Notre Dame blows

[BuddyBear]

First off...let me just say I like the Notre Dame fight song.

Second...everything else sucks about that university. I am glad MSU has been taking care of them recently in football (that seems to be the only team they can beat).

I swear if Notre Dame gets a BCS bid it will be the biggest injustice since Nebraska playing in the championship game a few years back.

ND struggled against a mediocre Stanford team who was playing with their backup QB and every other team they beat on their schedule blows.

Oregon, Ohio St, Miami, Auburn, TCU...u could even make a case for Georgia all deserve a BCS spot as opposed to them.

[onlooker]

Wait until Florida State pulls a upset in the ACC championship game and gets a BCS Bowl bid. How about that one? Im a Seminole fan, but that would be wrong.

[Brick Tamland]

Oregon, Ohio St, Miami, Auburn, TCU...u could even make a case for Georgia all deserve a BCS spot as opposed to them.

True... but we all know being the better team is not what matters. Notre Dame has been getting points for being ND and RUDY RUDY RUDY is always worth a few points

[bigboydan]

i'm not sold on ND either double B. this team just does not impress me at all. and, if they get the BCS bowl. odds are they will get smacked around.

[clonecat]

I am not a Notre Dame fan either, but I don't see why everyone is so against them. Yes they lost to Michigan State, but the only other loss was to USC. I realize they only played two Top 25 teams. Oregon does have a gripe, but that is it. Ohio State will get a BCS bid. I would much rather see Notre Dame v Ohio State rather than Ohio State v Oregon.

I don't know if they have odds published yet, but I would guess Ohio State 7 point favorites over Notre Dame

[moses millsap]

I'd like to see Ohio State, Oregon, and Auburn (in that order) get BCS bids before Notre Dame. I hope Colorado and Florida State win this weekend just to **** up the BCS bowls a little more.

[onlooker]

I hope Colorado and Florida State win this weekend just to **** up the BCS bowls a little more.

Im with you on this one. Would love to see the BCS get stirred up a bit, and not fall into place like it has in the past.

[maritime]

First off...let me just say I like the Notre Dame fight song.

Second...everything else sucks about that university. I am glad MSU has been taking care of them recently in football (that seems to be the only team they can beat).

I swear if Notre Dame gets a BCS bid it will be the biggest injustice since Nebraska playing in the championship game a few years back.

ND struggled against a mediocre Stanford team who was playing with their backup QB and every other team they beat on their schedule blows.

Oregon, Ohio St, Miami, Auburn, TCU...u could even make a case for Georgia all deserve a BCS spot as opposed to them.

Notre Dame this year:
points per game: national rank #7
yards per game: #10
passing yards: #4
1st downs per game: #4
3rd down conversions: #7
time of possession: #2

Yeah, they're no good. Their offense sucks. Only went 7-1 ATS in first 8 games, and 6 of those opponents were all ranked in top 20 at least at some point during the season. It's true what they say, "people either love ND or they hate them", ie BuddyBear. But statistics don't lie. They are good. Bottom line, I wouldn't bet against Charlie Weis with several weeks to prepare for whoever it will be. But based on what I read from you guys, I'm sure you'll be betting against them, right? I mean, if they suck so bad it should be easy money. Maybe just take the moneyline against them or something.

[aje]

i'm not sold on ND either double B. this team just does not impress me at all. and, if they get the BCS bowl. odds are they will get smacked around.

I'll never forget the time they got smack around by Oregon St. in the '00 Fiesta Bowl.

[Illusion]

Notre Dame this year:
points per game: national rank #7
yards per game: #10
passing yards: #4
1st downs per game: #4
3rd down conversions: #7
time of possession: #2

Yeah, they're no good. Their offense sucks. Only went 7-1 ATS in first 8 games, and 6 of those opponents were all ranked in top 20 at least at some point during the season. It's true what they say, "people either love ND or they hate them", ie BuddyBear. But statistics don't lie. They are good. Bottom line, I wouldn't bet against Charlie Weis with several weeks to prepare for whoever it will be. But based on what I read from you guys, I'm sure you'll be betting against them, right? I mean, if they suck so bad it should be easy money. Maybe just take the moneyline against them or something.

