(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3338001&forum_id=2#31309684)

Author: nirvanayoda

Every year I decide that this will be the year that I will stop posting predictions, but then I get excited about opening night and do it anyway. There’s something infectious about college football, even if it isn’t your team. And when it is your team, there’s not much on Earth that matches the passion. I know some people think I’m flame, but honestly I’m just a devoted fan.

Last year was a tough year for ND fans. It started out spectacularly – we had a Heisman frontrunner QB and we headed into Tallahassee in the top 5 and undefeated. If not for an (incorrect in my opinion) offensive PI call, ND would have walked out of the game at 6-0 and ranked in the top 3. Instead, we got the loss and proceeded to fall apart as our defense got ravaged by injuries over the next couple of games. By the end of the regular season we were playing literally our fourth string defensive players in some positions, and we were giving up record opposing scores. With only some of our defense back, we were able to shock LSU in our bowl game.

Now our entire defense is healthy and we return 19 starters from last year. We also return the backup defensive players who got experience while we were torched last year, and a backup with experience is better than one with no experience. And even our players who got beaten out for starting positions (Golson at QB and Hegarty at Center) are starting at powerhouse programs (FSU and Oregon, respectively). I’m sure you can understand the optimism that ND fans have this year, even if you don’t share it. We generally expect a better version of the team that went 5-0 and then gave FSU the game of their lives.

With that said, here are my game-by-game predictions:

S05 TEXAS 7:30pm NBC – This game is a litmus test in many ways, for both programs really. Texas’ last couple of games were embarrassing, but Strong is a great coach. It’s tough to know what to expect out of them, but I do expect a real defense at the least. The line is ND -9.5, but I think we’ll see something slightly under that. ND 27 – Texas 20.

S12 @ Virginia 3:30pm ABC – Virginia has a rough starting slate. They play UCLA the first week, and then us the second week. I know that most people think that Virginia is a patsy, but I think Virginia will surprisingly be much better than that and will venture into the realm of mediocre. I would think that this should be a 34 - 20 ND win.

S19 GEORGIA TECH 3:30pm NBC – Continuing the trend with (relatively) tough games early on, ND plays Georgia Tech the third week of the season. Georgia Tech is sort of like Navy on steroids (which makes sense considering that Paul Johnson is still there). The good news is that ND plays Navy every year and are familiar with the option. The bad news is that ND hasn’t been particularly effective at stopping the option under Kelly’s watch. I see this as a close game and expect a 34-27 type ND win.

S26 UMASS 3:30pm NBC – I’m really not sure how UMass got on our schedule, but it’ll be nice to watch the blowout, which should be our biggest in years. This game should be similar to the 2011 ND Air Force game. Something like ND 63 – Umass 3 would be in order.

O03 @ Clemson – This is probably our toughest game. I expect Clemson to be a little worse than USC, but we play at Clemson and have SC at home. I expect the narrowest of wins. Let’s say a 31 – 30 ND come from behind win.

O10 NAVY 3:30pm NBC – After facing the hyper-Navy (Georgia Tech) earlier in the year, the normal Navy game should be a breeze. I’d expect a similar score to the 2012 game, so let’s go with 50-14 ND win.

O17 SOUTHERN CAL 7:30pm NBC – As stated above, I think SC will be tough this year. Sarkisian is a shockingly good coach at USC, despite having the pre-season personal issues. I predict that he’ll be remarkably successful there, but not in this game. The final score is anyone’s guess, but I’d go with 24 – 20 ND win.

O31 @ Temple (LFSF) – I expect that Temple is a similar or slightly worse team compared to their 2013 version whereas ND is a much stronger team than their 2013 version when the two teams last played. As a result, I see a much better 42 – 3 ND win.

N07 @ Pittsburgh – Pitt has some sort of voodoo on ND. I’d be shocked if we won this one comfortably, but we will win. Probably 24 – 17 ND win.

N14 WAKE FOREST 3:30pm NBC – This is one of the easiest games on our schedule, and I foresee a 45 – 17 type ND win.

N21 BOSTON COLLEGE (Fenway Pk.) 7:30pm NBC – Both teams will be hyped to play at Fenway, but Boston College just doesn’t have the athletes to compete with this year’s ND team. Obviously, I fear a repeat performance of their 1993 upset, but I don’t think it’ll happen. Another 24 – 17 type ND win.

N28 @ Stanford – Stanford had a down year last year, but that won’t last. Shaw is a fantastic coach, and I expect that they’ll be formidable yet again this year. This is probably our third toughest game behind USC and Clemson, and it’s at Stanford. That said, with a playoff spot on the line, ND will pull out all the stops to prevail. Perhaps a 17 – 14 ND win.

So I do predict ND will go undefeated in the regular season, yes. I also think the team is ready for the playoff picture this year and I predict that they’ll beat whichever teams they face to win the national title. Obviously, I can’t predict individual scores until the matchups are announced.

Happy college football season everyone, it's the best time of the year.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2980436&forum_id=2#28684218)

Date: August 30th, 2014 12:07 PM

Author: nirvanayoda

Friends,

There’s a lot to be excited about for ND in 2014. Golson is back, our WRs are stellar (but unproven), our RBs are excellent, and our OL is deep. Defense is a bit scarier, but as long as the players accused of cheating (Russell and Williams, mainly), we should be deep enough to field at least an average defense. More importantly, we may have the best coach in CFB.

Here are the game predictions. TLDR – ND goes 12-0 and is selected for the playoffs. The absolute most pessimistic scenario is that ND goes 11-1 with a loss to Stanford, but that loss would still be early enough and narrow enough such that ND would still be selected for a playoff spot.

