Andy Staples has ND where they should be: Out of top 30

[IrishSteelhead]

I like this top 25 better than ESPN's:

LSU, USC, Alabama lead post-spring practice Top 25 Power Rankings - Andy Staples - SI.com

 

[returnofthemack]

I'd replace Louisville with ND, so #29 I think would be perfect.

 

[phork]

Was just going to post this. Makes me throw up in my mouth that UM and MSU are in or just out of the top10.

And here we go again with some off season turmoil thats going to derail train again this year.

 

[FLDomer]

I do not understand GT's ranking, at all?

When I look at it again I dont understand why any 20-30 is any better than ND....
#20 BSU lost their QB and stud back (this one might be justified for a higher rank)
#21 Texas, really they are over rated as all get out and have been the past 3 preseasons
#22 Auburn is not gonna be much better than last yr
#23 UW, seriously 7-6 last yr and they have NO Defense..congrats the can score 50 but they give up 52
#24 OSU lost their offense, pretty much
#25 GT...com'on man really?

 

[Domina Nostra]

This is why schedule matters to much. Before the injuries to Jonas and Cave last year, I think that we could have been very competitive with anyone outside of the top 8 or so. However, the top 25 is reserved for teams with a certain amount of losses, not the 25 best teams. I highly doubt that the there are 30 better teams than ND. But I do not doubt that 30 teams will have less losses than us at the end of the year.

 

[irishmarine]

If we win we will move up, it'll be a rough season I think but it's a rough schedule. Hopefully we can have a kille big name wins that'll help our climb

 

[ThePiombino]

Was just going to post this. Makes me throw up in my mouth that UM and MSU are in or just out of the top10.

And here we go again with some off season turmoil thats going to derail train again this year.

Careful, I almost had my posting privileges revoked for suggesting just such a thing in the ESPN poll thread.

 

[returnofthemack]

I do not understand GT's ranking, at all?

When I look at it again I dont understand why any 20-30 is any better than ND....
#20 BSU lost their QB and stud back (this one might be justified for a higher rank)
#21 Texas, really they are over rated as all get out and have been the past 3 preseasons
#22 Auburn is not gonna be much better than last yr
#23 UW, seriously 7-6 last yr and they have NO Defense..congrats the can score 50 but they give up 52
#24 OSU lost their offense, pretty much
#25 GT...com'on man really?

I agree with most of this but I think it would be dumb to leave out Texas. First, Mack Brown is a great coach. Second, they have more talent on their team than anybody in the country except for Bama. So yeah, they've underachieved, but their all-world talent alone merits Top 25.

 

[FLDomer]

I agree with most of this but I think it would be dumb to leave out Texas. First, Mack Brown is a great coach. Second, they have more talent on their team than anybody in the country except for Bama. So yeah, they've underachieved, but their all-world talent alone merits Top 25.

Says who? Recruiting firms? I swear you get an extra star tacked on to you when you are from Texas....

 

[returnofthemack]

Says who? Recruiting firms? I swear you get an extra star tacked on to you when you are from Texas....

Maybe it is slightly biased, but I think it's common knowledge that Texas is a hotbed of high school talent, and it is a fact that Texas gets the best of them. What they do with them is a different matter, as we know all too well haha.

 

[FLDomer]

Maybe it is slightly biased, but I think it's common knowledge that Texas is a hotbed of high school talent, and it is a fact that Texas gets the best of them. What they do with them is a different matter, as we know all too well haha.

I'll give ya that

 

[loomis41973]

So, you are saying there's a chance?

 

[stlnd01]

Whatever. It's May.
And if we win, we climb the rankings. If we lose, we stay on the fringes of "getting votes." Which seems appropriate if we finish 7-5.

 

[ACamp1900]

yeah I'm kind of over rankings until we prove a top ten ranking is deserved... which hasn't been any time lately.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Maybe it is slightly biased, but I think it's common knowledge that Texas is a hotbed of high school talent, and it is a fact that Texas gets the best of them. What they do with them is a different matter, as we know all too well haha.

I always think more highly of recruits from California, Texas, Florida, and even Ohio & Pennsylvania to a lesser extent. The competition in high school is much more like the competition in college in those states.

*Hate to be a turd in the punch bowl, but I would have a hard time believing Gunner would be a 5 star recruit if he played in a "hotbed state." His stats would have been a fraction of what they were in Indiana. This of course is highly debatable however, seeing his receivers would have been much better also.

 

[FightinI24]

There are always a few teams that over and underachieve and find their way in and out of the rankings. I don't put too much stock into the teams ranked outside of the top 10-15. But yeah, this year, some of those in that range are certainly a little confusing.

 

[Rudy89]

I dont care about the pre-season rankings at all. We take care of business in the season we will be alright. Id rahter start out unranked and climb into the rankings midseason than start ranked and get beat by a Big East team week 1 like we did last year.

 

[NDBoiler]

I dont care about the pre-season rankings at all. We take care of business in the season we will be alright. Id rahter start out unranked and climb into the rankings midseason than start ranked and get beat by a Big East team week 1 like we did last year.

