A positive look at the 2012 schedule

[phork]

Same here, I thought most sites have size limits for signature pics...



Alright, who do you see us losing to and why? The only teams that are "better" than us are Oklahoma and U$C.

We lost to USF, UM, USC, Stanford and FSU last year, we almost lost to BC, Pitt & Wake. So to me we beat Navy, BYU, Purdue, Miami & I'll nudge BC into a win. The toss ups are UM, MSU, Pitt, Wake, Stanford. The losses are USC and an OK. We go 3-2 in the toss ups, puts us at 8-4.

 

[NDhoosier]

Pitt will suck this year and Wake will be nothing special... Why do you think they will be toss ups?

 

[phork]

Pitt will suck this year and Wake will be nothing special... Why do you think they will be toss ups?

Because we beat them so handily last year.

 

[returnofthemack]

Pitt will suck this year and Wake will be nothing special... Why do you think they will be toss ups?

Pitt wasn't very good last year and we almost lost. But I agree, that should be an easy win. Wake, on the other hand, returns many of their skill players and gave us all we could handle. Also, most critically, this is Notre Dame football we're talking about. Headscratching losses are an unfortunate but predictable part of it.

 

[NDOM]

Pitt wasn't very good last year and we almost lost. But I agree, that should be an easy win. Wake, on the other hand, returns many of their skill players and gave us all we could handle. Also, most critically, this is Notre Dame football we're talking about. Headscratching losses are an unfortunate but predictable part of it.

I CONCUR!

 

[irishpat183]

Yep I'm that guy, I still say 7-5 is what we are going to go with a bowl win to make us 8-5. That's what I have been used to for the last 20 years. I'm NOT going to be "THAT GUY" and say we are going to go 10-2 every year or compete for the National Championship every year because I actually have realistic expectations.

BUT..........keep posting your 10-2 predictions year in and year out (not just you) so you can be disappointed on a yearly basis.

Thank you. Great post. For every 100 people on here that claim 10-2 every year and give us suspect "ifs and buts" as to why they can beat these teams....I'm going to say 8-5 as well. Not because I think we suck, but because it's a tough schedule and I dont' think we're quite there just yet. 2013 will be a different story.

We're not beating OU or USC. Come on.

 

[irishpat183]

Because we beat them so handily last year.

Exactly...that PITT game was one of the worst CFB games I've ever watched in my life

 

[NDhoosier]

Thank you. Great post. For every 100 people on here that claim 10-2 every year and give us suspect "ifs and buts" as to why they can beat these teams....I'm going to say 8-5 as well. Not because I think we suck, but because it's a tough schedule and I dont' think we're quite there just yet. 2013 will be a different story.

We're not beating OU or USC. Come on.

Yet people who say "Next year is the year" is getting old as well.

Lets face it, Notre Dame has been around a long time, everything we are saying has been said every year. Dont act like your repeating statement is better than my repeating statement. I say 10-2 because the only thing I can do right now is look at the rosters and compare them 1 on 1... Our roster is better than 10 teams we face next year. If you want to argue that fine... But stuff like "We will have bad days" simply cannot be predicted and cannot be debated. We SHOULD be 10-2 next year, but anything can happen....

 

[DillonHall]

Yet people who say "Next year is the year" is getting old as well.

Lets face it, Notre Dame has been around a long time, everything we are saying has been said every year. Dont act like your repeating statement is better than my repeating statement. I say 10-2 because the only thing I can do right now is look at the rosters and compare them 1 on 1... Our roster is better than 10 teams we face next year. If you want to argue that fine... But stuff like "We will have bad days" simply cannot be predicted and cannot be debated. We SHOULD be 10-2 next year, but anything can happen....

How do you know everyone's roster so well?

 

[phork]

Football games are more than roster talent vs roster talent. And now that I know your criteria I can safely say that you aren't as delusional as I first thought.

 

[Black Irish]

We're not beating OU or USC. Come on.[/QUOTE]

Why not? Sure, they have the Irish out-classed on paper, but on paper ND should have beat USF & UM and lost to MSU, but look what happened. These games aren't going to be easy, but I'm not conceding defeat to anyone yet. The flip side to losing games you're not supposed to is winning some games that no one expects you to. I'd like to think that 2012 is when the Irish start doing the latter.

 

[DillonHall]

Why not? Sure, they have the Irish out-classed on paper, but on paper ND should have beat USF & UM and lost to MSU, but look what happened. These games aren't going to be easy, but I'm not conceding defeat to anyone yet. The flip side to losing games you're not supposed to is winning some games that no one expects you to. I'd like to think that 2012 is when the Irish start doing the latter.

