College Football '10 - Conference switching chaos!!

[Imran Siddiqui]

That freshman QB looks great

Collaros is a Sophomore, IIRC.

[Imran Siddiqui]

If Kelly is a second-tier candidate, then I guess Notre Dame is a third-tier school. Kelly is too good a coach to wallow in mediocrity at Notre Dame. I hope he realizes that.

Indeed.

I mean it isn't like Urban Meyer came from Utah before he reached Florida or anything...

[Drake Tungsten]

Meyer was smart enough to not take the Notre Dame job. I hope Kelly is, as well.

[DanS]

The Meyer courtship was handled rather poorly on ND's part and there were gaping holes in the team at that time (e.g., offensive line). Florida offered a better all-around deal, so it was smart for him to go to Florida.

I don't have much confidence that ND will handle this coaching search better, but we'll see...

[Boris Godunov]

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Alabama
4. TCU
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Oregon
8. Ohio State
9. Pittsburgh
10. Georgia Tech

I hate USC, but I don't really blame Carroll for going for the score after the bull**** TO from UCLA. Probably not the classiest thing to do, but perhaps justifiable in the circumstances. And I think the rivalry with UCLA is probably their most bitter, isn't it?

And good news, everyone! The Huskies beat the Cougars in the Apple Cup. I KNOW we were all sweating the outcome of that one.

[Drake Tungsten]

The Meyer courtship was handled rather poorly on ND's part and there were gaping holes in the team at that time (e.g., offensive line).

Weis seemed to do ok until Willingham's recruits graduated.

[reismark]

This, of course, being the same Clemson that just got their clock cleaned by South Carolina, which is something that the voters are going to remember (I have no faith in them remembering much beyond 2-3 weeks).

They're going to forget about South Carolina real quick if Clemson beats Georgia Tech. College football is the worst offender in sports when it comes to "what have you done for me lately" thinking. Plus, the SEC is, after all, the best conference in the land, so what happened in Columbia was not a surprise at all.

On the subject of Notre Dame, I too hope Brian Kelly makes the right choice for himself, which would be passing on the job and continuing with what he's built at Cincinnati. I suspect the Irish are going to have a lot of trouble finding a legitimate replacement, which is a big part of the reason why at the end of the day, 6-6 record and all, I think firing Weis was the wrong call. (The other big part of the reason is the ridiculous buyout they have to pay him.) What the Irish need now is a proven name with specialty experience on the defensive side of the ball, since that's where they've struggled for a decade now through Weis, Willingham, and Davie. As far as I'm concerned, it's Bob Stoops (no matter what he might be saying right now) or bust for them.

[Drake Tungsten]

I guess it's bust for them, then.

[Guynemer]

but the NBC contract and endless pocketbook have value.

No, Dan, they don't.

Much is made of ND's exclusive contract. So what? With college football on CBS, ABC, Fox, FoxSportsNet, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN360, the Big Ten Network, etc. etc. etc., recruits can watch pretty much ANY school they want, any week of the season.

"Network" TV doesn't mean **** anymore. Everyone has cable. And lots of schools have endless pocketbooks.


The ONLY things that set Notre Dame apart from other schools are: 1) being Independent, which is now a hindrance, and not a help, and 2) its academic standards, which are fantastic and something to be honored and cherished, but will not help it win recruits.

You can go on and on about how Weis got #1 classes, but those rankings are just flat-out guesses. The proof is in the pudding; Notre Dame clearly can no longer recruit better than any other school. Period.

[Guynemer]

The Meyer courtship was handled rather poorly on ND's part and there were gaping holes in the team at that time (e.g., offensive line).

Weis seemed to do ok until Willingham's recruits graduated.

Exactly.


Kelly would be foolish to leave Cincy. He can be set for life there if he wanted, a very big fish in a small pond. Cincy could dominate the Big East for years to come. If he heads to ND, he'll struggle to hit 8 or 9 wins on a regular basis.

[Drake Tungsten]

Kelly would be foolish to leave Cincy. He can be set for life there if he wanted, a very big fish in a small pond. Cincy could dominate the Big East for years to come.

No. Cincy has poor facilities and institutional support and, despite plans to improve these two things, I don't see Cincy matching the big-time BCS schools any time soon.

That being said, Cincy is a good enough position that Kelly can afford to be choosy about what job he eventually moves on to. If I were him, I'd wait for an opening at a prestige program in the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten or Pac Ten to open up. There's no reason for him to rush and end up derailing his career at a second-tier deathtrap like Notre Dame.

[Guynemer]

I said they could dominate the Big East for years to come. Only Pitt and WV could hope to compete. No, they couldn't be BCS power players, but they could reasonably hope to make a BCS bowl game every other year or so.

[Drake Tungsten]

No, they couldn't be BCS power players, but they could reasonably hope to make a BCS bowl game every other year or so.

Sorry; I see your point now. That's certainly better than Kelly can hope to achieve at Notre Dame.

[Guynemer]

Of course, were Notre Dame to join a conference, then they would at least have a fighting chance.

[SlowwHand]

ND has their own sports channels on tv and radio, don't they? Why would they need the Big 10 holding them back more?