Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 OCT. 29, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Not Always … But Likely This Season By Lou Somogyi The caveat to this is not all 11-1 or 12-0 seasons are created equally. So much is contingent on one's strength of schedule or what the "timing" is in certain years. LSU played for and won the national title in 2007 with two losses — but in other seasons might not have even placed in the top five. The 10-3 Notre Dame team in 2017 defeated four teams that finished in the top 25, while the 2015 unit had the same record but beat only one such squad. An 11-1 Notre Dame outfit this year would be hard-pressed to make the four-team College Football Playoff (CFP) for two reasons. First, the most probable loss would be at USC in the regu- lar-season finale Nov. 24. Making first impressions is impor- tant — but creating a final impression is even more crucial in the CFP era. Unless you're Alabama and are automatically judged by the "eye test" and recent history — like last year when it lost to Auburn in its final regular-season game — catching that kind of break would be extremely difficult. Second, as an independent without an opportunity to atone for any setback with a league championship win, the Fighting Irish could be out of sight, out of mind to the CFP committee. Unless Notre Dame's schedule ranks among the top five as it did most of the time from 1985-95, our bet is there would be an inherent lean- ing toward a 12-1 Power Five conference winner over an 11-1 Irish squad. An Undefeated Season May Not Be Necessary By Bryan Driskell Not since 2004 have at least three Power Five teams finished the regular season undefeated, so the odds are Notre Dame will be in competi- tion with a number of one-loss programs when it comes College Football Playoff selection time, assuming the Irish can win at least 11 games and don't have a blowout loss. While Notre Dame's 2018 schedule isn't nearly as daunting as it was in 2017, there are plenty of tough tests that can be used as gauges for the committee. But looking around the country, the pos- sible one-loss teams that could take a spot away from Notre Dame don't have many chances to beat marquee opponents either. Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Washington and Alabama all have relatively soft schedules. This is especially true for Clemson, Oklahoma and Washington. Only Ohio State currently owns a win over a ranked opponent, something the Irish have already done three times. Notre Dame also plays 10 Power Five opponents this season, which will allow it to stack its résumé up nicely against one-loss squads that play eight to nine league contests and a conference title game. Alabama and Georgia, for example, only play nine reg- ular-season games against Power Five opponents. So, even with a conference title game, Notre Dame's résumé would have the same number of Power Five opponents to use as measuring sticks. Notre Dame would also be the lone team in the conversation to have wins over opponents from four different Power Five conferences. Point ✦ Counterpoint: DOES NOTRE DAME NEED TO BE 12-0 TO MAKE THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF? Coming off a national championship, head coach Muffet McGraw and Notre Dame will get arguably their best player back in 2018-19 after not hav- ing her all of last season. Senior forward Brianna Turner is healthy and ready to make an impact after sitting out 2017-18 due to a torn ACL. Turner, who averaged 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game her first three years, will return to the post aiming to help the Fighting Irish capture back-to-back national titles. BGI: When did you start feeling like your old self? Turner: "I'm so excited. I got a little taste in the summer, going on the foreign trip. It was exciting to be back on the court with the team. Now we're getting ready for the season in less than a month. I feel like I'm a freshman all over again. "I would say probably by the foreign tour I was back to normal. I'm out of my brace. I'm feeling good now. I don't practice it in, and I got rid of it. It's in the trash now. It wasn't hindering me. "It was necessary the first few weeks getting back. Now, I talked to some of our trainers and doctors, and they said I'm good to go. I haven't played with the brace since I've been back on campus this fall." BGI: How important was the team's summer trip to Rome and Croatia for you? Turner: "Mentally, I'm back where I was prior to the injury. Being on the foreign trip was great for us to bond, get the freshman on the court for the first time and me coming back and not having to wait until now. "It was a good experience for me." BGI: How difficult was it to sit through last year and see the ride and not be able to part of it? Turner: "It was difficult not being on the court, but on the sideline it was a new perspective. I felt like a coach and was able to see the little things on the court and kind of nitpick. … It was a differ- ent perspective that I took that I can use more so this year, seeing more things on the court." BGI: What did you learn on the bench last year that you can apply this season? What did you do to occupy yourself mentally? Turner: "On the court, I find myself ball watch- ing. When I was on the bench, I found myself looking at all aspects of the court and not just the ball. I feel I'm a lot better noticing spacing on the floor. "Rehab definitely took up a lot of the time. Off the court, I did something different every day, whether that was finding a book to read or find- ing a new TV show or activity. Just different things throughout the year." BGI: Was there ever a point last year where you had the temptation to try and get back? Turner: "Coach Beth Cunningham always re- minded us you can only play five, so unless they got down to four maybe I could get in there. "If we had five, I had confidence in us." — Corey Bodden Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SENIOR FORWARD BRIANNA TURNER Turner returns to the court this season after missing all of 2017-18 due to a torn ACL. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND