Notre Dame-Michigan...
 

Why is ESPN devoting so much time to this? Neither is a factor this year, nobody cares.

EXTREMELY large fan bases...ESPN is selling what sells. Imagine that.

Maybe nobody here cares but I'll bet the Alumni and the money devoted to both colleges seriously outweighs whatever school you went to (especially if I am reading your "location" correctly and you're in State territory); that being said ESPN sucks ass anyway, so it doesn't surprise me.

Notre Dame's offense is as anemic as ours...at least there starting Clausen and getting him some experience for the future...

I'm pumped for that SC/ND game this year, 70-3

Western Michigan University. And yeah, now I understand: ESPN is carrying the game. If i'd watched long enough, I would have noticed.

Because the TV networks continue to shove Notre Dame down our throats as if they are America's team. Can't wait for ND to go 6-6 and get a BCS game.

:shake:

This is easy... the story used to be about who wins.

This season, it will be about the team that loses.

Ahh Western, cool - your location misled me.

Are you serious? 70-3...? Are you crazy?

You know damn well that we can't score 3 points on that defense. And our defense will shutdown after the 1st quarter.

My prediction.......84-0

Because they think it's what sells.

Nobody should really care about Notre Dame this year. They're young and weren't going to be any good. No reason to devote any air time to them. Michigan's more of a story because they, at the on-set, had national championship aspirations.

This game might be epic, and not in a good way. Kinda like a train wreck you can see coming. The potential to see millions of Michigan and Notre Dame fans collectively gnashing their teeth.

might just get drunk until spring...

So why isn't Charlie Weis on the hotseat? He's basically doing the exact same thing Willingham did, I await as someone will cry racism, expect it.

I also think this is kinda dumb to act like ND should just get a pass. They have top rated recruiting classes, SC didn't totally suck after we lost guys.

He is in alot of people's minds and I've already heard the race card played. Maybe that contract he signed makes him too expensive to fire, dunno. I'd like to know what he's screwing up though, is it coaching, game planning, recruiting, what?

True mecca. USC was great during the Hackett Years.

Maybe it goes back to ND recruiting classes always being overrated....

Don't remind me of that, but hey you guys are still in your futility when was your last Bowl game win?

My point was, we lost Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush tons of NFL star type players that were top 10 picks and we didn't get a "pass" we continued to contend for the national title.

I don't understand this. On one hand it's now fashionable to call ND overrated but yet so many sportcasters do it.

Weis is bringing in top rated recruiting classes. Willingham wasn't. Weis' first recruiting class are currently sophomores and really none of them played last year on a veteran team. It's gonna take just a tad bit longer than that to re-stock the whole program.

For a long time they'd get classes rated in the top 10 that didn't have good players in them, they put them higher just because it was ND.

When Tom Lemming was ESPN's main guy, he also did that high school all star game not sure if he still does, there was a story where Lorenzo Booker flat said he tried to convince him to go to ND and not FSU. He'd constantly plug ND try to get guys to go there, overrate their classes.

ND always gets overrated because to older people they are the standard, to younger people we don't even remember them being good. They can make a bowl game they shouldn't be in and get trounced, let's all remember back to Chad Johnson, Housh and Oregon State raping them all over the field.

Remember the ridiculously stupid Ron Powlus hype?

Weis is playing with the recruiting class that got Ty fired. It wasn't really the horrible class that he was (or wasn't) recruiting. Willingham was fired because we thought we had the inside track to Urban Meyer. We fired Willingham thinking we had Meyer, then Urban picked Florida. By the way, Weis will get more opportunity because he is one of ours. He Graduated from Notre Dame in 1978.

That's why you gotta play the best players man, at SC it doesn't matter. If the best player is a freshman he plays over the senior. USC played a ton of freshman and sophomores last year they didn't suck at all.