Great stuff maritime. Yes, there are alot of Irish haters here. I think they deserve to be in a BCS game. Let's not forget, if the refs would have called that penalty against Bush they would have beaten USC.

[BuddyBear]

Notre Dame this year:
points per game: national rank #7
yards per game: #10
passing yards: #4
1st downs per game: #4
3rd down conversions: #7
time of possession: #2

Yeah, they're no good. Their offense sucks. Only went 7-1 ATS in first 8 games, and 6 of those opponents were all ranked in top 20 at least at some point during the season. It's true what they say, "people either love ND or they hate them", ie BuddyBear. But statistics don't lie. They are good. Bottom line, I wouldn't bet against Charlie Weis with several weeks to prepare for whoever it will be. But based on what I read from you guys, I'm sure you'll be betting against them, right? I mean, if they suck so bad it should be easy money. Maybe just take the moneyline against them or something.

Sorry dude...but are you like braindead? I mean seriously here we are talking about whether ND deserves to go to a BCS game and you are telling me about their offensive stats??? As we say in the business, that lacks validity to the argument. To top it off, you give us ND's ATS mark...I am sure the BCS committee will look that over carefully. If you want to see even more impressive stats try Texas Teach...It stands to reason that you think they belong in a BCS game because of their impressive offensive stats and they have the same recrod.

Let's get a couple things straight. ND can't control how their opponents play but it just turned out that everyone they played sucked this year....i am sorry but that's the truth...anyone who thinks otherwise should reexamine their head.

They are certainly not as as good as their record indicates.

They lost to a very lousy MSU team
They were 21-21 with Tenn in the 4th quarter.
They struggled vs a very bad Syracuse team.
They were losing 31-30 to a bad Stanford team with less than 2 minutes left.

They had one real impressive game against USC and they still lost it...everyone expects USC to win by 40 that is why everyone is impressed. When USC had 4th and 11 from near their endzone...ND couldn't come through in the clutch at home and end up choking. Nothing was as great this year to see the ND fans crying like the spoiled people they are.

Give me a break...i'll wait to see the line till for their bowl game but ND has been a horrendous bowl team the past decade and are really nothing impressive and quite frankly OSU should blow them out of the water. Once the good teams reappear on their schedule will see them go back to being a 6-5 or a 5-6 quality team which they really are.

Sorry dude to hurt your feelings but ND is really nothing special...just living off a past glory they can't ever seem to retrieve.

[Razz]

BB, I agree that Notre Dame is not more deserving of a BCS bid than Oregon, Ohio St., or Georgia, but I can't agree that they will be a 6-5, 5-6 team the next five years. I do think they are headed in the right direction.

[clonecat]

Buddy Bear, you won't believe this one, but if it weren't for the fact of me having money sitting doing nothing for five years, I would wager you that Notre Dame will win a National Championship before they win less than 7 games in a year.

[aje]

and 6 of those opponents were all ranked in top 20 at least at some point during the season.

Although their (sos) is quite strong. I'm still not buying it. The reality is they played 9 teams that belonged to a BCS Conference. Of those 9 teams only 2 of them are bowl eligible. Just because you go 1-1 in those games. Doesn't mean your way should be pave to a BCS game. As for those 6 opponents that were ranked. Where are they now? As the season is almost set to end. Only one team remains that they have beaten in those polls. With all that said Notre Dame travels well. They'll get an at large bid ,but that doesn't mean they're deserving.

[mad]

Not a huge college fan, so i don't want to overstep my bounds. However i will say this, I hope all this ND negativity is reflected in the lines that are made for their games. I'll be waiting to see first, then make my decision. Deserving or not.

