There is an interesting article in The Athletic. This is a comparison of the team ranking as to expected results from games vs. other ranked teams. The best quote is:
Regardless, the biggest takeaway from our research is not that voters are chronically overrating Notre Dame. It’s more that they keep getting duped by Big Ten teams not named Ohio State.
Yes… year after year after year.
Actually the article says probably not. The biggest takeaway from the article was how overrated the B1G tends to be.
So, has Notre Dame under Kelly beaten Top 25 teams at a rate commensurate with the 11th-most frequently ranked team in the country? On the whole, yes. Its 20-20 record against ranked teams is exactly 11th-best among the teams on our list. However, if we focus only on games in which both the Irish and their opponent were ranked, their 16-17 record drops them to 17th.
The former category suggests Notre Dame’s Top 25 record is perfectly respectable; the latter provides some fodder for those who believe the Irish too frequently “choke” in big games. Though to be fair, they are 13-8 as the higher-ranked team and 3-9 as the lower-ranked team in those Top 25 matchups.
I can definitely believe that Big 14 teams outside Franklin County, Ohio, are overrated and/or underperforming.
NC game in 2012 or so against Bama in Kelly’s 3rd year as coach. ND got spanked.
Couldn’t read the whole article, don’t know if it was mentioned.
So? Bama was #1, ND wasn’t. They were expected to lose and they did. As the lower ranked team in a Top 25 matchup, they’re 3-9 since 2010. Most schools would be under .500 when they’re ranked but playing higher ranked teams. That’s why the opponent is higher ranked; they’re better,
How many of those “ranked teams” are Big 10 teams? If you are playing ranked teams from an overrated conference, and have a decent record, what does that really say?
There was an article (back in the early 2000s?) that looked at where teams were ranked in both the preseason and end of year polls over the previous 20 years, or so.
I specifically recall ND having the largest average drop in rankings … and #2 wasn’t even close.
Their conclusion was that proved ND was the most consistently overrated team in college football.
“OT: Is Notre Dame overrated”? How’d you know the Clemson game was going into Overtime? Oh, you meant “Off Topic”? Never mind😄.
Seriously, in the 1960s I asked my Dad what it would take for Arkansas to win the National Championship. And he said “Simple. We have to go undefeated and Notre Dame has to lose at least twice”. They’ve always been overrated.
Most overrated football team of all time and always will be.
Notre Dame is a great football program. They were elite up to the mid 90’s. They’ve had their struggles since then but Kelly has changed ND for the better and CFB is so much better when the Irish are good. Nothing like gameday in South Bend. It is really a shame that Hog Fans didn’t get to experience that this year. I am hoping we keep the game next year and reschedule the return game back in South Bend. It is a sight to behold if you’ve never been there.
ND is not scheduled to come to Fayetteville until 2025.
Clemson was missing its stud QB but the backup played really well. ND shredded the Clemson defense though. Brent Venables may have been a little shorthanded due to injuries but I was very impressed with Ian Book.
Notre Dame appears to be better than I expected. That’s hard for me to say, since I grew up as a kid, 30 miles from South Bend and hated them.
However, I wouldn’t want to bet Notre Dame if they end up playing Clemson (with their starting QB) in the ACC Championship game.
I’ve never been to ND on game day but I’ve visited the campus. Seeing touchdown Jesus in person was awesome. It’s a beautiful campus in a really shoddy town.
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