Domer Law Blog

Irish Blogger Gathering: BEAT SC Edition

2011-10-21T12:52:00.001-04:00

I've been on a hiatus from blogging for the past few weeks, as I've been focusing on my practice. However, as I have the hosting duties for the USC Irish Blogger Gathering, I've managed to muster up the time to put a little something together for you guys. Maybe a "little" something is misleading, as my fellow bloggers seemed daunted by the task laid before them. But it's SC week. You gotta give a little extra.

1. I'm taking an old friend of mine to the USC game. They were born and raised in South Bend near Notre Dame, and developed a dislike for the University at a young age from dealing with the frustrations and messes that come from Notre Dame home football weekends. She's never been to a Notre Dame game before (she's an Ohio State fan). We're going to go tailgate and do all the usual tailgating stuff. Any suggestions on what I could do to help her let go of her animosity towards Notre Dame?

Since I'm the one hosting the IBG this week, I'm going to hold off on answering this one myself, and see what my fellow bloggers have to say on the subject. I'll repost my favorite answers here.

Keith at NBC Sports: You’re not in the business of converting somebody. Leave that to Brian Kelly. Let the game and environment speak for itself. If she doesn’t like Notre Dame any better after Saturday, save your next USC ticket for someone else next time!

Matt at We Never Graduate: I hate to be the one who breaks this to you, but she’s a Buckeye fan. She’s not salvageable.

Steve at Gameday 40: Now as to your friend, since its a night game you should have plenty of time on your hands to see all the sights and you might be able to charm her with a few of our traditions... Most non-domers I’ve given the tour to really are impressed by the tradition and remark how it really is different than most other college-football environments. (Steve, your objections have been noted. And overruled.)

Subway Domer: Haters gonna hate.

Frank at UHND: Walk around campus on Thursday or Friday and hit up all of the sites before a lot of people arrive on campus. Go to the Grotto and light a candle. Listen to the trumpets in the Dome on Friday. Rub Rock’s nose. Go to the Midnight Drummer’s Circle on Friday night. Ever since I stopped attending pep rallies, I’ve gone to the drummer’s circle instead and I still love it. On gameday, make sure to tailgate early so you have time to hit up the player’s walk to the stadium and the band’s concert. Lastly, make sure to make at least one trip to the Backer during the weekend.

2. On a related note, do you have any suggestions for improving the Notre Dame game weekend experience generally? Are there traditions lost that you'd like to see restored, or new ideas that you'd like to see implemented to improve the gameday experience?

There is nothing on earth quite like a Notre Dame football weekend in my eyes. Everything about it, from the tailgating, the walk, the concert on the steps, step-off and the traditions that come with the game itself are amazing. The only thing I would change is to try and work with the ushers to foster a more fervent crowd. I've actually been asked to calm down by an usher for simply cheering for my team. I wasn't being disrespectful or rude, just really loud and passionate about the game on the field. I'd like to see the stadium expand and offer some luxury suites where the old fogeys could go sit and enjoy the game and get out of the good seats where we need louder younger fans who aren't afraid to get up and yell with the Irish.

I also think that they need to change the pep rallys. Put it back in the Stepan Center, with student-only admittance. Put up a big screen and some speakers on the Irish Green for everyone that wants to hear the speeches. But the purpose of a pep rally is to fire up the team - not to put on a song-and-dance for the fans visiting town.

3. (a) USC is (and always will be) our biggest rival. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? And if you agree, why do you feel that this is such an important rivalry? (b) Rank your top 10 college football rivalries and provide justifications for each.

USC is our biggest rival, and one of the greatest rivalries in all of college football. I think it is such an important rivalry because these two teams, throughout history, have had something to say about each year's national title and Heisman Trophy. Here are my top 10:

1. Army/Navy
No game inspires more fervency than this one. Relevant? Not so much. But there is no better tradition anywhere in sport than when these two teams face off. It's not just football - it's patriotism.

2. Michigan/Ohio State "The Game"
Surprisingly, I rank this ahead of the Notre Dame / USC rivalry. It's always played at the end of the season in two of the best stadiums in the country. It often has an impact on the national title, and there is a special kind of hatred between the two teams.

3. Notre Dame/USC
There is so much that makes this rivalry great. There is a great mutual respect between the schools, but also plenty of hate when it comes to the football programs. Notre Dame represents the midwest blue collar conservative persona, and Southern Cal is the glitz and glamour of Hollywood with all of it's excesses. They're 2,000 miles apart. It's spanned most of the history of the sport. And there is no other rivalry that has had such a huge impact on the National Title and Heisman Trophy over the years.

4. Oklahoma/Texas "Red River Rivalry"
This one is awesome because it's always played at the neutral Cotton Bowl midway between the two schools, and the stadium is split down the midddle between Crimson and Burnt Orange. Two historically powerful programs that often have national title implications on the line.

5. Alabama/Auburn "The Iron Bowl"
An in-state rivalry that inspires some of the most intense hatred of any of the rivalries. Alabama in many ways is the crown jewel of the SEC, and this is their most hated rival. And Auburn isn't exactly a pushover, either.

6. Florida/Georgia fka "Greatest Outdoor Cocktail Party"
A rivalry that (until recently) touted the tailgating as the primary focus of the rivalry gets big-time bonus points. Two powerful SEC schools that inspire some intense feelings, and two great stadiums.

7. Lafayette/LeHigh "The Rivalry"
This one's called the rivalry because no matter what division they play in, these two schools have been going at it longer than anyone else. It's the most-played and longest uninterrupted rivalry in football.

8. Harvard/Yale "The Game"
Two of the best teams from the very early days of football have been doing this longer than almost anyone, and was often the game that decided the national title. They are two of the most prestigious and historic universities in the country. Also, bonus points because MIT students like to set up elaborate pranks during the game.

9. Cal/Stanford "Big Game"
This one makes this list almost entirely because they get bonus points for "The Play." Inarguably one of the most dramatic ways to end a game in one of the most historic rivalries in the country.

10. Missouri/Kansas "The Border War"
I didn't want to put any team on the list twice, as I believe that you're really only entitled to one truly great rivalry per school. And this rivalry goes back to the days before football - heck, before the Civil War. Read your history books.

4. Southern Cal is 5-1, with their only loss on the road at Arizona State. They are unranked, sitting right behind us in the "also receiving votes" category. How good is Southern Cal this year? How do you see this game playing out?

I'm cautiously optimistic. The team seems to have worked out most of its turnover issues, and Tommy Rees' numbers look good. But I still shudder at some of the passes he throws. He's actually becoming a gunslinger, which is a ticking time bomb for this team. But as long as we keep our turnovers to a minimum, I don't think Southern Cal can keep up with the Irish firepower. SC's defense will struggle to slow down the Notre Dame offense, and Notre Dame's defense will find ways to slow down SC's offense (although they are a potent offense and will get plenty of points.

Notre Dame 37, Southern Cal 31

5. It appears that with a win over USC, we'll re-enter the Top 25 rankings. Now that we're halfway through the season and have some actual evidence available to us from real games, how do you see the rest of the season playing out? Predict:

(a) Notre Dame's final record (indicating where we will lose if at all): 10-2

(b) Notre Dame's bowl destination, opponent and outcome: Sugar Bowl versus Alabama. Notre Dame wins an ugly defensive struggle, 17-14.

(d) Notre Dame's final AP ranking: #6

(e) The winners of the major awards, including:

(i) Heisman Trophy: Trent Richardson

(ii) Home Depot Coach of the Year: Bret Bielema

(iii) Davey O'Brien Award (best QB): Andrew Luck

(iv) Doak Walker Award (best RB): Trent Richardson

(v) Fred Biletnikoff Award (best WR): Michael Floyd

(vi) Chuck Bednarik Award (best defensive player): Luke Kuechly, Boston College

Go Irish! Beat SC!

Irish Blogger Gathering: Chicken Little Edition

2011-09-16T18:11:00.000-04:00

1. Let's go ahead and talk about the big pink elephant in the room. After two absolutely horrid, heart-breaking, and downright mind-boggling performances, how do you feel about this team moving forward? Are we simply a bad team or a team that just hasn't put it together yet? This is your chance to talk Irish fans of the ledge...or push them over.

This is really the question, isn't it? There's the camp of pessimists, who wail and gnash and rend their clothes and declare the end of the Kelly era. And there are also those that BELIEVE! We will overcome, because HERECOME THE IRISH!!!!>?! lol

But the real truth is that this is a talented team in transition. While we were completely capable of winning either of the last two games, Irish fans have tasted the bitter pill of defeat once again. Gone, our national title hopes. Gone even, our hopes for a BCS win. Disappointed? Hell yes. But the reason I'm not a knee-jerk "FIRE KELLY!?!!>!!" fan is that I watched these games...

This team is good. REAL good.

4.5 turnovers per game. Let's talk about the big pink elephant in the room, okay? Averaging over 500 yards of offense per game (13th in the NCAA, far ahead of any of the opponents on our entire schedule). And our total defense is 52nd in the country, not too shabby...

But we have one glaring issue. -9 - our turnover ratio. We have controlled the majority of the game, but then our offense has this bad habit of turning the ball over. Especially in the red zone. Until we correct this, we are a terrible team that can't beat anybody. Give a freshman a shot at QB at this point. Find somebody who will take care of the ball.

And don't get me started on the stupid penalties by upperclassmen.

So, for right now, let's just let our legs dangle over the cliff. If we win tomorrow, we can back away from the edge. We lose again? I'll be the first lemming over. This is where we separate the men from the boys.

2. It's time to put on the headset and step into the shoes of Brian Kelly. In the first quarter, it seemed like your message and plan to recover from the USF disaster worked, and then the rest of the game happened. How do approach this week? What message do you give your players?

Just hammer it into their heads that they would be 2-0 if they could hold onto the damn bowl. They are already a disappointment in the eyes of the Irish faithful. How do you want to be remembered? As a team that played like the Keystone Cops and bumbled away an entire season? Or as a team that has learned how to win, running off 11 straight victories en route to a number 1 preseason ranking next year?

Both of these options are still on the table. It's time to step up and remember that you are Notre Dame. WE are Notre Dame. What tho' the odds be great or small, ol' Notre Dame WILL win over all. Get it done, boys.

3. Keep that headset on, you are still playing Kelly. Based upon what you've seen these last two games, do you see players that need to start riding the pine or are you still confident in your depth chart?

I have no confidence whatsoever in the quarterback depth chart. Run full live scrimmages in practice this week, with full contact on the QBs, 1s-vs-1s. Give each quarterback five series to start from their 20 yard line. Best stat line wins the starting job on Saturday.

4. Overall, how do you feel about Rees' performance against Michigan?

4th Quarter drives: 3 and out. Rees fumble at Michigan 7 yard line. 3 and out. Rees 29 yard pass for a touchdown. Not a bad finish to the game, put us in the lead with 30 seconds left. But the dismal performance in the 4th quarter prior to that last drive cost us the game.

5. Let's talk about something happy: the Irish running game. After a 198 yard performance by the Irish do you feel that this rushing attack led by Cierre Wood (134 yards) is for real or have we not run into a tough enough defensive test yet?

It's for real. And I would do nothing but run the ball in the red zone. I'd rather come out with a field goal than nothing. If we'd gotten field goals instead of each of the redzone turnovers this year, we'd be 2-0. When you're in range, run the ball down their throats.

6. Looking ahead to Michigan State, how do you gauge them? Is this the best team that we've faced off against yet or is this just an untested team that beat up on two cupcakes in Youngstown State and Florida Atlantic?

Both. They will be a good football team, but they don't know that yet. They know that they were beating up on cupcakes. They know they're going to get some stiff competition this week. But we are far more battle tested that MSU.

7. Is the key to winning simply not turning the ball over or do you see other crucial keys to beating Sparty?

Just hold onto the ball. We can do exactly what we did the last two games, just don't turn the ball over. We fix that, this team will roll over people.

8. Obviously every week should be a must win, but I think there is definitely more of an urgency this week. How crucial is this game for the rest of our season?

Critical. This game makes or breaks the season. Win, and we can be this year's Virginia Tech. Lose, and everybody starts to lose faith.

We'll see if this team has what it takes tomorrow. All the chips are on the table. Don't know about you, but I'm betting on the Irish.

Irish Blogger Gathering: Michigan Sucks Edition

2011-09-09T14:34:00.002-04:00

1) Well that result really sucked. Please describe how you feel about the loss using lyrics from a pop diva (eg Brittany Spears, Rihanna, etc) song. Bonus points for video or pictures. (something good has to come out of last week)

"I know it wasn't right
I can't even sleep at night
Can't get it off my mind
I need to get out of sight"

"What started out as a simple altercation
Turned into a real sticky situation"

Rihanna believes that Michigan sucks...

2) While we all want to move on, last week's game can teach us many things about the '11 Irish. After seeing what Week 1 brought us, do you find yourself more confident, less confident, or still confused as hell about our chances vs the Skunkbears? Why?

More confident, provided we can protect the football. I'm willing to chalk up some of the sloppiness with the ball to first game jitters. But we doubled up SFU in yardage, and despite shooting ourselves in the foot repeatedly, we still only lost by 3. Clean things up, and the team I saw on Saturday is capable of competing with anybody in the country. And Michigan sucks, so we should be able to win easily.

3) Other than QB, which position group pleasantly surprised you this past week? Which disappointed? What player absolutely MUST see more time in Week 2? Again, no QBs.

Running back pleasantly surprised me. Although we got in the whole too early to really utilize our running game, Cierre Wood averaged almost 5 yards per carry. If that continues, and we can avoid the blunders that put us into an early hole, we will roll over some teams on the ground this year.

I'm not sure I would identify a particular player that must see more time in Week 2. I like the rotation we have, and I'm not sure that giving any individual player more time will help anything. I like what I saw from Louis Nix, so I guess if forced, I'd pick him.

Michigan sucks. (I'm trying to put this in every answer, which is hard when you ask about our team...)

4) Tommy Rees will lead the Irish Offense this week. Do you agree with Coach's call? Either way, what part of Crist's game will the Irish O miss the most, if any?

I was a big supporter of Dayne Crist. But at this point, it appears that all Tommy Rees does is win. He may not have the measurables that Dayne has, but every time he's been in the ball game, he's beaten the opponent. And that includes Tulsa and South Florida - he was trailing both times when he went in, and while he was QB, we scored more points than the opponent. Until such time as that changes, I say we go with the hot hand.

We'll miss Crist's athleticism. He may not be the truly mobile quarterback that Hendrix or Golson is, but he does have a stronger arm and better escapability. Without Crist, the receivers and O-line need to step up their game a bit. But Michigan sucks, so even if they don't, we should win.

5) What's the key to beating the Wolverines this week? Just 1 thing. Not 2. 1.

Protect the ball. Michigan sucks when they don't get turnovers, and would have lost badly to Western Northeastern Southerly Michigan last week if they'd protected the ball.

6) Make your Over-Under Picks:

Over-under on Floyd's receiving total for this coming weekend: 154 Under. The Wolverines have more talent on defense than USF, and they will be looking to shut down Floyd. Whatever was bothering Riddick needs to disappear, because he can have a very big game as a result.

Over-under on Robinson's rushing total: 100 Under. I think that the defensive goal will be to contain Denard Robinson and force Michigan to beat us through the air. We struggled last year against him, but I think that the switch to the pro-style offense and the improvement of our defense since last year means that we will contain Robinson on the ground. Plus, Michigan sucks, and Denard Robinson plays for Michigan. So he sucks.

Over-under on ND Number of Turnovers: 2 Under. The offense is going to be so focused on protecting the ball this week, I'll be amazed if we turn the ball over. It may hinder production a little bit, but I know these guys will be completely focused on playing mistake-free football, rather than going out there with guns blazing.

Over-under on Number of Times Kelly is caught Purple Monstering Out: 2 Under. Coach Kelly has heard the criticism, and will adjust his behavior accordingly. I think this is BS, as all great coaches yell at their players. I don't understand why people are freaking out about this. I like the fire and passion from the head coach, and I think it rubs off on the team.

Over-under on ND Total Yards: 425 Under. To complete the sweep of under predictions, I think the Notre Dame offense will be productive, but conservative. I'm tempted to take the over on this one, but I think Notre Dame will be focused on protecting the ball and controlling the game, rather than airing it out for big yards.

7) Michigan: Just Another Opponent, Enemy, or Rival? Explain. 1 Bonus point for each use of the word 'suck'.

Michigan sucks. Your Rival doesn't suck - they've earned your respect. Just Another Opponent may or may not suck, but usually you don't care enough to say that they suck, regardless of how much they actually suck. Your Enemy sucks. They suck big time. And you want the entire world to know exactly how much the suck. And as enemies go, Michigan pretty much puts the suck in sucktitude. They suck so badly, that the wind reverses every quarter when they switch sides. They are the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked, and I can't wait to see them suck on Saturday.

8) It's Michigan week. Name 1 thing in the world that sucks as much as Michigan, if you can.

I got nothin'. Next to suck in the dictionary, there's a picture of that big block M.

9) RichRod is back, announcing for CBS. Can't wait to see how that goes. Bet he's horrible.

Yeah. I bet he is too. He was a coach at Michigan. So he sucks. Just like Michigan sucks. And you can't wash that kind of suck off.

Video Update: New Notre Dame Music

2011-09-01T11:15:00.000-04:00

There's some new music floating around the internets related to Notre Dame, and the blogosphere is trying to get it out there for people. Enjoy!

Irish Blogger Gathering: Holtz walks the sidelines again...

2011-08-31T10:49:00.002-04:00

1. The big news of last week was Dayne Crist winning the starting QB spot. Are you happy with the outcome and how comfortable are you with Crist as the starting quarterback for the 2011 season?

I'm extremely comfortable with the outcome. Dayne has the most playing experience, was a 5-star quarterback prospect out of high school, and by all accounts has the best leadership and grasp of the playbook. If not for the questions surrounding his recovery from the knee injury, this would be a no-brainer. Since he appears to have answered those questions, this is the right choice.

I expect Dayne Crist to embrace the opportunity, stay healthy all year, and etch his name among the great players to play quarterback at Notre Dame.

2. A lot of people say you see the biggest improvement between year 1 and 2 after a coaching change. What area do you hope to see the biggest improvement in 2011?

Consistency. Towards the end of the year in 2010, the offense started to consistently move the ball, and the defense was shutting people down. This team had its up and downs last year, and quite frankly has since the last time Lou Holtz roamed the sidelines. This season, beginning with this game, is an opportunity for Brian Kelly to defeat the ghost of Lou Holtz. By defeating not only another Holtz, but also the idea that Notre Dame will find a way to let you down in the end. If this team performs consistently, week-to-week, as well as they performed against Miami the last time they took the field - this team will be in the national title talk. Whether this team can find that consistency of intensity remains to be seen. If they do - watch out.

3. I think we've all covered this year's highly touted freshman class quite a bit this off-season already so instead, who do you see as this year's Corey Mays? Mays played primarly special teams for 3 seasons before a breakout season as a 5th year senior in 2005. Who on the Irish roster can pull off a similar performance this season?

Steve Filer. He's slotted in as the backup at outside linebacker behind Darius Fleming, tied with incoming freshman Ishaq Williams. That's some stiff competition. But what Steve Filer has at this point is nothing to lose. He's been leading the team in tackles on special teams for a while now. That's heart. He's giving everything at every opportunity. He may just surprise some people this year.

4. Theo Riddick is a player I've been touting all off-season and think the is ready to become a big name in college football. What player on Notre Dame's roster who hasn't yet broken out are you expecting to put up big numbers in 2011?

Dayne Crist. I know, I know. He's technically the incumbent starter. But he did not play his first year before backing up Jimmy Clausen as a sophomore. One knee injury later, and Crist had to rehab to become the heir apparent to JC. Another knee injury, and he had to rehab and retake his spot against an undefeated quarterback after his junior year. This just feels like the year that he puts it all together and avoids injury. And if he performs to his potential, he will put up Heisman-like numbers with his supporting cast.

5. Notre Dame plays a legit opponent in South Florida unlike a lot of teams around the country. How do you see this game playing out and does it help or hurt Notre Dame that they play a BCS conference opponent this weekend while Michigan plays Western Michigan?

I see Notre Dame winning this game comfortably in the 2nd half. The first half, Notre Dame will play well, but so will South Florida. The game will be close, with the Irish having a slight edge. In the second half, however, we will see the difference in talent between the two teams. They both are very well-coached, but the Irish simply have bigger guns. A couple of athletic plays by the Irish, and what was a close one gets away from the Bulls.

Assuming that's how this plays out, this helps the Irish immensely. The Irish have gone toe-to-toe with a fairly highly rated team picked by many to win a BCS conference. The Wolverines played a MAC team - halfway decent at best. The Irish will already be playing at full-game speed and intensity when they roll through the Skunkbears.

This is why I'd look out for the winner of the Oregon-LSU game. Coming out of that, their next 5 or 6 opponents are going to feel like child's play. I'd always prefer to test the team early and have them come out victorious than warm-up against a squad less talented than my scout team...

6. Stealing this one from my IBG pre-season questions from last year - who is the Notre Dame player the Irish can least afford to lose this season? For the sake of getting some different response, you can't use Michael Floyd or Manti Te'o here.

Cierre Wood. The depth at almost every other position means that losing our starter does not mean a drop-off in talent. This is no knock on Jonas Gray - I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see Jonas as the feature back by season's end. But every team in the country these days runs two backs - you simply can't overwork your workhorse, or risk injury or fatigue at the most important part of the season - year's end. You need to have a legit #2. If we lose Cierre, that puts Jonas Gray on an island. The freshman will see some time, but you can't expect them to read the zone blitzes against a seasoned team like Southern Cal or Stanford. Cierre Wood needs to stay healthy for us this year, and deliver the kind of performance he's capable of.

7. Obligatory pre-season prediction question:
Notre Dame's final record (noting the losses): 13-0
Notre Dame's bowl game and opponent: Allstate BCS National Championship Game, New Orleans, LA vs. University of Alabama Crimson Tide
Final ranking for Notre Dame: #1
Best opposing offensive and defensive player ND will face in '11: Offense: Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford Cardinal; Defense: Luke Kuechly, Backup College Eagles
Best opposing coach ND will face: Nick Saban, Alabama
Notre Dame game you won't miss for anything: The Championship, duh! Regular season: Southern Cal v. Notre Dame. I'll be hosting the IBG for this one! The stars are slowly aligning for this matchup to be epic...
Notre Dame game you could watch on DVR: Sacrilege! I'm going to re-read this question as "A catastrpohe on par with: (1) very close relative has just died and you must attend the funeral; (2) freak lightning strike puts you in the hospital; or (3) a tornado hits and takes you to Oz, where the game is only broadcast on Versus (not available in Munchkin Land); has somehow caused you to miss some small part of the game. As you were forced by God himself to miss part of a Notre Dame game, which game would you choose to have to miss even a single moment of:" at Wake Forest. If we are trembling about visiting BB&T Field (yes, I had to look that up) at this point in the season, we're in all kinds of trouble...
National Champion: Notre Dame
Heisman Trophy Winner: Michael Floyd

Word. Let's drink the Kool-Aid...

Irish Blogger Gathering: Preseason Multimedia Extravaganza

2011-08-22T14:23:00.000-04:00

1. Go to youtube, pick a song that a) applies to your life in some way and b) will serve as the unofficial 2011 Fighting Irish Football Anthem. Extra points if you entirely avoid any band with members born in Ireland. Disqualification for any use of Freekbass. Embed the video for that song in your answers and explain why it’s so fitting under both qualifications A and B.

