Your weekly dose of Notre Dame news, opinion, and other stuff.
Top News
Notre Dame has named their football captains for the 2022 season. They are Avery Davis, Bo Bauer, Jarett Patterson, Isaiah Foskey, JD Bertrand, and Michael Mayer.
Marcus Freeman has mentioned in a recent press conference that he prefers to defer at the coin toss. National Championship cometh?
Kevin Austin, Ian Book, Dexter Williams, Isaac Rochelle, Jack Coan, Nick Martin, Daelin Hayes, Isaiah Pryor, and Drew White all didn’t survive making NFL rosters this week while Romeo Okwara remains on the Lions PUP list and Khalid Kareem is on the Bengals IR list. Book was recently claimed by the Eagles while Austin, Matthias Farley, Micah Dew-Treadway, and Myron Tagavailoa-Amosa were signed to practice squads. Tony Jones, Jr., Miles Boykin, and Kurt Hinish were all borderline players to make their teams’ 52-man cut. In New Jersey, the Giants made Julian Love one of their approximately 47 captains.
But actually no “C” on their chest in the photo, weird.
Jim Harbaugh has announced Michigan will play both of their quarterbacks this season, with Cade McNamara starting the first game and J.J. McCarthy starting the second game. Best of luck!
California defensive lineman Brett Johnson will miss his second straight season after suffering a lower leg injury in practice.
Haynes King has won the quarterback job at Texas A&M.
Tennessee wideout Bru McCoy had his NCAA waiver approved and he’ll be in the lineup tonight for the Vols opener.
Ohio Stadium’s field now has a sponsor and will be called Safelite Field. Down in Tennessee, Vanderbilt Stadium sold its right and will now be called FirstBank Stadium.
Notre Dame alum Allen Greene is stepping down as the athletic director at Auburn.
The College Football Playoff Board of Managers is meeting on Friday and could adopt a 12-team playoff for the last 2 years of the current contract in 2025 and 2026.
Multiple reports say the Big 12 is entering early negotiations on a new TV deal with ESPN and Fox.
The NCAA Board has approved the 45-day and 60-day transfer windows but did not approve unlimited transfers in the recent proposal.
Uniform of the Week
Florida A&M had 20 players ruled academically ineligible right before their trip to North Carolina this past weekend. No disparagement meant towards FAMU but that has to be something crazy to happen in late August for a bunch of football players. Did they grab guys off the street back in the summer and realize 20 of them weren’t even registered for school. Turns out, it was possibly a clerical error. That’s a big oof for someone in that office.
Anyway, the Rattlers (great nickname) were feisty for a while closing the gap in the 2nd and 3rd quarters before bowing out in a 56-24 loss. I love their green and orange colors which could very easily give off too strong of Miami Hurricanes vibes, but they don’t. It does feel like they are missing something with their helmet, though. I like the shade and finish of the orange but their snake logo is also orange. Why isn’t the snake green anyway? You can’t even make out a helmet logo at all in most pictures.
Recruiting
Offensive tackle Monroe Freeling (0.9704) was targeted by Notre Dame and committed to Georgia on Tuesday.
Elite safety Makari Vickers (0.9615) committed to Oklahoma.
Key & Peele alert as receiver Daquayvious Sorey (0.9148) gave a verbal to Auburn.
Edge rusher Desmond Umeozulu (0.9315) committed to South Carolina.
YouTube Channel
We humans love to build us some monuments and we humans love to tear us down some monuments. We’ll try to stay away from political debate but safe to say for the majority of the world things aren’t looking too great for old Mother Russia these days. Back in 1985, the Baltic nation then under Soviet rule erected this massive 260-foot tall concrete and steel obelisk as a memorial to Soviets killed during World War II. Latvia would gain its independence within 6 years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. That’s bad foresight.
This beast of a monument came tumbling down last week. I’m always up for a really great demolition and in terms of monuments this one was elite. You know there was some engineering study done to take it apart in smaller bits. Ultimately, awesomeness won out and they decided to chop this thing down and complete it with a giant splash from the surrounding moat.
Tunes
Today’s song is from the Orlando indie-band Sales called “Pope is a Rockstar” which blew up on social media this year, a full 6 years after it was released. Welcome to the social media era of music. Now, I’ve been exposed to it through Instagram stories vis-a-vis Tik-Tok because I’m an adult. It grew because everyone was mishearing the lyrics as “Go little rockstar” which to be fair is very easy to do is you listen to the song.
It’s a really good song. The slow, lazy beat and melancholy feel gives you that sense of FOMO about…something. The writer has said there’s really no meaning to the lyrics, other than seeing the pope on a magazine in a grocery store, but for me it takes me back to the early 1990’s in a weird sense of longing. I’m also a sucker for a really bright and loud guitar. We don’t have enough of that in music these days.
Trivia
Over the last 10 seasons (2012-21) name the 4 quarterbacks to throw at least 50 touchdowns in a single season.
The Other Football
It was the weekend of major blowouts. Liverpool trounced Bournemouth 9-0, Celtic demolished a bunch of farmers at Dundee 9-0 in the Scottish Premier League, while in Ligue 1 Montpellier beat Brest 7-0.
Bournemouth responded by firing manager Scotty Parker.
Back in the English Premier League, City fell behind Crystal Palace 2-0 but a 2nd half hat trick from Erling Haaland spurred a 4-2 comeback victory. We had mid-week games and Haaland scored a hat trick again on Wednesday against Nottingham Forest. This Norwegian machine has 9 goals in the league in just 395 total minutes. If he stays healthy he’ll have 33 games to score 26 goals and break the single-season English record.
Your top 4 still include Arsenal, City, Tottenham, and Brighton. I’m rather enjoying Leicester City in last place with just 1 point from 4 games.
In this house we respect Transfermarkt player market values. Twenty-two year old Brazilian forward Antony has scored 18 goals with Ajax in just over 2 years of service. Transfermarkt has him valued at $38.5 million but Manchester United are set to sign him for $95 million.
West Ham are set to sign Lyon midfielder Lucas Paqueta for $50 million.
Chelsea are looking to sign Leicester City defender Wesley Fofans for $85 million and want Mexican midfielder Edson Alvarez for $50 million from Ajax.
Streaming
No director seems as hit-or-miss as Guy Ritchie. Of course, Snatch is among my all-time favorites and one of the most rewatchable movies in history. Then he went almost a decade before giving us the two Sherlock Holmes movies which were excellent. Recently, I sat down and started watching The Gentlemen on Netflix and it seems pretty good so far. I don’t love how often the Hugh Grant and Charlie Hunnam parts take up with the storytelling although I see Grant’s performance was good enough that he’s being featured heavily in Ritchie’s upcoming movie Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre coming some time next year.
I find the premise that this marijuana grower could keep all of these sites hidden in the UK pretty funny. Absolutely not given the story we are told. They go into detail about how difficult it is to trace the business and yet there’s just a trailer, directly on a path, where you could walk directly into a massive growing basement. Geez, you fooled the entire island!
A Look Back
Recently, former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec made some comments about not really have all that much fun while he was in South Bend. Today’s game features Jurkovec’s most playing time with the Irish in the 2019 blowout of Bowling Green. This was a fun game featuring a healthy 9.4 yards per play average for the Irish on offense. Jurkovec would pass for 79 yards and run for 42 yards in the 2nd half after Ian Book threw 5 touchdowns.
This is the only game since the classic New Era Pinstripe Bowl back in 2013 that I didn’t get to watch live. We were getting ready for my brother’s wedding and I distinctly remember seeing the 21-0 score early in the 2nd quarter and thinking it wasn’t good enough. I have to fly out to California this fall for a cousin’s wedding and I get lucky again as that’s the UNLV game week.
18S Paddock Club
Nearly half the grid took engine penalties this weekend on the fast Spa track which should’ve opened things up if it wasn’t for the continued Red Bull dominance. Max Verstappen set the pace all weekend in practice before finishing with a blistering sixth-tenths poll lap lead over Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. With the penalties, Verstappen started 14th next to Charles Leclerc (both brought ERS upgrades and full new power units) in 15th with most expecting Verstappen to fight his way near the top if his pace was real.
It was very real and it would not take long. On the opening lap Alonso and Hamilton made contact, retiring the Mercedes driver after a brief attempt to keep driving. With a Safety Car deployed, Verstappen was already in 8th place and hilariously had a visor rip-off land in Leclerc’s front right brake which caused overheating and an early pit stop. By lap 8, Verstappen passed George Russell’s Mercedes for P3 and after Sainz went for new tires it was on lap 12 when Verstappen got past teammate Perez for the race lead. It took just 12 laps!
Sainz re-gained the lead once Verstappen switched to medium tires but at the end of sector 1 on lap 18 the lead was snatched back for good. Three laps later, Perez zoomed past Sainz and the Red Bull 1-2 was complete. There wasn’t much drama near the top (Verstappen’s lead was so big he stayed in 1st after his last pit stop for medium tires) except Leclerc putting on soft tires with 1 lap remaining in an attempt to get the fastest lap point. However, he came out in the traffic of Alonso, didn’t even get the fastest lap, and was dinged 5 seconds for speeding in the pit lane due to a sensor issue failure caused by the overheated brake to finish in 6th place and 2 fewer points.
