Devil's advocate: I like that the college game isn't just "NHL Lite". Much the same way that I prefer college football to the NFL, I enjoy college hockey for what it is. I feel like it rewards team play and systems built to take advantage of whatever players the team has...as opposed to just ensuring the most talented team wins. Michigan clearly has more talent than most teams in the country based on their prospects, drafted players, etc., but Notre Dame's physical style of play negated that talent edge and their goalie was impenetrable last night. The final score didn't go Michigan's way, but that was an entertaining hockey game...more entertaining, I'd argue, than watching a dangle-fest that equated to little more than wide open stretch passes and odd-man rushes because one team is noticeably faster or more skilled.
Reading that all students were tested earlier in the week, with positives and their contacts sequestered. Also, that Brian Kelly warned them during walkthroughs that students would likely storm with a win and instructed them to get to the tunnel ASAP to avoid the rush.
Not saying it won’t happen, but I think the risk is lower than one might think when looking at that crowd.
Yeah...you'd expect the CFP chairman to know the names of the highest-profile position players of the contenders by this point. Looked like he was reading from notes, too. Glad this guy has a say in who makes the cut. *eye roll*
...I can see the B1G issuing an apology for the missed catch call, but also for the blown PI and facemask calls that went our way, thus nullifying any joy. We can't have nice things.
It was the only win we had over a ranked team. Ending the streak was great and all, but Northwestern is the only game I can point to right now and say "Well, there's at least one good team we beat."
I'm not excited by the expansion, but I think the areas/schools chosen at least make sense. I don't think Delaney had ND in mind at all, though. I seriously doubt that he's introducing these sorts of less-than-popular decisions with anything or anyone in mind other than the health of his conference members.
1) http://www.indyposted.com/124576/declan-sullivan-death-notre-dame-accep…
Notre Dame, from the highest position within the University, accepted responsibility for Declan Sullivan's death. Tragic, avoidable, poorly handled...but not ignored or overlooked by the University. No one was more wronged in that situation than the family of that boy, and I believe they came to an understanding and have moved on to the best of their ability. Folks far removed from the situation should do the same.
2) If you're referring to Michael Floyd, he had one (or was it two?) DUI. I believe his other charges were Minor-In-Possession or something of that nature. Certainly not an angel and should have missed some time, but it wasn't "3+ DUIs" and it's hard to argue with the coach claiming that Floyd had learned and made corrections in his lifestyle considering that he had no further problems during his time there, nor since joining the NFL.
3) Rees was an idiot, served his suspension, and has been relegated to back-up.
I mean, there are plenty of reasons to hate the Irish, but if you're going to rant and list them, at least get the facts right. We simply don't have to make things up, and when we do, it diminishes the legitimate reasons and makes us look...well, it makes us look like the Irish fans we purport to hate.
As TBone1966 up there pointed out, ND's SOS to this point is better than Kansas State's and Oregon's. We can all say "Notre Dame's resume isn't as good as..." till we're maize and blue in the face, but that doesn't make it true. In fact, unless I'm missing someone, of the teams who remain undefeated, Sagarin has Notre Dame's strength of schedule as the most difficult. Read that again: Of the undefeated teams that everyone is hyping, Notre Dame has played AND BEATEN collectively better competition than any of the others.
And while Alabama, Oregon, and Kansas State have looked better from start to finish, Notre Dame has improved throughout the season. The Notre Dame team that beat Oklahoma in Norman as double-digit underdogs is not the same team that struggled against Purdue and needed a comedy of errors against us to win at home.
While I still think that Notre Dame loses a season-opening, neutral-site game to Alabama in much the same fashion as we did (and probably worse)...I think ND has closed the gap considerably through their development this season and would fare much better at this point though not necessarily enough to win. Credit where it's due, though, whether we like it or not.
