Thoughts from a Young Mind

[xBornGoldenx]

Notre Dame football has been entrenched in my blood since birth (I could see the campus from my hospital room). I have watched helplessly every Saturday as Wllingham, Weis, and now Kelly have roamed the sidelines trying to bring back the powerhouse of Notre Dame football. Extreme expectations are always put on Notre Dame, whether they're fair or not, simply because when you ink of Notre Dame football you think of tradition, and tradition that has won. Without a "Quarterback for the Future" since Brady Quinn the weight of Irishnation rests on the shoulders of a young, inexperienced quarterback, Everett Golson. Weaknesses in the defensive line (Aaron Lynch transferred) and suspension of Cierre Wood makes even Navy a worrisome game (especially if you couldn't will yourself to forget about losing to USF last year). With the toughest schedule in college football even a 1-loss year could easily place us in the BCS Championship game. But, even as I bleed blue and gold, I realize that even just 9 wins would be an accomplishment. Maybe, luck of the Irish will finally rain down on Notre Dame. Until then, I will still be cheering on my team, hoping that this year is the year and if not, there's always the next.

 

[Black Irish]

It's good that you are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Too many here are trying to inoculate themselves prematurely against the pain if the Irish stumble. Root for the best possible outcome, and don't give yourself "I told you so" excuses foe not being 100% behind the Irish. You don't have to be a kool-aid drinker, but don't be afraid to be rabidly optimistic about what this squad can achieve.

 

[BurningRiver]

Boy that sure is an optimistic poll...

 

[xBornGoldenx]

It's good that you are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Too many here are trying to inoculate themselves prematurely against the pain if the Irish stumble. Root for the best possible outcome, and don't give yourself "I told you so" excuses foe not being 100% behind the Irish. You don't have to be a kool-aid drinker, but don't be afraid to be rabidly optimistic about what this squad can achieve.

I definitely think too many people have high expectations, as they should for their favorite team. But at some point they have to be realistic and understand winning takes time. I don't expect a BCS bowl bid this year but two years down the road definitely seems like enough time to be expecting that. Either way, I'll hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

 

[A2forND]

I like to think of myself as a optimistic pessimist. No matter how bad things get during a season, I try to stay positive. I was born into a RUDY style ND family. My dad saw them win a national championship...so he has that to fall back on. I've talked ND friends and family off the cliff after bad losses....Navy comes to mind....and i myself had a crisis of faith temporarily after the Michigan game last year. I recompose myself by monday, ready to face friends and coworkers. I can never see myself rooting for anybody else.......LIVE AND DIE IRISH BABY!!

 

[BGIF]

I would have voted had the pessimist provided a spot for 13 wins.

 

[TheRealLynch51]

Boy that sure is an optimistic poll...

Well, I have the Irish down for 9 wins, but I feel people are being so pessimistic that, in their minds, Notre Dame has to overachieve. It would be a nice change for once.

 

[peoriairish]

I'm one of the ones who voted for 10 wins due to the fact we are a best, a better team than last year, and at worst, the same. No way we are a worse, talent wise, squad than last years. And with that, last years team was a 10 win team. Awful ball security and a no-call on forward progress kept us from that 10 win season. Very well could have been 11 wins.

 

[Cogs]

I'm one of the ones who voted for 10 wins due to the fact we are a best, a better team than last year, and at worst, the same. No way we are a worse, talent wise, squad than last years. And with that, last years team was a 10 win team. Awful ball security and a no-call on forward progress kept us from that 10 win season. Very well could have been 11 wins.

I say this all the time and no one believes me. You are absolutely right, with this upgraded team and upgraded QB we should have a 10-11 win season no doubt (especially if we don't turn it over). If you don't think the Irish could win at least 10 this year then you've fallen into the ND Fan pessimism bandwagon. Go Irish

 

[Rhode Irish]

I say this all the time and no one believes me. You are absolutely right, with this upgraded team and upgraded QB we should have a 10-11 win season no doubt (especially if we don't turn it over). If you don't think the Irish could win at least 10 this year then you've fallen into the ND Fan pessimism bandwagon. Go Irish

People are also overrating the schedule. MSU, UM, USC and OK present four potential BCS-caliber teams and tough games. Those four games may be as tough as any four games anyone will play, especially outside of the SEC, and three of them are on the road. But I don't think 2-2 in those games is unrealistic, and then you have two pretty good wins on your resume. The other eight games don't strike me as especially difficult. Navy is Navy. BC, WF, Purdue and Pittsburgh all suck. BYU and Miami are impressive names, but BYU is mediocre and Miami is awful. I don't know what to make of Stanford, but they aren't going to be the dynamo they were the last few years with Luck.

