23andCounting

Gonzo correcting my spelling was the last straw for me me. Ultimately landed him on my ignore list. No longer have to worry about it. I'll never judge a man by his spelling or his grammar. A doctor means no more to me in this life than a garbage man. Degree, no degree...........doesn't matter. Do you take care of your parents? Take care of your family? Have a job? Who gives a shit about grammar or spelling if your message is being conveyed. This is a football forum for crying out loud, not an English class. Now, to answer your question. Where do I believe ND should be? I've gotta give credit to the teams that WERE selected and have advanced to the final four. Throw in Ohio State and I'm thinking Notre Dame sits at #6. I'm not ranking A&M ahead of Notre Dame because I think the Irish were the better team at the end of the year. I'm sure as hell not ranking Alabama or Oklahoma above Notre Dame, lol. Texas Tech, lol, nope. Maybe Georgia. But I'll stick with #6.

Sorry I missed it. I don't stay awake for those late games. Presumed Montana State would roll when they went into halftime up 21-7. Even more exciting than the FBS, the Group of Five would make for some entertaining games during the week while waiting for the CFP on the weekend. More revenue for everyone, right?

@Bash Riprock Who's smoking Cignetti? I think most of the Notre Dame fans on here have been pretty gracious toward IU. Curious. What does ESPN being in bed with the SEC have to do with some of their commentary favoring Notre Dame? Last I checked, it was the network that's in bed with the SEC. Guys like Herbstreit, Barkley, and Saban are allowed to have an opinion. Again, I don't get on Twitter, so I don't know what some random ND fans are saying about other programs. I worry about my own life and use this forum as an outlet to discuss football. You have to admit though, some of your reposts are geared toward playing on others emotions and reeling them in.

C'mon. It was everywhere. Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit...........Charles Barkley on a basketball show. How can you say it was "just" Notre Dame fans? Lol, good grief. I'm not on Twitter like you are, but I do watch ESPN and listen to College Sports on Sirius when I'm driving. The Notre Dame discussion was log jammed on that channel for a week. I find it hard to believe that it wasn't on Twitter as well. You reposted several tweets disparaging Notre Dame. Although the purpose of your tweets were to antagonize Notre Dame fans, it was still news nonetheless.

Thoughts? Penn State and Iowa? I was thinking after watching these playoffs that maybe Penn State and Iowa may have provided some much needed competition. 1 Indiana A = 98.06 14 0 74.48( 30) 3 0 | 6 0 | 95.69 1 | 97.73 2 | 101.27 1 | 109.16 1 BIG TEN (A) 2 Oregon A = 96.53 13 1 78.04( 7) 2 1 | 6 1 | 95.26 2 | 98.03 1 | 96.18 2 | 99.18 4 BIG TEN (A) 3 Ohio State A = 95.09 12 2 76.86( 12) 1 2 | 5 2 | 94.65 3 | 96.64 3 | 93.94 5 | 96.53 5 BIG TEN (A) 4 Notre Dame A = 94.56 10 2 73.64( 36) 0 1 | 1 2 | 93.88 4 | 94.88 4 | 94.57 3 | 100.06 2 I-A IND. (A) 5 Miami-Florida A = 92.36 12 2 76.39( 15) 2 0 | 3 2 | 91.62 5 | 93.55 5 | 91.71 6 | 96.25 6 ACC (A) 6 Texas Tech A = 91.09 12 2 70.52( 62) 1 1 | 3 1 | 89.35 6 | 89.80 9 | 94.51 4 | 99.70 3 BIG 12 (A) 7 Georgia A = 89.00 12 2 76.46( 14) 1 1 | 5 2 | 89.29 7 | 93.02 6 | 85.90 11 | 86.75 12 SEC (A) 8 Mississippi A = 88.69 13 1 73.18( 37) 1 1 | 3 1 | 88.06 8 | 91.27 7 | 86.97 10 | 90.10 9 SEC (A) 9 Utah A = 86.85 11 2 70.56( 61) 0 1 | 0 2 | 85.89 13 | 85.54 14 | 89.05 7 | 93.77 7 BIG 12 (A) 10 Penn State A = 86.53 7 6 75.27( 25) 0 3 | 1 4 | 87.70 9 | 86.15 12 | 85.59 13 | 85.33 13 BIG TEN (A) College Football 2025 ratings through games of 2026 January 2 Friday - HAPPY NEW YEAR! RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 30 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT | STRONG RECENT HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 3.11] [ 2.95] [ 2.95] [ 3.43] [ 3.43] 11 Texas A = 86.31 10 3 75.68( 21) 0 2 | 4 2 | 86.37 12 | 89.15 10 | 83.88 14 | 84.02 16 SEC (A) 12 Iowa A = 86.19 9 4 76.91( 11) 1 2 |

