Thursday, December 28, 2006

Notre Dame Football Fans are Delusional


I had the pleasure tonight to watch a lot of the Alabama game at a birthday party surrounded by Notre Dame fans. Two alums (father and son) and a brother. All fans, all equally delusional.


Now these were good guys. They knew their stuff about football, the game. Knew their stuff about college players, coaches, etc. But the conversation was amazing.


For starters, does everybody from the Midwest hate the SEC? I mean, "they don't play anybody non-conference." You don't have to if 1) you actually play IN a BCS conference, and 2) you happen to play in the BEST BCS conference. It got better. Nick Saban was never that good a coach, and the SEC has no offensive ability. Furthermore, this years SEC QB group was terrible. Not as good as the QB's that Notre Dame played. Henne and Booty I'll give you, but who else? Drew Stanton? Please. UCLA QB? Please. I'd take Eric Ainge, Chris Leak, Jamarcus Russel, and even John Parker Wilson over those 2. And it isn't even close.


But back to Saban. If he left Miami to go to Alabama he'd just leave to go to the NFL again. Even though he's been as successful as Spurrier and has said he enjoyed college more than the NFL. This is because he has NFL roots. Once an NFL guy, always an NFL guy. But Charlie Weiss will never coach the New York Giants. Ever. Because he's not an NFL guy? Or...no wait, because he's coaching the great Notre Dame.


Other gems:


- Notre Dame tries to schedule top teams, they just don't know when they're going to be good and bad. That point, I'll grant you. But what's lost in it, is that when they do schedule great teams, and they stay great, THEY LOSE! USC: Loss. LSU when they were good: Loss. Tennessee when they were good: Loss. Michigan when good: Loss. Michigan State when good: Loss. When those teams suck, they win. Does that not define overrated?


- Notre Dame can put 28 on the board against LSU next week. I was speechless.


- UCLA is a solid non-conference opponent. Yeah the day after they got destroyed by a bad Florida State.


I could go on, but its like I'm piling on at this point. It was just a very puzzling conversation.


Oh well, at least ND fans have the service academies to whoop up on in their tough schedule.

13 comments:

Grantland Rice said...

Wow, this blog just sounds like a pissed off Bama fan.

Just read on rolltide.com that Rush Propst is the leading candidate to take over Alabama football. Repeat is starting at left end next year...

bigfin said...

Andrew, you don't like ND football...we get it. You say they don't play a tough schedule...the reality is the have played a very respectable schedule this decade. Again, I would hate if facts got in the way of your opinion, but here AGAIN is their strength of schedule as ranked by USA Today:

2006 (thusfar): #20
2005: #14
2004: #5
2003: #1
2002: #14
2001: #14
2000: #36

Let's move on please.

That Guy said...

that strength of schedule takes into account margin of victory. Show me a year in which ND won games against top competition. that #5, and #1 ranked schedule seasons were HORRENDOUS for ND> the only way they win, is by playing a below top 20 schedule.

That ranking is a joke if you look at last year. Not one win over a ranked team yet played in a BCS game with the #14 ranked schedule? Please.


They won this year and last year b/c they played nobody.

bigfin said...

Until you produce some actual facts, not opinions, with regards to ND's strength of schedule, you should just stop talking about it.

That Guy said...

Strength of Schedule calculations are not uniform. Its not a factual calculation. USA Today rankings use day of game rankings not end of year.

I don't think that is an accurate way to do it. Thus, your rankings mean nothing.

bigfin said...

Agree to disagree...let's move on please.

That Guy said...

i can delete you.

bigfin said...

Delete whatever you want.

FYI, the year that ND had the 5th toughest schedule in the nation, they defeated Michigan and Tennessee even though the Irish had a down year that season. Michigan won the Big 10 that year and Tennessee lost to undefeated Auburn in the SEC Championship and then won the Cotton Bowl. Both finished the season ranked in the top 15. By the way, they also played the eventual national champion that year in USC.

So, once again, you are WRONG. Please stop saying that ND doesn't schedule top teams each year. They do. I can write on a blog that the Bates Bobcats are a perennial football powerhouse 1000times...but it doesn't make it correct.

That Guy said...

So Michigan won a horrendous Big 10 that year, and Tennessee played in a 2nd rate bowl game (This isn't 1985, the Cotton Bowl hasn't been good in about 7 years).

ND loses when they play anybody good and beats up on service academies and borderline D1 teams.


That contract they just signed for SAN DIEGO STATE really shows their dedication to play top notch teams every year.

bigfin said...

Ok, so according to you, the Michigan team that won the Big 10 (regardless of how "horrendous" you think it was), lost to Texas by one in the Rose Bowl and finished in the top 15, and the Tennessee team that had the 2nd best record in the SEC, won a New Year's Day bowl and also finished in the top 15 weren't "good" teams? And you think ND fans are delusional...you just lost ALL your credibility with regard to this topic.

That Guy said...

What are you looking for, "Once in the last 10 years ND played a good schedule and did well against it?"

fine, have your one.

bigfin said...

Thank you. I love it when you admit you were wrong.

That Guy said...

I'm not wrong.

When Notre Dame wins its much more a factor of weak schedule than solid team.

This will be shown to be true again this year when they get destroyed like they did in the bowl game last year.