Going Forward...

[57Patrick]

What we now know is that the Irish can beat the teams they should beat and by the margins we expect/hope.

They can beat good solid football teams (MSU just MI on the road for a quality win).

They are competitive against supposedly the best (top ten) in the country (GA).

At 5-1, if they basically split the rest of the season, they will be where many thought they might end up 8-4. Games they Irish should win - Navy (great disparity in talent), Wake Forest (Same), NS St. (The Wolfpack is playing great having beaten Louisville and FSU, but do you really believe they line up and are as talented as the Irish? I don't).

Stanford is a road game, but their academic restrictions on recruiting are as tough if not more stringent than ND. Does that make this game a toss up?

That leaves USC and Miami. They are both talented, and with USC one could argue they have more talent, and Miami is on the road.

Of course we all want to go 11-1 regular season. However, if you agree with my overall premise regarding talent, would you be satisfied and maybe even happy with 9-3, or 10-2 this year given it is the first year in the system for the O and D coordinators?

 

[IrishInOntario]

What we now know is that the Irish can beat the teams they should beat and by the margins we expect/hope.

They can beat good solid football teams (MSU just MI on the road for a quality win).

They are competitive against supposedly the best (top ten) in the country (GA).

At 5-1, if they basically split the rest of the season, they will be where many thought they might end up 8-4. Games they Irish should win - Navy (great disparity in talent), Wake Forest (Same), NS St. (The Wolfpack is playing great having beaten Louisville and FSU, but do you really believe they line up and are as talented as the Irish? I don't).

Stanford is a road game, but their academic restrictions on recruiting are as tough if not more stringent than ND. Does that make this game a toss up?

That leaves USC and Miami. They are both talented, and with USC one could argue they have more talent, and Miami is on the road.

Of course we all want to go 11-1 regular season. However, if you agree with my overall premise regarding talent, would you be satisfied and maybe even happy with 9-3, or 10-2 this year given it is the first year in the system for the O and D coordinators?

Ryan Finley is a better quarterback, at this moment, than anyone ND can field. Also, NC State, led by Bradley Chubb, has a better defensive line than Georgia and a similar secondary. They don't have Georgia's silly good linebacking core led by Roquan Smith, but the Wolfpack linebackers are still really solid... That team will absolutely give ND all they can handle and then some. Samuels is an elite player as well, IMO.

 

[iwish]

Well this is absolutely correct in that it reinforces all of the pre-season conversations and predictions. 8-4 would be a bit disappointing because it means we weren’t able to pull off one or two of those tougher games. 9-3 or better, with the Irish being competitive and continuing to play with great heart, would be ok to me. As I’ve stated before, I truly believe we are progressing towards a special 2018.

I think the Irish will be favored (as of today) in all of the games except the road games vs Miami and Stanford. The N.C. State game scares me the most because of their D. A win vs USC would make things very interesting for sure.

 

[Telx1]

To the OP question, yes...I’ll be happy with a 9-3 or 10-2 finish. Like everyone else here, I’ll be a lot happier with an 11-1 finish. What makes the rest of this season so damn interesting, is that this team will be the underdog in half these remaining games, but these are each winnable as well.

 

[Irish Grandeur]

9-3 would be a good turn-around season for ND. However, I really do not see 2 more losses for this team. The two that should give ND real problems are SC and NCST. I like ND against SC and think ND's run game will come into play for the win. NCST should be a win if ND's defense plays a staunch game.

 

[NIN Irish]

To the OP question, yes...I’ll be happy with a 9-3 or 10-2 finish. Like everyone else here, I’ll be a lot happier with an 11-1 finish. What makes the rest of this season so damn interesting, is that this team will be the underdog in half these remaining games, but these are each winnable as well.

Right now, they would only be slight underdogs to Miami and Stanford. 2/6 of the remaining games, all very winnable indeed. Take care of USC and the rest is right there to fall into place.

 

[justified1]

What we now know is that the Irish can beat the teams they should beat and by the margins we expect/hope.

They can beat good solid football teams (MSU just MI on the road for a quality win).

They are competitive against supposedly the best (top ten) in the country (GA).

At 5-1, if they basically split the rest of the season, they will be where many thought they might end up 8-4. Games they Irish should win - Navy (great disparity in talent), Wake Forest (Same), NS St. (The Wolfpack is playing great having beaten Louisville and FSU, but do you really believe they line up and are as talented as the Irish? I don't).

Stanford is a road game, but their academic restrictions on recruiting are as tough if not more stringent than ND. Does that make this game a toss up?

That leaves USC and Miami. They are both talented, and with USC one could argue they have more talent, and Miami is on the road.

Of course we all want to go 11-1 regular season. However, if you agree with my overall premise regarding talent, would you be satisfied and maybe even happy with 9-3, or 10-2 this year given it is the first year in the system for the O and D coordinators?

ND beat UGA at home and UGA started a true Fr. QB. making a 1st start. UGA also needed a few games for their OL to develop. It is a very talented group. Don’t hang your hat on a 1 point LOSS.

A loss to either SU or USC would be very disappointing. Both teams are a mess.

Miami is a very tough team. The QB is a gamer.

UM and MSU are mediocre teams who have the same issue: QB. I watched that game the QB play was just off the charts bad.

 

[Telx1]

Per AP ranking out today, five of our six upcoming opponents are ranked in top 25, and seven on the season overall. SOS in constant flux, but looks pretty strong as of today.

 

[faviles15]

I think ABC showed the FPI percentage for the remaining games and the Irish are dogs to Miami and Stanford at this point. The boys have a tough road ahead of them and again we would all love an 11-1 finish but I'm not living with that expectation at this point. Let's get past SC and keep improving.

 

[iwish]

ND beat UGA at home and UGA started a true Fr. QB. making a 1st start. UGA also needed a few games for their OL to develop. It is a very talented group. Don’t hang your hat on a 1 point LOSS.

A loss to either SU or USC would be very disappointing. Both teams are a mess.

Miami is a very tough team. The QB is a gamer.

UM and MSU are mediocre teams who have the same issue: QB. I watched that game the QB play was just off the charts bad.

And who did the Irish play at QB? A young man making his second start. And USC and Stanford are hardly “a mess.” MSU is a mediocre team? They are 4-1 as is UM who was ranked top 10.

It’s fine if you want to be a pessimist - obviously your opinion and choice as a fan. And I agree we wil know more about the team after the USC game. But you seem to be a little overly harsh on the team’s record to date.

 

[justified1]

Not at all. I follow SC pretty closely. Mess is an apt status at this time.
SU has the same problem now as game 1. QB.
What is impressive about ND is how Balis has transformed the players conditioning. He has turned the negative into a positive.

Miami or Navy are the games that look like the toughest games remaing.

 

[Bodizephax]

What we now know is that the Irish can beat the teams they should beat and by the margins we expect/hope.

They can beat good solid football teams (MSU just MI on the road for a quality win).

They are competitive against supposedly the best (top ten) in the country (GA).

At 5-1, if they basically split the rest of the season, they will be where many thought they might end up 8-4. Games they Irish should win - Navy (great disparity in talent), Wake Forest (Same), NS St. (The Wolfpack is playing great having beaten Louisville and FSU, but do you really believe they line up and are as talented as the Irish? I don't).

Stanford is a road game, but their academic restrictions on recruiting are as tough if not more stringent than ND. Does that make this game a toss up?

That leaves USC and Miami. They are both talented, and with USC one could argue they have more talent, and Miami is on the road.

Of course we all want to go 11-1 regular season. However, if you agree with my overall premise regarding talent, would you be satisfied and maybe even happy with 9-3, or 10-2 this year given it is the first year in the system for the O and D coordinators?

