23andCounting

Maybe that's why this week they are hell bent on it being ND's fault to save face. At least there is some transparency their end. At the end of the day we all know that USC doesn't need Notre Dame now that they are in the Big 10. In fact, I think having ND on their schedule is way too risky if their goal is to make the CFPS.

Hard to be disappointed in the AD without sitting in on the meeting.

I dunno. What's done is done. I don't care enough about about it to do any digging. Currently just celebrating the retention of our head coach. And honestly? Who cares if "someone" said "anyplace, anytime." Go to the negotiating table and all bets are off.

Doesn't make sense. All the more reason to believe there was an underlying reason that we don't know all the details of. Sorry, I just can't go by a post on social media by a coach saying "someone said." Or maybe someone did say "anyplace, anytime." Then when sitting at the negotiating table, changed there mind and said "go pound sand." Again, all speculation.

Of course they had a plan. It would be irresponsible if they didn't. Notre Dame has beaten USC seven of the last eight and USC is arguably their best opponent right now. I'm sure Notre Dame had their reason for not taking a deal in this. All we are doing here is speculating. Who really knows. I do know this though.........Notre Dame isn't stupid. Everything they do is strategic.

The only ranking that counts is the one at the end of the year. At least that's what they tell Notre Dame when they put ranked opponents out of the poll. Indiana doesn't have to justify themselves to anyone. They've done enough over the last two seasons.

Not saying it didn't happen, but it would nice to see the actual quote of "we'll play you anytime anywhere." Who said that? Right now we just have Lincoln Riley making a claim that their director of athletics was told by, someone, that they'd play us anytime anywhere. Need a bit more here. All we know is that USC had more reasons to want to end this than Notre Dame did. Sounds like Lincoln Riley is trying to spin this to make it look like it was all Notre Dame's doing. Gotta love the drama.

Although I had Notre Dame with a 55% chance of beating IU, I would argue that less than .0001% of Notre Dame fans believe any of that nonsense to be true.

Ohio State 20, Miami 17 Georgia 24, Ole Miss 21 Texas Tech 31, Oregon 24 Indiana 31, Alabama 21

Pretty simple really.

I'd still either consider them idiots or bought by ESPN. Both Miami and Notre Dame should have been in over Alabama. For me, this was never about Miami, it was always Alabama. The SEC is barely a step up from the ACC, five teams getting in is a total sham.

That's fair. I'm not saying Notre Dame is deserving of a 3 seed by any means. Two losses are two losses. I'm with you, I see them as 8+ based on their resume. I just agree with a lot of football experts that Notre Dame is one of the best 5 teams the way they are playing right now.

The committee's rankings mean nothing to me. They don't know anymore than the casual fan. For the record, I have a ton of respect for Miami. They had some sort of mid-season crisis, but they are playing at the top of their game right now. I think they could beat anyone in the SEC. I'm not going to continue repeating myself like a broken record as to why I think ND is Top 3.

No, no. Vegas kicks my tail anytime I go against them. If they said Notre Dame was the 13th best team, I'd take that pretty serious.

Still not sure there's a better measure. Again, try competing with Vegas monetarily over the long haul. You'll probably lose.

If Vegas doesn't count, why don't we rely on the CFPS committee to handicap the games instead. There's a reason it's hard to win money betting games consistently. No one does it better than Vegas. If Vegas says Notre Dame is the fourth best team in the country, I'm sorry, I'm probably rolling with that. It's in line with what I've seen from Notre Dame over the last couple of months.

Yeah, the other part of the equation. Personally, I don't watch the bowl games outside of the CFPS. It's equivalent to watching a pre-season NFL game. Not a whole lot of interest. Big Ten is 5-0...........big deal. Are we watching teams at their full strength? C'mon, let's not compare BYU to Notre Dame.......lol. They were barely on the cusp of the Top 12. Notre Dame was on the cusp of the Top 3. Massive difference here.

Well, Notre Dame's best weapon when it comes to "sticking it to people" is to withdraw itself from those who want to use their brand to make a boatload of money. I stand by that decision three weeks later. Maybe I should apply for a job in the front office since our values seem to be aligned. I love that the administration taught their players to not settle for second best. Probably one of the best lessons of their young lives that transpired a few weeks ago. When Notre Dame wins the national title next year, we'll know the lesson worked. When Julian Love battles Jadarian Price for Rookie of the Year honors, we'll know the lesson worked.

1. Well yeah, most metrics including Vegas had them as a Top 5 team. Kind of a slap in the face to the players in my opinion. Sitting at home as five SEC teams made the field. "Beneath" is putting it kindly 2. One has nothing to do with the other. C'mon. 3. Sure you would. As you said, they are your second team. A true Notre Dame fan takes satisfaction in watching the the Irish tell the bowl games to go pound sand. "Sorry you got screwed, but we'd still like to make a ton of money off your brand in a lessor bowl game." Lol, no thank you. See you next year.

Terry Smith? Well yeah, he's just an interim coach looking to make the best of the opportunity given him. Army Black Knights? Heck yeah, those guys are excited for any kind of post season action. Can't really speak for BYU and GT, neither of those teams are exactly what I'd call a Notre Dame, certainly not equals in terms of football. Pissed? Heavens no. Happy quite frankly. Notre Dame would have abused that team to the tune of four touchdowns or more. Well, maybe not, half their starters would have opted out. As I stated before, the Pop Tart's Bowl is beneath them knowing that they are arguably the best team in the country, hence why they kindly passed on it. Sidenote: Notre Dame is your second favorite team. We look at this completely different.

Honestly? Do people really pay any attention to these exhibition games? All I can think of at the moment is "rent free."

My viewpoint? I suppose you could say that. They played for a national title last year and this year were ranked between 3-5 according to most metrics. Vegas had them either third or fourth most likely to win this year. So yeah, going back two years, you could say they are a Top 3 program. That can't be disputed, unless of course you claim being smarter than Vegas. At the end of the day, USC saw the writing on the wall. They lost seven of the last eight to Notre Dame and they know the Irish will continue to be dominant as long as Marcus Freeman is the coach. In the current state of the USC program, having Notre Dame on the schedule coupled with the brutal Big Ten, their resume screams three losses............just enough to put them out of the playoff. So probably the best strategic move for USC if they want to be a playoff team.

Long story short: Big Ten schedule = two potential losses Notre Dame = third loss, essentially putting USC out of the playoffs. Let's not beat around the bush. USC knew ND wouldn't agree to a Week 0 game. Essentially, they got what they wanted. A break from one of the Top 3 teams in the country. "Let's see how it goes and revisit this down the road." We can sit here and analyze this from many different angles. But in the end, it's much simpler than most think.

My interpretation of "and, significantly, USC's concern over a special CFP agreement that benefits independent Notre Dame" was incorrect. My first thought was that they were citing a boycott. The article you posted cites it as an advantage Notre Dame has over USC, which is correct and I absolutely don't blame USC for abandoning the deal. But there are many programs out there whom a game against Notre Dame would significantly help their chances. Notre Dame won't be joining a conference anytime soon, but I'm sure they are flattered that everyone wants them to.

Lol, the real truth from LA Times and Sports Illustrated............this ought to be good.