Saturday, November 30, 2019

Coach Kelly Talks 45 - 24 Win Over Stanford


Here Are All of the 10-2 Ranked Teams...


Thought we'd start the argument right now -- these are all of the 10-2 teams in college football that are ranked ahead of Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff Rankings.

I ask the question -- does Notre Dame deserve to be ranked higher than any of these teams?


#5  ALABAMA -- beat 9 FBS teams
  • Wins over teams currently ranked:  0
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins:  0  
  • FBS opponents' wins:  65

#8  FLORIDA -- beat 8 FBS teams
  • Wins over teams currently ranked: 1
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins:  1
  • FBS opponents' wins: 70

#10  MINNESOTA -- beat 10 FBS teams
  • Wins over teams currently ranked: 1
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins:  2
  • FBS opponents' wins:  72

#12  PENN STATE -- beat 9 FBS teams
  • Wins over teams currently ranked: 2
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 3
  • FBS opponents' wins:  77

#13  WISCONSIN -- beat 10 FBS teams
  • Wins over teams currently ranked: 2
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 2
  • FBS opponents' wins:  82

#14  OREGON -- beat 9 FBS teams
  • Wins over teams currently ranked: 1
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 1
  • FBS opponents' wins:  69

#16  NOTRE DAME -- beat 10 FBS teams
  • Wins over teams currently ranked: 3
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 4
  • FBS opponents' wins:  81*  -- Navy still has one game to play

Bold connotes leader in this category.


LINK:  COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS

Stanford's "Motivational Video" For Today...



Notre Dame takes on Stanford -- today at 4 PM ET on FOX.

Go Irish!

Friday, November 29, 2019

In Muffet's Fighting Irish's 4 Losses...


Here's what has transpired in the four games that Notre Dame has lost so far this season -- as you'll see, something different each night has cost the Irish...


TENNESSEE LOSS (74 - 63)
  • Notre Dame shot poorly from the field:  31.4%
  • Tennessee shot great from the field:  47.1%
  • Tennessee made 42.1% of their three point attempts // Notre Dame hit 28%
  • Tennessee had 15 offensive rebounds to Notre Dame's 11
  • Tennessee took 8 more foul shots than Notre Dame

MICHIGAN STATE LOSS (72 - 69)
  • Notre Dame out shot MSU -- 48% to 40.3%
  • MSU made 8 three pointers to Notre Dame's 3 (yet ND hit a higher percentage)
  • Notre Dame took 15 more free throw attempts than MSU -- but missed 13 of them
  • MSU had 20 offensive rebounds to Notre Dame's 13
  • Notre Dame blocked 8 shots to MSU's 4 blocks

FLORIDA GULF COAST LOSS (69 - 60)
  • Florida Gulf Coast made 9 three pointers to Notre Dame's 3
  • Florida Gulf Coast had 14 offensive rebounds to Notre Dame's 7
  • Notre Dame had 25 turnovers to Florida Gulf Coast's 10
  • Florida Gulf Coast took 71 shots compared to 49 for Notre Dame
  • Notre Dame out shot Florida Gulf Coast 46.9% to 38% 

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE LOSS (65 - 59)
  • Notre Dame was 1 for 17 from behind the three point line
  • South Dakota State had 18 offensive rebounds to Notre Dame's 5
  • South Dakota State had 22 turnovers to Notre Dame's 10

Just a FYI -- Notre Dame's women's basketball program has not lost more than 4 games since the 2010-11 season.  That year they ended up going 31 - 8, losing the NCAA Championship game to Texas A&M...

It's Been 26 Years Since Notre Dame...



The last time Notre Dame football won at least 10 games in three straight seasons was 1991-1993...

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Happy Thanksgiving From Notre Dame!



Every year, our storytelling team produces a Thanksgiving story...

Happy Thanksgiving!


Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Notre Dame's P.A. Annoucner -- Doing Okay


Mike Collins '67 -- the longtime public address announcer at Notre Dame Stadium had to step away from the microphone at halftime of Saturday's game with Boston College...

Here's why...

LINK:  STORY

OT: A Huge Upset in College Basketball



They are calling it the "biggest upset in college basketball in 15 years..."

Stephen F. Austin defeated #1 Duke -- breaking a 150 game home winning streak for the Blue Devils against non-conference opponents.

Fairleigh Dickinson Coach Confesses His Sin...


