Have LSU or ND ever been ranked higher at the end of the season than the beginning?
- Thread starter Rip_E_2_Joe_PA
- Start date
LSU did not get much respect for a long time before Les Miles.
ND has gotten consistently more ridiculous over the years. They were actually good in the early 1990s. Since then they have never actually been that good. However we have seen absurdity like jumping into the top 5 when Ty Willingham starts 3-0 against mediocre teams, and declaring Charlie Weis an elite coach after losing to USC.
Notre Dame is always overrated. The sports media historically loves them. That is way their bowl record in the modern era sucks. They play teams over head.
ND beat Michigan. If we do that you all will treat it like some incredible feat. Beat Stanford. Beat VT on the road. Easily a better resume than us. Perhaps the best resume in the country up to this point. They are good. Saying otherwise just makes you look like an idiot .
We have 9 teams on our schedule with winning records. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder?
And when they lose to one of their creampuff opponents, such as to a 17 year old USC QB, I promise to come back and tell you that you are, in fact, an idiot.
I do not have any clue where you are coming from. Beating VT is not impressive. Old Dominion is a bad, bad team and they ran over VT. Beating Stanford is not impressive. Oregon was dominating them, but then choked big time. Utah is blowing them off the field at this moment. ND had a hard time with Vanderbilt and a hard time with Ball State.
By the end of the season our best wins will be Wisconsin, Michigan State, and (hopefully) Michigan. The whole season turns on the Michigan game. No way we lose the other two.
Is this where you tell me that an overtime home win over App St is better than beating Michigan, Stanford, and winning at VT??? Surely you can't be that delusional?
So Michigan State is a great team (losses to ASU and NW, and won a nailbiter against Utah St), but Stanford and VT suck. Got it.
I did not say that MSU was great. But Stanford and VT definitely do stink big time. Neither belongs in the top 25 at all. I would not even be slightly surprised to hear that ND loses to any of Pitt, Navy or Syracuse.
At the end of the season, when we have also beaten Michigan, as well as App State and Wisconsin, our resume will be far superior to theirs.
Um, they already beat Michigan. And Stanford,. And VT. Sure, not as impressive as a home overtime win over App St, but it's not bad.
Stanford and VT blow, dude. And Michigan, who we will handle, would have beaten ND any other week but that week. I don't care if we win in overtime or the 8th quarter- we are one shit play call away from being in the Top 4. Maybe Notre Dame should join a conference and play an equal number of road games if they want my respect?
Please do not include VT in this discussion. They are annually the most over rated team of all. They are pretty bad this year. Beating them is less impressive than beating App State
And at 3-3 with two losses to ranked teams and a win over USC, they still wouldn’t “blow”. They’re probably a fringe top 25 team (20th-30th).
VT and App St are probably pretty comparable right now. But, we did get App St at home, so I’d disagree.
ND's win over them is not impressive, however. They are currently getting worked by Utah, and looked about the same vs. Oregon. Oregon totally gave that game to them.
The topic is the past 30 to 40 years, preseason vs post season rankings numb nuts. Remember, if you can, reading is fundamental.
Difference is, App State overachieves while VT unerachieves. Particularly since they recruit fairly well.
Relative to Notre Dame all you need do is look back one year. In the 2017 preseason AP poll ND was unbranded and they finished the season number 11.
Why does ND have this undeserved, over rated following that's been going on for decades?
The answer is pretty simple to me, and mostly involves their nickname of the "Fighting Irish".
Many people have some Irish ethnicity in their blood. The Irish, as an immigrant group, came mainly to the United States in the 19th century (1800's) through much hardship. Like most European Immigrants, the Irish encountered discrimination and hard times. Some people of Irish decent may have never attended college, but can relate to ND because of their ancestry. It's a Catholic college too, which is the religion of most Irish Americans. So there's a natural bond between the school and many Americans. For many Irish, there isn't a need to be part of the alumni, or to even personally know an alumnus. There's simply the natural connection with themselves and the nickname of the school "Fighting Irish" or just "Irish".
It's the only college that I can think of that has an ethnic group in their nickname. There isn't a school that has a connection with Poles, Italians, Hispanics, etc. the way that Notre Dame does. It's a tradition to follow the Irish that has taken place over several generations. Youngsters are brought up to follow the team. It's a powerful connection with a large group of people. So in that respect, they are unrivaled. I understand it, I get it, and in a lot of ways admire it.
I don't have any Irish blood in me; so for me, there's zero attraction to the team. But for many proud Irish Americans, the attraction is real, something others (outsiders) need to understand. Is the bias for the team real? Absolutely in my opinion, but for obvious reasons.
The answer is pretty simple to me, and mostly involves their nickname of the "Fighting Irish".
Many people have some Irish ethnicity in their blood. The Irish, as an immigrant group, came mainly to the United States in the 19th century (1800's) through much hardship. Like most European Immigrants, the Irish encountered discrimination and hard times. Some people of Irish decent may have never attended college, but can relate to ND because of their ancestry. It's a Catholic college too, which is the religion of most Irish Americans. So there's a natural bond between the school and many Americans. For many Irish, there isn't a need to be part of the alumni, or to even personally know an alumnus. There's simply the natural connection with themselves and the nickname of the school "Fighting Irish" or just "Irish".
It's the only college that I can think of that has an ethnic group in their nickname. There isn't a school that has a connection with Poles, Italians, Hispanics, etc. the way that Notre Dame does. It's a tradition to follow the Irish that has taken place over several generations. Youngsters are brought up to follow the team. It's a powerful connection with a large group of people. So in that respect, they are unrivaled. I understand it, I get it, and in a lot of ways admire it.
I don't have any Irish blood in me; so for me, there's zero attraction to the team. But for many proud Irish Americans, the attraction is real, something others (outsiders) need to understand. Is the bias for the team real? Absolutely in my opinion, but for obvious reasons.
You're going to like #1, but not #4. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/which-college-football-teams-are-always-overrated-in-august/
Last edited:
