Ryan Day finally loses a Big Ten game, the Iron Bowl came through again, Nebraska found yet another way to inflict a devastating loss on its fans, North Carolina blows it magnificently, Bedlam delivered craziness, and we learned not to trust Wisconsin. College football is the best.
With the regular season behind us, let’s take a look at the latest Top 20 poll from 18 Stripes.
18 Stripes Top 20 Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | 12-0 | 45-0 W at Georgia Tech |
| 2 | Michigan (+5) | 11-1 | 42-27 W vs. Ohio St. |
| 3 | Cincinnati (-1) | 12-0 | 35-13 W at East Carolina |
| 4 | Alabama (-1) | 11-1 | 24-22 W at Auburn |
| 5 | Oklahoma State (+2) | 11-1 | 37-33 W vs. Oklahoma |
| 6 | Notre Dame (-1) | 11-1 | 45-14 W at Stanford |
| 7 | Ohio State (-3) | 10-2 | 42-27 L at Michigan |
| 8 | Ole Miss | 10-2 | 31-21 W at Miss St. |
| 9 | Baylor | 10-2 | 27-24 W vs. Texas Tech |
| 10 | Oregon (+2) | 10-2 | 38-29 W vs. Oregon St. |
| 11 | BYU | 10-2 | 35-31 W at USC |
| 12 | Michigan State (+1) | 10-2 | 30-27 W vs. Penn St. |
| 13 | Oklahoma (-3) | 10-2 | 37-33 L at Oklahoma St. |
| 14 | Iowa (+2) | 10-2 | 28-21 W at Nebraska |
| 15 | Wake Forest (+4) | 10-2 | 41-10 W at Boston College |
| 16 | Pittsburgh (+4) | 10-2 | 31-14 W at Syracuse |
| 17 | Utah (NR) | 9-3 | 28-13 W vs. Colorado |
| 18 | San Diego State (-1) | 11-1 | 27-16 W vs. Boise St. |
| 19 | NC State (NR) | 9-3 | 34-30 W vs. North Carolina |
| 20 | Louisiana (NR) | 11-1 | 21-16 W vs. Louisiana-Monroe |
It was a tough week for traditional powers Ohio State and Oklahoma who blew their chances at returning to the playoffs unless absolute insane carnage happens ahead of them. The recency bias with this Ohio State loss in particular makes it feel like they should’ve fallen much lower in the rankings but I cannot justify others to jump them.
A while back I pondered whether people were panicking too much over Michigan’s loss to Michigan State and here we are with Harbaugh destined for the playoffs and potentially Heisman love for his players. It makes me physically ill.
That’s because Wisconsin became our 3rd team in the top 15 to fall this weekend as Minnesota sprung the upset in Minneapolis. Michigan had already handled Wisconsin anyway, but a matchup with Iowa is so much more favorable.
Here’s a fun exercise: Let’s say Michigan, Cincinnati, Alabama, Oklahoma State, and Oregon all lose this weekend. Who makes the playoffs and in what order?
#1 Georgia – Yes, of course.
#2 Notre Dame – Now that we have a head coach again will the committee slide the Irish up this far in this scenario?
#3 Ohio State – Do they jump over Michigan despite head-to-head loss? Would Iowa jump up 9 or 10 spots?
#4 Baylor – With conference winners from the Pac-12 and ACC out of the running they’d sneak in surely.
OUT: Wisconsin, UTSA, Texas A&M
As mentioned, Wisconsin’s winning streak comes to an end and they finish 8-4 on the season.
UTSA blew their undefeated season with an ugly 22-point loss at North Texas. With that, their slim hopes for a NY6 game are gone.
As usual, it was a pretty weird season for Texas A&M who won their first 3 games, lost the next 2, only to beat Alabama to start a 4-game winning streak, then finished losing 2 out of their last 3 contests.
Week 14 Games to Watch
Last Week: 2-4
Overall: 50-38
Pac-12 Championship
Oregon (+2.5) vs. Utah [Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV]
How do you balance the task of beating the same team twice in the same season (actually within 13 days!) with the fact that Utah thoroughly dismantled Oregon in that first meeting? I’d like to see Kyle Whittingham win the Pac-12 it would be a pretty cool achievement 11 seasons since joining the league. Utes win 34-27.
