Is Notre Dame football dead?

Notre Dame is too hung up on being "Notre Dame." Their unis used to give them a 10 point bump before the ball was kicked off. Their home record sucks, they don't scare anyone.
It should also be said that the new powers usually play three powder-puff squads in addition to/or as part of their conference slate. Notre Dame doesn't schedule FCS or directional schools. They are now recruiting kids who were in diapers the last time Notre Dame won a game in January.

 

What a joke. He didn't know how to win and didn't play in pressure games. Someone who Knew How To Win and played in pressure games should have won it. [/crossthreading with the AL Cy Young thread]

 

I would like to challenge the clarity of your 9-year-old self's memory since that was 1993. Brian, are you really Bill Simmons?

 

Not agreeing or disagreeing with your overall point, Dan.

But: Oct. 16 ... Western Michigan at Notre Dame

 

Which I'm sure NBC is going to hate putting on the air sees as a ratings bonanza in Chicago, Northern Indiana and four counties in Michigan nationwide.

 

Like James Brown, Syracuse?

 

So what you're saying is Tim Tebow's 890 SAT would not have been a barrier to him heading to South Bend?

There are gifted athletes at every position who wouldn't be competitive in a school like Notre Dame's admission process. Maybe the dumb kicker is rare, but he's out there somewhere.

 

While Notre Dame isn't looking to wholly gut their schedules going forward,
they ARE looking to soften them up a bit, while loading up with as many
home games as humanly possible.

 

No, just that it's been my (unscientific) observation that defensive linemen seem to have the lowest SAT scores and high school GPAs. In general. Of course that doesn't mean every QB is Ryan Fitzpatrick and every defensive lineman is Dexter Manley.

But your point and my point are really the same: The idea that all the dumb kids are black receivers, corners, and linebackers is dated, inaccurate, and offensive.

 

The truth is, from strictly a GPA / Test score standpoint, ND can still accept 85% of the "pool" that their competitors are able to accept, admission-wise. That's been the truth since the Holtz days & is true across the board, for all ND sports. That hasn't changed & SHOULD leave ND with a more than adequate talent pool

What has changed from the Holtz days, is the core academic unit requirement being rigidly (to the point of ludicrously) adhered to. May seem like a little point, but it's actually huge......and completely self-inflicted. It's where the "old school" ND alums finally drew the line (and dollars). No more Chris Zorich or Tony Rice, public school folk.

What makes this arguably "racial" (what Dick seems to be nibbling around) is that many public schools simply don't have the budget / ability to offer either the upper level academic units....or the academic support to get a kid (athlete) prepared to enter the limited offerings the public school is able put forward. Loads of kids have fine GPA's & test scores, but are missing a foreign language credit....or a half year of chemistry....or upper level math....and ND self selects them out.

The Duckett brother (TJ & Tico) were the perfect case study, a decade or so ago. Great kids, SHARP kids, parents both teachers / administrators in the Kalamazoo public schools. Of course, the kids stayed in the K-zoo schools....and couldn't get into ND.....and made a college career out of kicking the Irish *sses.

Bottom line, ND is pretty much limited to (very broad brush stroke) private schools & high end publics, for it's recruiting.....with no one to blame, but a cranky, old alumni base.

 

Yes, a cranky, old alumni base that still believes every Catholic boy dreams of playing for ND. Two problems:

1. They don't, and

2. Even if they did, Catholic school enrollment has been collapsing for years, even in heavily Catholic places like where I live. The boys high school associated with my wife's old all-girls high has half the enrollment it had 20 years ago. (It's the alma mater of the Giants' David Diehl, and has provided some FB talent over the years.)

 

The problem is that some of the top-tier athletic kids don't care about their college education. They can't take "Cake Decorating 101" or "Parks and Recreation" for classes at Notre Dame. These players will take the easiest courses they can find so they can focus on football. That's what crippling Notre Dame's recruiting class right now.