I picked this song for a bunch of reasons. First, I was there on Sunday at Lollapalooza, braving the scorching heat and pouring rain to see the Foo Fighters live in concert. Second, I feel like this song embodies the kind of transformation that this football team and myself have been going through.

I think I lost my way
Getting good at starting over
Every time that I return

I'm learning to walk again
I believe I've waited long enough
Where do I begin?
I'm learning to talk again
Can't you see I've waited long enough
Where do I begin?

I left the security of an established firm at the end of January to start my own practice. While I was confident in my skills as an attorney, I was completely unprepared for many of the trials and tribulations that come with running a business. I knew how to handle the cases, but I felt like a child learning to walk again when it came to things like trust accounts, marketing, pricing, etc. But I was willing to take the risk and start over because I had waited long enough at my previous firm for some kind of recognition from the partnership of my achievements at that firm. And starting on day one, I've asked myself many times when I walk in my office door in the morning - "Where do I begin?" But as time has passed, I've slowly gotten the hang of it - just like learning to talk or walk again.

The Notre Dame football team is in that position now as well. They've walked the walk in the past - 11 national championships, 7 Heisman Trophy winners, the most consensus All-Americans. But since we lost Lou, we've lost our way. We've turned time and again to coaches with glaring holes (sometimes literally) in their coaching pedigree. Davie had never coached before, and was unprepared for the spotlight of the Notre Dame stage. O'Leary lied on his resume. Willingham was fast-tracked through his coaching career, rather than patiently learning the ropes and practicing the dedication to be a coach at this level. Weis' brash arrogance in his own intellect hamstrung the team, and his lack of head coaching experience meant that he didn't know how to put together a defense.

But they are learning to walk again. We've finally hired a coach with enough head coaching experience at progressively higher levels of competition who has developed a system of coaching which has led to success after success. But the program had forgotten how to walk the walk. So they're learning to walk again. Learning what it means to represent the University with the greatest tradition of winning football in all the land.

We've waited long enough.

I think I found my place
Can't you feel it growing stronger
Little conqueror

As I've grown into this exciting new phase of my life, I've started to see how well the life of a solo attorney fits my demeanor and lifestyle. I have the flexibility to work a schedule that suits me, to work on the kind of cases I want to work on. I can focus on helping the client, rather than simply focusing on the bottom line as my previous partners cared about. And as the practice develops, I can feel it growing stronger. I'm developing better relationships within the legal community, rather than being insulated by the firm. I feel like I'm ready to conquer the legal world, one step at a time.

Likewise, there is a quiet confidence among not only Notre Dame fans, but also the media and people knowledgeable about college football, that Notre Dame has found it's coach, and is ready to retake its place at the pinnacle of college football. Even the haters aren't so quick to dismiss the Irish. Those who follow the program can feel it growing stronger. Many even believe that the Irish are poised to conquer the football world this year.

Forever, whenever
I never wanna die
I never wanna die
I never wanna die
I'm on my knees
I never wanna die
I'm dancing on my grave
I'm Running through the fire
Forever, whatever
I Never wanna die
I Never wanna leave
I'll Never say goodbye
Forever, whatever
Forever, Whatever

As I'm completing my detailed business plan for my new business, my confidence in this practice as a lifetime commitment is growing. The more I grow into it, the more I realize that this is what I want to do forever. I'm getting ambitious about the future and starting to plan for not only sustainability, but also growth. I'm willing to take the extra risks necessary to run through the fire and never let this die.

And that's the fire and intensity that's starting to grow within the football team. Floyd coming back for his senior year, and ResLife trusting the new coach to discipline him appropriately. Te'o bypassing his mission to pursue football as his calling from God to represent his religion and his family. Eifert stepping up to replace All-everything Kyle Rudolph. Young kids (4 of the top 10 defensive ends in this year's class) seeing the potential and jumping on the bandwagon. The passion and intensity that the Irish played with towards the end of last season has carried through.

Can't you see I've waited long enough?

We may not be there quite yet. The pieces are coming together, and there are big things on the horizon. But all that stands between us and our dreams is our own talent and dedication. And with an all in mentality, we will get there.

BONUS videos:

And I wonder
If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again

2. Now that you’ve got your unofficial anthem rocking the home office, predict the single biggest play, positive or negative for the Irish, that will occur this season in a Notre Dame football game. Color this prediction with situation, players involved, opposing team, and even weather conditions. It’s the pre-season. Let’s see what your imaginations are doing.

Michigan stadium. Night. The stadium is absolutely rocking with 100,000+ drunken Michigan fans. The Irish have been struggling with the noise all night, and have had a few really questionable calls on big plays that have allowed Michigan to stay in what otherwise should have been a lopsided ball game.
It's 4th and goal, from the Irish 1 yard line. There are 3 seconds on the clock at the end of the game, and the Irish are trailing 24-20. Notre Dame lines up in their jumbo set. They snap the ball, and Dayne Crist hands off to Cierre Wood. Cierre dives over the line of scrimmage, being met in mid-air by a Michigan defender right at the goal line. But wait! Cierre didn't have the ball. Crist rolls out to the right. Michael Floyd is triple covered in the middle of the end zone. But Eifert is standing all alone at the back corner! Crist rifles a perfect spiral right into his waiting hands. Touchdown Irish as time expires! The Irish team rushes the field, as the Michigan faithful fall dead silent. Final Score: Notre Dame 26 Michigan 20

3. I’m a fan of the cinematic hit, “Kicking and Screaming.” I know, it’s a film you all love too. So naturally we’d all like to re-live that moment when they’re playing “Would You Rather.” So let’s do so: Would you rather suffer a humiliating loss to Michigan this year, or a humiliating loss to Southern Cal? Why? And stop eyeing that chicken across the street, perv.

I threw up a little in my mouth when reading this question. It's sort of like asking whether you'd rather be tortured by the rack or Chinese water torture. Forced to pick between the two, however, I'd pick Southern Cal. I think SC is a better team, talent-wise, than the Skunkbears, and we just beat them last year. Losing to Michigan as they are adjusting to a new coach and new scheme as we're supposed to be hitting our stride, especially that early in the season, is more than I can stomach at this point.

That said, for the first time in far too long, I'm not anticipating any humiliating losses of any kind this year. The defense is too strong, and the offense will score plenty of points. We may lose a game or three, but not in blow-out fashion.

4. Great teams require leadership, and with Notre Dame being the only truly national college football program in the country, a great Notre Dame football team requires national leaders. So pick one. Name a player on the Irish roster in 2011 who will lead the nation in a particular, official NCAA category. Also specify how much he’ll lead the nation by indicating his national rank in that category. Note: You must be predicting this leader to finish at least as high as 10th in the nation in your chosen category. Bonus Points: Don’t pick David Ruffer – the best player on the Irish Roster.

Michael Floyd. National rank: #4

Michael Floyd is a special talent at wide receiver. There will be a lot of people rolling coverages to him, but the talent at the other receiver positions will mean that will be short-lived. I expect that at the end of the year, Michael will be a legit Heisman contender, and go over 1,500 yards on the year.

5. You’ve already done more parsing of Brian Kelly’s words than is healthy since he first took a podium in this pre-season. What’s the single most surprising thing he’s said in that time?

Q. Are you happy with where you are one year into turning a corner and making this an elite college program?

COACH KELLY: That to me is more about your message and it's more about what your players need to believe when they come here. Our recruiting has changed in that we're recruiting young men that you're coming to Notre Dame to play for our Lady. Your not coming here to hang your hat because you're going to the league. If you want to do that, there are other schools for you. We may not get some of those guys that have that attitude. They could be eight star, nine star players, whatever is the highest star is out. If they fit that mentality, we won't recruit those guys.

We're starting by recruiting guys that want to be at Notre Dame, get their degree, play for Notre Dame. That's when it started. It didn't start because we changed the locker room or we did more collegiate things. It was really about that paradigm shift in terms of attitude.

We are a Catholic University. It is integral to who we are and what we do. And for the first time that I can remember since Lou Holtz, we have a coach that isn't afraid to talk about recruiting kids to play for Our Lady. He's not making the Catholic nature of our school a turn-off for players from other religions - there's a renaissance of Mormon players on our roster. But he gets it. He gets who we are and what we do. And he is building the program around the three pronged character of this university - a commitment to our Catholic heritage, dedication to academic excellence, and the pursuit of championship level athletic performance.

His message, in many ways, hearkens back to the messages of Holtz, Parseghian and Leahy. He knows what it takes, and he's embracing it wholeheartedly. No fancy chains as a gimmick. No jersey color changes to pump the team up. Just a consistent, day-to-day approach to demanding excellence from our student athletes.

Irish Blogger Gathering Episode IV: A New Hope

2011-08-11T18:13:00.000-04:00

So, the offseason has been filled with all of the minutiae that comes with starting your own law practice, meaning that my blogging hobby has been on indefinite hiatus. However, as one of the founding members of the Irish Blogger Gathering, I couldn't let my comrades in arms down, so I'm signed up for another season of blogging with the best of the Notre Dame blogs in the entire blogosphere.

This year's IBG lineup has changed somewhat. We still have some of the hardened veterans returning to their starting positions, but there is also some talented youth pushing for some significant playing time. Here's the list of this year's IBG blogs:

Subway Domer
Her Loyal Sons
One Foot Down
UHND
Irish Round Table
Inside The Irish w/ Keith Arnold
Domer Law
We Never Graduate
ND Tex
ND Football 2011

I'll be hosting the USC IBG this year, which I expect to be the biggest game of the season. Each week, the IBG will have a different host blog that will pose 4-6 thought provoking questions which the rest of the blogs will put their two cents in on. All of the answers will be collected at the host blog for your reading pleasure.

Tomorrow, Her Loyal Sons will weigh in with the first set of preseason questions, so stay tuned for another exciting season of Irish football in the blogosphere. Go Irish!

Notre Dame Draft: 20 years of Notre Dame Football

2011-03-04T14:06:00.000-05:00

One of the projects currently underway in this, the slow season for college football, is the Notre Dame Draft - there are 6 blogs from across the Notre Dame blogosphere that are participating in a draft of the best Notre Dame players of the last 20 years. Once we each draft our teams, we'll post the teams and argue about who has the best team.

The blogs participating are:

Domer Law (me!)
Her Loyal Sons
Irish Illustrated
Subway Domer
UHND
We Never Graduate

Because the draft is ongoing via telecommunication technology (e-mail, text, etc.), it may take us a while to complete the full 28 rounds. However, I'm going to try to update this posting after each round to keep you up to date on where we are.

Round	Overall Selection	Player	Position	Selector
1	1	Rocket Ismail	WR	UHND
	2	Brady Quinn	QB	Domer Law
	3	Ricky Watters	RB	Her Loyal Sons
	4	Bryant Young	DT	We Never Graduate
	5	Jimmy Clausen	QB	Subway Domer
	6	Chris Zorich	NT	Irish Illustrated
2	7	Manti Te'o	ILB	Irish Illustrated
	8	Jeff Burris	S	Subway Domer
	9	Aaron Taylor	OT	We Never Graduate
	10	Justin Tuck	DE	Her Loyal Sons
	11	Jeff Samardzija	WR	Domer Law
	12	Todd Lyght	CB	UHND
3	13	Jerome Bettis	RB	UHND
	14	Ryan Harris	OT	Domer Law
	15	Jeff Faine	OC	Her Loyal Sons
	16	Michael Floyd	WR	We Never Graduate
	17	Bobby Taylor	CB	Subway Domer
	18	Golden Tate	WR	Irish Illustrated
4	19	Tom Carter	CB	Irish Illustrated
	20	Luke Petitgout	OT	Subway Domer
	21	Michael Stonebreaker	LB	We Never Graduate
	22	Shane Walton	CB	Her Loyal Sons
	23	Mirko Jurkovic	OG	Domer Law
	24	Anthony Weaver	DE	UHND
5	25	Bert Berry	OLB	UHND
	26	Demetrius DuBose	LB	Domer Law
	27	Ron Powlus	QB	Her Loyal Sons
	28	Renadlo Wynn	DE	We Never Graduate
	29	Grant Irons	DE	Subway Domer
	30	Rick Mirer	QB	Irish Illustrated

Elite Notre Dame Basketball?

2011-02-14T16:49:00.001-05:00

So, I'm primarily a Notre Dame football fan. And when it comes to basketball, I'm a Hoosier at heart, having briefly started an IU basketball blog before I realized that maintaining two blogs is too much work.

That said, I couldn't let this season pass without posting about the Notre Dame basketball team.

I've been a Notre Dame basketball fan for a long time. I grew up cheering for Georgetown, and my undergraduate experience made me into a die-hard IU basketball fan. However, my grandmother (God rest her soul) used to take me to Notre Dame basketball games growing up. She was a season ticket holder to Notre Dame football and men's and women's basketball. I always enjoyed attending games and rooting for the Irish, but they were always a good team, never great.

Apparently, all of that is beginning to change.

This year's Irish are currently ranked 7th in the nation, and from what I've seen, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this Irish make a deep run into the tournament. Indeed, with a couple of breaks, they could win it all.

I've attended several games at Purcell Pavilion, and I've watched almost every game since mid-season. This team is a veteran team that doesn't make many mistakes. They don't turn the ball over much, are superb at moving the ball around, and will outhustle opponents.

Ben Hansbrough has grown into a legitimate Player of the Year candidate, but he's not a solo star. What makes Ben impressive is his unselfish style of play, which elevates the rest of his team. When he needs to, he can put the team on his back and will them to victory. However, he doesn't often need to.

The Irish are a team that can't afford injuries to their key players. They've been developing some additional depth, particularly inside with the recent development of Jack Cooley and outside with the growth of Scott Martin. However, what makes this Irish team dangerous is the combination of Hansbrough, Abromaitis, Scott and Nash.

Those four players all have their particular strengths, but the combination of all four of them on the court creates match-up nightmares for opponents. Tyrone Nash is a 6'8" forward that plays strong in the post, but has the ball-handling skills to run the point when needed. Carleton Scott is a 6'8" forward that plays with great length and is a defensive force that will hurt you inside or out on offense. Abromaitis is another 6'8" forward that is a great pure shooter. Put Hansbrough's versatility to shoot the ball or drive the basket, and that foursome is fearsome. With freshman Eric Atkins emerging as a superb ball handler and passer as a true freshman, and you have a complete team concept that is tough to beat.

Indeed, when Carleton Scott went down, the Irish struggled on the road, losing to Syracuse, Marquette and St. John's during that stretch. This is the kind of team that, with Scott in the lineup, probably wins every one of those games.

The Irish can play at whatever speed they choose, from the slow-it-down burn offense they choose to employ against teams that want to run up and down the court to the high-flying offense they can employ when they have a clear advantage in athleticism.

What that means is that this year's Irish is not a team I'd want to meet come tournament time. Experience is huge come tournament time, and in the era of one-and-dones, the Irish lineup is practically ancient. They know each other well, and they run the offensive and defensive schemes with an efficiency that makes it tough to overcome.

There is still quite a bit of basketball to be played, but don't be surprised if this year's Irish do something special.

Regardless of how the season ends, I know that it will be difficult for any future Irish teams to supplant their place in my heart. To me, they exemplify everything that Notre Dame stands for - doing things the right way, and doing them better than anyone else.

Here Come the Irish: 2011 recruiting and preview

2011-02-10T17:02:00.001-05:00

Okay, so I've been a little MIA lately. Quitting your job to start your own law practice will do that to you. But now that the dust has settled somewhat, I thought I'd put in my two cents on the much-ballyhooed recruiting class that Kelly and Co. just inked on Feb. 2.

I've spent the last week absorbing a lot of what's out there about this year's class, and my general impression is that this will in fact be the class that brings about the oft-mentioned "Return to Glory." I've tried my best to find fault with the class, and there are some misses, including an elite running back.

But it's what this staff did at the top of the class that has everyone excited.

If you've followed Irish recruiting for any amount of time, you will remember miss after miss on elite recruits on the defensive line. Elite defensive line recruits like Justin Trattou, Omar Hunter and Gerald McCoy haunt Irish memories. And those misses have led to year after year of mediocre performance by the defensive line. There were bright spots - Victor Abiamiri and Trevor Laws come to mind - but we didn't have the talent and depth we needed to control the line of scrimmage on defense.

Which is what makes the recruiting haul this year so impressive. We didn't just land one or two elite recruits up front. We landed arguable the strongest pass-rushing class anywhere in at least a decade. Perhaps longer. Maybe ever.

Aaron Lynch - Scout: #10 overall, #2 DE, Rivals: #28 overall, #3 strongside DE
Ishaq Williams - Scout: #20 overall, #4 DE, Rivals: #16 overall, #2 weakside DE
Stephon Tuitt - Scout: #44 overall, #10 DE, Rivals: #22 overall, #2 strongside DE
Ben Councell - Scout: Not ranked overall, #32 OLB, Rivals: #91 overall, #5 weakside DE
Plus, three other talented defensive end prospects in Carrico, Rabasa and Springmann.

That's a great recruiting haul over a 4-year period, much less a single year. Depending on how these guys develop, one or more could move outside to the linebacker or inside to the nose. Regardless, we have significantly upgraded the pass-rushing talent, and that will make it difficult for teams to pass against us with that much depth coming off the corners.

With the way that Manti Te'o plays, and what we've seen from 2010 defense towards the end of the year, there is certainly plenty of reason to get excited.

This recruiting class suddenly makes next year's team a legit contender as long as one of the quarterbacks step up. This recruiting class conjures up memories of 1973, when Notre Dame signed bookends at defensive end in Browner and Fry. They won a title as freshmen.

Indeed, it's not out of the realm of possibility for this team to win them all next year. I'm not going to go so far as to actually predict such a finish, but a quick look at the schedule makes it look like a definite possibility:

South Florida - I wouldn't take Skip Holtz and the Bulls for granted - this team beat Clemson in a bowl game last season. But, the talent differential and being unlucky enough to be the first opponent of the season means this should be a W for the Irish.
Michigan - The Rich Rodriguez era crashed and burned, and the Wolverines were repeatedly spurned by their anointed Michigan men Jim Harbaugh and Les Miles. The stumbled onto some unproven potential in Brady Hoke, but there are still too many holes in recruiting, particularly at the skill positions, to expect that the Irish will lose this one.
Michigan State - It took them a trick play in overtime after the play clock had expired to beat us at the beginning of the season, before we hit our stride. Michigan State is a stable program and will certainly challenge us, but an improved team should be able to win over Sparty.
Pittsburgh - The Pitt team we beat last year took a beating this offseason when they hired and fired Mike Haywood then turned at the last second to Todd Graham, of the prolific Tulsa offense. That confusion, however, has killed their recruiting class, dropping them out of the top 50 classes. That high flying offense is dangerous, but I have trouble believing that we'll lose this game.
Purdue - It's Purdue - count it as a win. They couldn't even beat my Hoosiers last year. Their recruiting class was disappointing at best, and none of their classes have ranked in the top 50. Win.
Air Force - How much hype have you heard about the 2011 Falcons? Bueller? Bueller? We should be able to handle this team, as long as we don't get caught looking ahead to USC.
Southern Cal - We took care of the USC monkey this year, and they are on probation. They will still be talented, but I don't think they'll be better next year (most likely worse), and I'm positive we will be better. Should win.
Navy - Navy has had our number lately, and they destroyed us last season. However, the loss of Ricky Dobbs, a healthy Michael Floyd and the defensive upgrade should lead to a return to form next year with the Irish beating the Middies.
Wake Forest - 3-9 last year. And coach Grobe has already said he wants to redshirt his whole freshman class if possible. Win.
Maryland - Maryland won a bowl game in impressive fashion, but they will be yet another team trotting out a new coach in Randy Edsall. Coach Edsall has shown that he can build a program, but it should take some time. Some big losses on both sides of the ball, and a recruiting class in the bottom half of the ACC.
Boston College - A young team that will improve each year, but we beat them soundly last year, and they are coming to Notre Dame stadium. New offensive coordinator could mean some struggles on that side of the ball. I'm always worried about BC, especially when we could be very highly rated and they thrive on being the spoiler. But we should win this game.
Stanford - Stanford was great last year, and kicked the crap out of us. Most of the team will be back, including Andrew Luck. But, they have a new head coach in promoted offensive coordinator David Shaw. They should still be a very good team, but come the end of the season, I'm betting that Notre Dame will have more to play for, and will be clickiing on all cylinders.

A lot can happen between this early in the spring and the season - young players will step up and become household names and there are plenty of examples of new head coaches having immediate success. However, it's hard to look at the schedule right now and believe that we won't have a chance to win every game.

Other recruits to watch:

Everett Golson, QB A true dual threat quarterback who fits Kelly's system perfectly.
George Atkinson III, WR A great athlete being recruited as a wide receiver, it will be hard to keep his speed and athleticism off of the field.
Matt Hegarty, OL Consensus top 10 offensive tackle recruit - won't play early as he needs to bulk up, but has a great frame and technique.
Troy Niklas, OL/DL Not sure where he'll end up, but he has the frame to play tackle or nose. If he plays on defense, could be the middle of an epic defensive line. Snatched him from the clutches of USC on signing day,

2010 Sun Bowl Preview

2010-12-30T15:12:00.002-05:00

77th annual Sun Bowl
Date: December 31, 2010
Time: 12pm MST (2pm EST)
Location: Sun Bowl Stadium

El Paso, Texas

Broadcast on CBS

Matchup:

School:
University of Notre Dame
Nickname:
Fightin' Irish
Mascot:
The Leprechaun
Record
(2010):
7-5
Record
(all-time):
844-296-41
Record
(vs. Miami):
15-7-1

v.

School:
University of Miami
Nickname:
Hurricanes
Mascot:
Sebastian the Ibis
Record
(2010):
7-5
(5-3 ACC)
Record
(all-time):
560-319-19
Record
(vs. Notre Dame):
7-15-1

One of history's great rivalries, lain dormant for 20 years, will be rekindled on New Year's Eve. Should auld acquaintance be forgot, this rivalry should take you back to the 1980's. So put on some Ray-Ban sunglasses, tease out that hair, and lets take that Miami-Vice jacket and pastel T-shirt into the way-back machine...

The Notre Dame Fightin' Irish under Lou Holtz were a perennial powerhouse and proud representatives of history's greatest team, the pinnacle of amateur sport. 10 national titles, 6 Heisman trophy winners, more All-Americans than any other school, and a decades long history of being able to balance excellence on the athletic fields with excellence in the classroom and a commitment to religion and faith that never wavered. The Irish under Holtz would add another Heisman and another National Title before he left the school. Indeed, they could have added 3 of each.

However, "Da U," as they like to call themselves (likely due in part due to their inability to spell the word University), was the nouveau riche of the college football world. Having spent most of their existence as a doormat in college football, they actually considered dropping the sport. But then Howard Schnellenberger came along and changed the course of history. Unable to recruit with the Notre Dames, Michigans and Texases of the world, Schnellenberger decided to try and attract a new element to his team: the thug. Turning to the Florida ghettoes, the results were instantaneous and powerful. In his final year at Miami, they won their first national title in '83. Then, Jimmy Johnson showed up. Otherwise known as pig-faced Satan, Jimmy Johnson added fuel to the fire of the thug culture in South Beach, embracing it wholeheartedly. The hip-hop culture, racial tensions in Miami at the time, culture of criminality and unbridled success led to an intimidating swagger that da U brought with them wherever they went.

