Basic Status of ND's football team (expected starters and such)
It would be easier to comprehend and make my own conclusion if you added the following to each name:
Scout/Rivals ranking (probably a pain to do)
Class standing
If they started last year.
Also, list of starters from last year that have graduated.
sorry don't have time for that but you should pick up phil steele's magazine its a good read and will go into that much depth for you
list, some deservedly and others not so much IMO.
I haven't even gotten to his ND write up yet but the only players I remember seeing him rank were Teo, Crist, Floyd and Rudolph. But I haven't looked at it in that much depth yet
I appreciate your insight and I hope we add a guy like you for every Big 10 team. With that said, I just didn't get much out of your post because for the most part they are just names on pieces of paper. I know it would be hard (tedious) work, but I think that effort should be put into diaries.
Yeah I understand what you mean but a lot of this could see a considerable amount of change before that all important first week in Sept.. So look for something more well rounded then
Hey Irish - if you were willing to put a little more effort into your work product, you may have gotten into Michigan. Oh snap!
Why are we obsessed with ND?
/Sarcasm.
Thanks for the insight, I know plenty has been talked about with regards to the ND game this year, and this should help those move forward. It is nice to have rational fans from other fanbases contribute to the blog.
Most helpful.
How does the O-line project for the year? They lost some long-term occupants (particularly Young and that center whose name escapes me), so are the Irish faithful expecting a drop-off?
It will depend on the final product. Stewart and Robinson are beasts and Wenger is more than capable at center, he was the starting center in 2008. They tried moving robinson outside to tackle a bit in the spring but then apparently moved him back before the spring game, he had some time at OT last year with Weis and did well on the line but not so much in screens and such.
I have no idea what Longo is doing to them training wise so it could be a different situation in the fall but the interior will be the strongest part of the oline. If Kelly wants to run the line will open holes, if he want's to pass I think Crist will have enough time to do so.
"Why, it'll be a hot shitty mess. Our left guard doesn't know the difference between pulling and blocking down, and our center's hands are too small to hold the ball. Thanks for asking."
Still, good to know. Much appreciated.
yeah I haven't seen the practices myself so I wouldn't have been able to tell you anyway, can only go off of what others tell me, but for all I know it my be a hot shitty mess. lol
Obv, like everyone else, I'd like more detail from you as opposed to Phil Steele, as you have proven yourself to be someone who's opinion on ND I would probably trust above any other source (take that for what it's worth). I have ND alum friends, but I don't think they're as knowledgeable as you, Irish. If nothing else, people are paying you a compliment by asking for more insight from you.
Also, my 1000 foot view says, "wow, they have a lot of depth; if there are this many position battles and interchangeable people, that's probably a good sign for them."
Thanks,
The secondary and RB has the weakest depth imo but its not really a bad thing in all cases. I am very happy with the RB situation even with only 4 available on the roster and the 3 CBs should do well, but Safety is a concern and I wouldn't mind a few more guys on the roster.
So what is your Win-Loss projection, with special consideration for Sept. 11?
I want 6-6 and everything above that is gravy, most people have much higher expectations but that is where I am right now
Wow- that is exactly my sentiment. At least misery loves company.
I commented on the earlier thread, but I actually snooped around a little bit and now I know why you come to this board. What is the best ND Blog? You guys really suck when it comes to the blog department from what I could find. ND should have a blog with a status close to here and I couldn't find it on a quick search. You should be able to just cut and paste from every other posters 900 potential depth charts like we do here instead of doing all that work.
ND should have a blog with a status close to hereYou do realize that MGoBlog actually is the best team-specific college sports blog there is, right? This is not some homer's opinion, it's e-fact. That being said, having a blog with a "status close to here" is pretty much impossible.
As an ND alum, I agree! That's why I'm posting here.
"You do realize that MGoBlog actually is the best team-specific college sports blog there is, right?"
which is why I was so disappointed that we became a World Cup site (for as long as USA was still in).
Good to be back to Michigan sports.