Because the computer rankings really get screwy outside of the top eight or so. For example, Mississippi State is ranked #8 in one computer poll, but #20 in another. Ohio (YTO) is #13 in one poll, but unranked in three others. Similar for Boise State. Michigan just happens to be one of few teams where the average of their computer rankings is actually similar to that of the human polls, but so many others see a significant difference between the humans and the computers that this sort of thing happens.
How is it "everyone" on the Cardinal heard the whistle and reacted, while none of the ND players did? If ND is being coached to play through the whistle, you'd expect a hell of a lot of personal fouls to result and probably wouldn't have seen their defensive players celebrating at the end of the game while Taylor was crawling toward the goal line. It doesn't make sense.
I've heard lots of folks pointing out that programs such as Minnesota and Indiana looked at, and ultimately passed over, Brady Hoke. Their logic is that these two weak programs didn't want him, so why should Michigan? My thought is this...maybe those programs continue to suck BECAUSE they passed a guy like Hoke over? Basically, I think it could be less of an indictment of Hoke's coaching ability and say infinitely more about programs like Minnesota and Indiana that haven't had consistent success. It's too early to know who's right, but that argument has been driving me crazy.
Yeah, and if you look at his tweets right up until the point where he decommitted from the Irish, they looked just like that. My only point being that nothing matters before signing day.
Let's not make it worse with apparently false claims. Plenty of reports I'm reading place Kelly WITH the kid while first responders tended to him, and that when Kelly returned to the practice fields, practice was ended. To suggest that practice went on like "business as usual" after this tragedy is just fanning the flames and, according to at least a few eyewitness reports, completely false.
If we're to accept that Robinson is much improved in both ability and confidence from last year, we have to also accept that players can take a step back. Forcier was cocky as all hell last year, and with good reason. The Forcier I saw yesterday and the reports of him in the offseason were NOT that same kid. Has he shown he can handle a hostile environment? Sure. Did he show yesterday that he could handle cameras and questions from folks hoping he'd make a mistake? No. What do you think he's going to see in South Bend?
I don't disagree that Tate may end up playing next week, but I don't think it makes much sense to think that RR held him out of the game this week as a part of some ploy. For a kid who apparently hasn't exactly been firing on all cylinders in the spring to see his first action of the season in a hostile environment against a rival like ND makes no sense. If RR's plan was to play Tate next weekend without showing ND anything today, he probably still should have trotted him out there today to run a vanilla offensive plan when the game was wrapped up to help him get his game-speed feet back.
Indy to South Bend sucks because of Kokomo, also known as "The City of Lights." There are about 437 lights on US 31 through that city, and they're all red. It's painful to drive through there. Other than that, the trip is fine.
It was new today, but it was not Weis's idea. Clausen and "two other guys" (Clausen's words, postgame) brought Weis into it, not the other way around. Weis didn't do it to grandstand...the players did it to show support.
Zach Frazer was not a "verbal" but an actual member of the team. He transferred not because he "didn't want to play for Weis" but because Weis told him he was the fourth QB on the depth chart and honestly didn't see him moving up. Frazer wanted to play, so he transferred. Happens all the time.
Recent Comments
*shrugs* It’s a one-score game and Michigan has the ball with all the time in the world.
Plenty of time left. Disappointed to see so many giving up right now.
Devil's advocate: I like that the college game isn't just "NHL Lite". Much the same way that I prefer college football to the NFL, I enjoy college hockey for what it is. I feel like it rewards team play and systems built to take advantage of whatever players the team has...as opposed to just ensuring the most talented team wins. Michigan clearly has more talent than most teams in the country based on their prospects, drafted players, etc., but Notre Dame's physical style of play negated that talent edge and their goalie was impenetrable last night. The final score didn't go Michigan's way, but that was an entertaining hockey game...more entertaining, I'd argue, than watching a dangle-fest that equated to little more than wide open stretch passes and odd-man rushes because one team is noticeably faster or more skilled.
Reading that all students were tested earlier in the week, with positives and their contacts sequestered. Also, that Brian Kelly warned them during walkthroughs that students would likely storm with a win and instructed them to get to the tunnel ASAP to avoid the rush.