And it was under those circumstances that this bitter rivalry was born. During the late 80s, the Notre Dame - Miami game decided the national championship on a yearly basis. More than that, though, it was the quintessential matchup between good and evil. Catholics vs. Convicts South Beach arrogance, swagger, criminality, blatant disregard for recruiting rules, and a downright mean streak exemplified the Hurricanes. Class, honor, integrity, and winning the right way exemplified the Irish.

And now, nearly a quarter century after that rivalry burnt out in spectacular fashion, these two old bitter enemies square off again. This time, there are no National Titles on the line. Both programs are struggling to pull themselves out of an extended period of mediocrity, and the U is also trying to dig out from their inglorious reputation as college football's bad guys. (Thankfully, they now have USC, Florida and Ohio State fighting for the honors in that battle)

But both programs are on the verge of a new start.

The Irish, in their first year under new head Coach Brian Kelly, have fought through an extreme amount of adversity this season, but emerged in November as a stronger team for it, thoroughly dominating their final three opponents behind a vicious defense, a strengthening running game, and the slow development of a true freshman quarterback.

The 'Canes, having fired head coach Randy Shannon, are preparing for this bowl game under interim coach Jeff Stoutland. New head coach Al Golden is busy putting together a staff to build for next season. Miami has a lot of talent, and have been excellent pass defenders. However, they've struggled against the run. On offense, they are actually a little more run-heavy than Miami teams of the past, rushing for an average of 190 yards per game, while throwing for about 232 yds/gm. The lost a close game to Ohio State early in the season, and got blown out by Florida State and Virginia Tech. However, it was the loss at Virginia and at home against South Florida that cost Randy Shannon his job.

So here we are, two 7-5 football teams preparing to do battle in what should be a very emotional game for both teams. The needle appears to be pointing up for the Irish, who have been playing their best football in years down the stretch, while the Canes appear to have been backing their way into the bowl season.

On paper, I think Miami is better than Notre Dame. The Irish are without the services of their #1 QB, #1 TE, and #1 RB. They have a true freshman under center. Miami is relatively healthy, with Junior Jacory Harris leading the offense.

However, all of the intangibles point to the Irish. They are on a hot streak, and Kelly's system of conditioning and up-tempo practices have this team performing better than they have all season. The Canes are in a coaching transition, so the schemes they will be practicing will have limited value to them next season.

This game means more to the Irish. The Canes can lose, blame it on the transition, and then move forward with their new coach. If the Irish lose, a bitter taste is left in the mouths of the Notre Dame faithful, who still feel the sting of being demolished by Navy and losing an inexplicable game to Tulsa in the wake of the Sullivan tragedy.

Ultimately, I think the Irish get the edge here, as Coach Kelly's consistent approach to preparing his team, along with the weeks of preparation, make the Irish as well prepared for a football game as they've been in years. This team has steadily improved all season, and I expect them to come out and give a dominating performance. Miami's defense will keep them in the game, and Jacory Harris is plenty dangerous. But ultimately I don't think that Miami will have an answer for this defense, particularly on the ground. Standout sophomore Manti Te'o will be the player of the game in a contest marked by strong defenses.

Final Prediction

Notre Dame 24
Miami 17

Domer Law's Bowl Special

2010-12-18T13:07:00.000-05:00

It's the most wonderful time of the year - bowl season! Before the first bowl game kicks off at 2:00 pm EST today, I thought I'd get my bowl picks out into the ether. Here they are, in all their glory.

New Mexico Bowl
Albuquerque, NM
December 18, 2010 2:00 pm ET

Brigham Young University Cougars (6-6, 5-3 MWC)
v.
University of Texas at El Paso Miners (6-6, 3-5 C-USA)

My pick: BYU

uDrove Humanitarian Bowl

Boise, ID

December 18, 2010 5:30 pm ET

Northern Illinois Huskies (10-3, 8-0 MAC)

Fresno State Bulldogs (8-4, 5-3 WAC)

My pick: Northern Illinois

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

New Orleans, LA

December 18, 2010 9:00 pm ET

Ohio University Bobcats (8-4, 6-2 MAC)

Troy University Trojans (7-5, 6-2 Sun Belt)

My pick: Ohio

Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl

St. Petersburg, FL

December 21, 2010 8:00 pm ET

University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (8-4, 5-3 C-USA)

University of Louisville Cardinals (6-6, 3-4 Big East)

My pick: Southern Miss

MAACO Bowl Las Vegas

Las Vegas, NV

December 22, 2010 8:00 pm ET

University of Utah Utes (10-2, 7-1 MWC)

Boise State University Broncos (11-1, 7-1 WAC)

My pick: Boise State

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl

San Diego, CA

December 23, 2010 8:00 pm ET

United States Naval Academy Midshipmen (8-3)

San Diego State University Aztecs (8-4, 5-3 MWC)

My pick: SDSU

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl

Honolulu, HI

December 24, 2010 8:00 pm ET

University of Hawai'i Warriors (10-3, 7-1 WAC)

University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane (9-3, 6-2 C-USA)

My pick: Hawaii

Little Caesars Bowl

Detroit, MI

December 26, 2010 8:30 pm ET

Florida International University Golden Panthers (6-6, 6-2 Sun Belt)

University of Toledo Rockets (8-4, 7-1 MAC)

My pick: FIU

Advocare V100 Independence Bowl

Shreveport, LA

December 27, 2010 5:00 pm ET

Air Force Academy Falcons (8-4, 5-3 MWC)

Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets (6-6, 4-4 ACC)

My pick: Air Force

Champs Sports Bowl

Orlando, FL

December 28, 2010 6:30 pm ET

West Virginia University Mountaineers (9-3, 5-2 Big East)

North Carolina State University Wolfpack (8-4, 5-3 ACC)

My pick: WVU

Insight Bowl

Tempe, AZ

December 28, 2010 10:00 pm ET

University of Missouri Tigers (10-2, 6-2 Big XII)

University of Iowa Hawkeyes (7-5, 4-4 Big Ten)

My pick: Missouri

Military Bowl pres. by Northrupp-Grumman

Washington, D.C.

December 29, 2010 2:30 pm ET

East Carolina University Pirates (6-6, 5-3 C-USA)

University of Maryland Terrapins (8-4, 5-3 ACC)

My pick: Maryland

Texas Bowl

Houston, TX

December 29, 2010 6:00 pm ET

University of Illinois Fighting Illini (6-6, 4-4 Big Ten)

Baylor University Bears (7-5, 4-4 Big XII)

My pick: Illinois

Valero Alamo Bowl

San Antonio, TX

December 29, 2010 9:15 pm ET

Oklahoma State University Cowboys (10-2, 6-2 Big XII)

University of Arizona Wildcats (7-5, 4-5 Pac-10)

My pick: Oklahoma State

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl

Dallas, TX

December 30, 2010 12:00 pm ET

United States Military Academy Black Knights (6-5)

Southern Methodist University Mustangs (7-6, 6-2 C-USA)

My pick: Army

New Era Pinstripe Bowl

Bronx, NY

December 30, 2010 3:20 pm ET

Kansas State University Wildcats (7-5, 3-5 Big XII)

Syracuse University Orange (7-5, 4-3 Big East)

My pick: K-State

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl

Nashville, TN

December 30, 2010, 6:40 p.m. ET

University of North Carolina Tarheels (7-5, 4-4 ACC)

University of Tennessee Volunteers (6-6, 3-5 SEC)

My pick: Tennessee

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl

San Diego, CA

December 30, 2010, 10:00 p.m. ET

University of Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-3, 6-2 Big XII)

University of Washington Huskies (6-6, 5-4 Pac-10)

My pick: Nebraska

Meineke Car Care Bowl

Charlotte, NC

December 31, 2010 12:00 pm ET

South Florida University Bulls (7-5, 3-4 Big East)

University of Clemson Tigers (6-6, 4-4 ACC)

My pick: Clemson

AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Memphis, TN

December 31, 2010 3:30 p.m. ET

University of Georgia Bulldogs (6-6, 3-5 SEC)

University of Central Florida Knights (10-3, 7-1 C-USA)

My pick: UCF

Chick-fil-A Bowl

Atlanta, GA

December 31, 2010 7:30 p.m. ET

University of South Carolina Gamecocks (9-4, 5-3 SEC)

Florida State University Seminoles (9-4, 6-2 ACC)

My pick: FSU

TicketCity Bowl

Dallas, TX

January 1, 2011, 12:00 pm ET

Northwestern University Wildcats (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten)

Texas Tech University Red Raiders (7-5, 3-5 Big XII)

My pick: Texas Tech

Outback Bowl

Tampa, FL

January 1, 2011 1:00 p.m. ET

University of Florida Gators (7-5, 4-4 SEC)

The Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions (7-5, 4-4 Big Ten)

My pick: Florida

Capital One Bowl

Orlando, FL

January 1, 2011 1:00 p.m. ET

University of Alabama Crimson Tide

Michigan State University Spartans

My pick: 'Bama

Progressive Gator Bowl

Jacksonville, FL

January 1, 2011 1:30 p.m. ET

Mississippi State University Bulldogs (8-4, 4-4 SEC)

University of Michigan Skunkbears (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten)

My pick: MSU

Rose Bowl game presented by VIZIO

Pasadena, CA

January 1, 2011 5:00 p.m. ET

University of Wisconsin Badgers (11-1, 7-1 Big Ten)

Texas Christian University Horned Frogs (12-0, 8-0 MWC)

My pick: TCU

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

Glendale, AZ

January 1, 2011 8:30 p.m. ET

University of Connecticut Huskies (8-4, 5-2 Big East)

University of Oklahoma Sooners (11-2, 6-2 Big XII)

My pick: Oklahoma

Discover Orange Bowl

Miami, FL

January 1, 2011 8:30 p.m. ET

Leland Stanford Junior University Cardinal (11-1, 8-1 Pac-10)

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Hokies (11-2, 8-0 ACC)

My pick: Stanford

Allstate Sugar Bowl

New Orleans, LA

January 4, 2011 8:30 p.m. ET

The Ohio State University Buckeyes (11-1, 7-1 Big Ten)

University of Arkansas Razorbacks (10-2, 6-2 SEC)

My pick: OSU

GoDaddy.com Bowl

Mobile, AL

January 6, 2011 8:00 p.m. ET

Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt)

Miami University RedHawks (9-4, 7-1 MAC)

My pick: MTSU

AT&T Cotton Bowl

Arlington, TX

January 7, 2011 8:00 p.m. ET

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Tigers (10-2, 6-2 SEC)

Texas A&M University Aggies (9-3, 6-2 Big XII)

My pick: Texas A&M

BBVA Compass Bowl

Birmingham, AL

January 8, 2011 12:00 p.m. ET

University of Pittsburgh Panthers (7-5, 5-2 Big East)

University of Kentucky Wildcats (6-6, 2-6 SEC)

My pick: Pitt

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl

San Francisco, CA

January 9, 2011 9:00 p.m. ET

University of Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack

Boston College Eagles

My pick: Nevada

Tostitos BCS National Championship Game

Glendale, AZ

January 10, 2011 8:30 p.m. ET

University of Oregon Ducks (12-0, 9-0 Pac-10)

Auburn University Tigers (13-0, 8-0 SEC)

My pick: Oregon

*****

And last, but certainly not least, my pick for the most important bowl game of the season:

Hyundai Sun Bowl

El Paso, TX

December 31, 2010 2:00 pm ET

University of Notre Dame Fightin' Irish

University of Miami Hurricanes

My pick: Notre Dame

GO IRISH! BEAT CONVICTS!

Irish Blogger Gathering: BEAT S.C.

2010-11-24T15:33:00.000-05:00

1. Notre Dame played perhaps its best game of the year in a win over the Utah Utes two weeks ago. Utah remains ranked at #23 in the Associated Press poll. Notre Dame likewise took Michigan State (AP #11) to overtime before losing on a fake field goal. Therefore the Irish should have no trouble with this unranked Trojan squad. Agree or disagree? Show your work.

Agree. And since you asked me to show my work, I'm going to engage in one of my favorite activities when it comes to Notre Dame football - being a Notre Dame homer and apologetic.

This is a good football team, that is getting better as time passes. Indeed, if we were even remotely healthy, this team would be extremely dangerous right now, and capable of beating damn near anybody. Here's why:

First game of the season, we were still clearly trying to figure out the new systems on offense and defense. Thankfully, we were playing a decidedly mediocre Purdue squad, who will get destroyed this weekend by my Hoosiers. (shameless alma mater plug, sorry)

Second game of the season we outplayed Michigan, but it was asking too much for this offense to be effective for half the game this early in the season with a walk-on or true freshman.

Third game of the season, we appeared to be starting to figure this thing out, and if not for an overtime fake field goal that took place after the play clock expired (and therefore should have been flagged), we win that game.

Fourth game of the season we were outmatched by an excellent Stanford team whose only loss is to an elite Oregon team that is ranked #1 in the country.

We then rolled through BC, Pitt and Western Michigan, with a steadily improving offense and what is starting to look like a very good defense. Against Western Michigan, we lost one of the most dangerous offensive weapons in the country in Kyle Rudolph, widely regarded as the best tight end in the country, for the season. We also lost our #2 wide receiver in Theo Riddick for all but the last game against USE. Oh, and our #1 offensive weapon in Michael Floyd for the week after as well.

Then, what had been an excellent defense had no answer for the nation's #5 rushing offense, who employs a triple option attack that is extremely difficult to prepare for. And early on, we lost Ian Williams, our nose tackle, for the year. And, our #1 running back as well in Armando Allen. Our offense struggled to find it's groove without it's top receiving and rushing targets, and we lose badly. Injuries happen, but when you lose that much firepower all at once, you are going to struggle.

Then, the bottom dropped out. Declan Sullivan's tragic death shook this team, and then while trying to muster the focus needed for Tulsa, we lose our #1 QB for the year in the first quarter. These kids had just watched one of their friends die a grisly death right in front of their eyes only days prior. And then they saw their team leader head to the locker room with a season-ending injury. That we were able to continue the game and keep it close under such adversity speaks volumes about the character of this football team.

And after that game, this team came together, stopped feeling sorry for themselves, and decided to remember that they are called the Fighting Irish for a reason. We fight.

And so, a bruised and battered team welcomed the vaunted Utah Utes, ranked in the top 5 only the week before. Nobody for nobody believed the Irish would win. Except for those guys that put on the gold helmets that morning. The result: a complete dismantling of the Utes.

Follow that up with a workmanlike destruction of Army, and you can see what this team is supposed to be.

And now you ask me whether this team will be able to beat a 7-4 USC team that has nothing to play for, when we are playing for a good bowl game and the chance to end the USC dominance over us for the past decade? You think any of the upperclassmen on this team have forgotten the 38-3 drubbing in 2008? This team is hungry, feeling disrespected, and they've learned to embrace Coach Kelly's vision. Rudolph out? Next man in. Riddick out? Next man in. Floyd out? Next man in. Williams out? Next man in. Allen out? Next man in. Crist out? Next man in.

We live as a team, we die as a team. But one thing has become clear - Kelly has transformed this talented bunch or primadonnas left over from the Weis era into a team. And this team will win on Saturday. Come hell or high water.

2. It is almost time for the OC Domer Player of the Year to be named. This award is intended to recognize the Notre Dame football player or players who played the best when it mattered the most. Suffice it to say that the primary criterion is a consistently high level of play, with significant bonus points awarded for exceeding expectations. Injuries have taken many of the pre-season favorites for this prestigious award out of the running. Who is your nominee for this award, and why?

David Ruffer, and this isn't even close. He's quite literally perfect this season, and his kicks have made the difference between winning and losing multiple games this year. He's set to run away with the Lou Groza Award this year. Oh, and did I mention that this kid is a walk-on?

3. With a delicate flavor similar to beef, though slightly sweeter than other meats, horse meat can be used to replace beef, pork, mutton, and any other meat in virtually any recipe, though most aficionados prefer it in marinated or spicy dishes. Nutritionally, horse meat has around 40 percent fewer calories than the leanest beef, while supplying 50 percent more protein and as much as 30 percent more iron; and horse fat is considered an excellent health-conscious deep-frying alternative, especially for delicately-flavored foods that are easily overpowered by heavier oils. What is your favorite horse meat recipe?

I call this dish "Irish Traveler"

As shown, will serve 6. One mascot will feed approximately 100 people.

21/4 pounds ground horse meat
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2-1/2 ounces ground cured lard (or pancetta)
2 onions, minced
1 glass dry white wine (though some Italian chefs prefer broth)
6 ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded, chopped, and drained
2 bell peppers, ribbed and seeded, then diced
2 Tbsp. minced fresh herbs (basil, sage, and rosemary in proportions to taste)
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil, lard, and onion in a skillet. Sauté until the onion has become golden but don’t let it get really brown. Add the horse meat and brown it, stirring frequently. When it has browned, sprinkle in the glass of wine and reduce the heat to a bare simmer. Cover it, and let it cook for at least an hour. Mix in the chopped tomatoes and diced peppers, and continue cooking for another half hour.

Ten minutes before removing the dish from the stove, sprinkle the minced herbs over everything. Serve it hot with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Do you miss Pat Haden, who left the Notre Dame television broadcasts to become athletic director at USC?

No, as his replacement is a far better broadcaster. Also, I have hope that Pat Haden will bring back some modicum of respect to this rivalry. His predecessor let cheating run rampant through the football and basketball programs, which damaged what was once a rivalry based in mutual respect. There isn't much respect for this program right now, who just had to forfeit a championship, return a Heisman trophy, and who is on a multi-year probation.

5. USC is the Notre Dame rival I love to hate. What Notre Dame rival do you most despise, and why?

Michigan. While they are an excellent school, the past and present of the football program consistently demonstrates everything that is wrong with college football. It goes way back to the days of Fielding Yost, and has continued through Bo Schembechler, Llloyd Carr and into the current regime under Rich Rodriguez. Their graduation rate for African-American football players is abysmal, most of their fans are the scum of the earth, and they have an arrogant history of wanting things their way, or else they'll take their ball and go home.

USC is a rival.

Michigan is a nemesis.

6. Reggie Bush got a car, his parents a house. Cam Newton's Dad was looking for $180,000 in straight cash homey. Can Notre Dame compete for athletic recruits in this environment? Or do you believe these incidents are the exceptions to an otherwise clean recruiting landscape?

I think that there are rampant recruiting violations that fly under the radar at programs all across the country. However, at the end of the day the most elite recruits know that the best way to fulfill their dream of the NFL is to go to a program that wins. And Notre Dame's recruiting hasn't exactly suffered since Weis started getting some of the elite athletes to believe. If we can get the program back to its rightful position among the elite by winning football games on Saturdays, the recruits will be kicking down our door.

I have never, and will never, espouse any movement towards reducing the standards of this University for a football player or anyone else. We are who we are because we don't just believe, but we KNOW, we can be the best football program in the land - while still standing as a beacon of all that is right and good in the world of amateur sport.

*****

Go Irish!

Beat S.C.

Beat S.C.

2010-11-23T09:47:00.000-05:00

IBG should hopefully be forthcoming, but it's game week, and the greatest intersectional rivalry in all of college football kicks off this weekend.

Those evil bastards at Southern Cal have earned their way onto probation, and don't have anything to play for.

We're coming off of back-to-back dominant wins, and appear to have righted the ship.

A win, and we get into the Champs Sports bowl to play a quality ACC team (Florida State, perhaps?) in preparation for next year.

We've lost 8 straight to the damn Trojans, and now that they've been knocked off their cheater's perch, it's time to use them as a stepping stone to greatness.

Bruised, battered and bloodied (quite literally in some cases - check Manti's nose if you don't believe it), we've managed to persevere through injury, heartache, a tragic death in the family, negativity, suspicion, and downright embarassment. Yet still we rise.

And this weekend, we have the chance to show that this team is ready to take the next step.

So enjoy your turkey and trimmings, and watching the Cowboys get their Thanksgiving day beatdown. Rest up on Friday - no need to wade into the holiday shopping frenzy. We need to maintain our focus. Forget all of the holiday distractions.

Because come Saturday, everyone in ND Nation needs to come together with one singular focus:

BEAT S.C.

Irish Blogger Gathering: The Return

2010-11-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

I've been on hiatus for a little while, feeling unmotivated to blog about what has been a very disappointing season prior to Saturday. Also, I've been working an insane amount lately. I apologize for the lack of posting, but as things settle back down at work, I should be able to get back on track. Here are this week's IBG questions and answers:

1) Saturday’s result against Utah was a very pleasant surprise, but an unexpected one, to say the least. What was the biggest positive you took from the win over the Utes, and what concerns you most as the Irish head into their final two games of the regular season?

I think that this Notre Dame team got up off the mat and came out swinging. The loss to Tulsa was a low point for our program. With the Declan Sullivan tragedy, the kids weren't emotionally prepared to play a football game. With the loss, the prospects of a bowl game and a winning season were on life support. Our All-American tight end was out for the season, along with our 3-year starting running back, one of our most dynamic wide receivers and our only seasoned quarterback. And, we had the #14 team in the country coming to town.

It is times like these when you learn about the character of a team.

They could have come out flat, let Utah roll over them and limped their way into the offseason to lick their wounds. But instead, they showed their pride and came out and destroyed Utah. This gives them some momentum with a very winnable game against Army before we travel out to Southern Cal to take on an underachieving Trojan squad. A win in the Coliseum would make this, in my eyes, a successful season.

There is always the chance for a let-down, however, and a loss to Army would put us right back down in the dumps. If we can maintain the focus and intensity we had against Utah, we will be a very dangerous team.

2) The Irish will have to take a completely different approach against the Army option than they did against the Navy attack a few weeks ago. Who do you see playing the biggest role in slowing down the Black Knight attack? Who will be the big performer on offense?

We need someone on the defensive front to get pressure up the middle and take away the dive. If we can do that, the team speed to the outside should do much better against Army than we did against Navy.

I'm expecting Michael Floyd to do the heavy lifting for this offense for the remainder of the season, so look for Tommy Rees to have a very big day.

3) Should Notre Dame win one of their final two games, they’ll likely be going bowling. There are a lot of tie-ins that may or may not be fulfilled from other conferences that will likely end up deciding their postseason fate, but what bowl do you see the Irish playing in?

If we win out, the last game against USC should give us enough momentum, along with our innate popularity, to put us in the Champs Sports Bowl.

4) This isn’t a question any of us thought would be an issue at the start of the season, but who do you see as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback against South Florida next year?

I think we'll see Dayne Crist. He'll have his hands full with the way Tommy Rees is playing, and Andrew Hendrix has arguably more potential than either of them. But, I think that Dayne's physical and mental maturity will put him under center come opening day next year.

5) We’re all very excited for Saturday night at Yankee Stadium, which is a nice turn towards some pretty exciting neutral site games (Miami at Soldier Field, Arizona State at Cowboys Stadium) after a rather lackluster start (Washington State in San Antonio). What are three neutral site games you’d like to see down the road?

Alabama in Nashville

Texas in St. Louis

Indiana in Indianapolis

Declan Sullivan: Rest in Peace

2010-10-28T10:52:00.000-04:00

I was getting ready to post my weekly Irish blogger Gathering post this morning when I read the horribly tragic news about Declan Sullivan, a 20-year old student at Notre Dame, whose life was cut short when the scissor lift that he was in fell over, causing mortal injuries. He died later at Memorial Hospital. Declan was filming football practice.

