Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/408565
UNDER THE DOME Brian Kelly Adds 'No-Cry Zone' The military can implement a No‑Fly Zone. During the week of preparation for the Nov. 1 Navy game, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly employed his own "No‑Cry Zone" versus the military. It was borne of Navy's reliance on cut blocks to facilitate its triple‑option scheme that propelled the nation's No. 1 rushing offense (352.3 yards per game) through nine weeks. In 2013, Irish senior nose guard Kona Schwenke suffered a knee injury against Navy with the cut block, and current junior tackle Sheldon Day also was tempo‑ CHARTING THE IRISH RANKINGS RAGE The College Football Playoff selection committee released its first-ever top 25 on Oct. 28, with that poll the lone determinant of which teams reach the four-team playoff. Notre Dame fans immediately expressed outrage on message boards and social media over a perceived slight with the Irish ranked No. 10, behind seven other one-loss teams. There is still a solid chance the Irish reach one of the two Jan. 1 semifinal games if they win out, since Notre Dame has ample time to move into the top four and a few opportunities to shine against quality opponents in November. In week 10 of last season, the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings placed Auburn at No. 11 and Michigan State at No. 22. Both reached the top four of the final BCS poll at the end of the regular season. Earlier this season, it took Mississippi State only five weeks to rise from being unranked to No. 1 in the Associated Press top 25. In past years, a No. 3 or No. 4 ranking did not have the significance it now holds with the championship expanded from a game between the top two teams to a four-team playoff. The change keeps many more teams in the championship conversation at this point in the season and has already proved to fuel more controversy prior to Nov. 1 than the previous BCS system ever did. NOTABLE JUMPS IN POLL FROM WEEK 10 TO FINAL BCS POLL, LAST 10 YEARS 2013 Auburn No. 11 to 2 2013 Michigan State No. 22 to 4 2010 Stanford No. 13 to 4 2008 Florida No. 8 to 2 2007 Virginia Tech No. 11 to 3 2006 LSU No. 13 to 4 2005 Penn State No. 10 to 3 2005 Ohio State No. 12 to 4