Panther Flashback | by Jay

Notre Dame, Pinkett Roll To Pitt Stop
By Paul Attner, Washington Post Staff Writer
Nov. 6, 1982

Before today's game against No. 1-ranked Pittsburgh, Notre Dame Coach Gerry Faust tried to inspire his players by recalling the seven previous times the Irish have upset top-rated teams.

Now he can add No. 8 to that list.

With freshman tailback Allen Pinkett, former star at Park View High School in Sterling, Va., scoring the last two touchdowns, including a 76-yard beauty, Notre Dame gave Faust his first taste of Irish glory, 31-16.

Except for an early season victory over Michigan, Faust has had an unsteady tenure at Notre Dame. But now, 19 games after he left his coaching job at Cincinnati's Moeller High School, Faust finally may have completed the transition.

Ironically, it was his much-criticized, dreadfully dull offense that was most responsible for ending Pittsburgh's eight-game winning streak, including seven this season. It was only the Panthers' fourth loss in four years.

Notre Dame (6-1-1) turned a newly installed flea flicker pass play into a 54-yard touchdown and a 17-13 lead early in the fourth quarter. Then an end-around play that gained 17 yards set up Pinkett's second touchdown, from seven yards, ending any comeback dreams by Pittsburgh.

In between those two scores, Pinkett silenced the 60,162 fans who jammed Pitt Stadium by turning a simple tailback sprint draw play into a scintillating touchdown against the nation's No. 7-ranked run defense.

Pinkett, who gained 129 yards against Navy last week in his first start, broke one tackle at the line of scrimmage, shook off another three yards later and then moved between two defenders before breaking clear. He completed the 76-yard play without a Pitt player near, giving Notre Dame a 24-16 margin that even Pitt quarterback Dan Marino couldn't overcome.

Not with Pinkett around. He is a 5-foot-9, 175-pound runner of the Tony Dorsett type who finished with 112 yards on 10 carries.

"I was looking to cut back at first because they are so aggressive," Pinkett said. "But when I started to cut, I saw two guys waiting for me. I decided then to run it straight up field. Then I saw two more guys closing on me. I tried to get to a little funnel or void or vacuum or bubble, whatever you want to call it, before they came together. After that, I was just afraid someone would catch me from behind."

For awhile, it appeared Notre Dame would be working from behind all game.

The Irish, who hadn't thrown a touchdown pass until last week, gained only 117 yards through three quarters, mainly because quarterback Blair Kiel and his receivers appeared to be working from different play books.

But two special team mistakes by Pitt (a fumbled punt and a personal foul on another punt) set up a field goal and touchdown for Notre Dame to offset effective work by Marino. He had appeared to grab control of the game by directing the Panthers on a 98-yard, 18-play, 8 1/2-minute scoring drive early in the second half.

That drive ended with a one-yard run by halfback Bryan Thomas to put Pittsburgh ahead, 13-10. Marino, who passed for 314 yards (26 of 42, no interceptions), was being protected so well by his massive offensive line that it seemed only a matter of time before the Panthers stopped making the game so close.

Instead, it was Notre Dame that broke away.

With almost 15 minutes remaining, Pinkett left the game for senior Phil Carter, who had been the starting tailback before running ineffectively recently. There was a good reason for the substitution. With the ball at his 46, Faust wanted to run the flea flicker, but in practice last week, Pinkett kept messing up the pitch part of the play.

So Carter got a chance to be part of the glory. He took a handoff from Kiel, and then stopped and pitched the ball back to the Irish quarterback. Downfield, receiver Joe Howard (from Washington's Carroll High School) has slipped behind substitute safety Rick Dukovich, who was playing for injured Tom Flynn, Pittsburgh's best secondary back.

"As soon as I got the ball, I could see Joe was wide open," said Kiel, who twice today had called audibles out of the flea flicker because the Panthers were in the wrong defense. "If I had thrown a perfect spiral, it would have gone over his head. I guess I should be glad it wobbled, because Joe had a chance to catch up to it."

Howard's touchdown gave Notre Dame a 17-13 lead. Pittsburgh responded with a 47-yard Eric Schubert field goal, his third of the game, to close to within one point. And the Panthers were on the verge of going ahead moments later, only to have receiver Julius Dawkins lose a fumble on the Irish 23.

Two plays later, Pinkett scored on his long run. The next time Notre Dame had the ball, the Irish moved 65 yards in only six plays, with Pinkett breaking two more tackles before going in from the seven to wrap up things.

"I think we got some respectability back, coming from behind like we did," said Faust. "It was a tough week for us. It was cold all week and on Tuesday the lights were out on our practice field and we couldn't throw the ball."

Today, however, the lights went out, possibly for good, on Pittsburgh's dreams of a national championship.

"The kids are taking it pretty tough," said Pittsburgh coach Foge Fazio. "They felt they lost it, that they didn't get beat. But mistakes killed us."

Not to mention Allen Pinkett.

Live from South Bend! | by Pat

Today's press conference with Coach Weis was put online free for all to hear.

Here's the link.

Some high quality dentist-waiting room caliber muzak for the first 30 minutes so fast forward to the 38:14 minute mark to hear the acutal press conference.

Notre Dame Football 101 | by Pete

(Ed. note: We're very proud to have Pete of MajorlyEnglish joining us this fall as a guest contributor to BGS. Pete's a senior at ND right now, and he'll be sending us dispatches from campus from time to time, in between classes and parties at Turtle Creek. To kick things off, here's a guide for all those fresh-faced, wide-eyed youths currently spilling across campus for the first time this fall. Enjoy.)

Dear Notre Dame Class of 2009 (you know, Freshmen),

As you and your parents pulled up to campus for the first time in your Toyota Siena, no doubt you felt overwhelmed, and perhaps a little frightened. Would you get along with your roommate? Can you handle the increased workload? Will you ever make any friends? Well, let me tell you, impressionable freshmen, all those are secondary to what should be your primary concern: football season. Yes, this Saturday, the golden helmets will explode onto the field of battle for another great season of Notre Dame football.

Maybe some of you have older siblings that have shown you the ropes in regards to Notre Dame football. Perhaps even a few of you have been smuggled into the student section to see a game. However, you will always make those mistakes during football season that place the neon-flashing FRESHMAN sign on your back. Just like that girl you hooked up with at TC that has a really nice personality, it’s inevitable.

The morning of that first home game, you wake up, struggling to settle your Dis-Oriented mind, hearing people already cheering outside. These weekends are precious. What do you do to make the most of them, and more importantly, how do you not look like an idiot in the stadium?

I give you the Freshman Football Guide. As a senior at Notre Dame, I will let you know how to handle yourself during football season. It’s not just going to stadiums and screaming until you’re hoarse; it’s much more complex than that. So, sit down, turn off your five-channel television, and enjoy.

• Classes after two o’clock on Fridays should be avoided like the Hanta virus. Not only will you be stuck listening to your Calc professor while the campus is slowly stirring to life, but you’ll slowly learn to hate everyone around you who doesn’t have to.


• Road trip, road trip, road trip. At least once in your college career, pile you and your buddies into a car and go to basically anywhere you can reach on a full tank of gas. Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue trips are mandatory. Not only do you get to see another stadium, engage in some friendly jawing with opposing fans, and generally make a scene when your team wins in their house, but you also get a newfound appreciation for Notre Dame’s campus every time you return.


• Pep rallies are a blast, but remember, you’re there for a purpose: to make noise. Cheer the players, applaud the speakers, salute the coach, but be sure to stay energetic, no matter what.


• Another note on pep rallies: Chuck Lennon is always like that. He just is.


• If you want to, buy this year’s “The Shirt.” Support the charity, it’s a good cause, but keep that pee rag out of the stadium. Opt for an old school jersey, former “The Shirts,” or just go naked. Anything but that “The Shirt.”


• On Saturday mornings, stay away from the dining halls. Not only will they be overwhelmingly crowded with the influx of visitors to campus, these visitors will have no idea how to navigate through the aisles of food. If you do go for breakfast, be prepared to see 8-year olds spilling waffle batter, moms standing idly around while they crane their necks searching for their families, as dads futilely look for that damn grapefruit. And besides, your only sources of sustenance before the game should exclusively be prepared outdoors, and consist of either meat, cheese, or meat with cheese on it.

• Rub Rockne’s nose. If you don't know what I'm talking about, find out. It’s good luck for you, for me, and for the football team.

• Here’s an important thing to note: know when your family is coming in for games, because their presence will drastically alter your pre-game plans. If they’re coming in to town, do all the touristy things. See the team leave Mass, watch the Irish Guard inspection, listen to the band before the step off Bond Hall, eat a steak sandwich on South Quad. Trust me, if you don’t do these things with your family, you’ll never get around to doing them, and everyone should see them all at least once.


• Now, if your parents aren’t coming to town for the game, do the studenty things. Wander around the JACC parkings lots, and go to tailgates. Great fun to be had there.


• With that in mind, I’m not going to tell you how to live your life, but if you choose to live it with Natty Light prominently involved, be very careful at tailgates. People get in trouble with the SBPD at these tailgates, even when people are with their families. There’s really no way to avoid it, so if that’s a risk you’re not willing to take, stay sober or stay away from the parking lots. Also, some guy punched a police horse there last year. So stay vigilant, and keep an eye out for thirty-five-year-old undercover narcs posing as students. When they ask for a beer, they don't want to share in the fun: they're there to bust you.
  

Now, onto the really important stuff, Inside the Stadium:

• First the basics, cheer when we’re on defense, be quiet when we’re on offense. Got it? Good.


• Whenever the defense is on the field in a 3rd down situation, those are often dubbed “key plays.” As such, the student body tends to shake keys on those plays, because it’s very clever. However, shaking keys is ONLY acceptable if it is a byproduct of your entire body convulsing as you force as much sound from your larynx as possible.

• A Note about Noise: Noise should start when the opponents are in their huddle calling the play because there's always some guy in there thinking mostly about sex or partying and only peripherally about the game and will miss his assignment or the snap count if there's lots of noise. Noise should continue until the ball is snapped, but it is a waste of your vocal chords to yell after the play has begun. St. Mary's chicks have a tendency to continue yelling until they are told the play is over.
  

• TV timeouts are usually 1 minute 30 seconds and sometimes 2 minutes long, so don't waste your voice by screaming at the top of your lungs during the time-out. Watch the guy on the sideline. Affectionately called "Oven Mitts," this referee wears bright orange gloves, and his presence on the field indicates commercial time. While he is on the field, save your voice, but as soon as he steps off, resume screaming your brains out, unless, of course, EVERYBODY has been yelling throughout the ENTIRE time-out so the opposing coach cannot communicate with his players on their sideline.
  
  
• Note from Pete: I found this comment made on the article to be of invaluable information, and trust me, your bleeding throat will thank you. Credit goes to O'D.


• While the band and all the lovely dances that go with it are great fun, don’t forget the reason you’re there. You didn’t pay $168 to dance the Jig, you can do that at my place for $12. Enjoy the dances and cheers, provided that you never ignore the game for it.


• If someone throws a marshmallow at you, throw it again.


• “The Wave” is an insult, and depending on how it is used dictates who it insults. If it’s in the 3rd quarter, and we’re up by over 18 points, “the Wave” says, “Yawn, this game is already over, let’s amuse ourselves.” If it’s in the 3rd quarter and we’re losing by a touchdown, it says, “Yawn, I hate our football team and would rather be at home watching Elimidate reruns.” If you find yourself so bored during a close football game that you want to start “the Wave,” don’t be. Only break out “the Wave” if the game is decidedly out of hand, and only if we’re winning. And if you do it, get two going in opposite directions simultaneously, because that looks cool.


• Officer Tim McCarthy’s jokes are always funny, even when they’re kinda not. Laugh accordingly.


• Always salute the coach, provided that he is actually coaching and not just standing there while his assistants drive the program into the ground.


• There are times when rushing the field is OK and times when it is not.


• Times when OK: We beat USC or Michigan and they are more highly ranked than us. We beat a Top #10 team. We win in the last minute against a Top #15 team.


• Times when NOT OK: We beat an unranked team. We beat a team by 4 when we were up 21 at halftime. We beat Boston College, Purdue, or any service academy.


• To further emphasize this point, never, ever rush the field against BC, Purdue, or a military academy. Rushing the field implies ecstatic overjoyment, while we should always expect to beat these teams, thusly negating any field rushing.


• A note on BC: They are not our rivals, they are like our 12-year old brother, an obnoxious pain in our side, and they always suck.


• A note on Navy: While we beat them every year, we respect their team and what they do for our country. Always show them respect as such.


• At the end of the game, no matter what the outcome, always stay to salute the players. They poured their hearts out for you, the least you could do is fight sore knees for 10 more minutes to show your appreciation. Furthermore, always stay for the Alma Mater, it’s a special right as a member of the Notre Dame family to sway to that song.


• Finally, and most importantly, always get your parents to take you out to dinner after the game when they’re in town. It’s the best meal you’ll have in months.

If you take these few simple lessons to heart, you’ll be bleeding blue and perhaps gold in no time. And if you already happen to be bleeding blue, you may be a horseshoe crab.

Nicknames | by Jay

Every ballplayer worth his salt needs a nickname (or two).

Travis Thomas Trav; T-Trav; Tommer
Leo Ferrine the Iron Ghost
Darius Walker Herschel; Dynamite
Trevor Laws the Judge
Brady Quinn Quinny
Geoffrey Price Jeff
Tom Zbikowski Zibby; Piston Hurricane
Victor Abiamiri Abs
Chris Frome Ethan
Asaph Schwapp Thunderball
D.J. Fitzpatrick Sully
John Sullivan Fitz
Bob Morton Mr. Salty
Maurice Stovall the Pompatus of Love
Jeff Samardzija Sammer
Ryan Harris the General
Mike Turkovich Mikey T
Dan Santucci Tooch
Dan Stevenson D-Steve
Mark LeVoir Shaggy
Paul Duncan Dunc; Donut
Anthony Fasano Phat Tony
Rhema McKnight Mac
Matt Shelton Thumper; the Collierville Express
Rashon Powers-Neal the Secret Weapon
Brandon Harris Maestro
David Grimes Grimey
Ambrose Wooden the Wood Man
D.J. Hord Missouri Breaks
Brian Beidatsch Double B
Labrose Hedgemon Spiderman; the Lawn Wrangler
Derek Landri Rawhide
Brandon Hoyte the Hurt
Corey Mays Mayday
Maurice Crum Junior
Anthony Vernaglia Tony Verns
Steve Quinn Steve Quinn
Chinedum Ndukwe the Duke; Duker; Chin Music
David Bruton Bru; Et Tu
Terrail Lambert Highlander
Derrell Hand Hoss

Depth Charges | by Pat

The depth chart for the Pitt game has finally been released and contains more than a few interesting bombshells.

• No one played more minutes in 2004 than John Sullivan. But now he's the #2 center behind Bob Morton, who slid over from left guard. Starting in Morton's old left guard spot is Dan Santucci. Morton was the #1 ranked center coming out of high school and played center in 2003 so it's not a huge change, just more of a surpise considering how much time Sullivan spent there last season. Still, I'd expect Sully to get plenty of minutes and Weis has said as much. In fact, Weis has said that ND has four guys (Sullivan, Morton, Santucii, and Dan Stevenson) for three positions (LG, C, RG). Having depth and flexibility is great, but I'm also a big fan of continuity at center. Nothing kills a drive faster than a botched snap.
  

• Both backup tackles are true freshman. Even with our lack of linemen, no one predicted this. Turkovich (LT) and Duncan (RT) impressed causal observers at practice and must have done the same to the coaches if they are in the 2-deep only months after their senior proms. But regardless of how bright their future is, the fact they are one twisted ankle from starting is just as much, if not more, a factor of our complete lack of OL depth than it is their own individual talent.
  

