Notre Dame has 4th highest chance of making Playoff according to ESPN
42%, behind only Georgia, Bama and Clemson. Your daily laugh of the day
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24310810/introducing-co…
August 8th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
They won't as of 11pm on September 1st!
It won't take that long....I don't think the game will be close. Don Brown is going to unleash hell. Gonna be a blowout for the good guys.
Wasn't it the 2006 season that started with an unexpected trouncing of ND and almost ended with a NC game appearance?
August 8th, 2018 at 10:19 PM ^
There's going to be a lot of pent up frustration from last year taken out at Notre Dame stadium. That Touchdown Jesus might want to cover his eyes.
August 8th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
This is largely a result of schedule. Their 2 most difficult games are at home against teams that each lost 5 games last year.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
Wait this cant be right. When it was announced we were adding Notre Dame to our schedule this year, on the road, I learned here on MGoBlog we were practically punching our ticket to the final four by doing so. That only the manliest of manly teams would play a schedule like ours with as many tough road games and that once we won them all (prolly like 50-0 each time) then we would surely get invited to the playoffs.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
Yea that whole "play a tough schedule" thing is a joke. That shit doesn't matter. Win and you're in, simple. Doesn't matter who you play
August 8th, 2018 at 12:49 PM ^
Exactly. Which is why smart football programs dont punch themselves in the face with a tough schedule. Why on earth Michigan doesnt SCREAM to the B1G to move either MSU or OSU to an alternate year makes 0.0 sense to me. And then to add Notre Dame to the away game mix on the same cycle is playoff suicide IMO.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:51 PM ^
100%. I hate complainin about our schedule but it's brutal. Warde screwed this one up big time. This ND game on the road is gonna have a huge effect on the season
Yes, and that huge effect is going to be that as we win one big game after another, we are going to put ourselves in prime position for the CFP.
Prognosticators do not determine the CFP. The committee does. And the committee has made it abundantly clear that resume is extremely important. So a better prognosticator might instead give ND almost zero chance.
Michigan is doing it right. And thankfully, we have a coach who doesn't shrink away from hard jobs. Out on that football field, the truth will be told. And, this year, I think it's going to be a truth that Michigan fans like.
No they are not.
Do the easy schedule. Look at Bama. Only now with good Georgia and hopefully a tougher Aurburn do they have an OK schedule.
Play tomato cans and B1G. Don't shoot yourself in the foot with ND away game. With a strong team why the hell not get every advantage your side? I'm done with proving 'man ball'. Screw that. Blow through an ok schedule, get into CFP.
This committe is stupid. They just look at wins. SoS my ass. Lower down the list of things considered if its a P5 team.
This is known as the "win at all costs" mentality and we chastise OSU fans for it.
College football players come to big-time programs to play in the big-time games. Let 'em play in those games. If you want a team that goes undefeated, root for UCF or North Carolina A&T.
Sadly no they dont. The committee has proved just the opposite over the past three years as they've consistently taken teams with much weaker resumes but better records over teams that played the rockem-sockem tough guy schedule who lost a few.
I dont know why people dont seem to understand what EVERY good SEC team figured out several years ago. Schedule as many of your quality games at home as you can and schedule absolutely NOBODY out of conference that has any chance of beating you. You do realize there's a reason the SEC keeps getting multiple invites to the final four while the B1G is on the outside looking in right?
No, Michigan most assuredly is NOT "doing it right". They are making things needlessly hard on themselves and a win at Notre Dame in the opener (very hard game) will count just as much as a home win over Eastern Michigan would provided they win the others. But a loss in that one coupled by just one loss in the following games means they're out: @MSU, @Northwestern, @OSU, Penn State & Wisconsin. That's brutal and we're doing it to ourselves.
Please just spell out "probably."
August 8th, 2018 at 11:58 AM ^
In their defense, they aren't saying they are the 4th best team. Because of the brutal B10 east and what should be a strong Wisconsin team, it's hard from an odds perspective to put a lot of money into any one B10 team even if you think there are 3ish teams from the B10 that might be better than ND.
ESPN's algorithms are crap. They spew out forecasts like Michigan BB is the 9th best in the Big Ten in the upcoming season (after having them even lower last season). and ask their writers to justify them.
Does anyone really believe Notre Dame's chances of making the CFP are 5% less than Alabama's.
Vegas, by comparison, has Notre Dame at 40-1 to win the championship. Tied with MSU for 12th best odds.