A30 RICE – Rice is formidable in ways that most cupcakes are not. That is probably because usually cupcakes aren’t defending FBS conference champions. Fortunately, they did lose key players to graduation (namely their QB and best defensive player). I don’t expect a close contest, but the torrential downpours hold a creepy resemblance to the 2011 South Florida game. There won’t be a lot of scoring in this one due to weather, and it’s worth noting that Rice has never scored a TD against ND despite playing us four times. I’m thinking 35-9 ND.

S06 MICHIGAN – If you asked most ND fans what game is an absolute “must” win, that is this game. It is our last contest with Michigan on the schedule. It is baffling and painful that Michigan has owned us lately, despite having worse teams in almost every year. Hoke is a Charlie Weis level of talent joke (although his defensive coordinator is quite good), and ND’s roster is stronger in almost every position. I think at this point, Kelly realizes the absolute need to beat Michigan, and we will do so. However, like usual, this will be a tough fight. 34-31 ND.

S13 vs. Purdue (LucasOil) – Most Purdue games since Kelly has been coach have been uncomfortably close. This game will not be one of those. Hazell is not a good coach, and, while he may improve on his 1-11 2013 season, he certainly will not have one of those wins against ND. 31-17 ND.

S27 @ Syracuse (Meadowlands) – These guys struggled to beat the Villanova juggernaut on the Friday of Week 1 (27-26). Should not be a problem. 42-14 ND.

O04 STANFORD – This is the first real challenge of the season for ND. Stanford is consistently stout these days, and that won’t change this year. I am holding out hopes that I am wrong, but I see this as an absolute tossup. I feel like ND may lose this one, but I guess, since it is a tossup, I will go with ND winning 21-20. ND won’t score more than three TDs, however. Let’s hope that is enough.

O11 NORTH CAROLINA – People are overrating North Carolina this year. Let’s remember what they are – they’re a team that started last season 1-5 and then rolled off wins against nobodies to get to a lower tier bowl. How they are preseason ranked is beyond me. Nevertheless, this will be another 42-17 type game, ND on the winning end. And, as an aside, North Carolina will not be ranked at the time of this game.

O18 @ Florida State – There is no shame in losing to FSU in 2014, it just won’t happen to ND. Everyone probably recalls the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl when FSU edged ND out, largely as a result of ND’s turnovers. Who would have thought at the time that collectively the players on that field that day would be playing for the national title in the next two seasons? You will see a similar collection of talent on the field on October 18 with a similar result – some of those players will be playing for the title this year. I just hope it is ND’s players. I see a final score of 31-27 ND.

N01 @ Navy (Landover, MD) – Defending the option gave Diaco fits, but I can’t imagine that VanGorder will have quite the same issues. Nevertheless, they will score their fair share of points and burn clock like it’s their job. Something like 42-21 ND sounds right.

N08 @ Arizona State – This is ND’s third toughest game behind FSU and Stanford. ND bested ASU with Tommy Rees as QB the last time out, and with Golson back, this should not be much of a challenge. My one concern is that Tommy’s pre-snap reads/checks were invaluable against the exotic blitzes that ASU threw at him, and I’m not sure that Golson has the ability to make such reads/checks. Still, a 45-38 ND win seems about right.

N15 NORTHWESTERN – Fitzgerald isn’t the coach that he thinks he is, and everyone jumping off his bandwagon as he rolled off losses in 7 of the last 8 games in 2013 is evidence of that. He’s going to treat ND as his superbowl, as he rightfully should. He still won’t win, though. This is going to be a 30-21 type game, ND winning.

N22 LOUISVILLE – Without Charlie Strong, Louisville is going to decline into mediocrity before Petrino can rebuild the team in his image. Petrino’s defenses have never been admirable, and, without Bridgewater, neither were Strong’s offenses. Therefore, there is a current mismatch of personnel at Louisville, and ND should win easily (although expect some offensive fireworks from Petrino). 50-35 ND.

N29 @ Southern Cal – ND’s dominance against SC in recent years will continue. SC made a mistake not going for Petersen. I will miss the gifs of Kiffen’s disappointment that have floated around the internet in recent years, though. 24-10 ND wins.

With the new playoff format, it is impossible to tell who each team will play, and, therefore, I will hold my playoff predictions until the games are set this year. If I had to guess at the four playoff teams, however, I would go with Bama, ND, Oklahoma, and Oregon. If ND plays Oklahoma or Bama, we will likely win. If ND plays Oregon, we will likely lose.

As an aside, I did not make my annual ND winning the title bet in Vegas this year, mostly because I did not make it to Vegas. I would have won several thousand dollars had ND been able to pull out the win against Bama a couple of years ago.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2660957&forum_id=2#26236708)

Date: August 31st, 2013 11:38 AM

Author: nirvanayoda

January 7, 2013 – The worst day of 2013, when ND lost to Alabama in a crushing fashion.

November 30, 2013 – The best day of 2013, when ND cements its top 2 ranking and second straight undefeated season.

Tradition dictates that I post my predictions, and I decided to do so again this year if for no other reason than it turned out remarkably well last year. But before I post predictions, I should explain my reasoning. If you just want predictions, scroll to the bottom.

This will be the best ND team that has played in our adult lifetimes, for several reasons. Let’s go through each facet of the game:

Coaching: Coach Kelly is the only coach to have gone undefeated in the regular season 2 out of the last 5 seasons. Offensive Coordinator Chuck Martin is practically our coach in waiting and adds vitality to an already excellent coaching staff. Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco has devised a “bend but don’t break” system that resulted in the #2 defense in the nation last year.

