Notre Dame Moves Up to 3rd in BCS

theo riddick bcs
Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Theo Riddick (6) celebrates with quarterback Everett Golson (5) and center Braxston Cave (52) after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Notre Dame won 30-13. (Photo: Matt Cashore / US PRESSWIRE)

Notre Dame’s big win over Oklahoma this weekend gained the Irish some points in the eyes of the BCS computers.  Those gains, combined with Florida’s loss to Georgia that moved Notre Dame up to 4th in both the Harris and AP Polls were enough to push the Irish to 3rd in the latest BCS Rankings after heading into the weekend 5th.

Notre Dame lost a little ground in the computers last week, but with their 30-13 win over Oklahoma on Saturday night, the computers started favoring the Irish again and now have the Irish ranked first along with Kansas State.  The Wildcats had an impressive win of their own – a 55-24 beat down of #14 Texas Tech at home in the Little Apple.   That win was enough to keep Kansas State ranked ahead of the Irish in the human polls and as a result in the BCS Rankings as well.

Alabama remains in the top spot of the BCS rankings again this week after they beat up on #11 Mississippi State setting up a showdown with #5 LSU in Baton Rouge this weekend.  Geaux Tigers?

Notre Dame edged ahead of Oregon in this week’s rankings even though the Ducks dismantled Colorado 70-14 this weekend in preparation for their trip to Los Angeles next week to take on USC which in a a cruel twist of the nature of the BCS will have Notre Dame fans rooting for the Torjans – or at the very least not being upset if they take down the Ducks.

Michigan didn’t do much to help Notre Dame by getting upset by Nebraska this weekend and possibly losing Denard Robinson in the process.  As a result, the Wolverines dropped out of the BCS rankings this week.

Stanford did help Notre Dame by winning again this weekend although their 7 point win over lowly Washington State doesn’t speak too well for what the Cardinal may do in two weeks when they travel to Eugene to face off with Oregon.

The only other Notre Dame opponent in the top 25 is USC.  The Trojans however, dropped to 17th from 9th after getting upset by Arizona.  They can help Notre Dame’s national championship cause next week though by taking down #4 Oregon.  A win by Southern Cal would not only remove another undefeated team from the title race, but a win by USC over #4 Oregon would help out Notre Dame’s strength of schedule.

Now that we were entering the final month of the season with the Irish still undefeated and very much alive for the national championship, be on the look out for a scoreboard watching column in the near future recapping the games that affect Notre Dame on a weekly basis and looking ahead to the coming week.

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18 Comments

  1. Exactly fxm & Ron,

    Yesterday was bizarre, especially people with double and triple handles with an axe to grind! I thought the scurrilous comments directed at Rob were beyond the pale.

    Further, we all know when someone belly-ups next to you and say’s; “any takers!?” or “naysayers!?” when their diatribe is obviously designed specifically for you…Duh? Or like….JC, this BK guy seems to be…..blah blah blah. Yeah, sure, like XOXO I love the guy and my opinion of him is not well known Hahahaha! I felt the same way about Devine. But let’s go ahead and get JC in a head lock over it, and force him to eat fruit-loops (BK) when they know I like Raisen Brand (Ara & Lou). The only problem is the holier-than-thou boys can certainly dish it out but, don’t like eating their own fruit loops. Imagine that?

    I definately know how to breath on them when they deserve it, and they damn well deserved it! Not mention, Rob and I both know critical analysis is based on FACTS not subjective BS and barnyard epithets!

    So in the end, I kinda like this ND bucket brigade, thanks guys, leads me to believe there are plenty of normal Irish fans!

    Here come the Irish!

  2. To many cannibals eating their own on this site. Saw some bizarre attacks on Steel Fan after the game. IF you are over age 40 you have been put through the mill by this team. So, in a big game like this one, and we are dominating on both sides of the ball and yet tied at the 9:10 mark of the fourth quarter, a little venting is in order. No reason for folks to get their underwear in a bunch.

  3. I think that anyone who criticised the Irish the past 20 years had every right to. They stunk! Even when BK took over they looked liked crap for two years. We had every right to criticise. This is sports. If you don’t win you take the heat. It has absolutely nothing to do with being loyal or being callled “naysayers”.

    We demand excellence, in the classroom and on the football field. The last two years with BK calling the shots we looked like a three ring circus.

    When certain individuals on this board criticise the 8 and 5 records they have every right too. Obviously BK has righted the ship and we all feel great. We all have every right too.

    Anyone who accepts mediocrity does not need to cheer for the Irish.

    Now it gets really tough. If we go to a BCS bowl game and win it, the season is a failure. That’s sports!

  4. Is anyone aware of the USC/Lane Kiffin jersey-switching controversy? Got to admit that I missed that story. He had players switch jerseys during the COLORADO game? One of the worst teams in the nation. What a douche.

  5. Ah, the truth was never your forte in this case black bird! Bye-bye!
    Fair-Weather-Fan! Hahahaha! What no rain dance?

    Here come the Irish!

  6. Can someone please explain to me the disagreement between JC and Shaz?

    It seems both want the same thing and agree that ND is getting better. JC for one has given credit to BK for growth as a coach this season. And I think he’s right about that. Shaz on the other hand has made critical but perfectly reasonable comments about BK and ND football in the past. I wouldn’t say that Shaz is some kind of BK “Know-Nothing”.