I am deeply saddened by this tragedy, and as a member of the Notre Dame and South Bend community, my heart goes out to the friends and family of Declan Sullivan. There will be a mass on campus tonight at 10 o'clock p.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

There will be no IBG post this week, as now football has taken a back seat to this tragedy. Indeed, I no longer care whether we win or lose against Tulsa, or even if we play the game.

Also, I am infuriated that this young man was even up in the lift yesterday. As I was walking down the street in South Bend yesterday, I literally had to lean into the wind to stay upright myself. It was the worst wind storm I've ever seen in my time living here. The person who was responsible for asking that young man to take a mobile scissor lift 60 feet into the air under such conditions should be held accountable for their gross negligence. This is an inexcusable tragedy that could have been prevented by a little application of common sense.

I cannot imagine the pain and suffering his family is going through right now. Please say a prayer for them in their time of need.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May the souls of Declan Sullivan and all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Irish Blogger Gathering: Tailgating Hall of Fame Edition

2010-10-12T15:16:00.004-04:00

Matt over at We Never Graduate is hosting this week's Irish Blogger Gathering, and with a MAC team on their way to town, we're going to examine some bigger picture issues surrounding the program. Like whose friends are the most awesomest tailgating companions ever. (Answer: mine)

1. The Irish have posted back-to-back victories over teams that have given us fits the past decade to pull back to .500, but when you head to the message boards on ND Nation, Rivals, etc. all you see is unrelenting negativity. Some cry Kelly's in over his head and doomed to fail, others bitch and moan about the run-to-pass ratio, and many more say that even though we've won the last two there's no improvement over last year's team. What's your take on the negativity that's swirling around the program on the internet? What message would you like to convey to ND Nation?

I think that the negativity of many of these posters stems from the roller-coaster ride we've had with our last few coaches. Almost every true Notre Dame fan has drunk the Kool-Aid with at least one of the last three coaches, and gotten burned as a result. This time around, many people wanted us to hire a proven winner, like Bob Stoops or Urban Meyer, to ensure that we wouldn't have to go down this road again. However, luring one of those coaches away from their top-tier job is easier said than done, while still holding true to our ideals.

What I would like to convey to NDNation is to take a deep breath, relax, and let the season play out. We're not winning it all this year, so sit back and enjoy the ride. Coach may make a few mistakes, and we may not be as good as we're capable of being. That said, a firestorm of negativity won't be good for the psyche of this program. Give them some leash, and let them go out there an play. Support your team for once and let these kids have some fun. We should see improvement throughout the year, and next year this team should be clicking along on all cylinders.

And believe me, whether you like the spread or not, it will score enough points to win every game on the schedule.

2. When Western Michigan and Tulsa were announced as 2010 opponents last fall there was a full-throttle meltdown among ND fans that was surpassed only by The F-Word Incident in April in terms of sheer outrage. Well, if the opinions expressed then are the same now the apocalypse has finally arrived and a MAC squad is about to forever sully our field by stepping foot on it. Have your thoughts on the Western Michigan/Tulsa games changed since they were announced? Would you rather ND Stadium sell out and continue the streak that extends back almost 40 years or see the streak broken so that the powers-that-be know just how disrespected you feel by the audacity they showed in scheduling such inferior opponents?

Honestly, I want the stadium to sell out, beat the ever-living crap out of these teams, and use it to build confidence moving forward. I'm not a big fan of watering down the schedule, but picture the difference between the team this year sitting at 5-3 heading into Utah versus 3-5 had we scheduled Oklahoma and Miami for those two games.

And for those people that are so pissed at the scheduling, Western Michigan was only added because the deal with TCU fell through - think anybody would be complaining if the #4/5 team in the country were on it's way to town? Scheduling is difficult as an independent, and the transition at athletics director left us with a couple of holes to fill. At least we didn't slot in any FCS teams.

Swarbrick has done some really good things to improve the schedule going forward, but ultimately this season sets up well for a young and developing team. These will be confidence games where the team can hopefully find a rhythm on offense, do some spectacular things on defense, and build up the psyche of the team heading into the showdown with Utah.

3. Most people painted AD Jack Swarbrick as the villain when the Western Michigan/Tulsa games were made public. Since then he's made drastic moves in locking down opponents on future schedules, went through the process of firing Weis and hiring Kelly, and navigated ND through the murky waters of conference realignment. Has your personal opinion on Swarbrick been altered over the past year?

I was high on Swarbrick when he was hired. Too many people were quick to lay the blame on him for trying to fill the holes left by his predecessor. Indeed, most of the people that didn't like Swarbrick didn't like him because he talks like a lawyer. He's never going to say that conference membership won't happen, because things could change drastically. He's not going to throw his predecessor and colleague under the bus, because he may need Kevin White at some point in the future if we wanted to try and schedule a basketball game with Duke. He's quietly dismantled the 7-4-1 model while not throwing it in Kevin White's face. He made the best possible decision regarding the coaching hire. He has shown a commitment to creating a schedule worthy of Notre Dame. He's a big-time player with the clout to lead this athletics program through the often rough waters of college football independence. Do you really think that BYU would have gone independent without the support of Swarbrick and Notre Dame?

This guy is a Notre Dame man who understands far better than any of us the position we occupy in the college football landscape. He has the connections and the leadership ability to put this program back at the top of college football. But Rome wasn't built in a day. Give him time, and he'll right the ship.

4. We're at the halfway point so it's a perfect time to step back real quick and evaluate what's happened thus far. What have been your two biggest surprises at this juncture of the season? Choose one positive and one negative.

Positive: We can kick a field goal. I talked about this last week, but it's amazing what a decent field goal unit can do for your ability to win games. Just look at the Pitt game - we went 3-3, they want 1-2. They make that chip shot they missed, and we miss the 50 yarder, and all of a sudden we're looking at an overtime game. Ruffer is perfect on field goals this year - 11/11. For the record, that puts him tied for second among kickers that are still perfect, with only the Southern Miss kicker having kicked more field goals without a miss (he's tied with the kicker from Oklahoma State).

Negative: This offense is still horribly inconsistent. We turn the ball over too often, stagnate for long stretches of the game, and aren't as efficient as we ought to be at this point. This offense is loaded with weapons, but they still haven't gotten to that unconscious competence point yet. You'll notice that the faster the offense plays, the better they do. That's because we aren't giving them time to think. Once this team can settle in and stop thinking about it, we can be a very explosive offense. But thus far, I've been very disappointed.

5. Which player that hasn't contributed much to this point in the season do you see emerging as a contributor down the stretch?

Michael Floyd. This may seem a bit disingenuous for a guy that is our leading receiver (in yards), but we all know that Michael Floyd is capable of being one of the dominant receivers in the country. He simply hasn't been that player yet, and I'm expecting for him to start getting it in the second half of the season, especially as Theo Riddick continues to develop his reputation as a playmaker, ~~and hopefully as Kyle Rudolph gets back to 100%.~~ [Note: Breaking news from South Bend - Kelly says Kyle Rudolph shutting it down for the season]

As far as players that really haven't contributed much, I'm going to go with Prince Shembo. The kid has shown a play-making ability, as he has 2.5 sacks already in limited playing time. He'll see a lot more minutes and show his disruptive ability as the season wears on.

6. Scholarships are running thin and some tough decisions are going to have to be made this spring when it comes to offering 5th years to current seniors. If you're Coach Kelly who do you offer and who is left out in the cold to make room for the incoming freshman class? Here's a link to the 2011 scholarship chart for a list of potential 5th years.

Offered (in order of preference):

Harrison Smith, Safety
Safety depth is a huge problem for this team, and bringing Harrison Smith back for his 5th year would be a great move. He seems to finally be settling in at the position, and he's really stepped up as a leader for this team. I fully expect to see him on the field next year for the Irish.

Gary Gray, Cornerback
Gary has shown himself to be a very coachable player with a lot of speed and natural athletic ability. While there is plenty of talent coming up behind him, I'd be very happy to see him suiting up at corner again next year.

Taylor Dever, Matt Romine, and Andrew Nuss, Offensive line
There is no way you let a 5th year eligible player with significant playing experience go on the offensive line. Playing time is by far the best single indicator of future performance here, so I think you bring all of them back to compete. Especially Dever.

Mike Ragone, Tight End
Talented kid who is doing some pretty solid work in Kyle Rudolph's shadow. He hasn't put himself in the position to be a NFL prospect yet, but he has the athletic ability to cause some pretty big matchup problems next year if he continues to develop towards his potential.

Passed on:

Steve Paskorz & Emeka Nwankwo
Both of these players have essentially been buried on the depth chart, and there is plenty of young talent behind them that can push for starting time in their stead. Thanks guys, but we do have scholarship limits to deal with here. At least you'll have that Notre Dame degree to fall back on.

7. *****BONUS***** You've been challenged to a Tailgate Olympiad by some chaunce from Southern Cal and you need to assemble a dream team of your fellow Irish fans to compete in the following events:
Full Beer Flip Cup (four-man team), Beer Pong, Hamburger Eating Contest (two-man team), Cornhole/Bags/Whatever You Call It, Individual Case Race, and Thunderdome (one shotgun per minute until someone can't answer the bell). Your captaincy role on this team is Ryder Cup style so you'll be monitoring the proceedings rather than actually partaking. Throw some internet love out to your fellow tailgate All-Stars that have delivered through the years and let us know who you'd put in each slot to make sure Troy fell in the parking lot as well as on the field...and while you're at it, tell us what three songs you'd be blasting as you rolled to victory.

Full Beer Flip Cup (four-man team)
Lacey - 30th Birthday flip-cup champion
Nivas
Shaggy
Libbie (that's right, Wes, I picked your wife over you. Deal.)

Beer Pong
1. Laura Waechter
2. Chris Waechter
First alternate: Lisa Waechter
Shout-out to my family, who have proven time and again their ability to focus even after many rounds of beer pong. The Waechters are unstoppable at beer pong, my friends. Don't even try...

Hamburger Eating Contest (two-man team)
1. George Kalber
2. Len Kalber
First alternate: Dave Grimm
Second alternate: Tim Kelly (if he can eat hamburgers even remotely like he can eat spaghetti, this wouldn't even be close)
Believe me, if you saw these guys, you would just forfeit on the spot.

Cornhole/Bags/Whatever You Call It
Briege Gish, Good Guys, Team Captain
Brad 'Hoss' Jordan - Oldest and best tailgating partner in crime

Individual Case Race
Any one of the crazy Canadians Hoss and I tailgated with that one time. They got out of the car, and there were 3 of them. There were 7 cases of beer. They invited us to join (we had one case of our own), and there was nary a drop left by gametime. Anything involving cases of beer, I'm going to draft those guys. Bonus points for also sporting the ND tats.

Thunderdome (one shotgun per minute until someone can't answer the bell)
Andrew LaBreche
First alternate: Jason Weaver

Three songs
Notre Dame Victory March - Can never get enough of this on gameday, so this will always be on heavy rotation. That said, I'm not taking away one spot of the precious three for so obvious an answer.

1. Dropkick Murphys - Shipping Up To Boston

2. Guns 'N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle

3. AC/DC - Thunderstruck (Live)

Irish Blogger Gathering: Teaching the Wannestache a Thing or Two...

2010-10-08T23:51:00.000-04:00

Irish Round Table is hosting this week's Irish Blogger Gathering, and he's making me into a fortune-telling teacher this week.

1)Grade Brian Kelly's performance to date. We're not interested in how you think he will perform going forward. How has he done through the first five games? Grade scale is A+ to F-.

I'd give Coach Kelly a B-. He's clearly upgraded the fundamentals of this team, especially on defense. It's a sound football team that is capable of competing with anybody except for the elite teams in the country.

Of course, we still have a losing record. And what really matters is winning and losing on Saturday. We turn the ball over too often, which is one of the few fundamentals that we are not sound in. Clearly, we've practiced form tackling and tip drill on defense, and we are blocking better overall and running better routes. But we need to work on ball security.

2)Much has been made of Brian Kelly's sideline rants. Some fans like the excitement and energy others are worried that they are excessive and will wear thin on the players. Where do you stand?

He's a football coach. He's been a football coach for 20 years. He knows when to teach, he knows when to coddle, and he knows when to dress somebody down. Now, would his approach work in a boardroom? No. But this isn't a boardroom, it's a football field. And these kids are going from moment to moment in a high stakes, high adrenaline, high emotion fast-paced high pressure environment. Taking 10 minutes to calmly critique the mechanics of a kick or a catch is not really an option on gameday. Telling a kid that if he doesn't get his act together, there are three kids sitting on the bench waiting to take his spot is often appropriate.

I don't believe for one second that Kelly will lose his team by yelling at them. He's a fiery guy in the heat of battle, and he wants his team to have that same mentality. You're also going to see him get just as animated when a player makes a great play, and he'll be effusive in his praise at those times as well.

3)What is the best storyline for Notre Dame football this year? The best storyline in college football?

Notre Dame: David Ruffer becoming a clutch kicker. I can't remember the last time I didn't have to hold my breath on every single field goal attempt. Plus, you add in the Rudy-esque background story, making the team after kicking for the Siegfried Hall inter-hall team, and this is my favorite story-line this season.

College Football: I'm not really sold on any of the storylines developing this year in college football. Right now, I think that Oregon's juggernaught of an offense may be the best thing going.

4)We are going to test your prognostication skills with a little IBG prediction contest. Predict the following for this week's Pitt game:

Kyle Rudolf receptions: 6
Points scored by Notre Dame's defense: 0
Carries by Robert Hughes: 3
Points Notre Dame wins by: 9
Tackles Manti T'eo registers: 12
Pass attempts by Tommy Rees: 0
Taylor Swift in Attendance(for 2 points at 5:1 odds; a correct "Yes" equals 10 points a correct "No" equals two): Yes (of course I'm gonna go for the 10 spot here)

Winner will receive a prominent post on the Irish Round Table extolling their website and awesomeness.

5)What would you like to see in place of the yellow mums on the Notre Dame sidelines?

Why would I ever want to change the yellow mums? They are as much a part of this stadium as anything. Maybe we could add in some blue flowers for the blue/gold combo. But really, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Irish Blogger Gathering: Backing into Backup College

2010-09-28T11:07:00.005-04:00

1. After 3 straight losses, there appear to be two camps of fans: A. The sky is falling. Coach Kelly is not a good coach, not a good fit, probably won't ever win a game and should be fired today. B. Coach Kelly is still totally awesome, and you had to expect some bumps and bruises as he builds the team - remember Holtz's first year?
Which camp do you fall into, and why?

I'm still firmly in the "Kelly is still awesome" camp, but that position took a huge blow this week. I thought we were the better team each of the first three weeks (despite the two losses), but last week I never really felt that way. Of course, there's a reason Stanford is ranked in the top 10, but it hurts that we're simply not in that class right now. I'd say that this team is fully capable of being a top 20 team this season, but their inexperience in the system is going to cost us a good year. Also, I think that if we can get wins in the next two weeks, the ship will be righted and the fan-base will become reunited in their support of Coach Kelly.

2. With the current state of the program, put yourself in a recruit's shoes. If you had offers from all 12 schools on our schedule and Notre Dame, which would you pick right now and why? Who would your top 3 be?

I'd pick Notre Dame, but then I'm an alum and a total homer. So I'm going to discount my personal bias and pick from the rest.

And I'm going to spend my football career at: the University of Utah.
They are an up and coming program that's poised to enter the Pac-10 and really make some waves. I like Coach Wittingham and I like that the program is 86-30 since 2000 and has a 12-3 record in bowl games, tops in the nation among teams that have played 10 or more bowl games - and that includes their two wins in BCS games (both years where they should have had a shot at the title.

I wanted to go to Stanford, but then I met Coach Harbaugh, and got physically ill at the thought of spending four years around him.

And to round out the top three, I spent some time seriously considering the Naval Academy. But then, I'm not really a morning person.

3. What's the trajectory of this season? Is this going to spiral downward into a 2007-esque kind of year, or will the team rally and start winning some game against quality opponents?

I know I've picked the Irish to win every game this year, and they're sitting here with a 1-3 record. I've watched enough of this Irish football team to know that they're good, but not great. We will win the games against Western Michigan, Tulsa and Army. We will lose to USC, Utah and probably Pitt. We should beat BC and Navy, but there's no guarantees there, as we still continually shoot ourselves in the foot. Which means a 6-6 record.

That said, if this team gets better as the season progresses (which they have somewhat, until they regressed this week) - this could still be a solid season. This team is capable of winning out. But until I see some evidence that they've learned that killer instinct, I'm going to withhold judgment.

4. Give me your top 5 reasons why you'd rather go to Notre Dame than Backup College.

5. Boston College sucks.

4. BC people are assholes.

3. Academics.

2. No respect for how difficult it is to maintain a real grass field.

1. I like football.

5. I'm depressed after our third straight loss. Do your best to cheer me up and convince me that I should still be excited about this weekend's game.

Since I hosted this week, I feel I should be exempted from answering. However, I will post my favorite answers as they roll in...

One Foot Down weighs in (via Michael Collins, Irish revolutionary leader), telling me it's my job to get myself excited about the game this weekend - he'll have nothing to do with it.

Matt at We Never Graduate submits that if I can't get fired up for Notre Dame football, there's something wrong with me. And this is the correct answer. I don't care if we're 0-11 and playing a D-II school, I'd still be fired up come gameday.

Subway Domer, Safety, 6'1" 210 lbs, commits to the IBG. "Drink up, and fire that shit up." Well said, my friend.

Keith Arnold from NBC Sports gets a little testy. Apparently, Backup College is offensive to those people who couldn't get into ND. (I kid, Brian!) He does a pretty good job of trying to get me fired up, but Matt and Subway had pretty much already fixed that.

6. If you could ask Coach Kelly any one question, what would it be?

I'm also going to hold out on this one, as I'm working on actually having Coach Kelly answer the questions posed during the bye week. So tune in then to find out...

Irish Blogger Gathering: Fear the Cardinal?

2010-09-21T18:31:00.000-04:00

1. After suffering through back to back heart breaking losses how have your expectations for this season changed? Has the rough start affected your expectations for the Brian Kelly era?

Expectations for the season have changed somewhat. I still believe this is a pretty darn good football team, but they haven't quite developed that killer instinct necessary to close out an opponent when they get the chance. There's still a sense that the team waits for the other shoe to drop, as it has so many times in the past couple of years. I'm hoping that eventually these kids will get sick of losing close, last-second games and finally come out and beat the ever-living shit out of someone.

Until they do, though, the quality BCS teams on the schedule will continue to give us fits. Does anybody else wish we could swap the Western Michigan and Stanford games right now?

As far as the Brian Kelly era, my expectations haven't changed. We haven't gotten blown out of any games, and the fundamentals of this team continue to be strong. I am concerned about the number of turnovers we've had, but that's exactly the kind of thing you'd expect from a young inexperienced offense. Once we start taking care of the ball, these games should start to take care of themselves.

2. Our defense has given up 28 points in both of our last two games. But our defense has also forced a few three and outs and has looked fairly stout out times. So on D, are we Jekyll or Hyde? Or are we just a work in progress?

The biggest issue I have with the Brian Kelly system is that by de-emphasizing time of possession, the defense is on the field a lot. There are going to be more possessions in a game, and more opportunities for the opponent to score, thus resulting in more total points (on both sides). The biggest issue I've seen on defense is that we still occasionally make boneheaded plays that cost us the game.

3. I've heard that Bill Walsh believed that if he saw a player make one great play, he and his staff could coach that player to consistently make great plays. The Irish offense clearly made some great plays against State. Our Offense also unfortunately disappeared at critical times. Are we just witnessing the process of Kelly and his staff teaching the lads to consistently make great plays?

This question pretty much hits the nail on the head. This is a work in progress, and we're still crafting some of the pieces we need for this machine to run smoothly. For example, Theo Riddick finally learned how to play receiver, and that's another piece of the puzzle that we have put into place. We need the quarterback to do a better job of reading coverages and progressions. We need our #1 receiver to stop fumbling the ball in the end zone. We need to develop some depth at safety so we don't get beat by the occasional big play. We need to learn how to limit turnovers generally.

4. Where would you rank Stanford among the Irish opponents? Would a defeat of the Cardinal be the biggest win of the last six years?

I don't know if it would be the biggest win, but it would certainly be a big confidence booster for this program - especially if we find a way to do so convincingly. The problem with so many of the wins the last several years is that they have been close wins over what turned out to be over-rated opponents. If we can go out on the field and beat a top 15 Stanford team by two touchdowns, then it will be the biggest win in the last 6 years. It will inject some confidence into the team heading into two other big games against BC and Pitt. I think Stanford is the third best opponent on the schedule, behind Pitt and Utah, and slightly ahead of USC. A win would be very very good for this program.

5. While many outsiders and a contingent of fans have cited ND's academic standards as a hindrance to football success, many Irish supporters consider Notre Dame's unique combination of strong academics and big-time football (and faith) as an advantageous niche in the college football world. With stricter admission standards and far-less football notoriety, Harbaugh's Cardinal have burst onto the national recruiting scene to again prove that plenty of really good football players welcome academic challenges as long as they come with a chance to compete at the highest level. Could you foresee sustained excellence by Stanford Football and would you perceive a perennially strong Cardinal program as any kind of a threat to Notre Dame's niche?

I think that Stanford is capable of building a very strong perennial program, but I don't see them getting to the elite status of Notre Dame of years past, or the Florida,
Texas, Southern Cal and Ohio State teams of the past decade. Sure, they can compete for the Pac-10 crown year-in and year-out, but I don't see them as perennial national title contenders. Notre Dame's uniqueness comes from a history of overcoming the challenges presented by maintaining your academic integrity while fielding an elite football team. Stanford does have some ancient history of elite football success, but they aren't built to sustain it, due to the unique nature of the college football beast compared to the Olympic sports programs.

If the Cardinal find a way to compete at that elite level, they will certainly present a challenge to Notre Dame's niche, but the Irish also have the Catholic identity, which comes with the infamous "parietals" governing student behavior. Stanford is a good academic institution, but they hardly have the restrictions on student life. Parents love Notre Dame not only because of it's football tradition and strong academics, they also know that their sons will become Notre Dame Men.

6. Let’s talk statistics. Will they matter this weekend?

a. Coming into the game, Stanford has the #3 ranked Scoring Offense nationally (51.67 pts/gm) with the 14th ranked Rushing Offense (242.33 yds/gm). Notre Dame's Scoring Offense ranks 73rd (26.00 pts) with the 99th ranked Rushing Defense (197 yds/gm).

Will the Irish be able to contain Stanford's rushing attack?

This is really the key question to this weekend's matchup. Last year, Toby Gerhart mowed us down en route to nearly winning the Heisman trophy. This year, sans Gerhart, the Cardinal are still rolling. We let Denard Robinson make us look like fools, and Michigan State ran for over 200 yards against us.

However, there are signs of improvement. In the fourth quarter, Michigan State only ran for 11 yards. And in OT, they were -4 yards. So, our defense got stronger as the game progressed. If we can avoid giving up the big play, we may be able to stop this Stanford rushing attack.

b. Notre Dame's Passing Offense is 8th nationally (318 yds/gm) and Stanford's Passing Efficiency Defense is 3rd nationally (74 yds/gm).

