General team info

L

LifelongFan

Well-known member
Messages
1,599
Reaction score
1,914
Scoring defense would also be number one if it weren't for 3 turnovers against Louisville that basically gave them 17 points. I think Louisville only had to move about 50 yards to get those 17, with the field goal being like a 57 yarder.
 
irishff1014

irishff1014

Well-known member
Messages
26,509
Reaction score
9,284
notredomer23 said:
Defense continues to dominate. Scoring defense would be #1 if not for the ref show this past weekend.

Per NCAA College Football FBS Stats | NCAA.com

3rd Down Defense: #6
4th Down Defense: #18
Defensive Touchdowns: #2
Red Zone Defense: #4
Scoring Defense: #3
Team Passing Efficiency Defense: #1
Total Defense: #6
Turnovers Gained: #1
Click to expand...

This right here makes me wonder why more top prospects don’t want to play defense for the Irish.
 
zelezo vlk

zelezo vlk

Well-known member
Messages
18,009
Reaction score
5,047
I just noticed Northwestern has 2 open spots on their schedule next year. ND still has an open slot right?
 
ulukinatme

ulukinatme

Carr for QB 2025!
Messages
31,509
Reaction score
17,369
arndtjc said:
Not unless the Stanford game doesn’t get scheduled. But I’d rather go to the Bay Area for Thanksgiving than play NW any time the rest of the year
Click to expand...
Bring up an interesting point...what if USC drops us due to the difficulty of the B1G schedule?

Now that Cal and Stanford are both in the ACC...I wonder if we don't get the ACC to add a provision where we play one or the other as our last game in November and it's an Away game? If we did that I guess that would guarantee us a Home game against the other, but maybe that would screw with ACC scheduling too much. Maybe the Home game would have to be against another ACC team?
 
NDWarrior

NDWarrior

Well-known member
Messages
3,002
Reaction score
2,421
It's getting harder and harder to be independent and want certain legacy matchups, and not be in a conference for things like securing challenging matchups for in-season games, and overall, making it to the CFP.
 
ulukinatme

ulukinatme

Carr for QB 2025!
Messages
31,509
Reaction score
17,369
NDWarrior said:
It's getting harder and harder to be independent and want certain legacy matchups, and not be in a conference for things like securing challenging matchups for in-season games, and overall, making it to the CFP.
Click to expand...
Right, the half member ACC thing for scheduling only really works if the ACC stays intact. If Clemson, FSU, and Miami bolt it's effectively a Big 12 copy (Or worse) and weak as shit. ND joining as a full member could help keep the conference together.

If we want the legacy matchups the best bet is to just join the B1G...if you think about it, with the inclusion of USC and UCLA, and Rutgers on the east coast-ish, it allows ND to still reach across the country in some form or another, although there's no regular matchups in the south which is where the recruiting is.
 
Irish#1

Irish#1

Livin' Your Dream!
Staff member
Messages
44,577
Reaction score
20,027
ndfanatic78

ndfanatic78

I have unconditional love for every one of you.
Messages
1,555
Reaction score
1,781
ulukinatme said:
Bring up an interesting point...what if USC drops us due to the difficulty of the B1G schedule?

Now that Cal and Stanford are both in the ACC...I wonder if we don't get the ACC to add a provision where we play one or the other as our last game in November and it's an Away game? If we did that I guess that would guarantee us a Home game against the other, but maybe that would screw with ACC scheduling too much. Maybe the Home game would have to be against another ACC team?
Click to expand...
What difficulty? The BIG is a joke. USC just sucks. Their schedule is a joke. It was tougher playing in the PAC12 than what they saw this year. They just don't know how to play defense or coach it and Riley is looking like he is only good with QB's someone else develops or they are a generational talent.
 
Last edited:
ulukinatme

ulukinatme

Carr for QB 2025!
Messages
31,509
Reaction score
17,369
ndfanatic78 said:
What difficulty? The BIG is a joke. USC just sucks. Their schedule is a joke. It was tougher playing in the PAC12 than what they saw this year. They just don't know how to play defense or coach it and Riley is looking like he is only good with QB's someone else develops or they are a generational talent.
Click to expand...
B1G is tougher than what the PAC-12 was generally putting out the last several years. The B1G actually plays some defense, which is part of the reason USC is struggling more this year. I'd say losing Williams didn't help either, but Riley lost that team after we annihilated them. Hard to call the B1G a joke when the only conference that's better is the SEC.

USC is on pace for missing a bowl game for the 3rd time in the last 3 decades. They very well could lose to UCLA, both are tied for 12th in the B1G with UCLA playing a tougher schedule. If they then lose to us then this season will tie for USC's 2nd worst with only the 4-8 season during 2021 beating it.
 
Last edited:
ndfanatic78

ndfanatic78

I have unconditional love for every one of you.
Messages
1,555
Reaction score
1,781
ulukinatme said:
B1G is tougher than what the PAC-12 was generally putting out the last several years. The B1G actually plays some defense, which is part of the reason USC is struggling more this year. I'd say losing Williams didn't help either, but Riley lost that team after we annihilated them. Hard to call the B1G a joke when the only conference that's better is the SEC.