Prior to that last pit stop, Leclerc was over 52 seconds behind Verstappen after starting next to each other on the grid. Ferrari 2022 pain continues.
Elsewhere, nice day for Alpine picking up 16 points while McLaren didn’t pick a point for the 4th race this season. Sebastian Vettel had a nice day finishing 8th with Pierre Gasly coming in 9th despite a pit lane start and Alex Albon picking up a point in 10th for a very strong weekend.
Dutch GP Preview: Okay, the championship is over. The twisty and high downforce setup of Zandvoort should advantage Ferrari where for months most expected Leclerc or Sainz to take the victory in Netherlands. But with Verstappen in a rocket ship this past weekend perhaps we shouldn’t be so sure anymore. What we do know is Leclerc needs to win and really needs Verstappen to not finish with a wreck or mechanical failure.
Dutch Grand Prix
Circuit Zandvoort
FP1 9/2 6:30 AM ET
FP2 9/2 10:00 AM ET
FP3 9/3 6:00 AM ET
Qualifying 9/3 9:00 AM ET
Race 9/4 9:00 AM ET
Last year, Verstappen cruised to an easy victory in his home country on this circuit. This year, his car isn’t necessarily set up as well on the 2.6 mile Zandvoort track where there are just 2 short DRS zones (although they will be trialing an extended DRS zone through the sweeping final corner) and minimal areas to make overtakes. Typically, the Dutch Grand Prix puts a premium on qualifying, although we thought the same at Hungary (a very similar tight track with few high speed areas) and the new regulations worked really well for overtaking there.
The bank is open in Netherlands.
We can’t forget about the banking turns on this circuit, either. Last year, it really bothered Mercedes and even caused a power loss for Lewis Hamilton during practice. Some cars just do not handle the lack of balance very well. The sweeping NASCAR-esque turn on to the main straight is one challenge but the tighter turn 3 shown above can ruin an entire lap if you make the smallest mistake.
3 Questions for Netherlands:
1) Are we witnessing history with Verstappen’s recent run?
The Dutch reigning champion has won 9 out of the last 11 races and could secure back-to-back titles as early Singapore in a few more races. He also has Michael Schumacher’s record of 13 wins in a season within his sights, too. The F1 record of 9 straight wins (set by Sebastian Vettel in 2013 with Red Bull) will enter the conversation if Verstappen can pull off a win this weekend.
2) What strategy mistakes will Ferrari make this weekend?
The off-camber and bumpy Zandvoort track will likely cause Ferrari to raise the ride height of their car which (as we saw last week in Belgium) can nerf the speed of the F1-75. However, if it’s not too bad their mechanical grip and strength on high downforce circuits should see them well above Mercedes if not inching past Red Bull.
Last year, a one-stop worked well with teams prioritizing track position. This year, it’s expected overtaking will be a little easier (just 23 total overtakes last year) which opens the door to more strategy decisions and possible failure on Ferrari’s part.
3) Will we get any silly season news this weekend?
We are still waiting for news for seats next year at Alpine, McLaren, Alfa Romeo, AlphaTauri, Williams, and Haas. Oscar Piastri to McLaren looks all but done, it’s just a matter of how much McLaren may have to pay Alpine. Recent rumors suggest Pierre Gasly could jump from AlphaTauri to Alpine. Ferrari is also dropping Mick Schumacher from their academy and he’s not likely returning to Haas. We think Alfa Romeo brings back Zhou Guanyu for a second season. Will Yuki Tsunoda get another shot at AlphaTauri? Nicholas Latifi is probably out at Williams which could offer the seat to plenty of young drivers.
Trivia Answer:
Derek Carr, 2013, 50
Dwayne Haskins, 2018, 50
Joe Burrow, 2019, 60
Bailey Zappe, 2021, 62
These recent comments?
https://www.boston.com/sports/college-sports/2022/08/27/quarterback-phil-jurkovec-feels-reborn-boston-college/
Unsurprisingly, I find myself way less motivated to leap to BK’s defense any more.
One side of the story, pretty awful if true…But definitely a problem that Kelly pushed the family to feel betrayed, considering the importance of a top QB. It wasn’t a secret that Jurkovec didn’t like the way things were going under Kelly and Long, and they can be abrasive guys.
Kinda surprised Phil talked about it before playing Notre Dame though. Bold move. I doubt in this day and age the defense needs to see it, they probably didn’t need some newspaper quotes to make it personal, but it can’t help to add more motivation.
That said, tough to imagine Freeman doing anything close to similar. Him visiting Avery Davis at his apartment after the injury was another really nice little personal touch, Freeman sure has a lot of class. Doubt Kelly ever would have done the same, so it’s nice we’re better off in that regard for “treat people decently and actually care about them” from the leader.
