Thanks, i feel lonely since this is the first season without a division mate in the bowls. I'll try to represent better than in the past lol

Is this the year? Or will a rogue OC derail your season once more....can't wait to see how it plays out!

you and me both lol

Independent Division 2021 Season Preview

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2020 Final Record: 16-0
2021 Predicted Finish: 16-0

Where to begin with the reigning national champions (who, incidentally are also riding a 19 game winning streak)... They are arguably the most talented team in the NCAA from top to bottom without any major glaring issues with their starting 22. Offensively they are led by Heisman Trophy winner Tony Jones, who somehow looks to build off of a 125 reception, 2380 yards & 23 TD season from a year ago. It's expected the QB duo of Leslie Jacques and Brandon Wimbush will again split QB duties with Jacques seeing the majority of snaps. Joining Jacques or Wimbush in the backfield is incumbant RB starter Dexter Williams who finished the 2020 campaign 3rd in the NCAA in rushing with 1523 yards (6.3 ypc) and 10 TDs. Even with all the firepower on offense, Notre Dame's defense may instill more terror into their opponents than any other unit in the NCAA. In 2020, the defensive unit led the NCAA in scoring defense only allowing 13 points per game. They are quick and fast across the board and take joy in forcing opponents to make mistakes (+25 turnover margin). Up front, they are led by DE Dalton Hayes (28 sacks, 98 hurries) and LB Myles Morgan (47 tackles, 15 sacks, 3 int). The secondary, however, is where the Irish shine. CBs Julian Love, Nick Watkins and Shaun Crawford are the definition of "lockdown corners". Most teams only hope to have 1, but Notre Dame has 3... Not to be outdone, SS Jay Elliot is a perennial All-American who likes to not only make interceptions happen, but also will take your head off if he can't get there quick enough. It's possible that Notre Dame loses their first regular season game since 2019, but looking at their schedule I'm not sure it will happen. Look for them to repeat as division champions and once again head off to the National Title game.

Army Black Knights
2020 Final Record: 9-7
2021 Predicted Finish: 10-6

Army, now three years removed from their incredible run to the National Championship game, haven't been back to the playoffs since then. New head coach George Pounds will look to lead the Black Knights back into playoff contention with a balanced attack led by QB Ahmad Bradshaw, who looks to take sole reign of the QB duties with Chris Carter now on the West Coast helming the Cal Golden Bears. Bradshaw put up impressive numbers for Army in 2020 (60.8% completion percentage, 3561 yards, 26 TDs, 103.21 rating) after a dismal 2019 performance. RB Andy Davidson (1208 yards, 6.2 ypc, 7 TDs in 2020) has been the model of consistency for Army and he will continued to be relied upon to keep defenses honest. On the outside, WR duo Glen Coates and Sean Eckert both put up over 1000 yards receiving in 2020 and will look to be even stronger in 2021. Defensively, the Black Knights need a strong season out of CB Marcus Hyatt who, despite having ideal measurables, has never had more than 3 INTs in a year. Upfront DE John Voit will look to continue his strong performances (19 sacks in 2019, 20 in 2020... 21 in 2021??). Will LB Cole Christiansen be able to stay at a high performance level or will Army see a drop off. We expect to see Army fight for a playoff spot once again if Bradshaw can build off a solid 2020 performance and their defense can stay healthy and at least be a bend but don't variety.

Marshall Thundering Herd
2020 Final Record: 6-10
2021 Predicted Finish: 7-9

After an inaurgural 12-4 season in 2017, the Thundering Herd have finished 4th in the Independent Division 3 straight years. New head coach Morris Lopez will look to at least get Marshall back on the right side of .500 after a strong recruiting season. How quickly freshman DB Steven Gilmore, RB Brenden Knox and QB Jackson White develop may determine the fate of Marshall's season. Thundering Herd fans are hoping that White is the answer to QB after uneven performances over the years from starting QB Larry Ricketts (53.7% completion percentage, 3936 yards, 24 TDs, 82.34 QB rating in 2020). Marshall may need to lean on leading rusher Ray Ferguson until they are ready to unleash White, but look for WR Ronald Stewart to put up another solid season regardless of who is throwing him the ball. If WR John Amaya finally becomes the star Marshall hopes he will be, their offense could be one of the best in the NCAA. On defense, Marshall will need to lean on CB Brandon Drayton (6 INTs, 46.2% completion percentage against, LB Jeffrey Cline (82 tackles, 5 sacks, 2 INTs) and DE Eddie Parra (19 sacks, 95 hurries) to make up for deficiencies on an overall less than average defense. We expect to see White win the QB job at some point this season, possibly even splitting time with Ricketts in a two-QB system to start the season. Tough late season road games against Arizona, LSU and Michigan however ultimately spell doom for Marshall and another sub .500 season.