Offense: Sure we lost Golson (suspended from ND for the semester), but the reports are that Rees is even better and is poised to have a breakout senior season. His strength has always been his quick decision making ability and knowledge of the game, so we have incorporated aspects of the pistol offense to play to his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. We have 2 elite upper class RB, including Atkinson who ran a 10.34 100 meter last year, and 2 elite freshman RB. Our WR roster is deeper than I’ve ever seen it with a two-deep full of talent (although one could argue the combination of Tate/Floyd on the field at the same time might have been a better duo). We have three strong upper class TE, one of which is nicknamed Hercules because he threw former ND player Aaron Lynch around like a rag doll – an impressive feat for anyone, much less a TE. Finally and most importantly, our OL is deeper than I have ever seen it. We should be unmovable.

Defense: Our DL is the strength of the team with two future first round draft picks (Tuitt and Nix) and a third DE that will ultimately be an All American as well this year. It may not be an overstatement to say that our DL is the best of the last several years. We are weaker at LB with the loss of Teo, but star freshman Jaylon Smith looks to shine. At DB, we are more talented and experienced than we have been in the last decade with two strong returning starters at CB in Jackson and Russell. We are slightly weaker at S, but if nothing else we do have numbers there.

Overall, this is a team that won 12 games last year, including Stanford and @Oklahoma, and finished 3rd or 4th in the nation, depending on your choice of poll. The only major losses from that team are Golson, Teo, Kapron Lewis Moore, and Eifert. There is no reason for us to be ranked outside of the top 5, much less the top 10, but apparently we will need to prove ourselves again. Which brings me to the predictions.

Temple (August 31) -- This may be the easiest game we’ve played in years. I expect that we will play somewhat vanilla to hide our implementation of the pistol from Michigan, but sheer size will put us up big in this one. One might show concern given the NDSU/KSU result yesterday, but I’m fairly sure NDSU would run Temple off the field. My guess is that ND wins 56-0.

@ Michigan (September 7) – Of all of our games, I’m most worried about this one. Something strange always happens in this game. Last year, our best ND team in years, we struggled to run out the clock and hold on to a victory. In 2011, we absolutely dominated the first three quarters only to lose in the final seconds. In 2010, we lost with less than a minute on the clock. In 2009, we lost with less than a minute on the clock. You get the point. Despite the fact that I think we are the objectively better team, I doubt we win this one by much more than a field goal. ND wins, 17-14.

@ Purdue (September 14) – We seem to fluctuate between blowing these guys out and barely pulling out a win. This year it’s our turn to blow them out again. ND wins, 35-7.

Michigan State (September 21) – Under Weis, this was always a tough game, but Kelly seems to have Dantonio’s number. Even in 2010 when we were rebuilding and Michigan State was pretty good, we took them to overtime and it took a trick play to take us down. Additionally, I’ve had the benefit of seeing Michigan State’s offense against Western Michigan, and less than impressive is an understatement. Their defense does look solid, though, so I don’t expect huge scores here. I’d guess ND wins 20-9.

Oklahoma (September 28) – ND is 9-1 against OU all time. This is just one of those teams that we don’t lose to, despite logic insisting we sometimes should. I do expect it to be closer than last year. Perhaps something like 24-20, ND wins.

Arizona State (October 5 in Dallas) – Most ND fans are worried about this game because of where it falls on the schedule. I’m not. Playing in Cowboy stadium will be enough to get ND up for this game, even if Todd Graham does seem to have Kelly’s number. ND wins 33-14.

USC (October 19) – Predicting this game may be slightly unfair because I had the opportunity to watch USC play Hawaii already this year. USC was decent but not stellar defensively. Offensively, however, USC was dreadful. They do have the benefit of getting better by the time they play us, but they still won’t be able to stack up against our tremendous defense. My guess is this will look similar to last year’s game and we’ll have a 38-3 revenge game with ND winning in similar fashion to some of Carroll’s teams from the mid-2000s.

@ Air Force (October 26) – This one will be closer than it needs to be, as the team will likely still be hungover from the exciting win versus USC and virtual guarantee of going into Stanford undefeated. ND might even fall behind in the first quarter, but ultimately they’ll pull away. This one will probably be something like 35-17.

Navy (November 2) – After the scare at Air Force, ND will be ready for this game. Expect a similar score to last year. Navy may score in garbage time, but I wouldn’t expect it to be any closer than 50-10 with ND on the winning side.

@ Pittsburgh (November 9) – For whatever reason this team excels at keeping it close with us. Still, I find it very unlikely that we will take them lightly again. There might also be the revenge factor for the impression they gave everyone last year that we “got lucky.” Really? Lucky? Was it lucky that Wood fumbled on the goal line as he went in to score even giving Pitt the opportunity to win with a field goal? Regardless, I expect a similar score to most of the other mid-level games we play this year (mid thirties for us to mid teens for them). I’ll say ND 38, Pitt 14.

BYU (November 23) – Other than Michigan and Stanford, this may be our closest game. BYU’s defense is generally outstanding under the current regime. I expect a low scoring (somewhat boring) contest with ND winning 14-7 or so.

@ Stanford (November 30) – There’s a chance that both teams will be undefeated and playing for a spot in the title game. This will be an epic, classic game, and I expect ND to edge out a win 24-21.

As with last year, I’ll reserve my national championship game prediction until I find out who our opponent is. Honestly, I’m a little worried that even an undefeated ND team will not make it to the championship if there are other undefeated teams, given the way we bombed against Alabama last year. Cross your fingers for us that everyone else has a loss.