This current team might not really care at all (even assuming it’s the whole truth – which I doubt) since it’s all about people who are no longer there.
It was bigger than just at former coaches though, taking shots at the team and the culture. Obviously that’s not keeping any of the players up at night or anything.
Good point.
The Twitter spaces thing that the current and recent former players did right after Kelly left for LSU said the exact opposite of this.
Frankly, I think Phil sounds bitter and a bit delusional.
I don’t disagree, but just about every great QB comes with a level of ego. Obviously he has sour grapes for it not working out and how he was treated and is young/immature enough to talk about it when he could just let it go.
The kid had some adversity for probably the first time in his life. Certainly seemed things were on a downward spiral at ND. He left and rebounded. Good for him.
Laying the blame on Kelly and ND. Not so good. I’m not buying that nobody at ND cared. You earn your playing time in practice and practice reports on him at the time were not good. Coaches play the best players.
Coaches play the players who give the coach the best opportunity to win the game.
https://www.bing.com/th?id=OIP.ASi_s81BfXjOS4R91FvKQQHaEA&w=204&h=106&c=8&rs=1&qlt=90&o=6&pid=3.1&rm=2
I don’t doubt Phil had some negative experiences here, but the fact of the matter is he was never beating out Ian Book, who only won more games than any Notre Dame quarterback ever. And frankly I doubt he would’ve had positive feelings about ND if he wasn’t named the starter. So.
Thoughts:
-The timing of this is really odd. Phil hasn’t been on ND’s campus for 2.5 years now. With the exception of Tommy Rees, every single coach and player involved in that QB “controversy” is gone too. We do play BC this year, but not until late November. This article came out in August. What on earth stirred up this tempest in a teapot now?
-Phil thought he deserved to replace or split time with a senior three-year starter at QB with like a 23-3 record? How is that reasonable?
-NBC is going to be completely insufferable during the BC game this year. They’ll probably superglue Flutie to Jurkovec or something.
Totally reasonable in the recent climate that the young, unproven highly ranked recruit replaces a competent QB. Trevor Lawrence replaced a better QB than Book like 4-5 games into his freshman year…Tua replaced a way better QB than Book as a freshman. Great incoming QB’s are going to expect to see the field or transfer, just the way it goes. They’re probably surely hearing that they’ll have the chance (or better) to play when they’re getting recruited too, which fits the “promises not kept” vibe.
Well, hindsight is 20/20, but Phil’s performance since then has not exactly been on par with Lawrence or Tua. Not sure those are good comparisons for him.
I don’t blame Phil for transferring at all, but it’s worth noting that he almost certainly would have been ND’s starter if he had just waited a year. Oh well, sounds like he’s happy at BC.
Kelly said Jurkovec was as good as any QB in the class…Lawrence was in the class. They were both elite recruits, it’s a great comparison, Jurkovec is also projected to be a first round pick. Those guys usually get told they will see the field early, and then get really antsy if they don’t, thus why elite QB transfer rates are super high.
The issue is it’s not “wait a year” the problem is it was going to be “wait ANOTHER year”. It would have taken until 2021 for him to play, his 4th year in college. No elite QB recruit is going to have that much patience.
Book was great in 2019, so it was just bad timing, and Book coming back for 2020 was the end of Jurkovec.
Sure, and all of that justifies Phil transferring, which he did, and which was best for him. That’s fine.
I guess what I take issue with is this narrative — which NDNation loved, by the way — that Phil didn’t get a fair shot at ND. I don’t think there’s really any evidence of that.
Also, fairness goes in both directions. Kelly and the coaching staff owed it to Book to be fair to him. It sounds to me like Phil thinks his recruiting stars were more important than Book’s performance in almost 30 games.
I find that to be very reasonable. I don’t agree with the NDN type logic either that Jurkovec was a great player wasted by Notre Dame and sitting on the bench for no reason, a ready-made star just ignored. Clearly that makes no sense, and indeed, Jurkovec was a work in progress and didn’t really make much progress under Kelly/Long.
I suppose it just boils down to not have being a good fit or the right timing or the personalities of the coaches and the player lining up. Shame it didn’t work since now he’s lived up to his potential, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
kelly bryant was not better than book lmao stop it
Jalen Hurts > Ian Book > Kelly Bryant, so I’ll say his point was half-good
Fair enough, beyond the ranking, the over-arching point was that other places were inclined to allow high recruits a chance to play, even at the expense of established QB’s who were playing perfectly well. Jurkovec didn’t get that luxury. If Notre Dame had Kelly Bryant, it probably still plays out the same.