Notre Dame vs. The Teams Ahead -- To Top 10

Well, it appears the College Football Playoff Committee must have watched just one Notre Dame game this year -- and it was on a cold, rainy night in Ann Arbor...

As we stand today -- there are six teams between us and a TOP TEN finish -- which would guarantee us a New Year's Six Bowl Game.

The odds are definitely against us -- but that's okay.  Here's a "Notre Dame view" of the resumes of the teams ahead of us in the College Football Playoff Rankings -- and, what needs to happen this weekend in college football for our Fighting Irish to move up:


#10  PENN STATE:
  • 9-2 on the season
  • Signature win: #13 Michigan
  • Losses to: #1 Ohio State and #8 Minnesota
  • Games against FBS opponents: 10 -- played one FCS team
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 2
  • No chance of losing final game --- they play Rutgers 

#11  FLORIDA:
  • 9-2 on the season
  • Signature win: #15 Auburn
  • Losses to: #2 LSU and #4 Georgia
  • Games against FBS opponents: 9 -- played two FCS teams 
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 1
  • They play Florida State -- Gators favored by 17.5 points

#12  WISCONSIN:
  • 9-2 on the season
  • Signature win:  #13 Michigan
  • Losses to: Illinois and #1 Ohio State
  • Games against FBS opponents: 11
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 2
  • They play at #8 Minnesota -- Wisconsin favored by 2.5 points 

#13  MICHIGAN:
  • 9-2 on the season
  • Signature win:  #16 Notre Dame
  • Losses to: #12 Wisconsin and #10 Penn State
  • Games against FBS opponents: 11
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 2
  • They play Ohio State -- Buckeyes favored by 9 points

#14  OREGON:
  • 9-2 on the season
  • Signature win: #22 USC
  • Losses to: #15 Auburn and Arizona State
  • Games against FBS opponents: 10 -- played one FCS team
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 1
  • They play Oregon State -- Ducks favored by 19.5 points

#15  AUBURN:
  • 8-3 on the season
  • Signature win:  #14 Oregon
  • Losses to:  #11 Florida, #2 LSU and #4 Georgia 
  • Games against FBS opponents: 10 -- played on FCS team
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 1
  • They play #5 Alabama -- Bama favored by 3.5 points

#16  NOTRE DAME:
  • 9-2 on the season
  • Signature win: #22 USC 
  • Losses to: #4 Georgia and #13 Michigan
  • Games against FBS opponents: 11
  • Wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins: 4
  • We play at Stanford -- Irish favored by 14 points


MY OBSERVATION:

If you look at these aforementioned facts -- I believe Notre Dame should be ranked at the very least #14 -- ahead of Oregon and Auburn;
  • Oregon has a bad loss to Arizona State (6-5) and only one win over a FBS team with 8+ wins this season
  • Auburn has three losses -- and only one win over a FBS team with 8+ wins this season
  • Notre Dame has four wins over FBS teams with 8+ wins this season

Now, let's assume that Notre Dame clobbers Stanford -- and the following happens on Saturday:
  • Ohio State beats Michigan -- does a 10-2 Notre Dame jump the 9-3 Wolverines?
  • Minnesota upsets Wisconsin -- does a 10-2 Notre Dame jump the 9-3 Badgers?
  • Alabama beats Auburn -- does a 10-2 Notre Dame jump the 8-4 Tigers? 

It looks like our highest final ranking would be #13 -- which does not look like it will get us into a New Year's Six Bowl.

Behind The Scenes Look at ND Over BC


Sunday, November 24, 2019

Their First Time Experiencing Notre Dame...


Mike and Melissa Palelli made their first-ever visit to the campus of the University of Notre Dame this weekend and they made it very special...

Melissa was celebrating her 40th birthday -- so Mike (a member of the United States Coast Guard) surprised his wife with a trip to see her long-time favorite college football team, the Fighting Irish.  Melissa was introduced to Notre Dame Football by her Dad -- watching games on TV back home in Massachusetts.

Saturday morning -- Mike got down on one knee and "re-proposed" to his wife, inside Notre Dame Stadium, giving Melissa a "Notre Dame Claddagh Ring" to go with her wedding ring.


Mike and Melissa -- hope to see you back at Notre Dame again, soon!

BC Coach Talks 40-7 Loss to Notre Dame...


Domer Hornung's "Heisman House" Debut!



He's the only Heisman Trophy winner in history on a "losing team" -- as his 1956 Notre Dame team went 2-8...

I doubt this will ever happen again.