Tanker123 said:

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Craigy said:

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Tanker123 said:

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What is absolutely interesting is Notre Dame is ranked around #5 but Vegas thinks the A&M will improve enough to beat them although the spread is only around 2 points. I will bet on ranked teams when this season starts, but I will not touch this game. I hope Vegas is right.

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Vegas doesn't think A&M will beat Notre Dame. They are setting the line to make money

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Please explain to the uninitiated.

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I'll try. Ideally for Vegas, there will be an equal amount of money bet on each side. Then the house cannot lose. The house earns it's 10% "vig". Vegas does not care which team actually wins. So the betting line moves to encourage an equal amount of betting on each side.

Ok, got all my stuff from the Notre Dame Jersey Scrimmage from yesterday completed.

Basically, the Jersey Scrimmage is the real game, with the spring game next week being more for the fans.

The scrimmage yesterday had real plays, real schemes, actual tackling & 1's vs 1's.

I will go over what I liked & didn't like.

Liked:
They came out hitting. Even the QBs got hit, not taken to the ground, but got hit.
They came out very physical & competing from the opening snap.
Marcus Freeman made a point in his presser that every time they come out to compete that they are preparing for coming out in College Station and hitting.

The defense, as expected, is really, really good.
They are in their 3rd year under Al Golden & look really comfortable.
Golden was dialing up pressure from everywhere, as he likes to do, despite it only being a scrimmage, against a new OL, and they were in the backfield all day.
The offense was missing starting QB, starting TE, 3WRs, but still fought and won some drives.
Greathouse, from Dallas area, is a stud.

Didn't like:
The OL is young & struggled to keep up with the pressure from the defense.
There is a battle at RT and neither guy is winning.
The 2nd string QB, Angeli, who is 1st string right now while Leonard heals, really struggled.
Just too many players missing with "nagging" injuries.
Those types of injuries seem to carry over into the fall.

Standout players:
(Not obvious starters, but youngsters who shined getting their chance now);

QB Carr; true freshman who might force his way to 2nd string. He looks like a vet, which isn't surprising with his dad and granddad.

Traore: DE who genetically is a freak, but putting it together now mentally & was hard to block.

Bowen: Will be the starting Mike & was all over the place yesterday.

Gray: Will start opposite Morrison & didn't give up a completion.

Players who need to do more:

RT position: Baker & Wagner are both highly rated, but neither are stepping up.

2nd String OL: Was hoping somebody would step up & force their way into the 1's, since all very highly rated, but they got abused by the DL. Didn't see anyone who would push the starters, which improves everybody.


Overall, thankfully Denbrock can scheme his way to protect the OL as they get their footing.
Golden doesn't care ND is breaking in a new OL & didn't have its starting QB, he threw the kitchen sink at them with pressures.

From what I can gather, as usual with Golden defenses, he will trust his secondary to go man up, and send pressure all day. With Morrison, Watts, Gray, Heard & Mickey, I think it's a smart move.
Denbrock barely went 2 TEs, which is new for ND, & had 2 RBs at time, with Love going out in motion to the slot, so going 3-4 wide almost every play.
Without Leonard, they didn't run the QB run/pass option plays they will run when he's back.

As anticipated, the OL development between now and the opener will decide how far this team goes.

USAF9705 said:

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.....But the biggest surprise to me is actually Elko hiring Jay Bateman. If I'm an Aggie fan I pray Elko runs the defense not Bateman. I have seen Bateman DC against ND multiple times in person and he gave up almost 40ppg in those games.
The Aggie fan on here who was at the UNC vs ND game in South Bend in 2021 saw ND score 44 against Bateman.....

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Yep. 2021 UNC was horrible on D- finished 105th in D1. Gave up 38 to a South Carolina team averaging 22ppg.

Gave up 45 to GaTech (24ppg). . 55 to Wake Forest. 42 to Miami and 39 to Virginia.


My only concern so far about Elko is this choice of DC, with the only comfort being Elko knows D. Seems like a very bad hire from the outside.

My hardcore gambling friends told me the official line that's open to wager now, is even on the ML & both teams at -110.
Said they think it will eventually move to around ND -3.5 by the summer.
I personally don't gamble, but interestingly enough am surrounded by gamblers & used to spend a lot of time in LV.
Curious to see how accurate this ends up being.

What position did you play in college and where?

Me?
I played Safety (but now it would be more of an OLB position in modern defenses), but only for 1 year.

Rectitude said:

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Tanker123 said:

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Craigy said:

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Tanker123 said:

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What is absolutely interesting is Notre Dame is ranked around #5 but Vegas thinks the A&M will improve enough to beat them although the spread is only around 2 points. I will bet on ranked teams when this season starts, but I will not touch this game. I hope Vegas is right.

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Vegas doesn't think A&M will beat Notre Dame. They are setting the line to make money

---

Please explain to the uninitiated.

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I'll try. Ideally for Vegas, there will be an equal amount of money bet on each side. Then the house cannot lose. The house earns it's 10% "vig". Vegas does not care which team actually wins. So the betting line moves to encourage an equal amount of betting on each side.

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Vegas makes more than the 10% vig. They set the lines to take in more money on the losing side. Also factor in the exotics including parlays and teasers

USAF9705 said:

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Me?
I played Safety (but now it would be more of an OLB position in modern defenses), but only for 1 year.

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Where did you play? What year?

Aggie Class of 2026 said:

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USAF9705 said:

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Night game, was an awesome experience. UNC had Sam Howell at QB. Maybe we walked past each other.

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It was indeed a night game. Great atmosphere. I was on campus hrs before and soaked in as much as possible. I was easy to spot too

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Did you recently start posting on SEC Rant?