(Some of that, I would attest, is because Jurkovec didn’t come in quite as ready to play as his peers and is kind of “on him” to not be ready so early). But if Notre Dame had Trevor Lawrence are they benching Book in 2019? I tend to doubt that, I think there is a point that under Kelly the “reliable veteran with a ceiling” was trusted over “wildcard boom/bust prospect”.
Tu’a and Lawrence didn’t get a chance to play because they were highly ranked prospects. They got a chance to play because they were clearly ready to play and be great. Not just a higher ceiling eventually, they were better at that time.
Jurkovec still probably isn’t as good as Lawrence was as a freshman, or Tu’a as a sophomore, no matter what BK said about him. Was BK going to be like, nah our QB is way worse than that other QB.
There’s validity to what you’re saying, I’m just seeing it more through the perspective as an HS recruit, that’s not what Jurkovec is thinking and being told. To an extent, most of his contention is the communication with Kelly wasn’t good and expectations weren’t met, which led to him spiraling down.
I do think it totally fair that Phil didn’t hit the ground running and force the issue, but as noted several times, Book had a good thing going and was a great system fit. It would have been near impossible for Jurkovec to get any playing time, which was really just bad timing that no one can control. If he was 1-2 years older or 1-2 years younger, his whole career might have unfolded differently.
Always easier to make some “bad guys” out of the situation, and to be fair, neither Kelly nor Long are exactly known as people pleasers or show that much attention and affection for non-starters.
Oh, very true. Didn’t realize you meant through his own perspective.
Jurk probably thought he was just as good as Lawrence/Tua then and even now. He’s wrong, but he should feel that way if he wants to be great.
I totally agree with everything you’ve said. Bad timing behind a good QB, the coaches weren’t being up front (which neither is known for, at least now), he absolutely should have transferred given his goals, and it worked out for him. And ND absolutely should not have played him over Book.
Basically, everything was handled correctly by everyone, other than the interpersonal side, which is very subjective for everyone involved. Fortunately, we have upgraded emotional intelligence (and hopefully maintained FB intelligence) from the HC.
I think the timing is just that this is when he was interviewed by Boston.com, right before the season, a common time to interview the starting QB for your town’s school.
Any reporter is going to want to find something interesting to post, and that’s about the only interesting thing regarding the BC football team. It isn’t like he tweeted this unprompted and he probably didn’t search out Boston.com just to give this interview so he could throw ridiculously bland shade at ND (especially considering there is maybe 1 coach still on the team).
Pretty cool that the Glazers have listened to their fans and are finally righting the ship.
Random question: Was there a top 25 players for ND 2022 put out this year. I know there normally is one and I went back to see if I missed this year’s and I couldn’t find it.
Maybe it’s coming out today or tomorrow or maybe the amazing guys that run the site didn’t do it this year (which is totally fine) but was just wondering.
It’ll drop tomorrow.
Nice! It’s always one of my favorites.
Thanks for all the work!
Is the preseason survey post coming too?
Yup!
This has nothing to do with this week’s Rambler, but I just finished reading American Brutus, which I believe you recommended a long while back in a previous Rambler.
The casualness of a response to the POTUS being shot in the head in public is absolutely astonishing to me. It took 12 days to find JWB, even though he was only 70 miles away from Washington DC at his capture. I kept thinking of the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing and the ensuing manhunt that shutdown Boston. Watching the police essentially go door-to-door on live TV looking for a 19 year old, was surreal, but also incredible. Can’t help but think that’s what would have happened if the same technologies/abilities were in place 150 years ago.
Anyway, it was a good read, thanks for the generic recommendation!
I love that book.
Kurt Hinish was a very pleasant surprise for the Texans. He was predicted to earn a roster spot. Because of his play, the Texans were able to trade Ross Blacklock, a former second round pick, to the Vikings. Thomas Booker, their fifth round pick, also made the team.Doesn’t look like Kurt could be bumped from the roster either.
Boy these uniforms in the backyard brawl are sharp – both teams. Love the Pitt throwbacks with the candy gold helmets.
The football, however, is sloppy
Those WV helmets were pretty cool and I’m not sure why, exactly.
Also, props to the refs/review team for seeming nailing every review and getting the call correct, regardless of what was initially called on the field.
I was happy to see my Birds pick Book up for their QB3. They’re probably looking to see if he can be their QB2 next year since the thinking is that Minshew (our current backup) will get grabbed by someone desperate for a starter next year. Hope it works out for him!
Plus Book is maybe more like Hurts than Minshew is since Book is a more mobile than Minshew. It’s often ideal to have a backup that’s similar in style to the starter.