Will Stanford be able to contain the Irish passing attack?

No. This offense is growing every week, and Stanford hasn't seen anything like the talent that Notre Dame has at their disposal. With Riddick starting to play like a complete receiver, Floyd will get more touches, TJ Jones will sneak out some good plays, and you know that Kyle Rudolph can be counted on in a pinch. This should be a high scoring game for the Irish, as long as we don't turn the ball over.

c. Stanford gave up 170 yds rushing to UCLA and 265 yds rushing to Wake Forest. Notre Dame has averaged 133 yds/gm so far.

Do you expect Kelly to utilize the Irish rushing attack more?

I do. With the tape Kelly has on Stanford, I expect to see a lot of Armando Allen until they bring a safety down in the box. I expect to see some explosive pass plays as a result if the Irish can move the ball on the ground.

d. Stanford is ranked 4th in Red Zone Defense (50%) while the Irish have the 65th ranked Red Zone Offense (82%). Stanford's Red Zone Offense is tied for 1st (100%) in conversions and the Irish Defense's Red Zone conversions allowed is 36th (75%).

Will the Irish be able to stop Stanford's RZ conversions and improve theirs? How would you do that?

Notre Dame will stop Stanford in the red zone on Saturday. And the Irish don't need to worry about their red zone offense, they need to worry about ball security.

7. 1-2 is pretty tough to deal with for a football team still trying to find its identity. Meanwhile, Stanford is looking like a well-oiled machine thus far. Do you think this Irish squad can really bounce back from another heart-breaking loss against the Cardinal? What if it's not all that close?

I tell you what, if this game gets out of hand and the Irish get spanked by the Cardinal, my confidence in Kelly will be badly shaken. I still think that the Irish are better than MSU and Michigan, but their own mistakes (blown coverages and turnovers, specifically) kept them from winning the game. If Stanford beats us soundly, then that means that we will have regressed as a team, as I think we are fully capable of going toe-to-toe with Stanford.

Will we win the game? I don't know. The Cardinal offense has put up some pretty sick numbers so far. And I thought we'd be able to contain Denard Robinson, so I'm not exactly perfect here.

In the end, though, I think that this team is frustrated because they know they are better than their record says. And they want to get out there and prove it.

*****

Notre Dame 45
Stanford 42

Irish Blogger Gathering: Bring on Sparty

2010-09-15T17:17:00.000-04:00

After not even finishing last week's posting (I posted it only partially completed late Friday night from the bar on my friend's iPhone), I'm hoping to get this week's post done with plenty of time to spare.

1) Status check: How deflating was the loss to Michigan? I could argue that Crist's injury makes this loss both easier to swallow and even more maddening for Irish fans.

For the first time in years, I wasn't exactly heartbroken after the loss. Michigan has a ridiculous talent in Denard Robinson, and we played without our starting quarterback for half the game. And we still had a chance to win at the end.

In fact, this Irish time is almost exactly what I expected coming into the season - a very good football team with some depth issues, especially at quarterback. I said in the preseason that if we lose Crist, this season could get ugly, and everyone saw a glimpse of that on Saturday, as Michigan outscored us 21-0 with Crist out of the game.

But with Crist at the helm, we beat Michigan 28-7.

Injuries are part of the game, and I'm not trying to take anything away from Michigan's win - Denard Robinson did torch us for over 500 yards of offense. But I don't think there was anyone in the stands or watching at home that day that felt that Michigan was the better team when both are at full strength.

This season is playing out exactly as I expected, except for the injury to Dayne Crist which knocked him out for most of the first half.

2) How critical is this Saturday's game? Walk away 2-1 and the Irish can feel good about taking on a very able Stanford squad at home next weekend. Walk out of East Lansing with a loss..?

Every game is important in the college football season, but I said before the season that this game would be a barometer for the new regime. Michigan is not a great football team, and while they may have a good record this year behind Robinson, they are deficient in several other areas. Michigan State is a good football team, very solid across the board. Win against MSU, and that will bode well for the rest of the season.

Lose, especially in the wake of losing to Michigan, and suddenly you have a top 20 team coming to town that becomes a must-win game for a 1-2 football team. Suddenly what looked like a brilliant hire starts to look like another possible mistake, and the fanbase has to resign themselves to another sub-par campaign practically before it begins.

3) Why does the rivalry with Michigan State seem to get so little respect?

Simply because Notre Dame is everybody's rivalry. On just this year's schedule, the following teams consider this game a rivalry:

Purdue - played for Shillelagh Trophy
Michigan (no trophy, but considered a rivalry game)
Michigan State - played for Megaphone Trophy
Stanford - played for Legends Trophy
Boston College - "Holy War" played for Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl and Ireland Trophy
Navy - the longest uninterrupted intersectional series in college football
Pittsburgh
Army
Southern Cal - played for Jeweled Shillelagh

Listen to Coach D'Antonio's press conference this week, and all he can talk about is how important this rivalry is to the school and the players. He talks about the history and the tradition and how playing Notre Dame legitimized MSU so they could get into the Big Ten. Blah. Blah. Blah.

Now, let me put together the list of schools that Notre Dame considers a rivalry game:

Southern Cal
Navy

Funny how one of those lists is shorter than the other. You might be able to add Michigan, but that's more of a grudge match than a rivalry. Fact is, we don't really consider Michigan State a true rivalry. But they do. And that's why it doesn't get much respect.

4) It's hard to draw too many conclusions from victories over Western Michigan and Florida Atlantic, but what do you expect this Saturday night in Spartan Stadium?

I expect to see another classic Notre Dame - Michigan State matchup. I think that it will be a relatively close game for much of the game, but I do expect the Irish to pull away late. Of course, we get another injury to Dayne Crist, and all bets are off. But I'm hoping that will be our only injury scare of the season, and that we'll be at full strength the whole game.

Michigan State will come out trying to establish the run, but they don't have a weapon on par with Denard Robinson. Our defense should be able to contain their offense for the most part, although their grind-it-out style will score them some points.

On offense, we should be able to move the ball effectively. Greg Jones is a beast in the middle of the defense, so our running game may not be the most effective. But if we attack the perimiter, we should be able to score early an often.

5) Best case, worst case, most likely: The Irish's record after the first six games.

Best case: 5-1
We should be able to compete with everyone on the schedule, especially if we continue to improve and grow in our offensive and defensive systems.

Worst case: 1-5
Injuries and mistakes could kill us, and all 4 of the teams we face in the next four weeks are fully capable of beating us if we aren't ready.

Most likely: 4-2
I think that we can beat MSU and BC and split the games against Stanford and Pitt.

6) Let's leave Michael Floyd out of this for a second. What Irish player needs to step up and play better football?

Theo Riddick. Michael Floyd needs Theo to start catching balls and making plays so that the opposing defense has to respect his abilities. If they can roll the coverage to Floyd, and Riddick still only catches 2 balls a game, we're not going to become the explosive offense we are capable of becoming. If he can't get the job done, find someone who can. Next man in.

Irish Blogger Gathering Episode II: Attack of the Skunkbears

2010-09-10T22:17:00.000-04:00

For no good reason, I'm feeling a Star Wars themed IBG coming on this week. Probably because whenever we play Michigan, I feel like we are the Jedi Knights to their evil Sith. "

You've now seen Notre Dame Football: The Kelly Edition, Volume 1, Episode 1. Was it everything you thought it would be? Were characters missing from this episode that you were expecting to see featured? DiPd it strike you as a carbon-copy of Kelly's Cincinnati teams, or is there something discernible between the 2 programs beyond the colors of the uniforms?

"Great, kid. Don't get cocky." (Han Solo, Episode IV)

Brian Kelly's Recipe for success at prior stops
Start with one mediocre to poor team. Beat soundly at a very rapid pace until smooth fundamentals appear. Pray for a shot to coach a team which can compete for championships when it wins all of their games.

Brian Kelly's Recipe for success at Notre Dame
Start with one mediocre to poor team. Add a healthy heaping helping of top quality talent. Beat soundly at a very rapid pace until smooth fundamentals appear. Win championships.

Look, you had to know that this team would closely resemble Kelly's Cincinnati team. You don't coach for 20+ years without developing some kind of identity. But there is one major distinction between Kelly's Cincinnati teams and Kelly's Notre Dame teams. That system that managed to eke out an undefeated season at Cincinatti is now playing with some much more high octane fuel. Once this thing is running on all cylinders, look out.

2) Pick one positive play, offense or defense, by the Irish from last Saturday that you feel serves as a bit of metaphorical foreshadowing for the 2010 Irish. Extra points if you can stretch the metaphor to fit Kelly's entire tenure at Notre Dame.

"I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big light blur." (Han Solo, Episode V)

Let's take a look at Armando Allen's touchdown run - 22 yards to paydirt. It was quick, it was flashy, but it was possible because of the solid fundamentals of every player on the field. Also, that play (as the culmination of that entire series) illustrates why I believe Kelly will win at Notre Dame.

Kelly's teams play solid fundamental assignment football across the board, and this play demonstrates it. Excellent blocking at the point of attack, creating a running seam, then a good downfield block by receiver Michael Floyd, and a fired up Armando Allen runs to paydirt. Why was Allen so fired up? Because the three previous plays chewed up half the field behind the excellent runnning of his backup, Cierre Wood. Next man in? You better believe Armando can feel the heat from the talented redshirt freshman. Also, despite all of the concern about Kelly's pass-happy spread offense, it shows that he knows the strength of his team and will coach to the strengths - that drive started at the 16, and consisted of 2 passes for 21 yards and 5 runs for 73 yards. No square peg in a round hole here.

It also shows the trajectory of Notre Dame football I expect to see under Coach Kelly - while we may not get off to the fastest start (first two drives covered 26 and 21 yards respectively), once the cylinders start clicking, we will be tough to stop (84 yds, TD; 50 yds, FG; 45 yds FG; 30 yds, TD; 53 yds, fumble on the 3, nearly a TD). Here's hoping, however, that we can continue to find a way to win, despite not hitting on all cylinders just yet.

3) Pick another play, offense or defense, by the Irish from last Saturday again, but this time, make it a negative play. Tell us how that play serves as a bit of metaphorical foreshadowing for the 2010
Irish. And again, bonus points for stretching it over Kelly's tenure.

"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering." (Yoda, Episode I)

Funny thing about this game is that I left without any complaints. Sure, there were a few things we could do better. But on the whole, I felt like we played a largely error-free game where we executed just like we wanted to on offense and defense. Now, we're not exactly top tier material yet, but this coaching staff did an excellent job of putting our kids in the position to win. And for the first time in a long while, I wasn't afraid of anyone on our schedule.

If you force my hand, though, I'll pick Michael Floyd fumble on the 3-yard line. For 2010, I think that (similar to 2005), we'll show some serious promise for the future, but find a way to shoot ourselves in the foot with our inexperience, costing us what could potentially be an incredible season.

However, I'm going to pass on the bonus points, as I see truly great things for the future of the Irish program under Kelly.

4) You know us, we're stat geeks. Give us a stat that we should be watching this season that will A) Tell us something enlightening about the 2010 Irish and/or B) Tell us something enlightening about the average Top-5 teams at the end of the 2010 season.

"Do or do not, there is no try." (Yoda, Episode V)

Because I'm worried about the youth of this team, I'm going to look at the stat that Brian Kelly mentioned in his press conference this week - striving to be less than 12% critical mistakes. This team is talented enough to beat anyone in the country, as long as they do what they are capable of doing. As long as we can continue to install more and more of the offense, while maintaining our discipline and limiting errors, the sky is the limit.

Because that stat is not readily available, however, I'm going to say take a look at average yards per carry on the ground. Not number of yards, but average yards per carry. Good teams run the ball effectively when they choose to do so.

2009 [Notre Dame 3.84 ypc]
1. Alabama (5.01 ypc)
2. Texas (4.03 ypc)
3. Florida (5.59 ypc)
4. Boise State (5.13 ypc)
5. Ohio State (4.51 ypc)

2008 [Notre Dame 3.27 ypc]
1. Florida (5.94 ypc)
2. Utah (4.08 ypc)
3. USC (5.04 ypc)
4. Texas (4.29 ypc)
5. Oklahoma (4.72 ypc)

Nobody makes it to the elite level without being able to run the ball. An average ypc of over 4 means that you are effective on the ground, and can count on your running game to keep the defense honest. Notre Dame's yards per carry against Purdue? 4.25 ypc

5) Notre Dame is currently a 4 point favorite in the coming Michigan game. You get 3 points for being at home. The AP poll actually ranks Michigan higher than ND. ND is 1-4-1 in the last 6 games with Michigan in which the Irish were favored and 9 and 6 in the last 15 games in which Michigan was favored. Does any of this worry you? Why or why not?

"The fear of loss is a path to the Dark Side." (Yoda, Episode III)

Honestly, I haven't been worried about Michigan all week. I've watched the tape for both teams, and I just think UConn's defense was undisciplined and lacked fundamentals. The Irish defense I saw on Saturday, assuming they show up and do what they do, will make Michigan's offense look pedestrian. I saw so many missed tackles and blown assignments by the UConn defense, that I think that Robinson's stats are more about their opponent than his abilities.

That said, Michigan will score some points. And we'll probably let Robinson slip out of our grasp and gash us a couple of times. But ultimately, we just won't make that many mistakes.

And on offense, Michigan's secondary is ripe for the picking. If we can come out and establish any semblance of a running game, this one could get out of hand. Michigan simply does not have enough bodies in the secondary to cover us if we go 5 wide.

Also, this ain't your Charlie Willingham Irish anymore - we have a new coach in town, one that's actually got experience coaching football.

"I sense something. A presence I haven't felt since..." (Darth Vader, Episode IV)

6) Last week, Frank at UHND put the Gathering on the spot with our predictions for the season. After week 1, are there any of those predictions that you'd like to alter? Any upon which you'd double down?

"Always in motion is the future." (Yoda, Episode V)

Actually, based upon what I saw this week, I'm even more confident in

7) Describe in no fewer than 30 words why you hate Michigan.

"[Ann Arbor]. You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Episode IV)

Michigan sucks.

*****

"YAHOOOO!! You're all clear kid, now let's blow this thing and go home." (Han Solo, Episode IV)

Michigan sucks.

2010-09-08T14:44:00.000-04:00

Because it's Michigan week, and Michigan sucks, I thought I'd collect some of the better examples of pictures and words that describe Michigan's sucktitude far better than I could ever hope to. Please enjoy.

GO IRISH! BEAT ~~WOLVERINES~~ SKUNKBEARS!

*****

*****

Wolverines stir Harbaugh controversy

Published: Wednesday, August 01, 2007, 5:16 PM Updated: Wednesday, August 01, 2007, 5:42 PM

Pete Bigelow
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CHICAGO - Almost three months after former Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh questioned the ways in which his alma mater blends football and academics, tailback Mike Hart practically threw Harbaugh out of the Michigan football family.

"He's not a Michigan Man, and I wish he had never played here," Hart said Tuesday. "I've never met him, and I don't want to."

Now the coach at Stanford, Harbaugh fired up the controversy in the spring when he told The Examiner newspaper in San Francisco that Michigan admitted athletes who were borderline academically, then steered them into less-challenging courses to keep them eligible.

"They're adulated when they're playing," Harbaugh said. "But when they get out, the people who adulated them won't hire them."

Those comments still reverberate within the Michigan football program.

Coach Lloyd Carr said Tuesday he believed Harbaugh's statements were "elitist," "arrogant" and "self-serving." Hart added, "That's a guy I have no respect for."

*****

*****

From the Wiz of Odds blog list of most classless acts of 2009 season

8. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan

You can't do this list without Rich Rod, who continues to drag this storied program to new, embarrassing lows.

No stranger to litigation (see West Virginia), Rich Rod was sued for allegedly defaulting on a real estate loan to build condominiums near Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium. One of his business partners in the failed venture is facing five felony counts and possibly 50 years in prison.

Michigan has gone to 33 consecutive bowl games until Rich Rod arrived. Now they've missed the postseason two years in a row. If that's not bad enough, the NCAA alleges that Rich Rod's program committed five potential major rules violations. Somehow, he's still the coach.

*****

*****

(i)letter from BGS to Michigan fans, September, 2005...(/i)

Dear Michigan fans,

That time of year is upon us once again, when the two titans of midwest football clash in what's shaping up to be yet another epic battle. There's something extremely powerful surrounding this mostly-annual grudge match; we fight over local and national dominance, we fight over the top spot spot in all-time winning percentage, we fight over recruits. ND-Michigan has featured some of the best games in college football over the years, with legendary names like Hamilton and Oliver, Ismail and Howard, Carter and Brooks and Mirer and Gillette spilling across the headlines. Interestingly enough, despite the proximity -- Ann Arbor is just a scant 175 miles from South Bend -- Notre Dame and Michigan aren't really the dominant rivals in each other's worldview. Notre Dame has its traditional, and longer-running rivalry with Southern Cal, and Michigan's stalking horse has always been Ohio State. That's not to say ND-Michigan is taken any more lightly by its fans; on the contrary, the emotions run just as high. But the matchup is special: I would say that Michigan and Notre Dame are less rivals and more Enemies. Bitter, bitter enemies.

ND-Michigan more often than not features a battle of nationally-ranked opponents, and often goes right down to the wire. And unlike other grudge matches that often serve as a capstone to a team's season, the Notre Dame-Michigan affair is always right up front, usually kicking off the season. A win can catapult the victor to an undefeated season; a loss can sink a team's hopes right out of the gates. Off the field, we pit our rich traditions against each other in a never-ending argument over who's got the best academics, the best colors, the best uniforms, the best marching band, and the best fight song.

In a way, Notre Dame owes Michigan a debt of gratitude. It was a group of Wolverine players who first taught the game to a Notre Dame club way back in 1887. From those humble beginnings, both programs rose to national fame and fortune. So, we give thanks to Michigan for passing down the game that has defined us so, and we are grateful.

But we owe Michigan more than our gratitude. We owe UM our scorn, for they have earned it.

A quick look at the history books reminds us why the Skunkbears have a wing unto themselves in our Hall of Shame. Shortly after the halcyon days of 1887, when players shared the game in a collegial competition, you tried to kill us. Once Notre Dame beat Fielding Yost's "point-a-minute" champions (after 8 consecutive losses to the Wolverines), Yost took the fledgling Irish program off Michigan's schedule. The humiliation ran deep; as if simply dropping the Irish wasn't enough, Yost fought tooth and nail to keep the burgeoning ND program out of the powerful Western Conference, worried that the upstart immigrant school would damage the reputation of what is now the Big Ten. Yost blackballed us, and encouraged others to do the same; for 34 years, his cowardice was enshrined in UM's schedule for all to see. Like a deranged, Munchausen-by-proxy mother (look it up), you tried to smother us in the crib when our program was in its infancy. Fear of Notre Dame was a powerful talisman, institutionalized by Yost, and the cowardice and consternation towards Notre Dame oozes out of Ann Arbor even to this day.

Yost was but the first in a litany of men of low character to hold the reins at UM. Fritz Crisler's "bias" (ahem) toward ND is well-known, and, like his predecessor, again dropped the Irish from his schedule for thirty years after a loss. Bo Schembechler sat idly by, for years, as three different Irish coaches won National Championships, while he was busy losing Rose Bowls; Bo was driven crazy with the notion that ND might enter the Big 10 and end his biannual trips to Pasadena. Gary Moeller was frustrated that he couldn't pick Notre Dame up, drink it, and then drive into a ditch. These also-rans were over-shadowed by true coaching legends just down the road from them: legends like Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, and Holtz, who racked up championship upon championship as Ann Arbor stewed.

In the end, perhaps we do owe the Skunkbears a few more tokens of thanks. If Yost hadn't taken his ball and gone home, perhaps we would now be in the Big Ten, and our idea of football excellence would entail two or three losses per year and a trip to the Rose Bowl twice a decade. But instead, you blackballed us, and tried to choke us out of existence. You should have finished the job. We survived, and because too many teams were under Michigan's villainous spell in the Midwest, we were forced to look elsewhere to find quality opponents. And we did. We scheduled and played the nationwide champions of the day: Army, Southern Cal, Georgia Tech, Stanford, and many others. We criss-crossed the country, we were Rockne's Ramblers, taking on all comers, what tho' the odds. In doing so, we won national acclaim, respect, and the hearts of countless Americans. It was Michigan's attempt to stamp out a budding rival that created the nation's most popular and successful football program, the University of Notre Dame's Fighting Irish.

This is why we don't approach the Michigan game with the same tradition-laden respect, the pomp and circumstance, or the "contest of equals" honor reserved for the Southern Cal game. Rather, like Inigo Montoya closing in on the six-fingered man, we come with a singular focus. We are Notre Dame Football. You tried to kill us. Prepare to die.

*****

University of Michigan buries scrutiny of athletes' academics

Published: Sunday, June 15, 2008, 12:02 AM Updated: Sunday, June 15, 2008, 3:32 PM

Jim Knight
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Administrators duck tough questions

If you don't like the questions, find different people to ask less challenging ones.

That seems to be the approach University of Michigan administrators took when two faculty members tried to examine the intersection of athletics and academics.

It's another disturbing phase in a saga that repeatedly finds U-M leaders running for cover rather than directly dealing with very troubling issues.

Last year, Professors Keith Riles and Richard Friedman began looking into whether certain student-athletes were being steered to pursue general studies degrees. They'd been concerned by remarks made by Jim Harbaugh, a former U-M football star who was critical of how academically challenged athletes were shepherded through the university.

Following up Harbaugh's charges, a four-day series published by The News in March detailed how some athletes were being guided into courses that weren't as rigorous as others at U-M.

• University of Michigan officials balk at academic and athletics probe

• Complete athletics and academics special report

Earlier this year and after our series ran, Riles and Friedman sent questions about these issues to U-M Vice Provost Phil Hanlon, as part of an investigation by the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, or SACUA. But though Hanlon had previously agreed to meet with them, after seeing the questions, well, that wasn't going to happen.

Hanlon now says that SACUA didn't sanction the investigation. He's backed up by two SACUA leaders - who also happen to be tight with the U-M athletic department.

Riles and Friedman believe those faculty members - David Potter and Charles Smith - derailed their probe. "It's frustrating to have skepticism or interest interpreted as bias," Riles told The News.

Frustrating, yes - but not surprising.

Hanlon didn't want to answer the questions raised by Riles and Friedman, and used a bureaucratic subterfuge to avoid them.

In fact, U-M's top leaders - including Provost Teresa Sullivan and President Mary Sue Coleman - have no interest in talking to people who ask hard questions. Unless you've drunk the Everything's OK Kool-Aid, you're viewed as an adversary.

Because this culture of denial is pervasive at the top levels of the university, we looked to faculty leadership to pick up the challenge that administrators are unwilling to acknowledge, let alone address.

Professors like Riles and Friedman - who are rightly concerned about the university's academic integrity - tried to step into that leadership role. That they were pushed back by the U-M academic bureaucracy is very telling.

Universities across the country grapple with this issue. Who should oversee the education of athletes? Should it be the athletic department, which has a vested interest in ensuring that its marquee athletes remain academically eligible? Or should that oversight rest with the academic administration and faculty, who are responsible for the university's academic integrity?

At U-M, the answer doesn't really matter. The university's top academic administrators are clearly too afraid to even respond to uncomfortable questions - questions that might reveal the true extent of the athletic department's control.