[edit] 1980s-1990s

In the 1980s, USC football did not realize a national championship, though it continued to experience relative success, with top-20 AP rankings and PAC-10 Conference Championships. Under head coaches Ted Tollner (1983-1986) and Larry Smith (1987-1992), each winning the Rose Bowl once, USC was recognized among the nation's top-ten teams three times. However, some alumni had grown accustomed to the programs' stature as a perennial national championship contender. In 1993, Robinson was named head coach a second time, leading the Trojans to a victory in the 1996 Rose Bowl over Northwestern.
However, losing streaks of 11 years (1983-1993) to intersectional rival Notre Dame and 8 years (1991-1998) to crosstown rival UCLA were unacceptable to some USC supporters. In 1998, head coach Paul Hackett took over the team, but posted an even more disappointing 19-18 record in three seasons. By 2000, some observers surmised that USC football's days of national dominance were fading; the football team's record of 37-35 from 1996 to 2001 was their second-worst over any five-year span in history (only the mark of 29-29-2 from 1956-1961 was worse), and the period marked the first and only time USC had been out of the final top 20 teams for four straight years. We all have good times and bad times. Good thing they keep records, that way young people don't think that the way things are now is the way they always were and always will be.

WHO? SUCKS? MORE?

go irish!

And that is exactly what I'm talking about, I was born in 80, I'm 26 years old. To me the 80s are a distant memory a long with hair metal and all that. I got into SC in the early 90's when I was 12/13 that was when I really started getting into football in general.

People my age and especially younger people don't remember ND being good the 80's are a long forgot memory.

If KState could contend(ish) for a NC then no school's future is set completely by their past.

From our boy Whitlock, in 2005:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...hitlock/051101

[edit] National Championships

• Notre Dame has won 8 wire (AP or Coaches) national championships.

• Notre Dame claims national championships in an additional 3 seasons, for a total of 11 consensus national championships. Notre Dame, however, is often credited with 13 national championships in total. The 1938 and 1953 seasons are the reason for the discrepancy. In 1938, 8-1 Notre Dame was awarded the national championship by the Dickinson System, while Texas Christian (which finished 11-0) was awarded the championship by the Associated Press.

In the 1953 season, an undefeated Notre Dame team (9-0-1) was named national champion by every major selector except the AP and UPI (Coaches) polls, where the Irish finished second in both to 10-1 Maryland. As Notre Dame has a policy of only recognizing AP and Coaches Poll national championships post-1936, the school does not officially recognize the 1953 national championship.[1][2]

• Notre Dame has been voted "national champion" by at least one selector in an additional 9 seasons (1919, 1920, 1927, 1938, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1989).

The following is a list of Notre Dame's 11 consensus national championships:
YearCoachSelectorRecordBowl1924Knute RockneHelms, CFRA, NCF10-0Won Rose1929Knute RockneHelms, CFRA, NCF9-0-1930Knute RockneHelms, CFRA, NCF10-0-1943Frank LeahyAP9-1-1946Frank LeahyAP8-0-1-1947Frank LeahyAP9-0-1949Frank LeahyAP10-0-1966Ara ParseghianAP, Coaches9-0-1-1973Ara ParseghianAP11-0Won Sugar1977Dan DevineAP, Coaches11-1Won Cotton1988Lou HoltzAP, Coaches12-0Won FiestaConsensus national championships11<A id=Distinctions name=Distinctions>[edit] Distinctions

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Leprechaun.gif
The Leprechaun

• Notre Dame is one of a few schools to have over 800 wins. Some other schools with 800 wins are Michigan, Nebraska and Texas.
• Notre Dame has the 2nd highest winning percentage in NCAA history (.744), second only to Michigan(.745).
• The football program is tied with USC for most Heisman trophy winners at 7 (Ohio State has 7 Heisman trophies that were won by 6 players).
• It has also produced the most All-Americans, including consensus All-Americans(79 with 96 selections).
• Nine former players are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, second only to USC(10). Notre Dame has produced the largest number of players to go on to play in the National Football League of any program in the country. As of the 2007 NFL draft, 459 players have been drafted. [3]
• Helped by its status as a highly regarded academic institution (ranked 19th by U.S. News & World Report) [4], Notre Dame is second only to Nebraska in Academic All-Americans (43).
• Notre Dame is represented by 47 players and coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, the most of any university.
• Since 1962, Notre Dame has graduated 98.74% of its football players in four years. As of 2006, only 13 football players in this time have left Notre Dame without finishing their degree requirements. Also of note is the 90% graduation rate of ND's African-American players (only Navy and Boston College have higher African American graduation rates)[5]
• Notre Dame has had 12 undefeated seasons and 10 others with at most 1 loss or tie. Notre Dame has only had 12 losing seasons in 118 seasons of playing football.
• The football program is also known for ending the Oklahoma NCAA record winning streak of 47 games in 1957. Incidentally, Oklahoma's 28-21 loss to Notre Dame to open the 1953 season was the last loss before the beginning of the streak.
• Notre Dame also holds the NCAA record for Most consecutive wins over one opponent, beating the US Naval Academy (USNA) 43 times in a row to date. Just in case you didn't know. Yes, this is a down year. It may very well be a down decade. We may never be what we once were. Only time will tell. Notre Dame has had alot to do with the success of Colligiate Football that we all love though.