Not saying it won’t happen, but I think the risk is lower than one might think when looking at that crowd.
Yeah...you'd expect the CFP chairman to know the names of the highest-profile position players of the contenders by this point. Looked like he was reading from notes, too. Glad this guy has a say in who makes the cut. *eye roll*
It was the only win we had over a ranked team. Ending the streak was great and all, but Northwestern is the only game I can point to right now and say "Well, there's at least one good team we beat."
Looked like the right call, too. Johnny Football, as much as I hate the nickname, is damn good.
As TBone1966 up there pointed out, ND's SOS to this point is better than Kansas State's and Oregon's. We can all say "Notre Dame's resume isn't as good as..." till we're maize and blue in the face, but that doesn't make it true. In fact, unless I'm missing someone, of the teams who remain undefeated, Sagarin has Notre Dame's strength of schedule as the most difficult. Read that again: Of the undefeated teams that everyone is hyping, Notre Dame has played AND BEATEN collectively better competition than any of the others.
And while Alabama, Oregon, and Kansas State have looked better from start to finish, Notre Dame has improved throughout the season. The Notre Dame team that beat Oklahoma in Norman as double-digit underdogs is not the same team that struggled against Purdue and needed a comedy of errors against us to win at home.
While I still think that Notre Dame loses a season-opening, neutral-site game to Alabama in much the same fashion as we did (and probably worse)...I think ND has closed the gap considerably through their development this season and would fare much better at this point though not necessarily enough to win. Credit where it's due, though, whether we like it or not.
Because the computer rankings really get screwy outside of the top eight or so. For example, Mississippi State is ranked #8 in one computer poll, but #20 in another. Ohio (YTO) is #13 in one poll, but unranked in three others. Similar for Boise State. Michigan just happens to be one of few teams where the average of their computer rankings is actually similar to that of the human polls, but so many others see a significant difference between the humans and the computers that this sort of thing happens.
You must not have watched the UMD/ND game. It was called much the same way...in UMD's favor.
I've heard lots of folks pointing out that programs such as Minnesota and Indiana looked at, and ultimately passed over, Brady Hoke. Their logic is that these two weak programs didn't want him, so why should Michigan? My thought is this...maybe those programs continue to suck BECAUSE they passed a guy like Hoke over? Basically, I think it could be less of an indictment of Hoke's coaching ability and say infinitely more about programs like Minnesota and Indiana that haven't had consistent success. It's too early to know who's right, but that argument has been driving me crazy.
Yeah, and if you look at his tweets right up until the point where he decommitted from the Irish, they looked just like that. My only point being that nothing matters before signing day.
Let's not make it worse with apparently false claims. Plenty of reports I'm reading place Kelly WITH the kid while first responders tended to him, and that when Kelly returned to the practice fields, practice was ended. To suggest that practice went on like "business as usual" after this tragedy is just fanning the flames and, according to at least a few eyewitness reports, completely false.
RIP Declan, and peace to his family in time.
If we're to accept that Robinson is much improved in both ability and confidence from last year, we have to also accept that players can take a step back. Forcier was cocky as all hell last year, and with good reason. The Forcier I saw yesterday and the reports of him in the offseason were NOT that same kid. Has he shown he can handle a hostile environment? Sure. Did he show yesterday that he could handle cameras and questions from folks hoping he'd make a mistake? No. What do you think he's going to see in South Bend?
I don't disagree that Tate may end up playing next week, but I don't think it makes much sense to think that RR held him out of the game this week as a part of some ploy. For a kid who apparently hasn't exactly been firing on all cylinders in the spring to see his first action of the season in a hostile environment against a rival like ND makes no sense. If RR's plan was to play Tate next weekend without showing ND anything today, he probably still should have trotted him out there today to run a vanilla offensive plan when the game was wrapped up to help him get his game-speed feet back.