July 28, 2005
2005 Notre Dame previews
What's the outlook for Notre Dame football in 2005? The consensus seems to be a solid rebuilding year with hopes of a winning season.
CollegeFootballNews (5-6)
"Notre Dame expects to be in the national title hunt every season, but that's not going to happen this year, or even next year. ...there are few players that would crack the starting lineup of one of the top 15 teams..."
ESPN/Blue Ribbon
"The Fighting Irish will need to get light years better on defense and on special teams to thrive..."
SI/Athlon Sports Preview
"The Irish have not been able to corner the market on talent the way they once did."
For more, check in with our favorite ND blogs:
The Blue-Gray Sky, Brendan Loy, The Backer, Kanka, Irish Condo, and Kelly Green
2005 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Schedule
9-3-05 at Pittsburgh
9-10-05 at Michigan
9-17-05 MICHIGAN STATE
9-24-05 at Washington
10-1-05 at Purdue
10-15-05 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
10-22-05 BRIGHAM YOUNG
11-5-05 TENNESSEE
11-12-05 NAVY
11-19-05 SYRACUSE
11-26-05 at Stanford
For my part, I think you're looking at a 6-5 season for the Irish, which I suspect is right in the range that the ND coaches are expecting. My biggest fear would be getting backups ready if something should happen to Quinn. The line is sound, so that helps, but I wouldn't want to see Quinn on too many naked bootlegs. That being said, I think the biggest concern is the state of the defense and stopping the passing game. ND did a poor job last season and there's a lot to be learned if they're going to fare any better against the strong QBs on this year's schedule.
Between Pitt & ND, I expect that ND will be more prepared for the game than the Panthers, so they may steal a game that the pundits expect them to lose. From that lofty 1-0 perch, the season gets real ugly, real fast. The Irish face losses against Michigan & Michigan State, but may be able to hang with Washington. After that, it's losses to Purdue & USC, but Weis will get a home win against BYU. The Tennessee game will be ugly, I'm afraid, but the Irish can get whole again with Navy & Syracuse up next.
The Stanford game will be a real test for ND. By the end of the year, Harris will have the Cardinal in great shape and the Irish should be well adjusted to the new offensive & defensive plans. I'm giving Weis the benefit of the doubt here, as I believe he can pull this one out for ND.
Notre Dame will squeak into a bowl, but the real story of this season will be Weis is on the sidelines. A season or two of decent football should lead to vastly improved success in recruiting. This is season one --laying the foundation-- and I think you're looking at 3-4 years before ND is back in the top ten.
Fearless Prediction: 6-5
(For what it's worth, my track record with fearless predictions isn't all that shabby.)
Comments:
posted on July 28, 2005 1:31 PM — link — abuse?Kevin Donahue said:
I have Washington in the win column for ND, but I think this year's game (yes, with Ty) will be much tougher for the Irish. Ty is a much better coach than U-Dub has had in a while.
And I'll gladly visit with you following the Purdue & Tennessee games, because I think you're either badly over-estimating ND or badly under-estimating the Boilermakers & Vols. You're talking about two strong BCS candidates. I guess you should get out of the house more or give up the green kool-aid.
Ralph Smith said:
posted on July 28, 2005 4:20 PM — 205.188.116.199 — link — abuse?
I love all you predictors ,my dog can predict better then you.He picked .500 and he is a dog. You must live in the hills,I search and research teams yes we will have a tough time with some teams that we are suppose to beat and will beat some top teams this year I see the irish witha 7-4 at best 8-3,losses coming to michigan,usc and atunderdog team but I think will live up to Hurricane charlies invasion of south bend.
posted on July 28, 2005 4:26 PM — link — abuse?
I'll start trusting your dog's picks when you start using punctuation. Deal? ;)
GreenManorite said:
posted on July 28, 2005 4:33 PM — 69.223.156.135 — link — abuse?
"Kool-aid" response.
What has Notre Dame lost from last year?
Ryan Grant RB-- split time with freshman Walker who looked much better (I was at most of the games).
Linebackers-- Lost two solid linebackers, but neither were draft picks and depth is good here. Michigan, Tennessee and Navy failed to establish the run against Notre Dame last year and ND is only 3 years out from a top 5 recruiting class. Baer did a good job with his line backers: Courtney Watson started as a rookie last year and Goolsby plays to potential. Mays will do a good job at MIKE. Rick Minter knows what he is doing and is using a Coverage APACHE instead of a SAM backer.--Bottom line: Weaker than last year at least out of the gate, but ND was a top team against the rush (4th I think).
