AbuTheMonkey
| Favorite team: | Notre Dame  |
| Location: | Chicago, IL |
| Biography: | |
| Interests: | |
| Occupation: | |
| Number of Posts: | 8772 |
| Registered on: | 5/22/2014 |
| Online Status: | Online |
Recent Posts
Message
re: Indiana SOS is 108
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 10/4/26 at 8:13 pm to Lsuray70443
quote:
Notre Dame and Miami can’t be much better either can they?
If we’re using Sagarin (as the OP appears to be doing), then yes (ND - 21st ranked SoS and 2nd overall behind Alabama) and no (Miami - 80th SoS, 4th overall).
Notre Dame is being helped by the fact that Wisconsin (19th overall) is turning out to be pretty good, and UNC (48th), Purdue (60th), and Michigan State (62nd) aren’t bottom half of FBS (or God forbid, FCS) type of teams; ND has only played one genuine body bag game so far with Rice at 122. That matters for SoS - it’s better to play the 40th ranked team five times in a row than it is to play two top twenty teams and three teams 80+.
Miami's toughest game (again according to Sagarin) to date has been Wake Forest (28th) followed by Clemson (50th). Then they've had two genuine body bag games in Stanford (109th) and Florida A&M (252nd - holy shite).
That's about to change a bit for Notre Dame, for what it's worth. I expect we'll end up in the high 30's or 40's overall for SoS. We still have Miami (4th in Sagarin) left on the schedule, but Sagarin hates BYU (21st) and SMU (56th) relative to human polls. Then we also have Stanford (109th), Navy (113th - they stink this year), Boston College (94th), and Syracuse (68th). I think these numbers are telling me what my eyes are seeing; outside of Miami (granted, a big "except for" given I think they have NC potential), we've already played the more difficult stretch of our schedule.
0
re: Who Are Your Top 5 CFB Teams After Week 5?
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 10/4/26 at 2:34 pm to CR4090
quote:
Looking forward to the Miami, BYU games. That is the best we can hope for to figure out ND. I thought SMU would give them a game but they are too inconsistent.
ND is a bad matchup for SMU on top of that, and it’s in South Bend on November 21st - think Jennings is going to be seeing triple after that game.
I’ve been watching BYU off and on all year. The game is concerning because it’s in Provo and likely at night, but the actual team…eh. Their offense is going to struggle to move the ball against us. Defense is solid, but generally I don’t think they have the horses to run with the top dogs.
Miami is really good - good enough to win it all if they get healthy. And that’s their issue right now - they are majorly banged up…probably much more so than any of the other legitimate contenders. Weird given how soft their schedule has been, but Wake Forest oddly enough is a really physical team, and besides the injuries in that game, Fletcher and Toney were both banged up, they lost several starters, etc. They need to get healthy before the playoffs.
re: this years cfp final 4
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 10/3/26 at 10:53 pm to Lynxrufus2012
quote:
ron sharpens Iron. ND has elite talent but their schedule is suspect.
Don’t entirely disagree but we’ve played 4 P4 teams all of which have $20 - 35M rosters and have more or less whipped all of them. We’ve had specific parts of our game pressured and have had the chance to evolve and adapt along the way.
We’ve got a pelt on our belt already that will likely turn out to be better than most - I thought Wisconsin (with a $30M roster) was pretty salty when we played them, and I think that’s turning out to be true - I think they’ll end up a top 20-ish team. They’re in the same league as Mississippi State, Mizzou, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, etc.
We still have BYU and Miami coming up. We will see.
re: this years cfp final 4
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 10/3/26 at 9:26 pm to Gatorbait2008
quote:
Seriously do not understand how ND is not winning titles most years now. They have the largest fanbase(the Christian school people will cheer for always, or hate..is very weird) so money is no issue. But still...money is probably never an issue to them. They made almost 200Mill last year in profit alone...200 fricking Mill.
We’ll see this year. The roster is really good in no small part due to NIL. Offense has definitely found its footing over the last few weeks after a slow-ish start.
Weird day today. Felt like we dominated for long stretches in some shitty weather but what was looking like an all world defense had a relatively poor showing - think giving Bobby P and Belichick two weeks to prep for us was a tall task in retrospect; still only had 285 total yards but just felt like a subpar effort.
We’ll see in two weeks and again in five weeks.
re: LSU > Miami ~ Clemson
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 10/3/26 at 8:44 pm to Veritas
Everyone (including ND) has lost 2 - 3 starters, other contributors, etc. at this point.
Miami is down virtually their entire secondary, 3 of 5 OL, their primary guy (who is very good) to spell Fletcher, their third WR behind Toney and Barkate, have had stretches where both Toney and Fletcher have been banged up, etc.
