ND should be ranked #1

[Deer Head]

No shame in losing to the best team in the country. The kids fought till the end. They were just over matched physically.

I feel like im the only person that watched the Clemson game. ND is much better than Clemson. Were unlucky for one quarter. Dominated the rest of the game. While the results on the field matter, if ND gets another shot at them it won't be close. I think ND is going to win the NC.

 

[Pittx9]

What? Notre Dame is every bit as good as Clemson and a great team. But to say they should be #1 and not Clemson is laughable. Clemson still beat Notre Dame and have not lost. Clemson is #1 right now and if they win out nobody else should even be thought of overtaking that ranking.

 

[TD_6082]

I don't see it. Notre Dame struggled to get the win over Temple last week. They really haven't been dominant all year against a decent opponent. They very well may win a rematch against Clemson, but I don't see how you can be so confident that it wouldn't be close.

I don't see a dominant team out there this year. The playoff should be interesting, as well as the remaining games to sort this thing out.

 

[VAPITTALUM]

Agree with others. ND lost to Clemson. Clemson just beat another solid team in FSU. Clemson hasn't done anything to lose their number 1 ranking.

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

I would take Alabama over either. And over tOSU

 

[Mtman 69]

Mercy

 

[thebadby2]

No shame in losing to the best team in the country. The kids fought till the end. They were just over matched physically.

I feel like I'm the only person that watched the Clemson game. ND is much better than Clemson. Were unlucky for one quarter. Dominated the rest of the game. While the results on the field matter, if ND gets another shot at them it won't be close. I think ND is going to win the NC.

Let me guess--the rest of your top 3: UNC #2, Iowa #3--or is it Iowa #2, UNC #3?

ND is really good, you can argue all day about where they should be ranked in the top 6-7. Alabama is the best team I've seen all year. They are loaded with NFL talent and are huge, strong, talented and athletic at every position. They had their hiccup but that's way back in the rear view. I don;t see them losing again, all the way through the NC.

BTW I watched the ND-Clemson game in the rainstorm. To say they were "unlucky" for a quarter is ridiculous. More accurate to say ND played one good quarter out of 4. Clemson owned them the first three quarters. ND couldn't run the ball on them all day. scored 3 points through the first three quarters.

I would have liked to see that game played in normal field conditions..

 

[Deer Head]

Let me guess--the rest of your top 3: UNC #2, Iowa #3--or is it Iowa #2, UNC #3?

ND is really good, you can argue all day about where they should be ranked in the top 6-7. Alabama is the best team I've seen all year. They are loaded with NFL talent and are huge, strong, talented and athletic at every position. They had their hiccup but that's way back in the rear view. I don;t see them losing again, all the way through the NC.

BTW I watched the ND-Clemson game in the rainstorm. To say they were "unlucky" for a quarter is ridiculous. More accurate to say ND played one good quarter out of 4. Clemson owned them the first three quarters. ND couldn't run the ball on them all day. scored 3 points through the first three quarters.

I would have liked to see that game played in normal field conditions..

I don't. Iowa and UNC are the product of some breaks and a bad schedule. Those are both games Pitt could have won easily. That was not the case yesterday.

ND lost every fumble against Clemson and recovered every fumble yesterday. The average fan is unable to understand luck factors in sports.

 

[thebadby2]

I don't. Iowa and UNC are the product of some breaks and a bad schedule. Those are both games Pitt could have won easily. That was not the case yesterday.

ND lost every fumble against Clemson and recovered every fumble yesterday. The average fan is unable to understand luck factors in sports.

The average coach would say you make your own luck. The average coach would say you have to make some plays when they are there to be made. The ball bounces funny sometimes, guys miss executions, weird things happen, in every game. You have to play through and above all those things.

 

[Pittx9]

You have to look at the whole schedule. Alabama's loss to Ole Miss was not a good loss. Yes, they're loaded, but no way they should be ranked over undefeated teams or even Notre Dame. The SEC is the best but still the bias is clear.

 

[Deer Head]

The average coach would say you make your own luck. The average coach would say you have to make some plays when they are there to be made. The ball bounces funny sometimes, guys miss executions, weird things happen, in every game. You have to play through and above all those things.

No one is overcoming -3 on the road against another good team. Especially if they are unlucky on fumbles.