• Sticking with the freshman theme, seven true freshman are listed on the depth chart at either 2nd string or a very close 3rd string. And that doesn't even count David Grimes, who Weis has mentioned as the #1 option at punt returner, and D.J. Hord, who is still being considered for kick returner. Over half of the incoming 15-man class, a class that was ranked as one of the weakest recruiting classes in recent memory, are already prime backups. On the surface there doesn't appear to be a single cause for the appearance of so many underclassmen. Personally, I think it's a mix of better-than-expected freshmen, a lack of depth at multiple positions (probably the biggest reason), and a message from the coaching staff to the upperclassmen that no position is safe and seniority means nothing anymore. Whatever the reason, expect to see a handful of freshmen see the field against the Panthers.
  

• Our defensive tackles are a bit on the small side. We've pointed out Pitt's undersized defensive line before, but ours isn't all that big at the right defensive tackle spot. Landri looked good when he played last year and is extremely quick for a down lineman, but at 263 pounds, he'll need a few breathers and that's where ND's shallow DL depth comes into play. In fact, both our starting defensive ends are bigger than our tackle backups. If Wannstedt is dead-set on establishing a power running game, this is where he might attack the most.
  


• Weis is trying to send a message. Obviously the depth chart is not the total number of players that the Irish will bring to Pittsburgh, and Charlie admitted as much during the press conference that around 15 slots are still open "on the bus to the plane to Pittsburgh" and practice performances this week would determine who gets them. It's interesting to note that rather fill in who he thinks might get the spots (like say Sharpley as the #3 QB or Justin Hoskins/Jeff Jenkins as the #3 RB), Weis is content to leave the list blank. It's nice incentive for those who think their backup job is safe and extra motivation for those who really want to claim a spot on the travel squad.


• Chase Anatasio is still one of the leading contenders for kick returner. After spending last year returning kicks with a broken bone in his foot and, to put it nicely, rather subpar special teams coaching (the fact a guy with a broken bone in his foot was still returning kicks being a big indicator of such), it will be interesting to see if Chase looks improved. Fan favorites Wooden and Hoskins are also in the mix along with former walk-on Harris and freshman Grimes, but honestly I'd rather not see everyone get a chance to return kicks on Saturday. Ideally, Pitt will kickoff once, and that's about it.

Recruiting Rundown | by Pat

Rather than re-invent the wheel here, we've decided each week to just toss a link over to nd94e's excellent recruiting results roundup that he does for IrishEyes. It's a great way to keep tabs on Irish verbals and guys who are still on Charlie's wishlist.

If you were at one of the games listed and you still want to share your thoughts, feel free.

And in what appears to be growing trend, instant video of recruits is making its way onto the recruiting websites. Last week, Irish Illustrated featured Raeshon McNeil's first game while this week they have footage of John Ryan and Robby Parris. Meanwhile over on IrishEyes, Demetrius Jones' debut at Soldier Field was caught on film for armchair talent evaluators everywhere.

2005 Opponent Position Preview - Linebacker | by Pat

The season is only days away so we'll try to finish off the position previews ASAP. Here's a look at the linebackers who will be gunning for Quinn and Walker all season long. All stats from 2004.

PITTSBURGH Linebackers

Brian Bennett. 35 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR.
H.B. Blades. 108 tackles, 10.5 TFL, 3 INT, 2.0 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR. Returning Starter.
Derron Thomas. 19 tackles.

Linebacker is looking like the strength of the Pitt defense and Blades (right) is the headliner. Wannstedt moved Blades from the outside to middle linebacker to get the 6'0", 245 busybody involved in more plays. Taking over the weakside linebacker position is senior Brian Bennett, who started every game in 2003 on the strong side and had over 100 tackles, but was beaten out by Blades last season. Derron Thomas is the most inexperienced starter so the sophomore will need to make an impact to keep his starting spot on the strongside. Depth: Pushing Thomas for the starting slot is Clint Session, who was #2 on the team in tackles last season. Backing up Bennett is J.J. Horne, who is a big weakside linebacker at 6'3", 235 and has been a spot starter the past two years. Scott McKillop so far has the edge on becoming Blades' backup in the middle. The upside of the competition is that Pitt should have a deep rotation at linebacker this season with plenty of strong and fast bodies to choose from.

MICHIGAN Linebackers

Chris Graham. 6 tackles.
David Harris. 10 tackles, 1 FF.
Prescott Burgess. 27 tackles, 1 INT, 2 FF. Returning Starter.

Michigan's situation at linebacker is anything but clear, as most of the spots still seem up for grabs. But don't confuse lack of a depth chart as lack of talent, as there are a good number of quality players vying for a starting slot. The buzz around Chris Graham is considerable and his exceptional speed makes up for his relative lack of size (5'11", 225). Harris (left) was praised by Carr for having a strong spring and looks recovered from a serious knee injury that sidelined him back in 2003. Burgess had a strong finish to 2004 and the converted safety will bring added speed to a position that at times had trouble with mobile quarterbacks. Depth: Scott McClintock is actually a returning starter and finished 4th on the team in tackles last season, but he appears to have been beaten out for a starting slot. Still, look for him to see the field often. Shawn Crable brings plenty of size (6'5" 247lbs) to the position while John Thompson adds plenty of speed and athletic ability. I mentioned Pierre Woods and LaMarr Woodley in the D-Line Preview, but they could also see time lining up as linebackers.

MICHIGAN STATE Linebackers

David Herron. 95 tackles, 8.0 TFL, 3 sacks. Returning Starter.
Kaleb Thornhill. 32 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1 FF.
SirDarean Adams. 2 tackles.

With one of the younger linebacking groups on our schedule this year, Michigan State will be counting on instant production from an inexperienced, but talented group. The leader of the unit, Herron (right), is a converted fullback who transformed into a decent pass rusher and should help the defensive line get pressure on the quarterback. Last year he finished 4th on the team in tackles. Thornhill is a versatile linebacker who can play inside or at the hybrid "Bandit" position, which is a somewhat similar, but more NCAA-friendly, version of ND's Apache linebacker. This season however, the 6'1", 240 Thornhill will start out as the Spartan's middle linebacker. After defensive star Eric Smith was moved to safety, SirDarean Adams looks to be the new starter at the Bandit position. He is the most inexperienced of the group, but adds a lot of speed to the position and is going to be counted on to aid the Michigan State secondary. Depth: A high school teammate of Tom Zbikowski, Eric Andino had an impressive spring and should see his playing time increase as the season progresses. Steven Juarez, one of the seven JUCO's brought on to help this year's Spartans, is also expected to add even more speed to the linebacking unit.

WASHINGTON Linebackers

Evan Benjamin. 105 tackles, 10.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 3 INT, 2 FF. Returning Starter.
Joe Lobendahn. 100 tackles, 13.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF. Returning Starter.
Scott White. 83 tackles, 12.0 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FR, 1 FF. Returning Starter.

More talented than most might think, the linebacking corps is a strength for the Husky defense and will help keep them in games this season. The three returning starters are not only were the three leading tacklers on last year's team, but have a total of 96 college football games under their belt. Benjamin is a converted safety who has the speed to drop back into pass protection but at 6'0", 215 is one of the smaller linebackers the Irish will face. In fact, all three linebackers are not exactly "big" by D-1 standards and rely more on speed to get the job done. Lobendahn (left) is the force in the middle and the leader of the group. White, like Evan, uses speed more than power to get to the ballcarrier. Depth: Dan Howell played in every game last season and even started against Washington State so many hope 2005 will be his breakout season. Kyle Trew and Tahj Bomar should also expect to see time.

PURDUE Linebackers

Stanford Keglar. 61 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 0.5 sacks. Returning Starter.
George Hall. 92 tackles, 6.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 2 INT, 1 FR. Returning Starter.
Bobby Iwuchukwu. 40 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 0.5 sacks. 1 FR. Returning Starter.

As at every other defensive position, Purdue returns all 3 starting linebackers. However, this is still a relatively young unit with only one senior on the depth chart. In fact, the inexperienced backups are expected to eventually be even better than the starters in front of them. Iwuchukwu (right) is the lone senior and will look to provide leadership and guidance for the rest of the talented linebackers. Manning the middle is George Hall who is a big run-stopper at 6'2", 250. The weakside is being held down by sophomore Keglar who finished 4th on the team in tackles during his first year as a starter. With a year under his belt, he should be even more productive. Depth: Perhaps the biggest name in this group is freshman Kyle Williams, who, while only around 210lbs, is already being fitted with All-Big Ten expectations. Look for him to play more and more minutes on the weakside as he learns the defense. Cliff Avril started four games last year when Iwuchukwu went down with an injury and is another player with a bright future.

USC Linebackers

Dallas Sartz. 48 tackles 3.5 TFL, 1.5sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF. Returning Starter.
Oscar Lua. 13 tackles, 1.0 TFL.
Kevin Rivers. 25 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF.

USC will have a young linebacking corp this year, but one that will not want for speed or strength. Sartz (left) is the leader of the defense and is a very steady and dependable linebacker. Rivers played last year as a freshman at defensive end as a pass rushing specialist and will be the linebacker most often lining up on the line of scrimmage, looking to sack the QB. His speed is his best weapon but he's also strong enough to be excellent at defending the run. Lua has the unenviable task of replacing Matt Grootegood in the middle and will need to be productive if USC wants to keep up their impressive defensive output. Depth: There is a lot of talent waiting in the wings with all-everything recruit Thomas Williams pushing Rivers at the strongside while JUCO All-American Ryan Powdrell is challenging Lua for the starting gig in the middle. And the influx of talented freshman Brian Cushing, Rey Maluaglaga, Luther Brown, and Kaluka Maiava give the Trojans even more talent to fit into their defensive schemes.

BYU Linebackers

Justin Leuttgerodt. 26 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack.
Cameron Jensen. 103 tackles, 11.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 2 INT. Returning Starter.
Paul Walkenhorst. 107 tackles in 2002.

Jensen (right) is a team leader and led the team in tackles last season. He will be counted on to be help out against the run in BYU's 3-3-5 defense. Leuttgerodt, a highly recruited JUCO, will help out on the outside and add even more size (6'4", 240) to the Cougar run support. Walkenhorst has battled injuries during his career, but when healthy adds a huge (6'5", 252) presence to the BYU defense. Depth: Washington State tranfer Aaron Wagner will be ready to go if Walkehorst succumbs to injury once again while Dan Bates and Bryan Kehl are expected to see plenty of time this season. A number of other young players will help contribute to a deep unit that will be one of the strengths of Coach Mendenhall's defense.

TENNESSEE Linebackers

Omar Gaither. 92 tackles, 12.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 2 INT, 2 FF. Returning Starter.
Kevin Simon. 5 tackles, 1.0 TFL.
Jason Mitchell. 57 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 1 FR.

Backing up their talented and deep defensive line, Tennessee will bring a talented and deep linebacking corps to South Bend this November. Kevin Simon is one of the better middle linebackers that the Irish will face this season, but he has had trouble staying healthy. Joining Simon on the Butkus Award watchlist is Gaither (left) who is very well-rounded as a strongside linebacker who can play the run but also is capable of dropping back into pass coverage. Mitchell will use his outstanding speed on the outside and should be a blitz threat all game long. Depth: As per usual, Tennessee has an assorted mix of strong and fast athletes, waiting their turn to see the field. Jerod Mayo has impressed the coaching staff and teammates alike in recent scrimmages. Jon Poe, Marvin Mitchell, and Daniel Brooks also look to contribute to a very deep squad.

NAVY Linebackers

David Mahoney. 85 tackles 12 TFL, 5.0 sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF. Returning Starter.
Rob Caldwell. 15 tackles, 1.5 TFL.
Jake Biles. 7 tackles.
Tyler Tidwell. 11 tackles 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack.

Mahoney (right) is the only returning starter on the Midshipmen unit and his veteran presence will surely be needed to bring a long a group of young and inexperienced players. Caldwell and Biles are the new faces in the middle of the linebacker line and will rely on their speed to stop the run more than their 220-lb frames. Tidwell checks in a 216 lbs and is more of a safety playing linebacker than anything else. His strengths are dropping back into pass coverage. Depth: Navy took a bit of a hit when heralded sophomore Keith Lisante left the program. Former QB Jason Monts will add depth to the middle.

SYRACUSE Linebackers

Kellen Pruitt. 80 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks. Returning Starter.
Kelvin Smith. 53 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 INT.
Jerry Mackey. 106 tackles, 7.0 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF. Returning Starter.

An underrated linebacking corp, Syracuse will field a very fast, athletic, and deep group this season. Smith moved to the middle in the spring and looks to stay at that position in the fall. The problem is, that's where Mackey started last season and led the team in tackles. After missing the spring with an injury, Mackey will have to work hard to regain his starting spot in the middle. If he does, Smith will move back to the outside. Pruitt (left) is a two year starter on the outside with very good pass protection skills. Now on the strongside, he will be called on more this year though to help with run support. Depth: In addition to all three starters, the entire 2nd team for Syracuse returns as well. Backing up Pruitt is special teams contributor and sophomore Vincenzo Giruzzi, who is considered the fastest linebacker on the team. Former defensive end Tommy Harris will start out backing the weakside linebacker spot while Jameel McCain will contribute at middle linebacker.

STANFORD Linebackers

Jon Alston. 62 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 10.0 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FR, 3 FF. Returning Starter.
Michael Okwo. 39 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1 FR.
Kevin Schimmelmann. 58 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 INT, 2 FF. Returning Starter.
Timi Wusu. 20 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks.

Another 3-4 defense and another star linebacker in Jon Alston (right). Outside linebacker Alston is considered one of the best in the Pac-10 and along with two year starter and inside linebacker Kevin Schimmelmann will be the leader of the Cardinal defense. Joining Schimmelmann along the inside is Michael Okwo who doesn't have much experience at linebacker but was name 1st Team All-Pac 10 last year as a special teamer. The 4th outside linebacker position isn't completely solid as a few players are still fighting to be named the starter. Wusu, a track decathlete and former football walk-on, missed the spring with injury and is going to have to play well to see the field first. Depth: Challenging Wusu are Udeme Udofia and Emmanuel Awofadeju, who are both around 6'4", 240. Michael Craven and Mike Silva are also looking for playing time and add experience to a deep position.


2005 Opponent Analysis and Ranking

Linebacker is a tough position to predict before any games have started. The position can be filled with a variety of players and it's not unusual to see a former running back, defensive lineman, or safety show up in this unit. With so many new coaches on the schedule this year, it's even harder to try and figure out the starters, as multiple players are given shots in fall camp to impress the new guys making out the depth charts.

This year seems a bit of a mixed bag at linebacker. Some teams like Purdue and Washington bring back plenty of experience and production. Others are expecting new guys with litttle playing time to beat out more veteran players and be instant impacts on the defense.

One trend does seem to be a hell of a lot of linebacking speed (as opposed to size). Plenty of teams are putting their fastest players on the field and appear to be willing to perhaps give up a bit in the size department to make it happen. Of course, this doesn't automatically mean it will be easier to run on these teams. Rather, it seems a result of more teams (the Big 10 especially) moving towards more pass-happy offenses.

Here's my take on how our opponents shake out at linebacker.

1. Tennessee - Simon's health is the key to keeping this spot. Plenty of experience and depth.
2. Purdue - Experience, production, and a future star in Williams on the bench.
3. USC - Lacking experience, but way too much talent not to be productive.
4. Michigan - New faces and an added emphasis on speed. Quality depth.
5. Washington - Veteran experience and proven production. Strength of the Husky football team.
6. Syracuse - Joins Tennessee as only opponent with two Butkus Award candidates.
7. Pittsburgh - Blades is a top level player. Need surrounding cast to compliment him.
8. Stanford - Alston is one of the Pac-10's best. A squad that could move up these rankings by the end of the year.
9. BYU - Like Blades at Pitt and Alston at Stanford, Jensen is a great linebacker surrounded by average talent.
10. MSU - Herron is a quality linebacker and there are some talented linebackers hoping to make a mark.
11. Navy - Should be a decent group, especially with Mahoney, but not enough to move out of 11th place.