Again, I loathe them, but they have had a freakish injury season so far.
Miami is down virtually their entire secondary, 3 of 5 OL, their primary guy (who is very good) to spell Fletcher, their third WR behind Toney and Barkate, have had stretches where both Toney and Fletcher have been banged up, etc.
Again, I loathe them, but they have had a freakish injury season so far.
re: LSU > Miami ~ Clemson
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 10/3/26 at 8:34 pm to PurpleSingularity
This version of Miami is majorly beat up. Crazy how many injuries they’ve had. Wouldn’t judge them too much on what they look like right this minute (and I say that as someone who loathes them).
Of the 7 - 8 real contenders, they probably have the most injury issues right now.
Of the 7 - 8 real contenders, they probably have the most injury issues right now.
re: Serious question for Notre Dame fans
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/28/26 at 3:37 pm to GentleJackJones
quote:
And have a better win (Miami), look, no disagreement from me that they (Miami) are a top 5 team, but I don’t see how you’re chalking that one up as a win. I actually want ND in that one as I despise Miami more than I dislike ND, but I don’t see how you can chalk that up as a win right now. I honestly believe Miami will be the favorite unless things drastically change over the next month. You guys can’t run block or run the ball and your wideouts are very pedestrian, “mid,” or “sus” if you’re a kid. Defense is good but Miami’s offense … Mensah, Toney, Mallory, Fletcher…they’ll get there’s.
I was saying that Wisconsin will be a better win than anything Alabama has on its resume to date (Kentucky, South Carolina), not that we'll definitely beat Miami.
Running game issue is likely more of a personnel thing than a scheme or blocking issue - starting to see that the last two games with Walton and James taking on a much larger share of the carries; the staff wanted to give Aneyus Williams his chance for sticking it out behind Love and Price. I think that experiment is more or less over. James and especially Walton are better players with a lot more explosiveness and better vision.
I agree to a degree on the receivers. Starting to see a couple of guys emerge, but no one has leaped into the role quite yet.
re: Serious question for Notre Dame fans
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/28/26 at 3:30 pm to GentleJackJones
quote:
quote:
ND wasn’t injury riddled? The team effectively playing without Jeremiyah Love and with 3rd string DL getting 60+ snaps?
Lot of truth in that. Love was injured and along with Cross and Mills right?
Yes - Love got his knee banged up (again) against IU. I think he touched the ball 7 times against UGA. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (one of the best LBs in college football right now and potential first rounder) was also severely limited - only played about 10 snaps.
We were also missing:
Ben Morrison (CB1 and 2nd round pick for the Bucs - the reason Leonard Moore got to start in the first place)
Rylie Mills (DT1 and 5th round pick for the Seahawks)
Boubacar Traore (DE1 right now and likely 1st or 2nd round pick)
Jason Onye (backup DT who is now starting for us, or was until he got banged up a few weeks ago)
Ashton Craig (starting Center who is still starting with us)
Jordan Botelho (OLB who got a lot of snaps)
Cross actually did play through the playoffs; he was playing on a high ankle sprain but played nonetheless.
The reason we won that game was because a talented but young and patchwork DL dominated UGA's offensive line.
re: Updated CFP National Championship Winner Odds
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/28/26 at 12:45 pm to High C
quote:
I think that Miami is making their offense far too dependent on Toney. Don’t know how they would handle him going down.
That's what I was thinking of as well, and more specifically, how they looked against Wake in the second half when he was out. Now Wake isn't some pushover like I and everyone else thought, but holy hell did Miami look ragged in the second half against them. Fletcher was down; Toney was banged up; and they couldn't move the ball for shite against a solid but nothing special defense. Their main guy to relieve Fletcher (Brown) is out for the year. Barkate is a good player, but teams aren't going to design defenses around him.
They frankly had the same "issue" last year, especially through the playoffs but A) Toney stayed healthy and B) they were so good along both lines that it didn't matter.
re: Updated CFP National Championship Winner Odds
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/28/26 at 12:34 pm to Allthatfades
quote:
Bama probably best value. Also like Miami at that number.
Agreed with Bama having the best value.
Miami is still a bit of an enigma. In a one off game, they'd be an absolute handful against anyone. But I think they have some holes on defense, especially the secondary. I also question their depth generally, especially for a deep run - they probably more than any of the other 6 - 7 legitimate contenders are one ACL or broken foot on the wrong guy away from being on the outside looking in.
re: Serious question for Notre Dame fans
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/27/26 at 11:15 pm to StansberryRules
quote:
And my point is how utterly unfun it must be for their fans.
They've completely destroyed any possibility of enjoying the football season. They are all in on trying to make and win the playoff and if that doesn't happen I don't see any joy in the year at all..
