SF Austin, SMU
OKST - Central Michigan, UCA?, UTSA
Oklahoma - Akron, Tennessee, Tulsa

I'll give Oklahoma some credit for historically playing decent non-conference opponents but the fact the best non-conference opponent for this conference's top four teams is Tennessee and the next best isn't even close at Minnesota - should be embarrassing. Screw all of them.
 

ulukinatme

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Yeah, while it wasn't a juggernaut, Tennessee was a respectable opponent and on the road. The other 3 Big 12 teams can't say they've matched a decent opponent like that.
 

irishfan

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Tennessee is a lock to finish 8-4 (vs. North Texas, at Mizzou, vs. Vandy), and will 100% be ranked to finish the year. Their losses were by 7 points to Oklahoma, 1 point to Florida, 4 points to Arkansas, and 5 points to Bama.

IF both ND and OU finish 11-1, it will be interesting. They will have 4 wins over Top-25 opponents....including three straight to end the season. Their loss was to Texas was bad, but we would really need Stanford to win the PAC-12 and USC/Navy/Temple to all finish ranked for us to be clearly ahead of them in the final rankings.

Of course, if they go 11-1 and tie with another 11-1 Big-12 team...the committee might say screw the Big-12 like last season.
 
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