[BuddyBear]

Buddy Bear, you won't believe this one, but if it weren't for the fact of me having money sitting doing nothing for five years, I would wager you that Notre Dame will win a National Championship before they win less than 7 games in a year.

Perhaps...but i really doubt it given their schedule year in and year out. The only way that happens is everyone scheduled sucks like this year.

I bet people were thinking the same thing when Bob Davie took them to the Fiesta bowl (i.e. back to the ND glory days)...when Willingham got them off to a 8-0 start (i.e. back to the ND glory days)...and now people are saying the same thing b/c they haven't learned their lesson yet. Somehow they think ND is a magical school that is blessed by God where anything can happen. Give me a break...do you know how many schools have surpassed ND in the past 10 years. Only a handful of teams about 25 or so haven't won a bowl game. 9-2 seems very impressive till you break it down and look at the caliber of teams they beat and the extant to which they struggled to beat them.

I'll reiterate this again...ND is nothing special and is certainly not a BCS quality team. It's all in the media guys. ND will probably be the worst of the 8 BCS schools...no way anyone could dispute that.

[maritime]

Dear BuddyBear,
Your arguments are weak. The same could be said for any team. For example,

USC trailed 21-3 to Arizona St at the half.
Oregon was tied 21-21 with Arizona in the 4th quarter.
Ohio St. was losing to Michigan St in the 4th quarter.
Georgia was losing to Kentucky after the 1st quarter.
Miami was losing to North Carolina at the half.
Auburn was losing to Arkansas at the half.
Ohio St was losing to San Diego St in the 1st quarter.

If your point is that ND didn't dominate every game they played this season from start to finish then I agree. Otherwise, every team struggles a bit at times. You didn't mention how the 4th quarter against Tennesee finished.

And by the way, check the stat line on the ND Stanford game. ND dominated this game but Stanford stayed in it because of a few big plays. First downs 30 to 14, total 683 to 395, rushing yards 251 to 48.

I listed their offensive stats because it was the quickest way to prove that they don't "suck" as you say. To say that in light of the numbers is, well, I guess braindead as you say. I mentioned their ATS numbers to demonstrate the fact that they outperformed expectations early in the season against teams that were ranked. Since this is a sportsbook/gambling forum, I wanted to make that point. They went 6-2 straight up.

You didn't hurt my feelings and I didn't make any comments on past seasons or "glory days." From the following comments you made your opinion on ND football clearly goes beyond pure football analysis:

"everything else sucks about that university"
"Nothing was as great this year to see the ND fans crying like the spoiled people they are."

If only 2 plays this season for ND had gone differently (MSU OT, USC 4th down) they would be undefeated, ranked #2 behind Texas, & playing for the national championship. But....they're not. I agree, they choked at the end against the best team in the country. But any way you twist it, their strength of schedule is comparable to any of the teams you mentioned. You just don't like them.

That being said, the proof is in the pudding. Let's see how the bowl game goes. If they "blow" they should get smoked. So it will be a good opportunity to make some $, won't it. Take care.

[pags11]

screw D.J. Fitzpatrick and his brace wearing leg...what was he doing even trying to kick on Sat. night...

[onlooker]

Wait until Florida State pulls a upset in the ACC championship game and gets a BCS Bowl bid. How about that one? Im a Seminole fan, but that would be wrong.

It worked. The Seminoles upset VT.

Orange bowl against Penn St? Top two winningest coaches battle it out.

[goldengoat]

i gotta throw my 2 cents in about ND

they are legit (does this even need to be said?)

they will beat OSU too

if you can almost beat USC then you gotta be good (dont bring up Frez St plz)

[Mr Nuts]

Good Call Illusion.

[BuddyBear]

if you can almost beat USC then you gotta be good (dont bring up Frez St plz)

if you lose to michigan st you suck as well

[moses millsap]

if you lose to michigan st you suck as well

At home too.

[Illusion]

if you lose to michigan st you suck as well

They are in the BCS.....get over it already.