Next up, and finally, secondaries.

Survey Says... | by Jay

How do you think the Irish will do this year? Here's a short prediction survey for the '05 season.

'05 Prediction Poll

Once you're done, check out the live results here:

Poll Results

Forecasting | by Jay

Weather's looking pretty good for Pitt, but that's not the kind of forecasting we're talking about. Time to get on the record and break out our Season Predictions.

---

Game 1: this Saturday @ Pitt.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Confidence
W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	100%

Commentary:

Mark - I still can't believe we lost to a team that got beat by Nebraska and went to OT with FURMAN. Just do what we did in 2003: bracket their go-to receiver, stone the running game, and push it down their throats.

Mike - Pitt's DL leads to excessive "Darius for Heisman" exuberance on ND message boards.

Sean - Win, 35-23. Wannstedt has half a moustache and parts his hair in the middle like it's 1984. 'Nuff said.

---

Game 2: September 10th @ Michigan.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Sanguineness
L	W	L	W	L	L	L	L	25%

Commentary:

Dylan - Man-boobs gets us at home, before we work out the kinks.

Sean - Lose, 28-24.

Mark - I will take every opportunity to bust Carr for being a crap coach on the road. That being said, they have lost one game at home in the last four years. They are a whole different team in the Big House.

Michael - I'm predicting a win.

Mike - The home team has won every game in this series since I was in junior high. Michigan is the home team.

---

Game 3: September 17th vs Michigan State.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Buoyancy
W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	100%

Commentary:

Sean - Winner, 31-17.

Mike - This is the year we finally stop taking dumps against the Spartans.

Dylan - Time to get back on steroids, Sparty.

Mark - John L. Smith has a screw loose. Drew Stanton is a difference-maker at QB, but if we lose to these guys yet again I might just take a crap in my hat.

---

Game 4: September 24th @ Washington.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Optimism
W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	100%

Commentary:

Sean - 42-14, okay?

Mike - win that feels like a loss; anything less than a 50 point margin of victory will be a disappointment. Let's steal a page from Spurrier's book and go with the onside kick on the opening kickoff. I'd be confident with that against UW's special teams.

Mark - Woof, woof. Kent, meet Charlie.

Dylan - "45 points is a lot of points to relinquish, okay? We tell our young men that football is a contest that one cannot win when giving up more points than are scored."

---

Game 5: October 1st @ Purdue.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Positivism
W	L	L	L	W	W	L	W	50%

Commentary:

Dylan - We'll win. I don't care how much of their defense is back.

Mark - Yeah, they killed ND last year. Overall, they were a 7-5 football team that couldn't score against teams in the big ten. Tighten up our performance on special teams and red zone offense and we win. (Oh, and coverage schemes on their 3-yard line.)

Mike - West Lafayette inferiority complex has thoroughly permeated Purdue's players and coaching staff. Even they know they shouldn't go undefeated in the regular season. Since they don't play UM or OSU they will have to lose this one.

Sean - a 23-17 loss.

---

Game 6: October 15th vs Southern Cal.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Hopefulness
W	L	L	L	L	L	L	W	25%

Commentary:

Dylan - Win. 'Nuff said. On this day, the echoes that Davie tried to smother with a pillow in 2000, will be awakened.

Mark - Still way too much talent for them, too little depth for us. But we might actually score some points in the second half.

Mike - a loss, but not nearly as ugly as Willingham's routine 31-point pantsings.

---

Game 7: October 22nd vs BYU.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Color
W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	100%

Commentary:

Dylan - From this day forward, as it once was, there should be no analysis wasted on the BYU game. It was a "W" when they signed the contract.

Mark - Unless his last name is Nagurski, I am not impressed by dudes named Bronco. Maybe Charlie will teach the offense how to pick up the blitzes that this cat likes to run. I think he will.

Mike - We'll surpass last year's rushing total against BYU on our first drive.

---

Game 8: November 5th vs Tennessee.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Jocundity
W	L	L	W	L	L	W	L	37.5%

Commentary:

Dylan - We beat them last year, on the road, in spite of our shitty coaching staff. We'll beat them this year.

Mark - Phat Phil doesn't impress me as a game day coach. Two weeks to get ready. Potential upset (despite my prediction).

---

Game 9: November 12th vs Navy.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Bullishness
W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	100%

Commentary:

Dylan - Win. Pluck only goes so far.

Mark - A crap ND team last year owned their best team in forever. Win.

Mike - A win, although Johnson is one of the better coaches we'll face this year.

---

Game 10: November 19th vs Syracuse.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Orangeness
W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	100%

Commentary:

Dylan - Win.

Mike - Win.

Mark - If we lose two in a row to Syracuse, it's time for seppuku.

---

Game 11: November 26th @ Stanford.

Alert Level

Prediction:

Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds	Aspirationalism
W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	100%

Commentary:

Mark - A game that scares me. Harris is a good fit for Stanford and Teevens recruited some decent talent. Should be closer than most think but ND will grind them down and win.

Dylan - We will keep their "Director of Tracking Opponent Touchdowns" busy.

---

In summary...

	Dylan	Jay	Mark	Michael	Mike	Pat	Sean	Teds
Pitt	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
Michigan	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	L
Michigan State	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
Washington	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
Purdue	W	L	L	L	W	W	L	W
Southern Cal	W	L	L	L	L	L	L	W
BYU	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
Tennessee	W	L	L	W	L	L	W	L
Navy	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
Syracuse	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
Stanford	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	W
	10-1	8-3	7-4	9-2	8-3	8-3	8-3	9-2

Extra Credit questions...

• Identify a possible upset game; that is, a game we should lose but may be able to pull off.

Mark - USC. Big question marks for the Trojans on defense. And no one is talking about their kicking game. That is also a question mark. Two weeks to get ready.

Dylan - The upset games are obvious. We, as of right now, have no business beating USC or Tennessee (leaving aside the fact that we beat them last year). If these games were on the road, I'd consider them lock losses. At home, I like our chances of rattling the Poodle (sans 3/4 of his brain trust, avec a QB coming off elbow surgery) and Phat Phil, especially since there will no doubt be a renewed emphasis on defending the home turf.

Michael - Michigan. I'm predicting a win. Charlie should be able to outwit their defensive coordinator Jim Herrman, who has driven UM fans crazy the last few years. They can't make up their mind whether they're a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense, their safeties are a huge question mark and they have to replace both starting corners. Even though it's on the road, and we'll be an underdog, I think this is a game we could win. Offensive match-ups are favorable to us, and it's going to come down to our pass rush and our back seven's ability to defend the pass.

Mike - Michigan. While their offense should be much better than last year, I don't see any improvement to the defense that we ran on last year.

Pat - Michigan. Weis should save a few tricks for Carr and Co. up in Michigan. Our new offense plus their leaky secondary and questionable defensive coaching equals possible upset in Ann Arbor.

Sean - I'm going with Tennessee. They'll be coming off a brutal SEC stretch and Weis has two weeks to prepare.

Teds - Clearly, I think it's Southern Cal. They're ripe for the taking, and ND's record following bye weeks as well as the odd things that happen when #1's come to town speak for themselves. I know that Charlie will talk about taking them one at a time, but this is the game on the schedule I suspect he has circled in his head as the one that could immediately elevate the program as well as establish his legacy.

---

• How about a pitfall game? (A stub-the-toe game, a shit-the-bed game). That is, a game we should win, but might blow.

Teds - BYU. It's the one right after SC, and you can't always coach away a letdown.

Sean - Depending on how emotional the SC game is, I could see us coming out very flat for BYU the following week, especially since it's sandwiched between SC and Tennessee.

Pat - Michigan State is a possibility. Crazy Legs Stanton is the big X-factor. Emotion will be sky high for Weis' first home game. Will the players lose their cool early? MSU has had our number of late and could steal another one late in the 4th quarter.

Mike - MSU. We have quite the history of shitting the bed in this series.

Michael - BYU. Even though we lost to them last year, and there is good reason to expect we'll be up for the game and ready to exact revenge, it's after the USC game...potential let-down game. Additionally, Bronco Mendenhall's 3-3-5 defense isn't easy to prepare for, and at the same time, the defense will have their hands full trying to prepare for the new Air Raid offense that Cougar offensive coordinator Robert Anae brought with him from Texas Tech. Both sets of coaches will have their hands full with gameplanning and both the players and coaches might have a rough week depending upon what happens against USC.

Mark - Pitt is a potential trap, right off the bat. No one is going to convince me that ND isnt a more talented team, but it's on the road and it's the first game of the Weis era. There are bound to be some kinks to work out.

Dylan - Pitt. We should win the line of scrimmage and minimize Palko. But we might not.

---

• Who's the team MVP going to be?

Dylan - Darius Walker, who will rush for 1,500 yards.

Mark - The O Line. If they live up to their potential ND is going to be able to run and pass and protect the defense. If they don't....

Michael - Brady Quinn. The quarterback is the most important player in this offense...hands down.

Mike - Quinn. About as obvious a pick as Hawk Harrelson picking Frank Thomas as his "pick to click" for 534 consecutive games in the mid-90s, but sometimes the obvious pick is the right one.

Pat - Brady Quinn. Boring pick, but if Weis' offense has any impact on this team, it's going to benefit Quinn the most. The Mighty Quinn cliches will be worn out by October as Brady works himself into a Heisman candidate for 2006. MVP - Defense - Brandon Hoyte. For all the talk about the Apache backer and the changes made to the secondary, Hoyte has sort of gotten lost in the shuffle. Not only will he lead the Irish in tackles, he will be the easy pick for defensive MVP not only for his athletic skills, but also for his leadership abilities.

Sean - Quinn is too easy a choice here. He would be my pick but to go contrarian, I'll go with Darius Walker. I think people get very caught up in the passing game with Weis' offense, but Walker has a legit chance to go over 1,200 yards this season.

Teds - Brady Quinn. If this team exceeds expectations this season, it's likely to be the offense carrying most of the load. I don't know that the lightbulb will go on quite as violently as it did for Carson Palmer in his final year, but I expect to see Quinn establish himself as one of the better QBs in the country this season.

---

• How about a surprise or breakout player for this season?

Teds - Rashon Powers-Neal. I think his flexibility makes him an attractive weapon to Weis and the offensive staff, and I expect him to play as big a role in the offense as anyone aside from Quinn and perhaps Walker.

Sean - Corey Mays. Talented guy finally gets his chance.

Pat - Rather than pick some freshman or sophomore, I'm going with a senior. Maurice Stovall. Many Irish fans have resigned him to Built Like Tarzan, Play Like Jane status but this is the year he guarantees himself a big NFL payday. He'll lead the team in receiving touchdowns.

Mike - Ferrine. One of the CBs has to emerge.

Michael - Corey Mays. A lot of new names on defense, but Mays will be a stalwart run-stopper in the middle.

Mark - Brian Beidatsch. He follows in the tradition of Ryan Roberts and Greg Pauly, that is, unsung guys who eventually broke out.

Dylan - My surprise player is Ndukwe, and it's not that big a surprise. I see the emergence of a bigger, badder Tom Carter.

---

• Finally, any general expectations for this year?

Dylan - I expect Charlie to live up to the hype. I expect the team to be disciplined and to play up to their ability, rather than down to Ty's. I will be satisfied with an 8-3 season, given that none of the three are Syracuse, Stanford, Navy, BYU, or MSU. If we beat any of the three best teams on the schedule in addition to beating the other eight, I'll be ecstatic. I'm sure Charlie's asking them, "Why not now?" That's how I feel, too.

Mark - I'd like to see a fundamentally sound football that doesnt beat itself, doesn't mail in games (BC, Syracuse, etc in 2003, Stanford and Pitt in 2004), improves over the course of the season and plays to its potential. We can be good, but there is paper thin depth. Our first 22 can play with any team in the country. Our second 22...

Michael - Even though my W/L prediction came out to 9-2, I think somehow we'll end up at 7-4 or 8-3. I just want to see an unpredictable offense which can put points on the board...I want us to be like Cal, a team which can wear teams down with a power running game and attack with a potent passing offense. I expect us, with the talent onhand, to be able to do that. On defense, I just want to see a more active secondary...we need more ballhawking from our corners and safeties. Only 5 interceptions last year from our secondary, and 1 of those was a hail mary at halftime of the Michigan State game. We have to find a way to create more turnovers on defense. I don't expect us to dominate, and I think we'll give up some yardage, but we have to force turnovers somehow. I also want to see us have a few mercy killings, so the back-ups can finally get some valuable playing time and we can rest starters.

Mike - Want to see - major improvement in the return game. It would take a lot just to bring us back to mediocre. I would like to see us be far better than mediocre. Don't want to see - injuries to Quinn, OL, or DL. Llloyd's pendulous mammaries. Keith Jackson. Bob Davie. The freshman part of the student section attempting to start the wave during critical third downs of close games. The Halls Fruit Breezers screaming fan of the game. Our coaching staff sporting the homeless Belichick look. Ushers approaching me at the games I am able to attend. Bill Kirk's roving binoculars and cameras. The crooked arm of the law while I am tailgating.

Pat - Things I don't want to see: the swinging gate on PATs, kickoffs bouncing before we pick them up, 12-men or delay of game penalties coming out of a timeout, uninspired play, playing against Stanford with bowl eligibility on the line.

Things I do want to see: our offensive line punish opposing lines and wear them down, knocking teams out in the first quarter, sticking with the run when the run is working, giving the starters the 4th quarter off in a few Irish blowout wins, special teams touchdowns, 50+ yard plays, winning a damn bowl game, opposing teams, coaches, and assorted media members wondering what the hell changed from last season's team.

I expect that win or lose, the Irish will be in every game this year. I expect players, especially the younger ones, to look better at the end of the season than they did at the beginning of the season. I expect Notre Dame to win games that people thought they wouldn't win. I expect people to realize that Notre Dame is on the fast track back to football respectibility.

A Chat with my Inner Dialogue | by Jay

(Following is a transcript of a conversation that recently took place inside my head)

Eight days. EIGHT DAYS!

Man, get ahold of yourself.

Who said that?

It's me, your inner dialogue.

Inner dialogue? I have an inner dialogue?

Yep, and you got to cool that shit off! And that's the double-truth, Ruth!

My inner dialogue talks like Shaft?

No, I was just quoting Mister Señor Love Daddy in Do the Right Thing. Remember when things were getting really excited, and everybody needed to just CHILL OUT? And Mookie--

Yeah, yeah, I remember. So, what the hell do you want?

I'm here to drop some reality on you.

Aha. I get it. You're going to remind me that that date with Elizabeth Hurley I've always dreamed about is probably never going to happen. I know. I'm pretty much resigned.

Nope. I'm talking about the Irish. Notre Dame. The Dome, and its new Savior, Charlie Weis. You know, the 'new era' and 'reclaiming the glory' and 'we're done f---ing around' and all that stuff.

Hey man, that's my team you're talking about. You better back the hell off!

Dude, I'm your inner dialogue, I can't back off anywhere. Listen, you really do need to calm down. I know you think that Charlie Weis is the bomb, or, the 'shizznit' if you prefer, but you've been getting way ahead of yourself. Have you read some of the stuff you've written on your little 'blog'? Pollyanna herself would blush.

What's not to be excited about? Charlie's the Man with the Plan. Have you seen his finger jewelry?

Okay, see, that's what I'm talking about. You look at the Super Bowl rings, and see reflected Glory and a return to the top for Notre Dame. I look at Charlie coming from the NFL, trying to install a pro-style offense in just over six months. Did you ever stop to think that that's pretty much an impossible task? You think our team of 19- and 20-year olds are going to be able to absorb what Charlie's been working on for twenty years? Your expectations are through the roof.

He'll break it down into bite-sized chunks for them. He's not going to give them anything they can't handle. He'll keep it simple.

Oh yeah? Have you seen the wristbands?

Wristbands?

Yeah, Minter's got the defense wearing these wristbands with all the plays listed out on them. You call that 'keeping it simple'? It's insane. It's going to be '93 Boston College all over again. Way too complex.

