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ND to play Central Michigan in 2023

No, they don't do it for me. And I am well aware that other schools do the same.
But we all need to keep one thing in mind. When the distinguished committee picks the playoff teams, almost every other school being considered will have played 13 games. ND will only have played 12 games. So it behooves ND to play better competition.

It beehives the Irish to play a cupcake or two, as Alabama does, to give the backups more playing time to add more quality depth and esprit de corps amongst all the players not just the starters. And Ball State nearly beat us in 2018 (we won 24 to 16 after barely recovering a onside kick). So the MAC deserves alot more respect than you are giving them.

*** And it is the biggest myth that the Irish need to add a 13th game to help them get a shot at the playoffs. The Irish get preferential treatment by the playoff committee. Ask anyone outside of Irish fandom. 2018 and 2020 Irish in playoffs. Did that 8 point win over Ball State at home alter the distinguished committee members minds against us? The answer is no.
 
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It beehives the Irish to play a cupcake or two, as Alabama does, to give the backups more playing time to add more quality depth and esprit de corps amongst all the players not just the starters. And Ball State nearly beat us in 2018 (we won 24 to 16 after barely recovering a onside kick). So the MAC deserves alot more respect than you are giving them.

*** And it is the biggest myth that the Irish need to add a 13th game to help them get a shot at the playoffs. The Irish get preferential treatment by the playoff committee. Ask anyone outside of Irish fandom. 2018 and 2020 Irish in playoffs. Did that 8 point win over Ball State at home alter the distinguished committee members minds against us? The answer is no.
As a diehard ND fan, I hate cupcake games. I tend to get anxious when the so-called cupcake shows up and moves the ball or stops us on our first series or two. This angst is usually eliminated by the second quarter where our superior players start to dominate. But then every once in awhile you have the Ball State experience where we never assert ourselves and squeak out a victory that feels like a loss. I just see little upside in playing the likes of Central Michigan and lots of downside...a crushing victory is ignored as to be expected, a close win is an alarming net negative, and a loss is season ending for any playoff aspiration. That said, there Needs to be balance in our scheduling as you can’t play against elite talent every week without wearing down physically and mentally.
 
Yes, that's exactly what I am saying. Their winning percentage is "relative to their competition", not ours. Thus their winning percentage, just like CMU's winning percentage, which is where this discussion began, is meaningless relative to assessing whether they belong on our schedule.

That doesn't make any logical sense. That's just you wanting to belittle Grand Valley St. for some reason. Never quite understood that urge among hardcore superfans, but you guys really cherish bowing in obeisance to the alpha dogs. I guess that's actually pretty standard meathead mentality. And of course, another chance to hate on BK!

You can think of it like this if your brain is struggling with it. Think of BK as the Nick Saban of D-2!. That way you can kind of understand the principle more, and you get to look down on our three-time national coach of the year in the same swoop. That should suit you well enough.
 
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As a diehard ND fan, I hate cupcake games. I tend to get anxious when the so-called cupcake shows up and moves the ball or stops us on our first series or two. This angst is usually eliminated by the second quarter where our superior players start to dominate. But then every once in awhile you have the Ball State experience where we never assert ourselves and squeak out a victory that feels like a loss. I just see little upside in playing the likes of Central Michigan and lots of downside...a crushing victory is ignored as to be expected, a close win is an alarming net negative, and a loss is season ending for any playoff aspiration. That said, there Needs to be balance in our scheduling as you can’t play against elite talent every week without wearing down physically and mentally.


Yaah--you and the OP have decent points on that

But Read my whole post. The main point of my post was the rebuttal of the OP that posted that it behooves the Irish to play tougher competition because the distinguished committee would hold it against the Irish for playing weak competition for consideration for the playoffs. And he brought up the 13th data point that would hurt the Irish.
The Irish played Ball State and only played 12 games and the distinguished committee still picked them for the playoffs. Am I wrong ?
The OP is just spreading the myth of the committee needing the Irish to have that 13th game.
Reality is---Is that the playoff committee favors the Irish over other teams.

*** Most college football fans outside of the Notre Dame fandom bubble believe that the Irish get preferential treatment. They are right. We do. And I am glad they do. I love the Irish !!!

