Navy (L) v. [NR] Arizona State, 62-28
Purdue (L) v. [NR] Oklahomas State, 58-14
Michigan State (W) v. [NR] TCU, 17-16
Michigan (L) v. [10] South Carolina, 33-28
Miami (FL)*
Stanford (W) v. [NR] Wisconsin, 20-14
BYU (W) v. [NR] San Diego State, 23-6
Oklahoma (L) v. [9] Texas A&M, 41-13
Pittsburgh (L) v. [NR] Ole Miss, 38-17
Boston College*
Wake Forest*
USC (L) v. [NR] Georgia Tech, 21-7

* Did not play in a bowl game

If you’re going to say that the records of the SEC teams that ‘Bama didn’t play doesn’t matter, then how are you goging to turn right around and bring up total win/loss records of all the opponents that each team played? That doesn’t really make sense to me, or I just clearly missed your point. The six highest rated SEC teams each only lossed one or two games to OTHER SEC schools. The teams in the conference clearly each dished out and received punishment at some point within the conference. That speaks to the strength of the SEC. Usually, the top half of the confernce are each ranked and they all are tough to beat on the road and sometimes at your own stadium too. Every year for the last decade at least, week in and week out, the SEC keeps from five to as many as nine teams ranked at any given time. You can’t say this about any other conference, period. Who cares who Navy, Pitt, or BYU beat/played? Also ND played three games each against both the ACC and the (Little)Big Ten, so that’s basically substitutes for them not being in a conference. I would hardly match that schedule to ‘Bama’s. Yes, I said it before and I’ll say it again, “ND is going to LOSE!” I stand behind that, wholeheartedly even more now. If you believe that strongly otherwise and aren’t just hoping for your favorite school/alma matter to win, then put your money where your mouth is! I went to the Univ. of Arkansas, by the way, and I’m not a ‘Bama fan. However, I do support the SEC and I have common sense enough to call ‘em like I see ‘em. Evidently, the odds makers do to because ‘Bama is anywhere from 9 1/2 to 10 point favorite to win. Your call, sport!

Please get your facts straight. From an earlier post of mine:

According to the NCAA, ND opponents were 81 and 62 (19 games over .500). Seven (Navy, MI, Miami, Standford, BYU, Oklahoma, and SC) had winning records. Three (Purdue, Mich. St., Pittsburgh) had .500 records, only two, WF and BC, had losing records (combined 7 & 17). ND defeated 2 teams (OK and Stanford) which finished 10 & 2.

Alabama also won 12 games, but did lose one to a good 10 & 2 team, Texas A&M. Their opponents’ record was 79 and 77 (and that would have been 68 and 75 without the SEC title game). Five of their opponents had winning records (W. Ky, Miss. St., LSU, T A&M, and Georgia). Only two finished at .500 (Mich. and Ole Miss). The rest were a combined 21 and 50. Which is the same losing percentage as ND’s losing record opponents.

Yes, “Bama did play 3 teams which finished the year in the top 10 (not sure what relevance SEC teams finishing in the top 10 have when one does not actually play them). They defeated two and lost to one and the two wins were close victories that could have gone the other way. (as were several of ND’s early in the year)

In their 3 games against teams in the top 12 (final rankings) ‘Bama was 2 and 1 and scored 73 points and allowed 74. In ND’s two top 12 games they scored 50 points and allowed only 26.

ND has the best scoring defense and ‘Bama the best overal defense (about 33 ypg differential). ND has allowed -28 yards on running plays in the red zone and allowed just 2 rushing TD’s in twelve games and the fewest number of TD’s in the nation.

‘Bama has struggled on defense with mobile quarterbacks with good arms (LSU, TA&M & Georgia). ND’s QB has improved every game and certainly has both the arm and the legs to frustrate defenses. ND has the Mackey Award TE and will likely have a very speedy WR back by the bowl game.

‘Bama ran for an average of 224 ypg, ND 202. ‘Bama averaged 439 ypg on offense, ND 421.

So yes, I don’t know who will win and neither do you. You are 100% confident that ‘Bama will win, right now I am about 50/50 that ND will pull the upset (#1 beating #2 is an upset? weird). But please don’t scream at people who think ND has a chance, the facts don’t bear you out. And its freakin’ impolite.

I apologise for the long post. Oh, one more thing ND has Manti and you don’t.

Dude…..what the eff does graduation rate, as it relates to student athletes, have to do with ANYTHING? Are you so simple, to not realize that a young man that leaves school in his sophomore year to go to the NBA, his freshman year to go to the MLB, or his junior year to go to the NFL, are what accounts for the lowered graduation rates? You are talking like these kids that go to SEC Schools, are so stupid, that the can’t graduate. Bama has a center who won the Heisman of Academics, this year. Barrett Jones has been an Academic All-American since 2009. Greg McElroy was up for a Rhodes Scholarship. and, he is currently in the NFL (and I could argue that he should be starting, over Mark Sanchez).

Let’s assume, for a moment, that the kids at Alabama are too stupid to graduate…..Now, how will this affect the predictions in this article? Exactly! It won’t! Kindly stick to facts!

I had heard rumors of Lizzy’s situation and I know some Irish posters on previous CFT blogs about this time last year assassinated Lizzy’s character (acting as agents of the Dome, I guess). My mother went to St. Mary’s, and my aunt also, then to Notre Dame when they finally began accepting women. I am printing the article and bringing it to them. Thank you again.

