Her Loyal Sons

A Notre Dame Football Blog

Home > College Football > HLS Pre-Snap Read: Superpost Edition!

HLS Pre-Snap Read: Superpost Edition!

by

This week’s edition of the Pre-Snap read is going to be a bit different today.  It just so happens that the questions for this week’s Irish Blogger Gathering covers what I would usually put in for the “Previously on HLS” and “Outside the Bubble Sections”.  So for this week, I will mix in the IBG questions with the usual topics covered in the Pre-Snap Read.

There is quite a bit of content in this post and, to not make it a huge wall of text, I’m going to take advantage of some features of our redesign. Clicking on any section below will expand to show all content for said section. Hopefully, that will make navigating this post far easier.

Enjoy, and be sure to drop by our gameday thread as well.

[toggle title=”Irish Blogger Gathering”]

Secret

Your hosts for this week: We Never Graduate.

1. This year more than most, there seems to be an inordinate amount of attention spent on peripheral topics like the jumbotron, field turf, and apparel. Kelly is responsible in large part because he’s so candid about his take on them during his press conferences, making it perfectly clear his preferences that stoke the NDNation’s ever-burning fire. Do you think he’s going too far to push for these “enhancements” or do you think he’s doing what’s necessary to push Notre Dame’s program into the modern age.

Personally, I believe Kelly and Swarbrick are definitely going in the right direction. As MQ pointed out earlier in the week, the execution of these ideas have not always been on point and that needs some work.  One thing we all need to keep in mind though is that ND and its fans should be open to change as it has been littered throughout our history.

2. Coach Kelly made it clear today in his press conference that he couldn’t care less what you think about the helmets and uniforms…but I care what you think. Give the world your take on the helmets we’ll be wearing this weekend.

One thing is for sure, MQ’s initial reaction was far from flattering.

Personally, I am on the fence. I initially hated it, but more photos and some really kick-ass Adidas boxes are making them look a whole lot less awful. I’ll reserve final judgement until I see the whole package together on TV though.

3. The Irish are starting to incur some injuries that are forcing new players to emerge and contribute. Identify one guy who hasn’t made a big contribution thus far that will show up big over the next three games.

STOP! TOMA TIME!

4. There was a short time during the Notre Dame coaching search when it appeared current Maryland head coach Randy Edsall was the front runner. How different would things be for the Irish program right now if he was chosen in front of Kelly?

Personally, I never bought into the Edsall rumors. The supposed interest on ND’s end just didn’t make sense.

Playing along though, we’d be awful. So, so very awful. You think Kelly and the program has some heat from some fans now? Put Edsall at the helm and the apocalypse is upon us.

5. Let’s briefly step away from South Bend and address the talk of college football right now: the mind-boggling Penn State scandal. What’s your take on the entire situation and what do you think needs to happen moving forward in Happy Valley?

The “Outside the Bubble” section was going to be precisely on this very topic as it has completely dominated the college football world.

Firstly, one thing needs to be clear, Sandusky is the alpha and omega of “bad guys” in this equation.  While most of the media attention has been focused elsewhere, sometimes Sandusky has been lost in the shuffle. All people are innocent until proven guilty, but there is no doubt that there seems to be a load of evidence that continues to pile against him and the majority of vitriol should be spewed in his direction.

However, that does not absolve everyone else at Penn State. This story is littered with people that just simply didn’t do enough. There is no reason why no one followed up aggressively with authorities instead of keeping the issue in-house. There is no reason why Sandusky should have been allowed to have any form of campus presence up until this past week.

With everything combined, Penn State didn’t just appear to be sweeping child rape and molestation under the rug, but actually harboring Sandusky as long as he didn’t bring any children on campus. “Please don’t commit your crimes here” is not exactly a good stance to hold for a over a decade.

I’m sure Paterno feels awful for not doing more; however, his inactivity for over a decade makes me completely unsympathetic to his fate. The same goes for anyone else, including McQueary who, according to the grand jury report, saw Sandusky anally raping a boy in the shower.