Happy college football season everyone.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2350751&forum_id=2#23968937)

Date: September 1st, 2012 12:44 AM

Author: nirvanayoda

[tldr version: PREDICTIONS START AT THE ALL CAPS BELOW]

I debated not doing predictions this year. Everyone mostly thinks they're in jest anyway at this point, I suppose...even though I really do believe my predictions. But upon further reflection, I decided to use the advantage of seeing 3 of our opponents (BYU, Michigan State, and Stanford) play before finalizing my predictions and deciding whether or not I'd make this post.

The good news is that this season will be easier than I expected. Michigan State looked one dimensional as they rushed past a rebuilding Boise State, at the time of writing this Stanford is struggling against a nobody, and BYU put up an impressive win against an admittedly well-coached Washington State team. My conclusion is that while ND plays the toughest schedule in the nation this year, it's completely manageable.

After all, we have a strong QB (Golson was a top 10 all time high school QB in passing TDs), the best Tight End in college football (as evidenced by rankings in college football fantasy leagues), and excellent RBs (Wood was a 1000 yard rusher, Riddick may actually be better, and our Sophomore George Atkinson III may be the best of them all...he runs a 10.38 in the 100 and is exceptionally elusive, which is how he returned kicks for TDs against Michigan State and USC last year). Our offensive line is deep and is probably the strength of our team. Wide Receiver is our weak spot on offense, but with the quality of Golson's passing, I'm not sure that'll be evident. Especially if Freshman Devonte Neal is as amazing as practice reports say he is.

And on Defense, our front 7 are exceptional, even if losing Aaron Lynch hurt a bit. And our safeties are solid. Our cornerbacks, on the other hand, are a real concern. We have one really good one, and then we're playing a true freshman in the second spot.

PREDICTIONS:

Sep. 1 at Navy (Dublin, Ireland)-- We won this game by 5 TDs last year, and now we won't have Turnover Tommy Rees dragging us down. I'd guess we'll win by 7 TDs this time, except I'm a bit worried about the jet lag. Let's just go with 52-14 ND. ND WIN.

Sep. 8 Purdue -- We destroyed this team last year with Tommy Rees as QB. Moreover, Purdue is weak at the QB spot and Danny Hope is probably on the hot seat (or will be soon). To suggest that they are on the same level as ND would be laughable at best. Still, the jet lag from the return trip from Ireland will make this one closer than it needs to be -- 35-10 ND. ND WIN.

Sep. 15 at Michigan State -- Last year we beat Michigan State when they were supposedly top 10. The year before we lost in overtime on a fake field goal that should have been a Delay of Game penalty. The year before we beat them in South Bend. Honestly, we should be riding a three game win streak against Sparty. But after seeing the horrific QB play against an overrated rebuilding Boise State, I'm pretty confident we can shut Bell and MSU's one dimensional offense down. I'll go with 31-13 ND. ND WIN.

Sep. 22 Michigan -- How many years in a row can we lose at the last second to these guys? Fortunately, it looks like the streak will end at 3. Michigan will get pasted by Alabama (which is unfortunate, because I'd like to play them highly ranked) as they are the most overrated team in the top 25. They had all the lucky breaks last year (just like ND had all the unlucky breaks) -- it was almost as if they had magical fairies tip the ball to them like that one website speculated about. They even got to play Va Tech in a BCS bowl, by far the easiest draw (except perhaps Clemson). Nevertheless, this time, the game is at ND at night. ND is not going to lose the first night game against Michigan at home in a generation. As usual, it'll be close, though. 31-28 ND. ND WIN.

Oct. 6 Miami-FL (Chicago - Neutral site) -- Golden has had mass defections and faces impending sanctions. He's not half the coach people thought he would be. The last time we played Miami, Tommy Rees, as a freshman, led us to victory. I'd expect no differently this year when the team is easily worse. 42-7. ND WIN.

Oct. 13 Stanford -- These guys are barely getting by SJSU as I write this. And let's be honest -- how many people even know what SJSU stands for? That's how bad they are without Luck. I once thought they could be the third toughest game on our schedule, but they're probably more similar to Miami quality. 42-14. ND WIN.

Oct. 20 BYU -- This game worries me a lot. BYU put up an impressive win against a well-coached Washington State team. Mike Leach is probably one of the five best coaches in football. Offensively anyway. And BYU shut them down, completely. I suppose it helps that every player on their roster is like 26 years old. Nevertheless, I fear ND may lose this game. I'll call it an ND win, but it'll be razor thin. After all, if Mike Leach's team can't put points up against BYU, how in the world are we going to? 14-13. ND WIN.

Oct. 27 at Oklahoma -- We're undefeated when traveling to Norman, and that won't change this year. This will likely be our second toughtest game, and, contrary to popular belief, I think Landry Jones (and not Matt Barkley) is probably the best QB we face this year. I originally had this game penciled in as a loss. However, after much consideration about how amazing our roster is going to be, and considering that we've never been defeated in Norman, I just can't realistically think we'll lose. 35-28. ND WIN.

Nov. 3 Pittsburgh -- Now that Todd Graham is gone, I feel much better about this game. Graham is one of the best coaches in football, in my opinion. I dread playing Arizona State next year. In the meantime, though, Pittsburgh made a reasonably bad coaching hire and they're going to pay for it when Golson makes footballs rain down from the sky into our receivers' hands. 60-3. ND WIN.