Long distant past...

This is true, more so in the past but yea, you have to respect the whole of ND football. It'd be nice though if their fans dialed it down a notch or two while they sort out their problems.

Yet another time to cry wolf. How many times has he ever been right? Ever? There is more slanted spin in that witlock piece than on a Tiger Woods wedge shot.

It wasn't a matter of not being talented enough, it's a matter of not being ready.

That's coaching though they should have guys ready.

too much to read huh? Thats ok, when some youngster tells you that the USC championships from the Pete Carroll era don't count because they don't remember them you'll be pissed too. They are all difficult to achieve, and they all count.

Well I hope to still see USC be a great team in 20 years.

Because it's the pillow fight of the week:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3013809

but according to you, in 20 years where they are now doesn't matter. I also hope they are great too. That way The Notre Dame-USC game will still be fun to watch.

I think my arguement is that ND fans should tone down a bit, most people still respect ND but to act like you are as relevant as SC or Ohio State right now is a bit much.

i hope we will matter in 2 years. I seriously doubt it will be before then.

HA-HA

:D

Bob Dole is actually interested in the game, just to see the local kid get his first start as a true freshman.

The only person who is impressed by playing Navy 43 years in a row is Bill Snyder.

"Notre Dame also holds the NCAA record for Most consecutive wins over one opponent, beating the US Naval Academy (USNA) 43 times in a row to date."

GO, NAVY!!!!!!

I'm actually going to the game. A month ago I was really excited and wondering if we could score tickets at the tailgate. Now I'm not as excited about the game but pretty damn sure tickets will be a piece of cake!

<embed src="http://www.metacafe.com/fplayer/145917/cripple_fight_in_south_park.swf" width="400" height="345" wmode="transparent" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed><br><font size = 1><a href="http://www.metacafe.com/watch/145917/cripple_fight_in_south_park/">Cripple Fight In South Park</a> - <a href="http://www.metacafe.com/">The funniest movie is here. Find it</a></font>

Probably his track record of Super Bowl victories?

Gee, how do you feel about our Chiefs? The 60's aren't even a memory for you....it's ancient history.

They are both prominent national programs with huge fan bases. Both football programs are in shambles. You can damn well bet a lot of people care. The over 200k combined season ticket holders care. The millions of combined alums around the world care. The networks who pay millions to broadcast their games care. And as for the game this weekend, I think it will get as much attention with them both being 0-2 as it would if they were both 2-0. And it should. This is huge.

Neither program is in shambles. They're just shot for this year, which was to be expected of one of them.

Part of Stewart Mandel's column on SI(he's a ND hater):

"Do we need further proof that recruiting-class rankings are totally bogus than watching the team currently fielded by Notre Dame? Charlie Weis has been bringing in these supposed top 10 recruiting classes every year, and frankly, the team I saw play last Saturday didn't appear to have so much as one blue chip player on it. What gives? Where is all this talent Weis has been bringing in?
--Jim Loiner, Spaldwick, UK

Amidst the Charlie Weis feeding frenzy that's already begun and will likely continue if Notre Dame starts 1-4, I think this is one area where he's actually being judged unfairly. Weis has only been there since February 2005. He's only had time to bring in two of these top 10 recruiting classes, and those players are currently in their first or second years on campus. One thing that never gets brought up -- but I think has a great deal to do with the Irish's expected dip this year -- is Notre Dame basically lost a complete recruiting cycle the year they fired Willingham and hired Weis. If you recall, Willingham was let go just after Thanksgiving weekend, while Weis remained with the Patriots through their Super Bowl run, which did not end until after Signing Day in February. Weis did as much as he could on the recruiting front, coming back for an official-visit weekend during a playoff bye week and what not, but c'mon. I can't imagine the Irish landed too many of their top targets that year.

