ND in 2011 preseason top 25?

[Old Man Mike]

If we beat Miami, we can joyfully drink the Green Kool-Aid for eight months and no harm done. So I'm with Johnny, be prepared to buy stock in Kool-Aid sometime soon. And, by the way, given the look of our schedule next year, I'd not be surprised at all to see us highly ranked in legitimate polls pre-season IF we close the deal and win the bowl. And why not start high? We don't sneak up on anybody anyway. They all seem to want to give ND their best shot as it is. {Maybe not USC; they're too arrogant; but everybody else}.

 

[jakerbluegold]

If we beat Miami, we can joyfully drink the Green Kool-Aid for eight months and no harm done. So I'm with Johnny, be prepared to buy stock in Kool-Aid sometime soon. And, by the way, given the look of our schedule next year, I'd not be surprised at all to see us highly ranked in legitimate polls pre-season IF we close the deal and win the bowl. And why not start high? We don't sneak up on anybody anyway. They all seem to want to give ND their best shot as it is. {Maybe not USC; they're too arrogant; but everybody else}.

I agree with not sneaking up on anybody, everyone loves to beat Notre Dame, but I think it's setting us up for failure to have a lofty ranking in the pre-season. Always seems to bite us in the ***.

 

[johnnykillz]

We shouldn't be afraid of success. Our past success can't haunt us. Only the premonition of defeat... But it's not premonition. It's recent past.

Breathe through the same nostrils you inhaled from when we were the upper echelon!

Don't look now, but it's going to happen again. Full circle is nigh gentlemen. Feel it. Believe it. Preach it. Confidence is a peculiar and an admirable attribute.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

During the Weis era I wanted the "over-looking" ranking where you are ranked lower to start and come into success without hype, mainly, because I didn't ever feel fully confident that the team could live up to it.

I feel a lot differently with the BK era, and the future. I don't think any areas of this team are going to be a glaring weakness' ala Weis defenses. I want the hype, and the expectations because I think this team, and staff, believe in itself where they will meet and exceed expectations. The Weis era was soft. I am pleasantly shocked how quickly BK and co. broke the disease of folding under pressure and being underachievers. This team is tough, and only getting tougher. I think a little hype would be good for them, I think they are hungry/confident/tough enough to meet/exceed it.

Granted, we will lose a few games next year as the new system settles in completely, but the attitude of this team will win it some game's that this team probably should win, aswell.

I haven't felt this way in years.

 

[johnnykillz]

During the Weis era I wanted the "over-looking" ranking where you are ranked lower to start and come into success without hype, mainly, because I didn't ever feel fully confident that the team could live up to it.

I feel a lot differently with the BK era, and the future. I don't think any areas of this team are going to be a glaring weakness' ala Weis defenses. I want the hype, and the expectations because I think this team, and staff, believe in itself where they will meet and exceed expectations. The Weis era was soft. I am pleasantly shocked how quickly BK and co. broke the disease of folding under pressure and being underachievers. This team is tough, and only getting tougher. I think a little hype would be good for them, I think they are hungry/confident/tough enough to meet/exceed it.

Granted, we will lose a few games next year as the new system settles in completely, but the attitude of this team will win it some game's that this team probably should win, aswell.

I haven't felt this way in years.

Well put. Thank-you for your point of view.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

Well put. Thank-you for your point of view.

No problem. My only nagging worry about the future is hoping that the current staff stays in place long enough for the team to establish an identity for itself. They haven't had consistency in forever, I think the program needs that more then any 5 star recruit.

 

[jakerbluegold]

During the Weis era I wanted the "over-looking" ranking where you are ranked lower to start and come into success without hype, mainly, because I didn't ever feel fully confident that the team could live up to it.

I feel a lot differently with the BK era, and the future. I don't think any areas of this team are going to be a glaring weakness' ala Weis defenses. I want the hype, and the expectations because I think this team, and staff, believe in itself where they will meet and exceed expectations. The Weis era was soft. I am pleasantly shocked how quickly BK and co. broke the disease of folding under pressure and being underachievers. This team is tough, and only getting tougher. I think a little hype would be good for them, I think they are hungry/confident/tough enough to meet/exceed it.

