Notre Dame Football: OFD Mailbag - NC State

Well first of all, there will be a power five champ that gets left out...maybe two. After the USC Trojans lost last weekend, the Pac-12 is toast (sorry Washington and Washington State). Then the Big 12 has a real possibility cannibalizing itself and ending up with a two-loss champ. So the Notre Dame Fighting Irish don't need to go 11-1 for a Power-5 champ to get left out.

The second part of your question...I don’t think we’re going to see an eight team playoff anytime soon. If anything maybe six? But even then I don’t know about that. Four really is the perfect number, you really are getting the four best teams. If you increase the playoff, it devalues. For example, let’s say last year we had a an eight team playoff, we would have saw a three-loss Wisconsin team in the playoff as they were ranked eighth in the last poll of the year...and they lost in the Big Ten title game! Nobody wants to see that. Four teams is the perfect number and it should stay that way.

No I have not...but since you recommend it maybe I will. I recently just moved to Georgia and have been on a big Chic-Fil-a kick. I recommend trying their breakfast spread, specifically their chicken hashbrown scramble.

With an impressive win? I think they’ll probably be 6 or 7? If we’re looking at current resumes and wins, personally I think they should be ahead of Wisconsin, Ohio State and Miami. Now that can change if OSU beats Penn State, but if the Irish win and win convincingly against the N.C. State Wolfpack, I’d expect them as high as 5 and as low as 7.

Yea...you’re absolutely right. It is ridiculous. I forgot OFD was the only sect of the ND fanbase that criticized Brian Kelly last season...

I know this guy is joking, but it does give me a chance to address something. First, Irish fans had every right to be mad at Brian Kelly for last season. If you’re team goes 4-8 after winning 10 games the year before, fans are going to be mad at the coach. Especially a coach who up to that point had been and essentially an eight win coach. What were Irish fans suppose to be? Happy with Kelly?

At the end of last season there was a terrible feeling surrounding the program. The direction of the program seemed to be going nowhere. Kelly had built some great teams, but not a program.

It’s kind of how Indiana basketball fans felt about Tom Crean. They had a great year in 2015-2016, won the Big Ten and made the Sweet 16. In 2016-2017, they came into the year with great expectations only to fall on their face and miss the tournament completely. Hoosier fans were yelling for Tom Crean’s head, even though he’d had some success in the past. The only difference is that IU did fire Crean, while ND stuck with Kelly.

That being said, credit Kelly for his job last offseason. He has changed as a coach and as a person. He’s laughing and celebrating on the sidelines more than we’ve ever seen out of him. It seems like his players have his back and he has theirs. He’s changed and he’s winning. You can definitely be mad at Kelly for last season, and still be happy for what he’s done thus far this season. I think that’s fair.

All right. I attempted to include this last week, but I got frustrated not being able to decide who to pick...so I said screw it. So I’ll try my best here. For the lead singer, I’m going with C.J. Sanders. He has a performing background, so he probably has some decent pipes. Now for the other four, I’m going with Mike McGlinchey, Quenton Nelson, Jerry Tillery and Jay Hayes. Mostly because I think it’d be hilarious to have a little guy like Sanders being flanked by four behemoths. Plus, I have a feeling Tillery and Hayes would be pretty good backup singers, while McGlinchey and Nelson are light on their feet to provide some smooth moves. So there hopefully this answer satisfies.

***Editors Note: Pat, I need to do more research before I answer your question. I did not forget about you***