 

[pbrad]

Alabama would beat ND if they played yesterday, today or tomorrow. End of discussion.

 

[wbrpanther]

I would take Alabama over either. And over tOSU

This.

 

[spitdoc]

No shame in losing to the best team in the country. The kids fought till the end. They were just over matched physically.

I feel like im the only person that watched the Clemson game. ND is much better than Clemson. Were unlucky for one quarter. Dominated the rest of the game. While the results on the field matter, if ND gets another shot at them it won't be close. I think ND is going to win the NC.

I hate ND and they get special treatment. However, they do play a tough schedule usually and were quite deep....certainly top 4 at this point

 

[Panther Parrothead]

No shame in losing to the best team in the country. The kids fought till the end. They were just over matched physically.

I feel like im the only person that watched the Clemson game. ND is much better than Clemson. Were unlucky for one quarter. Dominated the rest of the game. While the results on the field matter, if ND gets another shot at them it won't be close. I think ND is going to win the NC.

I'll say this: THIS ND team is better than their recent team that played for the MNC. That team was "gifted" two wins to allow them to play for the title.

Right now, I'd rank this team no higher than 6th or 7th nationally. As good as they are, we stopped ourselves almost as much as they stopped us.

 

[BanksvilleDave]

Yeah ND is a marginal top 10 team. ND's big claim to fame this year is keeping it close in Death Valley. That's not a championship worthy accomplishment.

 

[zonairish]

No shame in losing to the best team in the country. The kids fought till the end. They were just over matched physically.

I feel like im the only person that watched the Clemson game. ND is much better than Clemson. Were unlucky for one quarter. Dominated the rest of the game. While the results on the field matter, if ND gets another shot at them it won't be close. I think ND is going to win the NC.

Appreciate the sentiment. Notre dame is a potential playoff team b ut they have to win out and get a little help. By the Way I thought Pit played very well never quit

 

[TD_6082]

Bama is good, but I'm not sold on Jake Coker. Just a couple of weeks ago, they had their hands full with Tennessee in T-town.

I'm not sure there is a clear cut favorite at this point.

 

[ZekeGadsonFan]

Appreciate the inaccurate assessment of my favorite team.

FYP. ND is really good. They have a legit shot at the playoffs, and deserving so. But, as was stated, if ND played Alabama tomorrow they'd be a huge dog. There are a few other teams that would likely give them a ton of problems as well, but its just easy to state the obvious to quickly dismiss his statement as a falsity.

 

[Pittx9]

I'll say this: THIS ND team is better than their recent team that played for the MNC. That team was "gifted" two wins to allow them to play for the title.

I don't even think it's close. This year's Notre Dame team is miles ahead of the 2012 team. I took Bama in that game minus the points (I would've given many, many more if that were the spread) and my only regret is not betting more money than I even had at the time. That Notre Dame team had no business playing with the top dogs of college football, this team most certainly does.

 

[NC Panther]

I would take Alabama over either. And over tOSU

Alabama is the best team in the country - no question.

And I WOULD take ND over Clempson if they played on a neutral field.

Top 4:

Alabama - 5 turnovers against 'Ole Miss - they'd beat them now by 28.
ND - that's an excellent well coached team and I don't like Kelley.
OSU - if they get all of their "S" together, they can play w/ anyone except 'Bama
Clempson - all of the above would beat them on a neutral field. Alabama by at least 14.

Baylor - I would love to see Alabama's defense against this offense.

Give Narduzzi and this coaching staff a few years to build up our talent level and Pitt will be in these conversations.

 

[The Loaded Italian]

No shame in losing to the best team in the country. The kids fought till the end. They were just over matched physically.

I feel like im the only person that watched the Clemson game. ND is much better than Clemson. Were unlucky for one quarter. Dominated the rest of the game. While the results on the field matter, if ND gets another shot at them it won't be close. I think ND is going to win the NC.

I cant say I disagree based on what we saw. Team depth, and they are good. Do they deserve to be number one? Probably not... but I can see why one would say they should be.

 

[paulbl99]

No shame in losing to the best team in the country. The kids fought till the end. They were just over matched physically.

I feel like im the only person that watched the Clemson game. ND is much better than Clemson. Were unlucky for one quarter. Dominated the rest of the game. While the results on the field matter, if ND gets another shot at them it won't be close. I think ND is going to win the NC.

