AnTostal

It's going to take me a loooonnnng time to think of UCLA as playing in the Big 10, starting next year. And their schedule next year is not tooo daunting. You know whose schedule IS daunting next year? Michigan. Here's the Big 10 conference schedule for next year. The big team Michigan is playing not shown on that schedule: Texas, Sept. 7. https://bigten.org/news/2023/11/2/big-ten-conference-releases-2024-football-schedule-powered-by-ifs.aspx

Good grief. I have no clue how a head coach is supposed to manage this portal stuff. Are Keeley and Downs even eligible to come to ND? I didn't think ND would take anyone other than a graduate transfer or maybe a senior. And suppose ND would actually take either of these two. How on earth is a coach going to manage the roster? "Hey dude, sorry we told you you would be able to play next year, but we've got to make room for these two guys. Good luck as you move on with your life!"

Oh, that's coming for sure. If they're still with NBC. One of the many things with which Pete will have to contend.

I get it. I’ve just been watching the guy since he played at ND and I didn’t like his decision-making then either. It’s one of the many reasons I post things on a fan board and those guys earn millions coaching. They see things I don’t. Tommy Rees will be a good head coach somewhere soon. I just hope he hires a good OC.

I have never been a fan of TR as an OC. But, what an amazing coaching pedigree the guy will have. It just HAS to be worth a lot to have been an OC under Kelly, Saban, and Smart. Those guys absolutely know how to build winning programs. Good for Tommy. Good for the program that hires him as a head coach.

It’s exactly why he went to Tampa Bay. Could’ve gone many other places, but Tampa Bay just needed a great QB.

I really wonder where Rees will end up. SI had Rees as one of the top three to replace Saban, with DeBoer and Norvell the other two. Personally, I don't see that happening. Can't see 'Bama taking a guy with no head coaching experience. https://www.si.com/college/2024/01/12/sources-alabama-football-focusing-three-candidates-replace-nick-saban-kalen-deboer I could see a team like Washington taking Rees. I do believe he will be a head coach at a P5 school in either 2024 or 2025.

I'm just happy ND already filled the OC position...

Looking at on3 and their top 200 player ranking in the transfer portal, here's now ND stands with players coming in and players leaving: Incoming: Riley Leonard 7; RJ Oben 50; Kris Mitchell 73; Rod Heard 99, Beaux Collins 171 Leaving: Rico Flores 51; Chris Tyree 80; Holden Staes 132; Tobias Merriweather 190 It's all subjective of course, but from the on3 perspective, seems like ND is getting more from than it's losing to the portal. And, I do believe the portal will bring proven players, rather than relying on unproven high school talent. I also believe the portal may be the biggest reason Saban retired.

I think Alabama’s idea of a national search for the best candidate probably differs from ND’s.

A Catholic who goes to mass daily. Wonder if Freeman would consider a coaching consultant. ND would get every 5 star in the country.

A couple things I think about this match-up: 1. Coaching matters. Most of us follow recruiting, at least of ND players. But, Michigan does not recruit better, on average, than ND. ND and Michigan are pretty close in terms of overall recruiting classes. Washington? Nope. Not even close. Almost always their classes are in the 20's and sometimes much lower. 2. Luck matters. Michigan played their playoff game against a TR offense, and TR kind of buggered the thing at the end of the game. Not just the final play, but the drive before that as well. And Michigan had a pretty easy schedule, all the way up to the Ohio State game. Penn State was decent, and that was their only other 'tough' game. Washington? I don't know enough about them but I would HAVE to think they had some elements of luck through the season, including other PAC 12 teams losses. 3. If these two teams can manage to get to a championship game, ND should be able to do it too. If Freeman is who we hope he is. Coaching and luck. Seems like the Irish should at least have luck.

The ONLY team I hate more than Michigan is Ohio State. I will never root for those two team in any game ever. If they could both lose in their annual game, that would be perfect.

Those are a couple of strong points. Angeli had a very good day. Worth celebrating, whether you're a member of the Angeli family or the ND family. Is Angeli the future of ND at QB? Not likely. But clearly he can play. ND will have some good competition for the starting QB position during spring and summer practices. They will have a solid QB room, no matter who stays and who transfers. Now ND has a proven OC. That matters. I'm really looking forward to next year, regardless of who the QB is. Good, perhaps great, coaching, good/solid QB's all around, a fantastic group of running backs, a very good offensive line (I think), and hungry receivers. Mix in a schedule that is ripe for picking, and ND should have an exceptional year.

I was a little skeptical of Michigan before the end of the season. But, they did what coaches say teams have to do all the time: win the games on the schedule. They beat a decent Penn State team, a good Ohio State team, a good Alabama team, and an out-of-their-league Iowa team. If ND beat PSU, OSU, and Alabama in one season, the 'ND is back' shirts would sell out instantly and Freeman would be given a lifelong contract. I had not seen Washington play all year. Penix surprised me. That dude can flat out play. And his receivers made remarkable catch after remarkable catch. The Washington O-line won the Joe Moore Award, so they're not a bad unit. The other surprise to me in yesterday's games was the Michigan offense. The OC had showed some serious creativity. I think Michigan's O wins the day over Washington's D, but I would not be surprised at all to see Washington win this thing. Penix, those receivers, and the O-line could just pull it off.

The saddest part, to me, of the 2024 playoffs: No matter which team wins, that team will have won at least two championships since ND last won one.

TR butchered play calling/clock management there. Why call 20 yard pass plays??

Actually successfully executed two short pass plays on that drive. The bad snaps killed it. Keep it up. Short quick passes. Mix in some designed Milroe runs.

TR play calling. Terrible. Pass plays are too deep. Needs short passes; Milroe draws on first or second down. Not 30 yard passes out of bounds downfield after your QB has already been sacked 4 times. I hate both these teams but hate Michigan more.

Kelly may single-handedly create the coaching transfer portal.

Who really knows? But this guy has shown he can play. Great to have him back. And next year’s schedule is a good one for ND. Returning players will be glad they came back, methinks. Freeman has won 9 and 10 games ion his first two years with guys the other staff recruited. He has his own tremendous OC and DC guys and a very good group of players now. Head coach practice is over. 2024 is Marcus Freeman time. Go and take it!

I HATE the arm strength discussion. Give me a guy who wins. That is the only metric I care about. Give me a guy who understands the offense, what the coaches are doing, the strengths and weaknesses of the players on his team, recognizes defenses at the line of scrimmage, makes appropriate changes to the play that was called, understands the game situation and the clock, AND has the strength AND accuracy to get the ball where it needs to go on any given play. Give me THAT guy. Arm strength matters. But not independently from all of those other traits.

I may be starting to like this transfer portal. Probably better to get unhappy players out of the locker room. They see their paths on the current team, and the incoming players at their position. Coaches see it too. Bring in guys who have shown they can do both college and football, who have shown meaningful performance in real games at the college level. Not as risky as unproven high school recruits.

Only for the playoff teams.

Would love for ND to get to the level of Georgia’s last 2 bowl games margins of victory. Now that’s true dominance. Not diminishing the Sun Bowl win. It was tremendous. But in a different area code than where Georgia is.