Mike West

If I EVER would root for OBD to go 12-0, this would be the year. They have a realistic shot at running the table like Indiana did last year. But again-Dante Moore will have to play like he's facing NFL defenses. He will have to throw open receivers, teach guys how to find open windows in Zone coverage, and be able to find open guys in under 2 seconds. Julien Sayin is in the same boat. Both of these QBs have to assume their respective offensive lines cannot handle Elite pass rushing defenses. That requires a mindset of teaching and finding open receivers in a snap of a finger. Guys will have to make it easy for both to find them without defenses preventing easy receptions. I am going to write an article about that very topic. I think Moore is close to being there. But I am assuming for now it is because he throws to who he is comfortable with. I'll let you know soon what I believe he will have to develop in order to be the Maestro of College Football. Stay tuned

And boy do I hope we sport those same colors for the USC game. I like the Darth Vader in Black theme (or even the Storm Trooper white seen in Ann Arbor and the Coliseum last decade), but it is time to show the college football world that green and yellow IS the color when we win the Natty. I hope that starts with every marquee regular season matchup this year. I want to see the colors Rich Brooks and Mike Bellotti inspired Phil Knight into supporting in the first place.

I don't like the SEC. I hate their marketing narrative. But they DID get five playoff teams last year. I argued for a sixth-Texas. One thing the sESPNc has that the B1G does not is second tier programs good enough to win 10 every year. I'm calling out USC, Michigan and Washington for sure. Iowa needs to pull off an upset. Penn State, Wisconsin and Nebraska need to live up to their past glory. Michigan State and UCLA could return to past excellence as well. That's eight programs with reputations as good as Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, LSU in years past. Until those programs elevate to the degree Ohio State truly risks losing to them, we will have a problem like NASA has routinely in space. The B1G needs five programs winning 10 games a year and another 3 winning 9. That's how the B1G gets 5 teams in the playoffs. Despite what Josh Pate and SEC enthusiasts say-YOU ARE WHAT YOUR RECORD SAYS YOU ARE.

And I believe Genorris Wilson played better than both tackles last year as well. In fact, I am at a complete loss over that. I actually believe Wilson is better than transfer Michael Bennet. Did anyone know that both tackles were injured in the Peach Bowl? How about this fact, massive depth along the defensive line hit the portal before that game. That may have been a significant factor in OBD's inability to stop Indiana from running as well as they did in January. I like our backup DE's, but the amount of talent lost inside concerns me. Notre Dame, LSU and Ole Miss picked up some huge talent at our expense. As far as the Tier ratings-I only see Ohio State and Georgia in Tier 1. Until OBD implements a passing attack that defeated Ohio State TWICE this decade, we are Tier 2 in my book. In my outlandish opinion, we will have to actually outscore the elite teams-and I am talking dropping at least 35-in order to win the Natty. Lanning wants his defense to win the title. I don't see that happening. Even with the amount of experience coming back. OBD have to score more than 21 on elite defenses. That has been our ceiling since DL has been here-and it won't cut it. OBD have had some massive misfortune on our playoff runs. Injuries bit us hard. NIL has leveled the playing field, and OBD have massive talent this year. But execution has lagged behind in my opinion. And despite the fact Georgia and Ohio State disappointed last year (and in 24 for UGA), I watched their Spring Games thoroughly. The eye test looks better than OBD. Both of their defenses CAN win them a title. Outside the topic of this thread: Dante Moore absolutely must deliver NFL caliber performances this year. Right now I see OBD defense holding elite offenses to 28 points. Moore is going to have to throw like we have never seen him throw before. And yes, that is probably hyperbole (didn't take that as offensive-I am emphasizing the extreme on purpose. It is very, very difficult to win a national title). I love every aspect of where this team is at. Dan Lanning is going to win a national title for us. I hope it will happen this year.

You hit the hammer on the head perfectly. So much good information coming out of this thread. I do believe Lupoi produced his best defense last year. All things considered. I was very impressed with Lupoi last year.

This defense has all the makings of being another elite one for the ages of college football. We know the standard. It shows up in the stat sheet and on the scoreboard. I am saying this as an elitist. I want to see ungodly stats and scores this year. Not just "we did good" I don't want a team to score more than 24 on us all year. My standard is high. But this team has the chops to make that happen. GO DUCKS.

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha, Thanks Jon for providing ample evidence the SEC loves to toot their own horn. I knew the SEC was full of it way back in 2003 when Les Miles called out USC, but didn't challenge them to an instant classic opening game in 2004. That's because USC had pulled back the curtain on the narrative the SEC had at least 4 top ten teams every year (by obliterating 3 of them in successive years). We all know the SEC has the NCAA in the hip pocket because they went after USC, then completely ignored Auburn. Then made sure OBD would lose the Natty with egregious calls that kept them in the game frankly (the fumble-six would have sealed it, the called back interception gave them a highly undeserved TD). Then they had the nerve to pull for a LSU/Bama Natty. When everyone knew Bama was the better team. Thanks to NIL, they can't stack a team full of Cam Newtons like before. Now Kirby has to learn not to panic because his lustful DEs break pocket contain, and a mobile QB makes them pay. Yeah, when we take out the SEC in the playoffs again this year, they will come up with some excuse like the regular season beat them up. So prove it SEC. Schedule us in September. Like former Big12 powers OU and Texas do regularly. Like LSU and Bama do regularly. I bet you won't see Florida leaving the South in September for a loooooong while (Sorry GatFlorida-I really like your Gators, and want them to come back, but scheduling FSU and Miami isn't the same as going to Ann Arbor, Seattle or Eugene, not to mention Iowa City).