[BuddyBear]

everyone knows why ND is in...i really don't care either. I am not a fan of ND nor of Oregon nor of Auburn...but everyone is aware of the prferential treatment that ND receives based on their history and big following. The BCS is an organization that is seeking a profit not the right matchups...their contract with ND is based on money for them and nothing else.

[goldengoat]

it's pretty much always about the money in just about everything in life and it's definitely no different here

[mbow324]

everyone knows why ND is in...i really don't care either. I am not a fan of ND nor of Oregon nor of Auburn...but everyone is aware of the prferential treatment that ND receives based on their history and big following. The BCS is an organization that is seeking a profit not the right matchups...their contract with ND is based on money for them and nothing else.

No one has ever said that the BCS is about anything other than money. In fact, it has been admited that the BCS is about nothing but money and national exposure by the directors of the BCS games themselves. I almost hate that I posting on this thread because it will just instigate the ND haters even more. At first, a good arguement about ND is fun, but like this thread they grow old very quickly. I would be very interested to see how much money, if any, BuddyBear is going to put on Ohio State. Because according to you, OSU is a lock, right? So I guess you should just put up or shut up. I for one am for one am throwing a hefty of wad of cash for ND to win. GO IRISH!!

[BuddyBear]

mbow...isn't there an ND forum you can post at and revel in your schools "success" in beating 3 teams in the top 50 this year. Anyone who can disentangle sense form nonesense knows that the Irish are strictly in as a result of their reputation and their money making potential. Remember, the BCS is a profit-seeking organization...if the BCS could they would take ND every year even if ND went winless the BCS would still want them...and I am sorry that does not sit well with me and most everyone else who follows college football.

How much I put on a game is none of your business moron....but it will be one unit as with everyone of my games. I never stray from that. I will definitely be on OSU...OSU is the better and in the end defense triumphs over offense. Line is already going down....I'll just wait till it goes down more...no sense in putting it in now. I can see OSU winning here by DD b/c of there great defense.

Remind everyone when was the last time ND won a bowl game???? only like 90 programs have won a bowl game since ND last won one...doesn't sound like an elite program to me does it to you???

By the way, doesn't it get old to get an annual ass kicking from MSU each each year? To see the look on the domor's faces when MSU got that TD in the endzone was priceless!

Do yourself a favor and don't post here anymore if you are strictly an ND apologist....nobody cares for guys like you...you are really not much more than a spoiled individual who thinks ND football is blessed by God.

[mbow324]

I love schools like Michigan State. I put you in the same category as Boston College. You don't gage the success of your program on your own accomplishments, because you have NONE. Instead you use the fact that if ND has a bad year, you had a good year. You revel in the years that ND has a poor showing, simply because you lack any years in which your team had a good showing. And i'm glad to know that YOU represent the opinions of every other college football fan out there.

So i'm a moron because....... why exactly am I a moron? Name calling, man this thread is getting pathetic. Oh ya, i'm spoiled too, why is that? Ya know, cuz you know me so well, can you tell me how exactly i'm spoiled? Is it because I root for a good team? So only people that root for crappy teams aren't spoiled, like you I suppose.

Congratulations, you can use google and quote every shitty statistic for ND in the past 50 years. By the way, isn't there a ND bashing forum somewhere you can go and waller in your own self pitty because Michigan State hasn't done anything worth noting since 1966. Oh Wait, sorry they did have a perfect season back in 1952 also, WOOHOO. See, I can use google too, does that make intelligent like you, or am I still a moron because I have my own opinion?

The pathetic thing here is the fact that you hate ND so much, and yet you know so much about them. I don't know crap about Michigan State, and I don't care. I don't hate them, I just don't care. I like ND, I don't hate any other school. I'll bet you just sit there and think of reasons to hate ND. I'm sure you have just enjoyed the hell out of the last decade with ND sucking as bad as they did. And now that you see that time coming to an end you're pissed, so you decide to lash out by starting this thread.