Big 12 Championship
Baylor (+5.5) vs. Oklahoma State [AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX]
Yikes, I think the spread should be higher with the uncertain health of Baylor quarterback Gerry Bohanon. Notre Dame really needs Baylor to spring the upset but I don’t see it happening. Gundy grabs his 2nd Big XII title. Cowboys win 29-21.
SEC Championship
Alabama (+6.5) vs. Georgia [Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA]
Georgia knows they can lose and still make the playoffs yet I doubt that creeps into this matchup where they’ll feel like Alabama is maybe the team to beat in the country with a chance to knock them out of playoff contention. In other words, a de facto National Championship game of sorts. Alabama’s offensive line and running back injuries will let them down. Bulldogs win 30-18.
AAC Championship
Houston (+10.5) at Cincinnati
Houston has a nice offense but as a team they’ve been all over the place this year seemingly with the ability to not look great and still win. We know well, Cincinnati’s defense is very good. They’ll hang on. Bearcats win 28-24.
Big Ten Championship
Iowa (+11) vs. Michigan [Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN]
What I would give for Iowa to win this game. So, so much. Michigan’s defense will be the best Iowa has faced this year and the Hawkeyes have already played 6 games with under 5 YPP from their offense. This probably gets ugly, unfortunately. Wolverines win 33-12.
ACC Championship
Pittsburgh (-3) vs. Wake Forest [Bank of American Stadium, Charlotte, NC]
Pittsburgh has been playing in a conference since 1991 when they joined the Big East before jumping to the ACC back in 2013. They’ve never won a league title. Time to get off the schneid! Panthers win 57-55.
***
If these picks are correct, we’d likely see these post-season bowl matchups:
College Football Playoff Semifinal
Orange Bowl (Time TBD, Friday, Dec. 31st)
#1 Georgia vs. #4 Cincinnati
College Football Playoff Semifinal
Cotton Bowl (Time TBD, Friday, Dec. 31st)
#2 Michigan vs. #3 Oklahoma State
Fiesta Bowl (1:00 PM ET, Saturday, Jan. 1st)
Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
As usual, well written with insight….Heavy sigh. But hey… it’s always fun to beat Sparty (HC Hog and I and Cardinal Baseball even go back to Hate State…)
I think the next team to play ND is going to get the most focused, pumped ND team we’ve seen in a long time.
haha not sure I get lumped into hate state group, frankly I kind of like them because they are just so consistently a pain in michigan’s ass. Assuming those bowl projections hold i’ll be at the fiesta bowl though.
But agree on michigan, the thought of them winning a playoff game and even having like a 30% chance of winning a title is just awful
I’ve never hated Sparty. Mostly because we normally beat them. Sometimes we don’t, but more often than not.
And their fans are just completely different than Michigan fans. I live in Michigan and it is just shocking the arrogance of scUM fans and the way they look down on MSU even though for the last 15 years, ever since the “little brother” comment by Mike Hart, MSU has basically owned the rivalry. They are 10-4 against Michigan in that span but you wouldn’t know by the entitled attitude of basically all Michigan fans.
But it’s mostly how stuuuuuuuuupid their helmets look
Big-Head Sparty is dumb….CHOOO CHOOO
Guys… you are all too durn young to get it my reference to long ago. Back in Ara’s first year, Mich State had beat us 8 straight friggin’ times! “Hate State” was a genuine thing. Ara started us off on a good path, and I am surely down with y’all nowadays. But I was just saying, we can dust that one off for the bowl game. Probably don’t need to though, tindma is right, we’ll be wired.
“very pumped for Brian Kelly to start calling it The War of Northern Aggression”
https://twitter.com/celebrityhottub/status/1466594945159118850
“You best get to steppin cuz Johnny Law’s a’comin!” —Brian Kelly next week, probably
Did you see the video of him talking at the LSU football game? Northeastern/Midwest guy eats one meal of gumbo and all of a sudden has a Southern accent? Too funny
Oops, LSU basketball game
Yeah, that’s what it’s in reference to. He definitely hams it up like that, exactly how a politician would speak in front of a group of people differently based on which group they’re talking to.
Figured that was the case, but in case you hadn’t seen it I wanted to mention it.
