Notre Dame is ranked much higher than us and we have the same record. They have a terrible loss to N Illinois and a decent win over Texas A&M but no other wins that stand out. IU has one loss to a very good OSU team at their stadium. We really don't have any good wins other than the fact that we pretty much won all of our games in very convincing fashion. Obviously they get far more respect than IU simply because of their name but ND seems to underperform when they play against the other national powers. I would love to play them in the CFP.
How does IU compare to Notre Dame?
- Thread starter jacksback
- Start date
It is the brand and nothing else unless they are looking at history without considering how things are different for IU. ND has a new coach but the people voting in polls don't see as a new program. It is sad it is that way for IU but not any more after this year.
They actually compare very closely. So close the stats are similar except for the QB and star rating. Matter of fact my neighbor is talking sh!t to me. ND fan. That means he is concerned with us. 🤣
To me, I think ND had a bad off day against an average NIU team. In reality, ND is a solid and sound all-around team!
Offensively, both IU and ND have a great running attack! Love and Leanord are a great duo in the rpo and they also have a solid backup rb that broke a few big gains against USC. I’d cancel out both teams running game! Passing, is a different story! Rourke is a much better passer than Leonard! IU has better wr weapons too! Irish have a good slot wr and TE Mitchell Evans. The big difference is playcalling! IU has a much better playcalling offense than ND! ND makes questionable calls a lot! They run Leanord way too much and sooner or later he will get knocked out of a game with the amount of hits he takes! IU has the advantage offensively!
Defensively, both teams are really good, you should already know about IUs D, and NDs got highly rated talent! I still give the advantage to IU though because our secondary is better! They have Xavier Watts who is an NFL talent and nobody else! #29 got burnt for 3 tds last game but did have a pick 6.
So, all in all, I think it would be a good close game, but IU should come out on top!
Offensively, both IU and ND have a great running attack! Love and Leanord are a great duo in the rpo and they also have a solid backup rb that broke a few big gains against USC. I’d cancel out both teams running game! Passing, is a different story! Rourke is a much better passer than Leonard! IU has better wr weapons too! Irish have a good slot wr and TE Mitchell Evans. The big difference is playcalling! IU has a much better playcalling offense than ND! ND makes questionable calls a lot! They run Leanord way too much and sooner or later he will get knocked out of a game with the amount of hits he takes! IU has the advantage offensively!
Defensively, both teams are really good, you should already know about IUs D, and NDs got highly rated talent! I still give the advantage to IU though because our secondary is better! They have Xavier Watts who is an NFL talent and nobody else! #29 got burnt for 3 tds last game but did have a pick 6.
So, all in all, I think it would be a good close game, but IU should come out on top!
I think you are soft pedaling the strength of ND's O line and their running game. The Irish have more than one good backup at running back and that huge ND line would likely wear down IU's D line over the game.
I agree with your assessment of IU's offense vs. ND's defense, but you are ignoring ND's biggest advantage: Playing in South Bend.
Anyway, the committee is likely to cull the herd of Big Ten and SEC teams by setting up games within each league in the first round, such as IU at Ohio State or at Penn State/Oregon, depending on who wins the championship game.
While I like this IU team, I just don't see those road matchups being favorable to the Hoosiers.
First, as Vesuvius noted, much of this is related to brand. Notre Dame is an iconic brand - - - Rockne, the Gipper, Rudy, their classic fight song, the longstanding NBC contract, etc. In contrast, we've been, historically, a dollar store brand. Clearance rack. Everything must go. That's changing. We're building our brand, but it's going to take a few years for others to fully buy in.
Next, ND's bad loss to Northern Illinois was on Sep 7. The committee doesn't weigh early season losses as heavily as recent games. And Notre Dame has been lights-out since that September debacle.
Finally, their SOS is somewhat stronger than ours.
Normally our schedule would be a lot tougher than Notre Dame's usual season-long feast of mid-level teams.
But getting smoked by Indiana was unexpected by our B1G foes, and they all fell apart afterwards.
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But getting smoked by Indiana was unexpected by our B1G foes, and they all fell apart afterwards.
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Heh, I almost wrote those exact two words, then left it out.
OL matters and ND usually has great talent on their OL, however, they threw for about 15 more yards per game than Purdue did this year. Passing matters and they don't seem to be able to do that at a high level.
ND's bread and butter is their running game averaging about 224 per game compared to IU averaging 174; however, IU led the nation in rushing defense and its not even close. IU gave up 850 total rushing yards all season and no other team in the nation gave up less than 1,000. The idea that IU is the one that would get worn down as opposed to ND's OL isn't rooted in the data.
We may need some divine intervention...
But will we be competitive ?
I believe so...
On the road with 80k or 100k against you isn't easy..
Plus the weather has went south now...
ND probably gets gifted the coveted 5 seed so it's probably unlikely we play them in Round 1. We would match up well with them.