Do myself a favor and don't post here anymore huh? Why would I do that? Obviously I got under your skin enough in one little post that you had to resort right to childish name calling. Heaven forbid we have a civilized discussion of whether ND, OSU, and Florida State "deserve" to be in the BCS. Has it been lost on you that ND is in a bowl game not because of their popularity, but because they fought their way back from 2 losses to grab the #6 BCS ranking. They're an Independant and they finished in the top 6 which equals an automatic bid. That's not a ND rule, it's a BCS rule.

And lastly, i'm not an apologist, i'm just a Notre Dame fan. Of course i'm gonna stand up for the school that i've always rooted for. That makes me a fan, i'm sure you'd do the same if I said something about Michigan State, that is unless you're a fairweather fan. You want me to go post pro-notre dame stuff somewhere else? And yet it's o.k. for you to post anti-ND stuff here. You're nothin but hypocrite, and you obviously can't handle someone having an opinion contrary to yours. I'm gonna go post accolades for Charlie Weis and ND on these ND forums you speak of. I'm sure you'll still be sitting in that chair when I check back here, and you'll be stewing about how much you hate ND, and, for some strange reason, hate me because i'm a ND fan.

[maritime]

I wasn't going to post this thread again until after the game but I can't help it. Putting emotions aside for a moment, let's look at just this season. Based strictly on performance this season, I have yet to hear a valid argument why ND does not deserve a BCS bowl. I believe they will prove themselves even more in the Fiesta bowl and that should silence some critics.

As for ND's past. Yeah, they have sucked more recently. Bob Davies and Ty Willingham were horrible in my opinion. I've seen more offensive creativity at grade school flag football games. If you check ND's stats during those seasons, you can see even further that ND was barely average under those coaches. Even when they got off to very quick starts and won some games. I don't think anybody who knows about football actually saw ND under those coaches as being brought back to the glory days as mentioned above. That being said, and by watching this year's team, the improvements they have made offensively are immense.

The problem for Ohio State will be this. What are they going to prepare for? Is ND going to come out and establish a running game, a short passing game, maybe they'll screen them to death, or maybe go hurry up out the shotgun to start and not allow OSU to substitute on defense. My point is, this is a much different team than they have had in past seasons. One that can actually move the ball in several different ways as opposed to being one dimensional and predictable. The ND bashers don't seem to at least admit that point.

I like OSU, they play good ball and have one of the best defenses in the country. I made some good cash with them this season as well. Same goes for ND. If ND blows, as you say, I would expect the sharps to be all over OSU early, resulting in some line movement against ND. The bulk of the general public won't even begin to bet this game for quite a while. So early line movement should tend to be more accurate or intelligent line movement.

Anyway, good luck to you if you bet it. Leave emotion at the door, though.
That being said, I look for ND's history of poor bowl performance to come to an end this season in a high-scoring affair (which actually may be the best play of all).

[BuddyBear]

Mblow..chill dude. You are starting to remind me of that Notre Dame fan who me and my friends beat up and poured beer all over during an ND/MSU game in East Lansing. I think that was the game that MSU was facing 4th and 10 from their 20 yard line and came back and and threw and 80yd TD to Herb Haygood.

Anyway....you need to understand who you are challenging here. You are a newbie and you are confronting one of the most esteemed posters in the gaming forum scene so you need to be really careful of what you say and how you say it.

Let's get serious here...MSU fans (and every other school who beats ND) could care less about ND. I know MSU isn't good in football and i get that...but what i don't get is that ND is not good either but their fans think they are...they cling on to a hope that doesn't exist. What we get a kick out of is how ND fans and the media continue to insist that ND is something special and that they are blessed. Look who they have lost to recently: MSU (6 of the last 8 times), BC (lost count here), NCST, Oregon St (twice), BYU, Syracuse, Pitt, Purdue, Flordia St (shut out at home no less), Michigan, etc...does that sound like a top tier program to you??? Not really...so how does ND continue to attract so much attention? Well it is a powerful and sensational advertising campaign by ND officials, boosters, alumni, ND fans, and media outlets to continually remind everyone about the "old days," heisman trophy winners, and so on. The reality is in the last decade that ND is not better than most teams....they fall in between. Was ND really good??? Hell yeah they were...very very good in the 70s and 80s. But those days are gone you need to come to terms with that.

