Next Years predictions

[roc351w]

wanted to know where every one stands right now? who do you see starting? do you see anyone leaving for the nfl early? and with the schedule what do you think i final record will be?and we'll have to post this again come spring....

 

[Riddickulous]

This belongs in the Notre Dame football section.

 

[IrishLax]

haha I was going to wait until after the bowl game to make this thread....

Looking at our schedule next year I only see a couple games that should be toss ups assuming our defense continues kicking butt. Those games are Michigan, MSU, USC and Stanford.

Michigan is a toss up because we have no idea what they will look like next year. If a new coach comes in we might see Forcier or Gardner at QB instead of D. Rob. and a completely different defense and/or offense.

MSU is talented but we were good enough to beat them this year and I expect us to be better next year.

Stanford could be good or could be average or could be poor. Depends on who is coaching and who leaves for the NFL. I don't know who is behind Andrew Luck, but there has to be a serious drop off after him.

USC still has the athletes... but my God is Lane Kiffin a terrible coach. I watched the USC vs. UCLA game last night and he is beyond arrogant and refuses to adjust his gameplan. The defense was playing better towards the end of the season and should be better which leads me to believe next year will be a close game.

I think 10-2 is entirely reasonable if Floyd stays and our QB play improves. Cierre Wood is going to be a force next year. Also, our defense loses Brian Smith and Ian Williams and Kerry Neal... those losses seem very significant until you consider how Hafis Williams and Sean Cwynar have played plus we get Louis Nix and we have the depth to replace Kerry Neal/Brian Smith without a huge drop off.

 

[GreatGolson]

No one is going pro this year, i think it goes down to Henrix vs Rees for the starting job with Golson as the wildcard, and for starting RB its a 1a 1b situation with Wood and an RB from the northeast (dont want to jinx anything) final record next year is 9-3 if teams we played this year are as good, however i expect navy to go down, SC to go down, and UM to be a wild card. I also think our toughest game will be against Stanford, while a game im interested in is against Maryland at FedEx stadium

 

[KPENN]

No one is going pro this year, i think it goes down to Henrix vs Rees for the starting job with Golson as the wildcard, and for starting RB its a 1a 1b situation with Wood and an RB from the northeast (dont want to jinx anything) final record next year is 9-3 if teams we played this year are as good, however i expect navy to go down, SC to go down, and UM to be a wild card. I also think our toughest game will be against Stanford, while a game im interested in is against Maryland at FedEx stadium

If Rees is the starter no way they get 9 wins

 

[Riddickulous]

If Rees is the starter no way they get 9 wins

This.

I'm banking on Hendrix putting it all together. Or Golson stepping up.

 

[IrishandColts]

11-1. Stanford wins

 

[roc351w]

good point right now i think its 50-50 for floyd to leave for the nfl. if you were to ask me in the spring id say 99% sure hes gone because of the change in offense. but i think he can see everything changing and coming together might just make him wanna have a big splash next year for his senior season. plus theres some big time wr ahead of him that put up bigger numbers. i dont think he feels his 3rd round or lower..

 

[IrishLax]

This.

I'm banking on Hendrix putting it all together. Or Golson stepping up.

Well... or Tommy Rees could grow a couple pubes, add some arm strength, grasp the offense better and improve vastly. I think the best way to put it is "there is no way we get 9 wins with Tommy Rees as the starter unless he gets markedly better."

 

[roc351w]

i think its possible for us to go 10-2 with our defense getting it and shutting down the run. if our strength becomes our qb play we can go 11-1 but those are two big "ifs" the one loss falls into the the second year hiccup. i dont think theres gonna be any regression with this team. gotta look at whos coming back and i can see pending on the bowl game we can go into next season with serious momentum

 

[Riddickulous]

Well... or Tommy Rees could grow a couple pubes, add some arm strength, grasp the offense better and improve vastly. I think the best way to put it is "there is no way we get 9 wins with Tommy Rees as the starter unless he gets markedly better."

The arm strength is the problem. Rees cannot throw downfield.

We need that extra dimension in our passing game or our offense will be mediocre again. You won't win a great amount of football games throwing little five yard routes. We need to be able to launch it downfield to keep the defense on their toes.

 

[roc351w]

i think kelly understands that though, and its amazing how much strength a kid could add in a college program. not saying rees is it but it could happen.... id rather see a confident kid make the 3 and 7's then a kid with a big arm forcing the ball down field and throwing int's

 

[NewEnglandGuy]

I know this is all for fun, but seriously waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too early for any of this. What if we do not look good in the bowl game? What if Rees looks really good? What if someone gets hurt or tansfers? Too many variables. We need these next 4 weeks and 15 practices to continue to develop our young guys. We need everyday between now and NSD to secure a top 10 class. We need all 15 practices in the spring and leaders to step forward to lead us to the summer...and who knows what the teams on our schedule are going to look like at this point.

We can only be assured the coaches will make the team better in the off season and get them peaking at the right time as 2011 progresses. The wins will take care of themselves.

 

[IrishMoore1]

12-0 and shot at the national championship. Write it down.

 

[roc351w]

this thread is for these next 4 weeks...

 

[Riddickulous]

i think its possible for us to go 10-2 with our defense getting it and shutting down the run. if our strength becomes our qb play we can go 11-1 but those are two big "ifs" the one loss falls into the the second year hiccup. i dont think theres gonna be any regression with this team. gotta look at whos coming back and i can see pending on the bowl game we can go into next season with serious momentum

Regression in a Kelly team, especially one with so many returning starters, is very rare.

