2006 Spring Opponent Preview - Stanford Cardinal

Top player: Trent Edwards, QB (followed closely by his 2 receivers)
Make-or-break player: Trent Edwards, QB
Biggest offensive strength: Passing the Ball
Biggest offensive weakness: Running the Ball
Biggest defensive strength: Safety
Biggest defensive weakness: Everything else
Spring Depth Chart

Stanford's season last year was, well, an enigma. At the beginning of the year, it looked as if the Cardinal were bad. Really bad. I mean like Baylor, Duke, Kentucky bad. Worse, even. The lost to the University of California. No, not the Golden Bears from Berkeley - the Aggies from Davis, a Div. I-AA team.

Then they win 5 games, including a shootout against Arizona State and (in a flukey game) put a scare into the Irish - a top 5 football team - at the end of the season, losing in the last minute.

Walt Harris got his team turned around, and now this Stanford team reminds me of the Stanford teams under Willingham - good enough to get to a bowl game most years, with the occasional chance of biting a big program in the ass or gatting to a major bowl.

Their offense like much of the Pac-10, is a passing offense. Problem is, somebody forgot to tell Coach Harris that you're supposed to run the ball, too. Stanford finished last year 110th in rushing offense, with a pitiful 2.8 yard per carry average. Stanford's passing offense was respectable, but not great. This year should see the passing offense improve, with veteran signal caller Trent Edwards throwing to one of the better receiving duos in the country in Moore and Bradford. They'll put up points by the bushel if they can develop a rushing attack.

The big problem with Stanford winning is that their defense gives up points by the truckload. Returning safety Brandon Harrison is as good as they come, but he can only do so much. 105th in total defense, 89th in scoring defense, 110th in passing defense.

110th. The only team worse than the Cardinal at stopping the pass last year on our schedule was Purdue. Of course, 110th in the country in pass defense was better than three of their Pac-10 opponents in the pass-happy conference.

Because of that 110th ranking, no balance on offense, and the talent differential between the two teams, I expect the Irish to score twice for every Stanford score in a game that will finish something like 56-28 Irish.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Prediction
9/2	at Oregon	L
9/9	at San Jose State	W
9/16	Navy	L
9/23	Washington State	W
9/30	at UCLA	L
10/7	at Notre Dame	L
10/14	Arizona	L
10/21	at Arizona State	L
11/4	Southern Cal	L
11/11	at Washington	W
11/18	Oregon State	W
12/2	at Cal	L

2006 Spring Opponent Preview - Purdue Boilermakers

Top player: Dorien Bryant, WR
Make-or-break player: Curtis Painter, QB
Biggest offensive strength: Wide receiver (if Ingraham is back on the team) or Offensive line (if he's not)
Biggest offensive weakness: Quarterback
Biggest defensive strength: ...
Biggest defensive weakness: Defending the other team's offense
Spring Depth Chart

Last year was supposed to be a banner year for Purdue - a returning QB, lots of talent and positively LOADED with experience (20 returning starters). They didn't have to play either Michigan or Ohio State. Many preseason prognosticators picked the Boilermakers as Rose-Bowl bound, and a few even muttered the words "National Championship game" and "Purdue" in the same sentence (I don't think anyone was crazy enough to say they would win the Championship, though). After back-to-back wins to start the season, the Boilermakers were ranked #11 in the AP poll.

Then the wheels came off. The season started downhill with a double overtime loss to the Golden Gophers. Six straight losses later, the Boilermakers were asking themselves "What Happened?" Only wins over a November MSU team (who is traditionally a bottom feeder in the Big Ten by then) and major renovation projects Indiana and Illinois allowed the Boilermakers any remaining self respect. The season ended as Tiller's first losing season, going 5-6.

And then the entire friggin' train exploded.

Since the end of the football season, much of the coaching staff (5 coaches) have been replaced, Purdue is leading the (Div. I-A) race for the Fulmer Cup (award for the most offseason behavioral problems by a team, named for Tennessee Coach Phil Fulmer), and their second best player (WR Ingraham) is currently ineleigible due to academics. Anyone who has been following Purdue athletics this year has seen a complete implosion of the athletics department. The institution has come completely unglued - football, basketball, you name it, they are having major issues.

