I picked Maryland to upset Mi*h*gan. I don't think the Wolverines are a good travel team at the moment, based on nothing but a hunch tho, lol. Maybe just wishful thinking on my part and my disdain for the team from M*ch*g*n. Georgia Florida, great game... since I say that, it will be a dud. Hope USC pounds the Ducks into the turf. ND should play pissed and score 60+.
michigan isn't that good. they ran the ball down ND's throats in a cold, wet, mini monsoon. Kelly failed to deliver just like he always fails to deliver. play them again on neutral ground in good weather. see what happens.
BOTH teams played in the same weather. Kelly would still be Notre Dame's Head Coach. I suspect the result would be close to the same (even if the game were played in South Bend).
ND would have their fans behind them. A small difference. Plus Kelly stinks on the road. He's like 1-4 or 1-6 vs ranked opps on the road. that's why they lost. add that weather and it was a lock they would lose. play at home is different. Plus kelly has to tell Ian Book he doesn't have to come back next year as QB bc they have Phil Jurkovic. Book's chapter is DONE AT ND! I think at home with Jurkovic and they win. Play them neutral and see what happens.
Georgia has a tough road but controls their own fate. If they don't lose another game they will make the playoffs, that includes the SEC championship
The fact that Clemson is STILL ranked #4 is a travesty. There's a good chance that every team ranked 5th through 10th would beat Clemson straight up.
Years ago, everyone dissed the Big 10's makeup and called it the "Big 2 / Little 8". In retrospect, it was (for the most part) true. There was Ohio State and Michigan and then a bunch of teams that were basically irrelevant. On the off year when either Ohio State or Michigan had a down season and one of the "Little 8" fared good enough to warrant a bowl bid, they would (predictably) get their ass kicked on New Years day. In short, there were no "quality wins" when playing a Big 10 schedule. That same scenario is true today in the ACC. Every year there is one team in the ACC that appears to be legitimate based on their W/L record. Most of the time that one team was either Miami or FSU - both of which have fallen on relatively hard times as of late. That opened the door for Clemson. While, yes, Clemson has to play the conference schedule in front of them, the fact remains that the ACC, unlike the Big 10 and other conferences, has done little to nothing to improve the overall quality of its member schools. Then add in that Clemson willingly schedules a non-conference game against a school with only 1600 students (Wofford). Meanwhile, the Big 10 expanded and added Nebraska (at the time a Big 12 power) and Penn State (a Big East / independent power) and some of the "Little 8" (Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota) improved their programs to the point where they are now consistently competitive. Yes, the Big 10 still has wannabes and bottom feeders (Indiana, Illinois, Rutgers and Maryland - the last two added during expansion to capture the east coast TV market). The SEC expanded in order to realign in divisions and reap the financial reward of a conference chamionship game. As did the PAC 10. The Big 12 merged with the old Southwest Conference and now also has a conference championship game. All three of these conferences also have wannabes and bottom feeders but, with exception of Clemson, the entire ACC is made up of wannabes and bottom feeders. Its, by far, the weakest of the "Power 5" conferences.
great post but you forgot one thing. The ACC did align with Notre Dame to incorporate at least 5-6 ACC schools on their schedule, so even though they are not a part of the ACC, they (ND) do play 5 ACC schools a year and rotate playing their divisions every other year. That's big. I do agree that Clemson has a soft schedule but they did whoop Alabama last year for the title when no one thought they could. Bama is Bama, so that was great. And it's Clemson's second title in 4 years, so they may not play a top schedule, but they can beat the big power teams in the playoffs when it counts. Penn St joining the Big 10 added another big power to the conference. Mich St was solid for many years until just recently. As you stated Wisky, Iowa and even Minny are solid and much better than Duke, UNC, NC State etc. I really wish ND joined the Big 10 in 2000, but words were said and ND did not appreciate what the Michigan AD had to say or some bullshit and the whole thing fell apart.
I know you're a Notre Dame fan (and I'm an alumni), so don't take this the wrong way, but . . . Notre Dame aligned itself with the ACC because, as an independent combined with four of the five power conferences expanding, they were going to have problems scheduling 12 opponents every year. What better way to solve that problem than to get the inside track to schedule five cupcakes per year? In addition, I don't believe the results of those 5-6 games against Notre Dame figure into the W/L record of the ACC team as counting towards an ACC division title and subsequent appearance in the Chamionship game.
well they could've joined the Big 10 and how some of their cupcakes? FSU is down now but they were a power a long time. Clemson is a power now and ND played them what 2 years ago in a regular season game? ND played SEC's Georgia this year as well as PAC 12's USC and Stanford. Hey, they are all having down years besides UGA. Can't fault ND for scheduling them years in advance. I wanted change to their schedule and get away from Purdue, Mich St. Navy and others every damn year. I know why they have played Navy for 60 years, I get it, but why ever year? I want to see new teams on the schedule for them - win or lose. I want to see them out of the ACC and neutral or in the big 10 where they belong and kick Rutgers and Maryland back to the Atlantic Ocean! haha. Complaining about ND's scheduling is moot to me because every school has a ton of easy games on their schedule-in and out of conference. ND isn't the only one and in most years-Georgia, Michigan, USC, Va Tech and Stanford would be a death sentence.