Granted, we will lose a few games next year as the new system settles in completely, but the attitude of this team will win it some game's that this team probably should win, aswell.

I agree with this, but....I really want this team to earn it before we get any recognition.

I know, I know, we won three games in November, which is obviously unparalled in the CW era. I'm skeptical anymore, and sadly, I'm the one guy who's constantly trying to convince my best-friend's(and fellow die-hard Irish fans) that this team is going to suprise us. Fortunately for me, I was right about the USC game for the first time in, oh, a long time!

BTW, just re-watched the USC game and was just as thrilled.

After the win, I actually had my friend(and designated driver) drive us 40 minutes one way to pick up my best friend so's we could celebrate the game. What a glorious win! There were special "dances" that ensued after that game.

 

[TerryTate]

ND is usually in the Top 25 Preseason.

Talent is there. Hype is always there. We smoke Miami, guarantee you we are in the USA Today top 25 preseason next year. Staff isn't going anywhere after 1 year. I like where this team is going. Life is good.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Terry, Thank God for you and the other guys who are reasonable and optimistic at the same time. I swear, sometimes I think that half the board is under-dosing their Prozac... hmmmm, let's see I'm really worried that Kelly might get hit by a meteorite.....and what if the offensive line quits school and opens up a pizza shop???

 

[WhoDeyIrish]

We should be #1 duh...

 

[WhoDeyIrish]

ND is usually in the Top 25 Preseason.

Talent is there. Hype is always there. We smoke Miami, guarantee you we are in the USA Today top 25 preseason next year. Staff isn't going anywhere after 1 year. I like where this team is going. Life is good.

This is exactly how I feel. I just hate saying "wait until next year." Then of course the wait is excruciatingly painful. The college basketball tournament is great, but the NBA sucks without MJ. Baseball is ok for a few months and then it loses its luster and that dry period until football is more depressing than anything. It feels like it will never get here and then when it does it goes so fast. I swear I feel like the season just started yesterday.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

ND is usually in the Top 25 Preseason.

Talent is there. Hype is always there. We smoke Miami, guarantee you we are in the USA Today top 25 preseason next year. Staff isn't going anywhere after 1 year. I like where this team is going. Life is good.

I didn't mean the staff going anywhere this year. I meant in the next 2/3. If we are successful next season..and even more so in 2012...some schools could come calling for our assistants. I know its down the road, but it's a good problem to have. Things are lookin good.

Go Irish

 

[PatsandBostonfan1975]

After a season in which we only beat 1 ranked opponent & lost to Tulsa? Thats an over ranking.

Look I believe were on the up swing here but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

What you mean Tulsa ranked in this one 25

 

[NDinL.A.]

My stance:

Rudy and Crist returning with a possibility of Floyd back. An open camp of good QBs. Solid backfield.

Sorry jkillzzzz, but Rudy isn't coming back. I'm visiting in-laws for the holidays in South Bend as we speak and I can tell you it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that he's gone. He hasn't even registered for spring classes. Most think Floyd will be gone too, however at least he registered for classes in the event he feels the need to come back.

Hope I'm wrong though bro.

 

[IrishLax]

Sorry jkillzzzz, but Rudy isn't coming back. I'm visiting in-laws for the holidays in South Bend as we speak and I can tell you it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that he's gone. He hasn't even registered for spring classes. Most think Floyd will be gone too, however at least he registered for classes in the event he feels the need to come back.

Hope I'm wrong though bro.

