Scheduling

[IrishLax]

This came up over breakfast again today.... we really put ourselves in a compromising position by the way we schedule our opponents. We have 5 Top 30 style teams in the first 6 weeks of the season. Why? And look at who our two losses so far play around us:

Michigan: Uconn--> UMass
MSU: Western Michigan, Florida Atlantic--> Northern Colorado

So my question to the knowledgeable people of IE... if you could build our schedule who would be on it and when would we play them? Here is a schedule I would like playing year in and year out:

Western Michigan
Toledo
Purdue
Pitt
Indiana
Duke
Stanford
USF
BYU
Army
Navy
USC

What are your thoughts? Do you like the way we front load our schedule? Because I sure as heck don't and I also hate playing MSU/Mich because they are always games we can lose but do nothing for us if we win.

 

[NDOM]

This came up over breakfast again today.... we really put ourselves in a compromising position by the way we schedule our opponents. We have 5 Top 30 style teams in the first 6 weeks of the season. Why? And look at who our two losses so far play around us:

Michigan: Uconn--> UMass
MSU: Western Michigan, Florida Atlantic--> Northern Colorado

So my question to the knowledgeable people of IE... if you could build our schedule who would be on it and when would we play them? Here is a schedule I would like playing year in and year out:

Western Michigan
Toledo
Purdue
Pitt
Indiana
Duke
Stanford
USF
BYU
Army
Navy
USC

What are your thoughts? Do you like the way we front load our schedule? Because I sure as heck don't and I also hate playing MSU/Mich because they are always games we can lose but do nothing for us if we win.

It doesnt matter what or who we schedule, were still only going to win 6 games a year. Were snake bitten. Glory days are in the past. Just have to suck it up and know that we are gonna be fans of a mediocre football team that will win 6-8 games a year with a few 9 or 10 win seasons sprinkled in from time to time.

 

[jonesman]

ND will end up with a Top 10 most difficult schedule when the season is complete. What do you think our schedule would be at mid season if we started off like OSU.
Marshall
UMiami
Ohio U
Eastern Mich
Indiana
Illinois

How about that for murderers row??? NOT!!!! Instead, our powderpuffs is the Big Ten schedule
Purdue
UM
MSU
Then, let's take on the potential Pac 10 winner
Stanford
Oh, that is not enough let's go for the ACC power
Boston College
Big East, we can take that too
Pittsburgh
How about offensive juggernaut
NAVY
Maybe we should try on a multi year BCS team
Utah
While we are at it, let's try the Pac 10 power of the last decade
USC

Anyone who believes that this is not an unbelievably difficult schedule is smoking something funny.

 

[Irish Rogue]

Looks like Michigan played some decent teams. And over all we have a really weak schedule this season with a lot of our games played against top teams that are down right now like USC and the mighty Michigan.

I disagree. the combined record for the first 4 opponents is 11-1. No way is this a weak schedule.

 

[NDOM]

ND will end up with a Top 10 most difficult schedule when the season is complete. What do you think our schedule would be at mid season if we started off like OSU.
Marshall
UMiami
Ohio U
Eastern Mich
Indiana
Illinois

How about that for murderers row??? NOT!!!! Instead, our powderpuffs is the Big Ten schedule
Purdue
UM
MSU
Then, let's take on the potential Pac 10 winner
Stanford
Oh, that is not enough let's go for the ACC power
Boston College
Big East, we can take that too
Pittsburgh
How about offensive juggernaut
NAVY
Maybe we should try on a multi year BCS team
Utah
While we are at it, let's try the Pac 10 power of the last decade
USC

Anyone who believes that this is not an unbelievably difficult schedule is smoking something funny.

tee hee. Sorry. that made me snicker.

 

[IrishinSyria]

First of all, you can't say bottom 4 teams in the Big Ten without saying "Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota"...Purdue or Michigan, depending on Denard Robinson's durability, may round out that list.

Second. We play a front loaded schedule because we are a non-conference team. Once conference play starts up, it becomes increasingly hard to schedule a Michigan or a Stanford. So we play them early. Some years, that's to our favor. We can get super prepared in the off-season and get hot out of the gates before easing our way into a nice bowl. Other years, like this one apparently, its not.

 

[Riddickulous]

It doesnt matter what or who we schedule, were still only going to win 6 games a year. Were snake bitten. Glory days are in the past. Just have to suck it up and know that we are gonna be fans of a mediocre football team that will win 6-8 games a year with a few 9 or 10 win seasons sprinkled in from time to time.

