is it okay to talk football here?

Truman · Post by **Truman** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 4:17 pm

Van wrote:a one-loss Oregon may have very well gotten in over Okie St too, since Oregon's lone loss would've been to USC, not to fucktastically awful Iowa St.

Perhaps. But that one loss DID come at home. Whereas Oklahoma State lost in double overtime on the road on the same day that it’s women’s basketball team died in a plane crash. BTW, "fucktastically awful" Iowa State went to a bowl last year. Did SC?

Also, the Pac 12 has just as many national titles (2) over the past fifteen seasons as the Big XII...

Wrong. NOBODY recognizes an AP title in the BCS era. The PAC has only won one BCS title in 15 years, and that title was vacated because USC cheated. So technically, the Conference is 0-1 and hasn’t won any. The XII has won two BCS titles out of the seven times that they’ve played for the Championship.

...while also producing more NFL players despite having 20% fewer teams for most of those fifteen years.

...which means as a conference, PAC teams have horribly underachieved on the field. Thank you for making my point.

Beside, since you're a Mizzou fan what the fuck do you even care about the Pac 12 vs the Big XII?

My team moved. I didn’t. The XII is still in my backyard. Besides, I am a college football fan; the title of this thread is is it okay to talk football here?; simply agreeing with you without comment would be terribly boring, and where’s the fun in that?; and you’re being arrogant and haughty. Again.

You've had no skin in the game...ever. You're nothing but cannon fodder in either league, and now you've traded Husker/Sooner/Longhorn cock for Tide/Tiger cock. Mizzouri fan doesn't even know what real football looks like, other than for longing glances from afar.

I know that we’ve won just as many BCS titles as USC has the last 15 years. I also know we didn’t have cheat to not win them either. I also know that we only lost by seven in overtime at Arizona State last fall. How did USC do?

*Edit: SOS has always benefitted the Pac more than any other league, and it's not even close.

If by "benefitted" you mean "we got our dicks knocked in the dirt" last bowl season, then you would be correct.

Truman · Post by **Truman** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 4:21 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:
Truman wrote:
Van wrote: WHY would you remove Oke State from the discussion?
Tru,

As Van said: Iowa State.

OSU removed themselves from the discussion...even in Van's scenario. Alabama would have still been the better choice...

...as you will find out this upcoming BTCFB season. :grin:

We ain't afeared of you!

Still, a 27-17 thrashing at the hands of the Tide wouldn't be far-fetched: Two interception returns for scores, a field goal, and five safeties....

MiketheangrydrunkenCUfan · Tue Jul 03, 2012 4:43 pm

Truman wrote:NOBODY recognizes an AP title in the BCS era.

I hate to break it to you, but when the team in question was #1 in both polls heading into the bowl games and proceeded to beat the #4 team in the country by two TDs, EVERYBODY outside of the greater Baton Rouge area recognizes an AP title. Don't try to spin the BCS as something it's not and never was, i.e. a system that actually matches the two best teams in the country. Four-team playoff out front shoulda told ya...

Van · Post by **Van** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 8:10 pm

Also, nobody gives a fuck that the NCAA "vacated" USC's '04 title. USC didn't cheat. Reggie Bush did, on the sly, and that was well after the '05 Orange Bowl. Vacating the title was a joke.

Regardless, we all watched that season, and we all saw what happened in the title game.

Truman · Post by **Truman** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 3:07 am

Van wrote:Also, nobody gives a fuck that the NCAA "vacated" USC's '04 title. USC didn't cheat. Reggie Bush did, on the sly, and that was well after the '05 Orange Bowl. Vacating the title was a joke.

Close. Nobody gives a fuck about USC. But I see you workin'. Cool. So your crystal football is in the case right next to Reggie's Heisman?

Van · Post by **Van** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:02 am

Nobody gives a fuck about USC except...hmmm...let's see here...

The TV networks that pay for the rights to televise games, every type of media that covers college football, the writers, coaches and computers which comprise the polls, the Heisman voters, the All-American voters, the Rose Bowl committee, NFL GMs, and the NFL HoF.

Apparently the only people that follow college football who don't give a fuck about USC are a few bitter folks from Missouri whose team never even managed to win the piss-poor Big XII North, much less the Big 8, the Big XII, a BCS bowl game or anything of any consequence whatsoever.

M2 · Post by M2 » Wed Jul 04, 2012 7:52 am

Van wrote:Also, nobody gives a fuck that the NCAA "vacated" USC's '04 title.

Pssst... you may want to reword this so it makes sense.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Wed Jul 04, 2012 3:34 pm

Tide skeered of Badgers.

