Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/651219
FAN FORUM seven years, or by having a better winning percentage than Bryant (.848 for Saban to .824 for Bryant). Ultimately, Notre Dame head coaches fall into two categories: Either he won a national title with the Fighting Irish, or he didn't. MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD Is it too late for Corey Robinson to enter the Michigan primary? He has my vote. Matt Hart Trenton, Mich. FROM THE WEBSITE How far away is Notre Dame from being a "program" among the top tier in college football? In February, this was a popular debate among dozens of the BlueandGold.com message board subscribers. Here is a small sample: Kwsusmc: Notre Dame's record the last four years is right on the cusp of going from good to very good. I'd rank it this way in terms of wins over four years: 35‑39 good 40‑44 very good 45‑49 great 50+ elite The last four years, Notre Dame is 39‑13 (12‑1, 9‑4, 8‑5 and 10‑3). Not bad, but need to step it up. Especially with the close losses at F$U in 2014 and at Clemson and Stanford in 2015. Here are some others from 2012‑15: Ohio State (50‑4), Alabama (50‑6), Florida State (49‑6), Clemson (46‑8), Oregon (45‑9), Michigan State (43‑11), Stanford (43‑12), Oklahoma (40‑12), Georgia (40‑13). Benko's army: The losses: 2012: Alabama (13‑1) 2013: Michigan (7‑6), Oklahoma (11‑2), Pittsburgh (7‑6), Stanford (11‑3) 2014: FSU (13‑1), Arizona State (10‑3), Northwestern (5‑7), Louisville (9‑4), USC (9‑4) 2015: Clemson (14‑1), Stanford (12‑2), OSU (12‑1) Defensive injuries played a significant role, as did playing without our starting QB in 2013. But regard‑ less, there are a few losses there that are tough to handle. FightingMike87: The only games lost against teams I would call non‑blue blood programs that play and recruit on about the same level as Notre Dame are Northwestern, Arizona State, Pitt, and Louisville. Stanford may not recruit by the same standards if you count star ratings, but arguably has been the second or third best program of those Notre Dame has lost to, and we play them every year. So, only three losses to teams that won less than 9 games. NDCorby: I just can't call a record elite regardless of volume without any big wins. That's like Michigan. Racked up tons of wins over the years but they rarely have the huge wins. ND2006NC: Unfortunately Kelly had too many 5‑loss seasons. Mark Richt got fired over a better record at Georgia! Kelly is doing better but, 2‑3 losses need to be the bar, not 4‑5. Tommy1380: At Notre Dame, Kelly is 5‑14 against teams that finished the season in the Top 20. (1‑6 in the last two years). We need to get that number to .500 before people will start to take us seriously in the big picture. Do that, win a big bowl game, and our image as a program will improve and recruiting will take a significant step forward.