Eh, I'll admit that it's a bit more joyless this year to date, but there's still a lot of joy in watching a team develop, watching young stars break out, etc. A football season is like a novel; the twists, turns, ups, downs - we just have fewer battle scenes than, say, Alabama does this year (and compared to what we used to have).
quote:
As an Alabama fan getting killed by Indiana in the playoffs was obviously not fun, but Alabama played in about 8 meaningful big games last year and won 6 of them. So although we didn't win a championship like we would have wanted, there's still a lot of great highs we had. Beating both Auburn and Tennessee in dramatic fashion. Being the first team to win at Athens in like 5 years. The big comeback win in the playoffs at Oklahoma. Winning four straight against ranked opponents.
Well, we have great memories of the 2024 playoff run - buttfricking cocky arse Cignetti up and down the field all game, the Georgia win, the comeback against Penn State, even the mad 4th quarter scramble against OSU to make it a game again.
I'll also gently remind you that Notre Dame's best win this year is at least as good as - and in my opinion will likely end up better than - Alabama's best win to date as well. You've got a tough stretch coming up, but I also think Tennessee, A&M, and Mississippi State are going to look a lot like last year's Missouri / Tennessee at the end of the year. Your conference hasn't really materially changed from the last few years - a bunch of pretty good teams beating up on each other all year with only a couple with the firepower and depth to genuinely challenge the very best (this year, UGA, obviously, likely Texas though I think Sark will still get in his own way somehow, maybe you all, maybe LSU but their depth is going to be seriously tested, and that's it). Then you finish with three completes bags of arse.
We have 2 top 10 matchups - with one being a potential 1 vs. 2 or 2 vs. 3 matchup - in a four week stretch coming up. We'll be OK.
quote:
We're over a month into the season and Notre Dame barely even exists in the public consciousness. They can beat every high school they play 100 to nothing and it doesn't matter. They pretty much effectively don't exist.
And yet we still drive enough attention to get multiple threads on this board every single week about our schedule, our ranking, or whatever else these dipshits let come into their pea brains.
I'll give you this: CJ Carr is playing like a number 1 overall pick, and he's probably not getting enough attention for it yet outside of NFL geek circles who geek out on reads, audibles and adjustments, ball placement, layering, accuracy, arm talent, and the like. He is not going to put up Heisman-like numbers because Freeman and Denbrock are doing everything in their power to get this running game going and keeping a 60 / 40 or 55 / 45 run / pass split, but he is a complete surgeon and operator. I'll make a mildly bold prediction that he will be the best pro by a good bit out of this current crop, Chambliss and Mensah included.
If there was a mild negative against Carr coming into this season, it was that he was JJ McCarthy re-incarnated - a good college QB being propped up by a great defense, a great coach, and a hyper-physical OL. I think those questions have been answered in spades and then some, and he is far more Mendoza than McCarthy.
And again, we're likely going to have a better win than you all with the schedule to date, so don't get all high and mighty quite yet.
re: Serious question for Notre Dame fans
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/27/26 at 6:55 pm to kywildcatfanone
quote:
They do it that way in a desperate attempt to still be seen as relevant.
Does Kentucky have a football team? Could’ve fooled me.
re: Serious question for Notre Dame fans
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/27/26 at 6:51 pm to Pikes Peak Tiger
quote:
True but they got damn lucky facing an injury riddled Georgia team starting a backup QB
ND wasn’t injury riddled?
The team effectively playing without Jeremiyah Love and with 3rd string DL getting 60+ snaps?
frick off with that excuse. Everyone is banged up at that point.
re: Serious question for Notre Dame fans
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/27/26 at 12:58 am to Gator5220
quote:
quote:Notre Dame is a very solid football team Being a solid team has nothing to do with playing a pathetic schedule every year and sneaking into the playoffs top 12.
Sorry, dog - we’re not sneaking into shite this year. This is one of the best teams in the country and at very worst a top 2 defense in the country with UGA and more likely the single best defense in the country with 3 - 4 first rounders. Oh yea, we also have a top 5 overall pick at QB. Almost forgot about him.
Sorry you haven’t adjusted to the new reality - seems to be a you problem. A bunch of pretty good but not great SEC teams beat up on each other all year only to run into genuine machines in the playoffs, just like the last few years. Sorry that you all are poor and can’t afford the truly elite rosters.
re: Serious question for Notre Dame fans
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/27/26 at 12:51 am to kywildcatfanone
quote:
lay some good teams once in a while instead of the acc and california teams
Why is a Kentucky fan talking shite?
We’d beat your asses by 50, you peasant. frick off back to the holler from whence you came.
re: Notre dame is a really good football team. There is no way they should make the playoffs
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/26/26 at 4:44 pm to Hawgnsincebirth55
quote:
Especially when the SEC is in a 9 game conference schedule.
