A 3:30 kickoff at South Bend on NBC. ND is coming off a second straight heartbreaking loss as they fell 34-31 to Michigan State in overtime at Spartan Stadium. Stanford beat the living shit out of Wake Forest 68-24.

On paper, this one is ugly. Stanford has the 3rd ranked scoring offense as they pour in 51.7 points per game. They have the 14th ranked rushing attack in the country and they're 47th in passing offense. They only give up 13.7 ppg and that's good enough to have them ranked 14th overall in the nation in that category. ND ranks 8th in the nation in passing offense, 81st overall running the ball, 73rd ranked in points for, 76th in points against.

Andrew Luck and company will be tough to stop. Let's be honest, ND is probably going to give up a lot of points so they'll have to win a shootout. Gotta rebound after the last 2 weeks.

GO IRISH!!!

Unfortunately for ND and their fans they are staring 1-3 right in the face. Stanford could be the best team in the PAC10 this year.

1-3

1-3 is what the Irish will be looking at. Barring anything crazy, Stanford wins this handily. 50-21 is my prediction. Who was all involved in the avatar bet?

dwccrew;489559 wrote:1-3 is what the Irish will be looking at. Barring anything crazy, Stanford wins this handily. 50-21 is my prediction. Who was all involved in the avatar bet?

Not you.

Somehow the opening line is Stanford -1. Notre Dame is getting some respect. Michigan and Sparty both enter the polls after narrow wins over the Irish. I believe they earned a vote in one of the polls too at 1-2.

karen lotz;489608 wrote:Not you.

Ok? LOL

49-17, Stanford

52-21 Stanford

I'm in on the avatar bet.

killer_ewok;489730 wrote:I'm in on the avatar bet.

Good luck man, I'd hate to see a good poster like you have to sport an avatar knocking your team, but it is all in fun. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Notre Dame upset Stanford, I can't stand the PAC 10 and it would look good for the Big 10 teams that beat ND if ND beat a tough team like Stanford.

Well the avatar bet is 6 wins. They still have Army, Navy, Western Michigan, and Tulsa. They need to beat one of these: Stanford, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Southern Cal, or Utah. I think they beat Pittsburgh, Boston College, Southern Cal, and maybe Utah. I think, of the remaining schedule, that this is the strength of the teams:

1- Stanford
2- Utah
(Michigan State)
3- Pittsburgh
4- Southern Cal
(Michigan)
5- Boston College
(Purdue)
6- Tulsa
7- Navy
8- Army
9- Western Michigan

That said, I don't see the Irish doing too well against a loaded Stanford team. That Harbaugh fellow can coach.

avatar bet was originally for 0-4, but then OneBuckeye changed it to 1-3.

I was under the impression there were two bets. One with sleeper about 6 wins, and the 1-3.

Right sleeper bet wasn't for avatars I didn't think. That one is he will never post on a thread with Notre Dame in the title again.

it'll be tough, but games like this one could springboard the Irish to a bowl eligible season...however, I'm not ready to pick the winner just yet.

I'm in the avatar bet.

Sadly, it's looking like they will be 1-3 after this week. I'm hoping for the upset, and I think the offense can pull it off. I'm just worried that the defense won't be able to stop anything Stanford does.

I'm bracing myself for the new avatar after this week.

dwccrew;489744 wrote:Good luck man, I'd hate to see a good poster like you have to sport an avatar knocking your team, but it is all in fun. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Notre Dame upset Stanford, I can't stand the PAC 10 and it would look good for the Big 10 teams that beat ND if ND beat a tough team like Stanford.

