Teddy Greenstein skewers Weis

Correlation does not equal causality. Miami was a power in the Big East, but that had a lot more to do with the fact that it had players such as Sean Taylor, Reggie Wayne, Frank Gore, Santana Moss etc. Miami didn't win a national championship because it beat Syracuse in the regular season. It won a national championship because it was stocked with future NFL stars. (I know all those players weren't on the NC team, but they were part of the Big East era Miami teams)

 

Who said anything about causation?
The fact is Miami was able to recruit those players as a member of the Big East.
NDame is recruiting 7-5 players as an independent.

 

Miami recruited those players because where Miami is, not what conference Miami plays in. Joining a conference would do nothing to improve Notre Dame's recruiting -- which isn't even the problem. It's the offensive line. ND's skill players are not holding them back.

And from a point, you made higher up, the last time Notre Dame played Tennessee was 2005. They haven't played Florida since the 1991 Sugar Bowl, but Florida doesn't leave Florida for out of conference games.

Notre Dame gains nothing from joining a conference. It already has the ability to build an easy schedule that covers the entire nation -- which is what future ND schedules look like. No more than 3 potentially tough games, 3 good/mediocre games and 6 bad games. Why would it want to have a schedule dictated by a conference that would be tied to a single region?

It makes absolutely no sense from a revenue, football, recruiting or alumni-relations standpoint.

 

Since it's so important to so many, the broad outlines of Notre Dame's future scheduling goes
a good ways down the road, with more breadth than you'd expect from most schools. Easily Google-able . . .
and quite enlightening.

 

http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/future_schedules/notredame_future.htm

They are going downhill fast with a lot less interesting games, but they are still scattered across the country. That wouldn't happen if it joined a conference.

 

Give 'em credit . . . home-and-home with Oklahoma in '12 and '13.

And by cracky, I don't espy Boston College after '10.

 

Is it absurd?

Here is their depth chart, along with where each player's home state, Rivals star ranking and which other schools offered each player, according to Rivals.com:

OFFENSE
WR - Golden Tate, Four Stars, Tennessee
South Carolina
Vanderbilt
Alabama
Ole Miss

LT - Mike Turkovich, Three Stars, Pennsylvania
Wisconsin
Boston College
LSU

LG - Eric Olsen, Four Stars, New York
Syracuse
Virginia
Boston College
Maryland
Miami
North Carolina

C - Dan Wenger, Four Stars, Florida
Oklahoma
Penn State
Pitt
Purdue
Duke
Florida

RG - Trevor Robinson, Four Stars, Nebraska
Michigan
Nebraska

RT - Sam Young, Five Stars, Florida
Penn State
USC
Stanford
Florida
Miami
Michigan

TE - Kyle Rudolph, Five Stars, Ohio
Ohio State
Tennessee
Virginia
Boston College
Louisville
Miami
Michigan

WR - David Grimes, Three Stars, MichiganIllinois
Iowa

QB - Jimmy Clausen, Five Stars, California
South Carolina
USC
Michigan

FB - Asaph Schwapp, Two Stars, Connecticut
Maryland

HB - Armando Allen, Four Stars, Florida
Tennessee
Duke
Florida
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Miami

DEFENSE
DE - Justin Brown, Two Stars, California
Utah

NT - Ian Williams, Three Stars, Florida
South Carolina
Alabama
Auburn
Clemson
Florida
Ole Miss

DE - Pat Kuntz, Three Stars, Indiana
Louisville
Michigan State

LB - Harrison Smith, Four Stars, Tennessee
Stanford
Tennessee
Virginia Tech
Alabama
Auburn
Boston College
Ole Miss

LB - Brian Smith, Four Stars, Kansas
Arizona State
Iowa
Kansas
K-State
Missouri
Nebraska

LB - Maurice Crum, Jr., Three Stars, Florida
South Florida
Tennessee
Michigan State

LB - Kerry Neal, Four Stars, North Carolina
Wake Forest
Alabama
Miami
Nebraska
North Carolina state

CB - Raeshon McNeil, Four Stars, North Carolina
South Carolina
Virginia
Clemson
Florida
North Carolina
Nort Carolina State

S - David Bruton, Three Stars, Ohio
Wisconsin
Cincinnati
UConn

S - Kyle McCarthy, Three Stars, Ohio
Ohio State
Kent State
Navy
Toledo
Arizona

CB - Terrail Lambert, Three Stars, California
Ohio State
USC
Washington
Washington State
Florida State
Northwestern

By the way, almost all the two- or three-star recruits are seniors. All of them, actually, I think. I'd have to go back and check for sure.

So that would put them into the classes of 2004 and 2005.

Ty Willingham was recruiting during those years. If I recall correctly, the national media had a passionate love affair going with the guy at that time after the wonders he worked in his first season at Notre Dame.

Are you telling me that the Rivals guys are overrating Charlie Weis' recruits while underrating Ty Willingham's?

Did they decide for a few years not to overrate Notre Dame guys? And it just so happened to be the years when they were beating out Navy and Kent State for Kyle McCarthy and Cincinnati and UConn for David Bruton?

 

Oh facts.... how dare you get in the way of hyperbole! This will make it much harder to throw around wild accusations.

Nice job.

 

And if Oklahoma is somehow in a down cycle in 2013, ND will be accused of scheduling softies.

(Although I hate next year's schedule, I have to admit.)

 

Another valid historical match, though . . .

 

Wow. I didn't realize that Miami had MOVED!!!!
It's not in Florida anymore!

(Also was not aware that Rivals.com ratings were being chiseled into the side of Mt. Sinai by a firebolt emanating from a burning bush.)

 

Oh, I definitely like it. Although I'm betting this one won't end up 7-0.