Is what it is. Normally for me, the only thing that matters is the national champion. They are the only team that will be remembered. This year was just fascinating how Notre Dame was Top 9 until they weren't. Then the opt out of a bowl game followed by Miami's dominance and the SEC laying an egg. I'm just curious how high a non-participant could climb. But I get where it could be "meaningless" for the average fan. As a resident of Indiana though, it's pretty cool to see the rise of a program that carries our brand. Indiana is now a football state. A few years ago when I saw that Indiana was ranked 13th in terms of producing football talent, that was a real eye opener. I also think the Indy Metro area could compete with any metro area in the country. That's pretty telling if you ask me. Sidenote: Wouldn't be surprised one iota if Indiana and Notre Dame enter the playoffs next season ranked #1 & #2 in the AP Poll. Things are looking pretty good for both programs........especially Indiana. They are the new Alabama, plain and simple, no other way to slice it. Pre-mature prediction? I may be wrong, but I doubt it.

It's intriguing due to the amount of news of Notre Dame not getting into the playoff garnered. Wondering where pollsters now see Notre Dame after watching Miami beat Ohio State and reach the final four (maybe further). After watching an unimpressive game between Alabama and Georgia, then an absolute clobbering of The Tide at the hands of a Big Ten school. After watching the SEC, with five playoff representatives, get utterly embarrassed in the bowl season. Yeah, I'm curious where the AP puts them now that everyone has seen first hand how badly the committee got it wrong.

Hmmm, looks like Indiana is trying to win a national championship in 2026.

Lol, he's not going anywhere. He loves Bloomington...........it's his retirement job. He'll be revered at IU on the same scale as Bob Knight when it's all said and done. Those reports are coming from Vegas. Do you see him as a Vegas kind of guy? Laughable if you ask me.

IU is playing with so much confidence right now. I agree with a couple of other posters in that IU will win this game by double digits. That being said, Oregon better than Alabama, so IU better be ready. Will they be ready? Funniest take of the year. Cignetti is in charge. Sidenote: Hilarious that the traditional powers all wonder how they missed Curt Cignetti. IU hit the jackpot and will be the best program in the country for at least the next five years. Yes, even better than Notre Dame.

Good post up until "but others didn't believe they belonged." Everyone knew Notre Dame belonged, the committee just had to make room for Tulane, James Madison, Miami, and Alabama. They got Miami right, which I said from the beginning. I was one of the few who credited them as being one of the best teams in the country. No one can deny how good this team has played since the first week the CFPS rankings came out. It pissed them off and brought out the best in them. But Alabama? C'mon. Five teams from the SEC? C'mon. Vegas agrees with me as well. When they were 85% sure that Notre Dame would be in, they had the Irish as a 5.5 point favorite in Norman. Alabama was a 1.5 point favorite. But, this is an IU page, so.....................good luck to the Hoosiers. They've earned their spot. They're the favorites to win it all. And I hope they do.

