Shakin' Down the Thunder said:

I'd say IU was 5th best behind SC, A&M, GT (who didn't have their starting QB against ND), and Louisville.

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I will say 4th and place USC 5. Indiana was a playoff product by way of a pathetically soft schedule.

And SMU had zero business being in this playoff, IMO.

Clemson, 0-3 against the SEC in 2024, only belonged because they won the ACC.

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graceh90 said:

You guessed wrong, but I understand why. Ian Book won more games than any other ND qb in its storied history. It wasn’t always pretty and he was under appreciated, but Book was a winner. Leonard is getting it done in the same fashion.

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Well stated. Ian Book went 35-5 as a starter and led two undefeated regular seasons. Riley Leonard is enjoying an outstanding season as well.

Both are two thumbs up as players and people.

Why not simply appreciate both of them:

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3daughters said:

Leonard’s a really good college quarterback and an unbelievable athlete. Missed half of last year, all of summer, multiple surgeries, new college and system…nothing but pure admiration for the young man for his ability and character. Why not just appreciate him? Guessing “Deja vu all over again” not meant as a compliment.

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You guessed wrong, but I understand why. Ian Book won more games than any other ND qb in its storied history. It wasn’t always pretty and he was under appreciated, but Book was a winner. Leonard is getting it done in the same fashion.

NDSMC78 said:

This. Exactly this.

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The NFL 14 team playoff format….with even conferences and as much schedule parity as possible, with two byes to the two best teams by their records, is pretty flawless.

Schedule parity, or the lack of it, is a huge problem in CFB:

NDinNJ said:

You make it sound like the game was in question. 😂 A completion didn't seal this game The defense sealed it with their dominant performance. IU had zero answers on offense because the ND defense shut them down period. The game was never in doubt.

As I stated in another comment, I was at the game and we could literally call the open receiver where RL was hesitant to throw to him or didn't see him until 2-3 after we saw it, and it wasn't just once, it was happening the entire game.

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The game was in question. Indiana got back in that game. Obviously it was a long shot.

Whether or not the game was in question, it was still a nice play. That’s exactly what I’m talking about with people not being satisfied with Leonard until he makes the NFL hall of fame. “Yeah but this.” “Yeah but it wasn’t done when the game was within 14 points”.

He had a very nice game.

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deadirishpoet said:

I would rather pretend college football wasn't trying to be the NFL

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This. Exactly this.

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melstew said:

Whatever point he thought he had with Indiana and SMU getting smoked evaporated when OSU woodshedded the Vols.

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Really?

#8 Ohio St. is favored in Las Vegas over #1 Oregon.

ACC champion Clemson was 0-3 versus the SEC, including losing at home in game 12 to non playoff South Carolina.

Indiana…..who played a pathetically weak schedule, SMU, and Clemson IMO weren’t amongst the 12 best teams in CFB.

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He and Cignetti should call each other to piss and moan.

edub72 said:

I sure hope that ND doesn’t give up 17 points to a backup qb that has hardly played

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I don't think they will. I'm pretty sure it will be a shutout. If we break their back by the 2nd quarter, it could be a pretty big margin. 38 or 45 zero. Otherwise, I would 24, 28, 31 zero. That rookie QB is not scoring on this defense. Maybe they get a scoop and score or something on defense. Carson Beck is another story, he could easily light it up for 50 or 60 on us. But the new guy won't do anything. I'm sure they'll get a few first downs, but that's about as much as I'm willing to concede. Maybe 100 yards total offense?

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Texas did play in the semifinal game last year. And Oregon came within a late FG of being in the playoff. I think we can beat Georgia but we need our A game.

ndhuntington said:

Is Indiana a top 10 team no but I would put them in the 15-20 range.

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No, I agree with the OP. IU is not a good team at all. He's convinced me. They're a top 40 team, maybe even top 50. And our win over them means really nothing at all. I'm expecting UGA to beat us soundly, by two or three scores, and no one should expect it to be close. Only thing that gives me a little sliver of hope is the way UGA struggled with GTech, but that was probably a one-off rivalry game. Because IU is a bottom half ACC caliber program, and I think Friday night amply demonstrated that. They just plain suck.

If on the other hand IU really was a good team, and playoff-worthy, that might have been a good gauge of how formidable we might be vs a big dog like UGA. But now that I know how shitty they are, I'm rightfully concluding UGA will beat us with ease. And we probably don't belong in the playoff anymore than IU did.