I think they'll look better than last year, and thankfully their schedule is largely trash so a return to the CFP is very possible. However, if you're looking at the entire country I'd have them behind UGA, Bama, Ohio State, michigan, Penn State, and USC at the very least.
They weren't even "really good" last year. They also have a better chance of going 0-12 than winning the NC.
So I think you should talk to the guy who brought it back up well after the fact then.
Compared to expectations and personnel changes they were fantastic. They have some depth concerns this year but have enough pieces to make a run, including their HC who is better than Franklin and Riley.. by lots.
I would agree that they were better than expectations, but that was just because they were so pathetic in 2021. They were still loaded with talent last year so that should have been the expectation. I still don't see any reason to think they're an actual NC caliber team.
All I did was respond to your comment saying Penn State was the only team you were concerned about losing to. You hijacked the thread LOOOOONG before I showed up. All I did was remind you, that you should be concerned about the team who has put up over 1,000 yards of offense and 45 points a game against Ohio State the last two years, as they have almost their entire team back, as those same group of guys have walked all over OSU the last two years.
Winningest coach in Notre Dame history is a decent place to start
From a winning percentage standpoint he's not even top 10, but when you've coached way more games than anyone in a school's history you'd better have the most wins.Winningest coach in Notre Dame history is a decent place to start
Touting two blowout losses doesn't make you better than Franklin or Riley. Your second point means nothing really. It's like michigan fans complaining about bad coaching before Harbaugh - you're still one of the most recognizable names in college football with basically limitless resources, having shitty coaches before you is maybe even helpful because if you show any kind of improvement at all, you can sell the "be part of bringing Notre Dame back to glory" slant. All in all, however, he never won a game of true significance, and more often than not was absolutely destroyed by the elite teams he faced.
Franklin has won the B1G, won a Rose Bowl, won a Fiesta Bowl and a NY6 bowl. Riley has double digit wins in every season he's coached other than Covid, multiple Big 12 titles, and came extremely close to winning a CFP game and playing in the CFP NCG, something BK never came close to accomplishing.
Goddammit
He wouldn't have won the B1G at any time during his tenure at ND. Franklin accomplishing that is more impressive than a subjective ranking being given to make the BCSCG or CFP, especially when you consider the lack of quality wins ND ever actually got to get those nods (one top 10 win in 2012, 0 in 2018, and one in 2020 but it was over Clemson without Lawrence, which they of course got revenge for later by destroying ND at the end of the year). BK seems to undoubtedly have a ceiling as a HC, and is also already 61, while both Franklin and Riley are young and pretty much just as accomplished. I'd take either of them in a second.
This last part mostly came from coaltrain ranking LSU ahead of USC and Penn State in part because BK is "better than Franklin and Riley.. by lots." That made me look into it and despite being 10+ years older, BK hasn't accomplished more than either of them. Neither of them were HCs at their current schools during the BCS era, so you can't really use that as a comparison, so I just look at the major wins and accomplishments. Riley made the CFP in his first 3 years and didn't fall flat on his face like BK did both of his visits, and Franklin has looked better in the postseason overall.