It's not just frustrating. It's shameful.

*****

Notre Dame and Michigan - A History -ndoldtown (2003)

It is well this week to reflect on relations between Notre Dame and Michigan: how they began, how they developed, why they are the way they are and what forces impel Michigan to be the way it is. Let us review and remember all that Michigan really stands for.

Chapter One - Seeds of Smallness - The Yost Legacy

Fielding Yost is by far the most influential person in the history of Michigan athletics. A review of his tenure vis-a-vis Notre Dame is instructive of how and why Notre Dame and Michigan view each other the way they do.

"The two most powerful conference members athletically and politically were Chicago and Michigan. Both would become the staunchest athletic foes of Notre Dame. In 1898 Michigan voted to deny Notre Dame membership in the (then) Western Conference."

"In June 1901 Michigan and Chicago orchestrated the conference's banning of Notre Dame from the initial I.C.A.A. track meet"

1909 - Notre Dame defeats Michigan for the first time. After the game Notre Dame player Red Miller goes to shake Fielding Yost's hand. "When Shorty Longman introduced me to Mr. Yost, who had been my idol for years, I was thrilled beyond measure. . . To my utter amazement, he greeted me by saying 'Miller you were guilty of the most unsportsmanlike conduct that I've ever seen in all my days.'" Yost was angry because Miller had waited several times until the last minute to signal fair catches on punts and Michigan had been flagged twice for interference. "The fair catches were perfectly legal" as officials later confirmed.

Later that year despite, having a worse record and losing to ND, Michigan was voted "Champions of the West" by some Western Conference sportswriters and Yost claimed the split championship was just. "Of course we are champions. They have a good team down there, but you must recognize the fact that we went into that game caring little whether we won or lost. Practice was what we wanted."

1910 - 24 hours before Notre Dame and Michigan are to play, Yost cancels the game. The two teams do not play again for thirty-two years.

1911 - A general policy of blackballing of Notre Dame by Michigan and Western Conference schools begins. Jesse Harper writes to ask Michigan to schedule a game: "I am very sorry you could not think it best to schedule a game for next fall. If at any time you should find that your schedule is not working out to suit you and that you would like to play Notre Dame, I would be very glad to hear from you."

1913 - ND begins playing schools outside the midwest as a result of the boycott. Army, Texas, Penn State and Syracuse are added to the schedule. The 1913 Army game -- only scheduled due to the Michigan boycott -- becomes one of the most famous in ND history as Gus Dorais and Knute Rockne use the forward pass to upset the top team in the then-dominant East.

1914 - Yost to his AD "Do not favor Notre Dame game. It would be a hard game. Not much money or prestige if we won."

One senior football player, Knute Rockne, of the class of '14 bears particular ill will towards Yost and Michigan for blackballing Notre Dame. Also, despite his pass-catching ability as displayed in the game against Army, Yost works to keep this player off of All American teams. The young player swears to friends that he will ensure that Notre Dame not only never needs the Western Conference, Yost or Michigan again, but that she will eclipse them across the nation.

Rockne viewed Yost as "a hillbilly who was forever grinding a religious ax against Notre Dame, who was crooked as a dog's hind leg, who was selfish and vain beyond comprehension, who was blindly jealous of Rockne's own success and ascension to national stardom and who coached boring, neanderthal football."

1923 Big Ten track and field meet to which ND is invited. At a meeting of athletic directors Yost makes a comment in front of all listeners that Rockne is a "Protestant holdout at a Catholic school" and urges Big Ten schools to boycott Notre Dame in all sports. During the meet one of Michigan's hurdlers stumbled and lost. Yost insisted the hurdles had been placed wrong and demanded the race be re-run. Illinois, Wisconsin and other schools withdrew and Notre Dame joined in support of their protest. Yost then approached Notre Dame's captain and told him to tell Rockne that he was a quitter and that he and his "dirty Irish" would never play on Ferry Field again.

Rockne wrote Yost "The Western Conference could put in a regulation that all coaches had to join the Ku-Klux-Klan but that certainly does not apply to us any more than some of the other freak regulations they may have. Now if you personally don't want to meet Notre Dame, that is your business, no holler from this end. . . But I don't think it is fair for you to carry out a campaign against us. I have always been a loyal booster and admirer of yours and I always hope to be. However, I am no quitter. I will not sit by quietly and have my school knocked even though I am not of its faith [this was before Rockne converted]"

1926 - In a note to the Big Ten Commissioner, noting that Notre Dame had won its last twelve games against Big Ten teams Yost urges all to join Michigan's renewed boycott, "one can readily see how the Conference is helping Notre Dame."

1929 - After years of false assertions by Yost against Notre Dame, Michigan's longstanding unethical tactics are exposed in a study by the Carnegie Report on college athletics. The report cited Michigan as "among the least fortunate" of 100 schools investigated in the manner in which both the University and its alumni clubs provided loans, jobs and other forms of aid to athletes. That same year, the Big Ten Commissioner denounced the report and called Michigan "an ideal" for other college athletic programs regarding ethics.

Rockne's system, involving the famed Notre Dame Shift caught other teams off balance and was the rage in football. Yost begins a national campaign to get the shift banned and resort to old-style less fluid football not involving shifting or as much passing - in other words, a return to the rugby-style that earlier had led to many deaths and led to President Theodore Roosevelt calling for reforms in the game. Eventually, the rule was modified to require a "complete stop" - Rockne coached his players to do so - briefly - and still used his motion offense to win a national championship in 1924. Yost was outraged. Next, Big Ten officials began flagging Notre Dame on a consistent basis for its "slick" plays and quick shifts and reverses. In a game at Northwestern, Michigan alum and Big Ten official Meyer Morton penalized Notre Dame 95 yards, NW zero, leading to the famous Rockne quote to the official "Looks like a Big Ten suckhole out there to me." Rockne was also outraged that Yost had a say on which Big Ten officials called ND games against Big Ten teams, even though Michigan was not playing Notre Dame. Even with the new rules designed by Yost and his allies to impede Rockne, Notre Dame went undefeated in 1929 and 1930 and won two more national championships.

At the end of the day Rockne has become the prototype of coaches and an American cultural icon, the winningest coach in the history of football with towns, buildings, stamps and famous movies named after him and the most legendary of all team exhortations to his credit. Yost's name is generally known only to Michigan fans.

Chapter Two - The Crisler Legacy - "They Say Hail Mary's"

Finally, in 1942, after thirty-two years, a game was played between Notre Dame and Michigan. Michigan won 32-20. The next year, the game was played in Ann Arbor. The teams were ranked 1 and 2 in the polls and it was a huge game. Notre Dame won 35-12 on the way to the national championship. The star of the game was Creighton Miller, son of Red Miller who Yost had attacked in 1909. As after Notre Dame's first win over Michigan, Notre Dame's second win provoked a cessation of relations for another thirty years.

In a gesture of goodwill in order to strengthen relations between the schools, Coach Fritz Crisler was extended an invitation to the Notre Dame football banquet in 1943. He told a friend to graciously say he was deeply disappointed he could not attend and that "No one but you need know that I have my tongue in cheek when I say that."

A Michigan official told Crisler that if asked about the Notre Dame series he would say its a great series, we are looking forward to more of the same. Crisler told him "I would back you in public for any quotes and then chew you out in private for going beyond your authority." Crisler thereafter politely put off all requests for a game in 1944, 1945 or 1946. In 1946 he instituted a policy requiring that aside from conference games, Michigan only play three other games of which one must be Michigan State, one must be an eastern team and one must be a western team, effectively eliminating any chance of playing Notre Dame without having to admit that was what was being done. Frank Leahy won five national championships at Notre Dame and constantly wrote letters to Crisler begging for him to play a game. Crisler never responded to those requests, but did work behind the scenes in an attempt to have Leahy censured by the coaches association for "faking injuries".

Crisler remained AD until 1968 and never scheduled Notre Dame for a football game. Moose Krause, ND AD during the period, would call Crisler every year to seek a game and was declined for twenty straight years. Said Krause, "I think he didn’t want to play us because we were the power in his own backyard. If Michigan lost to Army, well, they were back East. We were too close."

Crisler often said he just did not want to distract from the Big Ten focus of the program. Others thought Crisler harbored anti-Catholic sentiment and feared that Catholics in Michigan might root for Notre Dame. A Detroit News writer, Pete Waldmeir, who covered Michigan for decades says the excuse of not wanting to jeopardize the importance of the conference was a smokescreen. He opined "That's the party-line bullshit. It wasnt that at all. Fritz didn't give a damn about the Big Ten. And you can quote me on that. He told them what to do in football. He had his people placed all around the Big Ten." In 1956 Crisler told Waldmeir, "You know, its tough. Every Saturday morning from every pulpit in town, they're praying for Notre Dame in Ann Arbor." Even Michigan's later athletic director Don Canham all but admits his predecessor's anti-Catholic bigotry: "Fritz didn’t have a deep-seated hate of Catholics or anything like that. But, you know, in those days they figured if a Catholic ran for President he couldn't win. . . . I mean it was a different world. And that's what you have to realize when you look at it with today's perspective."

Bump Elliott, Michigan's coach from 1959-1968 also endorsed the "religious threat" reasoning for not scheduling Notre Dame, noting that when he was an assistant at Iowa, some of their Catholic alumni rooted against the Hawkeyes and for Notre Dame. Father Edmund Joyce, Vice President of Notre Dame, said that the only two schools that ever used Notre Dame's Catholic affiliation as an excuse for not scheduling Notre Dame in football were Ohio State and Michigan. Said Joyce, "I always thought the two of them were together on this. I never believed it." Continued Joyce, in the neatest summary of what the Big Two are all about: "Ultimately, Woody Hayes was a little more honest about it. He said he didn’t want to play Notre Dame because the Michigan game was the only big game on their schedule, whereas if they played Notre Dame it would detract from the Michigan game. In other words what he was saying was they don’t like to lose. Those guys all had great egos and they didnt want to lose." Said Elliott, "I think Crisler felt our schedule was tough enough without playing Notre Dame."

Indeed, Crisler loaded up Michigan with home games, as many as seven in a nine game season and even today, Michigan's historical record is incredibly slanted with a large majority of games having been played at home. From 1943 to 1958 Michigan played Indiana fifteen times, all in Ann Arbor. They played MSU eleven of thirteen games in Ann Arbor from 1945 to 1957. Despite such favorable scheduling and a boycott of Notre Dame, Michigan did not win any national championships from 1948 through the resumption of the series with Notre Dame, while ND was winning championships in 1949, 1953, 1966, 1973 and 1977. And Michigan's light schedule may have had much to do with its lack of success against good teams for decades. In the 1970's, while Notre Dame was winning three Cotton Bowls, a Sugar Bowl, an Orange Bowl and a Gator Bowl, defeating undefeated Texas twice, undefeated Alabama twice, as well as Houston and Penn State, Michigan was 0-6 in bowl games.

One time, Crisler was assured by an alumnus that he could always count on support from Michigan alumni in his efforts to avoid scheduling Notre Dame and preventing other Big Ten schools from scheduling them, telling Crisler he could depend on "a public opinion sufficiently non-Democratic and non-Catholic." Perhaps the mentality and admirability of the second-most signifcant figure in the history of Michigan sports can be summed up in this quote from him about Notre Dame "You know, before the game they march them all off to church and they say their Hail Mary's,"

Chapter Three - The Canham Years - Michigan and The Big Ten Want ND's Money.

While figures such as Yost and Crisler didn’t like Catholics or Irish, their successors did like green, the color of money. And money was precisely what led to Michigan realizing the greater spirit and glory of sport that a resumption of games with Notre Dame would serve. Businessman extraordinaire Don Canham became athletic director in 1969 and quickly looked for avenues to increase revenue. Notre Dame was one.

Canham quickly got the deal done and Notre Dame always had the utmost respect for him as he did for Notre Dame. Said Canham. "You have to give Notre Dame credit. Any sport you name Notre Dame goes after the best competition. Thats why they're Notre Dame." The class and largeness of spirit exhibited by Canham was a break with Michigan's heritage and one not to be followed by those around him.

Canham was ahead of the game for the Big Ten in reaching out to Notre Dame. In the late nineties, Big Ten officials hotly courted Notre Dame to join the conference -- for money not love. Notre Dame wisely demurred. In an ironic twist of history largely and predictably ignored by the media, Notre Dame was being asked to join the regional institution whose many earlier rejections of Notre Dame had forced it to seek a national schedule and thus become the national athletic institution it was. Moreover, the institution that had done the most to attempt to destroy, undermine and thwart Notre Dame athletics was aghast and insulted at its rejection when it came begging for Notre Dame join it so that it could monetarily profit from the name and brand ND had built up over the years.

Chapter Four - Bo Schembechler and Lloyd Carr - Pettiness Personified

Sound familiar? "I dont know whether [playing Notre Dame] is in the best interests of Michigan because Michigan should be pointing to Iowa or Michigan State or Ohio State. It had just got to the point where if I had remained there as athletic director and Notre Dame continued to manipulate the position of the game and to do some of the things they were doing, I'd have dropped Notre Dame." Yes, it is Bo. He also resented that his players didn’t agree with him. "When you're setting your goals in your first meeting, Notre Dame always pops into the picture. And you say 'Okay men, we're going to shoot for Notre Dame, but I'm going to tell you something, Notre Dame is a non-conference game, and we'll always play it as that. There are only so many games you can really get your team up to a fever pitch." Bo was 4-6 against Notre Dame.

Bo's frustration undoubtedly stems in part from the fact that during his tenure at Michigan, three different Notre Dame coaches won national championships while Bo never got close. And throughout Lou Holtz's tenure, Notre Dame won five major bowls and played in four others while Michigan was going 2-3 in the Rose Bowl and not making any other major bowl games. Bo, who had the worst record against top-ten teams of any coach who ever won over a hundred games, had some of his most galling and embarrassing defeats at the hands of the Irish, including three straight losses to Holtz to close his career, Harry Oliver's 51-yard boot, Bob Crable's blocked field goal, Ricky Watter's punt return helping catapult Notre Dame to a national championship in 1988 and Rocket's two kick returns in 1989. So Bo's desire to avoid Notre Dame is understandable. His class and Michigan manner were recently displayed yet again when in true statesman of the game style he proclaimed "To hell with Notre Dame."

Lloyd Carr has picked up many of the same tendencies as his predecessors. He frequently talks about how it might be a good idea to end the Notre Dame series. Also, he went ballistic over a perceived "injustice" when Notre Dame played Kansas before playing Michigan in 1999. He claimed there was a gentleman's agreement that neither school would play a game before this one. ND athletic director Moose Krause was conveniently dead. Unfortunately, the then-alive Canham opted to tell the truth and denied any such agreement. Carr's dissembling was further undermined by the fact that Michigan played games before playing Notre Dame in 1978-82, 1991, 1993 and 1994. As former Michigan athletic director Jack Weidenbach points out, "We can move our games around too" and had done so to get a game before Notre Dame for years before Carr's Yostian tirade.

Carr's hostility to truth is also displayed in his recruiting efforts to play the race card. Carr frequently uses Notre Dame's Catholic affiliation [sound familiar] and location away from a large city to attempt to convince African-American players not to attend Notre Dame. Carr's tactics are especially unworthy considering that African-American athletes going to Notre Dame almost uniformly earn degrees while an African-American football player at Michigan for most of the last two decades is most likely to serve his time in the fields at Michigan Stadium and around the Big Ten and then leave school with no degree. Carr's average of three-losses a season with what is generally considered unlimited recruiting resources and limited academic demands on his players has placed him squarely in the Michigan mold. Consistent winning with few outstanding seasons.

In the end, much of the Michigan-Notre Dame relationship comes down to smallness and jealousy. Notre Dame has won far more national championships, more Heisman Trophies, has more All Americans. Its games are more highly-rated, its team more closely followed nationally than Michigan. It has its own network contract and every year that polling is conducted Notre Dame is chosen as America's most popular college football team. While Notre Dame has been consensus national champion nine times since the polls came into effect in 1936 and number two four times, Michigan has won a championship in 1948 and a half of one in 1997, and has finished second twice. Never has Michigan defeated an undefeated or number one or two ranked team in a bowl game to win a national championship as Notre Dame has done repeatedly. While Notre Dame has won bowl games against undefeated opponents seven times, Michigan has never won a bowl game against an undefeated opponent. And Notre Dame is the only school to have a winning record against Michigan over the last fifty years. Indeed, even failures such as Bob Davie and Ty Willingham have a combined .500 record against Michigan, with Ty having a winning record against Carr. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that the average Notre Dame undergrad far outshines the resume of his Michigan counterpart, having finished in the top ten percent of his high school class and scoring much higher on standardized tests. Even by the ludicrous standards of the U.S News and World Report survey by which large universities such as Michigan live, Notre Dame outranks them. All of this is galling to Michigan, whose worldview is one conditioned on absolute superiority to the Big Ten schools it regularly dictates to politically, defeats on the field and over whom it presumes intellectual superiority.

Nowhere is Michigan's "Notre Dame complex" more apparent than in the hostile, ugly treatment of Notre Dame fans at Michigan Stadium. Michigan and other fans routinely comment on how friendly and refreshing a trip to Notre Dame is for a game - a trip back to days of real college football sportsmanship. Michigan, on the other hand, while constantly publicizing its commitment to sportsmanship and the values of intercollegiate competition embarrassingly was forced to send an official apology to Notre Dame for the vulgar and violent treatment of Notre Dame's students and fans at Michigan Stadium in 2003. Unable to have a constructive, mature relationship with a school that sees itself as more than its equal, Michigan's relationship with Notre Dame has always been one of animus and pettiness, fueled at various points by historical prejudice against Catholics and envy of Notre Dame's unique place in the history of American sport and its success against the odds, all achieved outside the narrow confines of the conference walls Michigan so obsessively built and maintains.

Posted by ndoldtown @ NDNation.com 2003

* Sources: Kryk, "Natural Enemies: The Notre Dame- Michigan Football Feud", Sperber, "Shake Down the Thunder" and "Onward to Victory"; Notre Dame and Michigan Media Guides.

*****

Gameday!!!

2010-09-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

Today is my favorite day of the year. More than New Year's Day, Halloween, Christmas morning and my birthday combined, today is my favorite day. Today is the day where I truly allow myself to dream. I don't just remember the fond naiveté of childhood, I actually live it.

While the past 13 seasons have brought heartache after heartache, each season when this day arrives I truly believe. I believe in the spirit of Notre Dame and the ideal that it represents. I believe in triumph against all odds without the sacrifice of your own integrity. I believe in the stubborn refusal to yield to the pressure to give in to temptation. I believe that a tiny little school from the middle of nowhere Indiana can grow to be one of the finest institutions of education in the entire land, while still maintaining a steadfast commitment to it's Catholic heritage. I believe in that we will wake up the echoes, and the entire world will bear witness to our triumphant return to glory.

Today I forget about depth charts, injuries, transfers, 40 times and coaching resumes. I don't care about past failures. All that matters is today. This is the day, and this is the team.

And the moment I see those golden helmets glistening in the sun as they march out onto the field with their brother and sisters from the student body standing as one together, I feel truly home. I may have never met the 80,000 strong standing at my side or the millions watching at home, but at that moment, we are one. We are Notre Dame.

We will fight. And we will win.

Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame,
Wake up the echoes cheering her name.
Send the volley cheer on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky.
What tho' the odds be great or small,
Old Notre Dame will win over all,
While Her Loyal Sons are marching
Onward to victory.

GO IRISH! BEAT BOILERS!

IBG: Kelly Era Begins

2010-09-01T17:37:00.000-04:00

Better late than never, here are my answers to this week's IBG questions.

1. Name one offensive players and one defensive player you are most excited to see in the new systems and why.
Offensive: Michael Floyd. This system is a pass heavy offense, and Michael Floyd is set to absolutely tear it up. And with Kelly's high praise about Michael's work ethic this offseason, I think we may be in for a special season from one of the best ever at the position this year.

Defensive: Ian Williams. In the 3-4 system, it's crucial for the nose tackle to be a dominating force inside, plugging up the interior and freeing the inside linebackers to work in space. I think Te'o will get many of the accolades, but if he does, it's because Ian Williams is doing his job down in the trenches, bottling up the A gaps.

2. What’s one reason you think Brian Kelly is the right coach this time? What’s one reason you think he might not be?
The reason I think he's the right coach this time is simple - that's what all the evidence we have available to us points to. The best indicator of future performance is past performance, and all he's done as a head coach at multiple stops and multiple levels over the course of 20 year is win. There is no evidence to believe he can't do that again here.
One reason I think he might not be? 'Cause this is Notre Dame. It's a completely different ball game than any other college coaching position. I'd liken it most to the difference between being a United States Senator and the President of the United States. The pressure, scrutiny, and demands of the Notre Dame job are double that of any other position in the country. It's entirely possible he simply can't handle it.
But all of the evidence thus far says he can. But the proof is in the pudding.

3. A lot of people are labeling Purdue, Boston College, and Michigan State as toss up games. Considering Notre Dame beat all three of these teams during the disappointing 2009 season, do you consider these games toss-ups or games you expect Notre Dame to win?
I expect Notre Dame to win. This team has all of the physical tools there to win. It just needed the fundamentals and desire, which were lacking under Coach Weis, an analytical and scheme-oriented coach. Kelly brings an old school focus on intensity, fundamentals, repetition and desire. Losing Tate and Clausen is not as big a step down as most people seem to think. Replacing them with Michael Floyd and Dayne Crist is reloading, not rebuilding.
Close wins last year, with Kelly's leadership this year, to me translate into wins of the double digit variety.

4. What’s one reason you think Notre Dame could shock the world and pull of another 1964-type season?
There's nobody on the schedule that really scares me. U$C is on probation under a new coach, with a rash of transfers to deal with. Pitt is talented, but they are still coached by Dave Wannestedt. UTah has been a great team over the last decade, but they aren't really championsip material this year (that's Boise State's job, remember?). The rest of the Big 10 games? Not that scary. Navy? Trust me, Kelly will remind them that there was a reason for the 43-year win streak there. There are 12 winnable games on this schedule.
Oh, and Paul Longo is the second coming of the Terminator in my eyes...

5. What’s one reason you’re concerned we might see more of a 1997-type season?
This team still hasn't bought in. That's about the only thing that I see leading to a meltdown. If we come out against Purdue and lay a turd, we may see kids go in the tank again, and start to accepting losing as part of the Notre Dame experience.
Of course, I don't care who it is, Kelly will see it in their eyes and kick them off of campus so fast their heads will spin. No chance this season gets away from us like the last three have.

6. Which freshmen do you see contributing the most on the field this year (outside of TJ Jones – that’s too easy)?
Lo Wood. Because of the numbers, this kid will get plenty of opportunity to see the field this year. I believe that the coaching staff will ease him into playing time, giving him reps as a nickel back mostly in non-crucial situations, but I believe that his playing time will increase as the season wears on as we try to devlop some depth in the secondary. Honorable mention: Louis Nix, unless Coach Kelly can manage to actually redshirt him.

7. Other than Dayne Crist (too easy again) who is the one player Notre Dame can least afford to lose to injury for any significant period of time?
Kyle Rudolph. The matchup problems he creates are going to be the glue that holds this offense together, especially against stiff competition early in the season. Our running game has plenty of options, and even though Michael Floyd is a superstar, the talent behind him is pretty darn good. Tyler Eifert looks like he will be the real deal, but he's just coming off of injury, and there's not much behind him. Plus, without Rudolph on the field, teams will be able to key on Floyd, which reduces the effectiveness of the entire offense.