In 2011, Alabama wrapped up a successful home-and-home with the Big Ten's Penn State. But according to a report, it apparently wasn't so successful that Nick Saban wanted to relive the experience with Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin State Journal reported Saturday that in an effort to beef up the Badgers' nonconference schedule, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema approached Alabama about a potential home-and-home series with the Crimson Tide-- Bielema's counter-idea after ESPN brought the two schools together to discuss a potential neutral-site game. But according to Badger athletic director Barry Alvarez, Saban declined.

Bielema and Alvarez aren't giving up on the idea of a high-profile nonconference matchup just yet, with Bielema revealing this week that he had approached Notre Dame's Brian Kelly about a possible home-and-home during the Fighting Irish's 2018-2019 hiatus from their annual rivalry game against Michigan. The Badgers haven't traditionally scheduled aggressively outside of conference -- the past three seasons have seen Wisconsin play just two BCS nonconference opponents, Arizona State and Oregon State, both at Camp Randall Stadium -- but Alvarez is concerned about the impact of strength-of-schedule on his team's ability to qualify for the four-team playoff debuting in 2014.

“If you want to be a player [for a playoff berth] and strength of schedule is going to be a part of it, then you really have to consider [a different approach],” Alvarez told the State Journal.

As for the Tide, Saban and Co. have not been particularly shy about arranging at least one heavyweight non-league matchup on the schedule -- in the past five seasons, Alabama has faced Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and Penn State twice -- but have not faced two nonconference BCS teams in the same season under Saban. Saban has also expressed his preference for playing that matchup at neutral sites over home-and-homes, explaining this season's Dallas-hosted tilt against Michigan and their coming Chick-Fil-A Kickoff appearances against Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

Still, that hasn't stopped Alabama from also agreeing to a home-and-home with Saban's former employers at Michigan State in 2016 and 2017. It's easy to see a potential Wisconsin series as simply one Big Ten series too far. (It's also not outside the realm of possibility for the SEC to switch to Saban's preferred nine-game schedule before those hypothetical Wisconsin games were played.)

It's still something of a shame that Alabama has told the Badgers thanks-but-no-thanks, since watching the Tide go to Camp Randall would have been appointment viewing. And it's more than a little admirable that after years of lazy scheduling, Alvarez and Bielema have begun looking for bigger and brighter matchups. (The Alabama series would have even wound up on the same slates, presumably, as the Badgers' future dates in the Big Ten-Pac-12 scheduling agreement, giving them a pair of BCS nonconference games.)

But it's also not a surprise that the Tide declined. As long as they can continue arranging for blockbuster neutral-site games in major recruiting areas -- and it's hard to see why they couldn't -- programs approaching them for a home-and-home will need Alabama more than Alabama will need them.

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 5:22 pm

I don't give a fuck if OSU goes 4 and whatever as long as the 4 wins are (in order of importance)

Wisconsin - after that assbag Brett B cried about flipping a recruit and calling Urban out...hell even his OWN AD didn't support what he did
Michigan - just because that fat Jabba the Hoke needs an ass beating
KAL - nuff said
Michigan State - Mark D whining about recruiting and flipping recruits...go fuck yourself

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Thu Jul 05, 2012 5:38 pm

Michigan State - Mark D whining about recruiting and flipping recruits...go fuck yourself

That guy won you a national championship. You should show a little more respect.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 5:52 pm

buckeye_in_sc wrote:Wisconsin - after that assbag Brett B cried about flipping a recruit and calling Urban out...hell even his OWN AD didn't support what he did

My understanding of the situation was that Bielema's issue with Urban was not about flipping players, but rather about questionable tactics such as illegal contacts (assistant coaches "accidentally" running into recruits), and that Meyer promised that it wouldn't happen. Anymore.

buckeye_in_sc wrote:I don't give a fuck if OSU goes 4 and whatever as long as the 4 wins are (in order of importance)

You'd fit right in as an Auburn fan. Got the IQ and everything.

buckeye_in_sc · Post by **buckeye_in_sc** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 6:05 pm

Goobs there was also some recruit flipping issue in there surrounding Kyle Dodson...I mean no one was crying when they were taking OSU recruits...

and fuck that fat ass bag Brett B...I'll be betting OSU heavy that game...fuck him

and MGO...fuck Mark D...whiney little bitch...

