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Notre Dame Football: A Schedule Puzzle

By Joshua Vowles

Nov 21, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer (14) wears the special edition Shamrock Series helmet during warmups for the game against the Boston College Eagles at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback DeShone Kizer (14) wears the special edition Shamrock Series helmet during warmups for the game against the Boston College Eagles at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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Would the 2016 Notre Dame football record be better at 10-2 or 11-1?

At first glance that might be the most ridiculously stupid question someone could ask. After all, 11 wins is one more than 10 wins, and if you don’t believe me… go watch Spinal Tap.

However, in football (and more importantly college football) not all wins are equal. And sometimes it takes an even weirder turn as it has less to do with the wins and more to do with the “better loss.” This is the playoff era, and we are all now subject and duty bound to discuss this from training camp to championship week (championship week is the week of conference championship games- you know… we’re just telling you that because INDEPENDENCE BABY).

The question (which was debated on Twitter with our pals and Her Loyal Sons comrades), well the question I’m posing to you, is this… Would you rather Notre Dame be 11-1 with its lone loss coming at the hands of USC in the last game of the season, or would you prefer a 10-2 year with one of those 10 wins being a victory over the Southern Cal Trojans? By the way, you can make those two losses against anyone and in any way imaginable.

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Choose wisely.

What would help Notre Dame more in the eyes of the college football playoff committee? At 11-1, would a close loss to a 9 or 10 win Southern Cal team help the Irish more than a 10-2 season with close losses to Texas and Stanford and a beat down of USC at the end?

Would Notre Dame be in bad shape either way?

Notre Dame football has some serious obstacles in the playoff era whether we want to admit it or not, and it’s scenarios such as this one that can haunt us all, and perhaps even make us wonder what direction the program is heading towards.

Just think about it.

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