Dude, it's not going to be that bad. I'm sure Charlie's not trying to install everything all at once.

That's the problem. With the offense he's been running for years, this is going to be like trading in a Porsche for a Hyundai for him. And he'll get frustrated doing it, not being able to work in all the wrinkles and subtleties that he could with a professional squad, whose only focus is football. Our guys have a limited practice availability, plus on top of that they're actually college students with a full slate of classes to deal with. They don't have all the free time in the world. Can Charlie work within those constraints?

Well, he used to be a college coach. And high school. Hell, he's got a masters in education. He knows what it's like to work with student-athletes.

Glad you brought that up. When's the last time Charlie was a HEAD coach? That's right: high school. This is a whole new ball of wax for him. Sure he smiles and nods and exudes every confidence in the post-practice videos, but he's learning on the job just as much as his players are. He can't simply focus on Xs and Os and let Belichick do all the administrative dirty work; it's his bus to drive now, and the transition can't be smooth sailing.

He's from ND, he knows the drill.

Yeah, but he's got things he's got to deal with he's never even dreamed of before! Alums. Boosters. Glad-handling. Alums. ND faculty. Speeches galore. Alums. Appearances. Alums. Plus, all the mundane administrative stuff: managing the roster. Setting the schedule. And finally, keeping the pulse and the tempo of the team, and maintaining a culture of excellence, all by himself. Football teams are top-down organizations, and this organization will reflect Charlie Weis, for better or worse. The best you can say at this point is that he's unproven on all of these things.

Wait a second. It's not like he's going riding into the valley of death all by himself here. Hell, he went out and hired a great, veteran staff, full of ex-head coaches whom he can lean on.

Ever hear the phrase, "too many cooks"? What happens when there's a little controversy, and suddenly Lewis and Minter and Vaas are all telling him, "this is the way 'I' would have handled it", and Charlie disagrees, because he's got an ego the size of New Jersey. It's a recipe for disaster. The guy has a history of thinking he knows better.

Well, he IS a little cocky.

A 'little'? Yeah, and Chandra Johnson's a 'little' bald.

Look, if things go smoothly, this brain trust could be a great thing, with all that expertise bouncing off each other. It might be just what we need for a great season.

Dream on. Have you looked at the schedule? Five opponents in the top twenty-five. Three of the top four teams in the country. Let me repeat that: THREE OF THE TOP FOUR TEAMS--

Okay, I got it, I got it. Yeah, but I think we've got a chance against all of them. Even USC. Um...hello?

I'm sorry, I just passed out from an idiocy overload. Did you even bother to look at our opponents rosters? Leinart. Breaston. Palko. Bush. Jarrett. Stanton. Want me to keep going?

No, I gotcha--

Henne, Smith, White, Riggs, Rhodes, Ainge, Lee, Meachem, Watkins, Watson. I bet you don't even know who Gabe Watson is.

Yeah, he's, uh, a safety, I think, for...BYU?

Oh, man. You're in for a long season.

All right, well look. Even if we DON'T go 7-4, or 8-3 -- which I'm NOT conceding, by the way -- that doesn't mean things aren't working. Holtz was like 5-6 his first year, right? And yet, most people say that they saw discernible improvement that year. We can have a .500ish record and see the same thing.

Yeah, but look at Willingham. 10-3 was a mirage. THAT could happen, too. A good season, followed by a death spiral.

This is ridiculous. We've got a lot of experience on offense coming back, and--

Yeah, a GREAT offense -- one that ranked 81st in the nation last year. And what about that defense? How many guys in our secondary have any real game experience? We're greener than Gumby back there! I mean, look at the receivers and quarterbacks we're going to face. Palko's gonna carve us up. What'd he do last year, 400 yards and 5 touchdowns? Holy hell. What happened last time at Michigan? That's right, 38-0. USC: I shudder to think. For Leinart, picking us apart will be easier for him than picking up chicks at SkyBar. You think Tennessee won't be looking for revenge after how they stubbed their toe against us? BYU - we rushed for eleven yards against them. ELEVEN. And so on, and so on. And you know what? As brutal as the schedule is, that's not even the worst thing we're facing.

There's something worse?

Everything I've already mentioned could be ten times worse if say, Ryan Harris blows out a knee. Brady Quinn goes down. Trevor Laws gets chop-blocked by dirty Purdue linemen and we lose him for the season.

You're really bumming me out.

Look at the depth chart. Who's going to step up if we suffer an injury? We're precariously thin, and what football team goes through an entire season without injuries...

...And another thing, while we're on the topic. How about Charlie's propensity to get 'too cute' with his playcalling? Huh? How about that? That's gonna burn us at some point. And what about his health? I don't even want to think about that. Oh, and he cusses WAY too much for a Catholic school. That's not the image we want, and if he keeps it up and butts heads with the CSC, he'll get run out of here before we know it. That's if he doesn't get bored with the college game and all its petty NCAA restrictions first. And then where will we be? Back into another gawd-awful coaching search!

(Suddenly, a distant noise is heard)

chugga...chugga...chugga....

What the hell is that?

chugga...chugga...chugga...chugga...CHOO CHOOOOO!

Holy crap, it's Marco!

Marco, how'd you get in here?

Marco: I borrowed some of Charlie Weis' OMNIPOTENCE. He has plenty to spare, my friends.

Marco, I'm glad you're here! My inner dialogue was really bumming me out. Dropping reality on me and stuff. I was on the verge of tears.

Marco: Glory, my friend. Glory. Like Moses, Charlie will take us to the Promised Land. He will strike his staff upon the ground and turn it into a SERPENT that will destroy the heathen Wolverine. He will part the RED SEA of TROJANS and drown them along with their silly white horses. He will talk to a burning bush, and subsequently BURN THE TREES (Stanford). He will cast a PLAGUE on college football, and He will carve, in STONE, a new law: I am CHARLIE WEIS, who brought you out of PERSECUTION. Thou shalt not have FALSE COACHES before you. I will lead you to the PROMISED LAND!

Oh, Christ. I'm out of here (footsteps trailing; a door slams)

I love you Marco. Glory!

P6: standings | by Jay

Link to the Pick Six standings (updated with all entries) can be found here, and also throughout the season at the top of the sidebar to the right.

(Amazingly, it's still not too late to jump in on this. Click here for rules & the entry link.)

Harris Poll: spitting parts on the on-ramp | by Jay

I don't know what's more embarrassing, that the Harris folks never considered that Holtz and DiNardo wouldn't be allowed to participate by ESPN, or that "Fruit Breezer Screaming Fan of the Game" Jason Rash actually made it to the final pollster list before being found out. Per USA Today:

ESPN subsequently pulled out as a co-sponsor of the coaches' poll. "The Harris poll has a direct connection to the BCS standings," network spokesman Josh Krulewitz said. "We've said all along we wouldn't have our commentators participate in the Harris poll, and it (removal of Holtz, DiNardo and Congemi) is consistent with our decision to pull out of the coaches' poll."

Scratch, too, from Harris' panel of 114 voters: Jason Rash. He was one of 10 panelists drawn from a pool of nominees from the Sun Belt Conference but was found not to fit the requirement of being a former athletics administrator, coach or player or media member. He's the son-in-law of Troy coach Larry Blakeney and a fan.

"If this gives fans access to what we're doing ... I'm OK with that," Sun Belt Commissioner Wright Waters said before BCS officials called Wednesday to say they weren't.

Well of course you're okay about giving a random fan a vote, Wright...you don't give two craps about the BCS. And why should you? You're the Sun Belt. LA-Lafayette and Arkansas State aren't going to be contending for the title anytime soon. He knows it, so he picked his favorite coach's son-in-law to represent, probably as a goof or on a dare. And you know what? I kind of like that f--- it attitude. He doesn't care; he knows it's all a joke anyway.

The funny thing is, Rash probably has more cred than Terry Bradshaw, who's also a pollster. (Said Hollywood Henderson once, famously: "Bradshaw couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the 'c' and the 't'.") At the very least, Rash has his Saturdays free to watch some football, unlike Terry. I'd trust him to fill out a more reasonable ballot than Bradshaw.

So I'm sitting here trying to figure out how Rash made it to the final cut, and I'm looking at the list, and Jason Rash is listed without any qualifying remark like "former AD" or "former player" or "media" on his one-line resume. It's just, "Jason Rash" -- blank. I guess that was a red flag for the BCS. (Maybe in Jason Rash's circle of influence, his name is all the introduction he needs. In fact, it's probably a nickname like "the Rasher". Unfortunately that's no help to those outside of the Rasher's world, but it would have been cool to see names like "the Rasher" and "Sully" and "Frank the Tank" on the list of voters.) So look out Ken Shipp and Lou St. Amant (the other two "blanks" on the list) -- you guys better fill in that resumé, and quick.

(Okay, I googled for you guys. Shipp coached the Jets for one year, and may or may not be a former head coach at Middle Tennessee State. And St. Amant was an assistant football coach at Louisiana-Monroe and now broadcasts ULM baseball games. Therefore, they look like two more Sun Belt nominees. Assist to me.)

And Kevin Donahue of Fanblogs.com tosses a few more darts at the list. Among the other question marks in the Harris Poll:

• Kevin Duhe currently is territory manager for Blue Bell Ice Cream. He played at Northeast Louisiana.
  
  
• Former SMU quarterback Lance McIlhenny was quoted in the Dallas Morning News as saying: "Any given weekend, if I'm fly-fishing, how am I going to make sure by 1 o'clock on Sunday that this Harris group will have my input?"
  
  
• Voter Kenny Roda, a radio talk show host in Cleveland, has a link to "Hotties" on his Web site. It includes (clothed) shots of Playboy Playmates and "pickup lines to bag a hottie."
  
  
• George Lapides, a Memphis-based radio host, has a link to a gambling service at the top of his personal Web site.

Since Holtz and DiNardo are out, we're going to need more Irish representation on this board. Phil Donhue's looking for a job. So is my buddy Dan (resumé: domer, good section football player). But frankly, we'd like to nominate ourselves. Surely, we're more legitimate than Jason Rash. I mean, we at least run a website, after all. Look for us on the next iteration of the Harris poll: "BGS - unbiased, unwashed Irish football recidivists. And proud Harris poll voters."

UPDATE: Pat here throwing in my two cents. Does this mean Rocket will have to drop out of the poll as well? His hip-hop album website, if that counts as a credible source, mentions that he's signed on for a second year with ESPN College GameDay. So, if ESPN is going to be the kid that took his ball and went home, won't they make Rocket excuse himself from the poll as well? He is only involved to the extent that he does pre-scripted bits before games and isn't really involved in any analysis -- not that you can call what goes on during GameDay "analysis" -- but you never know what ESPN is going to do.

And another correction. In the previous Harris poll post, we guessed former ND AD Roger Valdiserri was an Irish nominee. Valdiserri himself clears up that notion in a Chicago Tribune article.

Valdiserri, though, said Notre Dame, where he worked as an administrator for 33 years, did not nominate him for the poll.

"I'm not sure they even know I worked there," he joked.

And Valdiserri said his ties to the school would have zero impact on how he votes.

"Notre Dame will have to be awfully, awfully good for me to put them in the Top 25," he said.

That seems to confirm that the three Irish representatives were Holtz, Rocket, and former player Jim Morse.

As for the replacements? Originally ND submitted 10 names to Harris, and they picked three at random. So I suppose another random draw for the Irish will happen very soon.

Blogpollin' | by Jay

The first weekly BlogPoll is out, care of the Karl Hungus of the blogosphere, mgoblog. (And here's our ballot, for what it's worth.)

The blogpollers weren't too terribly different from the USA Today/Coaches or AP preseason polls. In fact, the BP selected the same collection of top 25 teams as did the coaches (the AP only swapped Fresno State for Alabama), and the only severe variances (relatively speaking) were Miami, Ohio State, and Alabama.

BlogPoll 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Team Southern Cal Texas Tennessee Michigan Louisiana State Miami (Florida) Oklahoma Virginia Tech Ohio State Iowa Florida Louisville Georgia Florida State Auburn Texas A&M Purdue Cal Boise State Arizona State Texas Tech Alabama Boston College Pittsburgh Virginia

AP 1 2 3 4 5 9 7 8 6 11 10 12 13 14 16 17 15 19 18 20 21 26 22 23 25

Coaches 1 2 3 4 6 8 5 7 9 10 11 14 13 12 15 17 16 20 19 18 21 24 22 25 23

BPVariance 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.22 1.56 0.89 0.22 2.00 0.22 0.22 0.89 0.00 0.89 0.22 0.22 0.67 0.67 0.22 0.89 0.00 2.67 0.22 0.67 0.89

I'm curious to see if the BP will do anything drastically different than the official polls as the season unfolds. For now, it looks we're all flying down the same trench, heading for the same denouement.

Ticket Montage | by Jay

Thanks to BGS reader Trace for sending this in. Click the pic for a larger version.

Threepeat Blues | by Jay

We know that if Southern Cal wins the National Championship it will be the first time in Division 1A history that a team has three-peated for the crown.

But recently, a couple of ink slingers have noted it shouldn't be the first time: an undefeated (and untied) Alabama team, the argument goes, was cruelly denied a third consecutive NC in 1966, when the dastardly AP and UPI writers mistakenly awarded it to Notre Dame.

An example of this claim, care of Scott Adamson of the Birmingham Post-Herald:

Trojans should be going after Tide's mark

Look at virtually any preseason college football magazine -- as well as the preseason polls -- and Southern California is at the top of the list.

Ranking the Trojans No. 1 and predicting they'll hold that position at the end of the season is a no-brainer. Pete Carroll's club is loaded, and the schedule is conducive to a run for the Bowl Championship Series title game at the Rose Bowl. Thus, if USC winds up the 2005 campaign with a 13-0 worksheet, it'll mark the first time in Division 1-A history a team has been awarded three consecutive national championships.

Such a feat is unprecedented, but it shouldn't be.

The honor should belong to Alabama, circa 1964-66...

Most fogies like me remember how and why Alabama was denied.

In 1966 Bryant's men had one close game -- an 11-10 victory over Tennessee in Knoxville. The Vols had a chance to win on a last-second field goal, but the short try from a tough angle sailed wide and Alabama remained unscathed.

They would remain that way the rest of the year, and absolutely steamrolled the opposition. When the regular season was completed, the Tide had outscored its foes 267-37 and recorded six shutouts. In fact, Alabama entered the Sugar Bowl against Nebraska with four consecutive goose eggs delivered by its defense.

But this was a year in which it really didn't matter who the pachyderms beat or how badly.

Notre Dame was destined for a No. 1 finish, and the Fighting Irish got it.

Ara Parseghian's club was anointed by the media as the greatest team to ever strap on the pads, and the Irish were expected to easily dispose of Michigan State in East Lansing. However, the game ended in a 10-10 draw, with Notre Dame opting to kill the clock late to preserve the tie.

Instead of Alabama vaulting to No. 1, Notre Dame and Michigan State stayed 1-2, respectively. Even though the Crimson Tide routed the Cornhuskers 34-7, when the polls were released Jan. 3 Alabama was still third.

Talk about the luck of the Irish.

Not only did Notre Dame have a blemish on its record, it still managed to finish ahead of a team that played it even for four quarters. Meanwhile, Bryant and company could only look on and seethe. It was arguably the best team in school history, yet the crimson gridders had to play third fiddle to a couple of teams with imperfect records.

As always Bryant had a classic response to the slight. When asked how he thought his team would fare against Notre Dame and Michigan State, he took a puff off his Chesterfield and never missed a beat:

"We'd like to play 'em both," Bryant said. "On the same day."

Dennis Dodd also gave his own Chatty-Cathy cord a pull, calling 1966 "one of the most heinous ripoffs in poll history."

Now, I didn't know much about the supposed screw-job of the Tide in '66. From my standpoint, and the standpoint of other Irish fans, the story sort of begins and ends with the fact that ND had a great team in '66 and was well-deserving of the crown. If any other team had a claim to the title, it was Michigan State (who actually did come out on top in a couple of polls).

