Why should ND join a conference? Is this hatred about ND simply because ND doesn't have to play in a conference, like the rest of the rabble? It makes no sense for ND to join a conference. ND, with its national following, will always get selected for a BCS spot if it only loses two to three games. And, when it does, it doesn't have to split its BCS money with the other teams in any conference. Its a sweet deal, and you know it. If LSU could do it, if it had the same passionate fans across the country, then LSU would jump at this oppurtunity. Look at Wisconsin. It got shut out of a BCS bowl game because it was in the Big Ten conference. Otherwise, it would have been selected for a BCS bowl game. And, by not playing in a conference, ND gets to choose its opponents without being restricted by having to play a certain number of conference opponents. This lets ND honor its historical rivalries.
More on this a little later in post. Umm hey Einstein, we AVERAGE 10,000 more fans per home game than ND does. Here's a suggestion, don't finish 3rd, and you won't get left out.:thumb: Translation: Right now we can schedule Army, Navy, Air Force, the Coast Gaurd, the Merchant Marines, Little Sisters of the Poor, and William and Mary. This way, we can beat these pansies by large margins to help hide the fact that we are no longer elite. If we were to join a conference, we would probably not even be bowl eligible in most years. P.S. Pay attention here. We dominated ND on the scoreboard and the stats columns by wider margins than either USC or UM. Understand what I'm telling you? ND played a cupcake schedule allowing them to win 10 games, and fool some people into believing they were actually a good team. Unfortunately, they have now been exposed and will have to actually earn their bowl bid next year. You may want to start reserving hotel rooms in Shreveport now. After all with that big national following (you know the kind that doesn't buy as many football tickets as our less passionate fanbase down here) going into such a small town. You played 3 teams that ended the season being ranked. And lost by 20 or more to each of them.
Let me break it down so maybe LSU fans can understand it: We're only talking about BCS games, so I'm going to focus on the last year. Yes, ND has had a bad streak. But, before this loss, over the past twenty years, ND has had the same record as LSU in bowl games. Last year's ND only lost two games. Before the season, those ESPN foolios like that uppity Mark May predicted ND would only win one game in its first six games. Instead, ND beat Michigan, which was ranked number five. One of the losses was an overtime loss to Mich State. And, the other loss was that instant classic against SC, the number one team in the nation at that point, where SC squeeked a win on fourth and nine and with a illegal push. No other team had played SC that well until Texas in the NC game. Or, let's look at this year's BCS bowl games and where ND fits in. There were five BCS bowl games, where only ten teams could be selected. In the AP and Coaches poll, ND was ranked number eleven. But, due to the rules that all schools agreed to, only the top two teams in a conference could play. That left out teams like Wisconsin and Auburn. Thus, ND became the ninth highest ranked team available where there were ten spots open. What's so unfair about that? And, why are you so upset about ND and not Wake Forsest which got to play in a BCS bowl game despite the fact that it was ranked #14. If not ND this year, then who? Arkansas couldn't play because of the same rules that shut out Wisconsin and Auburn. Did you guys want Rutgers then? The problem isn't tha ND doesn't belong in a BCS bowl game; the problem was that last year's game against Ohio State and this year against LSU were bad matchups for ND. By the end of last year, Ohio State was the most dominating team in the nation. Look at all the players they lost to the NFL draft, and they're the number one team this season with less talent. And, LSU was just a bad matchup for ND. LSU was ranked #4 team, while ND was ranked #11. A better matchup for ND would have been to play a different BCS team like Louisville, Boise State, Oklahoma, or a Wake Forest. If ND had played teams like that, we wouldn't be having this discussion. If you're going to argue that because ND got beaten by a good margin, fair enough. But, then so did this year's Michigan team by USC. Does this mean that Michigan didn't deserve to play in a BCS bowl despite only losing one game all year before that, and only to the number one team at Ohio State?
going in, my bookie had lsu as 8.5 point favorites. that is ridiculous. the system is broken if a bcs game is a mismatch like that. again, i am not blaming notre dame, i am just hoping you will accept the fact that they are miserable. isnt it obvious why we do not compare notre dame to michigan? michigan blistered notre dame 47-21. why is that hard to understand? you cannot ask us to compare notre dame to michigan while ignoring their head-to-head matchup. and Michigan lost to a usc team that beat notre dame 44-24(!). how much more evidence do you need than the three embarassments in one season vs elite teams? ND cant even get within two touchdowns of top 10 opponents. they didnt just get beaten by lsu and usc and michigan, they were laughed out of the stadium. they are like a minor league team.
But, I blame it on a poor mismatch where ND was set up against the fourth best team in the polls. ND was ranked #11, and should have played a lower seed BCS team. There were only ten spots, and two teams ranked above ND, at #11, could not play due to rules that every school agreed to.
right, so you agree, the system is broken, notre dame did not belong, they were only there due to poorly thought out bcs rules. so lsu can shoulder the blame a tiny bit as they agreed to be part of the bcs system. doesnt change the fact that notre dame did not belong.
Well, I consider the system to have been broken a long time ago when the universities abdicated their fidiciuary responsibility in educating its student-athletes, where today schools have become football factories and haven't prepared today's mercenaries, most of whom won't play for the NFL, for a life outside football. The BCS is what it is. It matches up the two top teams in the nation, and then tries to make a pile of money for the rest of the BCS bowl games. And, let's face it- it does a good job of it. It generates a lot of controversy, and a lot of attention on college football. The BCS system makes fans watch other teams play because the record of that other team will affect the strength of schedule for the team they're rooting for. If you allow more than two teams from each conference into a BCS bowl game, then you're bascially going to shut out teams like Boise State from every playing in another BCS bowl game. Or, a playoff would also shut out a school like Boise State. I would guess that a eight team playoff would have six conference champions and the next highest ranked teams. The same loopholes that allowed Boise State into a BCS bowl games are the same ones that benefit ND.
So, then you agree that ND deserved to be in the BCS bowl games last year because it was ranked #6 and LSU did not deserve to play because it was ranked #12.
And, who does LSU schedule when it plays its non-conference games, hmm.... There's a reason why ND's SOS was ranked higher than LSU's by Sagarin.