Nov. 10 at Boston College -- I'm sort of bored with writing this because it all seems so obvious by this point. BC has the worst coach they've had in ages and, for whatever reason, we seem to play them stronger when we play them on the road. I'm guessing 42-10, but that's just a guess. ND WIN.

Nov. 17 Wake Forest -- Wake is similar to BYU in team quality and in flying under the radar. This game would concern me a little more if it were at Wake. Thankfully it'll be in South Bend and it'll be another win in our column. I'm just not sure by how much. Maybe 52-35? ND WIN.

Nov. 24 at USC -- We beat USC when we played them last on the road. Last year was somewhat of a fluke. I was in the stands on the 50 yard line when I saw Crist go in for the TD to tie the game up. And then I saw the ball bounce away. And into the hands of a USC defender. Who then took it all the way back. A 17-17 game was turned into a 24-10 game, and we never recovered. They ruined our first home night game in 20+ years, and they will pay dearly this year. If nothing else, raw emotion will take ND over the top here. 24-20. ND WIN.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:

I'm honestly not sure about the championship game. It really just depends on who we draw. The problem with our team this year is that if we end up against a solid passing team or a quick up tempo spread team (e.g., Oregon), it may be difficult for us to win that game. If we end up against a standard running team (e.g., LSU/Alabama), it shouldn't be a problem. Therefore, I'll reserve judgment on the championship game until the matchup is announced.

FINAL PREDICTION:

ND goes 12-0. Championship game prediction withheld at this time. And yes, I do have money in Vegas on it again this year.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=2039378&forum_id=2#21471936)

Date: September 5th, 2011 11:44 PM

Author: nirvanayoda

I'm sorry that I disregarded board tradition and didn't get this up before the first week of the season. I had a very bad feeling about game #1, so I couldn't decide if we were going to be 11-1 or 12-0. I'm glad that I waited, as I probably would have leaned toward 12-0. As we all know, ND lost this weekend. It was painful. Almost 7 hours of pain in fact. I nearly teared up, in a manly way.

What you might not know is that ND actually beat the crap out of South Florida on the field. The only 2 numbers South Florida won were the turnover ratio and the score. Unfortunately, those are the only numbers that matter in terms of the game's outcome.

However, I would (and do) argue that the statistics are the most vital piece of information to be used in prognostication. South Florida will likely win the Big East or at least come in second (more because no one else besides West Virginia is any good than because South Florida is all that good).

Despite that, ND put up 510 yards against South Florida. I'm not even sure of the last time we did that. ND also only allowed 254 yards. In fact, when Rees came in as QB after halftime, he had a 70% completion rate, including many throws in the vertical passing game, and he put up 296 yards. Those statistics are even more impressive when you realize that South Florida *knew* we were going to throw and were alternating between dropping 9 men into coverage and blitzing.

Despite turning the ball over 5 times, 3 times within 5 yards of scoring (one of those times being within a half yard of scoring, that fumble being the one that was returned 98 yards for a South Florida touchdown), we STILL almost came back to win. If Rees had started the game, I think we win going away. We were 20-7 in the second half with Rees and 0-16 in the first half with Crist.

Based on this dominating performance (which was only offset by stupid ND mistakes), here are my predictions for this season:

Game 2, at Michigan -- I'm not sure how anyone could think Michigan has any chance at all against us. The *only* thing Michigan has in its favor is that it's the first ever night home game for the Wolverines. That's it. Brady Hoke is a sub-500 coach who has been incredibly unimpressive in his career. Even his 12-1 Ball State season featured a 3 score loss to some nobody (I can't even be bothered to look up who it was to remind myself). I'm fairly confident of ND winning in something like a 42-14 lopsided score. Actually, take that back, Michigan won't score double digits against us.

Game 3, Michigan State -- I'm a little worried about this game. Michigan State is a decent team. They certainly didn't show that against Youngstown State (I watched part of the game before the TCU/Baylor game really got going in the second quarter), but they do return a lot of experienced talent. This game will be razor thin, but I'll give ND the edge because it's at home. I'm thinking a 21-10 type game that is 14-10 until the mid 4th quarter.

Game 4, Pittsburgh -- New coach, new system, tough opponent the week before (Iowa) so no several weeks to prepare like our other starting opponents...those things add up to a huge ND advantage. Still, Pitt has talent, so they'll score at least a little. Maybe 35-14? Or possibly even 35-17.

Game 5, Purdue -- Purdue doesn't even have a QB. I'm more worried that our players walking on their campus will all of the sudden tear an ACL...it seems to be something in the water there. I feel very bad for Purdue, as I actually kind of like the school, but they're going to be dreadfully bad this year. If we lose to Purdue, we should just stop playing football. We win something like 56-0.

Game 6, Air Force -- Air Force gave Oklahoma quite the game last year. I'm a little concerned. But only a little. We'll win in the 35-16 variety.

Game 7, USC -- First night game in 20 years at ND stadium. USC is probably the most equally matched team to us talent-wise. I think Kiffin is a moron, but he has that same dumb-luck skill that Miles has at LSU. At least he doesn't eat grass, I suppose. Nevertheless, ND wins a very close one here. I'd guess 28-24.

Game 8, Navy -- If you think we're going to drop another game to Navy this decade, you're crazy. We've proven we can stop the option with Army last year, and going to the veer won't help Navy this year now that we'll be prepped for it. No one is taking Navy lightly, but we'll still win 42-14 or so.

Game 9, Wake Forest -- Wake was dreadful before, but now Price (their QB) is out. I don't know if he'll still be out at week 11, but if he is, then this'll be a bloodbath. If he's back, it'll still be a bloodbath, just less of one. If Price is QB, 42-10, if Price is not QB 56-3.