Of course, most of the mainstream prognosticators are once again calling for the Boilermakers to win 7-8 games and go to a bowl game. However, the mainstream prognosticators are crazy and gullible.

If Tiller can find some super-glue to craft this team back together, they have the talent to win six games and become bowl-eligible. However, if the on-the-field and off-the-field distractions have any effect on team confidence and morale, this team could just as easily drop every Big Ten game, and only get wins against Indiana State (Div. I-AA) and Ball State. And I wouldn't count out Ball State just yet.

The offense should get back to the traditional Purdue spread (if Tiller has any sense) even without a more traditional QB at the reins. The new offensive coordinator, Zaunbrecher, is very good at developing quarterbacks. The offensive line is excellent, allowing only 9 sacks last year, and should give the inexperienced signal caller plenty of time to throw the ball to some very talented receivers. If the pass offense struggles, don't be too surprised to see redshirt freshman Joey Elliott get a look, as he is a more traditional QB. Kory Sheets is a fast running back that is a constant home run threat. Offensively, if Tiller goes back to what he knows, Purdue can be very productive.

The defense is another story entirely. After finishing last year at the bottom of the Big Ten in pass defense, there seems to be nowhere to go but up. But with insufficient experience, depth, and talent, this could be a very long year for the Boilers. They have an excellent safety, and a very good linebacker. Everyone else is average at best. The corners in particular are suspect, and against the Irish, that's not a good thing.

"It's 49-21, sweetheart." This year, that quote could very easily become "It's 56-0, sweetheart." The Irish offense is going to be very potent, and the Purdue defense should be the weakest we face outside of the service academies.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Prediction
9/2	Indiana State (Div. I-AA)	W
9/9	Miami (OH)	W
9/16	Ball State	W
9/23/td>	Minnesota	L
9/30	@ Notre Dame	L
10/7	@ Iowa	L
10/14	@ Northwestern	L
10/21	Wisconsin	L
10/28	Penn State	L
11/4	@ Michigan State	W
11/11	@ Illinois	W
11/18	@ Indiana	L
11/25	@ Hawaii	L

2006 Spring Opponent Preview - Michigan State Spartans

Top player: Drew Stanton, QB
Make-or-break player: John Masters, Center
Biggest offensive strength: Quarterback
Biggest offensive weakness: Offensive Line
Biggest defensive strength: Linebackers
Biggest defensive weakness: Defensive backfield
No depth chart available, Official Personnel Breakdown

Michigan State has been living their life the last decade according to an unerring script. Come out of the gates strong, upset a couple of big teams (usually Notre Dame) and then stumble down the stretch in October and November, occasionally stumbling into a low-tier bowl game (come to think of it, that is quickly becoming the M.O. of their basketball team, too).

Last year was no exception. After an amazing start where Michigan State was one of the most potent offenses in the country early (even ahead of the "All-time best" NC runner-up SC Trojans for a while), a "legitimate" Heisman trophy contender in Drew Stanton, and a high-scoring shootout win against the Irish, they collapsed as usual, losing 6 of their last 7 games, and missing a bowl berth entirely.

This year, Drew Stanton is also being touted as one of the year's best QBs. However, the MSU offense lost its leading rusher from last year, Jason Teague, and has been trying to completely overhaul a defense that went from decent to downright awful against the pass over the course of the season.

Replacing their veteran corners are a couple of young whippersnappers who will be tested sorely by the Notre Dame offense. Also, the defensive line lost three starters, so the pass rush will likely be lacking. They have experienced and talented linebackers, but they will either be forced to rush the QB with their linebackers, hanging their inexperienced secondary out to dry, or drop them into coverage, allowing Darius to run wild against the outmuscled D-line.

On the other side of the ball, the Spartans will take a step back this year on offense, as their running game will suffer from the loss of Jason Teague, who was a difference maker in last year's overtime win, as well as the loss of 3 senior starters on the O-line. Those lineman will be replaced by Freshman and Sophomores, and with a Freshman set to play center and call all of the protections, the Spartans will not be a very good offensive line. The Irish will pin their ears back and rush the passer, as the Spartans don't have the horses to beat us on the ground.