Navy Midshipmen
2020 Final Record: 8-8
2021 Predicted Finish: 6-10

Gone is All-American QB James Sherwood along with his 5659 passing yards and 42 touchdown passes. Leading rusher from 2020, William Sciortino and his 1252 yards rushing and 5 TDs is also no longer on the roster heading into 2021. Replacing this productivity will be difficult for head coach David Garcia. How quickly freshman QB Scott Gee gets comfortable with the offense will go a long way to determine Navy's season. Oft-injured RB Tommy Rodgers (293 yards rushing, 527 yards receiving 7 total TDs) will need to stay healthy to take pressure off the young signal caller and TE to WR convert Marcus Briggs (67 rec, 953 yards, 7 TDs at TE) along with newcomer Clark Barr could form a solid nucleus on offense... which is good, because historically Navy has not been good on the other side of the ball. Coaches and fans are hoping that graduate transfer Donald Vann (10 sacks, 50 hurries at Notre Dame) can help take some focus off of All-American candidate DE Samuel Hawkins (13 sacks, 83 pressures) to form a solid defensive front and bring more pressure to alleviate a less than average secondary led by CBs Charlie Andre (4 INTs, 35.9% completion percentage against) and Stanley Rose (who coaches are hoping rebounds to his prior form in 2019). The 2021 outlook has a bunch of "what ifs" for the Midshipmen and in a very strong division that is never a good sign.

Awesome write up Hines!!

Good stuff mhines! Well done!

Wowwie wow wow wow. Standing O for Hines!
Very well done!

NCAA Independent Division Quarterly Report

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-1 Overall, 2-1 Division)

The season didn't start the way Notre Dame was hoping for, dropping their first game to divisional rival Army. It was Notre Dame's first regular season loss since a Week 12 2018 loss to Navy (for those of you counting that was 36 straight regular season victories). Special teams play was the major contributing factor to that loss, but the coaching staff seems to have righted whatever was ailing them in Week 1 as the Fighting Irish have reeled off three straight by an average score of 61-12. Much like last season, Notre Dame employs the #1 offense in the country led by Heisman Trophy winner WR Tony Jones who leads the NCAA in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He is averaging 9.25 catches, 228 yards and 1.75 touchdowns per game, which puts him on pace to finish the 2021 season with 148 catches, 3648 yards and 28 touchdowns.... Not to be outdone, however, is RB Dexter Williams who also leads the league in rushing yards (487), yards per carry (9.4!!!) and rushing touchdowns (5). How teams plan for a team like this is beyond my scope of reasoning...

Defensively the Irish are 3rd in the NCAA in yards allowed (318.3) and 4th in scoring defense (17.25 ppg). While the amount of sacks is down over the previous years, the secondary continues to be elite averaging 2 interceptions per game led by All-Americans Julian Love and Jay Elliot with two each. Teams have been able to run the ball against the Irish this year, but typically fall behind so early in the game that they are forced into throwing the ball to keep up, leading to more turnovers (it's a vicious cycle).

We don't expect the Irish to slow down anytime soon with games against Navy, UCLA and USC coming up. People may want to cirlce their calendar however, for the Week 8 matchup against 4-0 Utah. If Utah can keep up their great start, this could be a tough game for the Fighting Irish. With the way Notre Dame is playing right now however, teams will need to find some way to create moral victories after they face the reigning champs.

Army Black Knights (3-1 Overall, 2-1 Division)

Army shocked the NCAA in Week 1 by upsetting reigning champion and divisional rival Notre Dame 34-24 in Michie Stadium (led by KR Jacques Houston and his 2 kickoff returns for touchdowns). Three weeks later, however, Army travelled to South Bend only to be humbled 70-20. Still, convincing wins over Alabama and Marshall (all at home) have catapulted the Black Knights to a 3-1 record to start the season. Offensively Andy Davidson has been Mr. Do-It-All, leading Army in both rushing (259 yards) and receiving (345 yards). Newcomer Robert Brookins has been a good change of pace back averaging 4.4 yards per carry so far in 2021. We fully expect to see more of Brookins we think Army will look for ways to create packages to get their most explosive players on the field at the same time.

