Green Means Go

For four years, I had the pleasure of working at a go-kart track. Before each race, we were required to read a safety announcement. The most important aspect was: "Gas is your right, brake is on your left. Your break will not work unless you take your foot completely off the gas." On Saturday night, the Irish rocketed off the starting line, only to take their foot completely off the gas, slamming on the brakes, and almost losing the game in the process. I just don't get it. For the fourth week in a row, the Irish started off hot, only to play conservative and allow Purdue to get back into the game and eventually take the lead. Look no farther than the drive chart:

Drive #: TOP - Plays - Yards - Result

Drive 1: 3:20 - 6 - 33 - Turnover on Downs
Drive 2: 3:57 - 10 - 60 - Field Goal
Drive 3: 4:07 - 9 - 73 - Touchdown
Drive 4: 3:49 - 7 - 62 - Touchdown

Drive 5: :54 - 3 - 5 - Punt
Drive 6: :45 - 5 - 29 - Interception

Drive 7: 5:20 - 8 - 28 - Punt
Drive 8: 6:20 - 13 - 42 - Turnover on Downs
Drive 9: 1:11 - 3 - (-2) - Punt
Drive 10: 1:38 - 3 - 1 - Punt
Drive 11: 3:17 - 12 - 72 - Touchdown

Drive 12: :03 - 1 - (-1) - End of Game

Now I've broken it up so that its easier to analyze and see that the Irish clearly went conservative, when they should have put the game away. I understand the first drive as it was going to be an experiment to see exactly how Clausen's turf toe was going to affect his play. Therefore, I throw out the first drive. Next, the Irish scored 17 points on their next three possessions! That is peddle to the metal. On those scoring drives, the Irish offense averaged 3:58 TOP, 8.66 plays, and 65 yards. That's 8 yards per play and almost scoring at will. That is the Charlie Weis offense we are all used to.

Now you can throw out the next two drives as the Irish were in the 2 minute drill. I approve of Weis bringing Clausen back in at this point because of his comfort in the 2 minute drill (see end of game). Furthermore, I like how Weis wasn't willing to just run out the clock (see 3rd quarter) as that is not his style and he's very ineffective in doing so.

Which brings me to the notorious 3rd quarter. At this point, the Irish are up 10 points with a back up QB. Now I know Christ is a back-up, but the man is talented. There is no reason to not give Christ a few throws (he missed a wide open Tate for 6). Regardless, the Irish took the conservative route, sitting on the ball, and killing clock. The problem is, it resulted in nothing!! To make matters worse, the defense turned around and gave up a touchdown in 3:21. This totally defeats the purpose of "clock killing."

I'm convince that this move was not in the best interest of the Irish offense. The Irish started the 3rd quarter with the ball and had the opportunity to drive the field for a TD and in doing so would virtually put the game away. Bottom line, you want to score regardless of how long it takes. By putting on the brakes, the Irish only hurt themselves. But it is comforting to know the Irish offense can flip the switch and go 70+ yards in only 3 minutes!

But the question remains, if you were Charlie Weis what would you have done in that 3rd quarter?



OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jimmy Clausen

At 11:23, I received the following text: "A legend is born." Forget the stat line, the Irish are nothing without their golden boy.


DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Da Feenz

As the only one of us in attendance, his cheering (or lack there of) was as effective as the Irish defense actually on the field. McCarthy blew coverage for Purdue's go ahead TD. Walls had a meaningless interception. The fumble recovery didn't matter. Teo had a sack, but it was the only time he was on the field all game. Blanton dropped a pick 6. The list goes on as Purdue racked up 363 yards of total offense.


-DH

Metatarsalphalangeal Joint Sprain

No that's not jibberish. It's the official term for turf toe. By now, if you are like me, you know everything there is to know about this phantom injury that never seems to leave a player alone. Officially (wikipedia official), "turf toe" is an injury to the joint and connective tissue betweenthe foot and one of the toes, notably, the big toe.
First off, Notre Dame Stadium is equipped with grass, so I'm not really understand where the turf part comes in. And secondly, I love Jimmy Clausen, but I don't really need daily updates regarding his big toe. It's comparable to Brett Farve returning to the NFL, Vick practicing again, or Feenz going canoeing in Canada. If I've heard it once, I've heard it a dozen times.