Is that you....SMF???

 

[Pghfan]

ND should be ranked #1, over a team that beat them?? Not sure what was worse, this post or me opening it up and reading it..

 

[Pittx9]

There is no argument against Clemson being #1. None. You can say Alabama or Notre Dame or whoever is the best team, but they haven't proved it every single week. Alabama is one heck of a good team, but Ole Miss at home is not a good loss. They are definitely beatable. A team with that much NFL talent should not play Tennessee that closely either. Why do people knock on Pitt for playing close games when teams ranked in the top 5, that have more NFL talent than players that can start in a game, squeak out wins against bad teams? I'm not one for style points mattering a win is a win. But when you look at the whole picture AND throw in the fact Clemson is undefeated, this is not even a real debate. It's obvious Clemson is the best team right now. Still games left though, things could change drastically as they usually do.

 

[pittzap]

No shame in losing to the best team in the country. The kids fought till the end. They were just over matched physically.

I feel like im the only person that watched the Clemson game. ND is much better than Clemson. Were unlucky for one quarter. Dominated the rest of the game. While the results on the field matter, if ND gets another shot at them it won't be close. I think ND is going to win the NC.

They lost to Clemson. End of story.

 

[Jpripper88]

You have to look at the whole schedule. Alabama's loss to Ole Miss was not a good loss. Yes, they're loaded, but no way they should be ranked over undefeated teams or even Notre Dame. The SEC is the best but still the bias is clear.

So getting "unlucky" counts for ND against Clemson, but Alabama losing 5 turnovers and having 1 TD scored against them via a miracle pass and an illegal forward pass doesn't? And they still only lose by 6? ND would lose that game to Ole Miss by 30, if that happened.

 

[Pittx9]

So getting "unlucky" counts for ND against Clemson, but Alabama losing 5 turnovers and having 1 TD scored against them via a miracle pass and an illegal forward pass doesn't? And they still only lose by 6? ND would lose that game to Ole Miss by 30, if that happened.

What? Notre Dame lost to the best team in the country. Alabama lost to an okay Ole Miss team. How it happened is irrelevant, especially to say Alabama having 5 turnovers is why they lost. Well, they are the team that gave the ball away 5 times. I never mentioned anyone being unlucky, Notre Dame just lost to a much, much better team.

 

[thebadby2]

What? Notre Dame lost to the best team in the country. Alabama lost to an okay Ole Miss team. How it happened is irrelevant, especially to say Alabama having 5 turnovers is why they lost. Well, they are the team that gave the ball away 5 times. I never mentioned anyone being unlucky, Notre Dame just lost to a much, much better team.

You'll just have to see who's left standing in January. It will be Bama. Book it. Clemson has done everything they need to do to be #1 right now. But they aren't the top team in the country. That's Bama. That loss to Ole Miss is long gone.

 

[Panther Parrothead]

You'll just have to see who's left standing in January. It will be Bama. Book it. Clemson has done everything they need to do to be #1 right now. But they aren't the top team in the country. That's Bama. That loss to Ole Miss is long gone.

Right now, I wouldn't mind seeing a Final Four of Clemson, Bama, Baylor, and OKSt. But another loss from any of those teams changes it....

 

[Jpripper88]

What? Notre Dame lost to the best team in the country. Alabama lost to an okay Ole Miss team. How it happened is irrelevant, especially to say Alabama having 5 turnovers is why they lost. Well, they are the team that gave the ball away 5 times. I never mentioned anyone being unlucky, Notre Dame just lost to a much, much better team.

How can how things happen be irrelevant, if you are talking about UA having a close win over UT? Clemson has played two decent/good teams this year. Clemson struggled with a an awful Louisville team. They gave up 41 to NC State. And they had their hands full with a putrid BC by being up only 7 at halftime.

The entire resume matters and Clemson is in no way "clearly" the best team. No one is. Wins, losses, and how those wins and losses played out all matter. More importantly, you certainly can't chastise one team for something and not acknowledge it for another. Clemson might have a slightly better resume than anyone else, but they also benefit from a very weak schedule. They played 2 games all year and at best will have a decent opponent in the ACC CG.