Penn State has no choice but to clean house. Obviously, they can’t tear the entire program’s staff apart despite some claims in the media that they should. The players on the team had nothing to do with this and its far too late in the season to allow transfers. Punishing them as well by cancelling the rest of the season or leaving them without a coaching staff doesn’t make any sense.

The main message has been sent by firing the major players. The rest will definitely follow.
[/toggle]

[toggle title=”NDtex25: Week 10″]

So what affect did that “game of the century” field goal contest have on this week’s rankings? Well…let’s just say winning that craptastic game didn’t do LSU any favors:

ndtex_25

Rank Team Score Last Week BCS Rank AP Rank Coaches’ Rank
1 Oklahoma State 117.75 3 2 2 3
2 Alabama 113.5 2 3 4 4
3 LSU 110.75 1 1 1 1
4 Oklahoma 110.75 6 6 7 7
5 Boise State 108.25 4 5 5 5
6 Clemson 107.5 5 9 9 10
7 TCU 105 12 NR NR 24
8 Houston 103.25 7 11 11 11
9 Stanford 101.25 9 4 3 2
10 Virginia Tech 101 8 10 10 9
11 Penn State 99 11 12 12 12
12 Nebraska 98 15 19 19 17
13 Oregon 97.5 22 7 6 6
14 South Carolina 96.75 10 13 15 15
15 Arizona State 96.25 19 NR NR NR
16 Texas 95.75 26 16 21 20
17 Wisconsin 95.5 13 18 16 14
18 Arkansas 94.75 23 8 8 8
19 Auburn 94 14 20 24 25
20 Georgia 92.25 16 15 14 16
21 Michigan State 91.75 20 17 13 13
22 Cincinnati 90.25 25 23 23 18
23 Michigan 88.5 17 24 22 21
24 Georgia Tech 86.25 24 21 20 19
25 Missouri 84.75 28 NR NR NR
Dropped Out of NDtex25: Toledo (18), Ohio State (21)
Just Missed the Cut: Toledo, Ohio State, UL Lafayette, Illinois, Rutgers

Formula Details

 

ND Rank: 38

ND Opponent Rankings

  • USF – 41
  • Michigan – 23
  • Michigan State – 21
  • Pittsburgh – 47
  • Purdue – 58
  • Air Force – 89
  • USC – 39
  • Navy – 79
  • Wake Forest – 74
  • Maryland – 90
  • Boston College – 109
  • Stanford – 9
  • Avg Opponent Rank – 57

Conference Breakdown

  • ACC – 3
  • Big East – 1
  • Big Ten – 5
  • Big XII – 4
  • PAC 12 – 3
  • SEC – 6
  • Indpendents – 0
  • Non-AQ – 3

Bottom Ten

  1. Akron
  2. Army
  3. Ole Miss
  4. Washington State
  5. Memphis
  6. Rice
  7. Central Michigan
  8. UAB
  9. Kansas
  10. New Mexico

[/toggle]
[toggle title=”NDtex25: Week 10 – Full Rankings”]