Terry in Crapchester · Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:25 pm

Notre Dame

Schedule:

S01 vs. Navy (IRE) 9am CBS
S08 PURDUE 3:30pm NBC
S15 @ Michigan State 8pm ABC
S22 MICHIGAN 7:30pm NBC
O06 vs. Miami (Chi) 7:30pm NBC
O13 STANFORD 3:30pm NBC
O20 BYU 3:30pm NBC
O27 @ Oklahoma
N03 PITTSBURGH 3:30pm NBC
N10 @ Boston College
N17 WAKE FOREST 3:30pm NBC
N24 @ Southern Cal

Key losses: WR Michael Floyd, S Harrison Smith, RB Jonas Gray, CB Robert Blanton, CB Gary Gray, G Trevor Robinson, PK David Ruffer, DL Aaron Lynch (transferred to USF)

Offense: QB is still unsettled. Rees has the most experience of the returning options, but is turnover-prone and the least athletic (by far) option, and also faces pending felony charges stemming from an off-campus party. Golson is all the buzz on the ND homer boards, but he has no actual game experience, and in the Blue-Gold game he also was turnover-prone and demonstrated poor clock management skills. Kiel is a true freshman, and I would hope that he doesn't see the field this year, so he can preserve an extra year of eligibility, as Golson and Hendrix both did when they were freshmen. My choice would be Hendrix. He's considerably more athletic than Rees and has actual game experience. Of course, it's not my decision to make.

Cierre Wood quietly put together a 1,000 yard season last year. Jonas Gray provided an effective counterpunch (after a key fumble against USF in the opener) but is now gone. There are other talented backs on the roster, but no big backs along the line of Gray.

Michael Floyd was a potential game-breaker and will be sorely missed. There are talented WR's remaining on the roster, but no Michael Floyds. Tyler Eifert is a potential first-team All-American at TE. OL looks solid.

Defense: Key issue will be the secondary. Harrison Smith moved on to the NFL after what seemed like a decade at ND. Both starting CB's from last year's team are also gone. Projected replacements have some playing time, but it remains to be seen if they can step in and pick up the slack. Front seven has been steadily improving since Kelly took over.

Special teams: The punt return unit can't possibly get any worse than it was last season. George Atkinson returned two KO's for TD's last season, and something similar would be quite welcome this season. P Ben Turk, son of former NFL P Matt Turk, improved steadily last season, and hopefully keeps it up. K Nick Tausch, who handled KO's last season, is the leading candidate to replace Ruffer.

Miscellaneous: This is Year Three for Brian Kelly, who definitely has earned mixed reviews so far. Most realistic ND fans don't expect a national championship this year, but the team will have to show palpable improvement if Kelly expects to be coaching the team in 2013.

After reviewing the schedule, I think the sequencing of the schedule is actually quite favorable to us. We play Navy in Ireland in Week One, which minimizes the effects of jetlag (as opposed to a midseason game). And the early start of the game resulting from its location will give that game a national buzz moreso than it usually has. We play Sparty ahead of Michigan this year, a rarity. Miami is the week after a bye week. The road game at Oklahoma is sandwiched between two home games. And the USC game is preceded by one of the two weakest opponents on the home portion of our schedule (Wake Forest, with Purdue being the other).

Odds on finish:

7-5: 10%
8-4: 25%
9-3: 45%
10-2: 20%

Van · Post by **Van** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 12:50 am

I'd say you have those odds all reversed...

10-2: 10%
9-3: 25%
8-4: 45%
7-5: 20%

You're going to lose to USC, Oklahoma and one of the Michigan schools. That's three losses right off the bat. No way you run the rest of the table. Between Stanford, BYU and the other Michigan school you'll find a way to lose at least one more. I'm tempted to say 7-5 is more likely than 9-3. 7-5 would be typical recent ND: lose the games you're supposed to, plus a couple you shouldn't. 9-3 would mean you won every game in which you may have been favored. ND just doesn't do that.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Sat Jul 07, 2012 1:27 am

Dude, it's Terry. If ND procured a time machine and played 12 past Super Bowl champions, he'd have them going 9-3, bare minimum.

Terry in Crapchester · Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:00 am

Van wrote:I'd say you have those odds all reversed...

10-2: 10%
9-3: 25%
8-4: 45%
7-5: 20%

You're going to lose to USC, Oklahoma and one of the Michigan schools. That's three losses right off the bat. No way you run the rest of the table. Between Stanford, BYU and the other Michigan school you'll find a way to lose at least one more. I'm tempted to say 7-5 is more likely than 9-3. 7-5 would be typical recent ND: lose the games you're supposed to, plus a couple you shouldn't. 9-3 would mean you won every game in which you may have been favored. ND just doesn't do that.

Here's the way I see it . . .

We should beat the following schools in any event: Navy, Purdue, Wake Forest, BYU, Fredo, Pitt, Miami (yes, I said it. Miami is down right now, and in a worse position than we are).