There's a difference between what we're hoping for (12-0) and an objective prediction.

 

[Crazy Balki]

We're not beating OU or USC. Come on.

Why not? Sure, they have the Irish out-classed on paper, but on paper ND should have beat USF & UM and lost to MSU, but look what happened. These games aren't going to be easy, but I'm not conceding defeat to anyone yet. The flip side to losing games you're not supposed to is winning some games that no one expects you to. I'd like to think that 2012 is when the Irish start doing the latter.[/QUOTE]

I don't even think SC or OU outclass the Irish on paper. SC took an Irish slow start and a turnover resulting in a 14 pt swing to victory. That's hardly outclassed. We saw what happened to Clemson when the same occurred.

I don't know what people see that makes OU soooo much better than ND. They were frankly disappointing for a 10-3 team. The win against Texas was good, but they got embarrassed in every sense of the word by Oklahoma State. Landry Jones wasn't the QB we thought he was once Broyles went down. And next year, he won't have Broyles period.

If's and But's statements are the cornerstone of why ND is where they are. But they go both ways (yeah yeah, that's what she said). Frankly, for ND, all 12 games are winnable. 10-2 is realistic. Hell, 12-0 is realistic. Likely? No. But IF things go right, then it's very possible. However, IF things go wrong, like they've done for a while now, then it's not. Coming into this season, I have a sense that Karma owes ND a ton for the inexplicable turnovers from last season. This wasn't an ongoing problem. Having a QB that can run the spread is a start.

 

[stlnd01]

Why not? Sure, they have the Irish out-classed on paper, but on paper ND should have beat USF & UM and lost to MSU, but look what happened. These games aren't going to be easy, but I'm not conceding defeat to anyone yet. The flip side to losing games you're not supposed to is winning some games that no one expects you to. I'd like to think that 2012 is when the Irish start doing the latter.

Not to be overly pessimistic, but I'm trying to remember the last time we actually beat a team with talent superior to ours, and the best I'm coming up with is maybe Tennessee in 2004. Or Florida State in 2002? Been awhile.
I hope you're right, and I wouldn't say we can't beat OU or USC. I could see it happening. But after the last 15 years I'm not going to predict that we will just because karma owes us one.
All I want at this point is a team that doesn't lose the games it's not supposed to, and plays well against top opponents. I think we're just about there. Unfortunately I think next year that means 8-4.

 

[returnofthemack]

Not to be overly pessimistic, but I'm trying to remember the last time we actually beat a team with talent superior to ours, and the best I'm coming up with is maybe Tennessee in 2004. Or Florida State in 2002? Been awhile.
I hope you're right, and I wouldn't say we can't beat OU or USC. I could see it happening. But after the last 15 years I'm not going to predict that we will just because karma owes us one.
All I want at this point is a team that doesn't lose the games it's not supposed to, and plays well against top opponents. I think we're just about there. Unfortunately I think next year that means 8-4.

Exactly. If Karma existed, ND would have obliterated scUM. There's luck and bad luck, and they don't necessarily balance out over time. And so far, all that has happened is ND getting an increasingly large serving of bad luck.

 

[DillonHall]

I can't really remember a single turnover where bad luck was involved. There's no bad luck involved when you wobble the ball into double coverage and it ends up as an interception. There's no luck involved when you get stripped by a defender. And it wasn't bad luck that caused Dayne to forget how to take a snap against USC.

 

[JDAtlanta]

With half way decent QB play last year we would have been undefeated. The improvement leap from 2010 to 2011, was greater than any year since Lou. This year we could go 8-4 or 12-0. I am hoping for a similar range in improvement. I think it will be 9-3.

 

[NDhoosier]

With half way decent QB play last year we would have been undefeated. The improvement leap from 2010 to 2011, was greater than any year since Lou. This year we could go 8-4 or 12-0. I am hoping for a similar range in improvement. I think it will be 9-3.

Attack from the pessimistic Notre Dame fans in 3...2...1...

Dont worry though, 2013 is the year... until 2013 comes and then 2014 is the year...

 

[returnofthemack]

I can't really remember a single turnover where bad luck was involved. There's no bad luck involved when you wobble the ball into double coverage and it ends up as an interception. There's no luck involved when you get stripped by a defender. And it wasn't bad luck that caused Dayne to forget how to take a snap against USC.