Here is the Condensed ND Spring Game (about 30 minutes showing every play):



Starters who didn't play:
QB Leonard
RB Price
TE Evans
CB Morrison
NB Clark
S Heard
WRs (in the rotation): Faison, Thomas, Collins, Harrison, Saldate, Williams, Smith.

Limited snaps for Starting DT's Mills & Cross (DT Rubio inactive until next semester), TE Raridon.

Overall, it was a really good spring game. I've been to A LOT of stinkers over the years, but this one was really well played. The teams were split, so it was very competitive. The only group who struggled at times was the OL, which was split on each team, so that made sense.
ND is (finally) really deep at every position. In the past if ND lost one starter, they would struggle. A QB is going to leave because all three who played are good enough to start elsewhere, so they all won't stick around and sit.

I never take too much from a spring game unless it's really bad (which happened two years ago).
But from this spring game I took away how crisp ND looked & how deep they are.
And seeing the real scrimmage last weekend gave me a glimpse of what they look like at full go & they looked really crisp too.

I've watched "highlights" of about a half dozen other spring games & seen a lot of stinkers.

Watched the replay of A&Ms this morning.
Curious to hear your thoughts on it?

They do look solid. Their drills and scrimmages look sharp too. That's a football team right there.

How do you feel about A&M's spring game?

Any 2nd string on A&M's OL and DL are short white dudes who don't do anything. When I look at Notre Dame I dont see any of that. So there's that.

Notre Dame's starters across the OL look MUCH more competent than A&M's starters. We have upperclassmen like Zuhn, Crownover, and Fatheree who wouldn't hold a candle to ND's OTs and that's after ND just lost a 1st and 2nd rounder talent at both endcaps.

A&M just can't get OTs anymore and that concerns me. Some of it is bad coaching but it's not all of it. And when you look at what is available for Texas A&M it's really a pathetic excuse.

Mismatched or not, the 1v1s our upperclassmen lost to young scout DL was pathetic.

The OTs we've recruited (Thomasson, Erb, etc) aren't quick enough to play tackle so we've moved them inside, where we already have plenty of guards. The OL we've taken from the portal? All guards. Not 1 single proven OT from the portal. Meanwhile Tenn got Lance Heard. Ole Miss took care of business. Iowa at least tried.
Texas has made good on their OL NIL fund to get Kelvin Banks, Devon Campbell, Brandon Baker. All top top players and 2 of which in-state. A&M doesn't do that…

We can't come up with what's necessary but we can give suped up race cars to non-100 guys like Tristan Jernigan who haven't played a single down of SEC.

The program's positional priorities are so out of wack and it's further enforced when all you hear from Billy Liucci is WR WR WR. I'll tell u somethin, that position is a dime a dozen. Look at Wesley Watson, Travis Labhart, etc. it's much less difficult to find blue collar WRs with sure hands than it is to find athletic OT's with quick feet.

It sounds like you're deeply invested in college football, especially Notre Dame, with a wealth of personal connections to the program. The anticipation leading up to the first game of the year is indeed palpable, especially when it involves two powerhouse teams like Notre Dame and Texas A&M facing off, with potential College Football Playoff implications.
Your journey from Indiana to Texas and back again, all while maintaining your allegiance to Notre Dame, adds an interesting personal dimension to your fandom. It must have been quite the experience to witness the behind-the-scenes movements, like Elko's transition to Texas A&M.
Regarding Texas A&M's offensive line concerns, it's always crucial to have a strong front to protect the quarterback and open up running lanes. If there's chatter about it being a weakness, it's definitely something worth keeping an eye on, as it could impact the team's performance, especially against formidable opponents like Notre Dame.
As for the subscription question, it's common for some forums to restrict posting privileges to specific groups, like alumni or affiliates of the university. You might want to reach out to the forum administrators directly to clarify whether subscribing grants you posting access. It sounds like you have valuable insights to share, so hopefully, you'll be able to contribute to the discussion if you decide to subscribe.

I actually did subscribe to the basic one.

I figured if I was going to hang out & bother you'll I should at least contribute some cash each month.

I have always felt OL is the key to being in every game.
Even if your defense struggles, you can play keep away with a good OL.
There have been many years ND was subpar at QB & skill positions, but won double-digit games solely based on their OL.

I was listening to a podcast today & they said something about the size of the ND starting OL & even the guys competing for spots that I couldn't believe, so I had to go look it up. And they weren't kidding. ND's OL is going to be quite large this year. The official measurements are:

LT 6'7 329
LG 6'5 324
C 6'4 308
RG 6'5 306
RT 6'8 321

Competing:
LG 6'5 302
RG 6'5 331
OT 6'6 292
OT 6'7 325

The problem is that size doesn't matter if they can't do their job.
They have three 5 Stars in the OL room & one who shows up this summer (who shouldn't play this year).
They have two other top 50 guys who haven't performed like it up to this point. So the rankings don't really matter now they are in college.
I think they will be fine at 4 if the 5 positions. The question is RT. Kid is a 5th year senior who has started & played on & off for 4 years, but never hit his top 50 ability. He is a legit 6'8 (closer to 6'9) & a former BB player. He does fine 9 out of 10 plays, but that 1 play he will get the QB killed.
Hoping that between him and the other 2-3 OT's competing, ND can figure out that spot.
To me that's the only position coming out of the spring that worries me.

Modern college football.

Talking to a source with ND & they are expecting some actual starters or guys in the rotation to enter the portal because they have a younger player nipping at their heels.
Said that a handful of guys are in decision making mode & the ND staff wants them back, but they can either leave now to play elsewhere or decide to come back & battle to keep their position in the fall.
So the staff is waiting to see what they do.