Thanks! Could be the start of a long and hilarious train wreck
popcornbird.gif
Freeman officially named HC by ND. Press conference scheduled for 2 PM on Monday. I’ll be tuning in for sure!
I always root against Michigan, but man am I excited to do so this weekend.
It’s just crazy because I think Michigan is good this year but I just am shocked that they are likely to make the playoffs. They just don’t seem really all that great and somehow ended up 11-1 and beat Ohio State.
Of course this year’s playoff also looks quite weak and if they get in then they might even win a game…
Please, let the Iowa defense stop their running game, make McNamara pass downfield, create 3 interceptions, and win a heartbreaker over the Skunkbears.
Not only that, they have a reasonable chance to win the playoff in my mind. I think UGA will win, but there’s nothing like last year’s Bama in their way.
Probably true although UGA could be approaching that level. I don’t feel like we really know that much about UGA. They have looked dominant but their schedule has not pitted them against any top 10 team this year so it’s kind of hard to judge them big picture in terms of the LSU team from 2 years ago or Alabama from last year in terms of one of the best of all time.
Also Michigan’s offense is a horrible match up against UGA’s D. I’ll be hanging my hopes on that.
This is my hope against Iowa as well. Their defense hopefully can stymie scUM’s offense and muck up the game and then somehow hopefully their offense can break a couple of random big plays and score some points.
Honestly, I think their defense is the equivalent of those Bama or LSU offenses in terms of being that freaking good. We’re just used to assuming you’ve gotta have the offense instead of the defense now, but that defense is incredibly nasty. Yes, they haven’t played the hardest schedule–but they’ve promptly ended every game in the first half by strangulation, as a top team should. The title game (if it’s Michigan-UGA) won’t be 45-38, but it might be 31-6. Also, I think everyone focuses so much on “omg, Stetson Bennett was a walk-on, he’s not any good.” He’s perfectly fine as a QB, certainly more mobile than Jack Coan and imo better than what they had under Jake Fromm. Probably the perfect QB for that defense–isn’t going to make mistakes and will take what the D gives him. Also, they just got back their best WR. Their TE looks like Michael Mayer in training. They’re a complete team, just not the offensive juggernauts we’ve gotten used to the last few years.
I tend to totally agree with you on all of this. I just want to reserve final judgement until the end of the playoff to determine if they are indeed in the stratosphere of the LSU and Alabama teams recently.
Oh sure. They gotta prove it.
1 or 2 of those INT are going to have to be pick 6’s for Iowa to score.
Iowa could get 2 pick 6s and still only end up with 10 pts.
Michigan state is a pretty good matchup for us because I think it is eminently winnable. They don’t have a big play offense and they are susceptible to big plays down the field. And yet they have some cache being a top 10 team and beating Michigan.
What would the spread on that game be?
It’s Twitter Official.
Also, the video of him being introduced to the team as the new HC is pretty cool.
Where are you seeing that one? Checked ND football’s twitter but not there.
Any help appreciated.
Pete Sampson’s twitter.
Gah…more dust in my eyes! 😄
OK, I see it now. Will have to wait to watch it until lunch when I can have the volume up, but thanks to your warning I’ll have the Kleenex ready to go.
You’re gonna love it….Go Irish!!!
It’s on you tube
oops maybe not
Here’s the link to the video: https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/1466773192563904519?s=20
The amount of excitement from those kids is wild. I don’t know if I’ve ever been that excited about anything in my life. I think ND made a good choice.
Oh yeah, it was really something. Monday getting blindsided like that. Tuesday wondering what was next, are a lot of them going to transfer, just go to NFL right away, etc. Then seeing it all get put back together and get a coach they’ll want to play for. Unreal swing of emotions.
Yea I wonder how many will choose to come back who otherwise (with Kelly) would have chosen to move on.
Here’s a fun Championship week *very serious statistic* for you all: 22 teams are playing this weekend, two of whom are undefeated, Georgia and Cincinnati.
Of the remaining 20, from Alabama to Kent State, Notre Dame has transitive wins over every single one of them. The complete list of teams with transitive wins over Notre Dame follows:
That’s absolutely wild.
Regarding Eric’s doomsday scenario, it’s funny to me that people keep insisting that 2-loss Alabama would be in front of us, but you don’t even have them in the top 4 if all those other teams lose.