We can throw out the predictions. Our success now depends on JC's big toe. See if that helps you sleep at night.

-DH

Purdue Fans

By CI

Purdue Fans are some of the most bitter I’ve ever come by. Maybe its just an ND hatred for them (Little Brother-itis). But I don’t think so, as I’ve heard that other schools’ fans have similar negative responses to Purdue fans. While there is a small list of teams I fundamentally hate, the fan bases of those particular teams tend to be quite respectful and classy. Purdue is not on that list.

Maybe I’m hating the wrong people? Maybe Purdue should be the team I really hate? Na, because why let the fly of Purdue agitate the elepahant that is Notre Dame football.

But what drives the bitterness from the Purdue people towards ND. Is it because we are both in Indiana? Is it because of ND’s unique place in college football?

Here are my top 5 reasons Purdue fans are bitter towards ND fans:

1. Lack of Football Success: 1929 was the last outright conference championship season for the boilermakers. So, a great stat for those of you traveling down (or up) to West Lafayette may be that Notre Dame and Purdue have the same number of outright conference titles in the past 80 years. To their credit, Purdon’t has earned a share of the title 8 times…but only once more than the University of Chicago, who exited the Big Ten in 1939 and last won an outright Big Ten title in 1924. By the way, Purdue’s lone outright championship pales in comparison to the University of Chicago’s 6 outright Big Ten titles.

2. Depressing Demographics: The largest college major at Purdue is engineering. I’ll speak from my enginerd experience and tell you that thousands of engineers pooled together usually don’t make for much fun and excitement. Additionally, Purdue is only 41.2% women. It doesn’t hurt to have a girls school across the street from ND. These demographics factors would alone make me bitter to ND fans. Finally, most of the students are from Indiana…I’ll just leave it at that.

3. Terrible Rivalry: These guys are stuck being rivals to IU. Even though they dominate this rivalry, it is pathetic to get built up for IU, the shithouse of the Big Ten.

4. Lack of fan Interest: Having lived in West Lafayette for a summer, I can confirm that students at Purdue just don’t care about football games. They go to drink, pass out, wake up, and they harass young fans from the visiting team. Their entertainment lies not in watching the winning 40 yard field goal rise through the uprights as the clocks ticks to zero, but rather in cursing at visiting fans in order to show off their drunken sailor mouths that their mother’s never washed out with soap. These fans are terrible, and their lack of football knowledge and interest doesn’t help their case. I think Purdue fans may just be bitter about a fan base who actually cares about the status of their schools football team.

5. Shitty Stadium: Ross-Ade Stadium is probably the worst stadium I’ve ever been to for a school that would claim itself a major football program. If felt like a glorified high school game, but with less enthusiastic fans. The only nice part is how the visiting fans can easily make as much noise as the Purdue fans, making this a very unintimidating place for ND to play this week. Moreover, that big stupid drum you get to see while visiting Ross-Ade is claimed to be the biggest in the world. I think they are safe with the record, as I can’t think of anyone else who would want to build a bigger, stupider drum than Purdue’s.

So…enough of me ranting about Purdue’s classless fans. On a side note, Mr. Louis Leo Holtz has been participating in political commentary on Sean Hannity’s “Great American Panel”. While I love hearing Lou, I never want to again be subjected to hearing his commentary on global warming. I’m just not sure his credentials are there. Then again, his credentials are likely as good as Al Gore’s.

Stray Bullets

What’s up, bloggers? Although I’m not blogging via the free wi-fi of Panera this week, I still get a weird feeling when I click “Post Blog” that I suddenly don’t like girls. Alright, inhibitions aside, I have to say it’s been an awesome 3 weeks of college football….

Notre Dame is 2-1, with the loss to now-#23 Michigan. To say the offense was “clicking” would be an understatement. They are playing a lot better than even I expected. The injury to my man Mike Floyd will hurt, but let’s see how much confidence ole Weis has in that bench. The defense has given up 38 and 30 points the past two weeks to the state colleges of Michigan, and in the process lost to a punk, but talented, 19-year old. The special teams have not looked so good. Kickoff return for a touchdown, missed field goal (acceptable), missed extra point (unacceptable), and an onside kick recovered against us. The intangibles have not looked so good either. Many thoughtless penalties and lacks of concentration have taken their toll, and that falls on the coach. In short, it seems that the rest of the team (including Weis as a “head coach”) will constantly be trying to catch up to the offense throughout the season. Let’s hope it happens sooner rather than later.