BTW, calling Ole Miss "not a good loss" or UT a bad team is an interesting stance IMO. Either team would be the best team in the Coastal IMO and then you certainly shouldn't credit Clemson much for a CG win over a good opponent, if that happens.

 

[Jpripper88]

Right now, I wouldn't mind seeing a Final Four of Clemson, Bama, Baylor, and OKSt. But another loss from any of those teams changes it....

Baylor and Ok State have to play, so there is a 0% chance both Baylor and Ok State end the season without a loss.

 

[JSSTartan]

Baylor is very explosive but we will see how their new QB does over the next few weeks...and, teams could run the football on them.
Clemson appears to be a very complete team.
Alabama is very good but not the dominant Tide we've seen recently.
Notre Dame is extremely athletic but injuries keep piling up and sometimes I feel that Kelly actually hurts the offense; D is very good but not unmovable.
Ohio State may have some team chemistry things going on--they should be very dominant...
Oklahoma State proved that there is some defense in the Big XII. They have a tough finishing kick.
Stanford has been impressive but for some reason, they don't really scare me.
Iowa is another complete team but certainly not dominant; it will be interesting to see how Michigan State bounces back too.
Florida I think is a product of a very good defense hiding a semi-poor offense.
North Carolina is explosive and appears to be hitting its stride at the right time. If it's them v. Clemson in Charlotte, should be an interesting/good match up.
LSU is talented all around but Bama showed them who is boss in the SEC West.

The B1G will work itself out; as will the SEC. Stanford is the hope for the PAC 12 but they and ND play to end the season. The Big XII could lead to some interesting discussions in December unless Okie State or Baylor go undefeated.

What happens if North Carolina wins out and beats Clemson in the ACC Champ game?

 

[BanksvilleDave]

Notre dame isnt getting in. Regardless of my belief that they will lose to Stanford, only way they get in is to beat stanford and clemson lose to unc in the acc championship. Baylor or ok state will get in, Bama is in and one of the B1G schools, likely osu gets in. ND has too soft a schedule and too many injuries. They fell in the polls after a win. Not a good sign.

 

[Pittx9]

How can how things happen be irrelevant, if you are talking about UA having a close win over UT? Clemson has played two decent/good teams this year. Clemson struggled with a an awful Louisville team. They gave up 41 to NC State. And they had their hands full with a putrid BC by being up only 7 at halftime.

The entire resume matters and Clemson is in no way "clearly" the best team. No one is. Wins, losses, and how those wins and losses played out all matter. More importantly, you certainly can't chastise one team for something and not acknowledge it for another. Clemson might have a slightly better resume than anyone else, but they also benefit from a very weak schedule. They played 2 games all year and at best will have a decent opponent in the ACC CG.

BTW, calling Ole Miss "not a good loss" or UT a bad team is an interesting stance IMO. Either team would be the best team in the Coastal IMO and then you certainly shouldn't credit Clemson much for a CG win over a good opponent, if that happens.

Ole Miss may win the Coastal, but no way in hell Tennessee is better than Carolina. Now by year's end, your argument will probably be stronger than mine. But right now, I really don't think you can say anyone is better than Clemson. For one, if you're a P5 undefeated there is no way a 1 loss team should be considered to be ranked above you. Take even Iowa for example. Say they're ranked #3 or #4 right now, they'd still have to win the Big Ten Championship Game to prove it, so it would work itself out.

But to date anyways, Clemson's schedule has been tougher than Ohio State's (another unbeaten). Plus, Ohio State struggled with some even worse teams, such as G5 team Northern Illinois. I would not be surprised at all to be proven wrong in January, I probabaly will. But this bias can not exist in the rankings. If you're a P5 team that wins the games put in front of you, you're getting a chance to play for the championship. If Clemson beat every single team by one point, and Alabama steam rolled everyone except they lost to Ole Miss, Alabama would probably be the better team, but you know what, they didn't win every game and Clemson did.

I think you make some good points, but the ACC bashing by everyone in America is absurd. How about the Big Ten? Yes, they have some heavyweights, but 65% of the conference are teams that can't even compete at the FCS level. The Pac-12 is falling apart quickly. The Big 12 is interesting because of Baylor's QB's injury. The thing is though, we really do not need to discuss things like this because there will be only one problem at season's end... 4 spots with 5 power conference plus Notre Dame. The picture will be much clearer then, I think you will probably look smarter at that point than me, but even a 4 team playoff will have just as much dilemma as the BCS did.