Stanton will probably create some plays with his feet, and Stanton's experience is worth a couple of scores by itself. The Irish defense, though simply needs to contain this offense for a little while and let the offense run all over the overmatched D.

This game will be a blowout for the Irish. After last year's blatant disrespect after a good, clean, hardfought game, the Irish will not be lacking for motivation to beat the living s#(% out of those arrogant f()@%$. I've never seen a worse display of unsportsmanlike conduct by a sports team.

In last year's game, the only reason the Irish didn't beat the Spartans soundly is that our pass defense hadn't been challenged by a decent quarterback and set of receivers yet. Once they recovered from an early drubbing, the Irish dominated the outmatched Spartans over the last quarter and a half. The Irish will come out this year's game focused and pissed off, and will take it to the house early and often.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Prediction
9/2	Idaho	W
9/9	Eastern Michigan	W
9/16	@ Pittsburgh	W
9/23/td>	Notre Dame	L
9/30	Illinois	W
10/7	@ Michigan	L
10/14	Ohio State	L
10/21	@ Northwestern	W
10/28	@ Indiana	L
11/4	Purdue	L
11/11	Minnesota	L
11/18	@ Penn State	L

2006 Spring Opponent Preview - Michigan Wolverines

Top player: Mike Hart, RB
Make-or-break player: Steve Breaston, WR
Biggest offensive strength: Running Back
Biggest offensive weakness: Coaching
Biggest defensive strength: Linebackers
Biggest defensive weakness: Coaching
Spring Depth Chart

Michigan struggled through a 7-5 season last year in which they lost all five of their games by a touchdown or less. They return amazing amounts of depth on their defense, including most of the secondary that gave our offense fits last year. However, the defensive coordinator from last year is gone, and it will be interesting to see if the new defensive coordinator uses the same schemes that were in place last year or if he tinkers with a defense that wasn't broken to begin with.

Their offense should be better this year. Much like the Irish, they return all of their skill players save one receiver. They will be as loaded as ever on the offensive line, and the key to a successful season for the Wolverines will be newly crowned #1 receiver Steve Breaston taking some pressure off of the running game, and the uber-conservative coaching staff to loosen the reins on the offense. Luckily, the coaching staff hasn't changed, and the Wolverines should be as predictable as ever on offense.

Of all of the games on Notre Dame's schedule, this one has the most potential to turn into a loss for the Irish. A victory at their house last year, and two straight wins for the Irish, could translate into motivation for the Wolverines and some overconfidence for the Irish. Also, Notre Dame will be coming off of back-to-back battles against talented teams in Penn State and Georgia Tech. Michigan will have just cruised through creampuff games against Vanderbilt and Central Michigan. Their defense gave us fits last year, and their offense is full of juniors that struggled through a sophomore slump last year and should be much better this year. Oh, and the underdog in this matchup has had the edge going back to 1942. And the Irish will be the favorite.

However, as this game is being played at home, and the Irish should improve as much if not more than Michigan in year 2 of the Weis era, I expect the Irish to eke out another win, but this could be a nail-biter. The Notre Dame offense will likely test whoever steps into Michigan's second cornerback role, as whoever plays will be only a sophomore.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Prediction
9/2	Vanderbilt	W
9/9	Central Michigan	W
9/16	at Notre Dame	L
9/23/td>	Wisconsin	W
9/30	at Minnesota	W
10/7	Michigan State	W
10/14	at Penn State	W
10/21	Iowa	W
10/28	Northwestern	W
11/4	Ball State	W
11/11	at Indiana	W
11/11	at Ohio State	L

Sports x 2 = (:49 + $25,000) = 1st rd. MLB draft pick

Irish safety Tommy Z showed his athleticism in a brief TKO of OSU-fan Robert Bell at Madison Square Garden this past weekend in his pro debut, which netted him $25,000. For the record, that is the equivalent of about $1.8 million per hour.

Irish WR Jeff Samardzija was drafted in the 5th round of the MLB draft last week by the Chicago Cubs, and will likely get 1st round money for signing, as the Cubs picked him with their 2nd overall pick (they had no picks in rounds 2-4).