You are the biggest pessimist I've ever seen in my life.

But we are in for a tough stretch. 2011 is a pretty tough schedule. 2012 is unbelievably difficult. 2013 is also very tough. 2014 is noticeably easier, for the moment.

 

[TinyT]

First of all, you can't say bottom 4 teams in the Big Ten without saying "Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota"...Purdue or Michigan, depending on Denard Robinson's durability, may round out that list.

Don't forget Northwestern

 

[IrishJayhawk]

We play the bottom 4 teams in the big ten...

That's just totally untrue.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Three wins in the last 4 seasons you cry baby bitches.

This is actually a sentence fragment.

See, every sentence needs a verb.

 

[IrishLax]

Second. We play a front loaded schedule because we are a non-conference team. Once conference play starts up, it becomes increasingly hard to schedule a Michigan or a Stanford. So we play them early. Some years, that's to our favor. We can get super prepared in the off-season and get hot out of the gates before easing our way into a nice bowl. Other years, like this one apparently, its not.

Exactly. My point is... why do we bother to schedule these games though? After the first 3-4 games we are in conference play mode... and we have Stanford, Pitt and BC? Three teams that will compete for their conference crowns? If you want to front load a couple tough games... alright, that's fine. But to then follow that up with another 3 tough games? Suicide.

I seriously think we need to cut Michigan, MSU or both. Those games do nothing for us. If we ever want to compete for a crown you can only have one... maybe two... very tough games on your schedule. It's simple math: if you play two toss up games your odds of winning both are 25%. The odds of winning 4 toss up games: 6.25%.

The odds of winning 7 toss up games (Michigan, MSU, Stanford, Pitt, BC, Utah, USC): less than 1%. Whoever builds these schedules is a moron. You cannot run that kind of gauntlet and come out without multiple losses.

 

[IRISHinKC]

We have schedules like this because we have almost always had tough schedules. If it ever comes down to a undefeated vs. a 1 loss team. If Notre Dame is one of the 1 loss teams, there is no question as to who should be competing for the NC. Look at teams like Boise State they go undefeated but don't get a chance at a NC. You kinow why? Because compared to the other teams their schedule is weak. Does that mean they couldn't win? No, but the teams that have proven they can win big games get the most attention. Compared to teams who win every game but did't play near as tough schedules.

 

[IrishLax]

We have schedules like this because we have almost always had tough schedules. If it ever comes down to a undefeated vs. a 1 loss team. If Notre Dame is one of the 1 loss teams, there is no question as to who should be competing for the NC. Look at teams like Boise State they go undefeated but don't get a chance at a NC. You kinow why? Because compared to the other teams their schedule is weak. Does that mean they couldn't win? No, but the teams that have proven they can win big games get the most attention. Compared to teams who win every game but did't play near as tough schedules.

Yeah but don't you think it's a little insane that we schedule so many good teams? Right now there are FIVE top 25 teams on our schedule. And that doesn't include a team like Pitt who was in the top 25 (and should finish the season there) nor BC who will likely do the same.

I don't care if you're Alabama... you don't run the table against an insane schedule like ours. So why not tone it down a little? You could cut the number of top 25 teams we play in half and we would still have a top 5 hardest schedule in the country.

 

[Jerry]

Don't forget Northwestern

I think Northwestern is pretty good.

 

[Jerry]

Yeah but don't you think it's a little insane that we schedule so many good teams? Right now there are FIVE top 25 teams on our schedule. And that doesn't include a team like Pitt who was in the top 25 (and should finish the season there) nor BC who will likely do the same.

I don't care if you're Alabama... you don't run the table against an insane schedule like ours. So why not tone it down a little? You could cut the number of top 25 teams we play in half and we would still have a top 5 hardest schedule in the country.

The problem is I don't think Michigan or MSU would agree to play ND in the middle of their Big Ten schedule. It seems that way anyway. I'm almost surprised ND can even schedule some teams in the middle of the year the way they do. Being an Independent (schedule wise) is becoming more and more difficult.

 

[IRISHinKC]

Most of the teams we play year in and year out are teams we have played for many years. Notre Dame hangs on to traditions. They would be moving away from tradition and confirming if they started playing Eastern Michigan, Marshall, and Ohio. It would also be way more embarassing to lose to teams like that or a 1AA school. Just ask Michigan, VA Tech, and Ole Miss. I do understand what you are saying though.

 

[irishtrain]

I would just like to drop the little 12 schedule. All of them.