Bet you didn’t think that ND vs Bama would be...

[Green Goblin 114]

The closest playoff game played this year.

 

Well, it was.

[cali_domer 295]

The closest playoff game played this year.

 

Well, it was.

 

What a boring playoff. All the games we're more or less over at halftime.

[dangeruss 6]

What a boring playoff. All the games we're more or less over at halftime.

that's the crazy thing, I think that over 50% of the playoff games have been blowouts since the playoffs started.

[Kelly Gruene 26]

that's the crazy thing, I think that over 50% of the playoff games have been blowouts since the playoffs started.

 

 

According to CBS sports, 8 of the last 12 semifinal games have been decided by at least 17 points.

Since the playoffs began, the average margin of victory in semifinal and final games is almost 19 points. And that was as of December 29th; stats in the article don't include last night's game.

 

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/is-the-college-football-playoff-delivering-on-its-promise-blowouts-lack-of-upsets-suggest-otherwise/

[Jersey Irish 205]

What a boring playoff. All the games we're more or less over at halftime.

 

Fell asleep on the couch at the half and woke uo to see the final score. This was a beatdown in every sense of the word, Smith had more catches and yard sat half vs Bucknuts than he did for the game for ND.

Say what you want about ND's performance but they had the right idea on how to win the game, they just did not have the horses to execute it. They held Bama to 31 - first team to hold then under 35 in forever. And if they did not have a TD called back and made that missed FG, it would have been even close than the experts predicted.

[ELDER06 248]

I’m not going to take too much comfort in that, but I do think people have to realize, Bama was on another level this year. ND cannot be satisfied with where they’re currently at, but there’s also no reason to for pessimism

[NYGoldenDomer 2,046]

But I thought we were frauds? At least that is what all my friends were telling me after the Rose Bowl. Coming from people who don't follow college football too. :rolls eyes:

[JTennant 290]

They should be satisfied with what they've accomplished.

 

Top 15 recruiting class vs #1 was a Will Fuller / Golden Tate away from playing Bama competitively. If ND had 3 Owusu's instead of 1 and/or better corners..

 

Ifs and butts, but this team over-achieved this year and have been over-achieving for the last 5-6 seasons.

 

If they could just recruit to a consistent top 5, they'll eventually win a playoff game... will they win it all? Probably not, but who knows.

[JoeBrasco 0]

They should be satisfied with what they've accomplished.

 

Top 15 recruiting class vs #1 was a Will Fuller / Golden Tate away from playing Bama competitively. If ND had 3 Owusu's instead of 1 and/or better corners..

 

Ifs and butts, but this team over-achieved this year and have been over-achieving for the last 5-6 seasons.

 

If they could just recruit to a consistent top 5, they'll eventually win a playoff game... will they win it all? Probably not, but who knows.

 

This is why I have never understood the BK hate. There are maybe a handful of coaches in the country who do more with less talent than Kelly. He did the same thing at Central Michigan and Cincinnati. Thankfully Jack is a lot smarter than the naysayers on this board.

[ELDER06 248]

They should be satisfied with what they've accomplished.

 

Top 15 recruiting class vs #1 was a Will Fuller / Golden Tate away from playing Bama competitively. If ND had 3 Owusu's instead of 1 and/or better corners..

 

Ifs and butts, but this team over-achieved this year and have been over-achieving for the last 5-6 seasons.

 

If they could just recruit to a consistent top 5, they'll eventually win a playoff game... will they win it all? Probably not, but who knows.

 

If they’re satisfied, then that’s accepting this as ND’s ceiling and that should not be the case. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be proud of how they’ve overachieved in recent seasons, but the ultimate goal should still be to win a title.

[ELDER06 248]

This is why I have never understood the BK hate. There are maybe a handful of coaches in the country who do more with less talent than Kelly. He did the same thing at Central Michigan and Cincinnati. Thankfully Jack is a lot smarter than the naysayers on this board.

 

It’s not only an issue with ND fans, it’s that way for every major CF fan base. Everyone has a hair trigger when it comes to firing a coach with no regard for the future.

[jbrown_9999 1,037]

It’s not only an issue with ND fans, it’s that way for every major CF fan base. Everyone has a hair trigger when it comes to firing a coach with no regard for the future.

 

Per Lou Holtz:

 

“When I first started, everybody said they just wanted us to be competitive. That first season in 1986 we went 5-6 and lost five games by a total of 14 points. But people said, ‘No, when we said competitive, we meant we want you to win.’

 

“So the next year we were 8-4 and played in a New Year’s Day bowl. But they said, ‘No, when we said we want you to win, we meant win them all.’