Defensively, CB Marcus Hyatt has stormed out of the gates (tied for 2nd in the NCAA with 4 INTs). Heading into the season, questions were abound for the young defensive back but Hyatt has responded so far this season. How much he continues to play at this level will go a long way in the Black Knights ability to return to the playoffs. DE Douglas Bradford is another surprise for the Black Knight defense, eclipsing his previous season sack total already through 4 games (leads the team with 6 sacks, 17 QB hurries).

The next four weeks are crucial for the Black Knights with games against the top two BCS ranked teams in the next two weeks (Utah at home, at Rutgers). If Army can win both of those games, it may solidify their position as one of the top teams to beat in the Elite Conference. We believe that if Army can get some more consistent play out of QB Ahmad Bradshaw they have the potential to be in the mix for a top 5 BCS ranking after Week 8.

Navy Midshipmen (3-1 Overall, 0-1 Division)

Navy started strong out of the gates starting the season 3-0, albeit against opponents whose combined record is 4-8. Last week's offensive clunker at home against divisional foe Marshall is their only loss so far in 2021. Even with their strong start, there are questions abound for this year's Midshipmen team even after four weeks. Coaches have adopted the unorthodox method of playing all three QBs after freshman Scott Gee failed to win over the coaches trust after an uneven Week 1 performance. The results have been fairly good QB play overall, but the running game and overall line play haven't been up to par for the Middies so far. WR Marcus Briggs has been one of the more consistent offensive players this season, leading the team in all major receiving categories (28 receptions, 457 yards, 75.7% completion rate, 4 TDs).

Navy's much maligned defense has held up its end of the bargain so far, ranking 3rd in scoring defense (16.3 ppg) and 2nd in yards allowed (311.8). Whether that is due to the easier schedule or position/scheme switches during the off-season, only time will tell. One bright spot is CB Stanley Rose, who leads the team with 3 INTs, while only allowing 30.9% of the passes thrown his way to be completed. Much like Army's Hyatt, if Rose can keep this level of play up through the season it could be the catalyst Navy needs to keep games close for an offense trying to find its way.

Navy's schedule starts to get much tougher over the next 4 weeks with games at Notre Dame, Arizona at home and then travelling to currently undefeated Utah in Week 7. If Navy can put last week's horrendous offensive output behind them and find some better consistency in the run game to balance out their three-headed QB attack, they have the potential to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. Worst case scenario is they drop all three and become an after thought in the Elite Conference.

Marshall Thundering Herd (2-2 Overall, 1-2 Division)

After a convincing opening win against perinnial dormat Stanford 33-3, the Thundering Herd faced all three divisional opponents on the road in three consecutive weeks. Lopsided losses to Notre Dame and Army were followed by a strong defensive shutout of the Navy Midshipmen in Week 4. QB Larry Ricketts has been less than stellar early in the season, leading to speculation on how quickly fans will get to see highly prized recruit Jackson White. RB Ray Ferguson has been decent in the backfield averaging 4 yards per carry and WR Donald Stewart has been his usual solid self (20 rec, 322 yards) despite less than stellar QB play.

Led by DT Gregory Howard (who leads the team with 5 sacks), the Thundering Herd defense has been great in their two wins and somewhat forgettable in their two losses. If CB Brandon Drayton can bring his level of play to the next tier, Marshall could be in a good position to at least make some noise in the coming weeks.

After a gauntlet of divisional road games, things appear to ease up a bit for the Thundering Herd over the next four weeks. Their week 6 opponent, Utah, is the only team that currently sports a winning record but they get to face the red-hot Utes at home which may give Marshall a small advantage. If Marshall can't take advantage of this bit of schedule, fans may see the young freshman class sooner rather than later but we expect them to make the most of their schedule and remain in the playoff hunt coming out of Week 8.

Great writeup Hines!! Look forward to these every time you do em :)

ALL TIME INTRA-CONFERENCE RECORDS H2H
thru Week 11, 2021 Season

Notre Dame (25-5)
Army (16-13)
Navy (9-19)
Marshall (8-21)


*ND vs Army
8 3

ND vs Marshall
9 1

ND vs Navy
8 1

Army vs Marshall
7 2

Army vs Navy
6 3

Navy vs Marshall
5 5

*Includes Playoff H2H