One word: Performance. There is a standard for this much experience-Ohio State. Nobody but OBD scored close to 30 on them in 2024. That defense gave up less than 14 ppg. Contrast that with Penn State last year. Another team with equivalent experience. They lost to OBD, and disintegrated. They gave up well above 23 ppg last year. Now when you look at OBD on paper, they look superior to just about everyone. Let me give you a concerning stat I heard today. Dante Moore has thrown 19 INTs and had 6 fumbles in 29 games. He had more INTs in 2025 than in his freshman year. What does that have to do with the defense? Look at the Peach Bowl. Over before it started. Not only does this defense need to be BETTER THAN OHIO STATE circa 2024, Dante Moore needs to play better than half the NFL starters this year. That's when I'll breathe easy. Sorry to rain on the parade, but we have been here before. The players have been given more candy in the candy store the past 3 years. They need to execute. Plain and simple. I see all the hype on OBD, and it concerns me. I need to see obliteration on WWII level. Germany and England bombing the hell out of each other (either one can be our offense, then the other our defense). If we don't blow a crater in the entire state of Idaho game 1, and send the Broncos home wondering if they should even exist, I will be concerned. It is that serious to me. But don't let me spoil things. This team is loaded. They have the capacity to nuke the entire solar system. I hope that happens. I hope we 86 every nightmare this program has faced as a contender. I hope we shut up every blue blood program fans base across the nation. I want people to hate OBD this year. And teams to fear us. This team can do that.

I wholeheartedly agree with you that greed is killing this game. Not sure its just playoff expansion. Unfortunately, ever since the BCS, the bowl system has been on the clock. Frankly, 34 bowl games is a joke to me. Why not play 78? So every team gets an extra week? Not to mention, the schools lose money: they have to guarantee ticket sales. Talk about grift! I really like 12 teams with play in options. Texas and ND deserved a shot at playing in the playoffs. Miami got the benefit of looking good early despite playing to the level of their competition all year (not my idea of rewarding a team that is supposed to be elite-elite teams dominate teams like Louisville and SMU-they're simply not equipped to handle the kind of talent Miami has). I believe the 24 team format forces the SEC to counter with a legit field, that determines who qualifies by how they play on the field and who they play on the field. Otherwise "F" it. If you're going to arbitrarily pick teams like Miami in 25' and some say Indiana (unjustly) in 24', just let the mediocre be fodder for blowouts and give the second level P4 teams a look at what they could be if they had the ability to compete against the real power in CFB. I simply cannot stand a South Carolina crying about their "lost opportunity"-only to lose in a bowl game. Make that kind of bubble team a play in entry level play in game. Keep the field at 12, and force the bubble teams into a mini playoff. Also, no 45 hundred day layoffs either. From Week 0 at the end of August until January 1, every week is showing college football. Army and Navy get their wonderful "nation watches their game" window, and then its on to the true best group of teams playing for a title (and frankly I believe only 8 get automatic slots and the other 8 are playing for 4 spots against numbers 5,6,7 and 8). The game needs a commissioner. Because the conferences, player reps(also know as unlicensed agents) and the TV execs are killing the game. Players are not students in the real sense, so scholarships must go. Contracts can include school as part of the compensation package-so we can weed out the dudes looking for a "bag of money" instead of truly representing Universities and Colleges. Let's call it what it is-professional football for 18-22 year-olds.

Thanks for another top notch article Jon! This is great info for the upcoming season. Which I am soooo ready for. Other sports just don't do it for me. February to August is the worst time of year for me. I hate it so much I watch the UFL and CFL to "survive". You really make this site special Jon. And you're provide so much information and entertainment, you're hard to ignore.

I guess I'm the Devil's Advocate today. College Football needs teams to hate. Really hate. ND is one of those teams. People tune in just to root against them. With all the money the sport needs, the Irish are literally like their ancestors from the 1760s and 70s. Enjoy the show. They bring drama we love to hate.

LMAO,. Al Davis calling out somebody else's character... Every story needs a villain. I love how much Kiffin trolls people. College Football will never be boring with Lane Kiffin in the scene

Dan Lanning is going to bring us a title. He's too relentless to fail. I can't wait to troll Ohio State, USC and Fusky fans. A playoff run full of blowouts would be even more glorious.

Charles, are we going to have to re-register when the new website comes up?

Great article Jon. Good info on the two finalists for the 2024 crown. And this is exactly why I agree with our commish: 16 with AQs, or 24. Hat would be better IMHO would be 12 with play in games on CCG weekend. No AQs, just matchups like Iowa vs Vandy, Texas vs. Michigan, BYU vs USC at all The vast canyon between scheduling is more than annoying at this point. SEC commish Sankey had the audacity to say bad luck has been the issue for the conference the past three years. When Texas, whom played a playoff worthy schedule is nixed out by both Oklahoma and A&M ( both whom absolutely demonstrated they did not belong in the playoffs), we have a serious problem. Georgia also had a juggernaut schedule in 24 and made the playoffs. You are what you schedule says you are when you play the contenders. Minnetonka State is a practice/scrimmage. It's a joke that too many elite teams and contenders basically schedule 3 or 4 practice games. So when fans and some pundits cry about a 24 team playoff field, I shake my head. Once Ole Miss dispatched Oklahoma, and Texas reminded A&M they're still a little bro, it should have been clear scheduling is muddling our ability to serious measure who is playoff worthy. I hate the SEC ( well almost). But Texas deserved a playoff berth. More so than even Alabama. That's how messed up this playoff format is. When Iowa and Illinois pretty much silence any SEC blather about tough conference schedules is successive years, it's time to change how teams schedule. Ohio State and Alabama are the only teams consistently putting their necks out there against title worthy opponents. That should be the starting point on determining who is playoff caliber.