He lost his QB after the 2005 season at Central Michigan. He then brought in a freshman, Dan LeFevour, and went 9-4.

He then lost Ben Mauk after 2007, the starting QB on his 10-3 team. The next year they went 11-3 while playing five different QBs.

They then lost 10 starters on defense heading into 2009...and went 12-0.

He's a damn good coach, and once our offense starts clicking, we're gonna be really good.

i think kelly understands that though, and its amazing how much strength a kid could add in a college program. not saying rees is it but it could happen.... id rather see a confident kid make the 3 and 7's then a kid with a big arm forcing the ball down field and throwing int's

As long as Rees is on the field, we'll be seeing a dumbed down version of Kelly's offense because he simply cannot throw downfield, especially those seam routes that are a big part of his scheme.

Here's to hoping he bulks up and improves his downfield passing.

 

[roc351w]

gotcha^ im with you on that.... dumbing it down that means we become a power running spread option read team..... kelly can do it all...... haha

 

[GreatGolson]

If Rees is the starter no way they get 9 wins

Which is why i said it could also be Hendrix or even Golson (ideally)

 

[RallySonsOfND]

dumbing it down that means we become a power running spread option read team..... kelly can do it all...... haha

hahaha i love this.

 

[NDMontana]

Well... or Tommy Rees could grow a couple pubes, add some arm strength, grasp the offense better and improve vastly. I think the best way to put it is "there is no way we get 9 wins with Tommy Rees as the starter unless he gets markedly better."

I've been traveling a lot for the holidays....did I miss something? Did Dayne Crist quit? Is he transfering?

 

[ACamp1900]

If they play like they have been on defense in the bowl and into next year we'll have a legit BCS shot... if they revert back to what we have seen the majority of the pat four years then we'll be 6-6/7-5 again

 

[aubeirish]

12-0. Unbelief has left my house. Go Irish!

 

[IrishAlum1997]

12-0. Unbelief has left my house. Go Irish!

I forgot about unbelief. HAHAHAAAAA!!!!!! Reps.

 

[IrishLax]

I've been traveling a lot for the holidays....did I miss something? Did Dayne Crist quit? Is he transfering?

???

I was responding to KPENN who said there was no way we win 9+ games with Rees starting. Nothing about Dayne involved, I think most people expect him to be the starter if he recovers quick enough.

 

[NDMontana]

???

I was responding to KPENN who said there was no way we win 9+ games with Rees starting. Nothing about Dayne involved, I think most people expect him to be the starter if he recovers quick enough.

I was just questioning that in general because not one post in the thread mentioned Crist. The only names I saw were Golson, Rees and Hendrix.

 

[Riddickulous]

I was just questioning that in general because not one post in the thread mentioned Crist. The only names I saw were Golson, Rees and Hendrix.

Most have written him off (albeit unfairly) following devastating injuries to both knees.

 

[NDMontana]

Most have written him off (albeit unfairly) following devastating injuries to both knees.

Well I'm praying he comes back healthy and able. Not for myself either but because he was willing and excited to come to ND knowing he would take a back seat to Clausen for a few years. He could've easily pulled the Mallet/Mustain and transfered when the coaching change happened. But he stuck around, willing to give it a go.

I think he deserves to finish his career on a good note(s).

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

At this point, I don't see any of our guys leaving early. I know if I were in their position, I would stay and finish up my degree and play on a team that will be much improved next season. I think if both Rudy and Michael stay, we could be very hard to beat next year. I also see the qb battle between, Hendrix, Crist and Golsen being pretty intense. Should be a fun year next year. I think we will have more to cheer about than complain about.

 

[jmurphy75]

At this point, I don't see any of our guys leaving early. I know if I were in their position, I would stay and finish up my degree and play on a team that will be much improved next season. I think if both Rudy and Michael stay, we could be very hard to beat next year. I also see the qb battle between, Hendrix, Crist and Golsen being pretty intense. Should be a fun year next year. I think we will have more to cheer about than complain about.

Seriously.....fans on here cheer more than complain.....really...really. LMAO People won't know what to do with themselves!

 

[CanadianIrish]

I don't think Rudy or Floyd are going to leave. There is almost certain to be a lockout in March, so underclassmen would be crazy to declare after they've underperformed compared to expectations as juniors.

The QB battle is likely to be fierce. Tommy needs to put on some serious weight and his arm strength needs to improve a lot for him to have a chance. I expect spring ball to be a serious competition and we may not have a clear choice then, and I suspect fall will be even harder when Dayne comes back and Golson has a bit more time with the playbook. In the end, I think it will be either Golson or Hendrix.

As for how the team does, I think we will be significantly better on both sides of the ball. We were only a few plays from being 9-3 right now (Michigan St., Tulsa). Quite frankly, if Dayne hadn't gotten injured I suspect we would have beaten Michigan and this whole season would be entirely different (I see us being 10-1 if that had happened), but if ifs and ands were pots and pans then bull**** would be butter.

Assuming Luck goes pro, I think we have a legitimate shot to run the table next year, with the hardest game being against USC. If Luck doesn't go pro, we have a legitimate shot to be a one loss team.

Given our experience at QB we may not reach our full potential, but I don't look at our schedule and get scared or anything.