Thought this was interesting. Can’t believe ESPN has ND this high.
Replies to: Thought this was interesting. Can’t believe ESPN has ND this high.
Tend to agree. I'd have us around 12.
The loss of Hartmann and Estime is really big. Q.B. may be okay, and the backs do have lots of game experience, but Estime could flat out carry the offense at times.
I was thinking 8-10 because the schedule is cake..
plus I think having a competent OC is going to make a huge difference.
We absolutely may end up there. I was thinking more in terms of how we directly stack up.
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Yeah, but it seems all pollsters have been infected by the flawed mentality
of making the polls a prediction of where they think teams will finish instead of just ranking them by how good they think they are to start.
It is, unless they choke at A&M.
If that happens, the knives will be out for Marcus.
OL is biggest question, but there is talent. Defense will be dominant. I'd put us at 5 also.....
...and this year, the coaching staff will have accountability if success is not commensurate with talent. Fortunately, Freeman has put together a great staff and has excellent organization.
The WR room is also a big question mark. No true no 1 and a bunch of question marks. OL + WR=no5 is
too high.
Disagree- Greathouse, Thomas, and Faison are all proven and different from each other…..
…that is not even counting transfers and freshman. Also remember that Greathouse was asked to play out of position the field in the second half of the year because he was best at it.
If Collins or Williams or Gilbert or Fl receiver pan out, we are in very good shape.
Also we have some great TE’s also and Price out of the backfield.
And an off-season of coaching under Mike Brown and Mike Denbrock
A spring season can make a huge difference in a wide receiver's evolution, especially with a better receivers coach and offensive coordinator. I would dare say that we have greatly upgraded both coaching spots, going from Stuckey and Parker to Brown and Denbrock.
Just as an example, look at Maurice Stovall and Jeff Samardzija. They were thought of as average speed possession receivers in 2004, and turned into absolute monsters in 2005 under Rob Ianello's and Charlie Weis' guidance. I think Rhema McKnight could also have been an amazing one for us had he not gotten injured early in that 2005 season.
The disclaimer “ Way too early” .
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This just kills you, doesn't it? If OL gels, look out. AA at every level of defense. Team is stacked
Go Irish!
Stacked at WR? I don't think so. Average to good at best.
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Talent is there
Development simply wasn't there in the last several years.
Del Alexander and Chasi Stuckey weren't exactly shining examples of how to develop your receiver talent.
Mike Brown is a much more proven commodity.
Every team has positions with question marks.ND is stacked relative to almost everyone else and
we are better at WR than you credit us for..certainly better than last year.
Whatever grumplestilskin.
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Not surprised
I predicted early polls would have us between 5-7. We have the defensive player of the year and another all American on defense returning. We have two of the best DBs in the country and added a talented dual threat QB. I believe the WRs will actually be better, despite the transfers. Development is needed at OL and LB, but we have young talent. That coupled with a soft schedule make this reasonable, but I would put Ole Miss in front of the Irish.
Vote of confidence for Sherrone Moore.
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LSU and skunkbears out of their top ten
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It's February.
I don't put too much stock in 2024 rankings now. A wave of players will be transferring during the next window in April.
I'll consider ND a possible top 10 team if they handle A&M.
Yep, slowwwwww Day for me.
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I was surprised until I wasn't. We look better than all but 4 teams
Lost 2 great o-linemen but have talent to replace and a reputation for doing so.
Fixed gaps in WR that lowered ceiling of team last year.
Major upgrade at OC.
Well-balanced defense with championship-caliber talent at every level, and an elite DC.
Highly-sought after and high-ceiling QB transfer with some talented but unproven competition for starter or backup. This is a very different situation than Hartman, who was a known commodity.
Year 3 of the regime. Freeman has his guys, and has learned from 2 years at a top program. If he's going to be elite, we'll see it this year. Doesn't mean playoff win or bust, but missing the playoffs entirely in the new format would be a major disappointment and red flag barring catastrophic injuries.
They are looking at the schedule. Look at the Skunkbears and their schedule.
No way Michigan makes the playoffs next year.