Irish_inPSU said:

Living in State College and working at the Unversity, I can tell you that the current talk and the feeling I get is that PSU is not taking ND quite as seriously as they probably should. They talk about SOS and also that UGA didn't have their starting QB. I don't agree with that sentiment of course, just saying what the current buzz is concerning this matchup.

At least the fanbase isn't. Most expect a PSU win and many are saying a convincing win. I hope our boys take PSU to the woodshed tbh. Maybe its because I live here, but this fanbase is super annoying and obnoxious.

Click to expand...

LMFAO.

"...current talk...."

"..they..."

"...current buzz..."

Where do people come up with this bullshit.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

IMO it wouldn’t be shocking if Christian gray is the reason we win comfortably or lose a tight game…. If I’m psu, If I’m not comfortable winning with regular offense (not that they have one) I target him downfield a lot … with that said, Penn state doesn’t have the wrs Georgia, Indiana or usc had

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

Conference affiliations are quickly becoming all about television money and less about historical or geographic rivalries. Why are USC and UCLA in a conference that has historically been a collection of Midwest/rust belt schools? Crazier still, why is Stanford in the ATLANTIC Coast Conference when you can literally see the Pacific Ocean from parts of its campus? All this coast to coast travel cannot be good for the athletes when they are expected to juggle school along with the sport they are playing, especially for sports like basketball and baseball where teams are playing many more games over the course of a season. It is insane.

tkirish said:

Using his logic about everyone should be in a conference. I guess he means it’s unfair to make the playoff if you’re independent or something. Well does he think everyone should have access to equal amounts of NIL money ? Does he think no one should schedule FCS teams ? Does he believe a 12 game schedule should be the same for everyone, 6 home and 6 away ? Some have 7 home and 5 away. Is that fair ? What about academics ? Do all players require going to class and having basic core subjects to pass ? You get the point. Cherry picking what he thinks is unfair is actually unfair for him to say. If you want a level playing field and conformity then all teams in the FBS have to play by the same rules. Heck Penn state and players have their own dorms. ND players room with everyday students. I love ND being independent. They truly play a national schedule. That is awesome

Click to expand...

Tremendous post. Cry some more Franklin.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

I will say, it is one thing to be resentful, and let it bother you about ND's independence, heck it bothers me sometimes. That's probably all it is. People take it as being stuck up, otherwise they don't really care. But of all the blue blood programs that don't have advantages, that are somehow inherent to their own existence or whatnot, ND would be one of them, just because of their strict academic requirements. That's a disadvantage to trying to win a championship. ND could renounce those standards any time they want, but they clearly are committed to it. As well as the fact that ND cannot qualify for an automatic bid. Another disadvantage.

But, having said all that, why should any of these other schools whatever their gripe is, care about the continuance of ND's independence? That's ND's cross to bear. I just think being in a conference is great, and there's a community to it, and it's fun, and you develop rivalries, and take a greater interest in those various rivals and you play for a conf championship and all that. Conferences are awesome!

tbonesays said:

Are we wrong? Two things have to go correctly when you throw short of the sticks.

I'm nervous about the level of confidence among the ND fans. We won't be playing IU 3 stars or a backup qb+OT tomorrow.

Click to expand...

Not at all. I was just pointing out that it's a very common complaint, probably because it's true with almost every team.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

Using his logic about everyone should be in a conference. I guess he means it’s unfair to make the playoff if you’re independent or something. Well does he think everyone should have access to equal amounts of NIL money ? Does he think no one should schedule FCS teams ? Does he believe a 12 game schedule should be the same for everyone, 6 home and 6 away ? Some have 7 home and 5 away. Is that fair ? What about academics ? Do all players require going to class and having basic core subjects to pass ? You get the point. Cherry picking what he thinks is unfair is actually unfair for him to say. If you want a level playing field and conformity then all teams in the FBS have to play by the same rules. Heck Penn state and players have their own dorms. ND players room with everyday students. I love ND being independent. They truly play a national schedule. That is awesome

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

Drinking The Green Koolaid said:

Of course Marcus would never say that. And neither would Bevacqua or any other official representative of ND, no matter that it is true. I was just channeling my inner Savvy and going off on a riff.

Notre Dame buried the ratchet with UM many years ago, and that is a good thing for college football. I hope we continue to play Michigan for many years. And yes, as Catholics, we should be forgiving of others, no matter how terrible their transgressions.

I only posted what I did because when I listened to Franklin there was this subtle subtext from Franklin that Notre Dame isn't in a conference because it thinks it is too good to belong to one, when in fact there are historical reasons for that independence. I suspect Franklin knows nothing of that history, just as many other critics of ND's independence are ignorant of history.

Click to expand...

Well I"m glad you were just screwing around. Because it's one thing to have become accustomed to being 'independent', and to have a sentimental weakness for it and not want to give it up. At any cost. But the whole Fielding Yost thing, it truly is ancient history. And I was only half kidding myself about the forgiveness part. Speaking of ancient history, remember Fr. Coughlin? I don't think he was associated with ND, but he was catholic, and from the midwest, and apparently pretty bigoted or become that way. I don't really know much about his story. I'm just saying it goes both ways.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

I don't care for the neon colored shoes. Black or white would look much better.

Drinking The Green Koolaid said:

I suppose most ND fans here are aware of this history, but if you want to do a deeper dive, read Murray Sperber's Shake Down the Thunder or John Kyrk's Natural Enemies.

All that said, I suspect the day will come, probably soon, when Notre Dame is going to have to join a conference.

Click to expand...

This is the seminal book on the history of Notre Dame football. For those of you who wish to know more about the beginnings of Notre Dame football, this is a must read.

ND is a small school that doesn't have A lot of program options.

Schools like USC or Michigan have a wide variety of programs so it's easier to find a compatible program that accepts transfer credit .

It's much less about the quality of school they're transferring from.