No need to jump on ndftbl. He was just making an observation - one that only a cautious and hopeful ND fan would take the time to research. I also looked up "stats" and records and scores of about 50 teams today, something I have never done before. That's because I am a cautiously optimistic diehard ND fan who is tortured by any bad play result since the history of God that ND makes.
That said, it is easy to think teams like Central Tech State or Coastal ROTC teams aren't worth a darn, and therefore disregard their strong effort against a well known school.
Truth is, football "stats" that we read about (yds. rushing, points allowed, etc.) are generally worthless bits of "I told you so" info. When football fans look at history, they ask "Who won it all" They don't ask "Yeah, but who had the best stats?".
The only stats that can matter are the stats that coaches use to prepare the team. For example, after scouting the opponent, the defensive coordinator may learn that on 3rd and long, the opponent has a 90% tendency to run a middle screen. Knowing this stat, the DC can make a better informed decision on which D to call. An offensive coordinator can learn about himself from such stats as well, when he finds out that on 2nd and short, he always calls for the deep pass down the middle. He might learn that the opposing D has a tendency to blitz middle every 5th down. I have known coaches that carry charts around them thoughout the game that display stats on opposing teams' tendencies. If it is 3rd and 3 on the left hashmark, on their side of the field, what do they tend to do? Coach will look at the graph and see that 82% of the time, they run their standard "bunch left, Z hook," with a long snap count..
It has never happened, but an NC champ could theoretically end the season with the worst offensive stats in the country. And that would be because they never took the field, because D caused fumble every other play and scored, or punt return returned every kick for TD. ND had a QB in the late 80s that had great stats, but the team lost often. They played come from behind and had to pass. He completed a lot from 20 to 20 yd lines, but would often overthrow or toss an intercept in crucial situations. Reminds me of Marino. Had the greatest of stats, but was relied on too much and threw it away too often in crucial situations.
Oh well. I knew the Irish were going to win shortly after the game started. I watch the game holistically and knew they were operating on all positive cylinders. On the gameday thread, I said early that I was sensing a W. They came to play. They looked unbeatable by the end of the first quarter. I typed in something like "I am sensing a win here." I meant it. I knew what I was talking about.
I also noticed the crowd noise. Holy Mach 2 Batman.
