"Both Stanford and USC have been unusually weak"
What's your take on USC and UCLA possibly joining the B1G?
No excuses for freeman
- Thread starter theskibro
- Start date
What's your take on USC and UCLA possibly joining the B1G?
ONE
Layden lost 3 in his first year; Kuharich, 5; Devine, 3; Faust, 6; Holtz, 6; Davie, 6; Willingham, 3; Weis, 3; Kelly, 5.
Rockne lost 2 of 6 and also had a tie in a Spanish-Flu shortened season. Since a tie counts as both a win and a loss in calculating winning percentages, it’s at least HALF a loss.
Anderson had 2 losses and a tie, i.e. between 2 and 3 losses as well. Same with Devore in interim stint number one.
Other than McKeever who lost 2 as ND’s first interim replacement during the war, the only first-year ND coaches to not lose either 3 games or 2 plus a tie are Harper, Leahy, Brennan and Ara. Among the four of them, there were only 2 losses and 2 ties.
TWO
ND’s Strength of Schedule Rankings (based on opponents’ combined season-ended records) for each ND coach in year-one starting with Harper:
Harper – 60th/out of 76
Rockne – 11th/72
Anderson – 3rd/110
Layden – 3rd/124
Leahy – 36th/119
McKeever – 5th/95
Devore – 12th/101
Brennan – 12th/111
Kuharich – 8th/112
Ara – 16th/120
Devine – 48th/137
Faust – 15th/137
Holtz – 9th/105
Davie – 23rd/112
Willingham – 11th/117
Weis – 14th/119
Kelly – 12th/120
THREE
I look at this pretty simply. ND is the racing car; the coach is the driver.
A number of ND driver/coaches inherited either extremely good – or at the very least – well above average cars. Among them were Rockne, Anderson, Leahy, Brennan, Devine, Faust and Davie. Three of them turned out to be HOF coaches with NC statues at ND. The other four WASHED OUT.
Will Marcus Freeman be any good?
To me, it's a COIN FLIP.
Heads or tails?
I would argue that with a first-year, inexperienced coach the chances of losing to a BC, NC or Stanford actually INCREASE.
People often underestimate what it takes to win against "second-tier" opponents in games where either a letdown or surprise performance by the other side can quickly turn a win into a loss. Experienced winning coaches have been there before and know how to traverse both a) those TOUGH MIDDLE ROUNDS and b) FINE-TUNED END GAMES, where play selection, personnel choices and clock management are all MAGNIFIED.
I can't count the number of close winnable games lost by Faust in 81. He simply couldn't coach IN THE CLINCHES.
The second half of the OSU game bore a striking resemblance to a SLOW-MOTION UNFORCED-ERROR. Who knows if and when that will happen again?
Yes, ND has talent. But that’s often been the case. Yet, that talent hasn’t always PRODUCED.
Faust had three NUMBER ONE RANKED RECRUITING CLASSES (1981-1983) and a fourth, 1984, which ND ITSELF ranks as either the school’s all-time 7th or 8th best.
Holtz had FOUR STRAIGHT NUMBER ONES (1987- 1990).
But would anyone ever confuse a Lou Holtz team with a Gerry Faust team?
As much as recruiting matters, it’s going to come down JUST AS MUCH to PREPARATION, CONDITIONING, X’s and O’s, LEADERSHIP and LUCK.
No one gets to MANDATE a 9-3 season or better. It may happen or it may not. Nor do all good or bad seasons augur the same thing.
When Faust opened with 5-6 in 81, we all knew what was coming. It was clear as day it meant trouble. But with Holtz’s starting out 5-6, we sensed that a corner had been turned.
Freeman is either going to get it right or not. And it will take either less time to prove out or more.
In the meantime, I don’t see anyone betting their house or car that ND will go 9-3 or better. At least not anyone LUCID.
People have a lot more COMMON SENSE then they often display when pitching a DESIRED OUTCOME.
We are going and I love it. I grew up in the Midwest and I love the idea of SC competing in a top league. Plus this will give us a huge boast in recruiting. nI think Oregon may come too.
Right now Draft Kings
ND 8.5 wins and USC at 9.5 wins. USC is also a 2.5 favorite over ND.
I know, he is including the bowl games in comparing the seasons. So pencil in another top 10 matchup for ND this post season.
Realistically, you can't compare Faust to anyone. The man was a high school coach with zero college experience prior to taking the ND job. Call it what it is, a complete screw up by the then administration in hiring him.
Freeman has almost a decade of college level experience. I would say he's more qualified for the position then even Weis was. Weis was so far removed from the college level, any previous experience he had really doesn't count. Sure he was an NFL OC, but college football is very different from the NFL.
Ohio State and Alabama where a bit more to handle than Ok. St and Iowa State for BK.
But yes, take the bowl games out and BK's best schedules typically included 2, top 10 caliber teams as his best years. Over his 10 years, rarely did he play more than 1, top 10 team.
No more, no less. Doesnt mean he should win. Doesnt mean he should not get a few years. I just means this baloney that 2022 is infinately harder than any BK year is just that, baloney.
I don't believe anyone was comparing MF to Faust. The topic was SOS. Our 2022 schedule is tough, just more in line with Kelly's toughest years. Lou had some really tough draws. 22 is no cake walk, OSU is as tough a draw as they come. The rest, I'm guessing Only Clemson will be in the top 10 when we play.
Kelly was given a six (6) year contract in January of 2016 so tell us how ND “brought Kelly back” after the 2016 season.
ND had a legal and financial obligation to continue Kelly as the HC for another five (5) years after the 2016 season.
Plus, he had an outstanding record prior to the 2016 season.
We brought him back. He would have been fired at a lot of places after the 16 season.
Jack forced him to make changes and it worked out
His record was not outstanding prior to 16. It was good. Not outstanding
Yeah and jack went to the market and determined he couldn’t get better at the tome
Damn Dude, can the man & his staff get a season? Jesus. Glad you are not in the decision-making room....