That leaves Oklahoma, USC, Michigan, Sparty and Stanford.

Sparty lost a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Yes, they return nearly everyone on defense, but we haven't had too much of a problem moving the ball against them in recent years. With all the losses on offense, I think (although perhaps hope is the better word) that this is the year Sparty remembers that it's Sparty.

Stanford lost a ton of talent as well. I think they go back to being Stanford this year, too.

No way that I see us beating Oklahoma or USC, so that's two losses. That leaves Michigan as a tossup. That's been a winnable game for us the past two years, certainly last year we were a single boneheaded play on defense away from winning the game. Of course, you only watch ND when they're playing USC, so you wouldn't have known that.

That's 9-3 with a loss (which I'm assuming until we beat Michigan) or 10-2 with a win. If we stumble against either Stanford or Sparty, that puts us at 8-4. Barring pretty close to a total collapse, I don't see us losing to both. I don't see us losing to anyone in the first seven I mentioned, either.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:15 am

Yet you always do. ND always loses a game or three they weren't expected to lose. It happens basically every year lately.

Terry in Crapchester · Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:26 am

Given the losses Sparty and Stanford both experienced, I would say that 8-4 means, at a minimum, one loss that we weren't expected to have.

You could even make the argument that 9-3 means at least one loss we weren't expected to have, given how fluky some of the more recent losses to Michigan have been.

Van · Post by **Van** » Sat Jul 07, 2012 4:44 am

Dude, you're starting either a flunky or a rookie at QB, and you still haven't shown that you can avoid losing multiple games per season that you were heavily favored to win. Now you're just going to become this model of grinding consistency, only losing to the two or three teams that clearly have way more talent?

Since when? How? Why? What's changed?

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Sat Jul 07, 2012 5:15 am

Terry in Crapchester wrote:With all the losses on offense, I think (although perhaps hope is the better word) that this is the year Sparty remembers that it's Sparty.

And if ND forgets they're ND, they might actually be worth a fuck.

That's 9-3 with a loss (which I'm assuming until we beat Michigan) or 10-2 with a win. If we stumble against either Stanford or Sparty, that puts us at 8-4. Barring pretty close to a total collapse, I don't see us losing to both. I don't see us losing to anyone in the first seven I mentioned, either.

So losing to a team that is favored, at home and better ranked = you stumbled. Hahahahaha. Please remove the cock that is 1993 out of your mouth and join the rest of us in reality.

You assclowns are going to get your shit pushed in.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Sun Jul 08, 2012 12:10 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:Dude, it's Terry. If ND procured a time machine and played 12 past Super Bowl champions, he'd have them going 9-3, bare minimum.

imagine how good nd would be if they had year-round football.

MiketheangrydrunkenCUfan · Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:42 am

Alright, I'll play:

Sunday, Sept. 2 Colorado State, at Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Saturday, Sept. 8 Sacramento State at Folsom Field
Saturday, Sept. 15 At Fresno State
Saturday, Sept. 22 At Washington State
Saturday, Sept. 29 UCLA at Folsom Field
Thursday, Oct. 11 Arizona State at Folsom Field
Saturday, Oct. 20 At Southern California
Saturday, Oct. 27 At Oregon
Saturday, Nov. 3 Stanford at Folsom Field
Saturday, Nov. 10 At Arizona
Saturday, Nov. 17 Washington at Folsom Field
Friday, Nov. 23 Utah at Folsom Field

The schedule actually looks somewhat favorable for a change. No marquee OOC game(s) this year, but I'm not complaining. CSU always plays us tough, and Fresno St. would hardly be considered a lock in Boulder, much less on the road. Still, if the Buffs can run a relatively weak OOC slate, their first three conference games seem winnable. Things get rough with that three-game gauntlet of USC, UO and Stanford (assuming the 'furd reloads). The last three games are all toss-ups, although it's nice to have two of them at home. I'll definitely be making the drive down to Tucson on 11/10.

Our best playmaker, Paul Richardson, is already out for the season, and the rest of the O has plenty of holes, with new faces at most of the skill positions. Success on offense will hinge on numerous factors: How good of a QB is Texas transfer Connor Wood? Can someone emerge from a deep but mostly untested backfield to replace Speedy Stewart? Will Tyler McCullough become a go-to possession receiver after a promising true freshman season? And how well will former 5-star DE Nick Kasa make the transition to TE?

Things seem a little more stable on defense. Jon Major should finally live up to his potential at LB and Ray Polk has borderline All-American skills at FS if he can overcome his Burfictian penchant for late hits. CB play should be improved after starting two freshmen last year and the D-line looks solid.

