Way too early top 25 from ESPN

[arrowryan]

Says the teenager. haha

People in their thirties, or older, are the ones who have been through the real pain.

Are my eyes mistaken or do I not see Ohio State on that list? Mark Schlabach's fine work again...

At least you guys have witnessed Notre Dame winning a championship. The best bowl I have seen us win was the Sun Bowl. Every year people build Notre Dame up and I always take the bait and they always have a disappointing season

 

[irishpat183]

Ideally

1. Michigan beats Alabama
2. Michigan is ranked top 5-9
3. ND beats the heck out of them
4. ND is 4-0, ranked in the top 9-12 heading into the middle part of the schedule

And then, "realistically" we lose to Wake or BYU and dash all our hopes....

But I love your enthusiasim. And that would be sweet.

 

[ACamp1900]

Says the teenager. haha

People in their thirties, or older, are the ones who have been through the real pain.

I'm 31 I became a fan during the Catholics vs. Convicts II game... the one in which Miami converted that 3rd and forever...


Point?... I have never seen ND win a title as a fan... cam on board a year too late...

 

[Rocket89]

There are some of us left sitting in between the kool-aid drinkers and "woe is ND" people like irishpat and ACamp, right?

 

[ACamp1900]

I don't see myself as woe anything either... just a realist... I don't come on here and bash people, cliff jump or talk about the falling of the skies...

I have commented on the sky is falling crowd often as well...

 

[Whiskeyjack]

We'll face 3 of the top 4 pre-season favorites to win the Heisman in 2012.

 

[Grahambo]

Being a pessimist about this current team is being unfair and not looking at the current roster, coaching staff, and incoming recruits objectively. Using past history to judge this team and the future is short sighted and a cop out.

 

[Veer option]

People in their thirties, or older, are the ones who have been through the real pain.

.

 

[Rocket89]

We'll face 3 of the top 4 pre-season favorites to win the Heisman in 2012.

 

[ACamp1900]

Being a pessimist about this current team is being unfair and not looking at the current roster, coaching staff, and incoming recruits objectively. Using past history to judge this team and the future is short sighted and a cop out.

What is pointing out the lack of a quality QB... rebuilt secondary,... this staff's passion for throwing in the red zone... turnovers... lack of quality depth at the skill positions???

again, I'm not saying this team stinks... only that I expect 7-8 wins until proven otherwise, and yes I believe there is something to that, especially when you are talkin about 18-20somethings...

but to each their own

 

[gkIrish]

We'll face 3 of the top 4 pre-season favorites to win the Heisman in 2012.

Yuck. Two more WRs on that list that will catch passes from the favorites

 

[Rocket89]

I'd also like to point out that Whiskeyjack is on pace for 5,500+ comments in a single year. That is epic.

This has to be an IE record, right?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I'd also like to point out that Whiskeyjack is on pace for 5,500+ comments in a single year. That is epic.

This has to be an IE record, right?

Not sure that this is something to be proud of, but thanks for noticing.

 

[JDAtlanta]

The only poll that matters is the one at the end of the season. I think we will be okay next year, but 2013 has the possibilities to be really, really special. Just think of the offensive speed that will be playing that year.

 

[ACamp1900]

Not sure that this is something to be proud of, but thanks for noticing.

When ACamp1900 starts calling you a post whore... that should be a big hint that maybe you should re-assess some things...

 

[Grahambo]

What is pointing out the lack of a quality QB... rebuilt secondary,... this staff's passion for throwing in the red zone... turnovers... lack of quality depth at the skill positions???

again, I'm not saying this team stinks... only that I expect 7-8 wins until proven otherwise, and yes I believe there is something to that, especially when you are talkin about 18-20somethings...

but to each their own

Did I single you out? No, I didn't. Basing this years results is still short sighted in speaking about this current team. Last years roster was still mainly Charlie Weis guys. Another way of saying it was stocked poorly and had zero depth. You're asking BK to turn water into wine with that group.