No !! 10 and 2 or 9 and 3 would suck !! We always have new coaches or new facilities !! There is no tomorrow !!
The 2017 Irish have great talent and great chemistry !! Now is our chance to win a Championship !! Brian Kelly has been with us seven years and has all the pieces in place today !!
There is no one left on Notre Dames schedule that I fear ! And once we make the playoffs I believe the Irish could knock off a team like Clemson or Washington. And Alabama proved they are only human yesterday !!
We will be well rested and healthy going into the USC game and should beat them easily !! And then all of the Irish fans should be on board for a playoff run !!
And I am not putting down anyone who would be happy with 10 and 2 or 9 and 3. I do not mean to put anyone down for their opinions on Irish football when it comes to record predictions.
Go Irish !!
Get healthy !!
Destroy the Trojans !! Show the World !!

 

[mbd11]

We'll find out how good our pass defense really is vs USC. Because we haven't faced a passing attack like that yet.

 

[justified1]

They (SC) are very talented at the skill spots but in total disarray. The OL has been decimated by injury and Tee Martin’s game plans are bad to the point of worse than BVG’s game plans.

Even Super Sam is questioning matters.

 

[Telx1]

No !! 10 and 2 or 9 and 3 would suck !! We always have new coaches or new facilities !! There is no tomorrow !!
The 2017 Irish have great talent and great chemistry !! Now is our chance to win a Championship !! Brian Kelly has been with us seven years and has all the pieces in place today !!
There is no one left on Notre Dames schedule that I fear ! And once we make the playoffs I believe the Irish could knock off a team like Clemson or Washington. And Alabama proved they are only human yesterday !!
We will be well rested and healthy going into the USC game and should beat them easily !! And then all of the Irish fans should be on board for a playoff run !!
And I am not putting down anyone who would be happy with 10 and 2 or 9 and 3. I do not mean to put anyone down for their opinions on Irish football when it comes to record predictions.
Go Irish !!
Get healthy !!
Destroy the Trojans !! Show the World !!

Bodi...this is in fact a great year for the Irish to make a run at the NC. MSU beating UM last night was important for us, and we need to beat the PAC champ as well. That said, we have a hell of a gauntlet to run to get into consideration for the playoffs, and we need to improve in several areas, all of which have been talked about on this board. Our defensive backs need to continue to improve. I think it was IIO correctly describing how Love plays great with his man in front, but gets burned regularly by speed guys running deep. We need him and the safeties to get better against speed receivers or a team like USC or Miami will burn us. Our passing game has to improve. Wimbush needs to find his open receivers sooner and pull the trigger quicker; St Brown needs to get his head into the game and be the elite receiver we all expected; Stepherson needs to be a serious long ball threat that Wimbush connects with; and Mack and Claypool need to take their games to the next level. All possible!

 

[Pennick44]

ND beat UGA at home and UGA started a true Fr. QB. making a 1st start. UGA also needed a few games for their OL to develop. It is a very talented group. Don’t hang your hat on a 1 point LOSS.

A loss to either SU or USC would be very disappointing. Both teams are a mess.

Miami is a very tough team. The QB is a gamer.

UM and MSU are mediocre teams who have the same issue: QB. I watched that game the QB play was just off the charts bad.

What are you talking about? Post less and read more.

 

[Bodizephax]

Bodi...this is in fact a great year for the Irish to make a run at the NC. MSU beating UM last night was important for us, and we need to beat the PAC champ as well. That said, we have a hell of a gauntlet to run to get into consideration for the playoffs, and we need to improve in several areas, all of which have been talked about on this board. Our defensive backs need to continue to improve. I think it was IIO correctly describing how Love plays great with his man in front, but gets burned regularly by speed guys running deep. We need him and the safeties to get better against speed receivers or a team like USC or Miami will burn us. Our passing game has to improve. Wimbush needs to find his open receivers sooner and pull the trigger quicker; St Brown needs to get his head into the game and be the elite receiver we all expected; Stepherson needs to be a serious long ball threat that Wimbush connects with; and Mack and Claypool need to take their games to the next level. All possible!