That's a class that would be entering its third year right now and, under normal circumstances, making a huge impact. A check of the Irish's two-deep, however, reveals that just two members of that 2005 class, receiver David Grimes and fullback Asaph Schwapp, are currently listed as starters. So really, Weis is working with the fifth-year leftovers from Willingham's highly regarded 2003 class (which included four recent NFL draft picks, led by Brady Quinn, as well as baseball pro Jeff Samardzija), his 2004 class that Rivals.com ranked just 40th (and whose brightest star, RB Darius Walker, is gone as well) and a pair of top 10 classes whose members are still extremely young.

Now, next year, when those guys are all at least sophomores and juniors, and when Weis adds a freshman class that Rivals.com currently has ranked No. 1 in the country, there really will be no more excuses."

As much as I will piss off Mecca, I am rooting for the Big Red, as it's part of the Big 12. Best of luck (skill, actually) to both teams.

Ohio State is relevant?

Watch the hype for which ever team wins and how they are on the right track, coming back, blah blah blah. My best case scenario would be ...

ND 3 Mich 3

Notre Dame is in shambles this year compared to the combined previous 13 years with 0 bowl game victories? ND isn't a story because everyone has been saying they could go 0-8 for months.

OTOH, Michigan is a story IMO, from the 1 vs 2 last season to now.

That said, is this game worth half of College Gameday everyday? No.... there are 25 ranked teams to talk about, plus the recent drops, plus teams like South Florida, Alabama, etc. There's a lot more to talk about than two bad teams playing each other.

I'll just be glad when it's over, and Michigan can go back to the bottom of the Big 11 and Notre Dame can go play the service acadamies, the other powers of yesteryear, and the rest of us can watch football that matters.

Why do people give Notre Dame crap for playing the service academies? Would you rather they be playing Idaho, Akron, Utah State, Central Florida, Western Carolina, and The Citadel?

Army and Navy, like ND, used to be powers. Way, way back. At least their consistent with their eyes focused on the past.

Michigan sucks but Notre Dame is even worse.

Look for the home team Wolverines to win this game, even Appalachian State thinks that they can do it, lol.

I agree this game gets way to much media attention, but thats the way they are so what can you do?

they're*

Still haven't told me why Notre Dame playing Army and Navy is any different than Texas playing Central Florida, Arkansas State, and Rice or Ohio State playing Youngstown State, Akron, and Kent State, and so on and so forth.

Now? It isn't. The ND-Navy game used to be a premier game, 60 years ago, but it was something.

Who gives a crap? It's a game that has history, but it's no different than any cupcake games the bigger schools schedule. I'm talking about people bashing them for even playing them.

wow..weiss has to be on the hot seat after this...

If you were mis-educated about what the team was going to be this year, I can understand why people would think that.

24-0... losing a QB to NIU... boy does notre lame suck balls this year

Well compared to ND, I could have used a ton of different teams I just threw that one out there.

And what Holmez posted is exactly what I said, ND's classes are always heavily overrated.

I miss the days when Notre Dame was actually relevant. Like 20 years ago....

I don't know what classes you're talking about. Willingham's classes weren't that great.

They've been overrated for the better part of a decade, getting ranked in the top 10 on classes that produced nobody.

They have no junior class and their seniors weren't very good. The upperclassmen depth is the present issue with Notre Dame.

Watching Notre Dame on offense kind of reminds me of the Chiefs these days... :shake:

Ill never forget how Ron Powlus won those 2 Heismans!

You can only imagine how fun it is to be a fan of both.

Oh - I understand, because I am... :cuss:

That's what I mean...

That makes three of us.

Jesus H. Christ.

Notre Dame running yards is a -47.

TD Michigan.

I think catholic Mass was still in Latin when ND was good.

I think Saul of Tarsus was a fullback on the last good ND team.