And despite all the embarrassment that happened in 2011, we still wiped the floor with Purdue.

Also, do you have a time machine? I ask because preseason polls aren’t out yet so I’d definitely love to see these future polls that you speak of.

Besides the obvious difference in talent level at the skill positions (Michael Floyd, Golden Tate, Tyler Eifert) and the NFL talent that is Manti Te’o, there’s 1 key matchup Purdue often if not always lags significantly behind ND – offensive line vs. PUR defensive line. It’s a sickening feeling to see Cierre Wood et al rip off 8-10 yard runs at will the last 2 years; even though Purdue sometimes gets a decent pass rush, the D Line gets pushed around badly on running plays. The other team that manhandles Purdue like this is Wisconsin, only worse.

So, I guess my only beef with the post above is the “Automatic W” mindset, but again some of it is based in the reality that Purdue has been mediocre (at best) under Coach Hope.

Also, If Purdue needs something like this post for motivation, something deeper is wrong…

For me to post on this site should tell you all you need to know about my “journalistic integrity.” Your point is actually a very good one and indicates a deep understanding of scheduling, the word I chose to describe the laborious process of slating games, and then figuring out when and where they will be played. Whether ND “scheduled” the Purdue game after the Navy game was set in stone in Ireland or “scheduled” the entire “schedule” after evaluating all the pros and cons of every team, as Twibby pointed out, my point is unchanged: if we played Michigan or USC or Oklahoma the next week, I don’t think we’d be playing in Ireland. While I don’t know that we ever look past Purdue, I am pretty sure we don’t ever project that it should be a nail-biter or a loss. ND is 21-5 in the last 26 games, with the average margin of victory at 13 points. The Irish have won 15 of those games by more than 20 points. True, Purdue has beaten ND a lot, but we have played them since 1896 and that’s going to happen. We beat USC a lot, too, for example. Anyway, thanks for your comment. Now I’ve got to get back to the pub.

Also, Purdue has won in South Bend once since 1975 (in 2004 when Kyle Orton couldn’t be stopped).

I like the name you chose, Mr. BS. You are correct in saying that the Purdue game was scheduled before the Navy game (even though Bayou Irish was speaking about the schedule as a whole, not the specific timing of when the game contracts were signed), but that doesn’t change the fact that ND chose to accept the trip to Ireland while knowing that they’d come back to play Purdue 7 days later. If Michigan was already scheduled for September 8th we likely wouldn’t see the Irish leaving the country the weekend before.

I don’t necessarily feel as strongly as Bayou Irish, but Notre Dame has won 21 of the past 26 games between the two schools. 4 of Purdue’s 5 wins over that time period came with either Drew Brees or Kyle Orton under center. Unless TerBush found Midas’s touch over the off-season, I don’t think he even belongs in the same sentence as those two great college quarterbacks.

Also, stating a negative opinion about Purdue, even though you may not agree with it, is far from a miscarriage of journalistic integrity.

Example of actual locker room material: opposing player/coach says something and it gets printed out and handed to everyone.

What isn’t locker room material: HLS. See that little notice at the bottom of every page here? It isn’t just there to look pretty. We are fans with opinions–period.

If any coach is seriously looking at blogs or forums for bulletin board material, they should be fired immediately. This may be the most ridiculous idea I’ve seen in our comments and that’s saying something considering GrantlandX still wants Rees to start.