8. 2010 Season Predictions

Notre Dame record
10-2

Bowl game for Notre Dame with opponent
Fiesta Bowl versus the Texas Longhorns

Final ranking
12

Opponent with the the highest final ranking
Utah

Notre Dame’s offensive & defensive MVP
Offensive: Michael Floyd
Defensive: Manti Te'o

Best opponent offensive & defensive player
Offense: Jonathan Baldwin, WR, Pitt Runner-up: Ricky Dobbs, QB, Navy
Defense: Greg Jones, LB, Michigan State Runner-up: Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue

Best opposing coach
Mark D'Antonio, Michigan State

Game you are most excited to watch
Purdue. It's a new coach, a new season, new reasons for optimism. It's like opening a REALLY big gift on Christmas morning. Sure, it could be a gross of athletic socks, but it's probably that awesome bike you've been asking for.

Game you wouldn't mind watching on DVR
Western Michigan. While I'll probably be at the game just 'cause tickets will be so cheap, I could certainly spend my afternoon mowing the yard, and at least then I'd be able to skip the commercial breaks during the replay. And drink beer. Mmmmm.... Beer....

National Champion
Boise State

Heisman Winner
Kellen Moore

Purdue game prediction
Notre Dame 24 Purdue 14

The Official Domer Law 2010 Season Preview

2010-09-01T11:22:00.002-04:00

**Yes, I am aware of the changes to the depth chart. This is a fluid situation, and this post has been 2 weeks in the making. Please accept the slight inaccuracies.**

So, the season is now upon us. The team has finished up training camp and transitioned into game week mode for practices. Most of the positional battles have shaken themselves out, and we are now on the verge of beginning the Kelly era in South Bend.

So, here is my annual 2010 Season Preview. I'm going to break down the roster and the schedule, with predictions across the board. Unlike my last post, I'm going to try to present a realistic view of our chances of success, but I do think that there is a very high ceiling for this team this year.

So, without further ado, please allow me to present your 2010 Notre Dame Fighting Irish!

Positional Breakdown

Head Coach

Brian Kelly,

1st year at Notre Dame, 21st year as a head coach, 25 years experience in coaching

Career record: 171-57-2 (.748 winning percentage)

Previous experience:

Grand Valley State, Assistant Coach, Head Coach, 17 seasons (13 as head coach)

Record: 118-35-2, 5 conference titles, 6 playoff appearances, 2 Div. II National Championships

Central Michigan University, Head Coach, 3 seasons

Record: 19-16, 1 MAC conference title, qualified for Motor City Bowl (Kelly did not coach bowl game)

University of Cincinnati, Head Coach, 3 seasons

Record: 34-6, 2 Big East conference titles, qualified for 2 BCS bowls (Orange and Sugar), 3-time Big East Coach of the Year (2007, 2008, 2009), ESPN / Home Depot National Coach of the Year (2009)

Coach Kelly comes to us with an impressive resume and a meteoric rise up through the coaching ranks from Grand Valley State. For perspective, when we hired Coach Willingham, Coach Kelly had just lost his first appearance in the Div. II National Championship game. Now, he's ascended to very pinnacle of the coaching profession, leading the University of Notre Dame.

For those that are concerned that Coach Kelly can't bring Notre Dame back to prominence, consider the fact that while at Cincinnati, he took a program that had never won 10 games in a season to back-to-back BCS bowls and an undefeated regular season in 2009. That's an indication of how quickly he's learned to develop the talent of his players. Indeed, the three year turnarounds he orchestrated at Central Michigan and Cincinnati coincides well with the 3-year championship mark set by every National Championship coach in Notre Dame's history.

Quarterback

Dayne Crist, RS Sophomore,

3rd year at Notre Dame, 1st year as starter, consensus 5-star recruit out of high school

Career stats: 10-20, 130 yds., 1 TD, 1 INT; 5 rush, 16 yds., 0 TD

Backups: Nate Montana (JR), Tommy Rees (FR), Andrew Hendrix (FR), Luke Massa (FR)

In his first year at the helm of the Irish offense, Dayne Crist comes in as the clear starter, taking over for Jimmy Clausen. A highly touted prospect out of high school, Dayne is an imposing figure, at 6'4" 235 lbs. He's got excellent athleticism, and a strong arm. Really, he has the potential to be the perfect spread QB, if lacking top end speed. Think Tim Tebow with more size and speed, better throwing mechanics, and nearly all of the intangibles (except perhaps the bravado). The only question marks are his recovery from a torn ACL last season, his relative inexperience, and the difficulties in changing systems from a pro-style attack to the spread. I expect him to be a little hesitant at the beginning of the year, and progress nicely as he settles into his new role - he will be one of the best QBs in the country by season's end, barring injury.

Running Back

Armando Allen, Senior,

4th year at Notre Dame, 4th year as starter

Career stats: 33 games, 19 starts, 362 rushes for 1,630 yds (4.5 avg) 6 TD, 102 rec 695 yds (6.8 avg) 3 TD, 54 KR 1,247 yds (23.1 avg), 1 TD

Backups: Cierre Wood (RS FR), Jonas Gray (JR), Robert Hughes (SR)

Armando Allen is returning for his 4th and final year of eligibility, and despite being entrenched as a starter, he has never shown the explosiveness that everyone has expected to see from him. He does have one kickoff return TD to his credit, but he's never seemed to have the capability to get out in the open field and blow past people. He is a solid option at running back, with good blocking skills, good all-around running skills, and if he ever learns the vision necessary to see his openings, very good speed.

I hope Armando develops into the breakaway back we've all been expecting him to be, but if he does not, we do have some other options in the backfield. Cierre Wood, consensus 5-start running back talent that redshirted his freshman year last year, has moved up right behind Armando on the depth chart, and showed some serious skills in the Blue/Gold game. If Armando can't start to find ways to make big gains from the line of scrimmage, Wood will snatch his starting position, and I doubt he'll ever give it back.

Robert Hughes will be a valuable change of pace as a more bruising (but surprisingly agile) back, probably turned to in short yardage situations. And Jonas Gray has shown himself to be a solid all-around back, and will be given plenty of opportunities to make an impact as well. In fact, we were so deep at the running back position that the coaching staff moved Theo Riddick to receiver so they could find opportunities to get him on the field more.

This unit should be the strength of the offense early in the season, and give defenses fits if they worry too much about the pass game.

Tight End

Kyle Rudolph, Junior

3rd year at Notre Dame, 3rd year as starter

Career stats: 23 games, 22 starts, 62 rec 704 yds (11.4 avg) 5 TD

Backups: Tyler Eifert (SO), Mike Ragone (RS JR), Jake Golic (RS FR)

Kyle Rudolph may be the best player on the team. A preseason All-American and arguably the odds-on favorite for the John Mackey Award, Rudolph has already shown himself to be the most complete tight end in the country. With Coach Kelly talking about utilizing Kyle as a Wildcat, his freakish athleticism and size could find new avenues for productivity as well. He creates some ridiculous matchup problems for opposing defenses, and I'm certain that he will be a lynchpin to this team's success, especially early in the season. He will be lined up all over the field, as Kelly and Co. try to keep opposing defenses scrambling to cover him.

Of particular interest, however, is that while they have been resting Kyle during summer camp for a tweaked hammy, Coach Kelly had high praise for the 2nd tight end on the team, calling Tyler Eifert the best tight end he's ever coached. Put that together with one of the best receiving corps in the country (more on that in a moment), and there should be plenty of weapons to keep this offense juiced.

Wide Receivers

Michael Floyd, Junior,

3rd year at Notre Dame, 3rd year as starter

Career stats: 18 games, 17 starts, 92 rec 1,514 yds (16.5 avg) 16 TD

Duval Kamara, Senior,

4th year at Notre Dame, 4th year as starter

Career stats: 36 games, 19 starts, 75 rec 781 yds (10.4 avg) 6 TD

Theo Riddick, Sophomore,

2nd year at Notre Dame, 1st year as starter

Career stats: 12 games, 0 starts, 29 rushes, 160 yds (5.5 avg) 6 rec, 43 yds (7.2 avg), 37 KR, 849 yds (22.9 avg)

Backups: John Goodman (JR), T.J. Jones (FR), Shaquelle Evans (SO)

Arguably one of the best receiving corps in the nation, the tools are in place for the spread passing attack to be extremely prolific this year. Michael Floyd is arguably the best receiver in the nation, competing with A.J. Green (Georgia), Julio Jones (Alabama), Jonathan Baldwin (Pitt) and Demaryius Thomas (Georgia Tech) for that honor.

Duval Kamara has his last opportunity to shine at receiver, after a full career as a backup to the Tate and Floyd show. If he has developed as a more complete receiver this offseason, he will have plenty of ball thrown his way as teams try to find ways to contain Floyd and Rudolph.

Theo Riddick was moved to the receiving corps from the running back logjam, and the coaching staff is excited with what he can do in space with the ball in his hands. He'll get a lot of running opportunities out of the slot as well on reverses and end-arounds.

What's really impressive here, however, is the insane depth we have at receiver. Tai-ler Jones is going to be a special receiver, and will be given plenty of opportunities this year to stretch the field. John Goodman has proven himself to be an excellent possession receiver with good speed, very reminiscent of Samardzija. And Shaquelle Evans is on the two-deep as well, and has almost been lost in the shuffle with the ridiculous amount of talent, but he's no slouch and is probably the fastest receiver we will put on the field.

Offensive Line

Zack Martin, Sophomore, Left Tackle,

2nd year at Notre Dame, 1st year as starter

0 games, 0 starts

Chris Stewart, Senior, Left Guard,

4th year at Notre Dame, 4th year as starter

28 games, 22 starts

Dan Wenger, Senior, Center,

2nd year at Notre Dame, 1st year as starter

29 games, 19 starts

Trevor Robinson, Junior, Right Guard,

3rd year at Notre Dame, 3rd year as starter

22 games, 14 starts

Taylor Dever, Senior, Right Tackle,

4th year at Notre Dame, 1st year as starter

18 games, 0 starts

Backups: Matt Romine (SR LT), Mike Golic, Jr. (JR LG), Braxston Cave (JR C), Chris Watt (SO RG), Andrew Nuss (SR RT)

This is an interesting lineup for the Irish offensive line, and their ability to produce will largely decide how the season goes for the Fighting Irish.

The biggest surprise is redshirt freshman Zack Martin winning the left tackle position battle handily. While he is inexperienced, and that's never good for the guy responsible for guarding the QB's backside, the fact that this coaching staff named him early on to that position and has never wavered tells me that he has the skills to be extremely successful there.

Next to him is 5th year Senior Chris Stewart, who brings a ton of experience and intelligence with him - Stewart is the first ever Div. I football player to start while also enrolled in his first year of law school. He's got the size and experience to be a standout, but as an alumnus of Notre Dame Law School, I am somewhat worried about his ability to keep up with the demands of both Law School and football. If he can keep his head in the game, he will be invaluable to the inexperienced Zack Martin.

Dan Wenger is in a heated battle at the center position, but his consistency in shotgun snaps means that he will probably hold onto the position until Braxston Cave (a stronger blocker) can demonstrate that he won't throw the ball away in a crucial situation. He also brings a ton of experience to the table.

Trevor Robinson is one of those guys that just comes to work every day and gets his job done. He started on the O-line his freshman year, and has had a stranglehold on the right guard position ever since, and probably will until he graduates. No worries here.

Bookending the line is Taylor Dever, who has been a bit of a project during his career here. He redshirted his freshman year and appeared mostly on special teams and in a reserve role the next two years. Now, he's finally gotten himself in a position to start, and hopefully the experience of Robinson right next to him will keep him from getting lost. This is the potentially weakest link on the offensive line.

Coach Kelly has said that he believes he has 10 guys on the offensive line that can play championship football, so if injuries or inconsistencies plague any of the starters, there are plenty of guys chomping at the bit for their shot.

Defensive Line

Ethan Johnson, Junior, Defensive End,

2nd year at Notre Dame, 1st year as starter

25 games, 15 starts

50 TT, 24 UT, 11.5 TFL (-60 yds), 7.5 sacks (-49 yds), 1 FF, 2 FR, 2 PBU

Ian Williams, Senior, Nose Guard,

4th year at Notre Dame, 4th year as starter

25 games, 9 starts

39 TT, 18 UT, (per Rivals - UND has not update '09 stats for Ian)

Kapron Lewis-Moore, Junior, Defensive End,

2nd year at Notre Dame, 1st year as starter

12 games, 9 starts

46 TT, 26 UT, 7 TFL (-23 yds), 2.5 sacks (-12.5 yds), 1 FF, 1 FR

Backups: Hafis Williams (JR DE), Sean Cwynar (JR NG), Emeka Nwankwo (SR DE), Louis Nix (FR NG)

The defensive line has long been a problem for the Fighting Irish, as team have repeatedly gouged us on the ground the last few years. This year, we should be much stouter against the run. Switching to a 3-4 alignment allows us to take advantage of our strength (the linebacking corps) while minimizing an area where we lack depth (D line). That said, we are very well situated on our D-line, with Ian Williams manning the Nose Guard with size, improved strength, and a ton of playing experience. Rushing the passer will be two very talented pass rushers, who will both likely have big years. Ethan Johnson has a ton of experience and is the most complete defensive lineman we have right now, but Kapron Lewis-Moore is a freakish athlete who may be much more of a threat than Johnson as the season wears on.

Linebackers

Darius Fleming, Junior, Outside Linebacker,

3rd year at Notre Dame, 3rd year as starter

24 games, 10 starts

53 TT, 33 UT, 14.5 TFL (-55 yds), 5.5 sacks (-39 yds), 1 FF

Anthony McDonald*, Junior, Inside Linebacker,

3rd year at Notre Dame, 1st year as starter

12 games, 0 starts

10 TT, 5 UT, 5 AT

Manti Te'o, Sophomore, Inside Linebacker,

2nd year at Notre Dame, 2nd year as starter

12 games, 10 starts

63 TT, 29 UT, 5.5 TFL (-25 yds), 1 sack (-12 yds), 1 PBU

Brian Smith**, Senior, Outside Linebacker,

2nd year at Notre Dame, 1st year as starter

12 games, 9 starts

150 TT, 81 UT, 13.5 TFL (-75 yds), 5 sacks (-44 yds), 2 FF, 3 FR (35 yds), 2 PBU, 3 INT (35 yds)

Backups: Kerry Neal (SR OLB), Steve Filer (JR OLB), Carlo Calabrese (SO ILB), Steve Paskorz (SR ILB)

* Anthony McDonald is injured for the opening game, and will likely only see backup duty - he is the probable long-term starter.

** Coach Kelly has talked about Steve Filer and most recently Kerry Neal as possibly supplanting Brian Smith, but I think that is more motivation than anything - Brian's experience and motor will keep him as the #1 guy long term, with Neal and Filer seeing plenty of time.

This unit is anchored by underclassman Manti Te'o, one of the most heralded recruits in Notre Dame history, who thus far has lived up to his billing. He's an absolute beast, and his athleticism will definitely create problems for opposing defenses who want to run against him.

The veteran leader of the squad is Brian Smith, who it seems has been playing linebacker for 20 years now. He's being pushed by the talent behind him, with both Kerry Neal and Steve Filer being mentioned by Coach Kelly as possibly passing Brian at the outside slot.

Darius Fleming is the pass rush specialist, who will certainly wreak some havoc in opposing backfields this year.

Joining Manti inside will be some combination of Anthony McDonald and Carlo Calabrese. McDonald had the edge coming out of camp until he got sidelined by injury, so Calabrese will get the nod to start the season.

This is a very deep unit, however. The competition at outside linebacker will be heated all season, and the while nobody will supplant Manti short of injury, there are several other players pushing for playing time inside as well.

Secondary

Darrin Walls, Senior, Cornerback,

5th year at Notre Dame, 4th year as starter

32 games, 21 starts

99 TT, 45 UT, 3.5 TFL (-18 yds), 2 FF, 16 PBU, 2 INT (75 yds)

Gary Gray, Senior, Cornerback,

4th year at Notre Dame, 2nd year as starter

20 games, 7 starts

43 TT, 32 UT, 3 PBU, 3 INT (95 yds)

Harrison Smith, Senior, Safety,

4th year at Notre Dame, 3rd year as starter

12 games, 10 starts

126 TT, 78 UT, 15 TFL (-51 yds), 3.5 sacks (-26 yds), 11 PBU

Jamoris Slaughter, Junior, Safety,

3rd year at Notre Dame, 2nd year as starter

12 games, 1 start

14 TT, 12 UT

Backups: Robert Blanton (JR CB), Lo Wood (FR CB), Dan McCarthy (JR S), Zeke Motta (SO S)

This unit worries me. If they stay healthy, the front line players are very good. Harrison Smith is back at his natural position with a staff that knows how to teach him to play, Jamoris Slaughter can bring the wood, and Walls and Gray have both shown the ability to be shut-down corners. Robert Blanton coming in as the nickel back makes this an excellent starting unit, with Dan McCarthy to come in and give people a breather at times.

Problem is, we're about 1 or 2 injuries away from complete disaster. There is almost no depth here, and if we lose a couple of starters, we're going to have some very green players back there who may get torched for a lot of yards.

So light a candle in the Grotto each week for this unit, that they can stay healthy and productive all season long.

*****

2010 Schedule

Now, a week-by-week breakdown of our opponents for 2010, with predictions for each game.

9/04/2010 vs. Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue is, in my opinion, the perfect opponent to start the season against. They should be a decent team this year, but the Irish have more talent and should win this game. Last year, a poor defense allowed Purdue to keep it close, and a last second touchdown pass by Jimmy Clausen sealed the win.
This year, look for the Irish defense to be improved, and the Purdue offense may take a little while to get going under new quarterback Robert Mavre, a transfer from the University of Miami. While the Irish offensive attack may also take some time to develop, Purdue's weak secondary should allow the Irish passing attack to gain some confidence early in the season.
The battle to watch here will be Purdue's defensive end, Ryan Kerrigan, doing battle with our new offensive tackle Zack Martin. If Martin is as good as the Irish coaching staff thinks he is, and he can handle Kerrigan, that will bode very well for the season. If Martin can't contain Kerrigan and we are forced to keep a back in to double team him, the Irish may struggle a bit.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 49 Purdue 24 (W)
Notre Dame comes out of the gate guns blazing, torching Purdue's weak secondary en route to an impressive debut for Coach Kelly.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 24 Purdue 14 (W)
Notre Dame's offense is productive, but their inexperience rears its ugly head, shooting themselves in the foot on multiple occasions, allowing Purdue to keep it close. But we do get some glimpses of what this team is capable of.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 14 Purdue 17 (L)
The Irish can't keep Dayne Crist upright and as a result Notre Dame loses the turnover battle. Purdue comes out looking like the team that beat Ohio State last year, and find a way to squeak out a victory.

9/11/2010 vs. Michigan Wolverines

The Michigan program is still struggling to find its feet under coach Rich Rodriguez. There is a lot of team speed, and their offensive line should be much improved this season. They have two dangerous QBs, Denard Robinson and Tate Forcier, that are still battling for the starting position. Robinson is a speedster that can be deangreous running out of the backfield while a little inconsistent as a passer. Tate Forcier is a much better passer, but isn't as dangerous running the football.
Michigan is still looking for receivers to step up their game and fuel this spread offense, and they are dangerously shallow at several positions. Unfortunately, we get them early in the season before the lack of depth really starts to damage this team's potency.
Even Michigan fans don't really know what to expect here. If Rich Rod goes 5-7 again, he'll surely be canned at the end of the season. However, if he finds a way to win 8 or 9 games, then he'll develop some momentum to build this program long-term.
The key matchup to watch here will be Michigan's cornerback Troy Woolfolk versus Notre Dame's wide receiver Michael Floyd. Indeed, I may go so far as to say whoever wins that battle wins the game. Michigan will score some points, but they will also struggle to keep Notre Dame from scoring if they can't contain Floyd one-on-one with their senior cornerback.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 35 Michigan 10 (W)
Notre Dame's offense, confident off the previous week's torching of Purdue, comes out with a lot of confidence and Michigan can't figure out how to cover both Floyd and Rudolph at the same time. Meanwhile, Michigan still can't seem to find consistency at the quarterback position and disgruntled Michigan fans start to call for Rich Rodriguez's head.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 45 Michigan 35 (W)
I think that both teams score a lot of points, but ultimately the Irish advantage at the receiver position means that Michigan just can't keep pace.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 14 Michigan 38 (L)
Notre Dame's offense continues to struggle finding its identity, while Michigan finally starts to get it under Rich Rod's system, as the defense doesn't have an answer for Michigan's team speed.

9/18/2010 at Michigan State Spartans

This is the first true toss-up game for me. Although last year's Irish found a way to hold off Michigan State with a late game interception, we weren't the more physical team that day. We need to establish our credibility as a tough team this week, and after playing two teams who we probably will beat through the air, we need to lean on our stable of running backs and our All-American tight end to beat the Spartans at their own game.
This series has been entertaining to watch the past several years. The overtime loss in 2005 with the infamous flag planting. The monsoon comeback win in 2006 where MSU players guarded midfield after the game and John L. Smith slapped himself during his mental breakdown. Then two years of getting manhandled before finally winning a shootout last year. This year's game could be another classic in the series.
This game's matchup to watch isn't head-to-head, but is actually Michigan State middle linebacker Greg Jones versus Notre Dame's middle linebacker Manti Te'o. Jones was last year's Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and is a pre-season consensus 1st team All-American. While we will have some success through the air throwing to our receivers, we have struggled to match Michigan State's toughness the last few years. With Kelly's theme this offseason being to re-establish the toughness of the Fighting Irish, I hope that we can use our depth at running back to pound at Jones and show the country that we'll go toe-to-toe with anyone.
Meanwhile, Manti Te'o has established himself, in only his sophomore year, as the leader of this defense. He's as talented as they come, and now that he's lining up inside, he is in a position to make a name for himself as an All-American. If he can match or exceed Jones' toughness inside this game, I expect the Irish to find a way to win.
Optimistic prediction: Noter Dame 38 Michigan State 24 (W)
Notre Dame rushes for nearly 200 yards and shows the country that they are a legit team this year.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 48 Michigan State 45 (2 OT) (W)
I think this will be one of the best games of the season. Similar to the 2005 game in Coach Weis' first year, the Irish battle with the Spartans all day long, sending it into overtime and another classic close finish in this series.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 17 Michigan State 31 (L)
Notre Dame's offense can't find a solution for Greg Jones, and the Spartans pound the ball down our throats en route to an easy win over an Irish team still looking for its identity.

9/25/2010 vs. Stanford Cardinal

The Cardinal are a pretty solid football team this year, with an experienced offensive line and an up and coming quarterback in Andrew Luck. They lost man-beast Toby Gerhart this offseason, and he left some pretty big shoes to fill.
The matchup to watch here will be the Cardinal secondary against the Notre Dame passing attack. Even in my most pessimistic mind, I can't see Notre Dame's offense not hitting its stride at this point in the season against a defense that was near the bottom of the NCAA last year.
While the prognosticators are predicting a very good season for the Cardinal, I just don't see them finding a replacement for Gerhart, and I think they take a step backwards this year.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 52 Stanford 24 (W)
Notre Dame's offense absolutely torches an out manned defense and cruises to an easy victory. Jim Harbaugh has a John L. Smithesque meltdown in the post-game press conference.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 35 Stanford 27 (W)
I think that Stanford will grind it out against us, but they lack the offensive firepower to score enough points to beat us.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 24 Stanford 21 (W)
An 0-3 start lights a fire under this team, and the chance to light up a weak defense means that the offense starts to find some rhythm. Stanford's grind it out style keeps it close, but Kelly finally gets his first win of the season.