...Yes, God forbid the owner/writer/mad genius in charge takes some liberties during offseason for literally every college sport covered here to cover another sport he and a good amount of people here like. I'm not a big soccer fan myself. But hell, he could cover the next Eukanuba/AKC dog show in the offseason and besides probably being the best coverage the show would get, I'd get over it because the content balance is still heavily weighted to the side of "100% pure Colombian awesome."
Also I just love that you said this:
"Good to be back to Michigan sports."
in a diary covering ND football.
Speaking of which, thanks to Irish for putting up a good summary for those of us who needed one.
Got sick of going back three pages on the MGoBoard huh? Thanks for this and the point spread answer.
Now let hear about the Big Ten Refs calling bad games against ND vs PUR/UM/MSU. ; )
| DATE | OPPONENT | W/L | TIME (ET) |
| 9/04 | Purdue | L | 3:30 PM |
| 9/11 | Michigan | L | 3:30 PM |
| 9/18 | @ Michigan State | L | 8:00 PM |
| 9/25 | Stanford | L | 3:30 PM |
| 10/02 | @ Boston College | W | TBA |
| 10/09 | Pittsburgh | L | 3:30 PM |
| 10/16 | Western Michigan | W | 2:30 PM |
| 10/23 | vs. Navy | W | 12:00 PM |
| 10/30 | Tulsa | W | 2:30 PM |
| 11/13 | Utah | L | 2:30 PM |
| 11/20 | vs. Army | W | 7:00 PM |
| 11/27 | @ USC | L | 8:00 PM |
5-7, but 6-6 is realistic. The QB Crist is the lynchpin in BK's offense. While he is surrounded by talent, I don't think he will be up to speed with what Kelly wants. Remember, at Cincinatti, BK's QBs were experienced. Tony Pike was a RS Senior when they won the Big East, Collaros is now a RS Junior. That is 5 and 3 years experience in a system, respectively. Also, they lost 3 Oline starters. Crist will be running his ass off. I think Crist will get eaten up by Purdue's defense, Ryan Kerrigan in particular, before they play us. He is not as mobile as Pike or Collaros and he will be barely 3-4 months into the system. Lastly, as far as I know, BK's defense coordinator did not follow him to ND. Their first 6 games will be tough.
| DATE | OPPONENT | W/L | TIME (ET) |
| 9/04 | Purdue | W | 3:30 PM |
| 9/11 | Michigan | L | 3:30 PM |
| 9/18 | @ Michigan State | L | 8:00 PM |
| 9/25 | Stanford | L | 3:30 PM |
| 10/02 | @ Boston College | W | TBA |
| 10/09 | Pittsburgh | L | 3:30 PM |
| 10/16 | Western Michigan | W | 2:30 PM |
| 10/23 | vs. Navy | L | 12:00 PM |
| 10/30 | Tulsa | W | 2:30 PM |
| 11/13 | Utah | L | 2:30 PM |
| 11/20 | vs. Army | W | 7:00 PM |
| 11/27 | @ USC | L | 8:00 PM |
The offense -- takes a noticeable step back from last year (re: drop off in talent/experience at QB, OL and WR plus everyone else is learning a new system). The defense -- hard for it to be much worse than last year (86th), but no reason to expect it to be substantially better either (Cincy's was 67th last year and that was BK's third year).
They could possibly end up at 7-5, with wins against MSU and Navy, but they also could lose to BC and/or Tulsa. Maybe BK will turn the program around in 2-3 years but not this year.
Note: I give Irish credit for coming to a UofM board and posting regularly though. And his prediction of 6-6 is reasonable, unlike all the ND hype out there.
I don't see ND with more than 7 wins with their schedule. I just don't see why ND is ranked in a lot of preseason polls.
As best I can figure, it is some sort of weird cosmic collision of ND hype and BK love. Funny thing, I haven't heard Dr. Lou say a word about the coming season. The whole college football world seems to be upside down.
Its funny, Mark May has actually been on the ND bandwagon to a degree, he's had some really positive things to say about BK and ND. I guess he doesn't hate ND as much as he did Charlie (and the firing of Tyrone). Mayday has been right the past few years on ND, hopefully that continues.
Funny thing, I haven't heard Dr. Lou say a word about the coming season.