I think 9 wins (which was my vote) is very reasonable. I think there is a decent chance we win 10, and a long shot chance to pull an upset at USC or OK and win 11. But this is a good team. I don't know why so many people don't seem to recognize that. Should be better than last year, talent-wise, and have to be luckier than last year.

 

[Cogs]

People are also overrating the schedule. MSU, UM, USC and OK present four potential BCS-caliber teams and tough games. Those four games may be as tough as any four games anyone will play, especially outside of the SEC, and three of them are on the road. But I don't think 2-2 in those games is unrealistic, and then you have two pretty good wins on your resume. The other eight games don't strike me as especially difficult. Navy is Navy. BC, WF, Purdue and Pittsburgh all suck. BYU and Miami are impressive names, but BYU is mediocre and Miami is awful. I don't know what to make of Stanford, but they aren't going to be the dynamo they were the last few years with Luck.

I think 9 wins (which was my vote) is very reasonable. I think there is a decent chance we win 10, and a long shot chance to pull an upset at USC or OK and win 11. But this is a good team. I don't know why so many people don't seem to recognize that. Should be better than last year, talent-wise, and have to be luckier than last year.

Amen brother!! And here's a little bit of bragging rights. Some sparty douche off ESPN talked **** and said he could beat me in NCAA 13...lol

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[phillyirish]

Amen brother!! And here's a little bit of bragging rights. Some sparty douche off ESPN talked **** and said he could beat me in NCAA 13...lol

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You gave up 6 points? You have dishonored us all.......

 

[BGIF]

You gave up 6 points? You have dishonored us all.......

Ahem!

It was, KeiVarae's first game. A little slack.

 

[ulukinatme]

9 wins on this schedule is feasible if we take care of the football this year

 

[Cogs]

You gave up 6 points? You have dishonored us all.......

Sorry man . The kid knew how to kick 40 yard field goals hahah

 

[NDhoosier]

You threw an INT with Golson? Shame on you!

 

[irishtrain]

Ah the internet full of drugstore cowboys from other schools banging on Notre Dame. Problem is at this point in time they are right. As I see it my Irish on paper are not equal to 4 teams on this schedule and I dont not see them winning all the other 8 games. 7-5 would be nice but I'm thinking 6-6. Man would I love to be wrong but I dont think so. Subpar at secondary/short yardage running game/passing/special teams/d line is ok but not deep and these guys dont know what it takes or how it feels to string wins together. I dont think they're a top 35 team in the country.

 

[woolybug25]

It's good that you are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Too many here are trying to inoculate themselves prematurely against the pain if the Irish stumble. Root for the best possible outcome, and don't give yourself "I told you so" excuses foe not being 100% behind the Irish. You don't have to be a kool-aid drinker, but don't be afraid to be rabidly optimistic about what this squad can achieve.

Great post.

 

[Rhode Irish]

Ah the internet full of drugstore cowboys from other schools banging on Notre Dame. Problem is at this point in time they are right. As I see it my Irish on paper are not equal to 4 teams on this schedule and I dont not see them winning all the other 8 games. 7-5 would be nice but I'm thinking 6-6. Man would I love to be wrong but I dont think so. Subpar at secondary/short yardage running game/passing/special teams/d line is ok but not deep and these guys dont know what it takes or how it feels to string wins together. I dont think they're a top 35 team in the country.

Wow. Are we following the same program? This ND team will better than last year's - I'm fairly confident in that. Some people are saying that the schedule is so tough it may not be reflected in the record, but I don't agree with that. I think the schedule is vastly overrated. Toughest four games are tough, but two are very winnable. BYU and Miami are good names, but BYU is mediocre and Miami is horrible. The other six teams aren't very good.

On paper, ND is not as good as USC and *Oklahoma. That's it. ND lost to Michigan last year in a game it clearly was talented enough to win. Michigan lost most of its defensive line, and we return most of our offensive line. We play the game at home. I don't agree that Michigan is better on paper. We beat MSU last year, and they lost their starting QB to the NFL. We have a new QB, too, but ours beat out the QB who played against MSU last year, whereas their's inherited the job. I don't think any ND fan would or should guarantee wins in each of these games, but to dismiss them as unwinnable as you did is wrong. I like our chances in those games.

The other eight teams on our schedule aren't good. Stanford and BYU are the class of that group, but neither are better on paper than ND. The other six teams are clearly inferior to ND on paper. I could see them losing one game of these eight, maybe. Maybe. I think this teams upside is 10-2, downside is 8-4 and most likely 9-3. This roster is loaded with talent, both proven and unproven. A lot of things would have to go wrong to finish 7-5 or 6-6 (which I admit is impossible to dismiss based on how things have gone, but you can't expect that to happen).

I don't know how much CFB you follow, but I think a lot of ND fans that come across as doom-and-gloomers don't pay enough attention to the rest of college football. They look at ND under a microscope and can identify flaws and imperfections with ND teams that they don't see with other teams. Outside of the top 2 or 3 teams, all teams have areas of strength and weakness. When Notre Dame goes into a season without any areas of concern, we'll be all the way back and be playing for a national championship.

