The state of ND football.

[Raiderball]

Ok, I get your Big East digs. You can go on now. How many recruiting classes does BK have at ND?
If ND has no players on the defensive side of the ball seems to me that falls on the previous staff.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

THE IRISH WILL NOT BE IN A BOWL AGAIN, WHICH IS UNHEARD OF. I WISHED THEY WOULD HAVE JOINED THE BIG TEN WITH NEBRASKA , AND ACTUALLY GOTTEN 1 MORE TEAM. GIVE KELLEY TIME, HE'LL CORRECT THE PROBLEMS THERE. I THINK UTAH , AND USC WILL DRILL THEM, THEIR ONLY CHANCE IN MY OPINION IS A WIN AT ARMY , THAT WILL LEAVE THEM WITH 5 WINS. THEY CERTAINLY HAVE TO RETOOL BEFORE NEXT YEAR.

[eccedomusscientiae]

Ok, I get your Big East digs. You can go on now. How many recruiting classes does BK have at ND?
If ND has no players on the defensive side of the ball seems to me that falls on the previous staff.

I may be wrong, but BK didnt have much D at Cincy either.

[2trap_4ever]

As a life long Notre Dame fan it hurts to watch the Irish, I can remember watching Notre Dame and not wondering if they were going to lose, just how much they would win by. Today's Irish are different, the defense is bad, has been bad for a very long time, but do the coaches try to recruit defensive players to make it better, no they keep going after high profile offensive players hoping that they can just score more points than the other team. When the 1988 team won the National Title, they had it all, a good offense and a good defense, plus great special teams. When Notre Dame finally figures out they have to recruit both sides of the ball with equal importance then they will be on the track to return to greatness.

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

It is worse than last season.

[NYBuckeye96]

I hope Notre Dame continues to decline until they wise up and join the Big Ten. It's all about the karma!

[2trap_4ever]

Okay, I want to know why everyone thinks that the Irish should join The Ohio State and the everyone else conference. I honestly would stay independent then have to constantly play second banana to OSU every year.

[Peake]

If I were an AD I would never hire a coach out of the Big East again.

Notre Dame would be about 6th banana??? in the Big Ten most years.

[ACCBiggz]

Success in the Big East does not translate to success anywhere else.

Saw this in the Michigan thread and now it's time to respond. This is a ludicrous statement. If you are a good coach you'll win anywhere. All coaches at this level have success at smaller schools before moving up, there have been top flight coaches at Big East schools.

Brian Kelly is a decent coach, but in my opinion he's overvalued. He spent a small amount of time at Central Michigan and got credit for that program despite playing with a ton of guys that weren't his with a program on the upswing. He goes to Cincinnati and leads them to a BCS appearance and gets credit for "turning Cincinnati around" when in fact it was Mark Dantonio that turned that program around before accepting the Michigan State position. And Kelly wasn't at UC all that long either. The Notre Dame position however is different than both his previous NCAA D-1A jobs. Those were two programs on the upswing with talent coming into it, Notre Dame is the exact opposite. That's the difference. Notre Dame's resources and facilities give him every opportunity to begin recruiting talent back to Notre Dame - I think people need to give him time and see how it works out. Being hasty and firing people year after year isn't helping the program, it's destroying it. I think Kelly CAN find success at Notre Dame, but we'll have to see if he can truly build a program and recruit quality athletes there.

[Peake]

blah blah blah

[seofan_via_dublin]

If I'm wrong about success in the Big East not translating to success at other stops, then show me examples that prove otherwise.

What coaches have left the Big East for a different school, and had success?

[Peake]

Dumbtonio at MSU, but he is not your average Big East coach, his roots are the BIg Ten. Patrino at Arkansas has been above average.

[seofan_via_dublin]

Dantonio is a product of the Big 10, he's done well because he has an understanding of Big 10 football, not because of his success at UC.

Patrino can call an air attack, but what else does he have. Middle of the pack SEC doesn't make you a success.

That said, those are the only two examples?
Case closed!

[The Flying Dutchman]

It is true that Kelly needs time to recruit the type of players he needs to succeed but when you make decisions every game that cost your team a chance to win then it doesnt matter who you recruit. His decision to pass against Tulsa despite being in FG range with less than a minute to play was mind boggling. He and his defensive staff had no answer for Navy's option yet a one win Duke team held Navy to 168 yds rushing in beating the Midshipmen a week later. I want Kelly to succeed at ND but he seems hellbent on doing things his way even when common sense tells him different. What I mean by that is there is a time you need to slow down and eat some clock when ahead and a time to run the ball forcing the opp. to burn their timeouts also there is a time when you need to take a knee before half even when trailing instead of making things worse by forcing something. For ND making a big mistake before half is huge because I think ND has kicked off to start the 2nd half in every game this year. No man should be fired after one season but Kelly needs to make better decisions if he is going to win at a place like ND. GO IRISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Charge]

Why would a kid want to play for Kelly or Rich Rod the way they did their former players at Cincinnati and WVU?

[dazed&confused]

Memo to ND and Michigan- uphold your lofty academic requirements and bcome Vanderbilt...or join the real world and take your place amongst the college football elite. Especially for Notre Dame..come down off your lofty pedastal and compete on even terms or just play Duke, Northwestern, and Vandy. Tough choice..simple solution.

[NYBuckeye96]

Okay, I want to know why everyone thinks that the Irish should join The Ohio State and the everyone else conference. I honestly would stay independent then have to constantly play second banana to OSU every year.

I think Notre Dame should join the Big Ten for the following reasons:

1. Geography. Notre Dame is right smack in the middle of Big Ten Country. Instant rivalries with just about anyone, regardless of which Division the Fighting Irish would join.

2. Name Brand/National Following. True, ND is not the school it once was on the football field, but it is still a name brand with a national following that few other schools can match. A Notre Dame vs. Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, or Nebraska league game would generate lots of media talk, which helps improve the Big Ten image as compared to the SEC and would further seperate the Big Ten from the likes of the ACC and Pac 12.

3. Big Ten Revenue. And this is somewhat related to my second reason, but the Big Ten would gain more revenue from ND than from most other schools out there. Likewise, ND would gain far more revenue in the Big Ten than they would get remaining indy with an NBC contract.

[seofan_via_dublin]

Notre Dame is ranked #58 in the sagarin ratings, this makes them the #3 MAC team or #4 in conference USA.

[seofan_via_dublin]

I think Jeff might have them too high!

[The Flying Dutchman]

Right now with all the injuries 58 might be too high. Even with the injuries no excuse losing to Navy and Tulsa
Armando Allen - Hip surgery
Kyle Rudolph -Hamstring surgery
Theo Riddick -Fractured ankle
Dayne Crist -Knee gurgery
Ian Williams -Torn MCL
Carlo Calabrese -pulled hamstring