Chances of winning the title?

[Scotty88 0]

Notre Dame Money line to win the national title: +650

What are the real chances to play for the national title? Not as good as you might think. The defense didn't all of a sudden get a lot faster this off-season, but the offense should be unstoppable and the attitude is certainly there under Charlie Weis that anything less than a national title isn't good enough. Don't just assume the Irish will blow through home games against Penn State, Michigan, Purdue and UCLA, while the road trips to Georgia Tech and Michigan State will be far tougher than many believe. Of course, the overall talent is there to make 11-0 a possibility with that big, bad, date with USC to close things out.

 

This was something I stumbled across this a.m, SC isn't the team I think will create the most problems next year. It won't be easy to run the slate, but if I had to put money on a team to win the title it would be ND. Go Irish!!

[Guest Domer]

I don't want to say too much since I am highly superstitious... but let's just say that I agree wholeheartedly with that last sentence.

[Guest irishrick]

GUYS, I KEEP TELLING EVERYONE THAT THE SEASON MAKE OR BREAK IS THE GAME IN ATLANTA,, IF THE IRISH LOSE THIS GAME THEY WILL DROP OUT OF THE TOP 10. GA TECH IS FAST, HAS A GREAT COACH ,HAS BEEN TO THE LAST SEVERAL BOWL GAMES, THEY HAVE SOME SPOT PROBLEMS, BUT MY SOURCES SAYS THAT THEY WILL GIVE THE IRISH All that they can handel, the entire state will be on techs side in this one, game has been sold out for months. there going to use the ohio state game and they have speed, so zibby don't make any mistakes or they will show you the wind. study hard irish......

[IrishGuy 57]

GT is hardly make or break. It is the first game of the 12 game season. USC is the make or break game. ND can win a NC this year if they end up in LA with 1 loss and leave with as many. ND can't win one if they add a loss to their record in LA.

 

Remember, early losses matter a whole lot less than late ones do.

[Guest bfabes05]

I agree with both of you guys, Ga Tech will be a tough team and maybe our toughest game of the year for one reason, its the first one...The Irish better be ready, but I think they will be...and yes a loss later in the year with their tough schedule will hurt them more than one earlier...I still think if they lose one game to the extent like they did last year, an OT or a last minute one like they did with MSU and USC, they are in contention for the title, their schedule is ridiculous, but I think Weis will have the team ready to play every week.

Side note...appearantly Aldridge is looking great during spring practices :D:D

[Guest irishrick]

irishguy, make or break, ? this will tell the coach and the fans if they have RECOVERED from the beating that ohio state gave us, i agree the first game is important, for it sets the tone for the next few games, a loss and Penn state the next week ,well if you drop down to far in the polls it hard to recover, you have to have a lot of help from the other teams. i just hope that the defense has improved, we played ohio state pretty good but you can't give up over 600 yards a win many games, all you had to do was watch coach during the last quarter, you could see the disappointment , so i say again this is a make or break as far as what the defense is going to do to stop a speedy team and a seasoned quarterback and a crowd that doesn't like the irish. also USC will be tough as well as Penn State, Michigan fans will let coach Carr know it if the irish beat them again , so you know we face a few tough games, i say again GEORGIA TECH WILL TELL US IF WERE A good team or a great team. lets just get the boys ready. go irish.

[Guest bluester2000]

With teams this good, and schedules this hard, it's not easy to determine what if any game is make/break. Although an early lose isn't necessarily erased by a USC victory. What really will determine how we look, if we lose a game or two, is who our victories are against. For instance, if USC doesn't put a solid product out on the field against us (think 7-4 or 8-3) then that won't help us much if we dropped a bonehead game against Tech or MSU.

 

By the way, right now the most important game is Georgia Tech. After September 2 we'll talk.

[Scotty88 0]

I don't think loses to Tech or State would be "bonehead". I could see the Irish losing both of these for different reasons. I think both Tech and State have too much talent for us to be "boneheads" is we lose. Both should push for bowl games......ask Irishrick what he thinks about Tech, these guys are burners and playing them in the first game could propose a challenge. State, w/ all rivalry games, you might as well throw the rankings out...it's in their house this time. I think the bonehead loses would be the academies and maybe North Carolina.

[Guest bluester2000]

We have more talent and better coaching compared to MSU or Tech. Even if we were to have a handful of calls go against us in either they should both be victories. These games are dangerous, but I still expect to win both.

 

Tech is a talented team but they do not scare me and regarding MSU to your point Navy is a rivalry game and you admitted a loss to them would be boneheaded.

[Scotty88 0]

Yes, Blue...they are an academy!

[Guest bluester2000]

But Navy is a rivalry, and you said you can throw out the rankings. So obviously a loss to them wouldn't be boneheaded. At least by your argument.

[Scotty88 0]

While they are an active rival, when was the last time they won against ND? To reiterate: yes, a loss to a Navy team w/ less talent and coaching, (while still being a rival, or a ghost of one) would be a bonehead loss, different than a loss to Tech or State, teams that should be bowl eligible at the end of the year and are from power conferences.

[Guest bluester2000]

So basically your statement that "you can throw out the rankings in a rivalry game" is somewhat bogus based on our examination of Navy as a rival. By the way I think you take Navy far too lightly, and in doing so you dismiss both the accomplishments (both ours and theres) over the last 50 years or so.

 

Still to the heart of the matter when you have more talent and better coaching you should win. I think Charlie would admit that losing in that situation is not acceptable. Sorry for trying to keep the standards high like our coaching staff.

[Scotty88 0]

No need to apologize Blue, I agree and love the standards our coaches and program have established. I think the problem is that the Navy game is more of a tradition game than a rivalry. Take our biggest rivals, Michigan and USC. Who do we battle on the field, who do we recruit against? Not Navy. I love the tradition of the game, I loved how Weis gathered the troops to pay respect to the cadets, it was classy...a respect Navy and ND have even though the series has been completely one-sided. I think we're splitting straws here, Blue.

[Guest bluester2000]

Basically, the way I see it is if we have better than 80% chance of winning a game, than losing it is boneheaded. I think UM, USC are 50/50 or so right now. UCLA and PSU are 65/35 in our favor. Tech and MSU are 80/20. Purdue, Stanford are a bit better than that. NoCarolina, Air Force, Army, Navy should be in the bag right now.