 

[Jpripper88]

Ole Miss may win the Coastal, but no way in hell Tennessee is better than Carolina. Now by year's end, your argument will probably be stronger than mine. But right now, I really don't think you can say anyone is better than Clemson. For one, if you're a P5 undefeated there is no way a 1 loss team should be considered to be ranked above you. Take even Iowa for example. Say they're ranked #3 or #4 right now, they'd still have to win the Big Ten Championship Game to prove it, so it would work itself out.

But to date anyways, Clemson's schedule has been tougher than Ohio State's (another unbeaten). Plus, Ohio State struggled with some even worse teams, such as G5 team Northern Illinois. I would not be surprised at all to be proven wrong in January, I probabaly will. But this bias can not exist in the rankings. If you're a P5 team that wins the games put in front of you, you're getting a chance to play for the championship. If Clemson beat every single team by one point, and Alabama steam rolled everyone except they lost to Ole Miss, Alabama would probably be the better team, but you know what, they didn't win every game and Clemson did.

I think you make some good points, but the ACC bashing by everyone in America is absurd. How about the Big Ten? Yes, they have some heavyweights, but 65% of the conference are teams that can't even compete at the FCS level. The Pac-12 is falling apart quickly. The Big 12 is interesting because of Baylor's QB's injury. The thing is though, we really do not need to discuss things like this because there will be only one problem at season's end... 4 spots with 5 power conference plus Notre Dame. The picture will be much clearer then, I think you will probably look smarter at that point than me, but even a 4 team playoff will have just as much dilemma as the BCS did.

I didn't say that anyone had a better resume or was a much better team than Clemson.

I disagree 100% that a P5 undefeated should automatically be ahead of a 1 loss team. That is Lee Corso type thinking and extremely short sighted IMO.

The playoff is about getting the 4 best teams in and not the 4 best records in P5.

 

[Jpripper88]

Notre dame isnt getting in. Regardless of my belief that they will lose to Stanford, only way they get in is to beat stanford and clemson lose to unc in the acc championship. Baylor or ok state will get in, Bama is in and one of the B1G schools, likely osu gets in. ND has too soft a schedule and too many injuries. They fell in the polls after a win. Not a good sign.

I'd bet on the B12 cannabilizing itself and all those teams ending with 1-3 losses.

 

[ThePanthers]

Notre dame isnt getting in. Regardless of my belief that they will lose to Stanford, only way they get in is to beat stanford and clemson lose to unc in the acc championship. Baylor or ok state will get in, Bama is in and one of the B1G schools, likely osu gets in. ND has too soft a schedule and too many injuries. They fell in the polls after a win. Not a good sign.

Too soft of a schedule? As of right now they have 4 ranked teams on that schedule. No one else can say that.

 

[Deer Head]

Turnovers are largely a factor of luck. Especially fumbles. Its why I hated Graham saying his defenses force turnovers who cares about being ranked 110.

Look at the total yardage in ND-Clem and Bama-Miss.

 

[Pittx9]

I didn't say that anyone had a better resume or was a much better team than Clemson.

I disagree 100% that a P5 undefeated should automatically be ahead of a 1 loss team. That is Lee Corso type thinking and extremely short sighted IMO.

The playoff is about getting the 4 best teams in and not the 4 best records in P5.

I agree. I just don't think you can look at a P5 unbeaten team and clearly say they are not as good as a team that lost a game. Who's to say if they played a couple more games against better teams they still wouldn't win? There is just no factual way to prove a 1 loss team is better than an undefeated team. If you're going to have the designation that the P5 conferences are all going to get a legit shot while the G5 conferences are weaker, you can't say an undefeated P5 team is not good enough to be ranked as high as their record indicates.

I know what you meant about Clemson too, and many would agree with you. I just think if a team has lost a game, that clearly proves they are beatable, even if it was some miracle or they beat themselves. But to go undefeated, nobody can boldly state that they would lose to some other team because they proved all year that they could beat anyone thrown in front of them. I think really all this shows is that they need a playoff system where all P5 conference champions are assured a playoff spot.