Defensive backs: Last year we had 3 guys on the Ty favorism track playing under a DB coach with no D1 experience. We were horrible, but we didn't lose and developed talent. Things can't be any worse this year. We have Dolphin's coach Bill Lewis training the secondary which isn't short on potential. Won't be great, but will be a step up from last year.
D-line:Lost Tuck and Pauly, but there is experience behind them.
Ty Willingham: Never clicked at Notre Dame and wasn't able to pull players out of mental ruts. Charlie Weis has put in more effort this summer than has been thought possible in the past. Examples include spending all of May on the road recruiting and long hours in the Football office (normally 6a-10p). Players attitude is much more positive altough there isn't much love for Weis.
Deidrick: After three years Bill had yet to fully install his offense. His best moments came in from the scripted game opennings. Teams got worse as the season progressed. The best play I saw out of Notre Dame in years on offense was the spring game under Weis. Deidrick is now coaching in Canada after finding no better offers.
Defense should be a toss up this year with a better pass protection and worse run stats. Offense should be progressively better with 10 returning starters and super-bowl caliber coaching.
Wins against PITT, MSU, Washington, BYU, NAVY, Syr, Stanford. One upset against USC, Tenn, UM, Purdue. My call is Tennessee at home finishing 8-3. Recall that a poor ND team beat MSU, BYU, Navy and Stanford last year going 6-6; the team will be slightly better despite the tough schedule.
dallasbyu said:
posted on July 28, 2005 6:24 PM — 12.177.63.130 — link — abuse?
Notre Dame did not beat BYU last year as post number 5 said. BYU won the game 20 to 17. I don't understand why everyone thinks that the BYU game this year is a gimme win for ND. BYU won last year and is returning a lot of the offense and some of the defense. Add that to the new "Texas Tech" type offense being installed at BYU and I say BYU has a very good chance of beating ND again this year. Weis has never seen the 3-3-5 defense in the NFL and will not know how to prepare against it. ND doen't have the corners to cover Todd Watkins who many say is the best deep threat in the nation and one of the top 5 receivers in the NCAA. My early prediction on the BYU-ND game is BYU 27 ND 13
GreenManorite said:
posted on July 28, 2005 7:19 PM — 147.72.101.2 — link — abuse?
My mistake Dallas, Irish fans are supressing certain memories. That was one of the games that got Ty fired-- BYU was horrible last year. I could say the same thing about ND, everyone thinks that it is a gimme game.
I will put quite a bit of money on your BYU by 14.
NFL teams don't run 3-3-5 for the same reason that NFL teams don't run the option. It doesn't work well against top talent. Weis will run Walker and Powers-Neil 30-40 times against BYU. He will also be watching the tape of last years Utah game.
Tony said:
posted on July 28, 2005 11:43 PM — 68.253.42.239 — link — abuse?
Here is the prediction to hold on to. I was wright on the money last year. 5-6, with losses to Pitt, Mich., Purdue, USC, and Tenn., Wandstat beat Wies once last year, and he has a better QB now than he ever had in miami. Michigan will have some revenge to hand out this year in the big house. Yes notre Dame put a lot of numbers on the stat sheet against purdue last year, but come on purdue called off the dogs after putting 42 on them in three quarters. Tenn. will have one of there real QB,s on the field this year. The other loss will come to the hands of one of the folling, mich. st., wash, byu, or syracuse. Let me explain wash. being on that list, you never know what kind of team willingham is going to put on the field from one sat. to the next. rember two years ago when they beat stanford like they stole something and then forgot they had one more game against syracuse the next week, that is why syracuse is on the list to.
glcanon said:
posted on July 29, 2005 3:57 PM — 12.149.100.21 — link — abuse?
This Domer sees pluck of the Irish potential to go 7-4 or even 8-3, although I won't name the upsets at this point. Luck often shines on the Irish. But if we Domers go 6-5, which is a more realistic scenario anyway, no one would be surprised or upset, and 6-5 would probably still earn the Irish a bowl bid (it has before). I have my tix ordered for the BYU home game for my crew of 7, and WE DO EXPECT A GIMMIE WIN on Oct 22nd GO IRISH!
sean obrien said:
posted on July 29, 2005 7:48 PM — 4.229.204.145 — link — abuse?