I don't think you're on an island with either of those opinions. Everyone liked Leonard. I was part of a small percentage who thought he should have stayed at Duke making room for Steve Angeli as the starter, he earned it. They used him to bail out Leonard and Hartman on several occasions. Then we saw what he did the first few weeks at Syracuse. The dude can play. I respect anyone's opinion who says Notre Dame was better in 2024 than 2025. They went to the championship game. Where I'm not on an island, is that several media types have also said Notre Dame was better this year. Last year, I don't think any Irish fans really felt they had a chance to beat Ohio State, especially being as banged up as what they were. This season, there is no team in the field that we Irish fans feel that Notre Dame couldn't beat. You keep mentioning the first two weeks of the season, and that is where you are on an unrealistic island. We all know that Carr was mismanaged in the Miami game. And we all know, including Nick Saban, that the defense is far better now versus what they were during the first two weeks. I'll quote film expert Brooks Austin. "Notre Dame is top three, they have it all. The Georgia of the north." Offense, defense, special teams........firing on all cylinders. Bottom line. I think Notre Dame could beat Indiana. Not saying they would, just saying they could. If you look at the field, it's hard to deny that Notre Dame would have had just as good of a shot as anyone. But we'll never know. This is Indiana's year now, so kudos to them.

Spread? I'm thinking 28 points. But that's something everyone already knows. The fair thing to do is to the the Group of Five their own tournament. Kids playing in those leagues will never have a chance at a championship in the current format.

Alabama vs the Cinderella Story? I can't imagine a college football fan not watching that game no matter where in the United States you reside.

I wouldn't be upset about a voter rewarding BYU for playing in the game. Although we know ND would probably beat them by 4 touchdowns. It will be interesting to see what they do. I think ND's stock went way up after seeing the performances of Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. Notre Dame's 3pt loss on the road at Miami is starting to look pretty impressive. I just look at the poll as it stands right now and wonder how they aren't the 6th ranked team in the country...........from a poll perspective. If you ask me, they fall somewhere after IU along side Oregon, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Miami. So between 2-6.

Will there be another AP poll to end the season? I'm wondering how Notre Dame doesn't go from #9 to #6 if there is. Intelligent responses only. Blatant Notre Dame bashing moving forward will earn a spot on my ignore list. I hope that's not the case as I like debating football with some of you guys.

Notre Dame is also better this year than they were last year. This conversation between Notre Dame and IU is just nonsense. Notre Dame was better last year, IU is probably better this year. At the end of the day, IU will be the one bringing home the hardware, so kudos to them. I just wish ND was given an opportunity to showcase themselves this year.

Championship or bust.

I may have to watch Finebaum for the first time all year.

Agree, I think Ohio State was a bit rusty coming off the bye week. And not quite sure why Day took over the play calling duties. IU being the first team with a bye in seven tries to win a game goes to show how big the gap is between IU's coaching staff and everyone else. This is unreal.

You did, you called it. Kudos. But what happened to Ohio State "freight training" Miami? Sorry man, gotta bust your balls a little on that call.

I missed IU massively. I made a comment a couple of week ago regarding those who doubt the Hoosiers. Then I turned around and did it myself. But I'm thoroughly enjoying watching Indiana make me look like an idiot and I hope they go all the way to a title.

I feel like your primary goal is to reel me in with Notre Dame conversation. I'm done with that, so you can stop anytime. I have a lot of respect for Vegas. Which is why I referred to myself as lucky with the Miami pick. I'll never claim to be smarter than Vegas. I just happen to think Miami is a team on a mission. Regarding Indiana, my pick a few days ago reflected common sense based on coaching and body of work (not taking into consideration the bye week). My gut feeling yesterday had everything to do with: 1. Indiana's bye week and Alabama's opportunity to have a warm-up game. 2. The SEC being underestimated after a slow start to the bowl season. Fact of the matter is, the SEC is massively overrated and Indiana is proving that today. You keep citing games that prove the committee being right about taking Miami over ND. But this was never about Miami in my opinion, for the twentieth time. It was always about Alabama. So thank you Hoosiers, this game just proves to me that Notre Dame was better than both Alabama and Oklahoma (5.5 point favorite over the Sooners.) I've said it twenty times, five SEC teams never should have leapfrogged Notre Dame. This is an ESPN thing. Georgia is the only team in the SEC that could potentially beat the Irish, as I've said all along. Now, we going to keep doing this? Or you going to just concern yourself with your Hoosiers and move on? Sidenote: I stand my my second prediction of Bama over IU. I missed that MASSIVELY.

Feeling better about the Hoosiers, but this is a four quarter game.

Is this kid just having fun bouncing around? New man on campus?