Just keep em from transferring. We need the depth to be elite.

sjb75 said:

I’ve followed Lane since he was an OC at USC and being fired as a head coach at USC.

Great comeback story, and IMO, a damn good head coach.

He’s perfect for a place like Oxford, Mississippi.

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Lane is out once he gets a better job offer; maybe not Tennessee.

FightingIrish44 said:

That’s awesome that ND is still ahead of Bama and Georgia. There’s even a little buffer with Miami there between Bama and Georgia/Ole Miss.

As it stands now, three SEC teams are coming up north. Would love that.

It’s a shame that espn is parading that phony strength of schedule around. It’s a sham. Hopefully the committee isn’t using that.

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the computers love the SEC and I don't think they are biased.

Come on guys...
Woulda, coulda shoulda, ...

or rather wouldn't, couldn't, shouldn't

I swear I don't understand how so many people, fans and the like of CFB just can't understand how people still think this is many years ago.

Assumption and presumption with the fans, pollsters, etc is still in full force..

but that is dead and gone. Parity is an all time high. Kids want to play now! Right now! The portal has allowed them do that.

Allow me if you will...

moons ago a middle of the road team like NIU can show up at ND stadium and play flawless and ND has a bad game...
ND still wins that game by 10 points, maybe 14.

Today...
NO!
Today... If NIU shows up and plays a near flawless game and the opposition is in a quagmire of sorts and nothing is going right...
I give you an upset loss.
Every team has dealt with that near loss, or actual loss to a team they never would've lost to days of yore. It's ridiculous to think it's 1975 or 1985 and teams just show up for a drubbing.

Talent is littered throughout all of CFB now and if everything goes right and the other team is just OFF for that day these moments will happen.

ND played a lousy game...Learned a lot about what Riley can't do (throwing by way of NEED) and NIU got some luck and beat us.

It's not earth shattering nor earth moving. It's not a I just can't believe moment in sport.

NIU might be playing bad at present but on that day they played better than we did and have just enough good material to pull off the upset.

chaseball said:

If any of those programs outside of Clemson won their conference but didnt win an NC or at least get to the playoff final .. all of those fan bases would be pissed off/feel let down .. hell it might even cost coaches on their staff their job ... it would be enough to get those programs to expand their talent budget and bring in some more stars to get them over the top.

At ND the local media people are already setting the expectations for its fans "hey we hosted a playoff game...what else do you want you entitle ND fan!?" and fans like you lap it up.

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Give me proof.

Who specifically is saying that a home game is the ultimate goal for this team?

You're manufacturing this narrative.

sjb75 said:

“A blessing.”

LMAO.

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Fortunately for us, the loss really had no effect on the seasons outcome (we can't be seeded higher than 5).

I think that it got the Team focused or maybe refocused.

It also provided some clarity for the staff: "This is what we are, and this is what we are not". The staff then reacted, almost perfectly.

Look how well Leonard has played after that loss. He's been awesome since that game.

chaseball said:

If any of those programs outside of Clemson won their conference but didnt win an NC or at least get to the playoff final .. all of those fan bases would be pissed off/feel let down .. hell it might even cost coaches on their staff their job ... it would be enough to get those programs to expand their talent budget and bring in some more stars to get them over the top.

At ND the local media people are already setting the expectations for its fans "hey we hosted a playoff game...what else do you want you entitle ND fan!?" and fans like you lap it up.

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Dude, get a life. There are far more important things in life than college football. I want ND to win a National Championship, but I have zero control over the team, the athletic department and the school itself. You post on here like a 12 year old. When I was 12 I'd get pissed if my teams didn't do well, now there are far more better things to enjoy in life than to get frustrated over something you have zero control over.

chaseball said:

Isn't the goal to win an NC?

ND has been ranked 5th-7th before ... (in fact they've been ranked three times in the top 4 under BK in the FBS postseason)

the goal shouldn't be to "host a playoff game" but to win the playoff.

Just kind of getting tired of the "hosting" rhetoric that seems to be going around ND nation right now.

I can see it now

"2024 was successful bro, we hosted a playoff game"

you get nothing for hosting a playoff game or winning the first 3 rounds in the playoff.

you think the top dogs in the BIG10 and SEC are hyping up "the chance to host a playoff game" ? no .. they got their minds dead set on bringing home a national title victory to their fans.

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I'm looking forward to hosting for the following reasons:

1. I'll be at the game. Can't wait to take it in.
2. We should be able to protect home field and advance to Rd 2
3. Recruits will attend,
4. If we play an SEC Team or Miami....I think they'll have a hard time playing in snow and cold temps.

1 game at a time Chase. Secure home field for Rd 1, and go from there.