Wake up the echoes notre dame will win 7-8 games this year.All i can see thatthe team will improve its over all team defense aganist the pass , and aganist the run they wiil be very strong,they traditionly been strong aganist the run .Brady quinn will pass up a storm ,walker will run for 900-1000 yds 10-12 tds. All things will be well in south bend for years to come are the irish are back . With weis leadership skills and hard nosed thow back football style will make the irish rise from the football ashes. long live the IRISH !!! Its nice to see someone who knows football and tells it how it is. thank you irishguard your the man.
ND addict said:
posted on July 31, 2005 8:59 AM — 64.12.116.139 — link — abuse?
First of all 8 games isnt out of the question.Take away the close late game losses to Pitt and BC last year and the near comeback that fell short against BYU and the Irish win 9 games. And that means they play a diff team in the bowl game which could have meant a bowl win(hey, you never know). This year they have one of the most experienced offensive lines and with weis at the controls i see an improved offense that will finally gel.Defense? Well, the biggest question mark here is wether or not the youngsters can play to potential. D-Line is still strong, linebackers are pretty solid w/ Hoyte and Mays having experience and Zibby is a top safety in the NCAA. The secondary does need to grow up in a hurry but if they do this team could vastly improve in pass-d. Mike Richardson has shown decent cover skills and seems capable. Young corners Ambrose Wooden and Terrail Lambert are very highly touted and are fast and athletic. Wooden runs the 40 in 4.26 and Lambert in 4.21. So if they can gel early they can bring speed and brashness and surprise a lot of people. With plenty of speedy players on the depth chart the return game should also improve which ND fans would appreciate. With the secondary being the main concern, I say if they can get it together early and gain some confidence that momentum will carry the season to yes, 8 wins or more.
ND faithfull said:
posted on August 1, 2005 11:14 PM — 69.22.104.58 — link — abuse?
I am new to this, so bare with me.
First of all I have to give Green Manorite some props. First of all, he knows the depth of the Irish very well. Secon of all, he made a simple mistake and made a note of it. We lost an over-rated "senior captain on and off the field." the coaching staff should have realized that he was shown up time and time again by the freshman phenom, Darius Walker. Had they left him in more of the time I think that our win column would have had at least two more in it. The line should finally be able to protect and I quote "a high first round draft pick," by a man with get this, not just two or three Super Bowl rings, but FOUR!!!! If he doesn't know a thing or two about offense I don't know who would! On the other side of the ball Weiss hired a man with quite the experince. A man I have always respected immensely. Although Justin Tuck is gone, I beleive a man like that would have left behind someone to take his place with pride. I know that the secondary could not be any worse than last year. In all I definately think that though this will be a "rebuilding year" it will contain 7-8 wins with no problem. A man like Weiss did not return to the Promised Land to stay where Ty had us. As far as ND losing to UW, I think there is not even a slim chance of it happening at all. October 22nd is as good as a W as it can get. The biggest thing that ND has to do is find someone who can schedule just a couple of games like the rest of the country plays just about all year. I cannot beleive the strength of their schedule every year. I don't care who your team is, you have to agree that ND has the toughest schedule every year and that's a fact. It probably has something to do with the fact that they are the only school with a t.v. contract that was just renewed. I know that ND will return to glory with Weiss, I am just not sure how long it will take him to get there. Does anyone else have an idea? I think that maybe 3 years until his first national title.
mpb77 said:
posted on August 2, 2005 4:01 PM — 68.77.168.110 — link — abuse?
1. The last, generally thought of as disastrous, year of the Faust Era was a 5-6 year. The next year, the generally thought of as great and promising first of the Holtz Era was...5-6. The record won't tell the whole story.
2. But, as long as wer're all guessing:
vs. Pitt. W (close) Coaching will tell the story.
vs. Mich (L) (pretty big) Last year, ND caught UM on Henne's first start, and only 3 days of practice after the first stringer got hurt. Not so this year.MSU W. Home openner, and Weis' third game. He'l get it done.
vs. Wash. W. W with W will NOT be competitive, but it WILL be PC as all get out!
vs. Purdue. L. By that stage of the season, the boys will need a reminder that they AREN'T BCS caliber, yet. That message will be delivered by the folks in W. Lafayette.
USC L (close on the field, maybe not as close on the Board). Three straight 31 point losses to the Contraceptives proves that TW CERTAINLY had no real notion of the emotional significance of the game, and clearly did not teach his students well. That will NOT be true this year. Weis cut his ND teeth, remember, on the 1974 fiasco in LA.