Yeah it really makes no sense for Rudy to stay. It does make a lot of sense for Floyd to stay another year though if he can improve his draft stock from second round to first round.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

I'm not a big fan of preseason rankings either, but since we are discussing this one, I will say that 20 is about right in my estimation. Our team has alot of potential and has shown alot of resiliency this year with the rash of injuries to our stars and finding ways to win despite the adversity. I think once we heal up and are healthy, our team will have a full season under their belts and you will only see more improvement in most areas. I think we are a better football team next year and we will be one that should be in the top 25 for the most part. We are not BCS good yet, but we are getting there and next year we will take another step in that direction.

 

[devolg]

What you mean Tulsa ranked in this one 25

Which is even more absurd than our 20th ranking. Just adds to the argument that theres no validity in this poll.

Look I'm ready to "Return to Glory" as much as the rest of you but we always seem to get the cart in front of the horse. If I've picked up anything from BK it's that this is a process that will take some time. I'm good with that.

I'm not interested in overnight success rather somebody that's gonna take his time and meticulously solve the problems we've had for so many years and restore a storied program back into a weekly and yearly contender.

You can cite our past 3 wins all you want but again it's putting the cart in front of the horse. Take the past 5 games into account...

10/23: Manhandled by Navy.....again

10/30: Beat by Tulsa. Really nothing more to say

11/13: Amazing win over Utah. Played lights out but the skeptics argue they were suffering a TCU hangover & still the only ranked team we've beaten since 06 (?)

11/20: Win over Army. It's Army nothing really special here.

11/27: Struggled to hang on and beat a very bad USC

Am I down playing the recent success? I don't know it's possible but I'm just sick and tired of the unreasonable expectations. The defense has showed up big but it's riddled with some important Seniors who won't be returning. There's a lot of work left to be done.

 

[irishfan]

Which is even more absurd than our 20th ranking. Just adds to the argument that theres no validity in this poll.

Look I'm ready to "Return to Glory" as much as the rest of you but we always seem to get the cart in front of the horse. If I've picked up anything from BK it's that this is a process that will take some time. I'm good with that.

I'm not interested in overnight success rather somebody that's gonna take his time and meticulously solve the problems we've had for so many years and restore a storied program back into a weekly and yearly contender.

You can cite our past 3 wins all you want but again it's putting the cart in front of the horse. Take the past 5 games into account...

10/23: Manhandled by Navy.....again

10/30: Beat by Tulsa. Really nothing more to say

11/13: Amazing win over Utah. Played lights out but the skeptics argue they were suffering a TCU hangover & still the only ranked team we've beaten since 06 (?)

11/20: Win over Army. It's Army nothing really special here.

11/27: Struggled to hang on and beat a very bad USC

Am I down playing the recent success? I don't know it's possible but I'm just sick and tired of the unreasonable expectations. The defense has showed up big but it's riddled with some important Seniors who won't be returning. There's a lot of work left to be done.

We have had 4 seniors starting in our 2-deep on D since Navy. It is not riddled with seniors.

We went 7-5 and faced seemingly a much tougher schedule this year than we will next year. Our QB play has been average at best and will certainly be improved. Using the starters we have had since Navy, we return 9 or 10 on offense (depending on Floyd) and 8 on offense (and all backups minus Nwanko). Even an 8-4 record would have us ranked in the top 25 to end next year, and honestly 8-4 would be a dissappointment for next year. I'm not expecting a top 10 team, but there is no excuse for this team not to jump at least one or two games in the win column considering this year we had a 1st year coach, new offense/defense, crazy injuries, and a very tough schedule.

And Tulsa went 9-3 this year, returns 19 starters, and is ranked 28th right now in the AP. I personally think they're going to get smoked by Hawaii in their bowl and will only win 8 or so games next year (they play Oklahoma, Ok State, and Boise St), but considering their record now and the talent they have coming back, 25th isn't that crazy of a pick.

 

[phork]

Which is even more absurd than our 20th ranking. Just adds to the argument that theres no validity in this poll.

Look I'm ready to "Return to Glory" as much as the rest of you but we always seem to get the cart in front of the horse. If I've picked up anything from BK it's that this is a process that will take some time. I'm good with that.