I think they’d have
1 Georgia
2 Notre Dame
3 Alabama
4 Ohio State
And laugh all the way to the bank about the idea someone thinks they should put in a little school from Waco, or a corn producing college in Iowa over Alabama or Ohio State.
I might cry if Michigan wins a playoff game before ND.
Better hope we get the matinee then.
Who would be favored if they play Okl. state? I would think it would be a good game.
Dear lord I think I may die of laughter:
https://twitter.com/JoeyMulinaro/status/1466789400042483715
His Saban impression is fantastic.
That is a great Saban impression. Though I think the whole Kelly accent thing is blown way out of proportion. He had at most two words (Tiger and family) that had a southern accent on them.
Kelly’s new accent is hilariously bad, it was much more than those two words
well it was hard for me to notice. He sounded otherwise basically the same.
There’s been talk of what a galvanizing and unifying hire this is. And there is no greater proof:
“ Kelly was a corrosive and damaging negative cloud, anathema to the culture of ND. Nobody [can] deny that in [good] faith.
But he is gone forever, to be more loathed even than Davie. He will have to go to his daughter’s graduation in a gorilla suit. But his shoes will give him away.
In his place is someone who is a human infusion and restoration of faith and good will and positive energy. He has earned and deserves unqualified support and enthusiam from alumni and fans.”
Andrew Cross, ’89, JD
I don’t think Kelly will be missed (unless Freeman tanks) but I have a hard time believing he’ll be more loathed than Davie. Maybe it’s mere childhood impressions but I remember “Dump Davie” being a big deal and the guy got lambasted for years and years for leaving the program in a garbage state.
Davie left the program in a bad way, was a bad gameday coach, was not well-liked by his teams, and became HC through backstabbing machinations.
However, Kelly burned up a TON of whatever good will he had built over the years by the way he left.
If he had retired in a year or two, I think most would have thought generally positively of him. Hell, TOS thought he needed a statue earlier this year. But the way he Art Modell’d it out of town, I think, will be the thing most people remember him for going forward.
I agree with this. Kelly did a lot of good for ND. He could have retired after next year, then looked around and said I want a new challenge in the SEC (contracts are not going to be lower in 2 years). But he lit any good will for his work at ND on fire on Monday!
Excellent point.
Yea way too harsh. Leaving for another job never goes that well. He did a ton of good for ND and its football program – which is not an easy task. Why not just appreciate that? I certainly do.
Correct
I imagine articles on BK’s legacy are coming, but that’s a pretty harsh read. As a student during the Weis era, I think BK will leave me with a lot of pos and neg feelings.
I believe this is ACROSS? The infamous NDNer, and possibly the most fervent BK hater of all time.
Someone keep me honest here.
It sure reads like it. “Kelly was a corrosive and damaging negative cloud, anathema to the culture of ND. Nobody [can] deny that in [good] faith”
Wtf does that even mean, the ND culture? Sounds like someone who doesn’t want to get with the times, which is fine, but none of that makes sense. Kelly didn’t leave in scandal or disgrace, even though his timing and words are (as usual with him) awkward or poor.
Kelly restored ND Football on the field in a major way and leaves the program way better than he found it and did a ton of great things along the way. Kelly’s not going to win a popularity contest, especially in the emotional moment now, for his decisions and he’s understandably tarnished his legacy and reputation among ND people, but he’s not exactly poison to the program either. He was a very effective but imperfect leader.
And when emotion clears and dies down, Kelly may really have done the program a big favor by getting Marcus Freeman and then clearing the runway for Freeman to be promoted prior to him landing a gig somewhere else. Assuming Freeman does become a great HC, probably the worst case scenario would have Kelly staying on at Notre Dame, tapping out at his ceiling and not trying to smash through it for the next 3-4 years and Freeman getting hired at a good midwest job like PSU or MSU in like 1-2 years (in some other alt universe).
It’s all just the guy who posted, ACROSS, being himself. It means nothing. If anything it likely means the opposite.
I think that was IrishTexans intent by saying “there is no greater proof.” I’m not sure if irony is exactly the right turn. But some type of tongue-in-cheekiness.
Yeah I don’t really give a flying flip what he has to say, tbh.
Yeah that’s Across
Yes, it is. Not only is he generally wrong in his quote, he’s also a first class jerk.