Telx I enjoy your posts--you are the Master of Analysis!!.
But I like to keep it simple myself. Navy, Wake Forest ,USC,Miami ,NC State are all good teams but not exactly murderers row. They are just good enough to give the Irish some points to the playoff committee as we beat them each and every week.
Wimbush is a 5 star threat at QB--- He gets the Irish in the End zone. We would have scored 60 against North Carolina if he played this Saturday. None of the great teams like Alabama and Clemson are throwing the ball much this year. The running game is the key and the Irish have a GREAT running attack.
I agree Wimbush needs to keep improving in the passing game to keep the offense moving to beat the top teams.
It will happen---the Irish fans just need to be patient---Brian Kelly will have Wimbush and the receivers in sync against USC (We just need about 150 yards passing with no turnovers)
I was wrong about Georgia not having a good team but I still think the Irish got too conservative at the end and should have beat them.
And every cornerback gets beaten sometimes. There are hardly any shutdown corners.
Elko will have his secondary allighned to stop USC's receivers. But I doubt Darnold will have much time to throw.

 

[mbd11]

They (SC) are very talented at the skill spots but in total disarray. The OL has been decimated by injury and Tee Martin’s game plans are bad to the point of worse than BVG’s game plans.

Even Super Sam is questioning matters.

And yet they're 5-1, and ranked higher than us.

 

[Bodizephax]

And yet they're 5-1, and ranked higher than us.

So? Rankings mean nothing at this point. USC sucks--they should have lost to Texas.

 

[HRC08]

Right now, they would only be slight underdogs to Miami and Stanford. 2/6 of the remaining games, all very winnable indeed. Take care of USC and the rest is right there to fall into place.

It's really the key game, isn't it? It would be an atonement of sorts for Georgia, affirmation that this is indeed a completely different culture and set of "players" than 2016. It would be a huge momentum boost and likely ND's biggest one week jump in the AP Poll.

 

[SiberianKnightmare]

Miami is overrated. They'll lose before we even get to them. Stanford is one dimensional. No one dimensional team is beating this ND team. SC is more of a threat than either of them.

 

[justified1]

Looks like SC is losing another player to serious injury.

 

[Telx1]

Telx I enjoy your posts--you are the Master of Analysis!!.
But I like to keep it simple myself. Navy, Wake Forest ,USC,Miami ,NC State are all good teams but not exactly murderers row. They are just good enough to give the Irish some points to the playoff committee as we beat them each and every week.
Wimbush is a 5 star threat at QB--- He gets the Irish in the End zone. We would have scored 60 against North Carolina if he played this Saturday. None of the great teams like Alabama and Clemson are throwing the ball much this year. The running game is the key and the Irish have a GREAT running attack.
I agree Wimbush needs to keep improving in the passing game to keep the offense moving to beat the top teams.
It will happen---the Irish fans just need to be patient---Brian Kelly will have Wimbush and the receivers in sync against USC (We just need about 150 yards passing with no turnovers)
I was wrong about Georgia not having a good team but I still think the Irish got too conservative at the end and should have beat them.
And every cornerback gets beaten sometimes. There are hardly any shutdown corners.
Elko will have his secondary allighned to stop USC's receivers. But I doubt Darnold will have much time to throw.

Well, if I’m a master there are a few Doctors of analysis posting here. While I think the teams ahead of us are dangerous as hell, I agree they are beatable. However, I don’t think we run the table without improvement in our passing game, and in defending the pass. I think this bye week is perfectly timed for Kelly and staff to work on these, and I’ll be surprised if we don’t see significant improvement in both. I agree, we don’t need Wimbush to pass for huge yardage, but we do need him to be able to move the sticks in the air when we have third and long (8-12 yds), and we need the receivers to get separation and make catches. I am anxious to see Wimbush hit Stepherson with a long bomb TD, as I think he is more comfortable and accurate with long throws where he plants his feet and lets her rip. As good as this team has played, there are definite areas where players have the ability to take their game to the next level. If that happens, Nostradamus Bodi will be dancing on the bayou.