Case of the Mondayyyys
Until proven otherwise, I will uphold that this is the best commercial out there right now. ESPN, you’ve done it again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1W7FNnyOfg

VT Showin’ No Love for the Irish

At the Virginia Tech-Nebraska game this past weekend at Lane Stadium, when that final whistle blew, I ran inside and caught the end of the ND-MSU game. A Virginia Tech fan walks in and yells, “Let’s go Michigan!” Of course, it was Michigan State. Showing little fanhood for either team, the man would proceed to refer to them as “Michigan” for the remainder of the game. “I have two favorite teams,” he continued. “Virginia Tech and anyone playing Notre Dame.”

I’m always curious to hear the reasons why so many people hate Notre Dame, so I asked him why. He turned to me in a hurry, anxious to describe his position. Putting out three fingers and touching his fore finger first, he proclaimed, “They took Tech’s spot in the BCS three years ago and got killed! The BCS gives them an automatic bid! The Big East gives them their bids to bowls…”
While all I wanted to do was tell him how stupid that argument was, I held back in an effort to sway him to the ND side. “How is that Notre Dame’s fault?” I asked, mild-mannered. “Are you telling me Tech wouldn’t take that deal?”
“Tech wasn’t asked!”
“That’s not Notre Dame’s fault. You should really be mad at the BCS or Big East conference.”

These Notre Dame haters continually blame the team and not the system. I agree ND gets preferential treatment, but that’s not their fault…if anything it’s their luxury. They got a good deal, and they took it. 118 other teams would do the same thing – it only makes sense.

This Tech fans reasoning had no logic whatsoever, but in an attempt to lessen his hatred for ND, I restrained myself from bringing his stupidity to light. His point bordered simply on jealousy. Our team got in, his team didn’t. I get it. I analogize it to the following:

You’re a high school boy, like Tate Forcier last year. You really want to go to prom with this girl. She’s one of the 5 hottest girls in the school. Well, she ends up asking another guy to prom. He’s probably smarter and he’s a whole lot more popular. Because of this, you end up hating this guy. High school analogy, middle school logic. This 55-year old man needs to grow up.

On a lighter note, there’s a great clip of Beamer, Holly Rowe, and the crazy Tech fans after the Nebraska game. (I never thought I would mention “great clip” and “Holly Rowe” in the same sentence) Watch how angry Frank gets:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZWWvcRNtaI

Gotta Groh

Al Groh’s UVA squad is 0-3 and they are miserable to watch. Don’t just take my word for it, even their mascot tried to end the misery:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6TkO2v_jCA

What was even funnier to me was one of the YouTube comments regarding the fall. It was made by one of the bouncing (see video) members of the UVA band who simply goes by the name “PinkSpaceHippy.” It follows:

“I'm a member of the marching band, and so I've actually been able to talk to "Cav Man", and was down there when it happened.

He didn't fall off. Seriously, he's been playing polo over 20 years.

The horse spooked. That was a new horse that is still getting used to crowds and all the noise, and something spooked him and cause him to just stop in his tracks.

"Sabre" didn't throw him, just the laws of physics say that just because horse stops doesn't mean you stop with it.”

Wow.

rabes

Painful to Watch

I was so tense on Saturday while watching the Irish that my girlfriend asked me how could I not possibly have fun watching the Irish play, especially when they were winning. The answer lies in the fact that Irish were simply too painful to almost watch. Even though the Irish squeaked out a 33-30 victory, they could not have looked worse and played more frustrating. The Irish opened up a 14-3 lead in the first quarter after just two possessions, but failed to maintain that level of play. For the second week in a row, the Irish dominated the first half statistics only to find themselves down a point at halftime. How you might ask? Well here are five areas of concern where the Irish must improve to turn first half success into dominating victories:


5. DEPTH

One Irish expert (Rabes) was quick to point out that in order be a GREAT team, the Irish must establish depth at the skill positions, especially now that Floyd is potentially out for the year. Tate, Rudolph, and Allen accounted for 77% of the Irish offensive output (337 of the 437 yards). Senior wide out Robby Parris and junior target Duval Kamara must step up to fill the void left by Floyd. And can someone please find Robert Hughes?