For 'Bama fans, however, it's a festering sore that reopens on occasion -- like when another team is about to threepeat, for instance. If you google "1966 Alabama", you'll find all kinds of lamentations and melancholy about the title that never was.

So, was 'Bama really deserving of the 1966 National Championship, as Dodd, Adamson, and no doubt at least half the state of Alabama claim? The main arguments in favor of the elephant go like this.

• Alabama was the preseason AP #1, and won every game. What more did you want them to do?

While it's true they were ranked #1, Alabama's preseason hold on the top spot was tenuous at best and the voting was very, very close. Bama had 15 first-place votes to Michigan State's 12. In fact, that tenuousness gave way almost immediately, as they fell out of first place on September 19th, without even having played a game yet. Michigan State had just stomped NC State, and that was enough to vault them into the lead. (ND, by the way, was ranked down at #6 at the time.)

So, it's not as if Bama was ranked #1 all season, and the voters pulled out the rug at the last second. In actual fact, Bama didn't have the #1 ranking even as they kicked off for their first game. By October 10th, ND had beaten very good teams in Purdue (9-2) and Army (8-2), and the Irish were up to #2. Bama, meanwhile, had feasted on non-Division-1A Louisiana Tech, a decent team in Mississippi, and mediocre Clemson, and consequently found themselves at #3, where they would remain for the rest of the year.

• Regardless of the rankings, Alabama's team was a powerhouse -- clearly, the best team in the country.

Alabama was indeed a powerhouse. Led by the Snake, Kenny Stabler, and eleven All-Americans, the Crimson Tide racked up 267 points in 10 games (excluding the win over Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl, which was after the AP & UPI voting), and only gave up 37. Simply amazing.

However, ND put up 362 points in 10 games, almost ten points better per game, and gave up only 38.

Furthermore, ND seems to have played a tougher schedule. Alabama's opponents had a collective losing record (41-50), while ND's opponents had a collective winning record (54-46). Both teams recorded six shutouts, although one shutout for Bama was against Louisiana Tech (a non-Division-1A team, as noted above). ND played and beat more ranked teams. ND beat the #7 (Purdue) & #18 (Southern Cal) teams in the country -- both ends of the Rose Bowl, as it turned out -- and tied the #2 team (more on that later). Alabama's only quality wins at the time of the voting were against Mississippi (#12) and Tennessee (#14).

One complaint often lodged against ND is that Ara ran it up in the last game to ice the #1 ranking, and it's true that we scrubbed the floor with the Trojans to the tune of 51-0. Still, USC wasn't a terrible team, and they did go on to play in the Rose Bowl with a 7-4 record.

Weighing heavily against Bama is the fact that they almost lost the Tennessee game, squeaking out a 11-10 win in just the fourth game of the season, and the voters punished them for it. ND, of course, had only one close game, but against a very high quality opponent -- the second best team in the land, as it turned out.

• Yeah, about that tie. It's a huge black mark. It means ND didn't win every one of their games, as Alabama did. Isn't 10-0 better than 9-0-1?

We all know about the Game of the Century, in which ND, with the ball on their own 30 and 1:10 to play, elected to run out the clock instead of trying for the end zone. After the game, Ara was excoriated for his supposed complacency, and he was quick to offer his rationale.

"I wasn't going to blow the game with an interception. The decision also was made in deference to [MSU placekicker] Dick Kenney's field goal ability... Earlier in the game, we would have had time to overcome a mistake. But with a minute and a half left we couldn't gamble. Strategy dictates that you don't take a chance on losing. We weren't playing for a tie as I think the 60 minutes of football we turned in proved it."

Often overlooked in this game is the fact that ND was missing its starting quarterback, Terry Hanratty, who was injured on the second series of the game; its starting running back, Nick Eddy, who exacerbated an injury stepping off the train in East Lansing; and its starting center, George Goeddeke, who left the game with an injury. In Hanratty's place was Coley O'Brien, a diabetic who was scarfing candy bars and gulping orange juice on the sideline to ward off a bout of insulin shock.

Ranked #1, in the second-to-last game of the season, with a minute left, a good kicker on the other team, and you with a not-completely-healthy backup QB at the reins, perhaps running out the clock was a good idea. Ara thought so. So did Rocky Bleier:

I've always defended Ara's reasoning. We'd been stripped of our offensive weapons, we'd come back from a 10-point deficit, our defense had kept MSU outside our 45-yard line in the second half. Then, the critics wanted us to throw long, desperate passes into a prevent defense that was specifically designed to intercept them. And consider our quarterback. Coley O'Brien is diabetic. He drank orange juice and ate candy bars on the sideline to maintain his insulin at a safe level. In this game, he was so tense that he recalls little or nothing of the action. Ara knew he'd done a great job bringing us back. He was not about to throw it all away with frivolous play-calling in the last minute.

Voters, of course, kept ND at the #1 slot after the game.

And yet, when Bama fans talk about the Game of the Century, they throw around terms like "blemish" and "black mark", as if the tie was as lousy and damning as a loss.

Well, when you're talking about the two best teams in the country playing to a 10-10 tie, it's not a blemish, it's a measure of equality. It's value-neutral. It means you weren't any better than the other team that day, but they weren't any better than you, either. And, it says nothing about the strength of your team vis-à-vis a third party.

Let's try a little syllogism. Ned and Mike are two tall guys who are the same height. A third guy, Al, is 6'3". Therefore, Al is taller than Ned.

(If you answered "True", you might be a Tide fan.)

• Big deal. Everybody knows the press had it out for Alabama, and their anti-Southern bias clearly shone through. Moreover, Notre Dame was a media darling that unfairly capitalized on its warm relationship with the national press.

Given the climate of the South in the Civil Rights 60s, there actually might be something to this. Per the Bear Bryant Museum archives:

When it comes right down to it, many people have speculated that sports writers and the wire service polls were biased against Alabama. After all, this was the Alabama of George Wallace, “Bull” Conner’s police dogs and fire hoses, and the Montgomery bus boycotts among other things. On top of that the Crimson Tide itself was still an all-white team. By this time, both Notre Dame and Michigan State had African-American players.

Jim Murray, the Pulitzer Prize winning sports writer for the LA Times, was severely critical of Alabama. Speaking in a 1966 article, Murray suggested that Alabama “change the lyrics (of “Dixie”) ever so slightly like “do the folks keep segregatin’ – till I ca’int win no polls.” And again, in 1970 when USC traveled to Birmingham to play Alabama, Murray wrote, “they thought they only had to beat Georgia Tech. What they had to beat was 100 years of history.” He claimed “the only black guy in the place was carrying towels.”

Dodd documents a little of the flavor of the times as well.

Turns out another kind of outrage might have been working. It played itself out on TV every night on the nightly news. No one can say for sure if The Movement crossed paths with The Polls, but [Alabama historian Phillip] Shanks certainly thinks so.

"I'm awful afraid politics got involved in it," said Shanks, who is writing a history of Alabama football. "Alabama was not getting a lot of (good) publicity back then. (Former governor) George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door. We had an all-white team.

"I was living through it here, every night on TV. It was embarrassing, we hated for that to impact our football team."

In the fall of 1966, the civil rights movement was in full flower changing a state, a nation and minds. Alabama was its stage. No one can say for sure but for one season, it seems that the noble struggle for equal rights and football intermingled.

Was Alabama the football team punished in the polls for being Alabama, the state of intolerance?

"Coach Bryant told us the fact that we didn't have any votes on the East Coast was his fault," said Jim Fuller, a defensive tackle on that '66 team. "We didn't have the integration of the other teams. He said, 'I'll never let that happen again.'"

And Notre Dame had the opposite situation...a lot of love, and maybe too much for some people. Time magazine put Hanratty and Seymour on the cover that season, only the second time in the 60s that a college football player appeared (trivia time: name the player who graced the other cover).

But you know, to prove a conspiracy, or even a complacent, insidious bias, you first have to show evidence that Alabama was clearly deserving on merit over every other team in the country. And as shown above, that just wasn't the case -- based on stats and scores, it isn't clear-cut. Both ND and Michigan state had very strong claims on #1, both in terms of statistical output and strength-of-schedule. It's perfectly reasonable to assume voters deemed ND the best team based on measurable benchmarks, and not fuzzy political agendas.

---

Here's how the final vote came down:

• 1 - Notre Dame, 41 1st-place votes, 506 points
• 2 - Michigan State, 8 1st-place votes, 471 points
• 3 - Alabama, 7 1st-place votes, 428 points

While Bama may have been undefeated, clearly most voters thought ND was just simply a better team (and Michigan State a better team than Alabama, too, for that matter). The simple truth is that Alabama lost its #1 ranking right out of the gate, and did nothing terribly outstanding the rest of the season to prove they should have had it back.

That said, I can sympathize with Tide fans who feel some claim on the '66 title, as the Irish have also been been upset in pursuit of the threepeat. In 1948, ND seesawed through the season with Michigan for the top spot and a chance at the triple-whammy, when a late-season tie against Southern Cal opened the door for Michigan to claim the crown. Historically, however, ND has played the spoiler in couple of possible threepeats (Army in '46, Oklahoma in '57).

And come to think of it...we've got a chance at another spoiler this year, too...

What's the name? | by Jay

You know.

Full Ride Surprise | by Pat

Remember when I wrote that the scholarship numbers post would be wrong in under a month? Seems I was a bit optimistic. How about 72 hours?

Today walk-ons Casey Cullen, Rob Woods, and Brandon Harris were officially awarded scholarships for the 2005 season. It's a great reward for three guys that worked hard all year, and while their names might be somewhat unfamiliar, Woods and Harris have already logged a little game time and are expected to make even more contributions this season.

Harris, in particular, is getting looks at kick and punt returner and he's running with the second team on occasion at cornerback, according to various practice reports. Granted, "walk-on cornerback running with the second team" isn't exactly Plan A, but Harris sounds like he's quick enough to handle the work. Recently he was the subject of a profile in the South Bend Tribune that detailed his studies as a music major and his late entry into the world of big time college football. And given the fact that Weis has been rather reluctant to single out individual players for praise so far, his words about Harris reveal someone who might contribute more than just mop-up duty:

"When I came here, I wouldn't say I was concerned about the overall speed," Weis said. "I just didn't know what we had. But now that they're out there and you see them all running, all of a sudden you've got some guys who have some giddyup. And he's one of them. He has top-line speed."

Woods has the most playing time of the three new scholarship players as he appeared in the Washington, Purdue, and Oregon State game last season as a wide receiver and special teams player. Wide receiver is one of the deepest positions on the team this season, so Woods not might not get many reps at that spot, but he definitely will play a lot on special teams. Practice reports from the fall mention his consistency, and at 6'2", 208 he isn't going to be undersized when he steps on the field. I'm not sure what's more impressive about Woods; walking-on and then earning a scholarship at a deep position like wide receiver, or the fact he has a 3.95 GPA as a mechanical/aerospace engineer. I'm leaning towards the latter, as it's one heck of an accomplishment and a testament to his work ethic.

Cullen might be the longest shot to see the field this year, but he does suit up at a rather thin position. A defensive lineman, Cullen is going to need to add bulk if he's truly only 235 lbs, as listed. Almost reflexively, another undersized scout team defensive end pops into your head ("235 and nuthin! And hardly a speck of athletic ability!") and you almost feel sorry for the guy.

Then you read further in the press release and find out he was an all-state player in Texas who led his team to a 12-1 record and a state championship. So while he may find playing time hard to come by, he's no Rudy-shaped human tackling dummy. Odds are you will see #60 flying down the field on special teams during the season.

And when it comes to Irish bloodlines, I don't think anyone can touch Cullen. He's a triple legacy who had both mom and dad attend ND, as well as his grandfather. And his grandfather, Christy Flanagan, did more than just attend ND. He was a two-time All-American at halfback at Notre Dame under Knute Rockne.

That's the ticket | by Pat

The tickets for Notre Dame home games have been mailed out and I must say, they look nice. They appear to form a mural of sorts when viewed together, celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Notre Dame Stadium. If people want to send in pictures of their tickets (actual tickets work too) we can try and stitch together what the tickets look like side by side.

One thing that is for certain, the current tickets look a lot better than some of the attempts at interesting tickets in the past, such as this gem from 1982.

Three Cheers for the Irish | by Pat

As has been reported before, the Harris Interactive College Football poll is replacing the AP poll as a contributor to the BCS bowl equation. Today, the identities of the 114 voters were released. Here is a description of how the voters were chosen.

Each of the 11 NCAA Division I-A conferences were asked to nominate up to 30 potential voters. Through random selection, Harris Interactive found 10 voters per conference. Notre Dame is represented by three voters and Army and Navy have a combined one vote. BCS conferences will hold a 55 percent majority, according to BCS spokesman Bob Burda.

However, with some nominees, the process was still a mystery.

"All I know is every conference must be represented, and being an ex-player from (UL-Monroe), I guess I'm representing the Sun Belt Conference," he(Duhe) said. "How they chose me, I don't know. It's like winning the lottery."

Here is a link to the names (pdf) of the voters. Have fun spotting the ex-coaches and ex-players on the list. How many connections to ND can you find?

From the looks of things, the three voters that seem to be the Irish nominees are Lou Holtz, Rocket Ismail, and Roger Valdiserri. For those that don't know who he is, Valdiserri worked in the Notre Dame administration for 33 years in a variety of roles including associate athletic director, but is best known for his longtime work as ND's Sports Information Director. He's a member of the College Information Sports Directors Hall of Fame and has received numerous awards for his work under the Dome. Remember the story about how Joe Theismann changed the pronuncation of his last name to rhyme with Heisman? That was Valdiserri's idea.

In a move that I wish the Coaches Poll and AP Poll would follow, the first Top 25 Harris poll will be released September 25th, after teams have had a chance to get a few games under their belt.

One vote for the Irish | by Pat

The pre-season AP poll came out and Notre Dame is starting the 2005 season the exact same way it started the 2004 season, with one lone AP vote. The difference being that this year the AP vote has pulled out of the BCS process and will not be used to place teams into the various BCS bowl games. It's replacement, the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, will include 114 voters -- consisting of former coaches, players, administrators, and a handful of various media members -- who will have their names released tomorrow. Here is this year's pre-season AP Top 25. Notre Dame opponents in bold.

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25	Team (first-place votes) Southern California (60) Texas (4) Tennessee (13) Michigan LSU Ohio State Oklahoma Virginia Tech Miami Florida Iowa Louisville (1) Georgia Florida State Purdue Auburn Texas A&M Boise State California Arizona State Texas Tech Boston College Pittsburgh Fresno State Virginia	Record 13-0 11-1 10-3 9-3 9-3 8-4 12-1 10-3 9-3 9-3 10-2 11-1 10-2 9-3 7-5 13-0 7-5 11-1 10-2 9-3 8-4 9-3 8-4 9-3 8-4	Points 1619 1500 1376 1329 1291 1205 1204 1184 1142 1080 1011 892 869 764 711 650 576 375 358 313 256 232 211 196 153	Final '04 rank 1 5 13 14 16 20 3 10 11 NR 8 6 7 15 NR 2 NR 12 9 19 18 21 25 22 23

Others receiving votes: Alabama (6-6) 121, Oregon (5-6) 97, Utah (12-0) 77, Georgia Tech (7-5) 62, Bowling Green (9-3) 57, North Carolina State (5-6) 57, Colorado (8-5) 38, UCLA (6-6) 19, Minnesota (7-5) 18, Iowa State (7-5) 18, Miami (Ohio) (8-5) 15, Penn State (4-7) 11, Texas El-Paso (8-4) 10, Oregon State (7-5) 8, Wisconsin (9-3) 5, Nebraska (5-6) 3, Memphis (8-4) 3, Clemson (6-5) 3, Colorado State (4-7) 1, Notre Dame (6-6) 1, Southern Mississippi (7-5) 1, Toledo (9-3) 1, Wyoming (7-5) 1, West Virginia (8-3) 1.