 

[tbonesays]

Miami is overrated. They'll lose before we even get to them. Stanford is one dimensional. No one dimensional team is beating this ND team. SC is more of a threat than either of them.

Our road games in FL are historically miserable so I worry about that game a lot more than the Wolfies at home.

To answer the OP, this looks like a good Irish team, not a great one. We've played a medium schedule that is about to become a tough one. So finishing with 10 wins AND maintaining that progress in 2018 is what I'd define as successful (BK retained, if he wants to stay).

 

[88ND]

What we now know is that the Irish can beat the teams they should beat and by the margins we expect/hope.

They can beat good solid football teams (MSU just MI on the road for a quality win).

They are competitive against supposedly the best (top ten) in the country (GA).

At 5-1, if they basically split the rest of the season, they will be where many thought they might end up 8-4. Games they Irish should win - Navy (great disparity in talent), Wake Forest (Same), NS St. (The Wolfpack is playing great having beaten Louisville and FSU, but do you really believe they line up and are as talented as the Irish? I don't).

Stanford is a road game, but their academic restrictions on recruiting are as tough if not more stringent than ND. Does that make this game a toss up?

That leaves USC and Miami. They are both talented, and with USC one could argue they have more talent, and Miami is on the road.

Of course we all want to go 11-1 regular season. However, if you agree with my overall premise regarding talent, would you be satisfied and maybe even happy with 9-3, or 10-2 this year given it is the first year in the system for the O and D coordinators?

I'm just elated that we're playing respectable football again. The defense is the real glaring change from BVG who had players confused, fundamentally unsound to say the least...i could go on ages about that. They were the worst tackling team I've ever seen from a Notre Dame team. It was absurd.

So just that turnaround alone to a decent respectable defense has me happy. I was more concerned about just playing good football than the record. Good hard nosed football will take care of the wins. And so far we've shown a complete 180 on defense from that debacle we had to endure the last few years.

 

[mbd11]

So? Rankings mean nothing at this point. USC sucks--they should have lost to Texas.

I know rankings are mostly meaningless at this point. But he was making USC out to be terrible. When in reality, they're a 3-point road loss at WSU from being undefeated. And anyways, we want them highly ranked when they come to play us.

 

[NIN Irish]

It's really the key game, isn't it? It would be an atonement of sorts for Georgia, affirmation that this is indeed a completely different culture and set of "players" than 2016. It would be a huge momentum boost and likely ND's biggest one week jump in the AP Poll.

Yes.
Beat USC and there can be some forgiveness for the Georgia game, with a great season in sight. Lose and the 8-4 predictors are likely right, as if that's a successful season, but it will seem like season one under Kelly.

It's all on the line vs SC. Must win.

 

[88ND]

Yes.
Beat USC and there can be some forgiveness for the Georgia game, with a great season in sight. Lose and the 8-4 predictors are likely right, as if that's a successful season, but it will seem like season one under Kelly.

It's all on the line vs SC. Must win.

I think you're right and honestly this USC game could be the end or extended stay for BK.
At some point he has to win some big games.

So far he has not made any huge retarded decisions. Year is far from over and many upon big moments ahead.

Will this 17 version of BK be the one who calls timeouts because he's not sure to go for it or not ultimately taking a timeout to punt.

Will he go for two in the most bizarre scenarios...

These moments have yet to present themselves but make no mistake they're coming.

What will he do.

 

[rivals50]

What we now know is that the Irish can beat the teams they should beat and by the margins we expect/hope.

They can beat good solid football teams (MSU just MI on the road for a quality win).

They are competitive against supposedly the best (top ten) in the country (GA).

At 5-1, if they basically split the rest of the season, they will be where many thought they might end up 8-4. Games they Irish should win - Navy (great disparity in talent), Wake Forest (Same), NS St. (The Wolfpack is playing great having beaten Louisville and FSU, but do you really believe they line up and are as talented as the Irish? I don't).

Stanford is a road game, but their academic restrictions on recruiting are as tough if not more stringent than ND. Does that make this game a toss up?

That leaves USC and Miami. They are both talented, and with USC one could argue they have more talent, and Miami is on the road.

Of course we all want to go 11-1 regular season. However, if you agree with my overall premise regarding talent, would you be satisfied and maybe even happy with 9-3, or 10-2 this year given it is the first year in the system for the O and D coordinators?

so you want from 8-4 to
9-3 and 10-2

Which one is it.. big difference in going 8-4 and 10-2

 

[HRC08]

Yes.
Beat USC and there can be some forgiveness for the Georgia game, with a great season in sight. Lose and the 8-4 predictors are likely right, as if that's a successful season, but it will seem like season one under Kelly.

It's all on the line vs SC. Must win.

I agree... 100%. On the road at MSU was a good win but I don't place MSU in USC's league. I know i know Dantonio's won 11 games blah blah but even then ND more then handled their own against Sparty.

USC's a must win. Like you said, a loss and ND's likely stairing 8-4 directly in the face.

 

[justified1]

I'm just elated that we're playing respectable football again. The defense is the real glaring change from BVG who had players confused, fundamentally unsound to say the least...i could go on ages about that. They were the worst tackling team I've ever seen from a Notre Dame team. It was absurd.

So just that turnaround alone to a decent respectable defense has me happy. I was more concerned about just playing good football than the record. Good hard nosed football will take care of the wins. And so far we've shown a complete 180 on defense from that debacle we had to endure the last few years.

Apparently, prior to Balis, what we did not know was how poorly conditioned the players were for playing football. That is not on BVG and probably affected the performance of his defenses. We will never know to what effect that may have been so. Balis is a big and upgrade over Longo as Elko is over BVG.

 

[tbonesays]

I agree... 100%. On the road at MSU was a good win but I don't place MSU in USC's league. I know i know Dantonio's won 11 games blah blah but even then ND more then handled their own against Sparty.

USC's a must win. Like you said, a loss and ND's likely stairing 8-4 directly in the face.

I can't quite understand why Dantonio tries to power right at teams that have bigger better athletes. I also can't understand why it works sometime against the Big2 in his conference. Regardless, there is no correlation between the any given year's Sparty and Trojans games. They are usually dissimilar.

 

[HRC08]

I can't quite understand why Dantonio tries to power right at teams that have bigger better athletes. I also can't understand why it works sometime against the Big2 in his conference. Regardless, there is no correlation between the any given year's Sparty and Trojans games. They are usually dissimilar.

Lou used to pound it for Quarter after Quarter to no avail and then end of the 3rd BOOM! And then the Irish would have their way the rest of the game. Sometimes you have to break a man before you can move him in where you want without him being able to stop it.

On USC... let's just say I consider them a (historically) top top program and don't look at Sparty as being quite on that level. Even when they won 11 games, I considered that more luck and schedule/catching teams at the right time of the year (injuries, etc) then I did coaching or elite players.

 

[gautrp]

Well this is absolutely correct in that it reinforces all of the pre-season conversations and predictions. 8-4 would be a bit disappointing because it means we weren’t able to pull off one or two of those tougher games. 9-3 or better, with the Irish being competitive and continuing to play with great heart, would be ok to me. As I’ve stated before, I truly believe we are progressing towards a special 2018.

I think the Irish will be favored (as of today) in all of the games except the road games vs Miami and Stanford. The N.C. State game scares me the most because of their D. A win vs USC would make things very interesting for sure.

As of today, USC is a 3 pt. favorite, but of course there is still USC's game this weekend.