Please stay on here and keep posting. We need you on these blogs.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2012/12/04/why-i-wont-be-cheering-for-old-notre-dame/?hpid=z4

nd72mgr says:
Dec 3, 2012 4:20pm

Folks, no one knows who’s going to win this game……

_____________________________________
Give me a break please, will ya? Look at the number of teams that the SEC ended the year with in the Top 10! Six, count ‘em ,six teams: Bama, Florida, LSU, UGA, So Carolina, & Texas A&M. How many schools that ND played were in the Top 10? Just one! Stanford. Also Miss St., Vandy, and Ole Miss were ranked in the Top 25. You singled out OU for ND’s highest ranked win, but three other teams beat them too and by a higher margin at that. Does that make them better than ND? You forgot that Bama played LSU when they were still in the #5 and UGA at #3, also Miss St was #13, Michigan at #8 and Texas A&M at #15. That’s five opponents in the Top 15 when they played them on the field. ND play Mich St. at #10, Mich at #18, Stanford at #17, and OU at #8. The reason that Mich was so low when ND played them is that Bama had just whipped that tail 41-14 in which the score could’ve been much worse but for Saban calling off the dogs, so to speak. ND played them three weeks later and only won 13-6! It really isn’t close as far as who is really battle tested, now is it?

Notre Dame will win for one reason: desire. They will want to win it so much worse than Alabama, who’s team is full of guys who won last year, or young guys who will have multiple chances to win again. For Notre Dame, a lot of their seniors (Manti being the biggest of course) will want this worse than anything.

Notre Dame 27
Alabama 17

The next game was played at LSU’s home field on a Saturday night 1971. The Irish were not on the same field. Final score 28-8, but that does not reveal the complete domination of LSU on both sides of the ball, and the huge butt-whipping the Irish took.
+=+=+
I witnessed the very game from the South End Zone. Always capitalized, BTW.

Andy Hamilton was 10y behind the ND secondary, in front of the visitors’ bench, and everybody in the stadium held their collective breaths while the ball was in the air.

Thanks for the memory . . .

Lane Kiffen’s calls on the goal line series was beyond pitiful! Classic Kiffen.

This following info from southernpatriots, editing by me…

In the early 70s, LSU played Notre Dame in South Bend amidst blowing sheets of frozen rain and very frigid temps. Portions of the game could not be viewed by fans in the stands due to white outs. Through referee shanangans, the local Irish won the game 3-0. A Chicago Tribune writer to pen, “If Notre Dame is number one, LSU has got to be one-A.”

The next game was played at LSU’s home field on a Saturday night 1971. The Irish were not on the same field. Final score 28-8, but that does not reveal the complete domination of LSU on both sides of the ball, and the huge butt-whipping the Irish took.

Ara Parsegian said after that huge butt-whipping at Death Valley that he would never return to LSU to play another game…and he didn’t. The series resumed some years later after he was gone and now stands 5-5.

Alabama has won 1 game in 5 with Notre Dame.

All that is history, historian1, not that it is determinative over the upcoming game.

Most Louisianans have friends and relatives with Notre Dame lineages (nephews, cousins, etc.) and of course LSU. I am LSU and SEC so I am for the SEC champion. Though I at least approach the “hate Alabama” group, I am not quite there, because I don’t hate too many things. Alabama is our rival and we are roughly about 50 percent with them the past few years, but I hope they win out and bring another one to the SEC.

How far did you go in school, big guy? Sorry to take such an obvious shot at you, but you must admit that you DID ask for it.

The game? Alabama will be favored as they should be, but ND has won a lot of close games, and I don’t think they have played their best yet either on O or on D.

‘Bama was very impressive against Georgia – they stayed calm after the blocked field goal and then just flat out took over the game, just when Georgia was feeling frisky. Georgia came back and could have won but – they didn’t.

Gonna be a good game
ND’s goal line stand against USC was pretty impressive.

As for the prediction:
Alabama Cimson Tide – 54
Nuetered Dames Irish Child Molestor’s – 9

ROTFLMAO!

I’m rare among Southerners in that I probably love the NFL even more than the college game. And much as I respect the Ravens, I won’t be rooting for them if my Steelers are eliminated ahead of them this year. I still get warm fuzzies thinking about Billy Cundiff missing that FG against the Pats last season. But pro sports is a different animal. NASCAR is a mystery to me as well, although I once sat through a Dale Earnhart biopic trying to figure it out. This region was not only the birthplace of country music, but of gospel, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, and bluegrass. We’ve given a lot of music to the world … plus a lot of literature and many statesmen.

The bottom line is that college football was the only game in this part of the country for many, many years. And during decades of poverty and despair, it was a source of regional pride. That heritage has been handed down through generations … the fierce competition among our teams and the us-against-them attitude toward outsiders. As I’ve said before, it’s both historic and socioeconomic. Wise people learn from other cultures. As normtide said, it’s pitiful to simply hate what you don’t understand.

To those who question why and how we root for teams. Why do you care what we do in the South? Obviously we are doing something right. We have a chance got SEVEN straight titles. I don’t think we are going to change a thing, especially since out makes y’all so mad.