Midweek Madness
One of the greatest things about being a one-man committee is that, I can change the rules however I like, and with this, the MM committee has decided along with the Power 5 conferences, to add the Fighting Irish into the mix, with the reasons as followed
- They are playing really well so It would make sense that they are in
- And with the fact that they are Independent, they get to play some really good power 5 opponents
Northwestern
2018 Record: 5-3 (Won against #20 Wisconsin)
Northwestern is in full control of the B1G west after their home win against Wisconsin which is impressive after their 0-3 skid after winning against the Boilermakers in week 1. The wildcats have a pass-oriented offense as they are averaging 280 yds/gm through the air. But they haven't seem to get anything going on the run game as they are averaging 91 yds/gm. Clayton Thorson who is now healthy has been the starter since splitting time with Green against Purdue and has averaged 259 yds/gm with 10 TD's and INT's and a completion rate of 61%
Notre Dame has a very good passing defense allowing 194 yds/gm through the air but is giving up 146 yds/gm on the ground, while that might seem like a positive for NU, they don't have that much experience in the running back spot with their leader being Isaiah Bowser who is averaging 56 yds/gm in the 4 games he has started in as the sophomore Jeremy Larkin who was averaging 155 yds/gm retired from football due to an illness. So it will be up to the O-line and Thorson to make the passing game work against the Irish.
#3 Notre Dame
2018 Record: 8-0 (Won against Navy)
Notre Dame is having one of their best season. Having sound wins over Michigan, Stanford, and Virginia Tech. And is sitting in 3rd for the College Football Playoff. But since they don't have a conference championship, every game counts for them, so this is a must win if they want to stay in the running for a playoff berth. They have a more pass-oriented offense, averaging 258 yds/gm through the air and a modest 189 yds/gm on the ground. Ian Brooke has been the starter since week 5 after beating out Brandon Wimbush. and Brooke is not doing that dad as he is averaging 247 yds/gm through the air with 13 TD's and 4 INT's, he not a runner as he is averaging 27 yds/gm but has 3 rushing TD's.
NU's defense is solid but could be better. They are allowing 221 yds/gm through the air, and 146 yds/gm on the run. What NU needs to do to have a chance to win against the Irish is to get their hand up and try to force some turnovers as we see in Notre Dame's close wins, the turnover count was high (3 against Ball State, 2 against Pitt.) and if they can keep Notre Dame's run game to less than 100 yards and their passing under 200. they have a good chance to ruin Notre Dame's season.
Verdict
\
There is a lot at stake for Notre Dame as a loss here will most likely have them outside looking in. I'm gonna go with the Irish on this one as they just have more talent than NU as they can play poorly and still squeak out a win. while NU has had some scares against some really bad teams (Nebraska, Rutgers). I just think in the end, Notre Dame is a much more talented team than NU.
Comments
Post a Comment