The initial College Football playoff ranking has the orange and green U at the top, and nobody's really arguing about it.
The arguments start right after that. Georgia at 2 is fair. They're probably the second-best team to this point. Utah is undefeated at 3. Indiana is 4 after a string of close wins. Then there's Alabama at 5 and Tennessee at 13, with the same record, and Tennessee beat Alabama.
And then there's Notre Dame at 11, a seven spot decrease from their AP Poll ranking.
Former Hurricanes wide receiver Ahmmon Richards read it as the committee responding to last year.
"You took your ball and went home last year because you couldn't beat any of the ranked teams," he said.
Now the committee has the Irish sitting at 11 until they beat somebody that matters.
The committee's mistake last year was putting Notre Dame too high after its early losses, which made it hard to drop them. Now they've left themselves room to move either way.
If Notre Dame loses to us, they can put the Irish wherever they want and they're out. If Notre Dame wins, there's no problem moving them up. Prove it. You can see the same logic with undefeated UCLA at 8 and with Tennessee: we don't believe in you yet, but you've got games left to change our minds.
For Saturday, that means one thing. This isn't just a Heisman game or a game for the No. 1 seed. For Notre Dame, it's a playoff game.
"If we're talking about quality losses," he said, there's no better one than that.
Texas Tech is ranked one spot ahead at 15, with Thomas Castellanos running around at quarterback. I'd take Wake over Texas Tech ten times out of ten on any field.
Ahmmon's question mark is Ole Miss. He thinks they're still getting credit for the early win over LSU. But Kewan Lacy keeps getting hurt, Trinidad Chambliss isn't the same quarterback when the run game disappears, and Florida beat them up. Texas is streaky too, though its defense shows up more often than not.
He's buying the Alabama and Texas defenses, Kentucky on both sides of the ball, and a Tennessee defense that's been lights out even as its quarterback situation went sideways.
Last year I thought the SEC was overrated in the playoff. This year I think it actually has better players than the Big Ten. Indiana and Ohio State are great at the top, but the lists are short. Ahmmon's footnote: Texas pulled two starting linebackers out of the ACC. So much for the ACC not having talent.
He also gave the committee credit over the AP poll. At least these are people watching the games and trying to make it make sense, not a random voter who forgets to check his ballot.
His answer was the best line of the week. "If you need any extra motivation for this game, then you already lost."
He's been in that locker room. You know the rivalry, you know the history, and you know they don't like us and we don't like them. Nobody needs Twitter or a ranking to tell them what this game means.
"You ever seen someone in a street fight try to pump themselves up and they still get beat up?" he said. "Sometimes you don't need motivation. It's a fight."
That's why he isn't impressed by the clip circulating of Marcus Freeman telling his team to use outside noise as fuel. To Ahmmon, that's being motivated by the wrong things. Our players are talking about going 1-0.
He did admit that outside motivation helped once in his day, after the opposing coach said something before kickoff.
"They brought a knife to a gunfight," he said. "We just dropped the gun and went to the car and got a bazooka."
The point is that Miami was already ready to fight. The comments just added ammunition.
Notre Dame is playing for its playoff life. We're playing for the No. 1 seed. On paper that gives them the edge in desperation. But if the defense plays like it's got something to prove after the UNC tape, and it should, we'll find out whose edge actually matters.
Catch the full conversation on the CanesInsight YouTube channel, and subscribe for Notre Dame coverage all week long.
The arguments start right after that. Georgia at 2 is fair. They're probably the second-best team to this point. Utah is undefeated at 3. Indiana is 4 after a string of close wins. Then there's Alabama at 5 and Tennessee at 13, with the same record, and Tennessee beat Alabama.
And then there's Notre Dame at 11, a seven spot decrease from their AP Poll ranking.
Former Hurricanes wide receiver Ahmmon Richards read it as the committee responding to last year.
"You took your ball and went home last year because you couldn't beat any of the ranked teams," he said.
Now the committee has the Irish sitting at 11 until they beat somebody that matters.
The committee's mistake last year was putting Notre Dame too high after its early losses, which made it hard to drop them. Now they've left themselves room to move either way.
If Notre Dame loses to us, they can put the Irish wherever they want and they're out. If Notre Dame wins, there's no problem moving them up. Prove it. You can see the same logic with undefeated UCLA at 8 and with Tennessee: we don't believe in you yet, but you've got games left to change our minds.
For Saturday, that means one thing. This isn't just a Heisman game or a game for the No. 1 seed. For Notre Dame, it's a playoff game.
Wake Forest got disrespected
Ahmmon's biggest gripe was Wake at 16. They're scoring well over 30 points a game, blowing out nearly everybody, and their only loss came at home to the No. 1 team in the country."If we're talking about quality losses," he said, there's no better one than that.
Texas Tech is ranked one spot ahead at 15, with Thomas Castellanos running around at quarterback. I'd take Wake over Texas Tech ten times out of ten on any field.
The SEC logjam
Georgia 2, Alabama 5, Kentucky 6, Texas 7, Ole Miss 10, Tennessee 13, LSU 14. That's heavy.Ahmmon's question mark is Ole Miss. He thinks they're still getting credit for the early win over LSU. But Kewan Lacy keeps getting hurt, Trinidad Chambliss isn't the same quarterback when the run game disappears, and Florida beat them up. Texas is streaky too, though its defense shows up more often than not.
He's buying the Alabama and Texas defenses, Kentucky on both sides of the ball, and a Tennessee defense that's been lights out even as its quarterback situation went sideways.
Last year I thought the SEC was overrated in the playoff. This year I think it actually has better players than the Big Ten. Indiana and Ohio State are great at the top, but the lists are short. Ahmmon's footnote: Texas pulled two starting linebackers out of the ACC. So much for the ACC not having talent.
He also gave the committee credit over the AP poll. At least these are people watching the games and trying to make it make sense, not a random voter who forgets to check his ballot.
Desperation vs. motivation
So I asked Ahmmon the question I keep coming back to. Is Notre Dame's desperation real? Does a win-or-go-home team play differently than a motivated one?His answer was the best line of the week. "If you need any extra motivation for this game, then you already lost."
He's been in that locker room. You know the rivalry, you know the history, and you know they don't like us and we don't like them. Nobody needs Twitter or a ranking to tell them what this game means.
"You ever seen someone in a street fight try to pump themselves up and they still get beat up?" he said. "Sometimes you don't need motivation. It's a fight."
That's why he isn't impressed by the clip circulating of Marcus Freeman telling his team to use outside noise as fuel. To Ahmmon, that's being motivated by the wrong things. Our players are talking about going 1-0.
He did admit that outside motivation helped once in his day, after the opposing coach said something before kickoff.
"They brought a knife to a gunfight," he said. "We just dropped the gun and went to the car and got a bazooka."
The point is that Miami was already ready to fight. The comments just added ammunition.
Notre Dame is playing for its playoff life. We're playing for the No. 1 seed. On paper that gives them the edge in desperation. But if the defense plays like it's got something to prove after the UNC tape, and it should, we'll find out whose edge actually matters.
Catch the full conversation on the CanesInsight YouTube channel, and subscribe for Notre Dame coverage all week long.