*** The OP frequently tells other posters to go root for another team when he disagrees with their assessment of the ND coaching staff or leadership. I don't see any posters telling him to root for another team when he disagrees with the way the Irish (Brian Kelly and Swarbrick) are scheduling CMU.
 
Yaah--you and the OP have decent points on that

But Read my whole post. The main point of my post was the rebuttal of the OP that posted that it behooves the Irish to play tougher competition because the distinguished committee would hold it against the Irish for playing weak competition for consideration for the playoffs. And he brought up the 13th data point that would hurt the Irish.
The Irish played Ball State and only played 12 games and the distinguished committee still picked them for the playoffs. Am I wrong ?
The OP is just spreading the myth of the committee needing the Irish to have that 13th game.
Reality is---Is that the playoff committee favors the Irish over other teams.

*** Most college football fans outside of the Notre Dame fandom bubble believe that the Irish get preferential treatment. They are right. We do. And I am glad they do. I love the Irish !!!

*** The OP frequently tells other posters to go root for another team when he disagrees with their assessment of the ND coaching staff or leadership. I don't see any posters telling him to root for another team when he disagrees with the way the Irish (Brian Kelly and Swarbrick) are scheduling CMU.
Yes, I’m in total agreement as to the whether we need to play a 13th game! There may come a time when the committee annually picks the winner of four of the five power five conferences based on their conference championship games, but that will lead to either expansion to eight playoff teams, or ND joining the ACC in total. Right now, we have been treated fairly as an independent by the playoff selection committee, and we certainly don’t need a 13th game.
 
As a diehard ND fan, I hate cupcake games. I tend to get anxious when the so-called cupcake shows up and moves the ball or stops us on our first series or two. This angst is usually eliminated by the second quarter where our superior players start to dominate. But then every once in awhile you have the Ball State experience where we never assert ourselves and squeak out a victory that feels like a loss. I just see little upside in playing the likes of Central Michigan and lots of downside...a crushing victory is ignored as to be expected, a close win is an alarming net negative, and a loss is season ending for any playoff aspiration. That said, there Needs to be balance in our scheduling as you can’t play against elite talent every week without wearing down physically and mentally.

That Ball State game reminds me of the 2008 San Diego State game. No need to schedule teams like that.
 
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I just want to add that I sympathize and agree wholeheartedly with fans that hate games like CMU. They're boring, they suck, etc. I totally get that and agree. But my mentality has evolved a bit, now that we've become an annual playoff contender. And I want that playoff! So I'll put up with a few cupcakes each year.

And so of course the consequence of that, naturally, is if refuse to schedule any cupcakes, and insist on nothing but at least respectable P5 opponents all 12 games, I think you can count out any particular expectation of making the playoff.

So pick your poison!
 
Yes, that's exactly what I am saying. Their winning percentage is "relative to their competition", not ours. Thus their winning percentage, just like CMU's winning percentage, which is where this discussion began, is meaningless relative to assessing whether they belong on our schedule.
What does the word "meaningless" mean to you?
 
That doesn't make any logical sense. That's just you wanting to belittle Grand Valley St. for some reason. Never quite understood that urge among hardcore superfans, but you guys really cherish bowing in obeisance to the alpha dogs. I guess that's actually pretty standard meathead mentality. And of course, another chance to hate on BK!

You can think of it like this if your brain is struggling with it. Think of BK as the Nick Saban of D-2!. That way you can kind of understand the principle more, and you get to look down on our three-time national coach of the year in the same swoop. That should suit you well enough.
It’s perfectly logical, actually. Your inability to recognize the logical is not my problem.
 
What does the word "meaningless" mean to you?
I realize the meaning of words ebbs and flows with the readers’ and/or author’s emotional state nowadays, but in this case, the meaning comes straight from the dictionary. There are many on the Internet for your reference.
 
I realize the meaning of words ebbs and flows with the readers’ and/or author’s emotional state nowadays, but in this case, the meaning comes straight from the dictionary. There are many on the Internet for your reference.

Well then you have stone walls around your sense of meaning. A team that consistently finishes in the top half of the MAC is a lot harder than one that finishes at the bottom. It sounds like you prefer the power ranking. Well it still means CMU would destroy New Mexico State, Mercer, and the Citadel, just like Bama.
 
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