 

[irishog77]

I'd also like to point out that Whiskeyjack is on pace for 5,500+ comments in a single year. That is epic.

This has to be an IE record, right?

Not sure that this is something to be proud of, but thanks for noticing.

And que Beau in 3...2...1...

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Last years roster was still mainly Charlie Weis guys. Another way of saying it was stocked poorly and had zero depth. You're asking BK to turn water into wine with that group.

To be fair, this year's seniors were part of ND's 2008 recruiting class; the highest ranked ever. Kelly has certainly had depth and fit issues with some of Charlie's players (particularly at QB), but the cupboard was far from bare when Weis left.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Bama loses (or will lose) almost everything that made them special this year... don't be shocked if it's a game

And they'll reload with 30 guys from Tuscaloosa JC. Somehow I think Satan, I mean Saban will find his way to field another Semi Pro team next year.

 

[notredomer23]

All I am gonna say for this team to finish ranked higher than that will need to do two things and two things only..

1. Don't turn the damn ball over. Have a positive turnover differential. At least +8 would be a very nice improvement.

2. Continued improvement on defense from a top 30 defense last year to a top 20 defense this year.

 

[notredomer23]

Bama loses (or will lose) almost everything that made them special this year... don't be shocked if it's a game

Not a chance...It might be fairly low scoring, but Michigan won't score more than 2 touchdowns and I like this because Denard will be roughed up and worn down by the time we play him

 

[North Buffalo Irish]

Says the teenager. haha

People in their thirties, or older, are the ones who have been through the real pain.

This makes no sense. Anyone in their 30s actually saw Notre Dame win a national title and continue to be successful into the early 90s.

I was born 4 weeks after the Fiesta Bowl win over West Virginia. My Notre Dame lifetime has been Bob Davie, George O'Leary (lol), Ty Willingham, Charlie Weis and two extremely disappointing seasons under Brian Kelly. One of my first sports memories is getting steamrolled by Kordell Stewart and Rashaan Salaam in the '95 Fiesta Bowl. Notre Dame hasn't been an elite program since then.

So, yeah, I really don't get how actually seeing the Irish win a national title and those epic battles with Miami and FSU as "real pain" when people in their 20s have only seen Notre Dame football define mediocrity.

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

We'll face 3 of the top 4 pre-season favorites to win the Heisman in 2012.

Landry Jones sucks. He shouldn't be on there.

 

[irishpat183]

Winning a title requires good coaching, elite talent, and more than a little luck. ND fans with inferiority complexes were making the same arguments last year in comparison to Auburn. And where's Auburn now?

Point taken...but they won it all. Sometimes it's worth it to bet the house and cash in.
No team is full of 5-star recruits. Before Darby's decommitment, we had the #3 ranked class in the nation; behind only Texas and Alabama. LSU and 'Bama don't offer a lot of great prospects; not because those kids aren't good enough, but because LSU and 'Bama don't recruit much outside of the South (they don't have to).

And what recruiting sites are you on!?!??! I've never seen us higher than the top 15...What?

Of course ND fans want to think that every 3 recruit is this year's "sleeper". Sometimes it works out that way (see: Tyler Eifert). But we all know a 3 recruit's chances of becoming a productive starter are not good. Why this annoys you so much I'm not sure.

It annoys me because, rather than demand better recruiting, we give excuses about how that 3 star guy "fits our system"...dude can't play. Don't care the system. And yes, as I stated, there are exceptions. But for every Eifert, there are 10 Deon Walkers

We do recruit guys who can do all those things. But we also require that they be able to spell their names and lack a criminal record. That counts us out for virtually every guy you saw playing on 'Bama's defense last night.

Yes, I don't disagree with ND's standards...but there is a happy medium that we have failed to reach. And funny how we were able to do this during the Holtz years? What happened to that? Why the drop off?

