It's not just about youth, it's about quality youth. You can't ignore the fact that Satan can get any type of athlete, including JC transfers, that he wants. You just can't ignore that fact. Go read the SI article on Alabama a few weeks back. Do you know that 5 (!!!) of their recruits have been kicked out of school and a few are even in prison? That's why our recruiting class went to #1 and 'Bama dropped. And the freshmen that are playing for 'Bama, golly, they are animals. They get after you. They probably can barely read, but they get after you.
You give any quality coach those types of athletes and you're going to see a good team turnaround quickly. ND went 3-9 last year, and this year the team is 4-1 w/ tons of improvement shown (and admittedly, much more to show). That's a pretty quick turnaround. Everyone knew that last year was the year where Ty's lack of recruiting would kill the program (not to that extent though), and so now we are in the midst of a quick turnaround season.
I'm with you, I think UNC has the advantage, but not because of coaching. I think it's because of home field advantage and a defense that has shown major vulnerability against the run, and even against the pass on Lambert's side. We're getting there on both sides of the ball, but we're not there yet. I think CW will get us there though...
Dude, I always love your takes. I am always the eternal optimist, as you know, but your comments are always on point.
Great point about the types of players at both schools. Especially about the JC transfer issue. When you are building a program, being able to go out and bring in juco guys with two years of experience and college level weight training is an invaluable resource. One ND has never been able to enjoy. Bringing in juco kids and redshirting your youngsters gives a program a ton of flexibility. I don't even want to touch the admission standards issues and the comparison on the graduation rates and GPA's.
Here is my reasoning for why we win this game. I thought we did not play very well on Saturday. With the exception of Clausen, Floyd, and Kuntz, the team looked a little flat top to bottom and we really went to sleep and let Stanford back into it in the fourth. But here is why we carry that over into a win: I did not see any of the "here we go again" mentality and let down that was so apparent last year. This team is learning how to win. They are learning that if something does not go as planned, you can pull out of it and turn it around. Last year's team would not have held on to win after the opponent scores 14 fourth quarter points.
As you pointed out, we are definitely not there yet. But we are making progress. Every game, I see things get a little better. We have yet to put together a complete game, let alone a complete game from all three facets. But the time is coming where that complete game will happen. Might be Saturday in Chapel Hill, might be some other time this season, or it might not happen until next season. But when it does, it is going to be a sight to see. When all three parts of the team come together at the same time, we are going to roll some people.
Either way, I think we win this weekend. Haven't decided what my score prediction will be, but we will get the "W".
GO IRISH!!!