The Saints took a chance in releasing Nick Martin, who they signed for $1.187 mill. When no other teams signed him, now as a practice squad player he will earn $277k ($15k per week for 18 weeks). A rookie like Kevin Austin earns $207k per year ($11.5k per) on Jax’s PS. Tony Jones making the Saints roster and Ian Book being signed by the Eagles will each earn $825k per year. Getting promoted to a roster spot from the PS during the season bumps the rookie’s salary up to $39k per game. A veteran’s salary when promoted is a bit more.
That’s way better money than I would have thought. A lot better than the minors.
Another comparison – Skylar Diggins-Smith is in the third year of a four year contract and will get $230k this year (4 yrs for $900k). Alex Bars, who recently was waived by the Raiders after signing a $1.7 mill one year contract, got $250k guaranteed at signing.
https://twitter.com/RossDellenger/status/1565777108357505028?s=20&t=TuXz1tU_cpI3HLfj4cEhaA
Another new playoff era is upon us.
Still think it’s *relatively* bad for Notre Dame as a non-conference participant, but it at least gives us the opportunity to realize it’s bad for us in reality over time and join a conference rather than force us into a conference right now.
Doesn’t it depend on how the details work out? And whether or not there are automatic bids or if those bids get certain seeds, etc.?
It will be interesting to see how this impacts the coaching carousel. If a G5 team is a 10-12 seed, would teams wait to hire that coach? Would that coach leave knowing it won’t actually win a natty?
Can’t wait for BK to abandon LSU for Bama in the second round of the 2038 playoff when Saban breaks a hip during his bye week and can’t coach anymore.
lol.
yea good questions. Are they going to be like Fickel or like Kelly is really the question. Schools won’t wait but will coaches?
I read this to mean that they agreed to the original plan – i.e., six auto bids and top four conference champs get byes. Meaning that, even if ND is #1 in the polls, best they can do is a 5 seed.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/34509443/board-managers-decide-12-team-college-football-playoff-sources-say
I thought we talked this through last year. Since the playoffs started, there never seems to be more than 2 teams that are head and shoulders above everyone else. If ND is ever one of the 4 best teams (ie: in the actual conversation with the likes of UGA, Alabama, OSU, not just the next best team), getting the #5 seed and having to play an “extra game” against the 12th ranked team shouldn’t really be much of an issue. Plus, they’d get to match up with the #4 seed in the quarterfinals, which is the best draw possible. If they’re just the 4th best team, but magnatudes worse than 1-3, then who cares if they get a bye only to lose to the #5 team in the quarter finals or get handled in the semi finals. That’s the same as it is currently.
I don’t remember the conversation but its tough to win multiple games in a row against good teams. So I think there’s a pretty big difference between being the #1-#4 seed and #5 seed with that bye.
It’s true it may not be that big of a loss if we would have been the #4 seed and genuinely a tier below the top 3 which often happens.
To think about it the other way around, I think if Bama could at best be a #5 seed that would add an element of difficulty that Georgia/OSU/Clemson (for example) don’t have and would lead (over the long-term) to less championships for them because of that extra game.
Presumably these games are being played in a row. If somehow there is some additional time off between some of these games that would change the calculus some (but not entirely).
Yeah, there’s no realistic hope that we will be at the current Bama level, but if we crept up to the Watson-era Clemson level (which is probably the program’s absolute ceiling) this makes winning the playoff notably harder than if we got a bye. Mid-aughts Clemson *probably* wouldn’t have lost to the 12th-best team in the country at home, but it wouldn’t *definitely* have won.
And, considering that odds are that we won’t actually get to that ceiling, I think overall it pretty notably decreases the odds that ND sees a semifinal in any given year relative to status quo. I suspect the 2020 team would not have won twice against similar competition, for example (2018 I could maybe buy).
OTOH, it significantly increases the chances we win a playoff game, so that’s fun.
Yea I’m not saying we’ll be Bama anytime soon. I was just using Bama as an example to show that it’d be harder (if i’d be harder for Bama, a fortiori it’d be harder for us). And it’s not just about winning that first game against the #12 seed but then another game against the #4 seed and then another against another top 3 seed. I see the latter two games as incrementally harder because you have to play the first one.
Just think of the 5/12 or 6/11 or whatever as ND’s equivalent to a conference championship game (and on campus to boot). Again, if they have trouble with that game, they’re not going to beat 2 of the (presumably) 4 best teams in the country anyway so it’s a moo point irregardless.
I think that would be less of an issue if it was like a 13th game at the end of the season and then there were a few weeks off in between (assuming all the other conferences keep their 13th game). But it’s not clear to me that’s the way it’ll be.
It would almost have to be (at the very least) the week after conference championships and then two weeks in between every other game. Maybe they’ll move up the first week of the season so the on-campus games will have students in session still?
Curious what impact this will have on the overall bowl structure, of some of the bowls just below the NY6 get upgraded or if these will be completely new games.
Ahh I see. I just saw the tweet and nothing else.