Don't fall into the trap of blaming ND's chronic underachievement on one factor. You seem to be blaming personnel, which is obviously part of the problem, but it goes much deeper than that. And at the end of the day, ND will never be able to manage it's roster like an SEC team, so we'll always be at a disadvantage.

So why the whining about the SEC being overrated? Or ND being given the shaft? When it's obvious that they get the best talent. NCAA football is now about the product and the athletes...not the students. Which is sad on so many levels. But it's the way it is.

 

[Me2SouthBend]

Not sure that this is something to be proud of, but thanks for noticing.

You bring quality info in your posts, so yes it's all good. 5000+ annual posts of nonsense would be not so good. Keep up the good work.

 

[Grahambo]

To be fair, this year's seniors were part of ND's 2008 recruiting class; the highest ranked ever. Kelly has certainly had depth and fit issues with some of Charlie's players (particularly at QB), but the cupboard was far from bare when Weis left.

Something will probably agree to disagree on. No quality QB, no RB depth, LB core very weak sans Te'o, no depth at the CB spot.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

All I am gonna say for this team to finish ranked higher than that will need to do two things and two things only..

1. Don't turn the damn ball over. Have a positive turnover differential. At least +8 would be a very nice improvement.

2011's atrocious TO margin was more attributable to very few TOs from our defense than to too many TOs by our offense. This may be due to Diaco's scheme; if so, the coaches need to address it immediately.

2. Continued improvement on defense from a top 30 defense last year to a top 20 defense this year.

ND did finish with a top 20 defense (17th, to be exact), and had the 3rd best rush defense in the FBS.

 

[irishpat183]

Being a pessimist about this current team is being unfair and not looking at the current roster, coaching staff, and incoming recruits objectively. Using past history to judge this team and the future is short sighted and a cop out.

Yes, and judging on the total unknown is any better? Especially calling for 9-10 wins on recruits that you're not entirely sure of?

Show me your crystal ball. All you can do is use history to make educated guesses about how things are going to turn out.

And you can either have high expectations, Low ones, or somewhere inbetween. I'm sticking in between from now on and will remain a realistic fan from now on. We're not National title caliber, but we're not total garbage...we're Sun Bowl.

 

[NDOM]

What a freeking JOKE! We should not even be close to the top 25. If I were to rate ND from a 1 out of 10 scale (10 being the best) they would get about a 5.5!!!! This team is NOWHERE near good enough to be considered the 22nd best team in the country. They should be around the 40-45 spot.

Don't buy into the hype every year people. We will NEVER EVER win, let alone play in a National Championship. It's just not gonna happen. So be happy with mediocrity because that is as good as we can pretty much get. Oh and btw, have you seen the schedule for next year? LOL..............7-5 here we come.

The only thing we will be ranked #1 in is graduation rate and last time I checked that doesn't win a national championship.

I was 11 years old last time we won a championship, I'm 35 now. That was 24 years ago. Sad.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

In answer to your rebuttals:

1) We had the #3 class on 247 for a couple days until Darby decommitted. Without him, we dropped to #6. The only SEC schools ahead of us currently are UF and 'Bama.

2) Deion Walker was a high 4 who has never seen the field for unknown reasons, so he's not really relevant to your point. I've never read anyone advocating that ND should recruit more RKG 3s instead of 4 and 5s, and it's not like the staff looks for its recruiting strategy on the internet anyway. So what's the harm in some fans overrating a 3 recruit on a message board?

3) The drop-off post Holtz is mainly due to former President Monk Malloy. When the administration is actively hostile to the football program, success isn't easy to come by. He put us in a very deep hole that we're still climbing out of.

So why the whining about the SEC being overrated? Or ND being given the shaft? When it's obvious that they get the best talent. NCAA football is now about the product and the athletes...not the students. Which is sad on so many levels. But it's the way it is.

No one here has disputed any of that, but if your argument is that the only way for ND to win is to become more like the SEC, then prepare for disappointment. ND will give up football before it indulges in the slimy unethical practices that keep that conference on top of the CFB world.