Thanks, DWC. I appreciate it. It is all in good fun. I'll man up if we lose the bet. I'm sure the others will too. I really did think the Irish would beat MSU but I was wrong. Now, they've got a tall task in front of them to avoid a 1-3 start. The homer/optimist in me really believes that ND could pull the upset here. It's at home and this is a HUGE game for ND. My head tells me they'll get beat but my heart says they've got a real shot. We'll see. This would be the biggest win for ND in some time. Especially when you consider that Stanford will probably be a good team throughout the season so they should finish the season ranked. It's been awhile since ND beat a team that they shouldn't beat. This is an opportunity for them. Hopefully they can go out there and seize the moment.

ccrunner609;490057 wrote:I remember some nut chasers talking about ND being 4-0 at this point and I was bashed for 0-4 start......Looks like I was close with a 1-3 start. Calling it now 5-7 at best.

All hail ccrunner! He was wise enough to know Notre Dame's most important player would have been sidelined by the medical staff for nearly half the Michigan game, and that Michigan State would be able to run a play with 00:00 left! Tell us, how do you do it?

All hail ccrunner! He is smart enough to know that if a kid gets an offer from Alabama (G. Atkinson, Lynch, Prestwood), Florida (Tuitt, Lynch, Rabasa, Prestwood), Southern Cal (G. Atkinson, Hegarty, Koyack, Prestwood), Ohio State (Lynch, Koyack), and Texas (Hegarty), if he ever commits to Notre Dame is instantly becomes futile and overrated. Tell us, wise ccrunner, what makes your prospect evaluation unmatched in accuracy? "Notre Dame players suck." STOP THE PRESSES!

All hail ccrunner! For he knows it is impossible that Notre Dame's losses are in large part to chance and a myriad of mental errors. Only a man as wise as ccrunner would know it's impossible that Notre Dame's obvious mental lapses are the result of switched from a 4-3 to a 3-4, and a pro system to the spread. Only a man as wise as ccrunner would know it's purely the players' futility, and not the learning curve, causing the mental lapses and mistakes during the game.

More likely, you're a hate-filled fuck who knows more about hopscotch and kickball for gym class than you ever will about football.

Jim Tressel went 7-5 in his first season at Ohio State, why does everyone forget that? Of his five losses, four were within a touchdown. Did we hear "oh this guy can't coach!" after he lost to UCLA his second game 6-13? Probably by a few. But you probably heard "damn this team looks more competent than Cooper's 1999 and 2000 teams, even in a tough loss." I honestly see a few similarities between Tressel's first season and Kelly's. Tressel needed to change the mentality at Ohio State and get them to play with a different mindset, Kelly needs to instill fundamentals and make up for all of the coaching/development that simply didn't happen. Tressel's 7-5 season was thought of as a success because he beat Michigan, something his predecessor couldn't do well enough. Kelly's 7-5 season (my personal guess, maybe 8-4) will be looked at as a success because he will beat Southern Cal, something his previous two predecessors couldn't do.

ccrunner609;490057 wrote:Calling it now 5-7 at best.

So you're saying it's impossible they go 6-6 or better? Care to wager an avatar on it, oh wise ccrunner.

sjmvsfscs08;490105 wrote:More likely, you're a hate-filled fuck who knows more about hopscotch and kickball for gym class than you ever will about football.

For accuracy's sake, I would throw in he knows more about teenage boys running in shorts that barely cover up their asses.

Forget about him. He's the Notre Dame of this forum.....IRRELEVANT.

killer_ewok;490150 wrote:Forget about him. He's the Notre Dame of this forum.....IRRELEVANT.

hahahahah

ccrunner609;490145 wrote:^^^^Instead of hailing me, pull your head out of your ass and look at reality. I love the ND crowd.......top recruiting classes yearly, hire the best coaches, too good for a conference ect.......

Please, explain "reality" for me. Type as much as you want, just state your claims clearly and succinctly.

cc,
Care to bet your signature on ND going 5-7 or worse. Because I will gladly take that bet. There is no doubt in my mind that the Irish will finish 6-6 or better.


And it's etc...not ect you dumb shithead. You can't even claim that as a typo because I see you use that on almost a daily basis incorrectly.

I'm going to pretend that this week is a bye week and we don't have a game.

That is how I will avoid drinking myself into a coma when I see a USC from a few years ago score put up on the defense.