As mentioned previously, this will be the first time since 1963-64 that Notre Dame starts off consecutive seasons unranked. For all the recent rash of pro-Charlie Weis articles it seems that when push comes to shove, most media members don't have much faith in him to get the 2005 version of the Fighting Irish back into the Top 25.

Update:
I was trying to figure out which lone wolf cast his lot with the Irish and luckily the excellent fanblogs.com was nice enough to list out all the AP voters. Check it out.

Recruiting Rundown | by Pat

As we move into the football season we're going to try and bring some weekly features that cover a variety of topics. One of them is the recruiting rundown. Every week, we'll try and track down how the verbal commits are doing and link up any stories done about them in the local press. If we miss anything, or you happen to take in a game featuring said recruits, please feel free to shoot us an email and drop us a note in the comments field. Now then, on to the rundown. Most of the nation's high schools haven't started their seasons yet, so this week's update is rather short.

James Aldridge helped to put up a Playstation-esque 82-0 beatdown on East Chicago Central. Aldridge didn't play much as you can imagine, but still finished with 90 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on 8 carries before he was pulled early in the 2nd quarter. And that total includes a 13 yard loss where the QB pitched the ball over Aldridge's head. Not too shabby.

Luke Schmidt's first game featured an early halftime as lightning halted the game on Friday night. At the time Schmidt was cruising with 52 yards and a touchdown on only 4 carries. They picked up where they left off on Saturday night and Schmidt finished the game with 221 yards, 3 touchdowns, and a 2pt conversion on 30 carries as he team won 29-13. I'd expect the Indiana state rushing title to be a battle between Schmidt and Aldridge this year.

Raeshon McNeil had a quiet night as the other team threw away from his side of the field during his team's 35-14 victory. McNeil missed out on getting in as a wide receiver due to cramping but did manage to finish the game with three tackles.

Upcoming Games

If there is a big game coming up for the following weekend, we'll try to list it here in case you live in the area and want to check out the game. Again, any and all feedback is appreciated.

Demetrius Jones and Morgan Park will take on Mt. Carmel in Soldier Field next Saturday, which certainly is a big stage for two high school teams. We're still undecided if we believe the rumor that Jones will be the best QB on a Chicago team to play at Soldier Field this season.

And in other Notre Dame feeder school news, Kallen Wade and the Withrow Tigers will open up their season next week on the road against former ND linebacker Bob Crable and his Moeller Crusaders.

P6 | by Jay

A slew of people still wanted to jump in on the Paterno Drink Tray sweepstakes, so we're going to open up the Pick Six for another week. Details & entry link here. Don't tarry.

Rae of light | by Jay

By now you've probably read about prep player Raeshon McNeil casting his lot with ND and becoming the 12th recruit for ND's class of '06. We apologize for being a little late with our reaction, but seeing a top cornerback announce his decision live on ESPN, and actually pick the Irish, was enough to knock us out cold for a couple of days.

Getting a high quality corner to commit to Notre Dame, especially this early in the year, is almost as tough as getting my old roommate Mike to pick up a check. But Charlie & co's hard work earlier in the year paid off as McNeil selected the school he began to heavily consider after Coach Weis visited his school in Mocksville, NC back in May.

While many recruits give lip service to the importance of academics when chosing a school, McNeil, a near-4.0 student, made it a priority. He narrowed down his choice of schools to those that included his preferred college major: architecture. I've heard of a few players who majored in engineering over the years, but this is the first guy, to my recollection, who's going to be an Archie. (This should be interesting; I wonder how he'll manage the third-year-abroad in Rome with the demands of the football program.)

Raeshon also acknowledged that the lure of early playing time was pretty enticing:

"As it stands right now, I should be the only defensive back committed, and I think if I go in there and play well I should see action on the field pretty soon."

One of the best things about getting a highly ranked cornerback recruit like McNeil is that he's actually a cornerback. Sounds a bit funny, but let me explain. Notre Dame has had success in the past getting guys capable of playing the corner to attend Notre Dame; Ambrose Wooden and Terrail Lambert come to mind as recruits who selected the Irish over a large list of top-tier programs. But neither of them actually played cornerback extensively in high school (Wooden was his team's quarterback while Lambert was a linebacker in high school.) So while they certainly have the athletic ability to play it in college, they lacked the familarity with the position coming into Notre Dame. McNeil, on the other hand, is first and foremost a cornerback, and all that game experience will come in very handy and make the learning curve slightly less steep.

McNeil selected the Irish over most of the progams on the eastern seaboard (Clemson, North Carolina, NC State, South Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech, etc.) and sounds pretty excited about his choice.

"It was a hard decision to make, packing up and leaving everything I have known for 17 years and going off somewhere new. But right now, I am looking forward to making some new friends and having a good time at Notre Dame."

You know, the only possible negative on McNeil's resume is the name of his high school, but I'm glad ND didn't shy away from taking a good look at the kid from Davie County High. He sounds like a perfect fit, for the team and for ND.

It was my understanding there would be no math | by Pat

Yesterday the roster and defensive line depth chart took another hit when defensive tackle Brandon Nicolas left the program. He may or may not have seen much playing time this year, but his departure does affect a team that now only has two scholarship players at defensive tackle in the freshman and sophomore class. The same numbers exist in the freshman and sophomore class at offensive line as well so robbing Peter to pay Paul isn't a likely solution to the dearth of scholarship lineman currently on the team.

Now, the defensive line will be thin this year, but should still have enough bodies to be effective. However, recruiting defensive lineman, specifically tackles physically capable of playing early in their career, is now that much more important.

Which brings me to a topic that has become more relevant with each departing football player: recruiting and scholarship numbers. Here's a quick rundown of where Notre Dame stands with regards to number of players and just exactly how many scholarship offers Weis will have in his quiver for the coming year.

I'm going to skip listing out the names for each grouping, but if are interested I highly recommend you check out the excellent scholarship breakdown on IrishEyes. It's not exactly up to date as I'm sure they are waiting until the end of fall camp to update position shifts and document the most recent attrition. Using this list and the official roster, let's take a look at what Notre Dame has in the way of scholarships. Please keep in mind however that these numbers could easily change tomorrow. Nothing here is set in stone and by and large I will be ignoring such likely occurances such as career ending injuries and additional transfers. Ok, disclaimers out of the way, let's get on to the numbers.

Currently, the 2005 Fighting Irish have:

8 - 5th year seniors
2 - Seniors with no eligibility left
14 - Seniors with 1 year of eligibility left
5 - Juniors with 2 years left
15 - Juniors with 3 years left
3 - Sophomores with 3 years left
9 - Sophomores with 4 years left
15 - Freshman with 4 years left

That's 71 scholarship players out of a maximum of 85. Once the 8 5th years and 2 seniors use up their final season of eligibility, that will leave Notre Dame with 61 awarded scholarships out of a possible 85.

That means ND will have room for 24 scholarships if all 5th year eligble players return. (Note: I tackled specific rules regarding the number of scholarships in a given class at the bottom of this post.) Odds are not all 5th year eligible players will return, but given our recent losses, especially to the O-Line, many hopefully will stay. Weis has been quoted as saying he likes to keep a scholarship or two in his pocket to award to deserving walk-ons (like Brandon Harris) so let's subtract one scholarship and leave 23 available scholarships. Currently, ND already has 12 verbal commits. That leaves room for 10 more (again, assuming all 5th years come back and one scholarship is reserved for a walk-on or Travis Leitko). Sticking with that assumption, that will leave us in 2006 with:

15 - 5th year seniors (assuming Travis Leitko is back with the team)
5 - Seniors with 0 years left
16 - Seniors with 1 year left
3 -Juniors with 2 years left
9 - Juniors with 3 years left
15 - Sophomores with either 3 or 4 years left
22 - Freshman with 4 years left.

That total is 85; the maximum number of scholarship that Notre Dame can offer. Now, for the sake of recruitniks everywhere I'll take it a step further and project for 2007. Please realize though that this is somewhat like trying to predict the weather a year from now and it is highly likely that this list will be laughably wrong within a month, if not sooner.

Ok, again assuming all 16 5th years come back for 2007--which, realistically, is very unlikely--Notre Dame will have room for 20 recruits (15 fifth years plus 5 seniors with 0 years left graduating). Now, that's the minimum number of scholarships that Weis will have to offer and any additional attrition after this season will only serve to increase that number. In the end, I'd have to imagine that due to 5th years not coming back, career-ending injuries, players leaving early for the NFL (it could happen), and even more transfers, we will have room for another 23-25 guys in 2007.

What all this means is that Coach Weis will have ample opportunity to fill the roster with his recruits and should he get Notre Dame off to a hot start and catch the eye of top shelf recruits everywhere, he will have plenty of available scholarships to dole out.

One last thing about scholarships, numbers, and the rules surrounds early entry for recruits. Each college football program is allowed a maximum of 85 scholarships. Additionally, each program may only sign 25 recruits per recruiting class. However, if there is room under the 85-limit, a school may enroll a recruit a semester early and that recruit will count towards the previous recruiting class total, but only if the previous class was under the 25 player-per-class limit. For example, the current freshman class has 15 members. If ND admits someone a semester early for the upcoming recruiting class, that player will count as the 16th member of the current freshman class and still leave a potential 25 open slots in the current recruiting class, assuming of course that total is still under the 85 scholarship limit. Confused yet? Here's where it gets even more convoluted. Say the following year another player wants to enroll early. He may do so, but must be counted as a member of his current recruiting class since the previous class, now freshman, maxed out the 25 number limit. Hopefully that clears things up somewhat. There may or may not be a quiz on this material later so I hope you were paying attention. Class dismissed.

Six Picks | by Jay

Quick update on the P6 contest.

• We have 419 entries. (A couple people doubled up; no biggie). Thanks to everyone for their entries.

• Standings are now viewable. (Hope you remembered you entry name.)

• Blogpollers will be split out into a separate standings table soon.

• Here's how the picks broke down according to the six groups:

Group A: 1-5
Southern Cal	266 (63.48%)
Texas	99 (23.63%)
Tennessee	14 (3.34%)
Michigan	10 (2.39%)
Oklahoma	30 (7.16%)

Group B: 6-10
LSU	62 (14.80%)
Virginia Tech	67 (15.99%)
Miami (Fla.)	100 (23.87%)
Ohio State	79 (18.85%)
Iowa	111 (26.49%)

Group C: 11-15
Florida	119 (28.40%)
Florida State	31 (7.40%)
Georgia	61 (14.56%)
Louisville	185 (44.15%)
Auburn	23 (5.49%)

Group D: 16-20
Purdue	88 (21.00%)
Texas A&M	85 (20.29%)
Arizona State	40 (9.55%)
Boise State	94 (22.43%)
California	112 (26.73%)

Group E: 21-25
Texas Tech	91 (21.72%)
Boston College	30 (7.16%)
Virginia	115 (27.45%)
Alabama	108 (25.78%)
Pittsburgh	75 (17.90%)

Group F: Unranked
Notre Dame	254 (60.62%)
Nebraska	19 (4.53%)
Fresno State	17 (4.06%)
Bowling Green	11 (2.63%)
Oregon	9 (2.15%)
Kansas State	7 (1.67%)
Penn State, UTEP, Wisconsin	6 (1.43%)
Georgia Tech, NC State	5 (1.19%)
Colorado, Iowa State, Minnesota, Oklahoma St, South Carolina, Utah	4 (0.95%)
Clemson, Kansas, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Wyoming	3 (0.72%)
Arizona, Maryland, Oregon State, UCLA, West Virginia	2 (0.48%)
Air Force, Arkansas, Ball St, Illinois, Memphis, Navy, Rutgers, Stanford, Toledo, UAB, UCF, Washington St	1 (0.24%)

• Best entry names:

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
Kick It Again Bo
Mons Venus Flytrap
Elmer Bennett's Big Tooth
ShomerShabbos
Ken Dye's Little White Dogg
Take the Train, Knute

• Overheard comments (from the free-entry field):

In the words of Mystikal: f--- it, here goes nothin'!
Yeah, that's right. I said UTEP.
I should have picked Washington, OK?
I don't offer any of you clowns protection.
If your unranked choice is not ND, you have no balls.
But most the time I spend behind these county bars 'cause I drinks a bit...
If I lose, Accardo will have me clipped...
Jay still sucks, right?
I already have the Paterno collection.

What's in the Fridge? | by Michael

I rarely venture over to the ESPN website these days, but Ivan Maisel has a great look at Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen and his scouting expertise. For what it's worth, I think the Fridge's approach to studying tendencies is very similar to Charlie's. Be sure to check out the entire article, and I'll point out just a couple things that stuck out to me.

A thread yesterday on NDNation briefly touched upon one element of Friedgen's skill with scouting. In the '99 Gator Bowl, Friedgen's scouting reports showed him how one ND defensive lineman's alignment identified whether he was planning to stunt or not. These kinds of tip-offs occur all the time in football, but it's the diligent coaching staffs who discover these tendencies more often than not.

Suffice to say, this is right up Charlie's alley, especially considering how much more complex the NFL is compared to the college game. If you listened to Charlie's post-practice comments yesterday (courtesy of Irish Eyes), he briefly discussed scouting. An excerpt:

“Pittsburgh doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what they’re going to do. Michigan, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon. Michigan State will have played two games by the time we’ve played them. Washington three games. Purdue has a bye in there so they also will have played three games. I’ve looked at the schedule.”

Seems to me that Charlie thinks scouting in college football is a bit of a cakewalk; it's probably a little oversimplification on his part, but you have to like his confidence. (For some more concrete examples of Charlie's ability to discover tendencies and use scouting reports to anticipate what the defense will bring, take another look at our recent piece on Charlie's playcalling.)

The ESPN article has a lot of terrific insights from Friedgen, but there's one other highlight worth mentioning. The following Friedgen quote brought about a serious case of deja vu: "If I'm them, this is what I do to stop what I do."

Charlie said essentially the same thing this past week. Check it out, courtesy of Colin Burns' piece at Irish Eyes.

“I watch all the (defensive) tape,” Weis said. “Just because I’m not over there over doesn’t mean I miss anything. We tape everything. The first thing I watch after practice is the defensive tape. I don’t watch the offensive tape. I just watch them. I go back again to see what I missed because you don’t see everything. But I know from going against the defense, they present some problems to us. Then again, there are other times where I’ll go up to those guys and I’ll go to Rick and say, ‘If you do this, this is what I’m going to do and you’re going to have a problem.’ They are doing a lot more now than in the spring.”

Still, football also depends upon talent and, as much as it pains me to say it, execution. Hate that word all you want, but all the scouting in the world didn't help Maryland overcome inexperience and talent issues at quarterback last year. The Terps had execution problems; however, the difference between a good coaching staff and a bad one is that the good one will publicly blame themselves and simplify the offense to fit the strengths of its players. A bad staff will, week after week, cite player execution as a primary reason for inconsistent play while never adapting the scheme.

In the Friedgen offense, which is similar to what Charlie ran with the Patriots and will likely run at Notre Dame, a lot falls upon the shoulders of the quarterback, and it shouldn't surprise anyone that this is really the first year that we've heard offensive coaches discuss Brady Quinn's ability to read coverages. Scouting and gameplanning are vital pieces of a winning formula, but in systems like Fridge's and Charlie's, you need a smart, decisive quarterback to efficiently run your offense. Quinn has infinitely more responsibility now than he ever did in the Diedrick offense.

