Joined: Apr 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 3,227 Location: Orlando, Florida
Lou Holtz Picks Notre Dame for BCS Title Game! « Thread Started on Aug 23, 2009, 9:22am »
Ok...at first notice, you might think that Holtz is being a Irish Homer in this pick. He does have a point though that Notre Dame besides USC has a very nice schedule.
Personally, I think they will be lucky to win 6 of those "favorable" games. Nevada might even be a tough opener for them. I wouldnt be surprised they lose that one.
Here is how I would break down their schedule:
Losses: USC, Michigan State, Pitt
Possible Losses: Nevada, Michigan, Boston College, Navy. Im leaning towards losses to Nevada and Michigan. That would make a 7-5 year.
But USC is at home. Michigan like Notre Dame hasnt rebounded yet. Pitt, while better and at home, isnt unbeatable. So could ND run the table? Possible but I seriously doubt it.
Here is the yahoo article on Holtz's comments:
You have to really work at it to listen to Lou Holtz in midseason form, when weeks of shouting at games have taken their toll and his voice devolves into a kind of gruesome, gravelly Daffy Duck simulacrum. In August, though, his tones are dulcet and his articulation smooth, which is why we're absolutely certain we just heard him predict a Florida-Notre Dame title game.
What apart from his usual blatant homerism would possess Dr. Lou to make such a risky pick? Pragmatism, believe it or not. He doesn't think Notre Dame will be the No. 2 team in the country. He does, however, estimate it'll be "the best team in the stadium" for most of the year thanks to, yes, an extremely favorable schedule.
No denying the Irish will have an easier path to tread to January than in recent years, but it's where Holtz starts insinuating the Irish may give USC a game that we start to roll our eyes. Yes, USC's roster losses this offseason are sizeable. Whether that creates enough of a swing for Notre Dame to overcome last year's 35-point curb-stomping remains to be seen. And for all the talk of hordes of returning Irish starters ... those are the same starters that lost to Syracuse at home last year, no? Improvement is to be expected, of course, but it would be foolish to expect USC to do nothing more than tread water in the meantime.
At least part of Holtz's brain is still connected to reality: The other half of his championship pairing was selected No. 1 in the just-released AP poll by the largest margin in history:
Florida received 58 of the 60 first-place votes, or 96.7 percent. Texas got the other first-place votes.
The previous highest percentage of first-place votes for the AP preseason poll, which started in 1950, was 95.4 percent for USC in 2007.
The full poll is available here for your perusal. Notre Dame hovers at No. 23, for now. Will it run the table with the ease Dr. Lou expects? Florida fans can always hope.
SFC
« Last Edit: Aug 23, 2009, 9:23am by stfsergeanted »
Joined: Apr 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 2,439 Location: New Mexico
Re: Lou Holtz Picks Notre Dame for BCS Title Game! « Reply #1 on Aug 23, 2009, 9:49am »
Throw in Michigan State on the possible losses side and again they go 6-6. ND has only won 2 of the last 6 games vs MS. I think the best ND could possibly do is 8-4 but I'm thinking more like 7-5 for this season as well. No way will ND be playing for the Championship title...
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