Overall, I'm hoping the D can keep them in some games until the offense finds its footing. If everything falls into place, the Buffs could be a pleasant surprise and make a mid-level bowl game. At worst, I think they'll improve on last season's 3-win campaign by a couple games.

9-3 1%
8-4 4%
7-5 25%
6-6 35%
5-7 25%
4-8 or worse 10%

Terry in Crapchester · Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:56 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
Terry in Crapchester wrote:With all the losses on offense, I think (although perhaps hope is the better word) that this is the year Sparty remembers that it's Sparty.
And if ND forgets they're ND, they might actually be worth a fuck.

Actually, ND forgot that they were ND a long, long time ago. If they actually remembered it, you might see something different.

That's 9-3 with a loss (which I'm assuming until we beat Michigan) or 10-2 with a win. If we stumble against either Stanford or Sparty, that puts us at 8-4. Barring pretty close to a total collapse, I don't see us losing to both. I don't see us losing to anyone in the first seven I mentioned, either.
So losing to a team that is favored, at home and better ranked = you stumbled. Hahahahaha. Please remove the cock that is 1993 out of your mouth and join the rest of us in reality.

You assclowns are going to get your shit pushed in.

Sparty will be favored and better ranked than ND?

I expect ND will come in somewhere between 10 and 15 in the preseason. Assuming we start the season with wins vs. Navy and Purdue (the argument is moot otherwise), we'll probably be ranked a little higher than that come Sparty gametime.

And while I know this is a cliche in these parts, tell me you know that homefield advantage hasn't been terribly important in this series of late. ND has won three of the last five in East Lansing. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/di ... eamid=1988

Terry in Crapchester · Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:08 pm

Van wrote:Dude, you're starting either a flunky or a rookie at QB, and you still haven't shown that you can avoid losing multiple games per season that you were heavily favored to win. Now you're just going to become this model of grinding consistency, only losing to the two or three teams that clearly have way more talent?

Since when? How? Why? What's changed?

Of the twelve teams on our schedule this year, I think we have a clear talent edge over eight (I'll include Stanford in that list, since they've lost a ton). There are two who clearly have more talent than we do, although one of those teams is coached by Laney Kitten -- basically Ted Tollner with more talent at his disposal -- so there is that.

That leaves Sparty and Michigan. And I would give us a talent edge over Sparty, although I'm sure Mgo will disagree.

That leaves Michigan as the lone team on the schedule who's a tossup talent-wise.

And sooner or later, we'll figure out a way not to leave their receivers so wide open that one can make an adjustment to grab one of Shoelace's dying quails late in the game. If we do that, we could suffer an upset and still finish 9-3.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:17 pm

Terry in Crapchester wrote:Sparty will be favored and better ranked than ND?

I expect ND will come in somewhere between 10 and 15 in the preseason.

Out of curiosity, is this based on anything other than your own myopia? Because I haven't seen any "way too early preseason rankings" that have ND higher than MSU. Here's just the first few that pop up when you do a Google search...

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... son-top-25

MSU #12
ND #24

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... 012-top-25

MSU #11
ND Unranked

http://collegefootball.about.com/od/sch ... son.01.htm

MSU #12
ND #15

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1233 ... ll/page/13 (yeah, yeah, bleacher report, whatever...i'm just trying to provide some variety)

MSU #14
ND #20

http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/top-25

MSU #18
ND #20

Granted, these don’t guarantee that MSU will be ahead of ND when the AP and Coaches polls are released, but they show that there’s a pretty damn good chance of it. Hell, the fact that Athlon has MSU above ND – a publication that kowtows to the big money programs/readers – should tell you enough.

Assuming we start the season with wins vs. Navy and Purdue (the argument is moot otherwise), we'll probably be ranked a little higher than that come Sparty gametime.

Sorry, but wins over Navy and Purdue won't be enough to leapfrog MSU, especially not if MSU beats Boise State.

And while I know this is a cliche in these parts, tell me you know that homefield advantage hasn't been terribly important in this series of late. ND has won three of the last five in East Lansing. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/di ... eamid=1988

If it hasn't been terribly important "of late" then how come the home team has won the last two years? Regardless, home field is still "generally" an advantage...that just can't be disputed.

Van · Post by **Van** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 7:58 pm

Terry, you didn't answer my question. Why is this suddenly going to be the year that ND doesn't lose multiple games to teams over which they were heavily favored? Kelly has shown nothing to indicate that he's got the Domers pointed in a different direction. They're still an 8-4, 7-5 team, so unless you consider not being .500 or worse some wonderful achievement, what's changed?

