LolI hadn't taken the time to actually look up the exact numbers in a while which is why I used the squigly line as to say "around 15th" ~15th.
The reason I didn't look up the exact numbers is because the specific numbers are inconsequential to the point of the post. The point of the post was about NDs status quo ad nauseum tier 2 and tier 3 results as a football program over the last 10 years.
But here's how it actually breaks down (below are the average ranking over the last 10 years (2015-2024) using the 247 COMPOSITE):
Last 10 years average:
recruiting class ranking is how well your program is recruiting in general
- Recruiting Class Ranking: 12th
- 85-man roster Talent Ranking: 10th
- Final F+ Ranking: 14th
- Top 50 overall recruits secured per cycle: 0.8 (less than 1 per class)
85-man roster talent ranking is a consolidation of all of the talent on your 85 man roster at the start of the season
final f+ ranking is a measure of how well your team performed on the football field for the season with an adjustment made for opponent quality and for luck
top 50 overall recruits signed is how effectively your program is recruiting the best/most elite/rarest prospects in the country .. the 40+ offer kids who can go anywhere
You take this data (Notre Dame's data) and compare it to the teams that are winning national titles over the last 20+ years, and there's a gap the size of a football stadium between what ND is producing and what a national title winning program is producing. And ND has done very little to materially improve their position in any of these critical metrics over the last 5, 10, 15+ years
These aren't the metrics of a program destined to win a national title, these are the metrics of a team destined to finish somewhere in the area of 10-15th. And in this 2025 cycle, it's more of the same. NDs 2025 class is nearly full and they have 1 commit in the top 50 in the 247 composite (Ivan Taylor).
At this rate, we'll be dead before ND puts together a roster/a program that is good enough to win a national title.
A pivot then another swing and a miss