 

“So the next year we did win them all. We went 12-0 and won the national championship. But they said, ‘No, you don’t understand, we meant we want you to do it again. ”

[jbrown_9999 1,037]

This is why I have never understood the BK hate. There are maybe a handful of coaches in the country who do more with less talent than Kelly. He did the same thing at Central Michigan and Cincinnati. Thankfully Jack is a lot smarter than the naysayers on this board.

 

The beef with Kelly is that he seems to be content with being "in the conversation" and not winning it all. After seeming to be motivated to recruit at an extremely high level early in his career at ND, he eased his foot off the accelerator and, even after the Kelly 2.0 reboot, now seems to less fanatical about recruiting than other coaches who outperform him on the recruiting trail.

 

It was sad to hear him say in December 2019 that he finally realized that he needed to recruit Top 5 classes to compete.

 

The 10th-year Notre Dame head coach admitted that while he's previously kept his expectations fairly modest -- recruiting classes ranked anywhere from No. 10-15 nationally have been deemed a success in Kelly's eyes

 

"I've changed. We're going to change the way we do some things that I think will allow us to" get Top 5 classes.

 

He still has not gotten to Top 5 but at least maybe he is trying to now. I do think a contributing factor is that Kelly was never at a top program before ND and has not seen real Top 5 recruiting in action.

 

Another issue is that his hiring and retaining of coordinators has been spotty and it has been reported that he has had to be told to make some of the moves (BVG, Elko, etc.)

 

In addition, he has not really excelled in big games when the lights are brightest and even this year, it took double OT to beat a depleted Clemson team.

[cali_domer 295]

The beef with Kelly is that he seems to be content with being "in the conversation" and not winning it all. After seeming to be motivated to recruit at an extremely high level early in his career at ND, he eased his foot off the accelerator and, even after the Kelly 2.0 reboot, now seems to less fanatical about recruiting than other coaches who outperform him on the recruiting trail.

 

It was sad to hear him say in December 2019 that he finally realized that he needed to recruit Top 5 classes to compete.

 

 

 

He still has not gotten to Top 5 but at least maybe he is trying to now. I do think a contributing factor is that Kelly was never at a top program before ND and has not seen real Top 5 recruiting in action.

 

Another issue is that his hiring and retaining of coordinators has been spotty and it has been reported that he has had to be told to make some of the moves (BVG, Elko, etc.)

 

In addition, he has not really excelled in big games when the lights are brightest and even this year, it took double OT to beat a depleted Clemson team.

 

That quote, among many others he has dropped has led to many questions.

[JoeBrasco 0]

Per Lou Holtz:

 

“When I first started, everybody said they just wanted us to be competitive. That first season in 1986 we went 5-6 and lost five games by a total of 14 points. But people said, ‘No, when we said competitive, we meant we want you to win.’

 

“So the next year we were 8-4 and played in a New Year’s Day bowl. But they said, ‘No, when we said we want you to win, we meant win them all.’

 

“So the next year we did win them all. We went 12-0 and won the national championship. But they said, ‘No, you don’t understand, we meant we want you to do it again. ”

 

Let’s compare Holtz and the landscape of college football in 1986 with today...

[ELDER06 248]

Per Lou Holtz:

 

“When I first started, everybody said they just wanted us to be competitive. That first season in 1986 we went 5-6 and lost five games by a total of 14 points. But people said, ‘No, when we said competitive, we meant we want you to win.’

 

“So the next year we were 8-4 and played in a New Year’s Day bowl. But they said, ‘No, when we said we want you to win, we meant win them all.’

 

“So the next year we did win them all. We went 12-0 and won the national championship. But they said, ‘No, you don’t understand, we meant we want you to do it again. ”

 

Tough s**t would be my reply. ND fans over 60 have a hard time grasping the reality of modern college football. They want to have their cake (academic standards) and eat it too (win titles). It’s a totally difft world than in 1988

[ELDER06 248]

The beef with Kelly is that he seems to be content with being "in the conversation" and not winning it all. After seeming to be motivated to recruit at an extremely high level early in his career at ND, he eased his foot off the accelerator and, even after the Kelly 2.0 reboot, now seems to less fanatical about recruiting than other coaches who outperform him on the recruiting trail.

 

It was sad to hear him say in December 2019 that he finally realized that he needed to recruit Top 5 classes to compete.

 

 

 

He still has not gotten to Top 5 but at least maybe he is trying to now. I do think a contributing factor is that Kelly was never at a top program before ND and has not seen real Top 5 recruiting in action.

 

Another issue is that his hiring and retaining of coordinators has been spotty and it has been reported that he has had to be told to make some of the moves (BVG, Elko, etc.)