Then you should complain about Sankey going for a money grab rather than about ND. Sorry, that’s the SEC’s problem, not Notre Dame’s.
A&M beat exactly one team in the final top 25 (Notre Dame) and was hosting a playoff game last year. Sometimes the schedule goes your way; sometimes it doesn’t.
re: Serious question for Notre Dame fans
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/26/26 at 3:28 pm to StansberryRules
quote:
Hypothetical: You go 11-1, losing to Miami. You then make the playoffs and lose in the first round. Are you happy with this season? Is this what Notre Dame football is now? Spend the entire regular season hiding, trying to sneak into an oversized playoff field? You gonna look back on the 2026 and these big wins against Purdue and Rice fondly?
No, not really - I don’t think many of us would be happy.
But I don’t think it’d be that we’d be hiding or whatever but more that’d be a waste of Carr and this defense.
re: CFB various games thread Friday 9/25/26
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/25/26 at 11:05 pm to RB10
quote:
quote:
They could lose to Ohio State and Michigan.
That Michigan game could end 10-7. Ohio State should beat their eyes out.
USC is probably a bigger threat than Michigan.
Which tells you how soft that schedule is.
That stretch of Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Washington over a 5 game stretch isn't anything to sneeze at. If they go through that stretch at 5 - 0, then they will be a deserved top 2 or top 3 ranking.
They had good luck last year with injuries all things considered. Their Big Ten schedule this year is much more formidable, and I expect their depth is going to be tested a lot earlier than the playoffs like it was last year.
re: CFB various games thread Friday 9/25/26
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/25/26 at 10:29 pm to athenslife101
quote:
Cignetti after the game “look how deep the Big 10 is.”
I do like Northwestern though
Northwestern looks tough and I'll say the middle of the Big Ten is better in general than people might be giving it credit for. They've got a bunch of schools sitting in that $20 - 35M total roster range (like Northwestern - Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, UCLA, Nebraska, Illinois, etc.) that are pretty salty on the right night.
As a point of reference, UCLA, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Penn State all spent about the same on their rosters as Oklahoma did this past cycle.
re: Top 25 Teams with ranked opponents left - SEC dominates!
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/25/26 at 8:44 am to RammerJammer91
quote:
It's criminal how the media has gone so soft on Miami. The media is basically in bed with Miami. People talk about "SEC bias", but the SEC would get destroyed for having a schedule like Miami's. The media ignores Miami's complete joke of a schedule, yet they criticize (rightfully so) Texas Tech, Indiana, ND, BYU, etc. for their schedules. Not only that, but the media has spent more time criticizing the SEC for inflated schedules because teams are "over-ranked" than criticizing Miami's schedule.
It's the same thing with tampering. The media destroyed LSU and Ole Miss when they tampered with Demond Williams and Luke Ferrelli, two players who weren't even in the portal and were under contract with other schools. That same media said basically nothing about Miami tampering with Darian Mensah. Mensah was under contract with Duke and not even in the portal, and after striking out on literally every other QB, and after failing to tamper with Ty Simpson, Miami waited until the last few hours to tamper with him. What Miami did, given the timing, is much worse than what LSU and Ole Miss did. They basically ruined another team's (Duke) season, giving them no time to find a solid replacement. Duke got a QB in the last few hours remaining, but he's below average. But, Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding are the worst people who ever lived. Mario Cristobal? He's a great guy, and therefore the media ignores it.
What a fricking joke. I hate Miami more than Auburn given all of the shite they've gotten away with.
To top it off, their "fans" are some of the biggest pieces of shite of the sport.
re: Top 25 Teams with ranked opponents left - SEC dominates!
Posted by AbuTheMonkey on 9/25/26 at 8:32 am to volinktown
quote:
TexasTech , Louisville, SMU, and Houston could win out.
I don't think so for the ACC teams.
For starters, SMU plays at Notre Dame in late November. Their schedule is pretty manageable other than that because they play several of the dregs of the ACC (BC, Syracuse, Stanford). They've got about 4 ACC games that could theoretically be competitive - UVA, Cal, VT, Wake - but they get all four of those at home.
I wouldn't call Louisville's remaining schedule "tough", but they don't play many of the true dregs of the conference (really only Stanford and Syracuse), and any of the following could trip them up on the right night:
Wake
@NC State
Florida State
@GT
@UNC
Pitt
Plus they finish with what looks to be a game Kentucky team in Lexington. Along with the already-played Ole Miss and SMU games, they've got what is a sneakily top 30-ish or top 25-ish schedule. Especially if Kienholz or Brown or any of the DL go down, they will face some challenges.
Popular
11