You're going to lose to USC, Oklahoma and at least one of the Michigan schools. There are three losses before we even get started here. Stanford has now likely surpassed ND in terms of overall talent, or did you miss both this year's NFL draft and incoming recruiting class team rankings? I suspect both Michigan and Sparty have more talent now, as well. Flounder really seems to be kicking ass on the recruiting trail for Michigan, and Michigan St has been on a clear upswing ever since Dantonio took over. In addition there's the fact that you'll be throwing out a rookie or a nobody against Shoelace, and in CF having an experienced leader with talent at QB counts for a whole lot.

Then there's the simple fact that ND always loses to a Navy here or a BC there, and BYU cannot be taken for granted, not by a team as perennially meh as ND.

You're losing at least four games this year. Count on it. Looking at your schedule and knowing your recent history stretching back quite a few seasons now, 7-5 really does seem more likely.

Adelpiero · Post by **Adelpiero** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 11:40 pm

University of Missouri SEC East

Sat, Sep 1 Southeastern Louisiana
Sat, Sep 8 (19) Georgia
Sat, Sep 15 Arizona State
Sat, Sep 22 at (9) South Carolina
Sat, Sep 29 at UCF
Sat, Oct 6 Vanderbilt
Sat, Oct 13 (1) Alabama
Sat, Oct 27 Kentucky
Sat, Nov 3 at Florida
Sat, Nov 10 at Tennessee
Sat, Nov 17 Syracuse
Sat, Nov 24 at Texas A&M

Probably one of their best OOC in a while. ASU,@UCF,Syracuse is a decent OOC schedule. And that is after they had to scramble to get games on the OCC schedule after the move to the SEC. And KU acting like sore vaginas and not wanting to continue the 2nd longest rivalry in CFB.

Must steal 2 of these 4 road games( Florida,aTm,Tenn,SC).

Recruiting will have to continue to improve as you have to bring in, the more physical athletes from the SEC states. The days of playing little defense and trying to win 50-37 are over, you will have to play defense, especially winning the battles up front to win consistently in the SEC. It's always been about the Lines, the trenches, where in the Big12-2-2+1+1, was always quick reads , no huddle, fling the fuck out of the ball, wide splits, get rid of it before 3 seconds, wear the defenses out by playing end to end, flag football.

The health of Franklin is where the season will boil down to. He's 100% healthy and makes the next step in progress, they can have a very good 1st season in the SEC. He has trouble staying healthy, they are fucked, beckstresser is not ready and Mauk is no where near ready to play CFB.

The Achilles heel for MU, will always be their coords. Yost is a fuckstick, who has lived off of putting points up on teams who don't play any defense.When forced to change his game plan, he's clueless. The defense is a train wreck,and for some reason, no one can teach the Secondary how to react to the ball, when it's in the air, they flail helplessly, and either commit the 15, or get beat for long yardage. Coach Ford is a horrible secondary coach, still do not understand how he still has a gig. Sheldon Richardson must have a big season up front for the defense.

The Georgia game will set the tone, as the Dawgs comes in with a boat load of players suspended or kicked off the team, and their Secondary is in shambles. If your going to beat the Dawgs, this is the time and game. Like Spurrier said, he misses playing Georgia so early, as they usually have several of their best players suspended by then.

The Good: 9 wins
The Average: 7 wins
The Ugly: Franklin injured 5 wins

Ken · Post by **Ken** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:55 am

Adelpiero wrote:Recruiting will have to continue to improve as you have to bring in, the more physical athletes from the SEC states. The days of playing little defense and trying to win 50-37 are over, you will have to play defense, especially winning the battles up front to win consistently in the SEC. It's always been about the Lines, the trenches, where in the Big12-2-2+1+1, was always quick reads , no huddle, fling the fuck out of the ball, wide splits, get rid of it before 3 seconds, wear the defenses out by playing end to end, flag football.

The health of Franklin is where the season will boil down to. He's 100% healthy and makes the next step in progress, they can have a very good 1st season in the SEC. He has trouble staying healthy, they are fucked, beckstresser is not ready and Mauk is no where near ready to play CFB.

The Achilles heel for MU, will always be their coords. Yost is a fuckstick, who has lived off of putting points up on teams who don't play any defense.When forced to change his game plan, he's clueless. The defense is a train wreck,and for some reason, no one can teach the Secondary how to react to the ball, when it's in the air, they flail helplessly, and either commit the 15, or get beat for long yardage. Coach Ford is a horrible secondary coach, still do not understand how he still has a gig. Sheldon Richardson must have a big season up front for the defense.