Watch Maryland bounce back to have a good record this year; their quarterbacks are more experienced and talented, and the Fridge should be able to put together a solid season. Likewise, watch the Irish offense put up big numbers this fall. The cogs are in place, especially at, the most important position in this offense, quarterback. Brady Quinn will put Charlie's scouting reports to good use.

top ten | by Jay

Top ten replacement names for the 'Apache' backer:

1. Chief Knockabacka

2. Minterbacker

3. Silverheels

4. the 'Clashmore'

5. Not-so-safety

6. the McGuffin

7. the Myles Brand NCAA Officially Licensed Non-Threatening Defensive Football Position™

8. the Flying Wallenda

9. the Dangler of Doom

10. Crazy Cat

11. the Bolcar

Daily drumbeat | by Jay

The South Bend Tribune, of course, is the grey lady of ND sports coverage, and each summer for the few weeks leading up to the first game is her time to shine. Every day for the last week or so they've had two or three good features dedicated to Irish pigskin, mixing equal parts news, commentary, and a little historical flavor to round everything out. Today, for example, we got three solid reads from the Trib:

First up, a quick interview with Lou Holtz on Charlie's prospects this year.

On the advice he would give Weis: "I told Charlie I'm going to be the same way that Ara Parseghian was with me and that's, 'If you call me, I'll give you what my opinion is. I will not give you advice. I will tell you what I would have done, what I thought, how I handled a situation, etc.' Advice means you expect them to take it. I'll never tell him that. That's the way Ara was with me."

On recruiting: "The most important thing in recruiting is what kind of visit an athlete has on that campus. When you turn them over to your athletes and when you're athletes are happy and believe in their future, it's like a family."

Next up, a neat feature story on maestro walk-on Brandon Harris, who's getting some work at cornerback and the return teams this summer. You might remember an earlier profile of Harris in the SBT back in the winter, but seeing him climbing a couple of depth charts now gives new resonance to his achievements.

Then a senior at Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans, Harris already had conceded his football dream had been snuffed out. He wasn't going to let his music dream die with it. So why waste his time with a school that didn't want him?

Today he is a music theory major and a senior walk-on football player at Notre Dame, and one with enough octane to his game that first-year coach Charlie Weis not only knows his name, he has placed him prominently on the depth chart.

"When I came here, I wouldn't say I was concerned about the overall speed," Weis said. "I just didn't know what we had. But now that they're out there and you see them all running, all of a sudden you've got some guys who have some giddyup. And he's one of them. He has top-line speed."

And that speed has the 6-foot, 197-pound Harris in the mix at punt returner and kickoff returner and as an intriguing project at cornerback.

"I feel very proud that my coaches and teammates have confidence in me," Harris said. "I had never been a big contributor to the team before this, but I always believed I could be. It's a great feeling knowing the work I had been doing and my attitude of sticking with it is paying off for me."

Lastly, a little survey of Weis' offensive proclivities, featuring commentary from Weis, Belichick, Tom Pagna, Theismann, and Peter Vaas, among others.

Belichick: "My first impressions of him were that he was smart, he was a multi-task person. He could process a lot of things at the same time. When I left the next year to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, I made a point to keep an eye on him and maintain contact with him. I thought he had a chance to be special."

"He has a grasp of the concept that, if you change a tight end's blocking rule or technique, he knows how it affects the guard on the other side of the ball. There are always ramifications to making changes, and he understands what those are."

Pagna: "I know first impressions can sometime be misleading,but I had the extreme sense that here was a guy who knew what he was talking about, knew it very well and was very assured about it, which is a great feeling."

Theismann: "He believes in diversity and he believes in execution. But he's not just going to throw things out there, because they look good."

"I think the wide receivers are going to get a chance to be wide receivers and the running backs a chance to be running backs...My biggest complaint as a fan of the Notre Dame football program was that they weren't very creative offensively over the past several years."

"I just thought we were a very predictable, stagnant offense. When Notre Dame won under Ty (Willingham), they won games with special teams and defense. They did not win by playing offensive football. So, to me, I think Charlie will change that. I think that's the biggest thing Charlie does. I think Charlie will put the 'O' back in offense."

Be sure to keep an eye on the Trib's sports page for your daily dose of Irish elixir.

Addendum: other snippets from today's SBT...

• Travis Leitko characterized his absence as due to "academic reasons", and didn't rule out a return to the Irish in '06.

• Text messaging is a big part of recruiting in the 21st century.

• Somebody asked Minter about use of the term "Apache" in light of the NCAA's crackdown on Native American names. He suggested changing it to something Irish-related, if need be. Sounds like a contest idea to us.

• Junior Jabbie switched over to running back, and on one play accidentally plowed over offensive coordinator Mike Haywood.

• Charlie invited all ND faculty out for a practice watch-slash-picnic as part of something called "Faculty Appreciation Day". I'm still waiting for my invitation from Charlie to "Partially Anonymous Internet Sports Bloggers Appreciation Day".

2005 Opponent Position Preview - Defensive Line | by Pat

The position preview makes its way to the other side of the ball as we cover the opponents who will be lining up across the line of scrimmage from Notre Dame's offensive line.

(As always, all stats from the 2004 season. Here's a handy shorthand key: TFL = tackle(s) for loss. QBH = QB hurries. FF = forced fumble. FR = fumble recovered. LOL = laughing out loud.)

PITTSBURGH

DE - Joe Clermond. 27 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FR.
DT - Phil Tilman. 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 QBH.
DT - Thomas Smith. 47 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR. - Returning Starter.
DE - Charles Sallet. 26 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 1 FF, 1 FR. - Returning Starter.

Smith(right) is the veteran presence on the line and is expected to be disruptive up the middle as he moves from defensive end to defensive tackle. Who will line up next to Smith is still up in the air as a number of candidates are vying for the job. Phil Tilman is the only candidate with any playing experience and definitely has space-eater size at 315lbs. On the wings, Pitt's defensive ends are prime examples of Wannstedt's defensive emphasis on speed over size. Clermond was a reserve end and linebacker last season and at 6'2" 240lbs will have to use his speed to beat large tackles like 315lb Mark LeVoir. Sallet started nine games last season, but is still rather undersized at 6'0" 235lbs. He suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of spring practices so he will have to earn his starting spot back this fall. Depth: Hoping to take Sallet's starting spot is sophomore Chris McKillop. McKillop is slightly bigger than Sallet (6'2" 240lbs) but still relies on speed. Tilman's grasp on the starting job is being challenged by a trio of mainly inexperienced wide bodies in Craig Bokor, Ron Idoko, and Nick Wiliams. Really, with the way that Coach Wannstedt is moving players around, starters on Pitt's defensive line probably won't be solidified until right before the Irish come to town.

MICHIGAN

DE - Pierre Woods. 22 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QBH, 1 FR. - Returning Starter.
NT - Gabe Watson. 37 tackles, 7 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF. - Returning Starter.
DT - Pat Massey. 37 tackles, 5 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 QBH. - Returning Starter.
DE - Lamar Woodley. 70 tackles, 16 TFL, 4 sacks, 1 QBH. 3 FF. - Returning Starter.

Reports seem mixed on if Michigan will be running a 3-4 or 4-3 defense this season. Odds are they will switch back and forth a few times, based on opponent matchups. We'll go with 4-3 for the sake of this preview to cover the guys who likely will be playing should the Wolverines utilize four down lineman. The one certainty is that planet eater Gabe Watson (left) will be slamming his massive 6'4" 331lb body into double teams all season long. His effort level has been questioned, but when motivated he's about as good as any tackle in college football. Michigan will need him to live up to his potential if they want to get more pressure on the quarterback. Taking advantage of the attention paid to Watson, Massey will use his 6'8" 285lb frame to keep pressuring quarterbacks while getting his hands into passing lanes. Woodley is one of the best and most versatile defenders on the Michigan team. He can play with his hands on the ground and rush the passer, but has the speed to handle things at linebacker should Michigan switch to the 3-4. Woods is similar, but had a disappointing season last year and will need to improve on his production. Depth: At tackle, Alan Branch bring another enourmous body (345lbs) to the mix while incoming fresham Terrance Taylor could work his way into some playing time. Rondell Biggs has some experience at end and provides depth along with one-time Irish commit Jeremy Van Alstyne and Tim Jamison.

MICHIGAN STATE

DE - Michael Bazemore. 17 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack.
DT - Domata Peko. 14 tackles, 2 QBH.
DT - Brandon McKinney. 42 tackles, 2 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 3 QBH, 1 FR. - Returning Starter.
DE - Clifton Ryan. 41 tackles, 7 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 7 QBH, 1 FF. - Returning Starter.

The Spartan defensive line returns six of its top eight from last year so they should be a fairly deep unit this season, but there are still questions about how they will perform. Ryan(right) is the rising star and has emerged as the leader of the line. A well-rounded end, he can hold his own either rushing the passer or defending against the run. The other three starters are all seniors so the line will provide a veteran presence for the rest of the defense. The Spartan front four will be one of the biggest lines that the Irish face with three lineman at or over 300lbs. McKinney in particular will be a big obstacle in the middle at 315lbs. Depth: Justin Kershaw has impressed the coaches and should see some time at end while three JUCO lineman were brought in to add depth to a thin line. One of them, David Stanton, has already been earning the praise for his work in fall camp.

WASHINGTON

DE - Brandon Ala. 18 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 QBH. - Returning Starter.
DT - Jordan White-Frisbee. 26 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 FR. - Returning Starter.
DT - Manase Hopoi. 54 tackles, 22 TFL, 9 sacks. - Returning Starter.
DE - Greyson Gunheim. 16 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks. - Returning Starter.

Washington's d-line had a rough run last season and was forced to start two freshman. Now back with experience under their belt, the line should be one of the more improved lines that the Irish will have to face next season. Hopoi(left) is an All-American caliber defensive tackle who will draw plenty of attention from Notre Dame's offensive line. Next to Hopoi, White-Frisbee will return for his sophomore year as one of the bigger lineman in the country at 6'6" 330lbs. If he can increase his strength and successfully return from a broken leg, he will pair with Hopoi to give the Huskies an excellent interior defensive line. Gunheim needs to get a bit bigger (245lbs) but has the speed to be a respectable pass rusher. Only a sophomore, he should keep getting better as the season progresses. Ala is similar in size to Gunheim and will give the Huskies another quick lineman on the outside. Depth: Mike Mapoulesega started a handful of games at end last season and now has moved inside. He will start if Frisbee-White needs additional time to recover. Competition for the starters and additional depth will be provided by Wilson Afoa and Jordan Reffert.

PURDUE

DE - Anthony Spencer. 33 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 8 sacks, 3 FF. - Returning Starter.
DT - Brandon Villareal. 50 tackles 17.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks. - Returning Starter.
DT - Brent Grover. 41 tackles, 6 TFL, 1 FR. - Returning Starter.
DE - Ray Edwards. 45 tackles, 11 TFL, 8 sacks, 1FR, 2 FF. - Returning Starter.

This line has been getting plenty of hype, but nearly all of it has been earned. Edwards is one of the best pass rushers in the Big Ten and will be a load to handle for any team. At 6'6" 270 he is a slighty larger version of Justin Tuck; able to handle the run and a feared pass rusher. He will team with Anthony Spencer(right) to give Purdue two defensive ends who are projected early NFL draft picks. The middle of the line is manned by a pair of seniors with plenty of size and experience. Villareal is also considered a top notch NFL prospect while Grover is the top veteran on a veteran line with 34 starts under his ample belt. Depth: Backup Rob Ninkovich is an excellent defensive end should Spencer or Edwards get hurt--although Tiller is toying with the idea of redshirting him-- and Eugune Bright is young, but very fast. Depth at defensive tackle is a bit light with potential there, but not much in the way of proven ability. The big name backup at tackle is Ryan Baker, who at one time committed to Notre Dame before switching to Purdue to play tight end.

USC

DE - Lawrence Jackson. 32 tackles, 11 TFL, 6 sacks. - Returning Starter.
DT - Sedrick Ellis. 2 tackles.
DT - LaJuan Ramsey. 2 tackles.
DE - Frostee Rucker. 29 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF. - Returning Starter.

Not many teams took as big a graduation hit as USC. Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson were big reasons for the Trojan's tough defense and replacing them is most likely Pete Carroll's biggest challenge. Two more hits came when defensive end Manuel Wright opted for the supplemental draft and incoming JUCO Gabe Long failed to become eligble. Still, don't weep for the Trojans as they have plenty of talent, albeit largely unproven. Rucker(left) is proven and, assuming he fully recovers from a toe injury, will be a leader on the line. Jackson started games last year as a freshman and should be even better after a year of college weight training. The middle is the question mark of sorts as the physical Ellis won praise from the coaches in the spring, but still only has two tackles for his career. Ramsey is an oft-injured player but when healthy has shown the ability to produce at both end and tackle. Depth: The Trojan DL depth took another hit when potential starter Jeff Schweiger injured his knee during the summer. It is possible he could be back for the matchup in South Bend, but it's too early to tell. Another expected contributor, incoming all-everything recruit Walker Lee Ashley is still having trouble qualifying and homesickness may keep him back in his home state of Minnesota for good. Still Fili Moala and freshman Kyle Moore have been playing extremely well in fall camp and should make a contribution to the team's depth this season.

BYU

DE - Manaia Brown. 26 tackles, 9 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 2 QBH, 1 FF. - Returning Starter.
NT - Vince Feula. 25 tackles, 1 TFL. - Returning Starter.
DE - Justin Carlson-Maddux. 23 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 QBH. - Returning Starter.

BYU's 3-3-5 defensive alignment will return where the goal of the down lineman is to keep the offensive lineman busy while the linebackers make the play on the ball. Brown(right) is a big (6'4" 315lb) end who transferred from Nebraska and now is the star of the BYU line. Feula is the line's anchor and will command more than a few double teams. Carlson-Maddux is the pass rusher of this rotation and adds a bit of speed to the BYU line. Depth: Daniel Marquardt split time with Feula last season and gives BYU an excellent NT rotation. Recently Coach Mendenhall has been experimenting with the putting Marquardt at NT and moving Feula to DE. This might be his "big" run defense line while Carlson-Maddux and quick T.J. Sitake could play end (as they did in the spring) if Mendenhall wants a "fast"line more capable of getting a decent pass rush. Hala Paongo and Mike Marquardt round out the defensive line rotation.

TENNESSEE

DE - Jason Hall. 27 tackles, 4 TFL, 3 sacks, 7 QBH.
DT - Justin Harrell. 26 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 11 QBH, 2 FF, 2 FR. - Returning Starter.
DT - Jesse Mahelona. 42 tackles, 18.5 TFL, 5 sacks, 7 QBH. - Returning Starter.
DE - Parys Haralson. 43 tackles, 13.5 TFL, 7 sacks, 19 QBH, 2 FR, 1 FF. - Returning Starter.

The best line that Notre Dame will face and perhaps one of the best in the nation, Tennessee's defensive line will be a tough task even for ND's veteran offensive line. Big, strong, and fast, Mahelona is an All-American tackle who has the ability to dominate a game. Haralson is an exceptional pass rusher off the edge who constantly getting pressure on the quarterback. Harrell(left) capped a productive 2004 with defensive MVP honors in the Cotton Bowl and should thrive this year, especially if teams decide to focus on Mahelona. Hall is the only non-returning starter on the line, but the one-time SEC Player of the Week (7 tackles, 2 sacks vs. Georgia) is effective against both the run and the pass. Depth: Turk McBride would probably start for just about any other team in the country and gives the Vols a 5th star lineman. And in a case of the rich getting richer, Hargrave Academy defensive tackle Demonte Bolden enrolled in Tennessee in the spring to rave reviews from Coach Fulmer. And just in case that isn't enough, Xavier Mitchell and Antonio Reynolds are ends with both speed and game experience.

NAVY

DE - Jeremy Chase. 46 tackles, 11 TFL, 1 sacks, 1 FR. - Returning Starter.
DT - Larry Cylc.
DE - John Chan. 2 tackles, 1 QBH.

Navy also features the 3-4 front seven, most likely due to the difficult time of getting enough defensive lineman who are both big, strong, and fast enough to handle the position. Chase(right) is one of the three returning starters on the Midshipmen team and will have to rally a line that is short on experience and size. After gaining 25 pounds from last year and hitting 290lbs, Cylc will be the best option, such as it is, at defensive tackle. Chan reportedly is one of the strongest lineman on the Navy team, but at 6'1", 246lbs he's going to have to rely on quickness or he will get overwhelmed by larger offensive lineman. Depth: Tye Adams moved from linebacker and will add more speed to the Navy line, but at 224lbs will need to get stronger and bigger if he wants to see more than the obvious passing down. Backing up Chase falls to Andrew Tattersall, who has a bit more size than Adams at 6'4" 249lbs.