I'm not interested in overnight success rather somebody that's gonna take his time and meticulously solve the problems we've had for so many years and restore a storied program back into a weekly and yearly contender.

You can cite our past 3 wins all you want but again it's putting the cart in front of the horse. Take the past 5 games into account...

10/23: Manhandled by Navy.....again

10/30: Beat by Tulsa. Really nothing more to say

11/13: Amazing win over Utah. Played lights out but the skeptics argue they were suffering a TCU hangover & still the only ranked team we've beaten since 06 (?)

11/20: Win over Army. It's Army nothing really special here.

11/27: Struggled to hang on and beat a very bad USC

Am I down playing the recent success? I don't know it's possible but I'm just sick and tired of the unreasonable expectations. The defense has showed up big but it's riddled with some important Seniors who won't be returning. There's a lot of work left to be done.

Navy was a head scratcher, but this ain't your daddies Navy. They are a pretty decent team.
Tulsa because Crist got hurt and Kelly decided that 7 was better than the easy 3 and a W.
Regardless of any hangover Utah is a ranked team.

Army is Army, but it was at Yankee Stadium and we had a fresh faced QB at the helm

Struggle to hang on against USC might be true, but regardless of how "bad' they were perceived that is a team loaded with 5* talent.

While there is work to be done, the defense showed great strides this year, save the Navy game, and I expect things to only get better next year.

 

[eNDzone]

Look at the schedule next year and ask yourself what teams will beat us . We have Michigan State at home. Stanford is the last game of the season it looks like it could be our toughest.

When I look at the improvement of this team and if that improvement continues into next fall, it seems to me like we are capable of beating every team on the schdule.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

Navy was a head scratcher, but this ain't your daddies Navy. They are a pretty decent team.
Tulsa because Crist got hurt and Kelly decided that 7 was better than the easy 3 and a W.
Regardless of any hangover Utah is a ranked team.

Army is Army, but it was at Yankee Stadium and we had a fresh faced QB at the helm

Struggle to hang on against USC might be true, but regardless of how "bad' they were perceived that is a team loaded with 5* talent.

While there is work to be done, the defense showed great strides this year, save the Navy game, and I expect things to only get better next year.

Also, Brian Kelly's teams are known to take off in year 2. I don't see how it would be outrageous if we were ranked in the top 20-25 starting off next season. 9 wins next season isn't overly optimistic in my opinion.

 

[johnnykillz]

Sorry jkillzzzz, but Rudy isn't coming back. I'm visiting in-laws for the holidays in South Bend as we speak and I can tell you it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that he's gone. He hasn't even registered for spring classes. Most think Floyd will be gone too, however at least he registered for classes in the event he feels the need to come back.

Hope I'm wrong though bro.

Damn-it!

Alright. Bu maybe? I detect a maybe...?

Maybe I'll take.

 

[Irishcop]

I think ND is going to be really good next year. I personally dont want that much preseason hype or a good ranking, because then if we do lose a game early in the season, we get to listen to all the so called experts at espn talk about how ND should have never been ranked and just dont have any talent. So tired of hearing ND has does'nt have enough talent.

 

[jmurphy75]

Which is even more absurd than our 20th ranking. Just adds to the argument that theres no validity in this poll.

Look I'm ready to "Return to Glory" as much as the rest of you but we always seem to get the cart in front of the horse. If I've picked up anything from BK it's that this is a process that will take some time. I'm good with that.

I'm not interested in overnight success rather somebody that's gonna take his time and meticulously solve the problems we've had for so many years and restore a storied program back into a weekly and yearly contender.

You can cite our past 3 wins all you want but again it's putting the cart in front of the horse. Take the past 5 games into account...

10/23: Manhandled by Navy.....again

10/30: Beat by Tulsa. Really nothing more to say

11/13: Amazing win over Utah. Played lights out but the skeptics argue they were suffering a TCU hangover & still the only ranked team we've beaten since 06 (?)

11/20: Win over Army. It's Army nothing really special here.