The biggest downside is not being able to be a #1-#4 seed and get a bye. I think that’s a pretty big deal actually and so agree that this is kind of bad for ND.
The bye for only conference champs isn’t set in stone, but i won’t be surprised if it does become the rule. i see this as solidifying Swarbrick’s legacy of protecting ND’s independence through tumultuous times. The expansion to 12 with 6 at larges virtually guarantees ND independence through at least the next CFP tv contract. The current contract was 12 years so we’re looking at some level of stability through 2038. Jack will be retired by then, but his influence will still be yielding dividends for ND.
It’s not set in stone? Everyone seems to be saying that that’s what was agreed upon already. Where are you seeing differently?
i’m talking about the realities of negotiation…which Swarbrick excels at. There has been some talk about some conferences deciding to drop the championship game since that would eliminate the possibility of their best team being upset. That extra game is most of the rationale behind ND not being eligible for a bye. Doesn’t it make sense that Swarbrick might try to add a clause that states if any of the top 4 conference champs do not play a conference championship game then ND would be eligible for a bye? That isn’t a huge change, just a contingency…i think he could get it done if he wants to.
A big win for Jack and an independent Notre Dame, securing access to the CFP. Are we now going to hear the second place conference teams complaining? They had to play the championship game – and lost – while ND had the week off. And now, assuming we’re ranked in the top eight, they may have to travel to Rockne Stadium for their fourteenth game. Should we advance in this scenario, the only teams that would have played just thirteen games are the four conference champions and ND. I can’t see the conferences eliminating their championship games giving up all that money.
Of course, we could have been that second place conference team but that’s in the rear view mirror.
The total TV rights for a 12 team playoff, 11 games is being estimated at $1.2B/yr. A conference having their best team advancing farther is going to net them more money than a conference championship game that could potentially knock their best team down or out.
Blech. 10-2 Ole Miss rematching an Alabama team that already stomped them in an on-campus game during winter break. No thanks.
I mean you aren’t expanding the playoffs for the worst matchup – #1 vs. #8 you are doing it for most of the other games.
I guess. I am pretty confident there are never 12 national title-caliber teams in any given season. Usually there are between 1 and 3.
Who said there were 12 national title-caliber teams in a given year?
I mean, that’s kind of the underlying assumption of a 12-team playoff, no?
In college football? No way.
Or even in the NFL or MLB, etc. I don’t think those leagues just added another team to the playoffs because they think that extra team might win a championship.
I think they are thinking more good games that people will want to watch and $$$$$$.
Plus, 10 million people will watch Ole Miss play Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. Which is great.
But 50% more will watch Ole Miss re-match Alabama in Tuscaloosa with more on the line, even if it’s a more un-even matchup.
I guess. I wouldn’t watch that. Rematches suck.
I know, I think you’ve been very clear that your definition of what is good and what to watch in college football is really narrowly defined.
What definition is that?
A definition of a college football regular season jam-packed with amazing OOC games across the top tiers of the Power 5.
Yeah, I would prefer that.
I say as I watch Illinois-Indiana.
Yup, exactly. And all those extra eyeballs in the end equal more money when the next tv contract rolls around.
No, i don’t think anyone involved with overseeing the CFP thinks #9-12 is going to have any kind of shot…but the first round games are all going to be guaranteed solid match ups…the bowls don’t always work out that way.
But i think the biggest benefit, other than the payday, is more access should lead to more parity. It’ll be much tougher to create the superteams with 75+% blue chips when so many more teams will get to the playoffs. That matters to a lot of kids.
If it should work out that way wouldn’t 5-8 teams in the highest tier be better than 2-3?
Eh, I think the parity thing is an illusion. You’re going to have a shaky 10-2 Penn State team squeaking past Utah only to face a rested and ready Alabama team.
I realize this is all about the money, but this is a dumb postseason format.
Yea I agree with ACS. I don’t think more playoff access = more parity.
It’s not like ND, Michigan, Michigan St. etc. getting to the playoffs has helped their recruiting efforts all that much (or at all). And when 12 teams get to the playoffs it’ll be watered down so that it’ll mean even less. I don’t think kids value getting to the playoffs more than to be on an actual team that could win it all.
To put a finer point on it:
I’ve seen a lot of fans of G5 and middle of the pack P5 teams excited about this format because it “gives them a shot.” OK, fair enough, I get that. I understand people are excited about that right now.
But in practice, I think fans will quickly tire of getting blasted by the 5-star army teams — Bama, UGA, OSU, etc. I am already bored of it as an ND fan. And for a team like, say, Arizona State that has a special 10 or 11-win season, ending that with a forgettable 38-10 loss to Bama in Indianapolis as opposed to a Rose Bowl appearance is not going to be very appealing.