10/02/2010 at Boston College Eagles

I hate BC, and I'm glad that this is the last game in the series for the indefinite future. Boston College was a very good team last year, and they return their QB, almost all of their linemen, and the running back (Montel Harris) that had a breakout sophomore season last year. They also add in Mark Herzlich to a solid linebacking corps, as he is returning after battling cancer.
That said, this BC team has a glaring weakness at receiver, and being one-dimensional is going to lead to some issues for them this year. Notre Dame will stack the box, and bet on BC not being able to beat our corners.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 28 Boston College 0 (W)
Bob Diaco's unit pitches their first shutout of the season, as Montel Harris is bottled up and Dave Schinskie gets sacked 6 times. Notre Dame's offense continues to fire on all cylinders as Notre Dame enters the Top 10 with Gameday coming to town next week.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 31 Boston College 19 (W)
The Irish continue to produce on offense, and Boston College continues to rely on Harris to shoulder the load. Ultimately, though, the lack of a strong passing game seals BC's fate.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 24 Boston College 21 (W)
If Mark Herzlich is back in top form, the Irish offense may struggle against this talented linebacking corps. But ultimately, even at their best, BC's offense scores maybe 3 TD.

10/09/2010 vs. Pittsburgh Panthers

This may be the game of the year for the Irish. The Panthers could be undefeated at this point if they get past a tough Utah team in the opener. They have a stud running back in Dion Lewis, and one of the nation's best receivers in Jonathan Baldwin. They are pre-season top 15 and the sexy pick to win the Big East this year. If the Irish play up to their potential, this could be a situation where Gameday is on campus, if LSU/Florida and Florida St./Miami have teams that underperform.
There are two match-ups to watch here. First is the Heisman battle between Jonathan Baldwin and Michael Floyd. Both players are great pro prospects that have sick highlight reels. The Irish offense is much more pass oriented than Pitt's, however, so the Irish receiver will have more chances for a big game.
The second is a corollary to that, as both teams have a new quarterback. If Notre Dame's running attack can match the production of Dion Lewis, Dayne Crist has a lot more weapons at his disposal than his counterpart Tino Sunseri.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 34 Pittsburgh 31 (W)
The Irish win a big-time game on a big-time stage, moving them solidly into the middle of the national title talk. The Notre Dame haters will say that the Irish haven't really played anyone and that Pitt was overrated. But, they will be solidly in the top ten and moving up with a bullet as Kelly Fever starts to grip the nation.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 17 Pittsburgh 24 (L)
The Irish may have made a pretty good showing this far, rejuvenating the Irish fanbase and proving that Kelly is truly a magician at turning around programs, but ultimately the Panthers are too much, as we fall in a hard fought battle, proving that we belong, but aren't quite there yet.

Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 10 Pittsburgh 31 (L)

If we are struggling, this game might not be close, as Pitt has plenty of firepower to score points, and we may still be shooting ourselves in the foot as we try to develop in this offense.

10/16/2010 vs. Western Michigan Broncos

Okay, so my biggest concern about this game is that it ends up marking the end of Notre Dame's sellout streak. With the mess Kevin White left behind, and the sad state of the economy, Jack Swarbrick is hoping that by scheduling a regional school for their first game against the Irish, that they will travel well enough to salvage the sellout streak. As far as the game itself goes, this should be an easy win for the Irish.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 42 Western Michigan 0 (W)
As the Irish have gained some serious street cred by beating Pitt, the Irish start to do something we haven't done in quite a while, demolish the weaker teams on the schedule. We sub in the 2nd string in the 2nd half, up 35-0, but the Broncos still can't seem to do anything, as we complete the shutout.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 38 Western Michigan 10 (W)
Notre Dame starts out in a bit of a funk after the Pitt loss, but then finds their groove and pull away late to win easily.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 24 Western Michigan 14 (W)
The 2-4 record means that this team is still struggling with their confidence, and they play down to the opponent. They win, but it's not pretty.

10/23/2010 at U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen

If there is one thing I have confidence in this year, it is that Brian Kelly will find a way to beat Navy. Even if we struggle out of the gate, we should know what we're doing by this point in the season. One tradition I expect Brian Kelly to reinstate at the University of Notre Dame is our annual beatdown of our good friends at the Naval Academy. Here's win 1 in the beginning of another 40+ game winning streak.
The match-up to watch here is Manti Te'o versus All-American candidate quarterback Ricky Dobbs. Against the triple option attack, Te'o's ability to read and react to Dobbs' decisions will decide the outcome of this game. Ultimately, I believe Te'o has more athleticism than Dobbs, and he has the intelligence to make sound decisions, frustrating the Navy offense. Even Dobbs' athleticism isn't going to be enough for Navy to beat Notre Dame again.
Navy will slow the game down, limiting our points, but we do win this one.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 42, Navy 0 (W)
The vaunted Navy run game is simply ineffective against the front 7 of Notre Dame, and despite only getting 7 positions, they are outmatched on defense, giving up a touchdown every time.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 24, Navy 10 (W)
Notre Dame can't score alot of points when it doesn't touch the ball as much, but Navy can't turn long drives into points, which ultimately spells their downfall.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 17, Navy 14 (W)
The talented Dobbs does manage to keep the game close, but the Irish win with a last second field goal.

10/30/2010 vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

Yawn. A Conference USA opponent? Really? I love going to Notre Dame football games, and if not for the fact that I fully expect to be able to pick up a ticket for $10, I would probably skip this one and watch it at home while I work on my Halloween costume.
As a program, the Golden Hurricanes are on the downslide of their apex as a football program. They reached the top of their game with an 11-3 season in 2008, after which offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn left for Auburn and a bunch of seniors graduated, leading to last year's 5-7 record.
While I don't really blame Swarbrick for scheduling this game - at the time, they were a top-tier C-USA team - hindsight is 20/20 and this is not an exciting matchup for the Irish fanbase. Plus, we have nothing to gain, and everything to lose.
Of note, we may actually win the time of possession in this one, as Tulsa employs a no-huddle spread offense. Thus, if our defense is shutting them down, we'll be on the field more on offense, despite the fact that we may score a ton of points against an overmatched defense.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 63, Tulsa 0 (W)
Brian Kelly pulls the first string in the first half, and we're on our third string QB by the end of the 4th, and we're still scoring points running dive plays with running back Patrick Coughlin.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 52, Tulsa 24 (W)
Okay, so the pace of this game means that Tulsa will score some points with their high-powered offense, but not nearly enough to keep up with the highlight reel that is the Notre Dame offense.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 31, Tulsa 24 (W)
Despite being the better team on the field, this team is apathetic and busy looking ahead to Utah, and comes out flat. Tulsa jumps out to an early lead, and then Coach Kelly kindly reminds them at halftime that WE'RE PLAYING F!#@$%(& TULSA!!! Then we settle down and manage to eke out an ugly win.

11/13/2010 vs. Utah Utes

Unlike Tulsa, I can't believe anyone would actually complain about adding the Utes to our schedule. Since 2003, when Urban Meyer took over the program, they've gone 10-2, 12-0, 7-5, 8-5, 9-4, 13-0, and 10-3 - with not one but TWO undefeated seasons capped by BCS bowl wins. The most recent one being a convincing win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. They've won 9 straight bowl games over the past 12 years. And while they may be in the Mountain West this year, they have made enough of a name of themselves that they've been invited to join the Pac-10.
You try and tell me this team isn't legit.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 31, Utah 30 (W)
An epic game which Notre Dame ekes out in epic fashion.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 24, Utah 34 (L)
Utah is just a little too much for us, as they circle this game on their schedule and play with a chip on their shoulder.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 17, Utah 42 (L)
Utah overwhelms an outmatched Notre Dame team that had gotten a little overconfident during their win streak, thinking they had solved their problems.

11/20/2010 vs. U.S. Military Academy Black Knights

This is a really nice game to add to the schedule, and if we are going to schedule so-called "winnable" games, this is how to do it. A historic opponent in a 'historic' venue, highlighting the history and tradition of Notre Dame football in a huge television market.
The Black Knights will be completely outmatched in this game, but it will be a great celebration of the respect and tradition these two programs share.
Prediction: We win. Big. I don't care how optimistic/pessimistic you are, this is an easy game for the Irish. (W)

11/27/2010 at Southern Cal Trojans

So, here we come to the end of the season, and depending on how the season unfolds, this could either be an epic game with national title implications, or a lackluster meeting between two mediocre teams. Either way, this is the one game, more than any other, everyone at Notre Dame wants to win. This rivalry has been one-sided for way too long, and it's time for Notre Dame to reassert their competitiveness in this game.
The match-up to watch here is actually Brian Kelly versus Lane Kiffin. With Kiffin's questionable past, and Kelly's pristine record, this should become a classic good-versus-evil game for as long as the two coaches are at the respective schools. The talent level is similar, and this will ultimately come down to coaching. And, since it's the end of the season, both coaches will have had a chance to work out any kinks and get the team on the track they want them on.
Optimistic prediction: Notre Dame 37, Southern Cal 21 (W)
Notre Dame comes out firing and never looks back. Gameday is on campus, and all eyes are on this game as Notre Dame has one last opportunity against an unquestionably elite opponent to prove that this year's Fighting Irish are for real and deserve their shot at the national title.
Realistic prediction: Notre Dame 34, Southern Cal 31 (W)
These teams battled out a close-fought battle last year, where Jimmy Clausen had the opportunity to cement himself as a legend in the Irish history books with a last second come-from-behind victory over our hated rivals. Alas, that game, and subsequently the rest of the season, fell just short. This year, with the Irish squad improving steadily over the course of the season and the Trojans without much to play for due to their probation, the Irish finally exorcise this demon.
Pessimistic prediction: Notre Dame 31, Southern Cal 34 (L)
This team still hasn't learned how to win, and their final defeat of the season returns the Irish to yet another 6-6 season, with grumblings about whether or not the Irish will ever compete for a national title again.

Bowl Predictions

Now that we have a pessimistic prediction, a realistic prediction, and an optimistic prediction, here are my projected bowl match-ups for the Fighting Irish come season's end.

Pessimist view:

Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl
Notre Dame Fighting Irish v. East Carolina Pirates

Even the pessimist in me says this team is going bowling this year. I just don't see the breaks going so poorly that we end up with another sub-.500 season. There is too much talent on this team to falter that much. That said, 6-6 is the basement for this team, which would probably place us in the Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl.

Realist view:

Fiesta Bowl
Notre Dame Fighting Irish v. Texas Longhorns

After looking back through my predictions, I think that 10-2 (as I predicted) may be expecting a bit much. But if that's what I feel after the game-by-game breakdown, I'm gonna stick with it. (Ultimately, I think 9-3 is a reasonable prediction for this team, given the question marks and depth issues) Kelly's offense will be tough to stop once they hit their stride, and the defense should be able to hold together enough to keep us in almost every game. At 9-3, I think we go to the Champs Sports Bowl and get the University of Miami.

Optimist view:

BCS National Championship Game
Notre Dame Fighting Irish v. Alabama Crimson Tide

I know, I know. I'm a sycophantic fanboy optimist for even considering the idea of Notre Dame playing for all the marbles this year. New system, new coach, new quarterback. I hear ya. I do.

But, there are no games on the schedule that are out of reach for this team, and if everything breaks their way, it could happen. Even the optimist in me says that if we make it this far, we lose the game. I just don't think we're ready to beat the elite teams on the biggest stage quite yet. I'm picturing something similar to what would have happened if we had managed to win against USC in 2005 - a BCS championship whupping like the one that Florida laid on Ohio State a couple years back.

But, should by some miracle we actually make it this far, you never know what the luck of the Irish could bring...

Notre Dame Football 2010: Sycophantic fanboy optimism

2010-08-13T18:20:00.000-04:00

Like many die-hard Irish fans, I am a frequent reader of NDNation.com, one of the leading Notre Dame fan sites. I have long since stopped posting regularly, because I find that there is a cadre of pessimists and realists on that board that shout down any unabashed optimism as lacking intelligent thought.

One recent post stated "there is a difference between optimism, and blind unadulterated and unabashed sycophantic fanboy optimism."

My question is this - does believing that we have a legitimate shot at the national title this year mean that you are engaging in blind unadulterated and unabashed sycophantic fanboy optimism?

What happened to the Notre Dame I grew up with?

I remember vividly the wild optimism that came with an 8-0 start under Tyrone Willingham, and even more clearly the national title dreams that accompanied the Irish into that epic battle against Southern Cal in Weis' first season as well. I was only knee-high to a grasshopper, but Faust came out of the gates with a big win over LSU, launching them to the top spot in the polls for 1 week.

Both of those coaching tenures ended up crashing and burning, but have we as a fan-base become so jaded and disenfranchised that we no longer believe in the magic of the Fighting Irish?

Besides, it's not like we have no evidence of Kelly's ability to coach. Keep in mind, Brian Kelly won every single game he coached last year - at Cincinnati. Every one. With the additional resources available to him here at Notre Dame, is it really so far-fetched to believe he can do the same here? And it's not like this is his first rodeo - he's been a successful head coach in college for over 20 years now. He did it at Grand Valley State, he did it at Central Michigan, he did it at Cincinnati, and there's no reason to believe he won't do it here.

Sure, there's the installation of a new offense and defensive scheme. But unlike last time we went down this road, this team isn't very lacking in talent or depth. Sure, we're a little shallow at corner and safety. But the overall talent level here is at a level it hasn't been since Lou Holtz. We have a 5-star rated QB (Crist), 5-star rated WR (Floyd), 5-star rated RB (Wood), 5-star rated TE (Rudolph) and a 5-star rated LB (Te'o). And most of the other positions are 4-star talent and loaded with depth, especially on the all-important offensive line.

Our opposing coaches have the disadvantage of not having scouting material on how Kelly will use this talent in his schemes, and will be scrambling all year to figure out how to combat us. And with all of the skill position talent, all but maybe one or two of the teams we face will be quite simply outmatched in terms of athleticism when we're on offense.

If you watch the practices, the boys are out there having fun, practicing high-tempo, high-energy, and (dare I say it?) high-fun. They are focused and energized and they believe in their new coach and staff.

So, call me an unabashed sycophantic fanboy if you want. But I believe in this coach, and I believe in this team. And I believe not only that we can, but that we WILL win 'em all this year. Because We Are N.D. Count it.

Irish Blogger Gathering: Let's Get Offensive

2010-07-27T17:18:00.000-04:00

So, the IBG is back, which is good for me, since I've been neglecting my blog for the past month. Apparently, buying a house involves using a lot of your free time for pesky things like moving and home maintenance. Either way, here's my response to the latest set of questions:

1. First, before officially shifting focus to what matters most, let's take a moment to offer a way too early evaluation of Team Kelly's recruiting efforts. They've got verbals from some highly touted prospects (Matt Hegarty, Ben Koyack, Jordan Prestwood) and are in the hunt for quite a few more (Aaron Lynch, George Atkinson, Justice Hayes), but it seems like this class lacks the flair and star power of Charlie Weis's classes. We're not even in the hunt for a Rivals five-star rated prospect and we've already taken as many three-stars as the '07 and '08 classes combined. Sure, Kelly can transform two-stars into seven-stars, but the numbers of the last ten years don't lie--championships are won with teams chock full of four and five star talent. Are you at least a little worried at this point or still in the RKG Honeymoon period?

I'm not too worried at this point. Kelly closed an excellent class last year, considering all of the turmoil around the program with Weis' departure and the poor product on the field. Losing Matt James certainly devalues the class, but that was an unforeseen tragedy that nobody could have helped. This year, we did whiff on Bubba Starling, but the class is solid. I also wouldn't be surprised if Notre Dame gets on the radar of some of the 5 star recruits during the season if we perform above expectations.

As is, though, I think it's a solid class, and it reflects the prevailing wisdom about the Kelly hire - everybody seems to think he'll be good, but they want to see some proof on the field, as Notre Dame's last 4 hires have not performed. Once we start winning games, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some recruits consider changing their commitments.

2. The Irish switch from a pro-style offense to the spread this season. We saw it unveiled in the spring game and it is (understandably) a work in progress. That being said the Irish have a veritable bevy of talent, size, and speed at the skill positions. In general, what's your take on the switch to the spread and how high or low should expectations for the offense be going into the year?

I generally prefer the more traditional pro-style offense, however I think that the spread that Kelly is instituting will allow us to take advantage of the strengths of this team - namely, speed and skill at the receiver and running back positions. Coach Weis' recruiting has stocked the talent cupboard at the skill positions, and this offense will allow that talent to work in space.

As far as expectations go, I'd expect the offense to be a work in progress as the season progresses. All the practice in the world isn't going to get you completely ready for game situations. However, I do think that as the team progresses through the season, they will find what works for them and by the end of the season, I would expect a high-octane explosive offense. My biggest concern at this point is the trip to Michigan State in our 3rd game. I think that Purdue and Michigan should be wins, as both programs are in somewhat of a state of disarray right now. Both should be improved this year, but I just don't think either team has the horses to run with us.

However, Michigan State is a pretty stable program that has been running their offense and defense for a while now. They've got a solid roster with a lot of talent. That game, more than any other, will tell me how good of a coach that Brian Kelly is. Lose to Purdue, and it's understandable to stumble out of the gate. Michigan is a rivalry game, and Rich-Rod is going into his third year at the helm, so they could find a way to beat us if the offense continues to struggle. However, by the third game of the season, the teaching abilities of this staff should start to show up. I'm not saying the Michigan State is a must-win game (although, aren't they all really must-win games?), but I want to see a team that is confident and starting to gel and understand their assignments.

3. Three-year starting quarterback Jimmy Clausen has loaded his mom, dad, and free-loading brothers into the family stretch Hummer and taken off for the greener pastures of professional football. Dayne Crist is tasked with stepping into the big, 28 TD, 7:1 TD to INT ratio shoes Jimmy leaves behind. How are you feeling about him taking the reins to Kelly's vaunted spread offense? Do you see there being a significant drop-off with the Great Dayne at the helm or is he going to come out guns a-blazin' a la Brady Quinn in '05?

At the beginning of the season, we'll see a significant drop-off from last year - Jimmy Clausen was a hell of a quarterback, regardless of what you may think of him off the field. However, I think that Dayne Crist's learning curve will be pretty steep. I think that as the season progresses, he'll gain more confidence in his knee, himself, and the offense. By mid-season, we should be clicking on all cylinders. I expect this offense, with the level of talent on the field, to really start lighting it up by the end of the season, especially with the confidence gained from feasting on the October schedule.

Should he tweak his knee, then all bets are off.

4. When a new coach takes over there tends to be a couple of players that haven't seen any significant playing time (or at least haven't made an impact) that unexpectedly emerge as major contributors (see: Samardzija, Jeff in '05). There are plenty of candidates on the offensive side of the ball, but you're only allowed to pick one horse in this derby. Who's it going to be?

John Goodman. I think that his versatility will get him a lot of reps this season. He played quarterback in high school, so I wouldn't be at all surprised for us to use him as a runner on end-arounds, which leaves open the possibilities of some trickeration as well. He has good height (6' 3") and soft hands, and we may be hearing a lot of Samardzija comparisons if he shows up like I think he might.

5. It's preseason which means it's appropriate for all college football fans to bathe in Kool-Aid and allow themselves to dream of invading Glendale, Arizona this January en route to claiming a national championship. Tears of joy will be shed, flights will be missed, and days--if not weeks--of "sick" leave from work will be utilized. I want that more than that weird, fat lady in Napoleon Dynamite wanted that model ship. What needs to happen this season on the offensive side of the ball for this dream to become reality?

Not to sound like a broken record, as it seems that everyone is saying the same thing. And to make it even more cliche, I'm going to quote 'The Program' (please excuse the language, the movie is rated R):

~~Alvin Mack~~ Manti Te'o enters the bar, goes to ~~Joe Kane~~ Dayne Crist's table, plops a copy of Sports Illustrated down in front of Dayne.

MANTI
Hey, man, you seen this?

On the cover is a picture of ~~Joe~~ Dayne and ONE OTHER QUARTERBACK, ~~TIM WAYMEN~~ JAKE LOCKER. The coverline reads, HEISMAN HOPEFULS: THE YEAR OF THE QUARTERBACK.

MANTI
(ribbing Dayne)
You must be some very bad-ass motherfucker.

Dayne stares at the cover. He's more stunned than elated.

DAYNE
Jesus...

~~LATTIMER~~ KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE (Lattimer minus the steroids)
What? You didn't know?

DAYNE
I knew there was gonna be an article. I didn't know it was gonna be on the cover.

MANTI
Shit, we do all the work. You get all the pub. Too bad we're not allowed to hit you in practice. Be fun to kick the shit out of a Heisman Trophy Candidate.

DAYNE
I guess you'll have to wait till we get to the pros.

MANTI
(to ~~Darnell Jefferson~~ Tai-Ler Jones)
Beer boy, get me some.

TAI-LER
Are you serious?

MANTI
Does it look like I'm serious?

Tai-ler leaves the table to get the beer. Dayne drains his beer, pours another. Kapron starts to read from the article.

KAPRON
Listen to this. "Notre Dame has a solid nucleus returning, but the fighting Irish, coming off three disappointing seasons, will only go as far as the strong right arm of Heisman Candidate Dayne Crist will take them." That right, Dayne? You gonna lead us to the promised land?

DAYNE
I'm gonna lead... but can you follow?

Muted chuckles, but set faces. The challenge accepted. Dayne chugs his beer, pours another.

That pretty much sums it up.

6. ***BONUS*** The arrival of college football means the arrival of perhaps the greatest American pastime: Tailgating. The assumption is that you're going to be heading to at least one game in the Bend this year which means you'll have at least one opportunity to tailgate your face off. What home games are you planning on attending, where do you normally tailgate when you're out for a game, what's your typical tailgate like (we talking a great spread and a selection of imported beverages or a pack of Bubba burgers and about 20 30-racks of Natty?), and are you inviting your loyal readers?

As a South Bend native, I will of course be tailgating at every opportunity this season. Some Saturdays I will have to work, but I'm hoping to make it to every game, as I get out at 1 pm. Certainly have plans for Purdue and Michigan, the rest are flexible. As far as where I tailgate, that depends on who is in town. I don't usually host my own tailgate, unless you count the pre-tailgate party at my house before walking to campus.

One of my more frequent tailgating stops is with Sarah at Bad Trade , a fellow ND blogger and law school classmate. She sets up right behind the Jamison Inn, just off of the corner of Twyckenham and Ivy Court. It's usually a pretty standard setup - grilling and beers (my beer of choice: Miller Lite - I'm a cheap date). My loyal readers are always invited to tailgate with me, but they'll have to e-mail me beforehand to see where I'm setting up any given weekend. Or, they can just swing by the house early morning, and enjoy the free parking and short stroll to campus.

*****

So, there are my two cents worth. Thanks for reading, and Go Irish!