4. SPECIAL TEAMS

Even though freshman kicker Nick Tausch was 2 for 2 on field goals (22, 46), that missed extra point could have come back to haunt the Irish. Still, the Irish have yet to incorporate special teams as a weapon. Riddick and Gallup have yet to really break open a kick off return and Tate hasn't had many opportunities in the punt return game. Kudos to Ethan Johnson for the blocked PAT. Bottom line, the Irish got lazy and gave away a free onside kick to the Spartans which was completely inexcusable. See mental mistakes below.


3. KILLER INSTINCT

A few weeks ago, I praised the Irish D for their shut out performance, and lauded the Irish O for stepping on Nevada when they were down. Well, I'm not quite sure what happened to that mindset. The Irish once again dominated in the opening minutes, but failed to deliver the knock out blow early. As the Irish face must win games the next two weeks, they need to get on a roll to gain some mental swagger.


2. PASS DEFENSE

Remember the "No Fly Zone" images created by Raeshon McNeil and Darrin Walls following their signing with ND as recruits. Well its more like Fly, Fly Away. Our depth at defensive back was suppose to be the anchor of our defense. Well, that anchor has a lot of rust as DWalls struggles to return to his old form. The Irish defense always seemed to be one step behind as Michigan State racked up 354 yards through the air.


1. MENTAL MISTAKES

This is easily the most frustrating aspect about this football team, and the list from Saturday is endless. Onside kick. Sam Young jumping offside. Dropped balls on offensive and defense. Holding penalties. Personal fouls. Two personal fouls in a row. Three personal fouls in a row! Are you kidding me?!! All in all, the Irish racked up 99 yards in penalties. That is simply atrocious.


OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Golden Tate

Tate hauled in 7 receptions for 127 yards and the game winning TD. Tate's spectacular grab to give the Irish the lead with 5 minutes to play more than made up for his terrible drop earlier in the game. However, with Michael Floyd possibly out for the season, Tate will have to put up these numbers each and every week.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kyle McCarthy

The Irish safety earned his second straight "Defensive Player of the Game" nod after sealing the Irish victory with an interception. It's McCarthy's third interception in three games. On top of that, McCarthy leads the Irish defense in tackles. McCarthy has been and should continue to be an Irish force on defense.

-DH

Seven In A Row Means Weis Has To Go

Michigan State is riding a six game win streak at Notre Dame Stadium, heading into Saturday's key battle. The Spartans and the Irish are looking to rebound as both teams threw away victories last weekend. The winner could be able to salvage their seasons. A loss for the Irish would mean the end of Charlie Weis. Period. The Irish have enough motivation, but I'll let the image above marinate in their minds for a little bit.

-DH

The Storm Before the Calm

Following Saturday's 38-34 let down against Michigan, Notre Dame fans are no doubt about to stir up a storm in hopes of sinking the ship of Charlie Weis as Notre Dame's head football coach. There is a lot of fuel for the fire to be extracted from the Irish performance. So here are the top five plays that haunted me last night:


5. WIDE LEFT

I understand the kid is a freshman, but the Irish needed to get points out of that first drive. Had the Irish got some points on the board following that drive, it would have no doubted changed the course of the game. The mentality of the Irish team would have been different. In a big game, on the road, driving the ball dominantly 80 yards for a touchdown would have crushed the young Wolverines. It was a missed opportunity that the Irish paid for later.


4. QUARTERBACK DRAW

laksjdflsakjdf;lqknlkajds!!!!! What the hell! Jimmy Clausen is by no way a threat with his feet. All you offensive gurus can tell me it was a good call because the defense wasn't expecting it, but I still won't believe you. You drive the ball 60 to 70 yards with dominating plays, why switch it up, especially on 3rd down. Stick with something you know will work!!!!