NDinNJ said:

So answer the question, why is the goal of Alabama, OSU, Oregon, Clemson, Georgia, insert any conference team to win their conference? Shouldn't it be to win NC's?

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If any of those programs outside of Clemson won their conference but didnt win an NC or at least get to the playoff final .. all of those fan bases would be pissed off/feel let down .. hell it might even cost coaches on their staff their job ... it would be enough to get those programs to expand their talent budget and bring in some more stars to get them over the top.

At ND the local media people are already setting the expectations for its fans "hey we hosted a playoff game...what else do you want you entitle ND fan!?" and fans like you lap it up.

chaseball said:

its fans like you that perpetuate the mediocrity at Notre Dame.

ND is the big bad wolf of college football ... when did it become acceptable to be the perpetual underdog/Cinderella program of college football ?

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So answer the question, why is the goal of Alabama, OSU, Oregon, Clemson, Georgia, insert any conference team to win their conference? Shouldn't it be to win NC's?

NDinNJ said:

Why does it seem like you are a complete loser, and not a real Notre Dame fan?

Why do teams in conferences have a goal of winning the conference championship. Shouldn't the goal be NC's?

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its fans like you that perpetuate the mediocrity at Notre Dame.

ND is the big bad wolf of college football ... when did it become acceptable to be the perpetual underdog/Cinderella program of college football ?

Why does it seem like you are a complete loser, and not a real Notre Dame fan?

Why do teams in conferences have a goal of winning the conference championship. Shouldn't the goal be NC's?

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“A blessing.”

LMAO.

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savvyandsassier said:

I know. He''s gotta be a finalist, or at least a semi-finalist for whatever they call that, the asst. coach of the year. Our defense is dominant, in spite of being injury riddled, and we're banging on the door heading into the post season. Apparently we pay top dollar now for coordinators, so I don't know how much higher we can go, but we definitely got to hold on to him if we can for a few more seasons. If he does want to HC again, you'd think he's going to get another shot. Because we're fixing to go on a run, and maybe win ND's next championship in the coming seasons, no joke. IMO, that's how good things are going right now. So we gotta lock Denbrock and Golden up!

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Agree.

I wonder if Golden even wants a HC job? He'll be 56 by the start of next season. He's clearly found his niche and is making great money at ND. Like you said- they've got a real shot to win a title. Could Golden go somewhere else and win a title, as HC? I'd probably doubt it. He could coach D here for 5 more years, win a TON of games, make a bunch of money, then sail off into the sunset after having a helluva career in football and at ND. He'd forever be revered by the ND football family and fanbase.

That's pure speculation on my part. I have no idea what Al wants his future to be. Maybe he's chomping at the bit for an HC job.

But as long as they keep paying him....he's got it pretty damn good here.

savvyandsassier said:

I will say, they didn't seem very good when we played them. They looked liked they sucked, like a middle of the pack MAC team. MAC teams are sometimes really good, and you can tell when they are, and NIU definitely wasn't that.

The way the season has gone, I feel like the NIU loss is irrelevant. It's a blemish, but it doesn't make us seem like we suck, on account of how we've pretty much rolled everyone else. Louisville being the only team to sort of give us a game. So it comes off like a fluke. And it's definitely way better that we beat A&M and proved ourselves, and had a stupid, random loss to NIU, than the other way around. A high value win being way more useful than avoiding a 'bad loss'.

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I agree.

Awful loss. Shitty day. Shitty weekend.

But when it all boils down, Freeman and co handled business and got to a place where they really control their own destiny. The NIU loss, like you said- was a fluke.

Beat Army. Beat USC. We'll secure a nice seed and home playoff game.

What this team was able to do after that NIU loss......is pretty remarkable.

We'll likely end up a 6 or 7 seed. Would've maybe been that, if we beat NIU.

The NIU loss turned out to be a blessing. It refocused the team, refocused the staff. You gotta bring it every damn week.

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mbd11 said:

Well, good to see we moved up and would be hosting a game. But the opponent is not the one we probably would prefer, as Bama's still one of the most talented teams out there. Things will continue to change in the rankings, though.

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Bama is #4 in F+ and a tier 1 team and would be an easy favorite vs ND.

These CFP rankings arent giving enough credit to opponent quality and way overvaluing the W-L record.

There's going to be a lot of playoff quality teams (clear top 12 teams in the country) that don't make the playoff or really good tier 1 teams playing other tier 1 teams in the early rounds and knocking each other out, and you're going to get crap teams (by sheer luck) getting a way easier path to later rounds in the playoff than they should.

All of this waters down the product and erodes the confidence/quality/integrity of the playoff.

Who do coaches go for 2 down 8 with 11:00 left?