The Blue Board

dp.

Easy fix, don't open it. I know that's beyond your minute IQ though.

I really dislike the word "minute" as you used it. My brain always reads it as min-itt (like the measurement of time) rather than my-newt (meaning very small). It always takes me a couple seconds to figure it out.

(See? Random thought... but I didn't find the need to give it its own thread.)

Thanks for sharing.

Me too..and I like it

I'm not doubting that. Of course they belong.

A lot of talk on radio and stuff questions if they could have gone undefeated in the SEC I find odd at times. For one, it doesn't matter. They are going to play the best team from the SEC in either Bama or UGA. Second of all, they might not even have to go undefeated in the SEC. UGA and Bama aren't. If they had either schedule and beat Florida or LSU, they'd be in the same spot as Bama or UGA.

I cringe when I hear that argument because it doesn't make sense, IMO.

The best team in the SEC is Florida.

I see what you're saying but a lot of people aren't arguing whether or not they'd be undefeated in the SEC, which like you said nobody in the SEC did that anyways, they're arguing that ND wouldn't even be the 3rd or 4th best team in the league. If that were the case, they wouldn't sniff the national title game. If you look at what Vegas thinks, which I know isn't the be all/end all but it's usually the most accurate depiction of how strong teams really are, they would be underdogs to 5 SEC teams: Alabama, UGA, Florida, LSU, A&M and would be slightly favored or a pick 'em against USCe. Whether you put them in the East or the West, chances are they don't make it to ATL and finish 3rd or 4th in their division.

Now, you said it and it's true that they will play the winner of the SEC so that argument is moot. They can shut everyone up by simply winning the game. Also, if Texas beats KSU this weekend and Stanford beats UCLA again, ND will have beaten the Big 12 and Pac 12 conference champions in OU and Stanford. Other than that they played a bunch of mediocre teams but the same can be said for Bama, UGA, Oregon, etc.

I think based on their two quality wins and undefeated record they deserve to be in Miami. I also think they'd fare a lot less favorably playing an SEC schedule but again, that isn't really the issue as they will play the SEC champ.

If that's the case, they would have won the SEC East at least, wouldn't they?

Honestly, I think it depends on how their schedule would have shaken out, much like it does for everyone.

Does Alabama lose to a Texas A&M team playing their first game of the season with a freshman QB? Probably not.

Does Florida beat Texas A&M in week 9, 10, or 11? Maybe, but I think the advantage would swing a little.

Does SCar beat UGA win week 12 of the season or so with Shaw and Lattimore hurt? No.

Does SCar lose to Florida if they hadn't come off playing UGA and LSU the weeks before? Maybe, but it would have been a better game, IMO.

The schedule makes up such a difference based on when games are played. I honestly think Notre Dame would have been beaten in any of the first 3 or 4 weeks of the season if they would have had SCar, LSU, Florida, or Bama on their schedule then, but if they would have had Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Tennessee or something like that the first 4 or 5 weeks, then they are undefeated through those games and probably could get by with one loss assuming they only had to play 2 of the top 6 teams out of Florida, UGA, SCar, LSU, Bama, or aTm.

Basically, I am just saying that there are many different scenarios that play out each year. You don't have to be the best team, you just have to be better than the team you are playing when it really matters. Florida had a much better year than UGA in the East and if we voted on who should play in the SECCG, Florida would be there, but the truth is that they had a one game situation against UGA to get there and they lost. If ND would have lost a game on their actual schedule, it would be interesting to see what would have happened between Florida and Oregon, IMO. I know Alabama getting in last season would hurt Florida's chances from the voters, but unless they slid another team in between them, I don't think Oregon could have made up the computer numbers enough to keep Florida out even if Oregon was 2 in both human polls.