BYU. W. ND awake can beat BYU 8/10ths of the time. ND asleep was, well, a TW type season openner.
TENN. L (could be ugly). ND got by last year holding off the #2 QB until HE was injured, then cleaned up on the #3 QB. Barring a plane crash, that won't happen again.
NAVY W (Only TW could make THOSE games close)
Syra. W. Jim Brown is an AARP member.
Stanford W. So is Bill Walsh.Final record:7-4, and a just-a-little-less-than BCS bowl game. Hopeffully, against BOSTON COLLEGE.
MPB
schmed said:
posted on August 2, 2005 6:27 PM — 208.248.231.58 — link — abuse?
Foxports weighed in with ND on 7/28 during their "119 days of 119 teams" prognosticapolooza.
For what it's worth, they forecast 5-6 as a likely outcome.
posted on August 2, 2005 9:59 PM — link — abuse?
schmed- I think it's the same as the CollegeFootball News link above, just wrapped in a Fox Sports wrapper. CFN does all the college football analysis for Fox Sports website.
[Note: I edited schmed's comment above as the link is already posted at the top of the page, but, since I feel bad about editing schmed, I put it back:]
posted on August 2, 2005 11:52 PM — 206.124.221.226 — link — abuse?
"they should beat Pitt, Washington, Mich.St., BYU, Navy, Syracuse and Stanford if they are any better than last year. That's 7"
Are you assuming that none of those teams will be any better than last year? There's no way in Hades that ND wins 7 games this year. No way, no how, ain't gonna happen, period.
ND addict said:
posted on August 3, 2005 2:04 AM — 205.188.116.199 — link — abuse?
Those teams could be better than last year. Some probably are. But what killed ND last year was not being able to get it done in the close games. Sure Pitt and Michigan State might be better this year, but ND still has more talent, and will prove it this year. Pitt could be tough, but I think Michigan St. won't be that much of a problem. Yeah 7-8 wins is a stretch but i'm saying they at least win 6. I'm just trying to give some Irish fans hope and maybe convince myself they won't suck this year. Humor me. If there is a such thing as the "Luck of the Irish" than maybe they can bull some of it out versus a favored team or 2(example:Tennesse, Michigan;last year) than they have 7 or 8 wins. 9 if one the other teams have a total laps of showing up. I don't know. It's possible. I'm hoping for at least 7-4.
posted on August 4, 2005 9:46 AM — 206.124.221.226 — link — abuse?
By the way, isn't this for Notre Dame FANS?!
No. It's for college football fans.Yeah 7-8 wins is a stretch but i'm saying they at least win 6.
Well, that's optimistic, but closer to reality than what you said 2 or 3 posts before that.
posted on August 4, 2005 11:01 AM — link — abuse?
By the way, isn't this for Notre Dame FANS?!
It might be wise to take other fans views into consideration. Sometimes the view from the outside has as much insight as the view from within.
Rudy said:
posted on August 5, 2005 12:04 AM — 206.166.230.69 — link — abuse?
The Irish are over run with unsung talent. you all seem to forget how well versed at recruiting willingham was. The problem with the ND football team from the past years was not that of talent but of leadership. Ty was good at what he did he just did not know where his place was. He is not and has never been a head football coach talent. Yet he does have the talent to recruit. With that said; ND football is about to explode to greatness. With the talent produced by ty Willingham and the now coaching ability of the ND staff to use ND will be a force in college football.Charlie Weis stepped into a gold mine of talent and Ty Willingham Knows it. If i was him at washington I would be worried. ND Football season 2005 10-1 Maybe 11-0. Laugh if you will but remember this in 2006.
Rudy said:
posted on August 5, 2005 12:12 AM — 206.166.230.5 — link — abuse?
I have heard talk of mich. and tenn. getting there revenge but pitt. purdue and byu had better give there lives to Jesus because the rest of them belong to ND this yr. Pitt. purdue and byu are going to get the thrashings of there lives this yr. Charlie Wies will make a statement like no other with the 2005 season. They will be put in there place.
Alphadog said:
posted on August 8, 2005 10:24 PM — 68.92.106.187 — link — abuse?
I am looking forward to a more disciplined, stable and competitive ND team this season. A team that will be in every game for 3/4 of the game and not lose bc of poor coaching. As a true ND fan, I dont need championship after championship, all I want is a solid team that leaves it all on the field.
I predict a 7-4 season. Purdue falls to a blood thirsty ND team that is eager to avenge all the rivalry losses.
Nick said:
posted on August 8, 2005 11:31 PM — 24.7.232.20 — link — abuse?
I am pumped with optmism for ND's 05-06 season. I hope that Charlie Wies is a better coach than he is a polite, humble, cordial human being. I had the misfortune of trying to make an unintrusive, well wishing conversation with him at a frequented pizza establishment. He was short,rude,and arrogant. In summary, an ASS. Hey Charlie, don't forget where you came from. I guess if you knock down enough $ per year you can afford to be a hardass. Don't distance yourself from the community. The roads lead out of town as well as in. At least Ty was a class act.
goldenboy08 said:
posted on August 9, 2005 4:39 PM — 192.234.159.5 — link — abuse?
Notre Dame is going to come back with a vengence this year. If one wants proof of this revival look no father than the sept. 3 game against Pitt. Notre Dame will win by scoring and scoring often with the defense coming up with key stops, something that they failed to do in the second half of the season last year (i.e. the 3rd and ten completion last year for 97 yards by purdue, and late drives by BC and Pitt). Michigan maybe ugly but if the DL works out the kinks against pitt then maybe they can hold hart to a dismal performance (57 yards i believe last year). THis forces Henne to step up and beat ND with his arm, something he has the talent to do but as anyone who watched the ND team last year, talent does not necessarily equate to good performances. MSU will be a win, home opener and an average opponent. Washington will also be a win just because to lose to a ty lead team would be inexcusible and weis will never let that happen. From there the team will hopefully get better though losses will likely come at the hands of UT and USC. Still 8 wins is a distinct possiblity
rudy said:
posted on August 13, 2005 8:19 PM — 206.166.230.65 — link — abuse?
Notre Dame will hit harder, throw more, run better, and just beat the dog out of any team they play this coming year. All the nay sayers will be standing in awe in jan. 2006 because Notre Dame will still be standing. N. D. 10-1 and maybe even 11-0 in 2005. I have seen too much to go any other way this year.We have the line , Quarter back , running backs, and the defense to do it. It will come together this year because we have the coach. We could have done it last year.
Rich in Virginia said:
posted on August 25, 2005 10:14 AM — 70.186.193.47 — link — abuse?
Gentlemen,
Let the players take the field and do battle. Some teams may have more talant than our beloved ND. But talent does not bring the wins to every game. Coaching, heart, and preperation count also. Notre Dame 9-2 this year,Michigan will lose players to the state penal authority as will Tenn and USC.
Peace
kendall said:
posted on August 28, 2005 2:43 AM — 216.58.17.240 — link — abuse?
give notre dame some credit, they beat two top teams in the nation last year; michigan and tenessee and they dominated USC in the first quarter, im predicting they'll beat MSU, BYU, stanford, washington, navy, syracuse, and there's the luck of the irish where the team will upset one of the top teams they always do. Hopefully to michigan i love watching the wolverines fans cry as they lose to one of there top rivals. So finally i think irish fans are going to get 8 or 9 wins and were well deserving of it with are dominating offense we'll have this year
GO IRISH!!!Irish Hater said:
posted on September 1, 2005 11:19 PM — 69.153.102.57 — link — abuse?
Unfortunately, I think Notre Dame is going to win at least 9 games this year. Charley Weiss has proven what he can do in the NFL, and I'm afraid he's going to do at least as well in college football. Notre Dame was blown out in only two games last year, and the team will be greatly improved. Even though I don't like them, I'm putting my money on the Irish, and will take the milk money from the fools who think Notre Dame will win only 5 or 6 games. Place your bets, gentlemen!
Just another Irish fan said:
posted on September 3, 2005 12:45 AM — 70.224.58.25 — link — abuse?
First off, I want to remind Frey that ND was screwed by the Big East officials in the Pitt game last year. ND intercepted a ball in the endzone, that the Big East officials called pass interference. In fact, they called pass interference on the defender who caught the ball, and if you watch the reply, there was not a Pitt player within 5 feet of him. That would have probably ended the game right there! As for Washington, Ty stated that it takes 3 years for a QB to learn his system, so, this being Ty's first year at Washington, you do the math. Michigan State will never beat ND this year at Weis' first home opener. I can really only forsee 3 losses: Michigan, USC, and Tennessee. The other games ND has a great chance. In fact, I would not be surprised if ND is in the top half of the top 25 at the end of this season. They should fall somewhere between 20 and 25.
bleeding green said:
posted on September 3, 2005 1:56 PM — 152.163.100.139 — link — abuse?