Game 10, Maryland -- This is a decent team. They showed it by beating Miami tonight, though most of their points were off turnovers. However, Randy Edsall is a poor coach. His speech patterns are grating and he is dreadfully boring. Just load up on stopping the run, and you'll stop most of his offense. He runs, and then runs again, and then runs again. I wouldn't be surprised if 65% of his offense was straight up the middle running. It's like playing a bad high school team. The team will be good in spite of Edsall, though, because the players are pretty good, so I see a somewhat narrow win. 28-21 or so.

Game 11, Boston College -- BC just lost its best WR for the year, and they were already pretty bad. Northwestern, a very average team, took them out on Saturday. Imagine what an explosive offensive team with a stellar defense like ND can do. I was at the game last year when their team was much better and we still beat them down. If we win by less than 3 touchdowns, I'd almost consider it a disappointment.

Game 12, Stanford -- Outside of USC and Michigan State, this will be our toughest game. Luck is very good, though slightly overrated, and it'll take a while before they sink back into mediocrity now that Harbaugh is gone. Still, with a BCS appearance on the line, ND will pull out the win. I think this one might be in the 38-35 range, though.

FINAL PREDICTION -- 11-1 with a BCS bowl appearance. There's an outside chance for a NC appearance, but I think it unlikely given that at least an SEC team will finish with 1 loss or fewer and Oklahoma will probably finish with none. I consider this a disappointing season, as anything less than winning it all just makes you one of the better losers.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1751144&forum_id=2#18915303)

Date: July 27th, 2010 12:09 AM

Author: nirvanayoda

Before I explain to you why ND will win the BCS National Championship (FINALLY!!), I want to encourage you guys to take a trip to Vegas. The odds are 65:1 at Planet Hollywood (or at least they were when I put money down in April)...it's practically free money.

I know I've been mocked for this once or twice, but I feel really positive about this year. ND finally broadcasted the entire Spring game online, and let me just say we look amazing. Scary good is a phrase that comes to mind. Punishing, pulverizing, and nasty are three other words that fit.

The Basics -- We return 14 starters from a team that almost went 12-0. Every game we lost last year was decided by less than a touchdown and we were a play or two away from winning each of those games. Sure we lost Clausen (who btw, may be the best QB the NFL has ever seen by the end of his career, but I digress) and Tate.

But to make up for those losses, we have Crist to step up and lead the team at QB. He was a 5 star out of high school and USC's top choice that year. He can fill Jimmy's shoes quite nicely, and with the stable of standout WRs (including Floyd, Jones, and Riddick) and TEs (including Rudolph and Ragone) and RBs (Allen will be a senior as will Hughes, not to mention the outstanding Sophomore Wood), you can see that the positions we lost are still more than strong enough.

Now that Weis is gone and we have a proven coach in charge, there isn't much to stop us. If Kelly can go 12-0 at Cincinnati with their talent, he can go 24-0 at Notre Dame with our talent. Well, not really, but you get the point.

Here's my breakdown:

9/4 -- Purdue -- They're breaking in a new QB and an entirely new defense, but I think this team will be the toughest in our slate of Big 10 games. They almost beat Oregon last year (and us for that matter). Thankfully this game is at ND. If it were not Kelly's first game, I might rate it as a toss up, but Brian Kelly will not lose his first ND game, nor will he lose his first game at The House that Rockne Built.

9/11 -- Michigan -- There's absolutely no way the disgraceful Rich Rod and his stable of subpar talent even holds within 2 touchdowns of Kelly's Irish. I do pause a little while saying that because usually the team that's supposed to win this game loses, but I think this year we will break that trend.

9/18 -- at Michigan State -- This will be a tough game, but the Irish will squeak it out. I think this will be the first close game of the year and will probably be decided by a touchdown.

9/25 -- Stanford -- Stanford will not be anywhere near as good this year without the beast. With that being said, I do think this team will be a strong team in the next couple of years after their recent uptick on recruiting under Harbaugh. Those recruits are still too young to make a difference this year, and, to be honest, I think Luck is a little overrated. ND wins by a TD.

10/2 -- at Boston College -- BC will be pretty good this year, and they seem to have our number. If we lose a game in the first 5, this is it. I think we come away with a win, but I expect it to be in the 24-21 mold.

10/9 -- Pittsburgh -- If Kelly can beat Pitt with his system using the talent he had at Cincinnati, he's going to crush Pitt with the talent he has at ND. I doubt this one will even be close. 42-17 perhaps.

10/16 -- Western Michigan -- Do I really need to even comment here? Does *anyone* think we'll lose this game?

10/23 -- at Navy -- Our days of losing to Navy are over. Get ready for another 45 year streak. Kelly knows that losing to Navy is unacceptable at ND because even in our down years we haven't lost to them except under Weis.

10/30 -- Tulsa -- Remember what we did to every WAC team we've ever played? Conference USA might just be worse than the WAC. This game should be amusing.

11/13 -- Utah -- This game is our biggest chance of a loss before USC. They could realistically beat us. Still, I would favor us by a touchdown or so, and I do think we pull it out. They're a fast team, but our defense will be so improved that I'm not sure they can keep up with us.

11/20 -- Army -- Again, should I even comment on this one? They should just put the W in our column right now and be done with it.

11/27 -- at USC -- With the recent sanctions, players transferring, an imbecile as a head coach, I think ND has a realistic shot of winning this one. I'd probably give the edge to USC if this were at the beginning of the season, but Kelly will have time to coach the team up and get them mentally in a place where they know they can win. I think ND wins a nailbiter (think the opposite of the Bush push in 2005).