As for the Fiesta bowl....time to get real here. You think Brady Quinn is going to be torching the OSU defense like he did with Stanford? Imagine what OSU's offense who is improving week by week is going to do to ND's defense if Stanford had their way with them with a backup QB?

And all i am hearing is well what is Weiss going to do with a month to plan....get real here the question should be what is Jim Tressel going to do with a month to plan? That guy is a genius and Weiss is a good coach but he couldn't hold Jim Tressel's clip board and take this from a guy who could care less about OSU.

Also...ND hasn't won a bowl game since 1993...i was entering 7th grade then....what makes you say they are going to win this time around??? They get hammered year in year out in the bowl game.

Take off the binders...ND is a nice school with a nice fight song but the old days are gone and the BCS appearance will be no different than there last trip to Tempe.

[mbow324]

Mblow, HAAAAAAAA. Oh my God that's freakin hilarious. I didn't know that this was the only sports related forum on the entire internet. And because you sit at a computer desk all day racking up posts on this forum, post whoring I believe it's called, that automatically means that everyone should grovel at your feet. What exactly are you gonna do when I continue to post on this thread? And because I have never posted here I must be "new to the scene". How presumptuous you are. Are you gonna have me kicked off? OH NO. That would just be admiting defeat on your part. Not to mention the fact that I have done nothing wrong, just pissed you off I guess since you have now resorted to threatening me with some sort of retaliation if i continue to post. That's quite a step up from name calling. What's next, are you gonna talk smack about my mom?

Seriously, do you really think that because you have 776 posts that I should just agree with whatever you say and move one. God you have one huge ego. Is that what you tell the ladies? "Hey baby, did you know I have 776 posts on the SBR forum?" I'm sure that they would swoon over you if you did.

Do you judge who you are in life based on how many posts you have on a forum? If so, that is sad im my humble opinion. I judge my life on accomplishments I make in the real world, not cyber space.

So you and your friends beat up 1 guy and poured beer on him at a football game? Wow, you are a real man. He wasn't mentally handicapped and in a wheelchair was he? Seriously man, why would you beat someone up over a football game? What the hell is wrong with you? He's a freakin human being, with his own opinons. Not to mention the fact that i'm sure both of you are Americans. Just agree to disagree with the guy. I don't presume to know the whole story, maybe he hit you first or whatever, all I know is what you have told me. You and your friends beat up a guy and poured beer on him. First off I doubt you even did this as i'm sure you would have been arrested. Second, what a waste of beer.

*END OF PERSONAL JABS*

I realize and fully ackowledge that ND football has sucked since Lou Holtz left the program. He did next to no recruiting his last 2 years there which is why the program completely crapped the bed 2 years after he left. Once the wins dried up, so did the recruits, it was a domino effect. So yes, they sucked. No one is disagreeing with you there, as much as you would like to sit here and agrue the point that ND has been aweful the last decade or so. They have sucked and I know that. But if you are gonna sit there and say that they are undeserving of a #6 ranking and a bowl game, well then your issues aren't with ND they are with the human poll voter, the computers that calucate the other polls, and the BCS committee.

You are the first person I have ever say that ND is blessed by God. Seriously, I have never heard that before.

Of course ND fans think ND is good this year. That is our opinion. No one with half a brain is saying that they should be number 1 in the nation, but they are certainly a good football team. Did you watch every game this year like I did? If not then how can you really have a handle for how good this football team is or isn't?

Your opinion is that ND will never be as good as they were. My opinion is they are much better now than they have been in the past 10 years and hopefully they will continue to be good. But only time will tell. I'm not gonna put all my money on one season and bet that ND football is FULLY back in swing, but it is certainly something to pin my hopes on.