I love college football and esp. ND football! I know what talent the rest of the country has, as does eveyone else. The only reason knowone knows of NDS talent is that everyone has written them off! A history like the Irish can bring in talent alone. Add Willingham, a players coach, not a gamer. ND + Willingham= talent, not victories! ND + Willingham + Weis= victories. ND has 2 talented and athletic receivers in McKnight and Stovall, they just lack confidence, and who wouldn't when the whole country knows the pass is coming on third and long. Hense the lack of confidence for QB Quinn throwing on his heels and on the run (he's a pocket passer). Mix the game up on offense, like Weis will do and then and only then will the talent on NDS side of the ball show. Throw in the amazing talent of young TB Walker and the Irish will and can score on any team. Defense, Irish always find the way to stop the run year to year. It doesn't matter how many starters they've lost or are returning from the prior year! The secondary is a whole nother story, but how can it be any worse than last year? They'll give up big plays thru the air, but in return so will the Irish offense. The key factor to having the season all off us fans are hoping for, is the special teams. The special teams of the past have always been the answer to NDS winning teams! Just think back, and if you know ND footall, you'll remember key wins with punt and kickoff returns. Without special teams ND doesn't win championships. The talent and Weis is in South Bend. Watchout the Irish are comin'!
Jafiggy said:
posted on September 7, 2005 12:46 PM — 24.97.106.162 — link — abuse?
Would anyone like to revisit their predictions now that ND has smashed Pitt? :)
Notre Dame has proven over the last few years that it has enough TALENT to hang with ANYBODY. Think about it. Think about it hard if you need to.
What they didn't have was good coaching. They have that now.
I don't feel comfortable making any predictions, but I honestly feel that they have a good chance to win every single game on their roster. Do I expect that they will? Of course not. But they could. I think that's pretty darn good for the team that has far and away the toughest schedule in college football, don't you? :)
posted on September 7, 2005 1:02 PM — link — abuse?
I stand by mine. I said that ND would likely be more prepared than Pitt.
posted on September 10, 2005 5:43 PM — 64.56.21.240 — link — abuse?
Jacob- No one with a functioning brain thought Notre Dame would beat Pitt and Michigan, so don't act like you knew it would happen all along. The Irish appear to be a little better than people thought they'd be, at least early on. Good for them. We're still only 2 games into the season, and I'm still not convinced they can maintain this level of play. We'll see.
Irish Eyes said:
posted on September 13, 2005 5:38 PM — 12.166.35.204 — link — abuse?
Dave Frey quote: "Are you assuming that none of those teams will be any better than last year? There's no way in Hades that ND wins 7 games this year. No way, no how, ain't gonna happen, period."
I see at minimum 5 more wins on ND's schedule.
Irish Fan said:
posted on October 9, 2005 5:53 PM — 65.24.241.197 — link — abuse?
Ok..
So, here we are with all of these negative people looking for under a 7 win season - why don't you look at ND (4-1), ranked #9 in BOTH polls! Give them half a chance now - and to be quite honest, I wouldn't put a win over USC past them; actually, I believe it is likely, but we'll see. In addition, they are favored for the remaining games in the season, so if they pull off a win over USC they'll go 10-1, if not, they'll go 9-2...however you look at it, you guys have underestimated the ND program, end of story.
posted on October 9, 2005 6:00 PM — 66.186.235.209 — link — abuse?
Yes, many of us underestimated Notre Dame. Not sure where that gives anyone cause to gloat. No sane, thinking person thought Notre Dame would be as good as they are this year. Only a handful of their biased and unrealistic fans did. The smart, logical assumption about Notre Dame was 5 or 6 wins, 7 if they did really well. Sometimes even smart, logical assumptions turn out to be incorrect. That doesn't mean you shouldn't make them.
Irish Fan said:
posted on October 9, 2005 6:29 PM — 65.24.241.197 — link — abuse?
This in no way constitues gloating. The only fact at hand was a honest prediction was wrong, no fault there. However, I believe that you should revisit your predictions based on current evidence. Pending the rest of the games as wins (only tense one being the USC game) and the loss of either Virginia Tech or Flordia State, ND could easily set themselves in the Rose Bowl. No, I do not feel that the rest of the games will be blow-outs, but I am relatively confident that they will all be wins. Your opinion?
posted on October 9, 2005 10:28 PM — 66.186.235.209 — link — abuse?
revised prediction for the remaining games:
USC: loss
BYU: win
Tennessee: toss up
Navy: win
Syracuse: win
at Stanford: winI'd say the Irish finish either 9-2 or 8-3. Something tells me Tennessee is going to be tougher for them than people think. Absolute worst case, they lose to USC, TN, and Syracuse, which would be 7-4, but that's pretty unlikely.
Hippster in KC said:
posted on October 10, 2005 12:08 AM — 64.126.69.75 — link — abuse?
Dave,
It's nice to see you revise your predictions, but I still don't understand why everyone thought that losing a below-average coaching staff and replacing it with Weis and, just as important, a well-qualified staff would result in Notre Dame being horrible this year. Yes, losing 6 games is horrible.
My theory is this: ND fans who actually watched all 35 or so games under Willingam and 50 or so games under Davie understood the following better than virtually anyone outside the ND family: (1) Willingham and his staff couldn't really coach, and (2) we still have plenty of talent, more talent than probably 8 teams on our schedule every year.
I don't blame the media or you for your silly 3-8 predictions: you were probably watching real football teams play important games the past couple years. But virtually every ND fan who watches the games expected to win 7 or 8 this year. That's exactly what's going to happen, so I'm not sure why it's the ND fans who were delusional.
I'm not sure why it was logical to assume that a team returning virtually its entire offense and getting rid of a craptastic coaching staff would not improve. The schedule looked more difficult than was realized, but come on. ND fans knew all along: we have had plenty of talent, almost enough to turn Bob Davie and Ty Willingham into good coaches. Give us a real coach and the days of getting our asses blown off the field by Purdue are over.
posted on October 10, 2005 10:47 AM — 66.186.235.209 — link — abuse?
I still don't understand why everyone thought that losing a below-average coaching staff and replacing it with Weis and, just as important, a well-qualified staff would result in Notre Dame being horrible this year. Yes, losing 6 games is horrible.
Because a) turnarounds after a coaching change usually take time, and b) Notre Dame's schedule this year appeared to be absolutely brutal, although in retrospect the teams we thought would be good turned out to be mediocre (Michigan, Purdue) or awful (Pitt). Keep in mind that the only team Notre Dame has played thus far who turned out to be actually good (MSU) beat them, at home.
There was simply no reason, even being optimistic, to think they'd be doing this well at this point in the season. Anyone who says he isn't surprised is, IMO, simply not being honest. Don't get me wrong- I was never down on Notre Dame, and I'm still not. I've never been one of those folks who hates Notre Dame just because they're Notre Dame. In fact, this week, there's no bigger ND fan than me :) I was just being realistic with my predictions, and things turned out differently.
Hippster in KC said:
posted on October 10, 2005 11:19 AM — 12.4.181.2 — link — abuse?
Fair enough. I expected to get hammered by Michigan and USC too, but I figured to upset either Tenn or Purdue. I expected to beat MSU too. But I also admit that ND fans are generally overly optimistic/arrogant and just assume that a competent coach will pull a Mack Brown and win 10 every year without trying too hard.
The schedule thing is odd, and it's one reason why I don't think ND needs to start scheduling Ball State like the national media says. College football is so unpredictable now that it's tough to predict who will be good from year to year.
I think ND gets too much credit for its schedule. Our 2006 schedule looks pretty soft right now, but like I just said, college football is too unpredictable. We don't play any super cupcakes, but I doubt that any SEC teams look at our schedule and feel lucky that they only have to play Tenn, Ga, LSU, Fla, etc.
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IrishGuard said:
posted on July 28, 2005 1:19 PM — 67.184.126.121 — link — abuse?Now honestly. "Hang with Washington?" The team ND beat by 4 touchdowns last year? The team with no decided QB? WITH Ty Willingham as coach? I can't take that one seriously.
Also, for the record, ND beat Tenn. in Knoxville last year, so it's hard to see how that game "will be ugly." ND also overwhelmed MSU (in Lansing). And predicting a sure loss to Purdue is pushing it, as they lost have Orton or Stubblefield from a team that finished, what 6-5? A team whose vaunted defense gave up over 500 yards to ND last year before turning around and losing to Northwestern?
My advice--tune out the talking heads on ESPN and you'll be able to see the CF landscape in a much clearer light.
IG