Everyone wants a bigger playoff scenario and I do as well, but if we look at it, there are games, with playoff-type implications during the season that you just have to win. This year in the SEC, Alabama had to beat LSU and UGA had to beat Florida. Consider those games in the round of 8 if you want to, IMO. It just wasn't labeled as such at the time. You could say the same with Notre Dame vs Stanford. It was like a possible round of 8 game.

Besides, no one can deny LSU was the SEC Champion in 2011. The issue that you have is that Alabama ended the season #2. In 2014, in the playoff scenario, whether Alabama, Oklahoma St, or Stanford would have been 2, 3, or 4, they all would have gotten in (assuming the committee would have choses Stanford over Oregon). The BCS, like it or not, just has to make that decision for us at the moment. Personally, I think going to 4 will solve about 25% of the problem, but it won't solve it all. College football has to get over being worried about letting a team or 2 in a playoff (8 or 16 teams) that don't belong and let it go. If they don't belong, they'll lose anyways.

I want the same system that you do.

This is a great point. As a lifelong ND fan, from Mobile, AL, and currently living in Atlanta with my wife (Bama grad), I am extremely familiar with the SEC. They have earned their position, at the top of the sport, through 6+ years of proving it on the field. IMO, there are 6 teams in the SEC (Bama, UGA, FL, LSU, A&M, and USCe) that could beat any team on any given day, as evidenced by how they all beat each other.

If ND (or any team, for that matter) faced more than 2 or 3 of those teams, I am sure that we would likely have a loss, as well. However, the drop off is pretty steep, after those six, and if we were in the SEC, with an 8 conf game schedule, we would likely only have to play 2 or 3.
Bama played two (LSU and A&M), UGA played two (FL and USCe), FL played four (A&M, LSU, USCe, and UGA), LSU played four (FL, A&M, USCe, and Bama), A&M played three (FL, LSU, and Bama), and USCe played three (UGA, LSU, and FL).

I don't think it's much of a coincidence that the two teams in Atlanta, also had the easiest road to get there. Florida was the unfortunate team to draw two of the "power" teams from the West. They can claim to be the most hard-luck team in America, IMO. Their resume is more impressive than anyone's. If you replaced their UGA loss with an LSU loss, they'd be in Atlanta this weekend.

So, regardless of whether you dropped ND in the East or West, the results, would depend largely on how lucky they were with their schedule. We played two teams (OK and Stanford), comparable to the six SEC "power" teams, and obviously we faired pretty well. We'll see how we do against the third.

Also, I'm not sure what your sources are, but I've seen that ND only be a consensus underdog to Bama, UGA, and A&M. With the other three, I've seen that we would be a slight favorite or a pick'em. Furthermore, Bama is the only team that would be a decisive favorite over ND (e.g. more than one score). I'm getting this info from Matt Hayes's recent article.

As for the question of whether we deserve to be in the MNC. I don't see how anyone could dispute that. We're 12-0 against a schedule comprised of 3 top 25 teams, 9 bowls teams (10 if Pitt wins on Sat), a group of opponents that make up the 14th highest win % in the FBS, no FCS teams, 10 BCS conf teams (Navy & BYU are indep), and two potential conf champions (Stan and OK).

Last point: the Vegas lines are largely determined by each team's ability, and how the oddsmakers expect the game to play out. However, the purpose of these lines is to even out the money. Ultimately, the bettors' perception is what matters. This is affected by many things, other than the quality of the teams. The media has a significant impact, as no has the time or capacity to watch and diagnose hours upon hours of game film. I would venture to guess that, historically, ND has received favorable lines because of their history and reputation. This has probably evened over the last decade, or so. On the flip-side, the SEC has experienced perhaps the most successful run in the modern era of College Football. So, naturally, the perception is that the SEC will continue to dominate. This absolutely affects the lines.

None of this truely matters, as the game will be played on the field, but I hesitate using betting lines as an accurate evaluation of a team's ability. I favor more of the statistical computer models, not based on betting [i.e. football outsiders and the BCS computers (the predictors, not the actual ones used for the BCS ratings)].