Connaughton & Grant Make NBA Rookie Top 10

Coming in at #7 & #9 on top NBA rookie plays, I see Connaughton and Grant are still up to their old tricks! #NDMen https://t.co/feeZSlANAA

— Mike Brey (@NDMikeBrey) October 25, 2015

Notre Dame Moves Up to #9 in Both Major Polls

The Fighting Irish move up in the polls this week.  Still have three games on the schedule --- ALL ON THE ROAD --- against team ranked in the TOP 25:

• Temple
• Pittsburgh
• Stanford

LINK:  COACHES POLL

LINK:  AP POLL

QB Comparison: Kizer vs. Golson Against GT

Here's a QB comparison between Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer '18 and Florida State's Everett Golson '15 -- against their only common opponent this season -- Georgia Tech:

KIZER'S 1st COLLEGIATE START vs. GEORGIA TECH:  WIN!

• Passing:  21 for 30 for 242 Yards -- 1 TD & 1 Interception
• Rushing:  5 for 6 Yards -- Longest rush:  13 yards 
• ND Total Offense:  30 points / 457 yards

GOLSON'S 32nd COLLEGIATE START vs. GEORGIA TECH:  Loss

• Passing:  20 for 30 for 210 Yards -- 0 TD & 1 Interception 
• Rushing:  7 for -12 Yards -- Longest rush: 7 yards
• FSU Total Offense: 16 points / 280 yards

Pretty amazing that a QB (Kizer) who would have been 3rd string to Golson had he not transferred -- had similar, if not better numbers in his first ever collegiate start...  

SEASON STATS:

DeShone Kizer -- 5 starts

• Passing 100 for 153 (65.4%) -- 1,370 yards
• Passing TD / Interception:  10 TD's / 4 Interceptions
• Passer Rating:  156.9
• Rushing:  55 attempts for 175 yards 
• Rushing TD's:  3

Everett Golson -- 7 starts

• 139 for 207 (67.2%) -- 1,659 yards
• Passing TD / Interception: 11 TD's / 1 Interception
• Passer Rating:  151.0
• Rushing: 43 attempts for (-33) yards 
• Rushing TD's:  0

ND's Path to the Playoffs -- Got a Little Clearer!

WOW!

Going into this weekend I felt there were five teams in the way of Notre Dame earning a spot in the College Football Playoff; Baylor, TCU, Utah, Clemson and Florida State.

I'm assuming the Big Ten winner (Ohio State or Michigan State) will get a spot and I still believe the SEC winner (LSU or Alabama) will get one.

So here's where we stand after tonight's games...

I'm quite confident Georgia Tech's win over Florida State (video proof above) takes the Seminoles out of contention for a Playoff spot.  And USC's 42 - 24 win over Utah -- leaves the Notre Dame vs. Stanford winner (assuming ND beats Temple, Pitt, Wake Forest and Boston College) the Pac 12 "nominee" for the College Football Playoff...

That leaves two conferences who currently have teams ahead of Notre Dame in the race for a Playoff spot.  The ACC and Big 12 -- and we need to beat just one of them now for one of the four Playoff positions.


BAYLOR

• Lost their starting QB today with a neck fracture
• Still have to play; Oklahoma, @Oklahoma State and @TCU

TCU

• Still have to play;  @Oklahoma State, @Oklahoma and Baylor

CLEMSON 

• Florida State

Now, here's where it gets interesting...

What if:

• Ohio State beats Michigan State
• Ohio State loses to Michigan
• Notre Dame wins all of their games -- ND moves ahead of the BIG TEN teams 

What if:

• LSU beats Alabama
• LSU loses to Ole Miss or Texas A&M
• Notre Dame wins all of their games -- ND moves ahead of the SEC teams 

Bottom line -- I believe if we win our remaining five games -- we're heading to the PLAYOFFS!