temptation

Tonight was pretty bad and while @BDGiant93has skin in the game and sometimes sugar coats things, Warren took advantage of some pretty damn head scratching decisions from BD tonight. Not that it matters but I walked away from the game (and am still sitting in my living room typing this) in disbelief. I still cannot clearly state whether or not Warren won the game or BD let it get away in losing it. Nearly everything that had to go wrong for BD in the last 2 minutes DID. Credit to Warren for making the plays but I’m not sure the BD coaching staff gets one wink of sleep tonight.

Sorta embarrassing honestly.

UNLESS, they win tonight.

LN gets a chance to prove you right tonight. A win (or even a single digit loss) and I’m in agreement. I’m thinking there are two decent sized lakes between LN and both the top and bottom of the conference. They are not good enough to keep it within single digits of Warren, BD and Carmel but are good enough to beat LC, Pike and NC by double figures.

A topic I love talking about from the comfort of my home as I watch football every weekend as I am not being paid millions of dollars to make critical decisions, lol. Do too many coaches remain conservative in 4th and short situations in choosing to punt/kick FGs instead of keeping the offense on the field? The name of the book is escaping me, but I did some reading on sports analytics/probability a few years back and I believe that the likelihood of a team converting on 4th and 3 or less is nearly 50 percent. (This is of course open to a lot of differing variables and what level of competition we are talking about.) If that is the case, why do many coaches (particularly around midfield or on the edge of FG range) choose to take the offense off of the field? Understandably, certain in-game situations are unique. But I am a firm believer that "defense wins championships" is the most overused idiom in modern day football. Offense wins, especially at the college level. Very rarely are the top dogs who we see in the playoffs annually being held under 30 points. You need an elite offense and a competent defense. A defense that holds their opposition to FGs more often than not is a HUGE win in today's game. Early in many contests, you will hear the phrase "take the points." While I do understand that and three points is better than zero, you are not going to win many games if you continue to "take the points" as the game progresses. The latest incident which got me thinking about this topic was the Seahawks/Colts game last Sunday. The Colts drove the ball down the field on the opening drive with a solid mix of the run and pass. They converted a couple of critical third downs but otherwise, were moving the ball at will. Their opening drive took nearly 9 minutes off the clock. They then were faced with a 4th and goal from the 2 yard line and chose to "take the points." That would be their last lead of the day as Seattle then took their first possession right down the field and went up 7-3 and never looked back. Am I over analyzing one drive? Perhaps. But that seemed to set the tone. Even in the event that you do not convert that 4th and 2, you put the other team's offense in a BAD spot and instead of forcing them to go 65-70 yards to score, they have to go 98+. Possible? Sure. Likely? Probably not. Thoughts?

They could airlift if over the top of the stadium if they really wanted to, LOL.

The top of the conference may be as good as it’s ever been but I’ve never seen the bottom half (specifically teams 6-8) be this bad.

Common sense finally prevailing.

Game will be over by the time Cathedral exits I-465. Fixed it for you.

In my experience, coaching at two 6A schools FWIW, coaches PUBLICLY encourage kids to compete and participate in other sports but in private conversations with the student athletes behind the scenes they are delivering a different message. Once again, probably painting with a broad brush here.

Undoubtedly but was just speaking regarding MY experience. Nothing more/less.

Some coaches fake it better than others and while all of us on this board seem to share one thing in common (our love of football), in my experience football coaches are some of the most difficult to work with when it comes to multi-sport athletes.

Whispers of James Franklin being interested as well though I’ll believe it when I see it. PSU has a monster class coming in next year. Seems his name always seems to come up…and then he ironically gets a pay raise immediately thereafter.

Correct.

And Covid has only contributed.

Wasn’t implying that. Simply pointing out the fact that ND was actually rewarded for its porous D and misread on the read option play. (And for the record, it was a crowd of 62k…)

Ya see, the difference in the analogy that you are attempting to make is that Toledo actually had something to do with Williams fumbling. The read option play in which Toledo scored prior was defended SO poorly by ND that Toledo (only needing a first down) actually scored instead of just setting up for the game winning FG which would have been a chip shot. Had Toledo just gotten the first down, they’d have been able to probably run the game clock down and kick from 30 yards down 2. Not a guarantee but the dude was already 3/3 on the day.

Good catch!

Lemme see if I remember correctly… 4th and long… Banks back to punt from inside his own 10 yard line… Snap goes over his head… Banks retreats into the end zone to pick it up… Thinks about throwing it… Tucks it and winds 100+ yards like a pinball machine for a TD.

"The James Banks play." LOL.

Had Toledo not scored so easily and left too much time for ND to drive the field, it'd have ended differently.

Hearing Fickell also...

Nah, just busting your balls is all. I think polls should reflect results on the field. If not, then why play the games? FACT: Over two weeks Notre Dame football has escaped wins over a MAC team and a team that was defeated by Jacksonville State who in turn was defeated soundly by UAB. Talent wise, Notre Dame is a top ten team which was indicated by their preseason ranking…even their current ranking of 14th is taking that into account more so than the results on the field. Overlooking an opponent/one bad week is understandable. But if they narrowly escape Purdue this weekend? That’s a pattern.

So UAB is 15th Jacksonville State is 16th, FSU 17th and Toledo 18th?