I'm not expert so enlighten me how a conference with 12 teams has three teams in the top 25 and the highest ranked one is 14, followed by 15 and 23.....where's the power?? The Big East has teams ranked 5, 13,and 16. The ACC has been in the past but I don't see where two WAC teams wouldn't have run through that conference like grass through a goose but I'm listening. :thumb:
The ND football program has been on a downward spiral since the early 1990s. Yet, because of their "tradition" and their fan base, and because they are the darlings of the sports media, they keep getting a free ride into the BCS system. In the pre-season poll they were listed at #2 despite their declining football program. That highly inflated ranking was the only reason they ended up the season in the top 10. I don't believe in any team getting a free ride. If they want to be in a BCS bowl, they should earn the privelige. Secondly, I do not like the current BCS policy that only two teams from any given conference can be in a BCS bowl. What has that got to do with the price of tea in China? If the SEC, PAC-10 or any conference has more than two teams that are in the upper echelons of the polls, then they should be in the BCS Bow. The current policy allows teams into the BCS system that does not deserve to be there.
My 2 cents (more change that I found in my pocket).. First, LSU did not play 4 top ten teams this year, they played 2. In the past 2 years, LSU has beaten one top 10 team (Bama last year). You can't say they were ranked in the top ten when you played them, b/c then you would also have to say that ND beat a top ten team last year (Michigan), and beat a top 25 team this year (Penn St.). To me, the strength of schedule is not that different b/n the two schools this year, what's more telling is the performance of each school in their 2 losses against the toughest teams on their schedule. The teams ND and LSU beat are pretty close as are the teams they both loss to. The real difference is that LSU should/could have won their two games, where ND was never in their two losses. Second, as poor as ND did in the Sugar Bowl game, I think it's a little off to say the program is spiralling down. In two years they've won 9 & 10 games against most of the same teams that they won 5 & 6 games against in the previous 2 years. They are recruiting much better athletes, and are generally more competitive now than 2-5 years prior. Yes, they blew the last big games against more talented teams, but at least they're beating the teams they're supposed to beat. That probably doesn't mean anything to anyone hear, but I think most of you can appreciate wanting your team to at least win the games they're supposed to win while trying to build a program. Finally, it's funny to read the comments about ND getting special treatment w/ the media on this forum, then go and read the fans on the ND forum complain that they never get credit for anything w/ most of the media. I tend to agree more w/ the people here, but there is some truth to the ND opinion. Yes they are in the spotlight more than any other team, but along with that comes scrutiny that most other schools/players never see. For instance, Jamarcus didn't get the credit and ink he deserved this year as opposed to Quinn who got more than his share, but JR also benefitted from the fact that most of his mistakes from the past 2 years wasn't put out on the national stage for everyone to hash out and rant on like I know people here did.
Re-read his thread, because he said that we can't claim top-ten victories unless we're willing to let them claim a top ten victory against UM last year. (UM was top ten when they beat them, but wound up 7-5) However, I will say that the reason the two "top ten" teams we did beat aren't in the top ten now is because we BEAT them.
If UM was Top 10 when they played them, fine, count it. I stated that the four opponents we beat were Top 10 when we played them.
I know, but I'm just saying that he qualified his statement. I agree with most of what he said. But the title of the thread is about ND not deserving a BCS Bowl game, and they most certainly did not, no matter who they beat. We all, including Bayou Irish, I think, agree on that. they're just not as terrible as we're making them out to be. To be honest, his post reflects well on :lsup: by claiming that ND isn't THAT bad. (That being said, he's wrong when he said the SOS isn't all that different. We may not have played 4 top ten teams by his way of looking at things, but we played 4 top 20 teams, no doubt, 5 including ND, and we went 3-2)
