I’m not happy about Notre Dame’s losses, but I’m happy they’re challenging themselves with a difficult schedule. The main point being that @Hammerdrill said Notre Dame would have a tougher schedule as a Big Ten member and I really don’t see how. Certainly not this year or a lot of others for that matter.
When PSU joined the conference, they found out first hand how much more difficult it was week to week. Joe pa said so himself. He was surprised at this reality. ND is smart to not join the BIG10.
The records don’t really bear that out. They actually got a bit better record-wise for several years after joining the Big Ten, including a 10-2 in 1993 and a 12-0 year in 1994. It wasn’t until JoePa really got ancient at the end of the 1990s that they started to slip.
I'm sure Joe Pa didn't know what he was talking about. They have had one period, very short where they could compete with the top of the conference. They have never consistently beaten Ohio State, which is the same as ND.
You don’t attribute their decline in stature to JoePa getting extremely old? I do. Same thing happened with Bobby Bowden in Tallahassee. The difference there was instead of having Jimbo Fisher come in and restore order like at FSU, Penn State had the Jerry Sandusky scandal nuke the program for several years, and I still don’t think that program has fully recovered its previous reputation or clout to this day. James Franklin ain’t the answer to oversee a consistently great team.
You miss read what I wrote. Joe pa said it was a lot more difficult. He had some success, but that doesn't mean it wasn't as he claimed, to be more difficult.
Again, even if it was marginally more difficult to join the Big Ten 30 years ago vs being independent, the same would not hold true today due to the erosion of talent in Big Ten Country compared to the South, and the decay in stature of several key Big Ten programs. Look no further than how pathetic Iowa has looked on offense all year or how allegedly good Penn State got treated like a red-headed stepchild by an untested Michigan team. Or how Michigan State got humiliated by revamping Washington. Or Wisconsin getting “stunned” at home by Washington State. Or Nebraska losing to Georgia Southern and everyone else under the sun. Or Northwestern losing to SIU and Miami of Ohio.
Do we know that Clemson is any good? I guess we'll see how the Irish compare to both over the next couple weeks. My gut feeling is that Clemson is more of a fraud than Syracuse is really good.
Right. Conferences never stay the same. But lucky for you, ND hasn't joined the BIG, or you would be in the same situation as PSU, always looking up to Ohio State.
It’s like the saying goes: If you don’t love yourself, how can you expect anyone else to love you?
Oprah got you into her cult of self-love, didn't she?