The Georgia game will set the tone, as the Dawgs comes in with a boat load of players suspended or kicked off the team, and their Secondary is in shambles. If your going to beat the Dawgs, this is the time and game. Like Spurrier said, he misses playing Georgia so early, as they usually have several of their best players suspended by then.

The Good: 9 wins
The Average: 7 wins
The Ugly: Franklin injured 5 wins

I can't remember if it was here or elsewhere. Is this the site for the 'Wrong Place for a Comma' troll?

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:44 pm

Van wrote:Terry, you didn't answer my question. Why is this suddenly going to be the year that ND doesn't lose multiple games to teams over which they were heavily favored? Kelly has shown nothing to indicate that he's got the Domers pointed in a different direction. They're still an 8-4, 7-5 team, so unless you consider not being .500 or worse some wonderful achievement, what's changed?

ND wasn't nearly as far removed from that type of season last year as the picture you paint suggests. What are there, 100-150 plays from scrimmage in a typical college football game?

(video starting around 10:05)

Two plays, and two plays alone, out of 1,200 -- 1,800 plays from scrimmage, separated ND from a 10-2 season last year. Those are the two plays.

What's more, they didn't need to be plays with spectacular results for ND. A neutral result on each play would've given ND a 10-2 season. Hell, a mildly negative result for ND on the first play -- say a loss of yards by Gray, but no fumble -- would've been good enough. Hell, even in the second example, a mildly negative result for ND -- say a 20-yard pass completion over the middle of the field (which would've been a disastrous outcome earlier in the game) would have been good enough, given that Michigan was out of timeouts, IIRC.

Not only that, but they weren't plays where ND got beaten by superior athletes on the other side of the ball. They were the result of mental mistakes, pure and simple (along with a little luck for the opponents thrown in). Mental mistakes are fisable, and there certainly have been enough of those in Kelly's first two years to put his staff on notice that they have to be corrected.

And at some point, the law of averages comes into play as well. What are the odds that ND will be on the wrong end of a 90+ yard fumble return for a TD for the third time in as many seasons?

As for the "flunkie" QB you mentioned, he directed an offense that put up 31 points against Michigan, 31 points against Michigan State, and 56 points against Navy. In the first two examples, that is (or at least should be) enough points to win the game. In the third example, if that's not enough points to win the game, something is dreadfully wrong. Yet you treat all three games as all but guaranteed losses for ND. Why? And imagine what a more athletic QB might be able to do.

I suspect ND will probably be favored in 10 of the 12 games they play this year, although two could be tossups and probably will have relatively close point spreads in any event. And granted, it will be a little harder for ND to get to 10 wins this year, with the loss of Floyd and the addition of Oklahoma to the schedule. That's why I set 9 wins as the most likely scenario -- ND could lose the two games in which they'll definitely be underdogs, as well as one other game, and still get to 9-3.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:12 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:Uh oh. Terry's becoming JON ?!?!

He had to improve sooner or later.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:18 pm

transitive property of jon? terry in bitchester?

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:29 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:Uh oh. Terry's becoming JON ?!?!

No, I said two plays away from 10-2, not 57 plays away from 12-0. Plus I limited it to plays that involved purely mental mistakes. Nor did I suggest that ND somehow "deserved" to be 10-2 last season, only that they weren't nearly so far away from that mark as Van seems to think. So there's a difference. ;)

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:32 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
Terry in Crapchester wrote:Sparty will be favored and better ranked than ND?

I expect ND will come in somewhere between 10 and 15 in the preseason.
Out of curiosity, is this based on anything other than your own myopia? Because I haven't seen any "way too early preseason rankings" that have ND higher than MSU. Here's just the first few that pop up when you do a Google search...

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... son-top-25

MSU #12
ND #24

http://espn.go.com/college-football/sto ... 012-top-25

MSU #11
ND Unranked

http://collegefootball.about.com/od/sch ... son.01.htm

MSU #12
ND #15

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1233 ... ll/page/13 (yeah, yeah, bleacher report, whatever...i'm just trying to provide some variety)

MSU #14
ND #20

http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/top-25

MSU #18
ND #20

Granted, these don’t guarantee that MSU will be ahead of ND when the AP and Coaches polls are released, but they show that there’s a pretty damn good chance of it. Hell, the fact that Athlon has MSU above ND – a publication that kowtows to the big money programs/readers – should tell you enough.

Assuming we start the season with wins vs. Navy and Purdue (the argument is moot otherwise), we'll probably be ranked a little higher than that come Sparty gametime.
Sorry, but wins over Navy and Purdue won't be enough to leapfrog MSU, especially not if MSU beats Boise State.