IMO, college football fandom as a whole is being duped with this playoff format.
I think that’s actually an argument for a 12 team playoff. It’s not to give more teams a real shot (though once in a blue moon that might happen for a talented – say USC – team who had injuries throughout the year but got healthy by the end, but i digress). It’s to make more high-end games, 5vs12, 6vs11, 7vs10, 8vs9 will mostly be pretty good entertaining and meaningful games, then something like 4vs5, and some years 3vs6 will be pretty darn good too. So that’s 6 more high-end games that will be better than the typical bowl exhibition game where the NFL-bound players don’t play and have no effect on any other games.
Complaining that 1 vs 8 or 2vs7 won’t be very good games most years misses the point (to go back to a point you made above). And it’s not really about the fans of a particular team either (which yes it may be a worse ending for particular teams than the bowl system) but it’s about creating more exciting and meaningful games.
No, it’s not.
If you want more high-end games, those need to happen in OOC scheduling, which is currently absolutely pitiful across the board. Make every week of the regular season meaningful, then play bowl games.
I don’t know why people are so willing to accept a regular season that’s 1/4 to 1/3 garbage, followed by a playoff that we know isn’t really going to be competitive.
If a 12-team playoff won’t be competitive enough, what kind of OOC scheduling could be consistent enough nationally to provide better competition?
I’m not totally sure what you’re asking.
My view is that college football is at its best when every week of the regular season is meaningful to the national title race. That is not the case when Ole Miss is playing Wofford in late November and making the playoffs at 10-2, then rematching an Alabama team they already lost to.
If people want to watch the NFL, it’s available every Sunday in the fall for free on network TV.
You said if you want more high-end games they have to be OOC and such to make the regular season better.
But you’re getting high end games via the playoff but then you’re not interested because it’s not competitive enough or there are rematches that may be boring.
So let’s hypothetically move playoff games to the regular season.
It doesn’t solve the lack of competition so what makes it better?
In a world without a playoff you’d theoretically have more devastating losses and maybe more meaningful games occasionally. But then there’s also no playoff to follow the regular season and some of those big games, in hindsight, we wouldn’t have known they were big at the time.
There’s a real difficult with the regular season sorting out the really big games as they happen, particularly when tons of people think 95% of teams suck and there’s no parity!
I’m thinking of the MSU 2013 game, during the regular season it didn’t mean that much until way way later. But if that’s a playoff game there’s a built in spotlight and hype that a lot of the regular season can miss.
…it…wut? There are like 20 different things all scrambled together here.
I guess I’ll just put it this way — I don’t think any form of playoff is a good postseason format for FBS football. I would also like a more meaningful regular season with better OOC scheduling.
And what I’m saying is that if highly ranked teams playing each other in the playoffs can be dismissed then the same can happen during the regular season.
Additionally, the type of scheduling you seek as better, without a playoff, has never existed in college football and never will.
No one can seriously argue that 1973 Notre Dame’s season/schedule was better than a hypothetical 12-team playoff schedule future Notre Dame would face. It’s almost laughable if you compare ‘big’ games in that context.
I don’t know it would lead to parity, directly.
But, some day we’ll get more parity. And the playoffs will be a lot more fun.
It’s hard to imagine that’ll happen while Saban is still coaching.
The lack of parity will end at some point. It’s one of the easiest things about college football to imagine.
At some point yes. It just seems far more likely after Saban is gone. He is human after all right? He will be gone sometime relatively soon, right?
Can confirm all humans will die.
That’s still not a confirmation that Saban is human though.
Fair.
We’ll discover that Saban has merged with CYBERTIDE
Not with the centralizing effect of technology allowing teams to recruit nationally instead of local gems staying relatively unknown outside their areas (which has already killed parity), the now-legalized pay for play and tamperless free agency which will gut lesser programs, and the normalized expectation that getting to the NFL in three years is the only thing that matters. Combine that with conference realignment and the future of the sport looks pretty bleak. Sorry to say it but the curmudgeons were right.
With the exception of Oklahoma-Georgia, the 1-4 and 2-3 playoff games have been blowouts. It absolutely won’t lead to better games, and getting to the playoff won’t matter once it’s watered down. The top couple programs will be able to poach talent from the 10-25 ranked teams, and players will start sitting out playoff games as a “business decision”.
If parity is dead, what makes the BCS system better?
This just sounds like college football nihilism to me.
It would unironically be better to go back to the BCS system, but just have a reranking after the bowls and a 1 vs 2 game following that.
64 team playoff next. Keep on jacking up the postseason football. 6-6 Sun Belt teams being fed to Nick Saban in a ritual that maintains his immortality. I’m here for all of it. More football!