Perhaps I'm delusional (point in case: the Lebron shit-show) but maybe ESPN is reining in the crazy old homer after last year's "they could be the second best team in the country" nonsense.
I think ND's schedule is really difficult to predict. They play no great teams (unfortunately Michigan included) but none of those teams are cupcakes either. Tulsa, WMU, and Army should be wins but you can make a case that they will lose every other game. On the other hand, you could make the case that they will win them all too.
I'm really unsure how this season is going to play out. I'm hopeful for 8-4 or better, (possible if Crist stays healthy and progresses rapidly), but other than Tulsa (even they were pretty good a couple years ago), WMU, and Army, none of the games are gimmes.
I replied to you on an earlier thread so I'm not sure if you saw it. Cincinnati finishing 67th is pretty impressive considering they had 10 new starters, had MAC level talent, were on the field more than any other FBS defense, and a first year defensive coordinator (switching from a 3-4 from a 4-3 scheme). They had former ND starting QB and transfer Demetrius Jones starting part of the season at OLB! Brandon Mills played pretty significant minutes for them at NT, at 5-10 weighing 266 pounds!
I would expect ND's defense to take major steps forward considering the major coaching upgrade (Tenuta was an unmitigated disaster), cohesion on the coaching staff (Tenuta/Brown conflict is gone), and the players playing the 3-4 (what Charlie originally recruited all the significant starters and backups for).
I think ND can be similar on offense to last year. Hopefully they stay healthy (Clausen was immobilized b/c of his foot), Allen missed a lot of time, Floyd, and Rudolph. Kelly's offense is much more QB friendly than Weis', that will ease Dayne's transition. ND still has a great WR and TE, a pretty good running back, and a lot of young talent behind them. I don't think his offense that has had so much success the last four years is going to grind to a halt with this much talent.
I hate ND more than any team in CFB (yep, even more than Ohio St.), but I would be very surprised if they are not at least 7-5 next season. There is TONS of talent on the roster and Kelly, unlike Weis, is actually a very good coach.
I don't have one of those nifty charts but I predict the following W/L for ND in 2010:
"Lock" Wins - Purdue, WMU, Tulsa, Army
Likely Wins - Michigan, Pitt, Navy, Utah
Likely Losses - MSU, Stanford, BC and USC
7-5 or 8-4 for ND in 2010 IME and at least 9 wins in 2011. ND will be a national power again under Kelly, unfortunately. Although I don't think they will be on the level of Florida, USC, OSU, Texas,etc. I expect them to be a consistent 9-10 game winner and go to BCS bowls about half of the time.
You clearly don't know a whole lot about college football. Lock wins against Purdue and Tulsa? Tulsa should be pretty good-Steele has them as the most improved team in the country. ND barely beat Purdue last year. I don't think any of those likely wins are very likely. Maybe a couple of them are 50-50, but I doubt ND wins more than 2. All of your teams in the likely win category are better than BC.
Rather than throw out classless insults as you elected to do, I will offer the following evidence for my predictions:
ND has won 17 out of their last 20 games against Purdue in South Bend, thus my assertion of "Lock" status for the ND v Purdue game. Btw, since the Lock is in quotes, it means that I don't really think of it as a true Lock, just that they will very likely win.
Illinois was Phil Steele's prediction for Most Improved team in 2009. How did THAT work out? Answer: Illinois dropped from 5-7 in 2008 to 3-9 in 2009. Conclusion: Phil Steele is not omniscient. Add to that, Tulsa plays in the crappy Conference USA and I am pretty confident that ND will be able to handle a mediocre non-BCS team. Remember the beatdown ND put on Nevada (35-0 ND win) last season and Nevada was supposed to be a really good non-BCS team.
The "Likely win" games (except for a neutral site game against Navy) are played in South Bend, the BC game is played in Chestnut Hill where ND has not won since 1998 and until last year ND was on a 6 game losing streak to BC. Thus my prediction that BC will beat ND.
Pitt probably has the best chance to beat ND in South Bend of all the teams I listed as "Likely Wins" for ND, but they will be starting a new QB of their own next season.