3. PUT IT ON THE TURF

The Jonas Gray fumble might be the biggest mistake of the game. I understand he's listed at #2, but why is he in the game. Who cares that he's from Michigan and its a rivalry for him. He choked. In a big game, I want people with big game experience. Give me Robert Hughes. Enough said.


2. PENALTIES

Let me start off by saying Big Ten referees are the worst. They suck. Their publicized attack on holding calls this season got entirely out of hand. To be fair, the calls went both ways. And maybe it wasn't the refs fault at all. But seriously, holding calls on a screen pass!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me?!!?!? Penalties negated Irish progress all night long. The one that sticks out to me was the pass and catch to Kyle Rudolph for roughly a 45 yard gain, negated by a Sam Young holding that wasn't actually a holding at all! But the players must adjust the refs, and the Irish were sloppy all night long.


1. LET IT FLY

The play that will be talked about most will be the 2nd and 10 play in which Clausen threw a fly route to Tate which he dropped (stop complaining and catch the ball son!!) and stopped the clock at the end of the game. Now I actually don't mind the call, but save it for 3rd down. If you run the ball one more down, you make Michigan burn their second time out. Now not mentioned at the time was the fact that Armando Allen left the game a play earlier with a sprained ankle. Weis has since defended this play saying he was only "trying to win the game." Do realize that all you haters would have praised Weis for that call had Tate caught the ball. Just a thought.


This all being said, I could easily highlight my top five plays as well. But because we lost, people are going to focus on the negatives. I just hope people realize the game for what it was: a tough, competitive battle. I know we should have won the game, but the Irish are actually competitive again and for that I'm optimistic. The season is not lost, so save that fire Weis crap until the end of the season. Look for the Irish to rebound to calm the uprising by winning out. (and get revenge against Michigan in a BCS bowl)


OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Armando Allen Jr.

Allen had a career performance; 21 carries for 139 yards and a TD, and 2 receptions for 24 yards with a TD questionably negated by official review. My only question: Where was Allen in the 3rd quarter?

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kyle McCarthy

The interception by McCarthy could not have come at a better time. The Irish needed the defense to step up and force a turnover to get back in the game. The Irish turned McCarthy's pick into the go ahead score. This will ultimately be overlooked as the Irish D failed to stop Michigan in the closing minutes.

-DH

First Team to 24 Wins

by John Don with research by The Diesel, '79

Although neither Michigan nor Notre Dame is the other school’s biggest rival on the schedule (those distinctions belong to USC and Ohio State respectively), this matchup has actually remained just that: a rivalry. While The Vest has clearly owned Michigan the last several years and we all know how that other “rivalry” has worked out since Ty took the reins, the game between the two winningest programs in college football history has remained competitive. Over the past ten years, both teams are 5-5; here’s what the scoreboard looked like at the end of each of those contests:

Michigan Notre Dame

1997 21 14

1998 20 36

1999 26 22

2002 23 25

2003 38 0

2004 20 28

2005 10 17

2006 47 21

2007 38 0

2008 17 35

Incredibly, despite a few lopsided victories on each end, an average game between these two teams is essentially a draw: Michigan’s median point total over the past ten meetings is 22, the Irish – 21.5. But when Michigan wins they do it by scoring, which I find surprising with Lloyd Carr at the helm for every U of M win in the data set; Michigan’s median point total in wins is a whopping 38, while in losses their median point total is only 20. As for ND, we “average” 28 points in wins and only 14 points in losses. This is where the Diesel put in some expert Excel work (you would have thought he had Mike Morris, too). Here are some interesting stats:

Michigan Notre Dame
Lowest Point Total in a Win 21 17
Highest Point Total in a Loss 23 22

And when scoring at least 24 points, both teams are 4-0; 24 is clearly the magic number and not just to Jack Bauer: the first team to score 24 wins. In my opinion both teams may get to that plateau this weekend with two offensive coaches and two (possibly) suspect defenses. But as the data suggests, hitting that magic number is the key to victory.

The home team has dominated in recent memory, with each team only winning once on the road (Notre Dame in Charlie’s Ann Arbor debut in 2005, Michigan in 2006 ending Irish “title hopes”). And the last time an unranked Michigan team hosted a ranked Notre Dame team was in 1985, when the Wolverines pulled out a 20-12 victory.

