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!!

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.

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......

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yes, Blue...they are an academy!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sounds like a good mathematic formula. I agree w/ everything except I think that you could make it 55-45 for ND against Mich and SC, because the Michigan game is home (we are in their heads, I worry more about MSU now) and w/ SC they are replacing their backfield.

Also I look for a good one against Tech, being the first game and all.

i agree with you all, i just want to point out that notre dame LOST to OHIO STATE, who was in my opinion was a good team, they played to our weakness and beat us. I feel that GEORGIA TECH , is the same kind of team like ohio state was last year, They have however a great deal of Speed and a heisman type quarterback, they have been running plays that the irish couldn't stop last year, i say that this will still be a good judge of the notre dame team, i really hope for a WIN .HOWEVER WERE PLAYING IN ATLANTA. NEED I SAY MORE, i just hope the defense is ready to pick up the pace. we had a good year with a lot of talent due in. I JUST DON'T KNOW IF ITS ENOUGH JUST YET, DON'T count this TECH team SHORT. WARNING / WARNING / WARNING/

If we're worried about the speed of Tech, then we could do what we did to USC last year. Run the ball, eat up the clock. I think that could work tremendously. Tech doesn't have the dominating D that OSU had. I'll admit I haven't heard much about Tech. I know that they have a good QB and Calvin Johnson still at WR, but that's it. Let me know what we're up against Defensivly, because all I know about the D is that it's not near as good as OSU's was last year.

hey shark, i agree tech's defense isn't as good as ohio state, but i think we lost that game, my contacts says that they are running a lot of ohio state plays and have a lot more speed.but at the same time its the first game and AM not sure if the irish will be ready for prime time . this is the game where coach charlie will have to make a lot of adjustments, also the tech coach is no dummy he has been around and all his asst coaches are on the bonus game now. so if you add all this up , coach vs coach, first game, two good quarter backs, speed vs a weak secondary i think that this game will be very close, and ITS BEING PLAYED IN A PLACE WHERE THEY THREW DEAD FISH at the team. this is a game i won't bet on . go irish.

E-mail this article

 

 

 

 

Mansfield Wrotto moves from defensive tackle to offensive tackle this spring.

 

Football Home

 

 

 

 

 

HEADLINES

Jackets Put on Pads

Jackets Stress Special Teams in Spring Drills

 

Jackets Begin Spring Drills

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackets Put on Pads

Day Three of Spring Practice is First in Full Gear

 

.

 

 

April 1, 2006

 

ATLANTA--After two days of non-contact drills, the Georgia Tech football team held its first full-pads workout of the spring Saturday at Rose Bowl Field, and head coach Chan Gailey was pleased with the intensity.

 

"The intensity was good," said Gailey, entering his fifth season with the Jackets. "We've got a lot of work to do, but the intensity was there, and that's what you're looking for on the first day (in pads). You'd like perfect execution, but you'll take intensity on the first day."

 

Practice ended with a third-down drill in which sophomore defensive end Michael Johnson made perhaps the most impressive individual effort of the day on the final play, leaping high and using his 6-7 frame to bat down a ball at the line of scrimmage.

 

Senior Mansfield Wrotto continues to make a smooth adjustment to the offensive line as he works at right tackle after starting at defensive tackle the last three years. Tech's biggest lineman at 6-3 and 310 pounds, he joins a unit that returns the other four starters in left tackle Andrew Gardner, guards Nate McManus and Matt Rhodes and center Kevin Tuminello. But Wrotto is the only senior in that quintet, and although he is playing a new position, he has more career starts than any Yellow Jacket except quarterback Reggie Ball.

 

 

 

 

 

"I think he's adjusting very well," said Gailey. "I know he's had two solid practices, and I think today was the third solid practice. I think that's been a good move for our football team, and it will be a good move for him. It was probably good that we practiced him there some during the bowl practices. That's helped him make the adjustment."

 

The other significant position change of the spring has junior Pat Clark moving from wide receiver to cornerback. Clark was Tech's fourth-leading receiver last fall 15 receptions for 95 yards, including six catches in the Jackets' win at Auburn. Working behind junior Jamal Lewis, he looks to bolster a secondary that returns only one starter in senior cornerback Kenny Scott.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

there saying we want the irish, they know that the irish are rated # 1, . these people would love to beat notre dame. wouldn't surprise me is they declared it a state holiday. 6'7 is shark that tall ? time to start the worry wagon. > I hope your right and we put a whipping on them ? don't think so. lets wait till this game is over before we crown them champs.