1/10 -- vs. Florida -- ND will finally get its crack at Urban Meyer in the match everyone wanted to see in last year's Sugar bowl (Meyer v. Kelly). I'd say this game is a toss up, but Kelly will be ready with the REAL decided schematic advantage that we've been waiting for since Weis promised it to us 5 years ago. Kelly had Urban scouted last year I'm sure, and he'll be ready again this year.

Guys you can flame away at me all you want, and I probably deserve it after all of my awful predictions year in and out. BUT, ASK those who have been in the PICK'EM with me how good I am! I average over 60% correct against the spread, and some years I have ended up 80% correct (and that's with picking every ranked team's game every week of the season). My record the past 4 seasons in XO's yahoo pick'em: 2009 - 1 of 18; 2008 - 2 of 7; 2007 - 3 of 19; and 2006 - 3 of 25.

It seems I just tend to overestimate my team. But this is the year when my team finally catches up to my expectations...and I couldn't be more excited.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1379438&forum_id=2#15621785)

Date: August 10th, 2009 1:30 AM

Author: nirvanayoda

(IF YOU'RE JUST LOOKING FOR PREDICTIONS AND DON'T CARE ABOUT JUSTIFICATIONS, SKIP TO THE GAME PREDICTIONS SECTION AT THE END TYVM)

Ok, so I know the past few years my predictions have been utter garbage, and anyone can drag up those threads to prove it:

Exhibit A -- http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=668163&mc=182&forum_id=2

This year, though, is different. This year we have the most talent we've had in decades....take a look below.

1) QB -- Jimmy Clausen -- Now he's a junior, built, and laser accurate (see his jaw-dropping throws against Hawaii...yes it was Hawaii, but his ball placement was nothing short of awe-inspiring).

2) WR -- Golden Tate (who can outrun anyone on the field) and Michael Floyd, the most dynamic duo of wide receivers in all of college football. Add to that other young highly touted recruits vying for the third slot and you have the most talented group of receivers in the game.

3) TE -- Kyle Rudolph and Mike Ragone basically make ND tight end U. Best tight ends in college football.

4) RB -- Between speedster and all purpose back Armando Allen, bruiser Robert Hughes, and up and coming Jonas Gray, Cierre Wood, and Riddick, we have one of the most devastating arsenals of RB around.

5) OL -- This group was the weak link last year, but this year we return everyone and SEVEN of our OL are now over 300 lbs. After more than a year of playing together, they will be much more cohesive and the benefits of having an upper classmen led OL will be apparent. However, this group is still the most worrisome.

6) DB -- NO ONE will run up the score passing on our DBs. Just like last year when we had passing offenses locked down, Blanton, McNeil, and co. will do it again. However, this year we get our best CB back (Darren Walls, who didn't play last year for personal reasons).

7) LB -- Between proven talent (like Brian Smith) and blue chip recruits (like Manti Teo), we should be devastating at this position.

8) DL -- If there's a weak spot on ND's team, this is it. However, with quality players like Ian Williams, we should still be serviceable here.

9) Playcalling Defense -- John Tenuta is now the defense coordinator and he will be calling the defense. Not much could be more exciting to me...he is one of the greatest college football defensive minds of our time.

10) Playcalling Offense -- Weis will take the full offensive reins again with a team more talented than the one he coached in 2005...the beating we put on Hawaii will be minor compared to the beatings we unleash this year.

GAME PREDICTIONS:

Now that I've fully justified why Vegas has my money on ND winning the NC, I'll call each game with specificity to prove how confident I am about this:

1. Nevada (Sept. 5) -- This, surprisingly, will be one of the most dangerous teams we face. They're a good team offensively much like Utah or any of the other West Coast teams that everyone underrates year to year. I could see this one going either way...being really close in a shootout or ND winning big. I'd bet ND beats the 17 point spread here.

2. at Michigan (Sept. 12) -- Michigan is starting another freshman quarterback who will be in his second game against an elite opponent, expect a repeat of last year's score.

3. Michigan State (Sept. 19) -- This will probably be the second toughest team we face, but I think MSU lost Ringer, so I don't see how they'll have much of a chance against us. We break the home losing streak to them this year, finally.

4. at Purdue (Sept. 26) -- New coach and a program in shambles...Purdue will be lucky to reach a bowl game this year, much less compete with the Notre Dames of the world. With that in mind, Purdue could be a threat in the next few years...just not this year.

5. Washington (Oct. 3) -- Now that Willingham is gone, Washington should turn around pretty quickly and Locker is a really good QB. However, we pounded them last year when we weren't really very good...this year will be a massacre.

6. USC (Oct. 17) -- This is the only game we're not favored in currently I believe. USC will face us at home and will do so after we've had 2 weeks to prepare. I don't expect that USC will be undefeated at this point (although I hope they are), but I think ND will be. This game will be very close, and it will probably end with ND pulling away in the last few minutes to pay USC back for the travesty that was the 2005 game. ND by 3.

7. Boston College (Oct. 24) -- With BC's program being in shambles (they lost EVERYONE), this will finally be the year we get the BC monkey off our back. Expect ND to put up 40+ points on them for revenge. I also predict BC scores less than 10 points.

8. neutral field Washington State (Oct. 31) -- I don't really need to say anything at all about this game, as everyone knows we'll win it. Washington State is just abysmal.