Yet despite clear data to the contrary, my (homer) pick is Notre Dame – 31, Michigan – 20. But to win this game, we’ll have to rely on the golden arm of the golden boy. And a few big catches by Michael Floyd wouldn’t hurt either…

Nevada Game Notes

The Irish dominated the Wolf Pack in all facets on Saturday on their way to 35-0 shutout. After our post game tailgate break down, it's hard for me to decide who played better: the offense of the defense. Here are my game notes for both sides of the ball and you decide:


OFFENSE

3. SHOW ME!

The Irish amassed 510 total yards with a break down of 332 in the air and 178 on the ground. All day long the play calling was efficient and effective and perfectly mixed. With Charlie at the play calling helm, I hope it's a strong indication for the rest of the season. The quick flat pass to Floyd that turned into a 70 yard TD is reminiscent of the Weis we all know and love.


2. STARS ALIGN

With Floyd, Tate and Rudolph, who do you cover? Look no farther than the first Floyd TD. Rudolph, having just caught the first TD pass, and Floyd both ran deep posts. The safety doubled Rudolph leaving Floyd open for the 24 yard TD catch. These three All-Americans (you heard it hear first) will provide nightmares for opposing defenses all season long.


1. KILLER INSTINCT

The Irish offense was on target all day long. Not until late in the 3rd and 4th did the Irish offense start to ease off the gas pedal. Best of all, when Nevada missed their first quarter field goal attempt, the Irish responded by driving the length of the field for a touchdown. That's a very important ten point swing that put the Irish in cruise control. Furthermore, when Nevada pinned the Irish on their own one yard line, the Irish offense responded with a 99 scoring drive. It's a mentality the Irish have been lacking the past two seasons.


DEFENSE

3. SHARING THE WEALTH

The Irish saw production from all over the field. Kyle McCarthy and Robert Blanton had interceptions. KLM had a fumble recovery. Brian Smith had two sacks. Sergio Brown was flying around all day. Harrison Smith is a beast. John Ryan had a key pass knock down. Toryan Smith had a stuff on 4th and 1. Manti T'eo delivered the big hits. Most importantly, they play together.


2. BLITZKRIEG

Tenuta lived up to his reputation. The Irish sent blitzes all day long from all directions. The Irish defense finished with only two official sacks, but should have had a few more if it weren't for missed tackles. The pressure got to the Nevada quarterback as he was often flushed from the pocket and really couldn't get into a rhythm all game. He finished 12-24 for 149 yards and two picks.


1. SHUT OUT

The Irish defense played loose, fast, and dictated the style of play. They forced three turnovers while giving up 310 yards. Nevada put together a few drives, but the Irish clamped down when necessary and shut out the visiting Wolf Pack. It was the first Irish shut out during the Weis era and the first since Rutgers in 2002.


OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jimmy Clausen

The Irish signal caller was 15-18 for 315 yards and FOUR touchdowns. Enough said.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Brian Smith

The junior defensive leader had two sacks to go with a handful tackles to lead the Irish defense to the shutout. Not to mention, following the KLM fumble recovery, Smith ran alongside the Nevada sideline for a cocky high-five with a Nevada coach.

-DH

21 Last-Minute Bold Predictions

1. Jimmy Clausen throws for 3,500 yards, 33 TDs, and 9 INTs.
2. Mike Floyd has a better year than Golden Tate.
3. Jonas Gray will finish with the most carries this season of any of our backs.
4. Weis stays off the disabled list and drop-foots it to the sidelines for the entire year.
5. When we’re 7-2 in November, in a fit of euphoria, T and Alex name their daughter Charlie Wise.
6. Kyle Rudolph is a finalist for the Mackey Award (best TE).
7. Our freshman kicker Nick Tausch can’t handle the pressure… here comes Wwwwwwalker!!
8. OC runs off to Mexico with our fantasy money.
9. Omar does indeed snipe him.
10. Sam Young gets national recognition and will be drafted in the 1st round of the NFL Draft.
11. Our schedule turns out better than expected (8 or 9 of our opponents will be in bowls).
12. John Ryan makes a tackle.
13. With Gameday on campus, an eerie fall chill in the air, and the lights shining bright…We beat USC.