11/27: Struggled to hang on and beat a very bad USC

Am I down playing the recent success? I don't know it's possible but I'm just sick and tired of the unreasonable expectations. The defense has showed up big but it's riddled with some important Seniors who won't be returning. There's a lot of work left to be done.

How is the ranking not legit we played the toughest schedule in college football with almost all of our opponents playing in bowl games. Never mind the fact that the Michigan, Michigan State and Tulsa games could've gone either way and we over all had a young injury riddled team. I by no means think that we have returned to glory, but the ranking is more than fair....remember they are only predictions.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Which is even more absurd than our 20th ranking. Just adds to the argument that theres no validity in this poll.

Look I'm ready to "Return to Glory" as much as the rest of you but we always seem to get the cart in front of the horse. If I've picked up anything from BK it's that this is a process that will take some time. I'm good with that.

I'm not interested in overnight success rather somebody that's gonna take his time and meticulously solve the problems we've had for so many years and restore a storied program back into a weekly and yearly contender.

You can cite our past 3 wins all you want but again it's putting the cart in front of the horse. Take the past 5 games into account...

10/23: Manhandled by Navy.....again

10/30: Beat by Tulsa. Really nothing more to say

11/13: Amazing win over Utah. Played lights out but the skeptics argue they were suffering a TCU hangover & still the only ranked team we've beaten since 06 (?)

11/20: Win over Army. It's Army nothing really special here.

11/27: Struggled to hang on and beat a very bad USC

Am I down playing the recent success? I don't know it's possible but I'm just sick and tired of the unreasonable expectations. The defense has showed up big but it's riddled with some important Seniors who won't be returning. There's a lot of work left to be done.

Look, the 25th ranked team in the nation right now is UCONN at 8-4. They got smoked by Michigan and lost to Temple and Rutgers, among others. You don't think that we can be at least as good as this year's UCONN team? Really?

The 21st ranked team in the nation is Miss St, also at 8-4. Their best wins were vs a bad Georgia team and a very down FL team.

The 20th ranked team this year is Utah. We smoked them this year.

We went 7-5 this year. We return 9 starters on offense (and replace one with Chris Watt who was playing half of every game by the end), and every single player we will start next season on defense got considerable time this year (with Shembo or whoever plays the Dog LB spot having the least amount of time), losing only 2 playmakers in Walls and B Smith. We are trending way up, having won 3 games in November and you can point to every single player on the defense and say they improved this year, in some cases dramatically.

So, looking at all those facts, and realizing that being #20 in the country is really not that big of a deal (nowhere close to being 'elite')...do you really think it's that far-fetched to think that ND could end up at #20?

I don't.

 

[Jerry]

I don't know why people try to down play the win against SC so much? So because SC had to finally start playing by the rules this season beating them isn't impressive. They beat a good Arizona team and only lost to Standford (who we consider pretty good right?) by 2 points. And we pretty much dominated USC if it wasn't for our poor QB play.

 

[devolg]

I respectfully disagree with the ranking. I don't think we're there yet. Not sure what else I can say.

 

[NDinL.A.]

I respectfully disagree with the ranking. I don't think we're there yet. Not sure what else I can say.

No, I can see your point about disagreeing with the ranking. (What have we done in the past 4 years?) But my point is that it really isn't far-fetched, considering who is currently ranked at or near that spot and who we have coming back and how we finished.

I don't blame anyone for thinking we aren't there yet. I personally think we're closer than you think, but for me it all depends on QB play, presuming the defense continues to improve.

 

[lookingdeadred]

It was not going to be an easy three

It was not going to be an easy three

a lot of wind that day.

Tulsa because Crist got hurt and Kelly decided that 7 was better than the easy 3 and a W.

 

[Dizzyphil]

2011 College Football Top 25 Preview

Saw this on ESPN.com

I remember this site from last year, and I think they're known for being pretty accurate. Like seeing USC at #43.

USC shouldn't even be in the ranking at all if they are ineligible for any bowls in 2011.