ndtex_25

Rank Team W/L Points Rank ANTY Rank Avg TO Margin Rank Score Last Week
1 Oklahoma State 1 10 1 117.75 3
2 Alabama 4 2 20 113.5 2
3 LSU 2 34 3 110.75 1
4 Oklahoma 5 5 26 110.75 6
5 Boise State 3 12 33 108.25 4
6 Clemson 7 30 10 107.5 5
7 TCU 25 1 13 105 12
8 Houston 21 13 16 103.25 7
9 Stanford 8 51 12 101.25 9
10 Virginia Tech 15 3 47 101 8
11 Penn State 19 11 39 99 11
12 Nebraska 10 33 39 98 15
13 Oregon 6 27 55 97.5 22
14 South Carolina 12 47 26 96.75 10
15 Arizona State 20 57 2 96.25 19
16 Texas 17 6 61 95.75 26
17 Wisconsin 9 62 22 95.5 13
18 Arkansas 11 22 61 94.75 23
19 Auburn 27 4 50 94 14
20 Georgia 22 16 55 92.25 16
21 Michigan State 33 18 33 91.75 20
22 Cincinnati 29 49 16 90.25 25
23 Michigan 13 84 20 88.5 17
24 Georgia Tech 26 40 47 86.25 24
25 Missouri 46 14 39 84.75 28
26 Toledo 32 73 9 84.5 18
27 Ohio State 34 58 26 83 21
28 UL Lafayette 44 39 34 80.75 31
29 Illinois 31 8 97 79.25 27
30 Rutgers 24 88 33 78.75 46
31 Southern Miss 23 19 107 78 35
32 Tulsa 38 26 70 78 30
33 Louisiana Tech 63 32 23 75.75 32
34 Louisville 43 45 55 74.5 49
35 Ohio 49 7 81 74.5 45
36 Florida 35 20 99 73.75 55
37 Nevada 42 28 81 72.75 33
38 Notre Dame 16 50 113 72.25 42
39 USC 14 108 61 71.75 40
40 Temple 50 9 88 71.75 36
41 USF 58 67 16 71.25 29
42 Vanderbilt 59 17 65 71 34
43 Miami 18 100 65 70.75 47
44 Syracuse 53 64 33 70.25 50
45 Mississippi State 47 66 47 69.25 52
46 Utah State 53 37 66 68.75 57
47 Pittsburgh 40 24 107 68.25 41
48 Wyoming 65 80 9 66.25 38
49 Northwestern 79 29 33 66 74
50 Arkansas State 28 68 97 65.75 44
51 San Diego State 61 92 9 65.25 48
52 Iowa 37 111 39 65 66
53 Washington 30 90 76 64.5 43
54 Hawaii 71 21 65 64 53
55 Northern Illinois 55 114 5 63.75 61
56 Florida State 48 48 88 63 54
57 NC State 57 98 20 63 70
58 Purdue 77 46 33 62.75 68
59 UCLA 56 63 61 62 58
60 West Virginia 69 43 55 62 39
61 Virginia 51 25 110 61.75 62
62 Western Kentucky 54 56 81 59.75 71
63 Texas Tech 78 35 55 59.5 67
64 Kansas State 66 112 4 59 59
65 Texas A&M 36 70 108 58.5 51
66 Cal 72 60 47 58.25 76
67 Baylor 45 79 90 56.25 86
68 Arizona 41 107 76 54.75 56
69 North Carolina 39 69 119 54.5 37
70 Utah 60 71 76 54.25 63
71 Connecticut 81 74 33 53.75 69
72 Marshall 87 87 11 53 75
73 FIU 67 72 70 52 60
74 Wake Forest 68 96 47 51.25 64
75 UL Monroe 106 23 47 50.5 72
76 BYU 64 60 97 49.75 73
77 North Texas 88 94 17 49.25 85
78 New Mexico State 103 42 49 46.75 89
79 Navy 84 110 22 46 84
80 Miami University 94 44 70 45.5 81
81 Ball State 83 77 62 44.75 78
82 UNLV 91 119 9 43.5 90
83 Kentucky 76 52 107 43.25 79
84 UCF 110 15 76 43.25 82
85 Iowa State 85 55 88 42.75 65
86 Duke 87 65 76 42.25 87
87 Middle Tennessee State 99 36 81 42.25 80
88 SMU 62 81 118 40.25 97
89 Air Force 80 102 61 40.25 96
90 Maryland 104 78 39 39.75 83
91 Western Michigan 74 85 97 38.5 88
92 Colorado State 98 99 40 37.25 95
93 Eastern Michigan 75 109 77 37 91
94 Tennessee 70 91 107 36.5 77
95 Kent State 101 89 47 36.5 99
96 ECU 73 86 114 34.5 93
97 Bowling Green 95 41 116 34.25 102
98 Tulane 120 31 83 32.5 105
99 Troy 102 76 76 32 94
100 San Jose State 82 104 89 31.75 101
101 Fresno State 93 61 113 31 92
102 UTEP 92 101 88 27.75 98
103 Indiana 111 103 49 27.5 104
104 Idaho 116 38 107 26.75 109
105 Florida Atlantic 115 53 97 26 100
106 Oregon State 89 97 110 24.75 106
107 Minnesota 90 105 107 23 107
108 Buffalo 113 54 113 22.75 114
109 Boston College 100 82 116 21.5 111
110 Colorado 108 93 91 21 103
111 Akron 114 75 97 21 115
112 Army 107 83 107 20 112
113 Ole Miss 96 106 107 19.75 108
114 Washington State 105 115 88 17.75 110
115 Memphis 119 118 61 16.75 118
116 Rice 109 117 83 16.5 113
117 Central Michigan 112 96 99 16.25 116
118 UAB 118 116 70 15.5 117
119 Kansas 97 113 120 14.25 119
120 New Mexico 117 120 118 3 120