14. We lose the following week to Boston College.

15. Fat Albert gets hit by a nacho cheese-soaked, battery-filled marshmallow, and proceeds to eat said 'mallow.
16. Brady Quinn starts for the Browns and leads them to fewer victories than Clausen does the Irish (Browns: 7, Irish: 9)
17. Freshman sensation Manti Te’o forgoes his Mormon mission and converts to Catholicism. (In his press conference in front of the reflecting pond to announce the decision, he says no words but rather stands up and spreads his arms high above his shoulders in front of Touchdown Jesus. Somehow, we all know what he means.)

18. With ND down 17-14 at the half to Connecticut (!) and the marching band performing (very bad choice of words) a poorly synchronized dance to "Don't Cha Wish," a frustrated John Don makes yet another band-geek female fan cry.

19. Dayne Crist gets some mop-up duty and doesn’t deserve “the hype.” Yet.
20. ND goes to a BCS bowl, I don’t go, and it’s actually a good game this time.
21. Weis stays and people like it.

rabes

No More Excuses

I have told people that I do not have expectations for this year because I don't want to be let down as I have been the past two seasons. However, being a Notre Dame Football fan for all my life it is impossible not to have expectations for the team, especially this team. So how many wins will the Irish have this year? I honestly will say that I will be disappointed with less than 10 wins. I know I'm being pretty ridiculous but with our schedule the way it is and the talent we have, 10 wins is the number for me. I do not think we have an easy schedule as the whole world says, but we also don't have a hard one. I would call it manageable. People say Nevada will be tough which it might, but our players didn't choose between Nevada and Notre Dame. These recruiting classes have had to make decisions to turn down the likes of USC, Florida, Oklahoma, and Ohio State. Therefore, it is time for them to show it on the field. Yes, Michigan State, Pitt, Purdue, Michigan, and BC are always tough games, but these are tough games the Irish NEED to learn how to win and I expect them to win this year. For those who have been able to watch ESPN, Kirk Herbstreit said one of the biggest games will be Michigan. Yeah, I get Michigan is never easy and there is a lot of uncertainty with this years game. I think Rich Rod is a good coach and his teams always have a chance to win. However, I do not think he is that good to win with players not built for his system let alone two freshman QBs. With that said, there is now way this team should lose to Michigan with their lack of a personnel and with recent events of practice violations. This is a perfect opportunity for ND to learn how to curb stomp an opponent while they're down. I would nothing more than a 38-0 victory. Navy, Nevada, UConn, Wash, Stanford, and Wash ST. should be no doubters. Maybe the Trees from Stanford could be a tougher game than I am expecting, but we still should win. Now, onto USC. This should be the year we compete if not beat the trojans. I'm not saying that because they have a freshman QB. He is going to do well and I am willing to bet he won't look like a freshman when he arrives in South Bend. I think I could play QB for them when they have all 10 returning starters and one of them is Joe McKnight. I'm saying it should be a close game because we have competed with USC for the past four years on the recruiting trail. If we get blown out, I'm going to be disappointed with the season even if we do win 10 and make it to a BCS. Reason being is because USC is where ND wants to be. Yes, I said it. I want to be like USC. I want ND's program to always be in constant conversation for the championship. If we don't make it to the championship, I want to win the BCS bowl game we're in. When that happens, then I know we're back. However, if we get beat bad by USC, all that says to me is that we can't compete with the big boys. All that says is that we will get to another BCS bowl and get our hopes up only to get blown out by the likes of Ohio State and LSU. Unless we play the winner of the Big East....there are no Big Boys in the conference this year. There is no room for slip ups this year. Yeah, Florida had a slip up last year and won. USC has had a slip up the past couple years. If and when we get to the status of Florida and USC, I'll accept a slip up because I'll know that we can compete with the top schools. Right now, I have no idea whether we can compete. That is why we can't slip up. That I why a good season for me will be 10 wins, which can be done with the talent we have. I know I sound like Lou but I really think we should win at least 10 games. No excuses this year.

We have recruited with the big boys and this season is the year we show we can play with the big boys. GO IRISH!!!!!!!!!!