It is amazing how different the entire aura surrounding the Notre Dame football team is between this summer and two summers ago (before my 1st year at law school).

This year, ND is being picked by many as having the best shot at a National Championship this year, as well as the leading candidates for the Heisman and Biletnikoff trophies. They also have legitimate shots at the Nagurski, Doak Walker, and Outland trophies.

Before the ink was dry on the first top 5 Irish recruiting class in over a decade, the Irish got a verbal commitment from the best QB to come out of California since John Elway in Westlakes Christian High School QB Jimmy Clausen. The momentum of this year's class has many predicting that the Irish will have the best class in the country this year.

The Irish have two of their current players not only go pro in their other sports, but despite awesome pressure to the contrary, they both have publicly commited to play for the Irish in football this year to pursue a national championship.

Where were we two years ago at this time?

Notre Dame had just suffered through one of the worst seasons in history, going 5-7, and losing games to Purdue, Boston College, and Michigan State. We got completely blown out of games against Michigan, USC, and Florida State, losing by a combined 120-14. Our final loss of the season was to a mediocre Syracuse team, when it appeared that the team had all but given up on the season.

That summer, the Irish were unranked. By everyone. There are always going to be a couple of disreputable preseason mags who will throw the irish into the bottom of the Top 25 to sell some copies, but nobody seriously gave the Irish much of a shot going into the season.

Our recruiting had been underwhelming, with the Irish having inked a class ranked around the mid-30s, with 0 5-star athletes and only a couple of 4-star athletes. We did luck out on a player that turned out to be much better than ranked in Darius Walker, but DW is the only player that really has been a star (Maurice Crum has done pretty good).

What difference does a coach make?

A big one. Really big. I mean we are talking huge.

2006 Spring Opponent Preview - Penn State Nittany Lions

Top player: Paul Posluzny, LB
Make-or-break player: Anthony Morelli, QB
Biggest offensive strength: Running Back
Biggest offensive weakness: Wide receiver
Biggest defensive strength: Linebackers
Biggest defensive weakness: Cornerback
Spring Depth Chart

The Penn State game has a special place in my heart (I'll post about it the week before the game), and I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to see the Nittany Lions play in Notre Dame stadium this year. As part of our 5-game gauntlet to begin the season, the Nittany Lions are coming off a BCS season last year, and have the best linebacker in the nation in their defensive backfield. They have one of the softest Big Ten schedules a man could want, with the only major challenge being their Big Ten opener at Ohio State. They have an excellent shot at being a BCS contender this year simply due to their schedule.

The big question mark is quarterback Anthony Morelli, who will be attempting to replace the versatile senior leadership of Michael Robinson as a sophomore and a traditional passing QB. He won't be able to run the option like Robinson, which will place more pressure on the running backs and receivers.

The receivers are their biggest weakness on offense. While they have lots of depth (5 players with at least one touchdown), they don't have the elite receiver necessary to burn our defense. Only 1 returning receiver has the potential to breakout as such, Derrick Williams, but he only accounted for 1 receiving touchdown last year, being used more as a reverse threat on the option (he scored three rushing TDs).

Penn State lost some elite defensive players on the D-line and at cornerback, and they will be susceptible to the passing game early in the season, struggling to cover receivers or get effective QB pressure. However, Penn State might have the best linebacking corps in the nation, and they will be tough against the running game and short passing game. Our deep passing game will be the difference in a defensive battle, with the Irish pulling away in the 4th quarter, taking advantage of a tired linebacking corps that is doing too much to make up for their other defensive weaknesses.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Prediction
9/2	Akron	W
9/9	at Notre Dame	L
9/16	Youngstown St.	W
9/23/td>	at Ohio State	L
9/30	Northwestern	W
10/7	at Minnesota	W
10/21	Illinois	W
10/28	at Purdue	W
11/4	at Wisconsin	W
11/11	Temple	W
11/18	Michigan State	W

A small (640x480) wallpaper I whipped up using a free photo editor. I'm going to try to make a nicer one later this summer using PhotoShop. Enjoy!