9. Navy (Nov. 7) -- Out of pure respect, we won't pound Navy like we will most teams. However, we will win this one by 3 TDs easily.

10. at Pitt (Nov. 14) -- This is the game I'm third most worried about, but, again, last year if we hadn't collapsed we would have easily beaten them. This year they'll be worse and we'll be better...ND wins by at least 10 points.

11. UConn (Nov. 21) -- ND by 4 TDs. I really don't need to say more here.

12. at Stanford (Nov. 28) -- I don't know why so many people are worried about this game. Stanford is getting better, yes, but they are not elite like ND is. We will run away with this game by at least 3 TDs.

13. BCS Championship Game -- I don't see any way an undefeated ND isn't placed in the Championship game. I guess it's theoretically possible if, say, both Florida (or LSU) and Texas go undefeated (the latter is likely, the former is not). Aside from those sorts of rare situations, though, I'm not too concerned. I think we'll play a formidable opponent in the NC game, but we'll win by double digits...it's just been too long since we played for the title (21 years is it? or does 1993 count?) and we'll want it too bad. You can't stop Clausen when he's on.

Please feel free to grade me week to week...just don't get mad when I end up right in the end.

Final prediction -- ND ends up 13-0 and wins the BCS championship/Coaches Poll and AP poll championship.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1060513&forum_id=2#12467637)

Date: June 17th, 2008 12:20 AM

Author: nirvanayoda

Sep. 6 San Diego St. 3:30pm

Easy win

Sep. 13 Michigan 3:30pm

Lost *everyone*...they have a true freshman quarterback who wasn't even a top recruit. They will be horrible this year.

Sep. 20 at Michigan State TBA

Decently tough game. We'll win.

Sep. 27 Purdue 3:30pm

Reasonable game. We'll win easy.

Oct. 4 Stanford 2:30pm

We beat them last year when we sucked.

Oct. 11 at North Carolina TBA

Potentially tough game...they're a young team on the rise. We'll beat them, though.

Oct. 25 at Washington 8:00pm

2 words: Ty Willingham. No way we lose this game.

Nov. 1 Pittsburgh 2:30pm

Potentially tough game. We'll win.

Nov. 8 at Boston College TBA

They also lose *EVERYBODY*. We'll win in a walk.

Nov. 15 at Navy 12:00pm

New coach, better ND, no problem.

Nov. 22 Syracuse 2:30pm

They're like a AA team.

Nov. 29 at USC 8:00pm

We'll probably lose, but you never know.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=825945&forum_id=2#9898031)

Date: August 5th, 2007 4:31 PM

Author: nirvanayoda

Flame off:

GaTech might be close in score, but won't be close on the field (much like last year). They don't have CJ to bail them out like last time, and our team is much more talented and not that much less experienced. ND win.

@Penn State won't be anything like what people are expecting. ND will go in there and destroy Penn State by at least 2 scores. Penn State is OVERRATED. They aren't very good. We KILLED them last year. They are more experienced but not quite as talented. Weis' play calling will shine here. ND win.

@Michigan will be close. For whatever reason, the favorite never seems to play like a favorite in those matches. Toss up. I'd bet on ND because I'm a fan, but the smart money is probably on Michigan in this one.

Michigan State has nothing. Drew Stanton (the reason we lost in 2005 and almost in '06) is gone. They don't have the mobile QB to rely on and will be largely one dimensional. This is not going to be a close game. ND win.

@Purdue is a threat. They have a powerful offense and homefield advantage. If we want to win this one, we need to make sure our defense is *much* better coached than last year's team. This is probably a toss up as well, but I'd say smart money would bet on an ND win.

@UCLA won't be a guaranteed loss for the Irish like many pundits expect. I'd say this will be a close game, and even give ND the edge. A lackluster Florida State team (with lots of talent but not much experience...sound familiar?) beat UCLA at the end of last year. The team is largely the same except for a new offensive coordinator. That would give UCLA an edge if they weren't playing 5 games before we went out to LA. As it is, we'll have plenty of tape and should come away with a win. Toss up, but probable ND win.

Boston College will be a strong team. They just lost an important defensive guy for the season, but they'll still be tough because they always gun for us and play us tough. This will be a close game, but ND has the edge on talent and coaching (remember BC just lost their coach if I'm not mistaken). Thus, I give ND the slight edge here.

Finally, USC (I won't bother with the last 4 games on the schedule because they're easy wins). USC will likely tear us apart. I'd say it's POSSIBLE we keep up with them and I'd be on ND because I'm a complete ND hack...but smart money is on SC.

So that gives us 4 wins to close the season, a win against GaTech, a win at Penn State, and a win against Michigan state. That's 7 guaranteed wins imo.

The rest of the games that I said smart money would be on ND were BC, UCLA, and Purdue. That would give us 10 wins and a BCS bowl bid.

Michigan and USC are likely losses, but I don't completely count us out in those.

However, if my 10+ win prediction is correct, then there's always the threat that we won't win the bowl game again. Let's hope this isn't the case.

Please copy (so I can't change it) and bookmark this post. tyia.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=668132&forum_id=2#8476683)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3338001&forum_id=2#31309459)

both because I am an ND fan and because I am a fan of bort tradition

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3338001&forum_id=2#31309469)

Brutal loss tonight. BVG must go.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3338001&forum_id=2#31338212)

yeah ny does do it every year. how many times has one of the two worst seasons in 50 yrs been the result? it was a rudolphian level of wrong

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3338001&forum_id=2#32044840)

https://twitter.com/BruceFeldmanCFB/status/780095740509028352

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3338001&forum_id=2#31486861)