I just picked up a copy of Athlons college football

lol good point. That's pretty funny that they have the #6 team in the country losing to an unranked Michigan team. I have a feeling if Michigan finished 8-4 with a win over the #6 team in the country, we'd be ranked.

But a lot of those mags are going to be inaccurate anyway because of what is going on with OSU. I bet most have OSU in the big ten title race and now it looks like that would be the best possible thing that could happen to them this season. Without Pryor they'll be likely starting another true freshman at QB and be without a HC for the entire season.

Good eye. Thats funny.

It's not that farfetched.  The #6 team in the country generally goes about 10-2.   ND's schedule isn't that difficult.  It's possible they could drop that early one to us but go on a long winning streak to end the season in the top 10.  

And I agree with you, that will be a very tough game. But I am not so convinced their defense is awesome, if only because it turned in some nice performances the latter half of 2010 against teams that had big names but were very disappointing (USC) or had seen their offense disappear due to injury (Utah). In the end, Notre Dame ranked 51st in total defense.

Granted, we probably would've lost to the Irish last year if Crist had not gotten injured, since we had shown no signs of stopping them when he was in the game.

I have to think we'll do a better job on Floyd this year. Could not do much worse. Yes, they will give us fits, but I just see us finding a way to win the game, especially since we have the best player on the field. Never mind the change in offense, I'm expecting to see Denard show the improvement one can expect from a great athlete in his second year of starting. If we throw it enough to keep them guessing, he's a talent that's hard to stop.

Just saw Phil Steele has ND at #6 too. Not sure I would put them that high, although they return pretty much everybody on D and the offense should be better with 2 experienced QBs and Floyd in the second year of the spread.

Unusually for ND their depth on both lines looks pretty solid. It remains to be seen what they have in skill position players (besides Floyd) and the secondary is pretty average. They have a ton of talent at LB and DE though... I wouldn't be surprised if they have the best D we face all year, including Nebraska and OSU.

Running back depth is a disaster.  Wood and Gray are nice, but with Roberson out with an ACL their third guy is a generic 3-star running back or walk on.

ND has 4 offensive linemen back, but as a unit they were meh last year.

Cornerback depth is also thin.

If Floyd is out then not only is he out, but Kelly probably starts moving guys to positions where they're not as good a fit.  

That said, if Kelly can match his reputation on offense, the defense should more than hold up its end.

He has a lot of value but it's so damn bogged down by his past results for predicting or the last 6 running backs to come out of a program before he even delves into the current situation.

As a true sophomore.  LeMichael James is the only returning player in the country who rushed for more yards than Denard last year.  I don't think James is going to throw for another 2,500-3,000 yards either.  As for accuracy, Denard's completion percentage and yards per attempt last year were virtually identical to Andrew Luck's at the same stage in his career (first time starter, second year on campus).  Denard threw a few more picks but he also threw a few more TD's as well. 

The guy is going to only get better throwing the ball and anyone who thinks he won't rush for a shitload of yards and touchdowns (even if given fewer designed runs) is kidding themselves.  Throw in a good offensive line that returns 4 starters, an experienced receiving corps with at least 4 quality options (assuming Stonum plays), a solid senior tight end, and the potential for a running back to emerge who might shoulder some of the load as well and I'm amazed everyone around here doesn't realize Denard is far and away the frontrunner for the award.

ran for a crazy amount of yards, enough to be named an All American running back, yet he passed for more. Now he's a year older, and he and those around him are better coached. Our team was a  few defensive stops away from a 10 win season last year even with all the turnovers, I think he'll cut way down on those as a Junior under Al Borges.

If we're being honest with ourselves, we should admit that Denard wasn't a very good quarterback last year.  I'm sure this post is going to get negged and collapsed, but the bottom line is that he's not very accurate and he's not a great decision maker in the pocket.  Sure, he might improve this off-season, just like any player *might* improve. 

But he's not a good quarterback just because he can toss a ball out to Darryl Stonum, who then turns it into a 66-yard catch-and-run TD against UMass.  He's a not a good quarterback just because he can fake a run and then hit an uncovered Roy Roundtree for a 75-yard TD against Illinois.

His Heisman candidacy depends almost solely on his running skills, because his throwing skills are mediocre at best.  He might even be a subpar Big Ten quarterback when it comes to pure throwing ability and pocket awareness.  So it all depends on what Hoke and Co. do with him next year.  If they run him a bunch and keep some of those same spread principles (bubble screens, QB play action passes, etc.), then he might be in the mix for a Heisman.  If they go to an offense that's mostly pro-style, I-formation, split-back, under center, etc. . . . you can probably kiss his Heisman hopes goodbye.  But if that's what's best for the team, then so be it.

Tell you what  .... go back, research and then tell us all the last time ND finished the season ranked higher than they were ranked BEFORE the season started.   Most over-rated football program since the Holtz era.  I honestly don't know the answer, but the number of times they haven't lived up to the "hype" far exceeds the reverse.  They still haven't had a quality bowl win since 1993 ... good grief, "good team by the end of the year" ... dude - who give a shit ?  They are 1 -4 against the Maize and Blue in the last 5 and 2 of those were against a team that had the worst 3 year stretch of Michigan football ever !

geez ... I hate nd !

Go Blue !

I'm pretty sure I've heard that from you before...

Can't wait until Lou Holtz picks them to win the MNC, again, this year.  It will be the 6th  or 7th year in a row that Holtz has picked nd.   

Go Blue !