And while I know this is a cliche in these parts, tell me you know that homefield advantage hasn't been terribly important in this series of late. ND has won three of the last five in East Lansing. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/di ... eamid=1988
If it hasn't been terribly important "of late" then how come the home team has won the last two years? Regardless, home field is still "generally" an advantage...that just can't be disputed.

In 2011, ND beat Sparty by a comfortable margin.

In 2010, Sparty won on a fake FG converted for a TD in overtime.

Plus, you just graduated a three-year starting QB.

Under the circumstances, predicting a ND win over Sparty is hardly a huge reach.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:33 pm

So with 150 snaps, I suppose there's nothing more you could have done with those other 149 snaps to prevent the game from being decided on some crazy-ass play. Nah, of course not. Definitely not at home, not versus a team you're probably favored over by double digits.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:47 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:So with 150 snaps, I suppose there's nothing more you could have done with those other 149 snaps to prevent the game from being decided on some crazy-ass play. Nah, of course not. Definitely not at home, not versus a team you're probably favored over by double digits.

Yeah, they could've done something differently, no doubt about that. But still, a 14-, or even 10-point swing in one play (the result of the USF play), is huge. And both plays resulted from mental mistakes which created a huge adverse outcome for ND on that particular play. Get rid of those mental mistakes, which is where coaching really comes into play, and the rest will take care of itself.

ND was a double-digit favorite on the road against Michigan last year? Musta missed that one.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:52 pm

Terry in Crapchester wrote:In 2011, ND beat Sparty by a comfortable margin.

In 2010, Sparty won on a fake FG converted for a TD in overtime.

Plus, you just graduated a three-year starting QB.

Under the circumstances, predicting a ND win over Sparty is hardly a huge reach.

I didn't say it's a huge reach. I said ND won't be favored, and as such, a loss wouldn't be considered a "stumble." Losing to BC, Navy or Wake would be stumbling.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:58 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
Terry in Crapchester wrote:In 2011, ND beat Sparty by a comfortable margin.

In 2010, Sparty won on a fake FG converted for a TD in overtime.

Plus, you just graduated a three-year starting QB.

Under the circumstances, predicting a ND win over Sparty is hardly a huge reach.
I didn't say it's a huge reach. I said ND won't be favored, and as such, a loss wouldn't be considered a "stumble." Losing to BC, Navy or Wake would be stumbling.

You didn't use the phrase "huge reach." But what you did say was

You assclowns are going to get your shit pushed in.

Yeah, this is a smack board. But that line sounds like you're all but guaranteeing a Sparty win. And that ND doesn't even belong on the same field.

Game could go either way. I expect the line will be a TD or less, could be even a FG or less. I expect we'll be favored, although I suppose I could be wrong on that point.

M Club · Post by **M Club** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:17 pm

Terry in Crapchester wrote:
Sudden Sam wrote:Uh oh. Terry's becoming JON ?!?!
No, I said two plays away from 10-2, not 57 plays away from 12-0. Plus I limited it to plays that involved purely mental mistakes. Nor did I suggest that ND somehow "deserved" to be 10-2 last season, only that they weren't nearly so far away from that mark as Van seems to think. So there's a difference. ;)

er, the noj said an 8-4 team was four plays away from being undefeated while you said an 8-4 team was two plays away from 10-2. one play = one win so same same.

we all accept the fact a 10- or 14-point play will swing a game one way or the other, but most of us also accept that's how quite a few games are decided, and that 8-4 is probably a more accurate representation of a team whose qb just drops the ball on the 10 yard line (thanks, btw) than a 10-2 record would have been.

also, people who point to swings that went against them tend to leave out the swings that they benefited from.

Terry in Crapchester · Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:54 pm

M Club wrote:we all accept the fact a 10- or 14-point play will swing a game one way or the other, but most of us also accept that's how quite a few games are decided, and that 8-4 is probably a more accurate representation of a team whose qb just drops the ball on the 10 yard line (thanks, btw) than a 10-2 record would have been.

I didn't say that 8-4 wasn't a more accurate representation of last year's team than 10-2 would have been. I did say that there were a bunch of mental mistakes made by the team last year, that mental mistakes are fixable by coaching, and if the coaching staff can fix those mental mistakes (admittedly a big if), 9-3 is hardly an unrealistic goal for ND this season.

also, people who point to swings that went against them tend to leave out the swings that they benefited from.

While ND won 3 games by 7 points or less last season, I don't recall any of them being swung by a play as dramatic as the two I pointed to.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:25 pm

Terry in Crapchester wrote:ND was a double-digit favorite on the road against Michigan last year? Musta missed that one.

I was obviously referring to the USF game. I don't recall much from the ND-UM game, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you lost due to factors related to the other team being better than you.