OKLAHOMAIRISHFAN

I just finished watching my "History of Notre Dame Football" video. Not the one that you can see on youtube but the one you can buy at Hammes. Watching this video almost brings a tear to my eyes. And I'm not even an alum. I graduated from OU. But when I watch that video and all of the former players and coaches talk about what a special place it is (something I already believe on my own despite never having been a student there) I long for a return to prominence...and I've only been a fan since '92. I realize that the University will always be prominent in the wider world that goes beyond football, but even in the video it talks about how football set this University on its historic path to national prominence. No offense to you who attended there....I still think it's a special place and love what it stands for... l love attending games there....I love the campus and the University....but man I want to see them be dominant again. A place where they are feared again and garner the respect of the rest of the college football landscape. Man, I don't even know how to put it into words, and maybe I'm just romanticizing the whole thing or being nostalgic, but I so want to see this program return to a place where when one thinks of college football, they think of the University of Notre Dame. I don't post here a lot but I just felt like sharing what I know others probably feel as well. And I say that all just to say I sure hope we can do more than just compete in this playoff and I believe they will. I want this program to be special again.

I don't know how I forgot that. That's what made me think of this issue on Sat to begin with. I remember texting my friend saying, "we win the toss and of course BK receives and we come away with no points". Thanks.

Well, after doing my own research, I kind of disproved my own theory as they have received 9 out of 11 times and scored on 5 of them. Take away the fumbles and I think in hindsight we score on Navy and NW anyway, which would make it 7 out of 9. Pitt and Wake are really the only two where we were stopped. I just like stopping the other team on an opening drive and then getting the ball back at half (that way even if you don't score on your first drive, as the game progresses, one might think the team might start playing better as time goes on as opposed to the opening kick).

Here's the breakdown (unfortunately I can't find anything on coin tosses won to see if we CHOSE to go on offense first). Opponent/who received/points made: Michigan-ND receive-7 Ball st-ND-7 Vandy-ND-3 WF-ND-0 Stanford-Stanford-0 VT-ND-7 Pitt-ND-0 Navy-ND-0-fumble NW-ND-0-fumble FSU-FSU-int-0 Cuse-ND-7 So, take away the two fumbles (not that those are good) and we tend to score anyway on the first drive where we receive, sans Pitt.

Has anyone paid attention to what the ratio is between winning coin tosses and receiving the ball on the opening drive? There's a VERY good chance I'm making more out of this than what it is not knowing the stat but it SEEMS to me that we sure do receive the ball a lot on the opening drive, and frankly, I don't like. it (if in fact we get the choice) When you have a great defense, is it not better to defer to the 2nd half? Hold them on their first drive, in essence making them waste a possession and then getting the ball back at half? And I wonder how many times we've scored on those opening drives? Idk, I just like to see the defense go out on the field first when they're this good. But I'm a defensive guy. Maybe we haven't had as much opportunity to choose as I'm thinking.

So everyone down here in Oklahoma is praying to the football gods that ND slips up. And the "what would the committee do" in such a scenario between them and us. I have a question: EVERYTHING else being equal for the sake of argument, has the committee not come out in reference to ND in the past and said "that the conference championship 'metric' only applies to teams that have conference championships"? So in other words, ND wouldn't be penalized for not winning something that doesn't exist for them. The conference championship metric is for teams that have the opportunity but don't win it. That's the load I'm hearing from people here and some nationally, that ND would not get in because they're not conference championships. So, my question is does anyone remember hearing/reading that? I'm quite sure I read Holcutt last year stating that conference championship would not be used as a factor against ND when being compared to another team in a conference. And yes, I realize that we might no make it in due to other reasons with one-loss but that's not my point. Just want to know if anyone can corroborate what I think I read last year?

Well, I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. And again, for some reason, I think we're going to embarrass them like we did USC last year. I was happy to hear one of the vegas odds analysts come on the radio and agreed with me.....and for the same reasons. I just think...for once....ND is the better team all around. We will see.

I'm very much a "show me" first kind of person and usually rather critical of the Irish. Have two guys I work with who are ND fans that shoo me away when we're talking football because I bring them down. I say that as a disclaimer because I'm no homer fanboy. That being said, I can see how we can lose (I can see that almost any week) but I think we roll in this one. I stated it in another thread. Stanford coming of an emotional win. Don't think they'll be as "up" this week. ND will be about as up as they were for Michigan and as up since FSU in 2014. Defense is better than last year. Yes, we played WF last week but Book looked pretty good. I just have a feeling about this one. Not saying I haven't been wrong but I think we win big. I'll take ANY win, however. If we lose, I'll be resigned to the position that we're prolly never going to be relevant again. Gotta win this one against a top ten team. We've lost too many in the past and 9-3 doesn't mean anything if those 3 losses are the only top ranked teams you played.

Not sure if this was stated already (I'm kind of in a hurry)... I think ND rolls (10+) win. I said the same thing about Michigan (7+). Just have a feeling. It's a night game. Top 10 matchup (yes, I know this is not BK's strong suit). But most of all, I am of the opinion, unless the team is Bama, I don't pick teams that are coming off an emotional win to win the following week against a top team or rival. These kids rarely get up for huge games two weeks in a row. Stanford coming off a huge road win (one that they really shouldn't have won and was gifted to them via coaching decisions and refs......and I'm a big Stanford/Shaw fan). I think ND is going to be playing with their hair on fire in this one. I also think BK plays both QB's.....keeping Stanford guessing.

Just heard on our local station that hosts a national odds Vegas guy say that Book is starting. He gave no source other than a "little bird"...so take that for what it's worth. I'm willing to take the risk.

Funny you guys mention my two favorite football teams to watch besides ND. That kind of football is rarity today.

After watching some of those practice videos of him missing the net, I was VERY concerned. Then I thought, "some guys need to be mobile to be accurate". Now I'm not saying he's a really accurate QB, just that I felt a little better. This weekend I watched some replays of some games. I really don't get him. He makes some really tough throws into some really tight places and then at times can't make the easy throws. I have hope. I'm worried that teams that are able to stop the run will cause a huge problem if he's unable to stretch the field. All in all, I'm gaining a little more hope as we get closer. Hearing a lot of good things about them, ESPECIALLY the defense. Even here locally on the local stations I'm hearing good things from ex-NFL players included (about the defense). I think we handle Michigan; win by 7+. If that's correct, I'll feel a little better going forward. Michigan isn't Georgia of last year and we contended through that game.

Thanks you!

Man...stop and think about that for a moment...I mean really stop and think about it. I hadn't. That's unacceptable for one of the premier programs in the nation that recruit well enough for 10 wins.

And that's to be expected to some degree as it's the local people paying for the station via local sponsors so they're going to talk about home town teams. But the cool thing about these local stations is they center, at this time of year, mostly on CFB and they take calls from people and stuff. Just wish it was more general in nature.