    So can someone who’s been here longer than I have explain this duel?

    I for one have a great amount of respect for the smarts and passion of both JC and Shaz, even if we’ve not always agreed.

  7. Dang! I must really eating old sourpuss alive in side!

    But, as much fun as this has been, “I” actually have a life.

    Remember… “The goat that butts against the hedge, soon finds his horns entangled”

    Bye-bye

  8. Shaz and JC,

    None of us are prophets. I’m sure all of us have misspoke about this or that when it comes to ND football over the years. Thus, we should all be careful when we cast stones at anyone else on the subject of ND football.

    I for one am on record as having said that BK needs to at minimum coach out his contract. I still think BK is far from perfect. His O is still woefully inefficient, esp. when it comes to redzone conversions into TDs. Heading into the 4th quarter of the OU game ND was 106th in redzone TD efficiency. That’s not acceptable! Too often it looks like a Chinese fire drill on O. That costs us to take too many TOs. Mark my words, one day not having TOs at the end of a half or a game will come back to haunt us. (And, no, I’m not being a prophet; football common sense dictates that burning TOs is not good and will eventually catch up with a team!)

    So let’s not gloat or ask anyone here to eat crow. It’s not like anyone here, including the biggest BK supporters, was saying BK was going to have this team at 8-0 at this point of the season. If I recall, almost everyone was in agreement with me when I said that a 9-3 regular season plus a bowl win would show progress and be acceptable (for now).

    BTW: I hope we’re all in agreement that as of right now 9-3 would not be a successful season. To go 9 and 3 now means we lose to SC and 2 of 3 games to either Pitt, BC, or Wake (with Pitt and Wake Forest being home games! I’m not even going to contemplate a scenario whereby ND goes 9-3 and beats both OU and USC but loses 3 straight to Pitt, BC, and Wake Forest!). God forbid this should happen, but, theoretically speaking, if it did, I don’t want lame ass excuse makers and apologists saying that 9-3 is a good season since that’s what most of us thought at the start of the season. NO! At this point, anything less than 11-1 would be a major disappointment.

    Like the stock market, expectations go up or down. Right now, ND’s stock is trading higher than it was in Sept. Let’s keep the bull market going!

    1. Good points. It’s funny but now a season that ends 12-1 will almost surely feel like a disappointment. In August, we all would have taken it. However, starting 8-0 the expecatations change. We will have 3 games which we will clearly be favored in (although OU was clearly favored this past week based on point spreads). And then a “play-in” game for the national championship versus USC. Lose 1 of the next 3 and the upset will haunt us all off-season. Lose to USC and we will have been so close we could’ve tasted it. Lose to Bama let’s say and it’s the heartbreak of coming so close. I for one am just glad to have meaningful games in November again. Having a chance is all you can ask for.

      I for one think the Pitt game this weekend is the most dangerous of the next 3. Pitt is starting to find its way (their head coach just let them put their names back on the jersey for the ND game.) And BC is terrible and certainly no way Te’o allows them to lose to WF on his Senior Day.

      Whatever happens will happen but it sure is exciting to be in the “mix” again and play some huge games over the next month.

      Go Irish!

      1. Irish,

        You stole my thunder!

        I totally agree with you that Pitt is the most dangerous. They have a decent running and passing O. They also have a veteran QB.

        Having said that, if we lose to Pitt, BC, and/or WF, this season is a bust no matter how it ends.

        I can almost accept losing a close one to SC(um) in LA or in the NC game to top-ranked SEC or Oregon team, but no way we should lose to Pitt and/or Wake at home or BC.

        Since it’s the Halloween season, talk about ghosts from the past. Time to exorcise those spirits!

      2. I also find it ironic that BC is still on the schedule considering what happened in 1993 and 2002.

  9. Ah, the False Angel should go back and read his own posts at the begining of the year! Some interesting threats in writing if we don’t starting beating some elite teams black bird! Hahahahaha!

  10. Frank,

    Remember those select doom-dayers from last year who went on and on for days, weeks, and even months, berating Brian Kelly and his staff for making hard tough decisions, that, in the long run, would evetually return ND to a competitive and respectable team?

    It appears back-peddelling, fact twisting, and overall butt covering this year has become an art form.

    Especially with coach Kelly having a 95% approval rating from the fans and university as well as a true “Coach of the Year” canidate!

    It surely appears that the folks over at ESPN aren’t the only ones having an extra heeping of crow this year.

    To those “nay-sayers” I say: Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy your black bird!

  11. Frank,

    How about some short clips on our fan club over at ESPN eating crow? Sure would may for some entertaining posts. Hahahaha!

    Here come the Irish!

    PS: For the hard core group of BK delusional ideologues, I posted OU pre-game: “I say we win!” + “EG will arrive and play like a SENIOR!” I noticed none of “fire and brimstone BK Loyalists” were somehow not making any BOLD predictions? Imagine that, they were, however, entangled in their own usual boring autodidactic analysis. Hahahaha! Got love these BK zealots! Watch-out! They will stone you if you don’t agree 100% with their BK absolutism doctrine. (Better known as: “I told you so” after the fact!)

    Normal Irish fans are now excited to see that BK is indeed capable of earning his money! So far!

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