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Notre Dame has some brass maracas calling out the ACC for favoring their own teams. The ACC is the only conference keeping their strength of schedule afloat. Once the SEC goes to nine conference games they will cancel any future scheduled games with them. If they don’t have the ACC then they will be nothing more than a strong team who plays a G6 schedule. It’s going to be very difficult to break into the top 12 with no P4 opponents. Why on Earth would any P4 team schedule a game with them? The only ones I can see doing it are cash-poor teams at the bottom of their conferences who won’t move the SOS needle.

You are a new OBD forum member, and you noted in your bio your Oregon sympathies. But when I saw your handle name...while it is not something we usually condone--I thought it captured the spirit of how we love our school, and how we feel about the Bastard Huskies. Pretty clever! Welcome, and I look forward to your thoughts.

What a great first post! Welcome, and do post often...

Amen. In this case, he turned the wrong Paige. (😵)

This sort of thing has a tendency to galvanize a team. I don’t think there will be a huge drop off.

I think the difference between Tech and Indiana is how they get pressure. Indiana uses disguised pressure/coverage and their pure pass rushers use stunts and twists to confuse the blocking assignments. Our transfer heavy O-line had not yet gelled as they say, they were just 5 guys trying to block. But after the Wisconsin game they seem to have meshed into a unit, the USC game was proof. I think injuries affected them against UW the next week but I think they'll handle Tech better than most. I still expect a battle but they don't scare me the way Indiana and Georgia do.

My first thought, so much for limiting practice in order to avoid injuries.

G5 is in to avoid antitrust lawsuits, whether we like it or not we are headed toward a B1G/SEC super league with 16 playoff spots. I personally like JMU poking fun at their presence in the playoffs. At least they seem to be enjoying the ride

Thanks again for the article! This is in no way a defense of ND--I like that they're excluded--but I'm still a bit burned that Miami got in. My rationale: Head-to-head matchups should matter, but only increasingly as the year goes on and teams develop. For example, the Ducks got blown out by GA in Dan Lanning's first year. However, I'll bet the game is closer if they had played again at the end of the year. My point, when Miami and ND faced off in week one, no one had any idea what to expect. ND lost by 3. In my mind, that game is a wash for both teams. ND then lost the next week to TA&M by 1 point. ND's two losses were at the very beginning of the year, when teams are NOT the teams they'll be by the end, and ND lost to two very good teams by a total of 4 points. In my mind, what happens the remainder of the year is more important. ND continued to win and appear to get better while Miami lost to two unranked teams . . . should be game over for Miami. Your overall point--one I agree with wholeheartedly--is that teams that just missed out on the 12-team playoff need to be quiet, because they are miles from qualifying for a 4-team playoff. My favorite justification for an expanded playoff was that the pool would be large enough to remove any risk of potentially leaving out a national championship caliber team. With 12, all teams capable of winning the Natty are in, and they're likely in the top 5-7 . . . definitely not in the 10-13 rank. But who knows, I guess . . . that's why they play the games.

I don't necessarily disagree, but should 8-5 Duke be in and headed to Autzen? The G6 is in because of lawyers and politicians. The P4 should contribute some PO dollars downstream to incentivize the G6 to have its own PO. The FCS PO, as it rolls on, is very entertaining. Montana State defeated Yale last Saturday and will play Stephen F Austin on Saturday in Bozeman. The game will be played in front of Montana State students and fans who have another PO home game to attend. PO home games? What a concept!

I haven’t see this posted but Indiana DL Stephen Daley, who led the B1G and tied the most tackles for loss (18) will miss the payoffs due to a freak injury sustained while celebrating the B1G championship game victory with fans. This could be a big blow to Indiana’s championship aspirations, as they are not as deep as other playoff teams and this is an impact player for their very good defense. Thoughts? Indiana Hoosiers On SIIndiana Football Stephen Daley Out for CFP After Sufferin...Indiana football will be without starting defensive end Stephen Daley for the College Football Playoff run after suffering an injury while celebrating.

Let's beat them like Liberty and show CFP another reason why the system is crap.

First post. Longtime lurker. For those who maybe don’t get to Eugene often. Some pics from 4:00 AM this morning. (I’m trying to make the vids fit)… It will be seen from space. This, the greatest indoor practice facility in the world. The greatest recruiting tool in the UO football arsenal! IMG_6310.mov

BAAAAD, likely done for the season. Indiana likely without DE Stephen Daley for CFP - ESPN

JMU should not be in the big boy playoffs

Lol, what's funny about that account is that a lot of us can't stand those guys. They try to break news all the time and fail miserably. Most recently they got bad info that JMU was hosting CGD vs Wazzu the week you all hosted and then demolished USC. People dropped thousands on hotels and flights based on their report. It was even announced during the Wazzu game the week before that they'd be on CGD while visiting JMU. Huge embarrassment. But this time they found a nice niche in sand-bagging comedy...much more appropriate for them.

Bowl games have been increasingly on life support since the 4 team playoff. 2017 really started seeing players sit out of bowl games for the draft and by 2021 players started sitting out NY6 on playoff games... Ohio State v Utah in the Rose Bowl was a big one. It was only a matter of time before whole teams started sitting out.

