Athalon 2017 football ranking

IrishSteelhead

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Athalon 2017 football ranking

#20 is too high, but we will find out week 2 (please God not week 1) what we have. Beat Georgia and who knows what will happen.
 
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IrishLax

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#20 is too high, but we will find out week 2 (please God not week 1) what we have. Beat Georgia and who knows what will happen.

Counterpoint: it's actually way too low and the floor for this team is 10 wins.
 

Luckylucci

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Counterpoint: it's actually way too low and the floor for this team is 10 wins.

If the belief/argument is, advanced statistics say that ND was an 8-9 win team last year but shit happened, which I tend to agree with. This team should be better. So, I also agree that we should be looking at 10 wins.
 

zelezo vlk

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Mike Frank said that Wimbush is a generational talent at QB. 10 wins does sound like the floor

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This number all depends on how you feel about Wimbush. I think 20 is in the neighborhood.
 

Who'saWildManNow

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Put it in the win column:

Temple
Boston College
Miami Ohio
Wake Forest

The mark of a winning team is made in this list. Are we still playing down to our competition? Did our defense make a leap? Is Brandon running this offense on all cylinders? If all answers are positive, I fully expect to make it out of this list with, at most, 1 blemish.

MSU
North Carolina
NC St
Miami U
Navy


Prime Time. There's no hiding in these games. If we can't stop the run, Michel and Chubb will have a field day. If we're weak in the secondary Darnold will throw ropes and Stanford always tests our toughness.

Georgia
USC
Stanford

My biggest question is how far will the defense come. This offense will score points. There are really no glaring deficiencies and we've upgraded philosophically with Chip Long.

Defensively, I love the Elko hire but personnel wise do we have the depth in the secondary and D line to compete at a championship level?

I'm happy at 9-3 or better.
 

IrishLax

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If the belief/argument is, advanced statistics say that ND was an 8-9 win team last year but shit happened, which I tend to agree with. This team should be better. So, I also agree that we should be looking at 10 wins.

Basically this. If we stay healthy, this is a 10 win team in paper. I shouldn't have said the "floor" was 10 because that is not true. No one really knows the floor... it could be terrible if Wimbush gets hurt.

The DBs and LBs this year are more veteran and playing in a better scheme. The only position group on defense that isn't in definitively better shape is the DL.

On offense, it's hard to say that every position group isn't better give Hunter's disappearance after getting hit in the head. I think the OL will be a LOT better as will the running game, same with TE, and Wimbush has oodles of potential to surpass Kizer's mediocre production. The schedule has very few walkover teams on it but there's only one elite team... USC. I don't understand the Georgia or Miami hype at all.
 

beryirish

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Basically this. If we stay healthy, this is a 10 win team in paper. I shouldn't have said the "floor" was 10 because that is not true. No one really knows the floor... it could be terrible if Wimbush gets hurt.

The DBs and LBs this year are more veteran and playing in a better scheme. The only position group on defense that isn't in definitively better shape is the DL.

On offense, it's hard to say that every position group isn't better give Hunter's disappearance after getting hit in the head. I think the OL will be a LOT better as will the running game, same with TE, and Wimbush has oodles of potential to surpass Kizer's mediocre production. The schedule has very few walkover teams on it but there's only one elite team... USC. I don't understand the Georgia or Miami hype at all.

It's the name plate.

Good or bad it's always nice to say you beat them. Kinda like Texas - they were horrid two years ago but it's nice saying ND killed Texas.
 

arrowryan

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I don't care who you have coming back or how much talent you supposedly have, a team that won 4 freaking games the previous year shouldn't be ranked. That doesn't even include all the coaching turnover we had. I think this could be a good team if healthy, but I wouldn't put them in the top 25. Put them in the 30s and make them earn respect.
 

ACamp1900

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I'll be pleasantly stunned if we finish ranked... hell I'll be somewhat surprised if we finish over .500...


