Here is this week’s poll. Just me for the comments so far. I’ll see if Jeff wants to add his $0.02 tomorrow.
2008 UHND Opponent Poll |
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| Opponent | Last Game | Next | Comments | ||
| 1. |  |
Southern Cal Trojans |
W, 35-3 vs #5 Ohio State | @ Oregon State (9/25) | Frank : Wow wo we wow. USC is just scary good this year. They flat out destroyed Ohio State Saturday and dominated from start to finish. This team will likely only beat itself this year like they did last year against Stanford or two years ago against Oregon State. Btw, who made this schedule? Two bye weeks in September?
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| 2. |  |
Michigan State Spartans |
W, 17-0, Florida Atlantic | vs. Notre Dame (9/20) | Frank: Michigan State wasn’t pretty against Florida Atlantic, but neither was the weather. Javon Ringer is going to be a quite a handful for us this weekend. I still think Michigan State will be the second best team we face all year. I predicted a loss to Michigan State in the off-season and I still think it will be tough for us to get by them this weekend. |
| 3. |  |
Purdue Boilermakers |
L, 26-32 (2OT), #16 Oregon | vs. Central Michigan (9/20) | Frank: Purdue played MUCH better than I thought they would against Oregon and probably should have won the game. They led 20-3 in the second quarter but let Oregon back in it and then lost in double overtime. Purdue is probably right behind Michigan State right now and with what looks like a wide open Big 10 after Ohio State’s struggles, Purdue could be a surprise team this year. |
| 4. |  |
North Carolina Tar Heels |
W, 44-12 – Rutgers | vs. Virginia Tech (9/20) | Frank: Biggest mover in the poll this week, the Tar Heels jump to #4 thanks to lack luster performances from the rest of the Irish opponents and an impressive win over Rutgers. That week one nail bitter with McNeese State is still surprising, but the Tar Heels looked impressive in beating up on Rutgers on the road. UNC will host Virginia Tech, travel to Miami, and then host UConn before the Irish come to town. |
| 5. |  |
Boston College Eagles |
L, 16-19 – Georgia Tech | vs. UCF (9/20) | Frank: Boston College was idle this week after losing to Georgia Tech two weeks ago. BC also just lost starting DE Alex Albright for the season. |
| 6. |  |
Michigan Wolverines |
L, 17-35 – Notre Dame | vs. #8 Wisconsin (9/27) | Frank: I don’t think Michigan is nearly as bad as they looked against Notre Dame Saturday, but holy cow did they play like crap. How many unforced turnovers can one team commit in a game? Note to Rich Rodriguez: practice fielding kicks during the bye week before the Wolverines host the Badgers
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| 7. |  |
Pittsburgh Panthers |
W, 27-16 – Buffalo | vs. Iowa (9/20) | Frank: I guess Pitt moves up this list by default this week since the rest of the Irish opponents looked pretty bad. The best part of a bye week under Wannstedt? The Panthers can’t lose. |
| 8. |  |
Stanford Cardinal |
L, 14-31 – TCU | vs. San Jose St. (9/20) | Frank: Ummmm, so much for that new and improved Stanford that we saw beat Oregon State. The Cardinal lost by 17 to TCU a week after losing by 34 to Arizona State. |
| 9. |  |
Navy Midshipmen |
L, 31-41 – Duke | vs. Rutgers (9/20) | Frank: Navy lost another one this week at the hands of Duke. The Mids are now 1-2 on the season and get the nod over rest of the teams on the schedule since the |
| 10. |  |
Washington Huskies |
L 14-55, #3 Oklahoma | vs. Stanford (9/27) | Frank: Washington didn’t have to worry about excessive celebration penalties this week – they only scored 14 points in getting destroyed at home by Oklahoma. Washington’s first three games might one of the toughest opening trips in recent history, but DAMN. Does Washington get rid of Ty before Notre Dame’s trip to Seattle in October to avoid all of the extra hoopla? |
| 11. |  |
Syracuse Orangemen |
L, 13-55 – Penn State | vs. Northeastern (9/20) | Frank: Syracuse has now been outscored 127 to 51 by Northwestern, Akron, and Penn State. Add Greg Robinson to the list of coaches who may not still be coaching by the time they play Notre Dame this year. |
| 12. |  |
San Diego State Aztecs |
L, 10-35 – San Jose State | vs. Idaho (9/27) | Frank: How did we only beat these guys by 8? |
The State game is as good a test of ND as we’ll see until the BC game. Clausen sounds like he’s brimming with confidence, and Weis sounds downright giddy about beating UM, but this one’s on the road and Sparta always plays up to beat ND. If ND plays error-free on offense and stout defense, it has a chance.