If there were a prop that said Bama o 200 rush and ND u 100 rush, you think the yes would be the chalk? I would take the No at even for a real big chunk.
Do you know how ridiculous your assessment of Teo is ? He is a middle linebacker for goodness sakes, he isn't going to be making plays behind the los. Urlachler had zero sacks the year he played in a super bowl, and Singletary had four combined in the two seasons he won NFL Defensive POY. Your comparisions to olb's make no sense, and Teo will be far and away better than any defensive player Bama fields tonight.
I think that statement is a joke. Before the season I would've said maybe that was true but as the season played out the only team that was even any good on the ND schedule was Stanford and maybe Oklahoma (with a paper mache defense) Bama on the other hand played A&M, LSU and Georgia, those 3 teams alone are head and shoulders above any team ND played this year. That's just a completely false statement.
Very nice write up, spot on. But i'm taking the overrated Manti Teo, who will add to his 7 INTS this year and the Irish +10.
ND 20
Bama 17
while tamu annihilated ou .... that was a 3 point spread. I concede that LSU and Uga are better than the top end of the ND schedule but
1. from the middle to the bottom of the schedule it isn't even close as to who had the tougher schedule
2. the three games you mentioned had final scores of 24-29, 21-17 and 32-28. Only the lsu defense could be mentioned in the same breath as the ND defense as well. Where is the precedent for double digits? Week one was a long time ago.
Jimmy, that is one hell of a writeup. I would argue a few points in there but I love seeing a detailed writeup from the other side. You certainly had me going back and re-checking my numbers again, which is what good posts around here do. One of us ends up a winner tonight.
Notre Dame played a tougher schedule. No Western Ky, Western Caroline, or Fla Atl.
Also would argue that Alabama is not that much better than Stanford this year.
Overall a down year for the SEC. As evidenced by overrated LSU/Florida losses in bowls. Also Auburn was a joke this year
Golson is the type of QB that would/should give this team trouble. He makes plays with his legs and I won't be surprised to see him join Boyd and Bridgewater in the SEC giant killer category.
Is this the in-gamer? Saw the asterisks.
That Alabama played Western Kentucky, Western Carolina or Florida Atlantic really has no relevance to this game at all. Football is a a gmae of matchups, not a game of stats, and Notre Dame cannot matchup with Alabama really anywhere on the field.
I was responding to your comparison to ND's schedule. Its as relevant as discussing ND's opponents.
If Alabama were playing Stanford instead of Notre Dame, the game also would not be close for the same reasons tonight's game won't be close. A team like Stanford would be anohter ideal matchup team for Alabama. Moreover, even if you accept the notion that Stanford is Alabama's equal on the defensive side of the ball, they are not even close on the offensive side of the ball.
You are missing my point here. You said none of Notre Dame's opponents are anywhere near the same level as Alabama. And while the Tide are probably better than Stanford, I'm not sure its by much at all.
The SEC played in 9 bowl games. I figured they would probably lose two of them. They'll end up 6 & 3, and 6 & 3 is an endorsement of the SEC, not an idictment. Overall it was very much of an up year for the SEC.
I would argue that the conference was better last year. And they are 4-4 ATS in this year's games. Soon to be 4-5
As I said in my write-up, Golson will have to have a Tajh Boyd type of a performance for Notre Dame to even be competitive. I've watch every game he's played this season, and I have not seen one thing from him that would give me any indication that he's capable of playing that type of game, much less do it against the best defense in college football. I think there is a much better chance of Notre Dame being shutout than of them reaching their team total.
Motivational edge? I think they have some. Emotional edge, 10X Alabama's.Disagree vehemently on Notre Dame having any sort of motivational edge.
No BYU stat has any legitimacy. Their schedule was a complete joke and they still managed to lose 5 games. That's about as legitimate as Boise having the #1 defense in the nation a few years ago against WAC opponents. Michigan State and Stanford are legitimate. Against Michigan State Notre Dame rush 34 times for 122 yards for about a 3.5 yard average, and went 1-14 on third conversions. Against Stanford they rushed 44 times for 150 yards for about a 3.4 yard per carry average. Neither of those performances are anything to brag about.
I don't disrespect either of Notre Dame's fronts. It's not that they aren't good, it's just that they aren't as good as the fronts they will be playing against, especially Notre Dame's o-line versus Alabama's front seven. Will Notre Dame's offensive and defensive lines make some plays??? I have no doubt they will. They just won't make nearly enough to keep them in the game. I am very confident in predicting that Notre Dame will rush for less than 100 yards, and that Alabama will rush for over 200.
I certainly do not want to disagree with every statement you make, but it is tough.
How could you say no BYU stat has any legitimacy and their schedule was a complete joke?
BYU did play....
Boise State
Utah State
Oregon State
Notre Dame
Georgia Tech
San Jose State
How is that "a complete joke" of a schedule?
btw when jimmy does these kind of write ups on bama he's usually money..just sayin..
not always, but close.
He doesn't do this massive of one unless he's real confident.
Who knows, I think it should be a good one. Get ur ass posting more linde.
Alabama is going to rush for over 200 yards on the best defense in the nation?
Bold statement.
:clapping:Alabama will be my largest play of the year. Real simple, ND defense is way over rated and their offense is average at best. Bamma has a better defense and a way better offense. Coaching advantage still goes to Saban. -9.5 seems cheap to me. If this game plays out the way it should, ND won't be able to do shit on offense. Alabama will pound the shit out of them, throw in some play action, and get up a few scores. ND will pass, throw interceptions, ugliness ensues. I figure 38-10 Alabama, this is giving ND a meaningless TD at the end. The way to beat Alabama's D is to wear them out, like LSU and Texas AM did, and Georgia tried. ND just doesn't have the ponies to do that, this is going to get ugly and I will enjoy it tremendously.
Jimmy you were so off on the ND yardage
You are the truth dude...I remember when you did this type of write up for Michigan and I was oh shitting myself.