Key to a happy life:

tumblr_ne3yb6k9w91s4m325o1_500.gif
 

zelezo vlk

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ACamp will only ever be positive about the football team if they change the mascot to a Scotsman

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Valpodoc85

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Temple not getting much love. 10 win team last year down in the basement preseason. ND 4 win team. Listed 20. Go figure
 

ACamp1900

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ACamp will only ever be positive about the football team if they change the mascot to a Scotsman

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New ND mascot after immediately going unbeaten:

tenor.gif
 
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Luckylucci

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I don't care who you have coming back or how much talent you supposedly have, a team that won 4 freaking games the previous year shouldn't be ranked. That doesn't even include all the coaching turnover we had. I think this could be a good team if healthy, but I wouldn't put them in the top 25. Put them in the 30s and make them earn respect.

And I think this is fair to say, as it just shows the difference in how preseason rankings are viewed or constructed. Some place more importance on last season, how it ended, returning starters, etc. Some place more importance on expectations, projection of talent, etc.
 

Blaise

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It does amuse me that end of last year... Most people said if we kept Kelly, 8 wins would be the max and we needed an "Elite" coach if we wanted to be a 10 win team.. Now the fandom grows in the off season and distance makes the heart forget and we are saying the Floor is 10 wins.. I think BW will struggle at times and look like a superstar at times.. 9-3 Is what I am hoping for.. Anything more is icing on the cake.. Anything less and its a disappointment.. but come training camp I will probably convince myself that 11-1 should be the floor
 

ACamp1900

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It does amuse me that end of last year... Most people said if we kept Kelly, 8 wins would be the max and we needed an "Elite" coach if we wanted to be a 10 win team.. Now the fandom grows in the off season and distance makes the heart forget and we are saying the Floor is 10 wins.. I think BW will struggle at times and look like a superstar at times.. 9-3 Is what I am hoping for.. Anything more is icing on the cake.. Anything less and its a disappointment.. but come training camp I will probably convince myself that 11-1 should be the floor

Let me tell you about this lil thing called, 'the glass ceiling' ...

giphy.gif
 

Irish#1

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I see 10 or 11 wins. The offense is going to score points, but I believe the mark Elko will have on the defense coming out of the gate is going to be much greater than most think.
 

BobbyMac

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Put it in the win column:

Temple
Boston College
Miami Ohio = Miami U
Wake Forest

The mark of a winning team is made in this list. Are we still playing down to our competition? Did our defense make a leap? Is Brandon running this offense on all cylinders? If all answers are positive, I fully expect to make it out of this list with, at most, 1 blemish.

MSU
North Carolina
NC St
<strike>Miami U</strike> = U Miami
Navy

Enough is enough people.

Your post though was spot on besides that.


.
 

Luckylucci

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I see 10 or 11 wins. The offense is going to score points, but I believe the mark Elko will have on the defense coming out of the gate is going to be much greater than most think.

I tend to think so as well.

I could see him making the game really uncomfortable for Eason in South Bend. Also, a few first year starters on the schedule.
 

Valpodoc85

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Seems to me the addition of Elko has to be worth 1-2 wins. Chip Long and his hurry up 1-2. I want to say 10-11 wins but feel a Kelly is always good for a late August kick to the gut that costs 1-2. Maybe the Jumbotron will overcome the Kelly/august curse.
 
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beryirish

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Athlon Sports predicts Notre Dame's 2017 finish


Can Brian Kelly and Notre Dame turn it around after a dreadful 4-8 finish last fall?

The folks over at Athlon Sports are believers in this year's Irish — a team not short on returning talent — despite a challenging schedule that includes games against three teams who could be inside the preseason Top 10.

From Athlon Sports' College Football Preview mag:

"Last year's disappointing four-win season didn't go over well in South Bend, but Notre Dame is in better shape than its record suggested. After losing seven of their games by eight points or fewer, the Irish will look to 15 returning starters and two new coordinators to help them return to the Top 25. Quarterback Brandon Wimbush is poised for a breakout year, and the first-year starter is surrounded by a standout offensive line and deep stable of running backs.

"The defense has been a source of concern over the last few seasons. New coordinator Mike Elko should help this unit take a step forward, but developing a pass rush and stopping the run could still be an issue. A schedule featuring 11 bowl teams doesn't provide many breaks for Kelly and a team in transition."

Athlon Sports is projecting the Irish to finish 8-4 and be invited to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Fla. vs. Oklahoma State. Eight wins would surpass the 7.5 number Vegas oddsmakers have set for Notre Dame this season.
 
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