Or when Joey Harrington and Oregon got screwed out of the national championship by the BCS computers, despite being ranked #2, and went to the Fiesta Bowl and destroyed Colorado.

This is pure comedic genius;

Duck fans! I just wanted to drop in from the other coast and give some insight on the JMU squad if anyone is interested. I'll preface this by saying (clearly and confidently) that 98% of JMU fans expect a convincing loss. We know there's program disparity in a wide range of areas. Anyway, here are some players to note and some general thoughts on what I think will unfold. OFFENSE - QB: Alonza Barnett III has tons of raw talent. But has struggled with consistency. Some of that is WRs just dropping passes, but there's been more than a handful of times where he looks panicky and makes poor decisions. That being said, the dude can ball if he gets in a groove. Strong runner and his arm is better than most of our fans give him credit for. He actually won the starting job his R-Fr season during Cignetti's last year at JMU, but they pulled the plug at halftime of the first game. Also, don't be shocked if you see some packages for Matt Sluka. I'm sure we'll throw everything at the Oregon defense. RB: Wayne Knight you probably have heard of and don't need much detail there. He's a genuine P4-quality RB. He's small, but he breaks tackles pretty well regardless. We might have Jordan Fuller back also, who is more of a power back and will help in the 20 or so 3rd and short scenarios we'll face. Oregon-born Jobi Malary is also a solid runner with a lot of power. TE: Lacota Dippre is the ONLY TE in the nation that's clearly better than Sadiq....crap, I forgot no trolling...but actually, he's a solid receiver and a very good blocker at the position. He's made a handful of great catches and plays in the seam. He's not a future pro, but he can make plays. OL: Simmons (LT) is pretty good. He'd be a rotational piece on a P4. Same with McMurtrie (RT) and MAYBE Sweazie (LG). Riley Robell is an undersized (RG), but the guy was a state champion wrestler in high school. He plays bigger than he is. This will be the key to how close this game is. If the OL doesn't get bulldozed, there's a shot this game is closer at half than expected. WR: Landon Ellis and Nick DeGennaro are the guys to watch for big plays (DeGennaro) or for moving the chains (Ellis). Sanchez is a good possession receiver in the Sun Belt. Overall, WR is our least talented position overall on offense. DEFENSE - DL: We need Immanuel Bush (6'1" 348 lbs) back and healthy. He was in a boot during the CCG, but word is he's hoping to play...whatever that means. He's a run stopper though. Lockett and McMullin are also solid interior DL. DE: Sahir West is the guy to watch. It'll be a minor miracle if he isn't on an SEC or B1G roster next season. Aiden Gobaira is a Notre Dame transfer who's mostly worked off the let edge. Other than those 2, we do rotate Xavier Holmes and Amar Thomas on the edge with minimal drop-off. LB: Trent Hendrick will play on Sundays. He's been the anchor for our defense the last 2 seasons. Gannon Weathersby is undersized, but fast. Spinogatti is a Holy Cross transfer who has improved some, but I worry he doesn't have the speed for this match up. S/Nickel: The homer in me says DJ Barksdale would be an NFL draft pick if he was 3 inches taller. He closes fast and tackles well. But Jacob Thomas will be the key back there. CB: You all will likely hate Elijah Culp. He plays with a lot of emotion and gets flagged for it more than we wish he did. But he's sticky at the G5 level, so I'm eager to see him match up with a different class of WR. Justin Eaglin on the other side is just a solid G5 corner. He's played well this year, but he relies on safety help a lot. ST: We won't attempt a kick over 45 most likely. Suarez is just okay. He's been better as the season has gone on. We have a good amount of speed on our punt block team, so don't be surprised if we sell out for a block or 2 throughout the game. Our return game is good, but nothing special. Wayne Knight returns punts. ALL that being said...and I don't blame anyone if they ignore this...we're f***ing stoked to be in this position. I know it would have been a sexier matchup against a P4, but I'm confident you all will walk away from a (very likely) solid win impressed by what JMU is building over here. And if you haven't seen the bond forming on twitter between our fanbases, it's worth the annoyance of having to use Elon's app. Homer prediction: Ducks 24-20 Unbiased prediction: Ducks 35-10 Oh yea! Almost forgot...Huskies are stupid.

Not really apples to apples since the CFP expanded from 4 to 12 teams, but contrast ND's behavior now with Oregon's after the 2023 PAC12 CG game where the Ducks missed the playoffs by 3 points. Oregon went to the Fiesta Bowl to play Liberty and Bo Nix stayed on to see the season to the end. No entitlement or whining. An opportunity for an extra month of practice and building a team that one year later went 13-0 and won the B1G. The Domers are taking a short term view, as are several other programs declining bowl berths. The coaching carousel is a pretty weak excuse for taking a pass on an additional game. Yes, this may be the harbinger of the death of traditional bowl games. Expansion of the CFP to 16 (or more) may obviate this kind of petulance with the entitlement of old school bluebloods. But who is being penalized here? The CFP committee? The individual bowls not in the CFP? Or just the players, and their fans, that want to travel for an earned post season contest.

JMU is ranked as high as USC and UW, and they realize this is a once in a program opportunity and will bring their best effort. We will have to earn the win, but any thoughts of a beauty contest are in the past! Just win and let the haters deal with their personal issues themselves.

In the Army we would would say that the Irish defecated in their own mess kit.