temptation

So the question becomes, who does the first year head coach bring in as his defensive coordinator?

You’re shitting on a Missouri State team that could go toe to toe with nearly half of the teams on ND’s schedule, lol. (They’d also be in a dogfight vs USC.)

FYI, Sagarin has Missouri State as a 7 point dog to Toledo, a 3 point dog to Stanford, a 2 point dog to Georgia Tech and a pick em game with Navy on a neutral field. Missouri State made the FCS playoffs. Oklahoma State played Missouri State…ND played 4 versions of Missouri State. Case STILL closed.

Needed coaching blunders to escape FLORIDA STATE and TOLEDO and have ZERO top 25 wins as of the latest college football playoff rankings. Case closed.

Beat a top 10 team/rival while ND played another cupcake? This isn’t hard to figure out.

Gimme an honest coach wish list ND fans... Home run hire? Who is it? Who'd make you happy? Who to avoid?

Look at the full body of work in terms of head to head the past two seasons. The MIC is king at the top but at nearly every other position you can make the case for the HCC.

False. This is obviously outdated.

Maybe Allen should throw his hat in the ring at ND, lol. (I’m sorry I’m having too much fun with this.)

Fickell or Freeman.

Nothing more than message board fodder at this point and perhaps simply a motive to negotiate a better deal at their current gigs but… There is some smoke to Venables being pursued by Oklahoma and LSU going after Brian Kelly. I was surprised when I saw BK’s salary is less than $2 million. That has to be a mistake right?

What about Josh Heupel?

Probably in terms of recruiting. You have more talent within 100 miles of campus than anywhere in America and no real rival (sorry UCLA) to compete with for those players. I think Riley will do well there.

If Texas can't go .500 against a Big 12 schedule what in the hell are they gonna do in the SEC?

You are picking and choosing. Look at the full body of work. Top to bottom.

27-21 was a closer contest than ANY MIC school gave CG this fall. The HCC’s #2 eliminated the MIC’s #2 in the tournament. Yes…closed the gap.

You can’t punish Okie State and make sweeping assumptions about a conference based on one team’s performance. ND has had its chance and hasn’t been close. No conference affiliation/stereotype there. Alabama isn’t blowing folks out by any means but they have the best coach in the game and if they get a month to prepare (if they make the playoffs) I don’t want them matched up against my team for damn sure. I’ll give Bama a puncher’s chance this weekend. 30-35 percent.

The basketball analogy simply doesn’t fit. A single elimination basketball tournament doesn’t always reward the best team. Rather the hottest. Since Baylor won last year, the Big 13 gets to boast? What if Gonzaga wins in 2022? Gimme a break. The MIC has four programs that carry the weight for the rest and is mediocre beyond that. The HCC has closed the gap at the top, is winning more than its fair share and has surpassed the bottom tier.

1. A double digit loss at home to a non power 5 team (I don’t care how good they are) is damning. 2. Iowa State was once ranked in the top ten and has a hell of a coach. Often in college football, the venue/opposing coaching staff can level the playing field when there is a talent discrepancy. That’s not a bad loss at all. 3. 12 is more than 11. 4. Two top ten/3 top 15 wins for Okie State if they win Saturday. ND has ONE top 25 win (on a neutral field) against a 4 loss Wisconsin team. It shouldn’t be close.

Not really. Cincy is a lock with a win and it comes down to how impressive Okie State is.

Come on now. Bama took their foot off the gas in the 2nd half against ND. That game was never in doubt. The bashing is deserved. Someone else deserves a chance and you can’t punish Okie State for Oklahoma’s failures in the past. As for “lucky wins” that is shortsighted. Bama has a target on its back (a deserved one) and is always going to get everyone’s best shot. A road rivalry win (sorry but Stanford is not a true rival for ND) should not be overlooked as emotion plays a huge role. Jim Tressel’s OSU teams were notorious for “winning ugly.” Then they won the national title. I think that winning close games works out in Bama’a favor this weekend against UGA. The Bulldogs haven’t been pressed and Bama will remain calm. Gimme Saban over Kirby any day. Not saying they’ll win but anyone dismissing them is drunk.

Ben Davis went 9-4 in 2016. Something has to be said for running the table though. Those Warren teams you mentioned were unbelievably talented but only ran the table ONCE (in 2006).

I will make one concession to my “two loss elimination” thoughts… WHAT if Bama/Georgia is an OT loss for the Tide? Georgia is perceived to be the best team by a wide margin and the Tide usually get the benefit of the doubt in these types of things… By that same token, Notre Dame has been outclassed in its playoff appearances so…

A 12-1 Okie State that has beaten 8 bowl eligible teams, including two top ten teams and whose only loss is a 3 point road loss at Iowa State is much more deserving than ND. Plus I just want to see Gundy’s mullet on the national stage. 30 percent.

It happened for the second consecutive year as the HCC had a winning record head to head against the MIC…just not on the biggest stage. But Brownsburg’s dismantling of Carmel can’t be ignored even though they laid an egg the next week. I get that postseason wins matter more and it’s tough to take the HCC seriously until they break through on the biggest stage but facts are facts. You are hand picking certain contests to fit your narrative.