BTF

You said "sustained success." They never even made it to the final game in the 90's. That's not sustained success.

But not Warren Central and Carmel. That being said, I think you could make a case for both programs as their success in every other decade was enough to make up for their lack of success in the 90's. You could also make an exception for Snider. They were successful every decade. Five state titles are hard to come by when you have to play several programs twice your enrollment to hoist up the trophy.

Carmel is out............no success in the 90's.

And then there were seven. Snider and Zionsville eliminated. Ben Davis, Dwenger, Luers, Cathedral, Chatard, Roncalli, and Penn.

These programs have been to the state finals every decade since the 80's. (We're not counting the 2020's): Ben Davis, Dwenger, Luers, Snider, Cathedral, Chatard, Ritter, Roncalli, Northwood, Penn, Tri-West, and Zionsville. One state finals appearance per decade eliminates Warren Central and Carmel. Neither of them has representation in the 90's. Regionals - Northwood eliminated. Only one regional title in the 2010's. Sectionals - Ritter eliminated. Only three sectional titles in the 90's and 2010's. Tri-West eliminated. The 80's was the only decade they recorded four sectional titles. So here are the Blue Bloods with regard to THAT criteria: Ben Davis, Dwenger, Luers, Snider, Cathedral, Chatard, Roncalli, Penn, and Zionsville.

That being said. What is the criteria? Are we going back to the 80's or just the 90's? One state championship One state championship appearance per decade (80's forward) Two regional championships per decade (90's forward) Four sectional titles per decade (90's forward)

Good point.

According to Gatorguy's spreadsheet, Reitz comes in at 36. I had Reitz in my original 33 (no particular order). I think there are about 40 schools out there who would stake their claim to being a Blue Blood. That tells me that recent success needs to be taken into account to get that number down to 20.

"Lol" was my reaction as well. It just kind of left me speechless. Giving credit where credit is due, his list included some really good programs. I just don't know how you can include the likes of Bloomington South and Center Grove, but not Luers, Dwenger, and Snider. At the end of the day, I think there are approximately 25 programs that could make a case for Blue Blood status. The best post I've seen so far is the spreadsheet that was derived from a point system. 1. Chatard 2. Cathedral 3. Luers 4. Carmel 5. Ben Davis 6. Roncalli 7. Dwenger 8. Penn 9. Sheridan 10. Hobart 11. Warren Central 12. Ritter 13. Snider 14. LLC 15. Center Grove 16. Jimtown 17. Andrean 18. Mater Dei 19. Tri-West Hendricks 20. Northwood 21. Evansville Memorial 22. Adams Central 23. West Layfayette 24. Franklin Central 25. Columbus East That's a pretty good Top 25 if you ask me. Some will ask where Bloomington South, Pioneer, and New Pal reside. All three would be included in a Top 30. Zionsville comes in at 32, Lowell at 35, and Heritage Hills at 36. I guess we can all look at the ranking and come up with our own conclusion as to who is a Blue Blood and who isn't.

I'm still curious as to why Luers doesn't come to mind. Luers: 25 sectional titles, 20 Regional titles, 16 semi-state titles, and 11 state championships.

Well, yeah. Concessions is part of the whole fan experience. Maybe that's why Parkview Field was rated higher than Lucas Oil in a recent study of the top sporting venues in the United States? They typically look at the whole package.

Lol. At least at Notre Dame you can go get concessions without having to wait in line to get back in. Five 10-win seasons in a row. Michigan has two during that time period. Not bad, not bad. They're trying.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/27379180/the-50-best-college-football-programs-150-years Michigan comes in at a respectable #6.

Notre Dame won two of the last three..........Michigan will have to live with that for a decade.

Lol. I'll give you that.

My thought is that if they were motivated enough to have Michigan stop by to teach them the game, then eventually they would have had somebody teach them had the Wolverines refused. I said it once and I'll say it again. Most Irish fans that I know have completely forgotten about that game. Notre Dame's football program is focused on winning the national championship. If someone asked Freeman or anyone on his staff what the score of that game was, 50% of them wouldn't even know. I agree that Michigan fans think more about that game than Notre Dame fans do. But at the end of the day, both programs can hold their heads high knowing that they are the two winningest programs in college football history.

So if Michigan's football team didn't stop in South Bend in 1894 to teach the Notre Dame students the game of football on their way to Chicago, then Notre Dame wouldn't have a football team today?

If they haven't by now, then they never will. This concept has been around since the 90's.

Mishawaka avoided Lowell and Dwenger to play Snider? I find that fascinating since Snider beat Dwenger 43-0 in 2012. Are we sure we know the REAL reason why Mishawaka bumped up?

Luers isn't even a debate. In fact Luers could argue Top 5. Snider and Dwenger are both in there, no question. Interesting that not one Fort Wayne team came to your mind.

I was being nice to Ryan Day. There might be 25 coaches that are better. Key word is "might." I don't want to completely discredit this guy. I originally thought it was a matter of time before Kelly won the whole thing at LSU. But in order to do that, you have to be authentic in my opinion. If you're not, those around you will see right through it and you'll lose respect quickly. His time at LSU has been anything BUT authentic. That will be his downfall. What I love most about the drama surrounding Kelly leaving the Irish is that the attention Notre Dame and Freeman are getting on a national scale absolutely DWARFS the attention Kelly is getting at LSU.

I love the Harbaugh quote, he hit the nail on the head. Ohio State's brand is strong enough to keep Day afloat. I absolutely think he's a good coach. But he has a long way to go be considered a Top 10 coach. Freeman is a wild card as well. Successful defensive coordinator stints at Cincinnati and Notre Dame don't equate to head coaching success, so we'll see what happens. He's proven to be one of the best recruiters in the country though. That in itself secures ND a nine win season. The talent gap between the Irish and Buckeyes is closing fast. How good is this staff that Freeman put together in the off season? Good enough to beat OSU in Columbus? Or does OSU win by three scores? Time will tell.

Ohio State's a tad overrated in my opinion. I think Ryan Day is a good coach who's fortunate to have the top talent that he has. A great coach? Nah. He would have won a championship by now. That being said, I'm sure Ohio State will be pretty jacked up hosting the Irish in Columbus. Buckeyes will be hard to beat in that environment. Not sure about "naming the score" though.

The name Indiana is to basketball as the name Notre Dame is to football. That's why there are so many ND football/IU basketball fans. Ask someone from California or New York what they think of when they think of Indiana. They'll tell you cornfields or basketball. Ask them what they think of Notre Dame. Will they say education? Nope, they'll say football. It's just human nature to root for both if you live in this state.

Honestly? I think the chance of them going 2-0 is about the same as going 1-1 or 0-2. All we really know at this point is that all three teams will be Top 6 in most polls. All bets are off. Clemson is Clemson , Ohio State is Ohio State, and Notre Dame continues to be right there on the outside looking in.