August 8th, 2018 at 11:58 AM ^
Michigan beats them 38-10 book it muh fukas!
*MAFKA
The Rockpile is hard AF.
Bring back the 38-0 tradition!
August 8th, 2018 at 12:01 PM ^
My ass, I have laughed it off
August 8th, 2018 at 12:06 PM ^
About as credible as their preseason basketball rankings.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
Unless we beat them, then ESPN will say they’re garbage and the win doesn’t mean anything.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
To be fair most of the time we beat them lately they ended up being garbage. We were also garbage a lot, but slightly less.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:19 PM ^
Other teams, too. Remember that epic Texas victory over ND that seemed to validate Charlie Strong, only to turn out to be a game between two less-than-mediocre teams on the verge of disaster?
Turns out Notre Dame has been garbage a lot lately.
ND is almost always overrated at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately that's also often been the case with Michigan.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
Which will plummet when we demolish them on September 1.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
Ron Powlus!
August 8th, 2018 at 10:28 PM ^
Joe Milton!
(And yes, I am a Michigan fan)
August 8th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
They will always find a way to
push the teams they cover the most.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:11 PM ^
They'll more than likely be favored in every game but @ USC, so it makes sense. (Assuming ND is the slight favorite in our matchup b/c of home field)
August 8th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^
UM is -2.5 right now. Which means UM is favored for the non-gambling folk.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^
And last I saw UM is favored in every game until Thanksgiving.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:33 PM ^
Close. We're currently getting 1.5 against MSU
https://www.landof10.com/big-ten/college-football-betting-lines-odds-bi…
BTW - would love to get me some Michigan +9 at OSU right now not sure about us laying 3 against both Wisconsin & PSU.
At South Bend at night with the Irish ranked higher in every poll I’ve seen so far this year and Michigan is -2,5?
There’s some deep bullshit out there somewhere.
It just means we have a very large alumni base who like to gamble...
August 8th, 2018 at 12:11 PM ^
it'll be a repeat of the 06' game
August 8th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
Watching that game was some of the most fun I have ever had. Most people expected us to lose and UM just destroyed them in South Bend. It was glorious.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
Kinda makes sense if you assume that they would be the acc representative if Clemson doesn't get in. Same thing for Georgia/Alabama (notwithstanding the bullshit from last year).
Clemson is by far their overall favorite at 67%. I'm kind of thinking a school that knocks off Clemson would have a leg up for representing the ACC.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
Its BS
BUT
I think its going to be a very tough game. Heck Georgia only won by 1 there last year.
goblue.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:26 PM ^
That game was Fromm's first start and Notre Dame returns less than 50% of that offense.
Agreed. But wouldn't it be Shea/new QBs first start as well?
I expect less than smooth going.
First start with Michigan. His 11th start in college football. It was literally Fromm's 1st start in college football.
Shea will be just fine. Smooth sailing.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
That was Fromm's first start and the second game of the season. Had that game been played in November, I bet Georgia wins by at least 2 TDs.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
Well, it isn't that far fetched. They return a pretty talented offense, a mobile QB with a good backup and should be more experienced on defense. Are they Alabama or Clemson? No, not at all. But ask yourself this. Are they better than Purdue? Michigan State? Maybe even Wisconsin? Yes, I think so. This is going to be a battle. At night. In South Bend of all places.
This game worries me quite a bit actually. I hate playing these guys early in the season, especially the first game. Do I think we will win? Yeah, but that is because we have a stout defense returning and I think Harbaugh has to win this game. There is a lot of pressure for Jim and Michigan to win a huge road game.
This game reminds me of Florida last year. Big road game, (I know it was in Jerry's world but sill) against a decent ranked team. I hope we put ND away in the Third and walk away with a 21-10 type of victory.
If Notre Dame does win, I expect them to go pretty far until the end of the season. Who knows.
If we can not run the ball, and our QB ends up on his ass and or is forced to make bad throws that end up being picked, well fuck me freddy! It's going to be a long season.
They're not better than Wisconsin
August 8th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^
That Michigan-Notre Dame game is going to come down to quarterback play and turnovers IMO.
August 8th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^
Food for thought. Eric Adelson pointed this out on the radio last week:
Notre Dame won 10 games last year. The last time Notre Dame had back-to-back 10 win seasons was 1993.
Since then, they average roughly 5 wins following a 10 win season.
But whatever the case, fuck Notre Dame.