 

In addition, he has not really excelled in big games when the lights are brightest and even this year, it took double OT to beat a depleted Clemson team.

 

A lot of that “beef” is false perception. It amazes me how adults can create these fictional stories in their head and treat them as factual. None of us know what’s going on in BK’s head, but I highly doubt he’s ok with the way this season ended. You don’t get to this level in coaching w/o being a competitive mother f’er.

 

All successful programs lose Asst Coaches/Coordinators. Bama churns through new coordinators almost every year. Clemson is going to lose Tony Elliot eventually, but they lucked out with Venables not wanting to be a HC. Ohio State lost Coordinators all the time under Urban and I’m sure Day will have the same issues eventually.

 

Kelly was foolish if he thought ND could develop players over recruiting at a high level. You have to do both to be an elite program. You’re not going to “moneyball” your way into winning a Title. Top 5 recruiting classes every year are not realistic. Maybe they can land one every 5 or so years, but the goal should always be firmly in the top 10 and that’s achievable.

[NYGoldenDomer 2,046]

A lot of that “beef” is false perception. It amazes me how adults can create these fictional stories in their head and treat them as factual. None of us know what’s going on in BK’s head, but I highly doubt he’s ok with the way this season ended. You don’t get to this level in coaching w/o being a competitive mother f’er.

 

All successful programs lose Asst Coaches/Coordinators. Bama churns through new coordinators almost every year. Clemson is going to lose Tony Elliot eventually, but they lucked out with Venables not wanting to be a HC. Ohio State lost Coordinators all the time under Urban and I’m sure Day will have the same issues eventually.

 

Kelly was foolish if he thought ND could develop players over recruiting at a high level. You have to do both to be an elite program. You’re not going to “moneyball” your way into winning a Title. Top 5 recruiting classes every year are not realistic. Maybe they can land one every 5 or so years, but the goal should always be firmly in the top 10 and that’s achievable.

 

Agreed, 6-7-8 should be the target every year with good recruiting years and then making that jump to the top 5 for those especially good ones.

[jbrown_9999 1,037]

A lot of that “beef” is false perception. It amazes me how adults can create these fictional stories in their head and treat them as factual. None of us know what’s going on in BK’s head, but I highly doubt he’s ok with the way this season ended. You don’t get to this level in coaching w/o being a competitive mother f’er.

 

All successful programs lose Asst Coaches/Coordinators. Bama churns through new coordinators almost every year. Clemson is going to lose Tony Elliot eventually, but they lucked out with Venables not wanting to be a HC. Ohio State lost Coordinators all the time under Urban and I’m sure Day will have the same issues eventually.

 

Kelly was foolish if he thought ND could develop players over recruiting at a high level. You have to do both to be an elite program. You’re not going to “moneyball” your way into winning a Title. Top 5 recruiting classes every year are not realistic. Maybe they can land one every 5 or so years, but the goal should always be firmly in the top 10 and that’s achievable.

 

Yes, one needs to have a certain level of competitiveness to be near the top of whatever profession one is in. However, there is often a difference between those at the very top and those who are near the top.

 

Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, and Michael Jordan all were pointed towards as being the hardest working players on their respective teams. Does this mean that the other players were not hard working? No, it just means that those three worked harder than the rest of their team to be the best potentially of all time in their sports. So it is completely possible that Meyer and Saban (and some others) recruit better than Kelly because they put more time & energy into it.

 

Tony Alford, when asked about working for both Brian Kelly and Urban Meyer, said that recruiting was the number one difference between the two of them. Urban Meyer was fanatical about recruiting and spent hours each day on it and hounded his staff on it as well.

 

Here is a recent comment from Eric Hansen about BK and recruiting:

 

Eric Hansen: In the recruiting analyst industry, Kelly is looked upon as a very good closer, but not an elite overall recruiter. He has reacted to having that pushed in his face by making some changes, which include getting involved with some key recruits much earlier in the process and more often throughout it.

 

It is good that after ten years of being happy with Top 15 classes, he finally realized that he needed to recruit better. It is too bad that he waited until December 2019 to get involved with recruits before the "close".

 

Even if Top 5 results are not possible every year, just being Top 10 instead of Top 20 every year would go a long way to improve ND's talent. Swapping a 3 star project (or two) for 4 or 5 star recruits each year might add four or more players to each year's roster who would someday be drafted by the NFL. ND's roster might move from being Top 8 talent to being Top 5. Perhaps those better players could help BK win a game against another top team that is not depleted by Covid/injury.

Edited January 14, 2021 by jbrown_9999