I agree there wasn't much bad luck involved in the turnovers. The fumble by Jonas Gray was a result of the refs not whistling the play dead and the USF player making a good strip. What was lucky was the ball bouncing neatly into the path of another USF player, enabling him to take it for a TD. More specifically, when I think of horrible luck regarding the Irish was when we were playing scUM. 4th and goal, scUM RB gets absolutely wrecked and the ball bounces absolutely perfectly into Denard's hands and he strolls in for a TD. I don't think I've ever been more flabbergasted in my entire life. So, I'm not talking as much about bad luck on ND's part, just that our opponents usually get many more lucky breaks than we do.

 

[returnofthemack]

Attack from the pessimistic Notre Dame fans in 3...2...1...

Dont worry though, 2013 is the year... until 2013 comes and then 2014 is the year...

I consider myself a pessimist and I don't see what was wrong with the part of his statement that you bolded. Any fool knows that QB play was detrimental to our offense.

 

[DillonHall]

I agree there wasn't much bad luck involved in the turnovers. The fumble by Jonas Gray was a result of the refs not whistling the play dead and the USF player making a good strip. What was lucky was the ball bouncing neatly into the path of another USF player, enabling him to take it for a TD. More specifically, when I think of horrible luck regarding the Irish was when we were playing scUM. 4th and goal, scUM RB gets absolutely wrecked and the ball bounces absolutely perfectly into Denard's hands and he strolls in for a TD. I don't think I've ever been more flabbergasted in my entire life. So, I'm not talking as much about bad luck on ND's part, just that our opponents usually get many more lucky breaks than we do.

That Denard play was the most ridiculous thing that happened last year. Oh well, at least I know that I'm over it because I laughed when you reminded me of it.

 

[returnofthemack]

As far as improvement of the team, offensive and defensive line play was better, and the running game was better. QB play was atrocious whenever we played a decent defense (with the exception of MSU, and even then it was fairly mediocre). The receivers (except for Floyd and Eifert, of course) might as well have not been on the field, what with all the missed blocks on screens and rarely contributing. The linebackers were awful in pass coverage and other than Manti, weren't anything special. Secondary play was very mediocre. Harrison was OK (obviously undeserving of the ridiculous preseason hype he had). Motta was mediocre at best. Jamoris played best at OLB. Gary Gray became worse. Blanton was pretty much the lone bright spot, and even he wasn't that great. I was looking for a lot more play-making on his part. So for the most part, I was quite underwhelmed. The team didn't show the requisite ruthlessness the elite teams have (most evident in the scUM and FSU games).

I realize this all sounds pessimistic, but it's not meant to be. Those are my observations of last season. Do I think we're on track to improve? Absolutely. But I don't think last season was as much of a triumphant success over the 2010-2011 season as some would have us believe. Going forward, The LB corps will get better due to the influx of young, speedy talent. CB is a pressing issue with no established players returning. The same is true for the safety position. Hopefully, the new secondary coach really steps it up. If our front 7 is as good as I think they can be, the secondary only has to be mediocre and the defense will be good. On offense, any of our QBs will be inexperienced (I refuse to believe Rees could start). None of us know what will happen when they take the reins in a real game. Assuming they make mistakes and show glimpses of greatness, we should be OK if the running game builds on last year's resounding success. However, another RB will have to step up to share the load with Cierre. If all of the above happens, 9-3 is probable. To expect more is unreasonable due to the aforementioned holes.

 

[returnofthemack]

That Denard play was the most ridiculous thing that happened last year. Oh well, at least I know that I'm over it because I laughed when you reminded me of it.

I think I became hysterical when that happened. I couldn't speak and was just sputtering. But yeah, looking back, it was so ridiculous that it's pretty comical.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I can't really remember a single turnover where bad luck was involved. There's no bad luck involved when you wobble the ball into double coverage and it ends up as an interception. There's no luck involved when you get stripped by a defender. And it wasn't bad luck that caused Dayne to forget how to take a snap against USC.

Tommy Rees' phantom fumble against Michigan? That's about as unnatural as it gets.

 

[returnofthemack]

Tommy Rees' phantom fumble against Michigan? That's about as unnatural as it gets.

Yeah that's another example. Floyd would have been so open too...****. That whole game was ridiculous. If you believe in karma, maybe this is retaliation for when we beat them in the 2008-2009 season. Ever since, the ND-scUM game has been a comedy of errors on our part and a lottery for them.