USC is on pace for missing a bowl game for the 3rd time in the last 3 decades. They very well could lose to UCLA, both are tied for 12th in the B1G with UCLA playing a tougher schedule. If they then lose to us then this season will tie for USC's 2nd worst with only the 4-8 season during 2021 beating it.
Click to expand...
Saying the only conference that is better is the SEC is a little disingenuous when they really are the only conferences left in football at least. They have taken all the good teams from the other conferences and still with that only maybe 6 - 8 teams in both conferences are anything special and even those teams aren't really that dominant. There is maybe 4 or 5 teams outside of those conferences that year over year produce competitive teams, but even as I type that top to bottom neither conference is anything special. Navy or Army would be competitive with at least half the teams in those conferences. Oregon came in the BIG and dominated it their first year. Oregon the team that has always gotten its ass kicked as soon as it played a team outside the PAC12 with a defense. If USC had the QB that Riley is used to having they would be maybe a 2 loss team. I think the ND game points to how bad USC truly is and not that the BIG is any thing special. The PAC12 had the second best team in the playoffs last year. The BIG had Michigan that everyone had complained had by far the easiest schedule and had to cheat to be undefeated. I just dont see USC having an excuse because they are in the big bad BIG they need to drop ND. Maybe they will use it as an excuse but it will be just that an excuse. The bottom half of the BIG is a joke. Look what ND did to Purdue and almost anyone else did to them with a pulse. They have arguably the worst team in all of college football in front of only Kent State.
 
ulukinatme

ulukinatme

Carr for QB 2025!
Messages
31,509
Reaction score
17,369
ndfanatic78 said:
Saying the only conference that is better is the SEC is a little disingenuous when they really are the only conferences left in football at least. They have taken all the good teams from the other conferences and still with that only maybe 6 - 8 teams in both conferences are anything special and even those teams aren't really that dominant. There is maybe 4 or 5 teams outside of those conferences that year over year produce competitive teams, but even as I type that top to bottom neither conference is anything special. Navy or Army would be competitive with at least half the teams in those conferences. Oregon came in the BIG and dominated it their first year. Oregon the team that has always gotten its ass kicked as soon as it played a team outside the PAC12 with a defense. If USC had the QB that Riley is used to having they would be maybe a 2 loss team. I think the ND game points to how bad USC truly is and not that the BIG is any thing special. The PAC12 had the second best team in the playoffs last year. The BIG had Michigan that everyone had complained had by far the easiest schedule and had to cheat to be undefeated. I just dont see USC having an excuse because they are in the big bad BIG they need to drop ND. Maybe they will use it as an excuse but it will be just that an excuse. The bottom half of the BIG is a joke. Look what ND did to Purdue and almost anyone else did to them with a pulse. They have arguably the worst team in all of college football in front of only Kent State.
Click to expand...

Saying the B1G is a joke is even more disingenuous when there's only one conference that's arguably better than them, and right now the committee doesn't even see it that way because 4 of the Top 5 teams in the Playoff Ranking are B1G teams. SEC has more overall teams ranked of course, so it depends on how you measure strength. I would still put SEC ahead of the B1G. As it stands, Oregon is #1 and probably doesn't lose their last game. OSU is #2 and will likely handle Indiana and Michigan. Texas is #3 and the only non B1G team. Penn State is #4 and probably isn't losing another regular season game. Indiana is #5 and I assume they'll be the only one that drops from now until the conference championship.

I agree with you when it comes to USC, but they don't see it that way. There was a report awhile back that USC could be looking to drop us because their schedule will be tough enough as it is. They got a bit lucky they didn't draw OSU this first year, but they still managed to lose to a bad Michigan team and a bunch of mediocre B1G teams. There's a very real possibility that they look to drop us going forward, and I can tell you I'm not a fan.
 
NDWarrior

NDWarrior

Well-known member
Messages
3,002
Reaction score
2,421
ulukinatme said:
Right, the half member ACC thing for scheduling only really works if the ACC stays intact. If Clemson, FSU, and Miami bolt it's effectively a Big 12 copy (Or worse) and weak as shit. ND joining as a full member could help keep the conference together.

If we want the legacy matchups the best bet is to just join the B1G...if you think about it, with the inclusion of USC and UCLA, and Rutgers on the east coast-ish, it allows ND to still reach across the country in some form or another, although there's no regular matchups in the south which is where the recruiting is.
Click to expand...
Maybe... FSU, Miami, Clemson and GA Tech also join the B1G?
 
ndfanatic78

ndfanatic78

I have unconditional love for every one of you.
Messages
1,555
Reaction score
1,781
NDWarrior said:
Maybe... FSU, Miami, Clemson and GA Tech also join the B1G?
Click to expand...
I don’t see FSU or Clemson. Supposedly BIG and the SEC don’t see the money in either program. I just really hate the idea of ND in a conference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top