I know ND hasn't won a bowl game since the 93-94 season. But that isn't any reason to think that they can't win this one. Only time will tell I guess. How can you seriously believe that Charlie Weis is nothing compared to Jim Tressel? I'm not gonna throw all the B/S stats at you, but 9-2 his first year head coaching college football, with someone elses recruits no doubt. I know he wasn't the only reason, but he was certainly a big part of the Pats 3 recent superbowls. 3 out of 5 years as the offensive coordinator, the team wins a super bowl. Pretty good I say. Now the offensive production has gone out the window for New England, and suddenly the Pats are a run oriented team.

If all ND had was Quinn at QB, i'd say you are right to assume that the OSU defense is gonna smash them. But the fact of the matter is that the entire Offense is very good. 2 great wide receivers, 2 good running backs, a good line, a great tight end, and heisman candidate QB. I know he has no shot at winning the award, but is receving votes (4th in the standing on ESPN.com last I checked) which is more than I can say for Troy Smith who fell out a long time ago. A.J. Hawk, however, is a heisman candidate and I admit that is a very amazing accomplishment for a LB.

I don't think there is any reason not to believe that Quinn won't be "torching" the OSU defense. As far as the ND schedule goes, they can't affect how the teams they play are going to fare. All they can do is schedule the best matchups possible. ND has always had a tough schedule, especially at the beginning of the season. But every year some teams are on and some are off, it's the same with every other football team. Post season strength of schedule ranking has ND 53rd and OSU 41st. Pretty close. Pre season had ND around 20th.

Who's your favorite NFL team? I'm a Bears fan, let's see if we can argue about that.

[Illusion]

mbow, are you in the Chicago area? If you tell me you are a Hoosiers fan you will be my new favorite poster.

[Razz]

1. But if you are gonna sit there and say that they are undeserving of a #6 ranking and a bowl game, well then your issues aren't with ND they are with the human poll voter, the computers that calucate the other polls, and the BCS committee.

2. How can you seriously believe that Charlie Weis is nothing compared to Jim Tressel? I'm not gonna throw all the B/S stats at you, but 9-2 his first year head coaching college football, with someone elses recruits no doubt.

3. I know he wasn't the only reason, but he was certainly a big part of the Pats 3 recent superbowls. 3 out of 5 years as the offensive coordinator, the team wins a super bowl. Pretty good I say.

4. Now the offensive production has gone out the window for New England, and suddenly the Pats are a run oriented team.

5. A.J. Hawk, however, is a heisman candidate and I admit that is a very amazing accomplishment for a LB.

6. I don't think there is any reason not to believe that Quinn won't be "torching" the OSU defense.

7. As far as the ND schedule goes, they can't affect how the teams they play are going to fare. All they can do is schedule the best matchups possible. ND has always had a tough schedule, especially at the beginning of the season. But every year some teams are on and some are off, it's the same with every other football team. Post season strength of schedule ranking has ND 53rd and OSU 41st. Pretty close. Pre season had ND around 20th.

1. That's where my issues, and a lot of people's lie, you are correct.

2. I don't agree with BuddyBear here, really. I think Tressel blew the biggest game of the year, and if his team had defeated Texas like they should have, they or Penn St. would be playing for the national championship.

3. I personally have much respect for Weis.

4. The Patriots are a run-oriented team about like Texas Tech is.

5. And arguably not the best linebacker on his own team.

6. I do. The only other passing offense the Buckeyes faced, they completely shut down. That was a Northwestern team with a similarly offensive mastermind and brilliant head coach.

7. I couldn't agree more here. Everyone thought Purdue would be good, and Pitt, Michigan St., and Michigan would be better.

[aje]

5. And arguably not the best linebacker on his own team.

A.J. Hawk not the best linebacker on his own team. Are you really serious? You may want to actually check some numbers before you entertain this post. http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegespor.../teamcume.html