Sorry, I have to down vote any quote by that tool.
First talk to the team from HCMMFF:
https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/1466822537107623937
I now have to call my apartment management, because they’re going to need to repair the hole in the wall that I just ran through.
It’s going to hurt so bad when he leaves in 5 years for the NFL (or Ryan Day leaves for the NFL and he goes to tOSU) and I don’t even care, I think it’ll be worth every minute. And yes, I’m irrationally buying in. Don’t care.
I think there’s still a possibility that Day goes to the NFL this offseason and tOSU ends up with Fickell
Yep, I’m hoping for this. If CMF goes to the NFL in a few years so be it, but I do not want to lose him to tOSU.
What a crazy ride that would be for Fickell. Talk about full circle.
That is a leadership style very different than the former coach. You can contrast that speech with the Kelly speech and see right away.
He WILL end the NC drought.
He clearly gives a $hit. Like, honestly, truly, not “I’m saying things to motivate you and make you perform well for me..”
I don’t know Marcus Freeman the man, at all. But if that 2 minutes of talking is any indication, he truly cares about these kids. And it matches everything I’m reading about him.
As the kids like to say: lmaoooo
(Would have been an absolute chef kiss to get this guy to Notre Dame and actually poach from Kelly, but c’est la vie)
Nebraska? Does not compute. Seems like there would be wayyyy better options for that guy if he had been a bit patient.
I am not a content editor, but… When your new coach is:
Brian Kelly
Marcus Freeman
In fairness – CMF is walking into the locker room of an 11-1 team that is still in the playoff hunt and CBK is walking into the room of a 6-6 team that had their coach fired mid-year.
My interest in being fair to BK is vanishingly small.
https://www.theonion.com/brian-kelly-admits-he-never-actually-believed-in-god-1848143090
What a crazy and exciting week! Kelly just gifted this incredible team with a reason to play with a chip on their shoulder and for a dynamic new coach that it is clear all the players loved more anyway! If Kelly had retired in a couple of years (even if he came out of retirement to coach somewhere else pretty quickly), a transition to Freeman at that point would have been intriguing, and he can certainly fire up the team! But this extra bit of FU the team will have going into the next game and the next season is a gift!
Best line I saw was today from sampson and I feel like he nailed it and the last 96 hours have really reinforced it, and also explained why kelly was never truly embraced despite all his success.
(sorry I can’t seem to imbed it, but here is is)
The difference that matters most between Freeman and Kelly is that one will bring a naked authenticity to this job, while the other simply tried that persona on and off for professional purposes.
“Kelly was actually open to dancing with several programs,” Dellinger said. “When Florida’s job opened, its officials were alerted that Riley and Kelly were willing to move, sources tell SI.
BK was more out than in than previously thought.
I concede that I am not only angry — because of the slight to our University — but truly disappointed, in Brian Kelly. Which is my fault:
I dislike thinking poorly of people, and from the beginning in 2010 I was repulsed by the animosity against BK that the jerk Across and his fellow jerks on ND Nation displayed. (In fact, I do wonder if BK had not encountered such vitriol matters might have been different.) In any case, his post 2012 flirtation with the NFL was a warning sign — but in a way that was camouflaged by problems in ’13 and then the BVG slowly unrolling fiasco. Then came the amazing (partly Swarbrick pushed) 2017 reboot, and when that happened, honestly I was amazed, that kind of turnaround happens so rarely in life to mature adults.
All of that to say, I missed that BK never ever once “got” the intangible that counts — the Notre Dame spirit. OK, I am hopelessly prejudiced, but I truly feel that is what makes our extended family special. I admire other fan bases (except the skunkbears for sure 🙂 but ours is different. And it is necessary (though NOT sufficient) to truly succeed as the Notre Dame head coach.
So I can appreciate the good managerial work BK did, and how important it was to bring us a good ways out of the doldrums. But like many of you have said, this departure and its manner have branded him forever.
BVG was inexplicable, an own goal, yet BK was cut more slack for that than truly deserved. We had no idea then the price we’d pay for the 2014 Michigan game.
Maybe it’s the revisionist in me piling it on, though I doubt that, but what is one supposed to think after watching him speak at the LSU hoops game?
That was… bizarre!