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It seems like it boils down to Clemson, Florida State, and North Carolina(?). ND just can't lose to anyone but Clemson. Do you guys really think a full season will happen? I have very strong doubts. It seems like coaches and universities are in general saying all the right things. Players, though, are taking a much more active role in all of this. Their parents and lawyers probably will too. I predict chaos after about 3 weeks when tons of players on various teams test positive. Then it turns into a situation like they have in MLB, teams canceling games against teams with players who tested positive. I'm excited about the possibility of college football, but not getting my hopes too high.

Well, maybe Alabama will be available... USC was supposed to play them. (While it would be intriguing, it won't actually happen)

and also lose David Abiara to OU...

It was great back in the Holtz days. As national signing day approached, the local paper would have a half-page that showed the top 8 or 10 national recruits at each position, along with where they had committed. ND always, and I mean always, had either the number 1, 2, or 3 kid at each position. That all started to change at the end of Holtz's tenure. It was kind of fun not focusing on recruiting at all. You just knew that ND was going to have the best players across the board. Now I look at recruiting year round on the internet, hoping that ND might get one of the top 5 players at some of the positions.

TCU's Gary Patterson, now president of the American Football Coaches Association, in addressing the organization yesterday said that in his experience, the number one factor in deciding who a head coach should hire is: how does everyone get along with that person? He said it's not as much X's and O's, but rather can the coaches who are going to be spending 18 hours a day together in small rooms get along and work together. Each coach needs to bring something different to the table, but they have to get along. Thought it was an interesting take from a guy who's been pretty successful over the last 15 years.

No doubt. Before any of us call an 18 - 22 year-old scholarship kid garbage, consider: Do you have a job? Do you get paid for your job? Do you consider yourself to be in the top 10% of people nationwide doing a similar job? Do you ever have an "off" day at your job, maybe a few days a year where you don't execute every aspect of your job perfectly? Do you have a boss, not to mention a nation, watching your every move at the job every day, analyzing every detail of what you do? I suppose it could be argued that Book isn't a top 10% QB; but I would absolutely argue that. If you do have that occasional off day, if you're not in the top 5-10% of people who do what you do, does that make you garbage? Just sayin'....

Book will be quarterback until he either decides he's done, he gets drafted, or one of the guys behind him earns the job. Here's what he's telling Jurkovec and Clark: https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/ad989f6c-8678-487d-810a-ed7284eaaff6

Ozark is good but a little disturbing. The Crown (Netflix) is actually a great series. Never thought I'd like it, but fascinating stuff. If you haven't seen The People vs OJ Simpson, that's a "must see". Travolta's best role.

Moving on to the Final Four once again! Go Irish! Beat Huskies! Wipe the smug off Geno.

I think that will happen when ND goes 55-4 over a 5 year period.

I guess that means ESPN Game Day will be in Athens on 9/21 when the number 3 team is at home against the #5 Fighting Irish.

After listening to all the ND-haters over the last week, the only conclusion I can come up with is that Alabama and Oklahoma certainly did not belong in the playoffs. I mean, all I heard was that ND's 27 point loss to Clemson meant that ND shouldn't have been in the playoff, that Georgia would have trounced ND. So, it must be reasonable to conclude that a 28 point loss to the same team that ND lost to by 27 means that Alabama didn't belong, and since they beat Oklahoma, Oklahoma certainly didn't belong either. Yes, I think that Alabama's loss makes ND look a bit better. But, probably only to those of us here on DomerDomain. Just wait until next season. People will remember Clemson's rout of ND and then they will talk about how they are equal with Alabama.

I respectfully disagree. Depth-wise, Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State are pretty similar. Coaching-wise, Saban IS in a class by himself. However, offensive and defensive coordinators? That changes season to season, and I think ND has great coordinators. I would stack them up against Alabama's this year. Alabama is a great team. It will be a great team as long as St. Nick stays there. Georgia is a great team. They will be great as long as Smart stays there. Ohio State is a great team. They will be great as long as Meyer stays there. Clemson is a great team. They will be great as long as Swinney stays there. Notre Dame this year is a great team. They will be great as long as Long and Lea stay there. I think any of these teams could beat any of the others in a playoff game this year. I don't think Michigan would beat any of those teams in a playoff game this year, and I think they will lose to OSU (at OSU) on Saturday. Saban is in a class by himself regarding how he has built and maintained the juggernaut that is the Alabama football program. But as far as teams go (entire coaching staff, player ability, schemes), I don't think Alabama is in a class by itself this year. To date, they have been the best team. For 'Bama to prove to me that it is in a class by itself, it will have to smack Auburn (probably will), beat Georgia handily (maybe, maybe not), beat the 4th seeded team handily, then dominate in the championship game. That is class-by-itself stuff. Close games against similarly ranked recruits means, to me, that it's a feared and respected program but is not in a class by itself.

Fractured coccyx?

Good analysis. I think that's how the committee viewed it.