I don't know why anyone would be confident of anything here.
The past 4 years, we have had the superior squad. We got beaten 3 out of 4 times. Once by refs (2009), once by a freak injury to Dayne Crist that forced Nate-freaking-Montana into the game (2010), and once by a ridiculous series of bad breaks (2011).
I don't see how we are definitively the better side this year. I only see a couple position groups where we have an edge, and see a couple where we don't. And we're away at night. Yeah, we COULD steamroll them. We could also get steamrolled by Michigan. It could be high scoring... it could be low scoring... I don't see how anyone thinks they can make an accurate prediction for this game.
I'm confident because I trust in the development I've seen in this program since Kelly was hired, and, more specifically, since the beginning of the 2012 offseason.
As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I can't say for certain which position groups we're stronger than Michigan, but everything I've read leads me to believe we are better in most areas. I'm really looking forward to some non-bias breakdowns of this as the game nears. If anyone can post one that would be great.
I also believe we're a year ahead of Michigan in terms of developing a program. Hoke is entering his third year and, while they've recruited remarkably well in his time there, they're still a year behind and a very young team. The argument against this would be, "well, look at what ND did in BK's third year", but I would counter and say Michigan doesn't have the same type of senior leadership ND had last year. Maybe if they hadn't lost Jake Ryan I'd feel differently, but he's out and not playing, and I think Weis left BK with more to work with than RichRod left Hoke. (Clarification on that last sentence: I do realize Weis left a lot of holes that took BK a few recruiting classes to fill, but I'm talking specifically about players like Manti, Tyler, KLM, Motta, Cave, etc that played significant roles in last year's NCG run).
The only factor that gives me pause is the Under The Lights kickoff AT Michigan. Rees at the helm and the fact a lot of our players have played in big games under the lights (@ Oklahoma, @ USC and the NCG, even though we were steamrolled) gives me some comfort with that though.
We'll see what happens. The game could go a number of directions, but that's not going to scare me from trying to make an accurate prediction. ND 34 UM 19 (I think this is the 3rd different score I've given since Saturday, but each one has had ND scoring in the 30's and winning by 15+).