I think preseason/early season rankings are a little more important than that only because it will impact your BCS ranking. If you start outside the top 25 as opposed to in it and still have the same record through the course of the season, it will be more difficult to be ranked higher once BCS rankings come out, as they factor in the polls in their formula. Therefore it is better to start out ranked in polls earlier in the year so you end up better going into BCS rankings. Other than that, I agree in that they serve little purpose this early.

 

[Rudy89]

I think preseason/early season rankings are a little more important than that only because it will impact your BCS ranking. If you start outside the top 25 as opposed to in it and still have the same record through the course of the season, it will be more difficult to be ranked higher once BCS rankings come out, as they factor in the polls in their formula. Therefore it is better to start out ranked in polls earlier in the year so you end up better going into BCS rankings. Other than that, I agree in that they serve little purpose this early.

While that's very true I highly doubt that if we had 2 losses or less we would be left out of the BCS.

 

[Patulski]

This is why schedule matters to much. Before the injuries to Jonas and Cave last year, I think that we could have been very competitive with anyone outside of the top 8 or so. However, the top 25 is reserved for teams with a certain amount of losses, not the 25 best teams. I highly doubt that the there are 30 better teams than ND. But I do not doubt that 30 teams will have less losses than us at the end of the year.

We may have had the talent to have been competitive with anyone of of the Top 8 or so, but losing to a terrible South Florida team really showed the downside of last season's team. If we can avoid that kind of performance, we should have a pretty good year imo.

And it wasn't just the turnovers. We got back into that game, but when the D had to make a stop, they didn't get it done. That happened against Michigan and FSU as well. Even with the turnovers, we could have had a better season if the D could have controlled games at critical times. They just were not up to the task.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

And it wasn't just the turnovers. We got back into that game, but when the D had to make a stop, they didn't get it done. That happened against Michigan and FSU as well. Even with the turnovers, we could have had a better season if the D could have controlled games at critical times. They just were not up to the task.

I disagree with this. No, our defense wasn't perfect, but by most reliable statistical measures, it was elite in 2011. It was also a helluva lot more consistent than our offense.

 

[TDHeysus]

until ND can prove that it can put a season together from start to finish without shooting themselves in the foot, or dropping games they should win, bad luck or a slew of injuries, than ND doesnt deserve to be anywhere near the top10. I know bad luck, or injuries arent the fault of the team, but good programs can absorb those scenarios and still win.

i dont get riled up over the polls, especially pre-season polls...I think ND out of the pre-season top25 is a fair assessment. Again, who is the QB?

 

[timm3117]

There is nothing I pay attention to more then the post-spring practice Top 25 Power Rankings at SI.com. I was also reading a great article about the 2020 recruiting class. There are some beast on the St Marys 5th grade football team.

 

[Jerry]

We may have had the talent to have been competitive with anyone of of the Top 8 or so, but losing to a terrible South Florida team really showed the downside of last season's team. If we can avoid that kind of performance, we should have a pretty good year imo.

And it wasn't just the turnovers. We got back into that game, but when the D had to make a stop, they didn't get it done. That happened against Michigan and FSU as well. Even with the turnovers, we could have had a better season if the D could have controlled games at critical times. They just were not up to the task.

All the defense did against USF was come up with stops. ND turned the ball over 5 times in that game and the D held them to field goals the whole game until the 4th qtr. Which is what happens to a good defense that is on the field the whole game. The same thing happened against FSU, the D dominated but when the offense starting turning the ball over and giving the Noles a short field they were bound to score. They did choke against Michigan though. I have nightmares about that game.

 

[stlnd01]

All the defense did against USF was come up with stops. ND turned the ball over 5 times in that game and the D held them to field goals the whole game until the 4th qtr. Which is what happens to a good defense that is on the field the whole game. The same thing happened against FSU, the D dominated but when the offense starting turning the ball over and giving the Noles a short field they were bound to score. They did choke against Michigan though. I have nightmares about that game.

Also, to be fair, against FSU their offense adjusted. They changed up protections and we got a lot less pressure on Manuel in the second half. Made a big difference. But anyway...

Our defense is good. Our offense has a lot of question marks. With our schedule in 2012, our preseason ranking won't matter. If we somehow go 10-2 or better, we'll in all likelihood go to a BCS bowl and deserve it. If not, we won't.

 

[Jerry]

Also, to be fair, against FSU their offense adjusted. They changed up protections and we got a lot less pressure on Manuel in the second half. Made a big difference. But anyway...

Our defense is good. Our offense has a lot of question marks. With our schedule in 2012, our preseason ranking won't matter. If we somehow go 10-2 or better, we'll in all likelihood go to a BCS bowl and deserve it. If not, we won't.

They really only had the one long drive for the first TD. Then Hendrix threw that horrible pick giving them the short field and they strike again quickly. It's not like they adjusted and put a bunch of long drives together. FSU took advantage of the gift turnovers that our offense gave them. Kind of like USF, UM and SC.

I have a feeling that if we don't get solid play from the QB position this year there will be a lot more instances where the defense can't come up with the big stop we needed to keep teams to single digit scores.