OT- Notre Dame 2012 = Ohio State 2002

Don't forget about them, as of right now they've got a far better resume than ND does.  I hope they win out and keep ND out of the title game.  Plus, every time USC loses it hurts ND's strength of schedule, so I'm glad RichRod knocked them off today.

Fuck everything.

I'm extremely interested in how the coaches are going to spin this mess of a game.  There are so many questions: 

Did Rawls kick a small child  or something to piss somebody off?  I can't see any reasons he doesn't get more touches especially when Fitz isn't performing well.  Maybe it's not Fitz's fault, but at least TRY.

We played Gardner last year at QB multiple times--even with Denard also on the field.  What happened to that?  Has the coaching staff said "No, you're a WR now, no snaps for you lol" or completely revamped the playbook (which to me seems like a couple of pages at times) to where Gardner would be lost?  I have no problem with Bellomy coming in, but when the dude goes 0/10 with a couple of picks to start, you have to think "Hmm, I don't think this is working.  Don't we have another scholarship QB on the roster?"

Frankly, I believe Borges has no clue how to use Denard, and is trying to force him to run plays Borges is more familiar with, while at the same time trying to minimize Denard's mistakes.  The result:  obvious runs and short passes.  I was pleased at the deep ball appearing a couple times today, but holy WR drops Batman.  Our offense as a whole just looks completely illprepared to play against a team we don't have a massive talent advantage over.  This is sickening. 

I understand it's not fair to raid the Ann Arbor Torch and Pitchfork co. until Borges has had QBs progress through his system, but shit son, you have to make do with what you have.

Fuck it, I'm going back to the kitty thread.  /kitty

Wouldn't it be magical to have Notre Dame go undefeated and still manage to not get to the national championship? I don't want Notre Dame to ever win either but if they are going to have a perfect year at least let them get heartbroken with no national championship.

If Alabama beats LSU (and they should) they are a near lock to make it to the SEC championship game with Georgia who is also a near lock with the easiest schedule in the last 4 games and possibly the easiest overall schedule for an SEC team I've seen in the last 5 years. Bama should crush them.

Kansas State caught a gigantic break that Oklahoma State and TCU's quarterbacks are out for the rest of the year! Would have been better games if not for that. Baylor should be no problem so that leaves a matchup with Texas at home to get to the championship game.

Oregon is my most likely candidate of these three to lose having to play at USC, Stanford, and at Oregon State along with a likely rematch against USC in the Pac 12 championship for a team that's current best win is over a 3 loss Arizona State team.

Second question is does Notre Dame deserve to leapfrog any of these teams to get to the championship game assuming they go undefeated? They would have signature wins over Stanford, Oklahoma, and USC which look really good and wins against teams that are unfortunately looking worse over time including Michigan State, Michigan (unfortunately), and several other middling teams.

An undefated Alabama is not even worth talking about. They'd be in the game.

Kansas State would have wins over Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas Tech, and Texas. I don't see ND leapfrogging that resume especially since KState has the likely Heisman trophy winner.

Oregon would have wins over USC, Stanford, and Oregon State. I'd have to give it to Notre Dame if both were undefeated with 2 of these opponents in common and Notre Dame playing many more teams that will likely at least be bowl eligible by year end. However, style points (unfairly IMO) against Stanford and USC could count big time.

What would be really interesting is if Alabama lost and you have either a 1 loss Bama, LSU, or Georgia, an undefeated Kansas State, and an undefeated Notre Dame to pick from for the title game....

i found myself thinking the same thing - yet OSU seemed even luckier, at least so far. With USC looking vulnerable, ND is very close to having a shot at Alabama. And though we all think that is an impossible task for any team, a month of bowl prep can cause interesting things to happen. An ND national championship is a very real possibility.

"Nothing is worse than seeing your rivals win?"  

ND could have knee-jerked and fired Kelly, but have allowed him enought time and given him enough support for his program to finally "leap."  Urban Meyer is getting the full support of the program and fanbase in Columbus.  Sadly, there's a lot more of your definition of "worse" on the horizon.  The only bright spot is that Sparty is regressing toward the mean.  

I would think twice about scheduling ND.  Until there's a real playoff, and the champions of all major conferences are guaranteed a spot, the Wolverines should schedule four tomato cans and hope that conference strength gets them to the mini-playoff once in awhile.  An undefeated Big Ten Champion would look pretty good for one of four mini-playoff spots.

The "majority" has spoken.  Under David Brandon, the Wolverines will juxtapose 21st century marketing with 20th century football.  The boosters, trustees, and a loud "majority" of the fanbase are apparently happy with that.  At this point, it's obvious that there is no way to fight it.  

So, I'll just have to continue to cheer for "my" team and hope that I live long enough to see another National Championship, mythical or otherwise, for the Maize and Blue.  Within three years, we'll know if this is actually possible, or if Urban Meyer can combine his program's world class cheating with a 21st century offense to own the Big Ten.