My reply was very dickish, so I am sorry for that. I agree on some of those things, but I still don't think Purdue and Tulsa are "locks." I really don't think ND will be any better than last year, and I would be surprised if the they were firing on all cylinders in their first game against a decent opponent. Just because Tulsa plays in the CUSA, that doesn't mean they aren't good.
Touchdown Jesus will be praying for Charlie's triumphant return.
Well that UM secondary couldn't stop Floyd, Rudolph or Kamara either and that Dline couldn't hold back Allen on the ground either, and all 4 of them return.
Pike is more mobile than Crist? Not on this planet. Pike was pretty much a tall stick figure, Kelly would roll him out left or right in the pocket but he was not a threat with his legs. FWIW Rivals lists Crist as a 4.66 40. He is much more athletic than Pike and Clausen. Watch the Purdue game, I can think of at least one play where Crist takes a zone read option and picks up a first down turning the corner on Purdue's defense.
Purdue has a new QB making his first start on the road, loses their starting RB, and most of their secondary and LBs. Kelly will win this game. Purdue has had very little success against ND on the road (one win since the 70s).
Kelly's offense is very QB friendly. That is why he has been able to have so much success with guys off the bench with no accolades. No one wanted Zach Collaros or Tony Pike out of HS, and both came out of nowhere even at Cincinnati and had success. Dayne does not have to be a superstar, Kelly will get the ball to his playmakers just like he has everywhere else he has been.
I can think of at least one play where Crist takes a zone read option and picks up a first down turning the corner on Purdue's defense.
I can think of a play where Steve Threet broke a huge one against Wisconsin, but I wouldn't exactly consider him the most mobile of quarterbacks
Touche, its tough to come up with evidence that he is more athletic than Pike other than my own knowledge of watching them both play. 40 times don't mean everything but Crist allegedly ran a 4.66, Pike ran a 4.9 at the combine. Pike wasn't a threat on the ground, he had 31 carries for 6 yards (i know that also factors in sacks). Weis didn't trust Crist to run his system in the Purdue game and relied upon his athleticism to make a few plays in the zone read. FWIW he finished the year with 5 carries for 16 yards. If you think Crist is a gump back there you will be unpleasantly surprised, although I think Kelly will try to protect him knowing the backup options are not options.
I don't know who is more mobile, but there is no comparison who was the better QB last year. While Crist was a deer in the headlights when he came in to cover for Jimmy, Pike was bordering on Heisman-finalist level and was derailed only by an injury. Some of that might be BK's system, but Crist still is not going to play like Pike overnight.
Really who was better last year is a question? So one QB threw a total of 20 passes and the other 338, what happened to captain obvious I need his screen name in this reply.
It isn't overnight its 30 weeks later, you have no idea what Crist will play like; you have no idea how the offense will be called, you have no idea how strong Crist is, you have no idea what Kelly will ask of him and you sure don't have any idea of what he capable of, so until you do
You may be right that Crist won't play up to Pike's level, especially in the early going, but I guarantee you would have said there is no way Pike (whose primary recruiting interest other than UC were FCS and Div II schools) can play as well as Mauk did in 2007 before leading Cincy to a BCS bowl in 08. You also would have said there is no way a redshirt soph Zach Collaros (whose primary decision as a recruit came down to football and baseball for Cincy or just play baseball for Kent) with 15 career passing attempts can keep Cincy's offense rolling (and actually improve it) when Pike was injured last year.
he will not be very mobile and he was recruited as a pro style QB. If BK was recruiting QBs he probably would not have offered Crist and Crist likely would not go to a BK team. Nevertheless, Crist is much better than what RR had when he started at UM. Also, if the spring game is any indicator of readiness, apparently Nate Montana (18 of 30 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns) did better than Crist (20-for-31 for 172 yards, one score, throwing two interceptions).
Montana outduels Crist in Blue-Gold game
Just about any coach would have offered Crist if he was interested.
Also, I'm going to have to back up Crist's athletic ability. When he played Purdue, he was basically looking at the first read and then running--well. He was really fast for a pretty big QB. Not Pryor or Young, but very athletic
Yeah I wouldn't use the spring game stats for anything more than a gauge on execution.
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