 

[gkIrish]

Wow. Are we following the same program? This ND team will better than last year's - I'm fairly confident in that. Some people are saying that the schedule is so tough it may not be reflected in the record, but I don't agree with that. I think the schedule is vastly overrated. Toughest four games are tough, but two are very winnable. BYU and Miami are good names, but BYU is mediocre and Miami is horrible. The other six teams aren't very good.

On paper, ND is not as good as USC and *Oklahoma. That's it. ND lost to Michigan last year in a game it clearly was talented enough to win. Michigan lost most of its defensive line, and we return most of our offensive line. We play the game at home. I don't agree that Michigan is better on paper. We beat MSU last year, and they lost their starting QB to the NFL. We have a new QB, too, but ours beat out the QB who played against MSU last year, whereas their's inherited the job. I don't think any ND fan would or should guarantee wins in each of these games, but to dismiss them as unwinnable as you did is wrong. I like our chances in those games.

The other eight teams on our schedule aren't good. Stanford and BYU are the class of that group, but neither are better on paper than ND. The other six teams are clearly inferior to ND on paper. I could see them losing one game of these eight, maybe. Maybe. I think this teams upside is 10-2, downside is 8-4 and most likely 9-3. This roster is loaded with talent, both proven and unproven. A lot of things would have to go wrong to finish 7-5 or 6-6 (which I admit is impossible to dismiss based on how things have gone, but you can't expect that to happen).

I don't know how much CFB you follow, but I think a lot of ND fans that come across as doom-and-gloomers don't pay enough attention to the rest of college football. They look at ND under a microscope and can identify flaws and imperfections with ND teams that they don't see with other teams. Outside of the top 2 or 3 teams, all teams have areas of strength and weakness. When Notre Dame goes into a season without any areas of concern, we'll be all the way back and be playing for a national championship.

Cosign

 

[North Buffalo Irish]

Without a "Quarterback for the Future" since Brady Quinn

Except for the guy that came after Quinn and was even better, you mean.

 

[xBornGoldenx]

Except for the guy that came after Quinn and was even better, you mean.

I don't consider a quarterback who went 3-9, 7-6, and 6-6 to be a great quarterback or to be considered as better than Brady Quinn

 

[Irish Houstonian]

I don't consider a quarterback who went 3-9, 7-6, and 6-6 to be a great quarterback or to be considered as better than Brady Quinn

Dan Marino was 6-10 in his 5th year, Peyton Manning 6-10 in his 4th. Dismissing a QB's "greatness" based solely on record is unfair and myopic.

 

[Veer option]

I don't consider a quarterback who went 3-9, 7-6, and 6-6 to be a great quarterback or to be considered as better than Brady Quinn

Regarding 2009s 6-6 team, my opinion leans towards a lackluster defense rather than offensive ineptitude. The 2009 offense put up plenty of points to have won most of the games they lost. Unfortunately, Tenuta's Blitzkrieg defense, was unable to get to the QB, left running lanes I could have run through, and had players constantly out of position. Even with these defensive tribulations the 2009 team lost most of those games by an average of six points.

 

[xBornGoldenx]

Dan Marino was 6-10 in his 5th year, Peyton Manning 6-10 in his 4th. Dismissing a QB's "greatness" based solely on record is unfair and myopic.

I do apologize for being too simplistic by rating a quarterback's greatness on record, and I do realize great quarterback's don't always have the best of teams. (Some haven't even won a Super Bowl) I was just stating those facts because they were easy to use for the argument. Everthing here is an opinion and some, such as myself, don't consider Jimmy Clausen as a great collegiate quarterback. Although, I definitely realize his teams weren't nearly as good as Quinn's but there is no way in my mind considering him nearly as good as him. Again, I know records don't tell it all but they tell enough, I think, to be able to compare Quinn's and Clausen's overall attributions to their respective teams.

 

[ulukinatme]

Except for the guy that came after Quinn and was even better, you mean.

I don't consider a quarterback who went 3-9, 7-6, and 6-6 to be a great quarterback or to be considered as better than Brady Quinn

I have a tough time with both of these arguments actually. As Irish Houstonian said, you can't base a QB's performance on the team's overall record. Quinn may have had the better record, but the defense on his teams may have been slightly better in comparison. I think the offensive line was slowly declining over the years as well, until Kelly came in.

On the other hand, records aside, I'm not sure I wouldn't put Brady ahead of Clausen. Brady had 4 years, but Clausen probably had more weapons. It's tough to gauge how Clausen would have fared had he hung around for a 4th year, so that leaves you with NFL experience/performance which doesn't favor either. It's apples to oranges I think.