[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Put These Games on Your Radar”]#19 Nebraska @ #12 Penn State, 12pm EST, ESPN/ESPN3 – Let’s be honest, this isn’t on the list for the actual game as it is for everything else going on around Happy Valley. Its going to be very interesting to see how this game unfolds. How will the fans react? How will the players react? What is Nebraska’s reaction going to be to all this? It’s just simply too intriguing to turn away from.

TCU @ #5 Boise State, 3:30pm EST, Versus – TCU has had a rather disappointing season with two gut wrenching losses to Baylor and SMU. Make no doubt, the Horned Frogs are still a solid football team (just look at the love the NDtex25 continues to give them) and should give Boise State a solid run for their money. As far as Boise is concerned, this is their last major step on a road to a perfect season.

#20 Auburn @ #15 Georgia, 3:30pm EST, CBS – Auburn has been running a gauntlet as of late in their schedule, facing many of the top ranked teams in the SEC. Their only blemishes are to Clemson, Arkansas, and LSU, hardly awful losses. In comparison, Georgia has gone through a schedule of far lesser SEC opponents, but their losses too aren’t bad, falling to only Boise State and South Carolina. Georgia still has a solid shot at the SEC title game, with Auburn having LSU and Alabama in front of them, they will look to play spoiler to Georgia’s SEC title run.

#7 Oregon @ #4 Stanford, 8pm EST, ABC – Let’s face it, from a ND perspective, this game may very well determine whether or not we face an undefeated Stanford team in a couple of weeks. Both teams have only faced a couple of real tests thus far in the season. This game will help determine the cream of the Pac 12 crop.[/toggle]

[toggle title=”Predictions”]NDtex: Maryland is just flat out awful. The only FBS team they’ve beaten is a Miami team that had many of its top players suspended.  They’ve even managed to lose to Boston College somehow which just boggles my mind considering that BC may actually be worse than Maryland overall.

Either way, this game will not be close and I have a feeling that we won’t come out flat like Wake. Expect a beating.

ND 42 – Maryland 13

PootND: ND 42- MD 17 with 7 for MD coming in the 4th when the game is out of reach. God help my sanity if it’s any closer as I don’t want to deal with the online assclenching that comes with that.

Biscuit: ND in a slaughter. 38-13, all but 3 of their points in garbage time. At least 6 people lose their eyesight.

MQ: Just plain needs gimmicks – 17, Could use some innovation – 35 (Translation: ND 35 – Maryland 17)[/toggle]

Ryan Ritter
Latest posts by Ryan Ritter (see all)

About Ryan Ritter

Editor-in-Chief
Texan by birth, Irish by choice.

First-generation Domer and a former student manager, HLS podcast host, HLS Sim creator, Extra Life streamer, and technical problem haver. You can find more non-Notre Dame related writing on his Patreon.

Reader Interactions

Comments