SYRACUSE

DE - James Wyche. 68 tackles, 15 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 6 QBH, 1 FR. - Returning Starter.
DT - Tony Jenkins. 49 tackles, 3 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 3 QBH, 1 FR. - Returning Starter.
DT - Kader Drame. 31 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 1 QBH. - Returning Starter.
DE - Ryan LaCasse. 32 tackles, 7 TFL, 5 sacks, 6 QBH, 4 FF.

Wyche(left) will lead a fairly robust Syracuse defensive line. Wyche is an all-Big East performer and pre-season All-American who is exceptionally fast for his size (6'6" 267lbs). Returning starters Jenkins and Drame anchor the middle and should both provide a solid run defense. LaCasse assumes full time duties and the expectations for him are sky-high. If Jenkins and Drame can command some double teams, LaCasse could have an excellent year. Depth: Chris Thorner is a load at 6'4" 313lbs and will undoubtedly seem some time at defensive tackle. Eugene Brown will start the season as Drame's backup and will need to live up to his potential if Syracuse hopes to establish a solid rotation at the tackle spots.

STANFORD

DE -Casey Carroll. 12 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack.
NT -Babatunde Oshinowo. 41 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks. - Returning Starter.
DE - Julian Jenkins. 47 tackles, 8 TFL, 5.5 sacks, 2 FR. - Returning Starter.

The Cardinal is the third Irish opponent that primarily uses the 3-4 defense and their version is probably the best. Both Jenkins and Oshinowo were all-conference performers last season and are 5th year seniors and three time letter winners. Jenkins(right) in particular is being called upon to be the force that he has displayed in flashes during his career at Stanford. Carroll is the lone new starter and is more of a tackle at 6'2" 290lbs but is manning the defensive end spot. However, he has played in 31 of Stanford's last 33 games so he does have some experience. Depth: The backups are lacking experience with potential being the most common adjective used to describe them. Redshirt freshman Pannel Egboh and Gustav Rydstedt have bulked up over the summer and expect to work in to the defensive line rotation. Matt McClernan is a transplanted offensive lineman who for now appears to be the backup for Oshinowo at nose tackle. One last wildcard to keep an eye out for is one time Notre Dame recruit James McGillicuddy.

---

2005 Opponent Defensive Line Analysis and Rankings

The impact of both Coach Weis' offense and Coach Latina's abilities as a line coach will be immediately tested as Notre Dame is scheduled to face veteran defensive line after veteran defensive line. Of the 41 lineman listed in this preview, 30 are returning starters. Only one school, Navy, has more new starters than returning starters. And on top of the experience, there are potential stars all over the place. Watson, Hopoi, Ryan, Edwards, Spencer, Villarreal, Brown, Maholena, Haralson, Wyche, Oshinowo, and Jenkins are all serious contenders for post-season All-American honors.

Now, Notre Dame does have a solid, veteran line with the talent to go toe to toe with any name on this list, but facing such quality defensive lines game after game will take its toll and could expose the lack of Irish O-line depth. I still expect the Notre Dame offense to greatly improve this season, but they are going to have to earn it against quality defenses. Here's my own ranking of the defensive line units that will line up against the Irish.

1. Tennessee - One of the best lines in the country. Big, strong, fast, and deep.
2. Purdue - A veteran line filled with NFL talent. Top notch ends and tackles.
3. Michigan - Watson is the star of this talented line. Need to show they can pressure the QB.
4. USC - Playing against USC's offense in practice will whip this unit into shape.
5. Stanford - Jenkins and Oshinowo are two of the best lineman in the Pac10.
6. Syracuse - Overlooked by many, the Orange will have a very good line this year.
7. Washington - Hopoi is a major disruption in the middle. More experience will aid the others.
8. BYU - Not too many dominant players, but a pretty deep depth chart.
9. Pitt - Speed over size may work out if Smith can adapt to playing tackle.
10. MSU - Other than Ryan, the line all need to step up their game.
11. Navy - Chase is actually a very good DE. But he can't do it all by himself.

Quick Reminder | by Pat

If you haven't entered the Pick Six contest yet, make sure to get your selections in so hopefully Jay can beat someone in the contest.

Here is the explanation for the contest, complete with how it all works, a link to the entry form, and the super-sweet prize awaiting the winner.

Mr. Jones | by Pat

The Fighting Irish landed another quarterback when Demetrius Jones publically announced his decision to attend Notre Dame and became the eleventh known commit for Coach Weis. The 6'3", 195-lb signalcaller and second cousin of Chris Zorich will be the first Chicago public league player to play football for the Irish since fellow Morgan Park alumnus and current starting middle linebacker Corey Mays.

Jones selected the Irish over Illinois and Purdue, while also having a reported 45 offers to other colleges around the country. Jones' reputation would appear to be extremely high given his abundance of official scholarships, but it is interesting to check out the difference in his rankings on rivals.com versus scout.com. On Rivals, he is a Top 100 player, ranked as not only the #2 dual threat QB, but also the #52nd best recruit in the country. Meanwhile on Scout, he is an unranked 3-star guy. To round things out, Lemming considers him the 33rd best recruit in the country. (Then again, Lemming has never met a Chicago area recruit he wouldn't or couldn't overhype.)

In the end, though, where Jones falls on a Star Scale is irrelevant. What is relevant is that Jones had an excellent junior year (led his team to a 13-1 record, was all-state honorable mention as a junior), yet is still a relatively raw talent who could blossom under quality coaching in coaching. Under the tutelage of Weis and Peter Vaas, Jones should be in good hands. In fact, coaching seems to be a big reason why Jones is headed to South Bend.

"Notre Dame is the place for me,'' Jones said. "I prayed about it. The majority of things I was looking for are at Notre Dame. Coach [Charlie] Weis didn't talk like other recruiters. He is a motivator. Other NFL players told me that he will get the best out of me.''

Depending on which website you read, last season Jones passed for over 2,100 yards with anywhere from 17 to 25 passing touchdowns and 12 to 17 rushing touchdowns. Those are the kind of numbers that will get a "dual-threat" label stuck on a guy, which is often code for "he's a runningback playing quarterback." But based on scouting reports and grainy internet highlight videos, Jones definitely appears to be a quarterback first, and a runner second.

The big question now is how Notre Dame will manage with two very high profile quarterbacks in the same class. Both Zach Frazer and Jones are definitely going to want to be named the starter as soon as they can, and both see an opportunity to get some early playing time under the Dome. Yet because ND's depth at quarterback is rather shallow, Coach Weis doesn't exactly have the luxury of taking only one quarterback in this class and hoping that he pans out. So we'll take two top quarterbacks this year, and then deal with whatever issues may arise. Competition is always healthy, and Jones realizes he's going to have to fight for a starting spot.

"I was aware of [Zach] Frazer," Jones said. "There will be competition wherever you go. To be the best, you have to contend against good players. I don't mind doing that. I'm a warrior."

For those who want to check out Notre Dame's newest addition to a storied quarterback roster but don't have a subscription to BGI or IrishEyes, here are a few short video clips. This first one shows off some of his mobility in the pocket, not that it did him any good. Here's a quick one of him throwing a TD pass, and he has a few appearances in this team highlight video (he's #8).

Pop Goes The Weasel | by Dylan

I'm a pretty forgiving fellow. I don't suffer from Irish Alzheimer's. I'm able to let things go, for the most part. There are, however, a few things in this world that gnaw at me. The cancellation of the World Series in 1994 with the White Sox poised to get there is one of them. Not going to that party (because someone had to get up in the morning and pay the bills on Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) in 1992 that ended up in a limo with Mick Jagger and a jam with the house band at King King. That's another. Neither of them bothers me as much as the fact that Bob Davie was ever allowed to set foot on Notre Dame's campus.

WARNING: This post is going to blow our PG-13 rating straight to hell.

Davie was the subject of Teddy Greenstein's column Friday, and displayed the form we've come to know too well; that of a lying, self-serving, myopic, excuse-making, spineless bag of dog shit. The reason Davie's continued existence bothers me so much is that these qualities were known prior to his hiring as head coach. They are the essence of the man. What burns me is that these essential characteristics, which should have made the thought of Davie as head coach repulsive, were the affirmative qualifications for the type of toady Monk was eyeing to take over after Lou Holtz's departure. Davie was a gutless, ethically challenged man of no conviction, and that's exactly what Monk needed to regain control after the renegade Holtz. The hiring of Bob Davie was worse than the hiring of Ty Willingham, which was merely clueless. Davie's hiring was a collaborative act of sabotage.

But this is ancient history, so why waste time on this guy? Why exert the effort? Because this idiot, who steered his inferior 2000 team away from an historic upset and into a futile overtime at home against the defending National Champions, has become a respected member of the College Football commentariat. This blockhead, The Bullet, says things, dumb things, to which people misguidedly give credence. So let us examine this douchebag's pearls, as relayed by the Trib.

Greenstein gives us the lay of the land in his first Haugh-esque sentence-paragraph by saying that ND "bounced" the Boob. You see, Notre Dame is just a bunch of greedy jackals for derailing the 35-25 Davie Express. Luckily, the Bullet bails us out in the next paragraph:

"While I was coaching, I didn't even realize guys got paid for doing it," he said of the analyst business. "That's how naive I was."

This is, succinctly, why Bob Davie didn't make it at Notre Dame, why he'll never be a successful head coach, and why he makes a perfect ESPN analyst. He's either lying or monumentally stupid, and neither matters to him. The idea that this bumpkin didn't know that televsion announcers were not volunteers or conscripts is laughable. But, as a TV gum-flapper, he now lives comfortably in the realm of the consequence-free utterance, a land foreign to men with responsibility. Aw, shucks, Bob. TV folks get paid? You're a dick.

After some stroking about Bob's new booth-derived respect (which must be dizzying in its unfamiliarity, sort of like how Gary Cherone felt onstage with Van Halen) and an oh-my-God-I-hope-this-is-not-an-omen nugget about selling his house to Charlie Weis, Bullet bursts into his greatest hits:

Davie, who now lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., said Notre Dame has "completely changed" since he left after posting a 35-25 record over five years.

The proof: A reported $2-million-a-year salary for the head coach; the opening of a $21.25 million on-campus facility that will house football locker rooms, offices and meeting rooms; and a head coach Tyrone Willingham fired three years into a six-year contract.

"Now Notre Dame is really like everyone else," Davie said. "It's all about winning."

Let's try and untie this logical knot. First, by upgrading the facilities and increasing the coach's salary, ND has completely changed since he left. Never mind that 20,000+ seat expansion which he dedicated in 1997 with the "1" in his 1-4 start. Bob understands a radical shift in priorities when he sees one. If only he had been afforded some of those advantages! Second, he was the coach for five years and took a 35-25 dump, for which he was rightly flushed. Apparently (and, obviously, to his relief), Notre Dame was not "all about winning" then. Since then, and because of him, the University has chosen to demand a certain level of success from its coaches, regardless of their contractual status. Davie is pining for the good old days of no accountability and systemic mediocrity, of which he is a champion. The Boob, whose wind-tunnel haircut is designed to repel irony, doesn't realize that if it weren't for him, Ty Willingham would still be the coach. My God, Bob. What you don't know about Notre Dame would choke a thousand castrated bulls. Get a grip, you loser.

From there, numb nuts goes on to throw blame around like Barry Bonds at a BALCO hearing:

"It comes down to the admission director's frame of mind—or his mood at some point," Davie said, referring to the school's director of admissions, Dan Saracino. "It's such a subjective process. It may depend on the mom and dad—or whether it's a good high school. It may depend on if it's snowing outside. It's one guy's vote."

Sure, Bob. You don't suck. It's all Dan Saracino's fault, not to mention the lake effect snow. Get your head out of your ass. Saracino, whatever you may think of him, is right when he told Eric Hansen of the SBT:

"Things don't change," Saracino said. "We've heard those kinds of things for 40 years in the admissions office. I remember when the Sports Illustrated article came out a few years ago talking about it, I got a note from (former Irish coaching great) Ara Parseghian saying, 'Dan, don't let it bother you.' It will always probably be like this.

"People say things like, 'Well (former ND All-American) Chris Zorich wouldn't be admitted today. Where are all the Chris Zoriches now?' Well, that's an insult to Chris Zorich. I know Chris, and Chris will tell you about the fact that he went to summer school, that he added courses to his senior year at Chicago Vocational, because he wanted Notre Dame.

"For a student who is that committed to Notre Dame, who wants to do the work at Notre Dame, we're always going to find a spot for him."

Exactly. Everyone with a thimble-full of knowledge of the way the University works understands that this is the case. If Davie failed to get "the Chris Zoriches" in, that's on him, not Dan Saracino. It would be more accurate for Davie to say "I would have lost with Lou Holtz's recruits" than to say "I couldn't get the players I needed to win." You are such a pussy, Bob.

The paranoia fully rooted, Bullet Bob, as dumb as a bag of hammers, says:

I would doubt that (new Florida coach) Urban [Meyer] and (his predecessor) Ron Zook talked much," he said. "I don't see Charlie Weis and Ty talking much. It's just the nature of it. The real things you'd want to talk about, you can't. It's real political. You don't want to say something that would offend."

As an analyst, Davie now can say whatever he wants.

[Inaudible]. Sorry, let me speak up. What a dumbass. Can you say "projection?" I think Bob may have had a little Freudian slip here. "The real things you'd want to talk about, you can't. It's real political." I think Boob's got the flow of the conversation backward, but I think he's nailed the reasons why Weis won't be calling on him. Charlie would have no problem telling him what a know-nothing, dishonest, deceitful, buck-passing disgrace he is. But Charlie probably doesn't want to say something that would offend.

As an analyst, I can say whatever I want. Do us all a favor, Bullet. Keep your mouth shut. You know as much about Notre Dame as I know about being under Jackie Sherrill's Desk.

Correction: Memory is a tricky thing. As pointed out by ShermanOaksND over at NDN, Nebraska was not the defending National Champs in 2000. They were the reigning #1 at the time. I regret the error. Those are four words you'll never hear the Bullet say about playing for overtime, by the way.

Sláinte, Kemosabe | by Jay

We stayed away from the whole NCAA versus Native American mascots brouhaha last week, mostly because a) it's a myopic decision on the NCAA's part, b) it's only going to cause more headaches for schools like Florida State, who already have the tacit approval of the Seminole tribe to use their name, and c) it's really got nothing to do with ND. The seemingly racially-offensive moniker "Fighting Irish" won't be dropped anytime soon, because frankly, nobody's offended by it.

If you've got a subscription to the Wall Street Journal online, Ken Woodward's got a pretty good redux on the whole thing. Not surprisingly, he holds up the Fighting Irish as a paradigm of how to transform a demeaning stereotype into a source of pride.

Here's a suggestion: If the NCAA and other latter-day Puritans are concerned about social prejudice, they ought to investigate Notre Dame. Surely the name for its athletic teams, the Fighting Irish, is a slur on all Irish-Americans. The label derives from anti-Catholic nativists who reviled the poor and mostly uneducated Irish immigrants who came to these shores in the mid-19th century -- a drunken, brawling breed, it was said, who espoused the wrong religion. When the fabled Four Horsemen played football for Notre Dame, the team was called the Ramblers. In 1927, the university officially adopted the Fighting Irish, thereby transforming a pejorative nickname into something to cheer about.

If there are Native Americans who feel that Indians or Warriors or Braves is somehow demeaning, they might reflect on the Notre Dame experience.

He's right. Last week, PMan over on NDN offered transformative tips in a post so good I saved it not once, but twice.

How to use "cultural studies" against any attackers of the "Fighting Irish" name or the leprechaun image:

Today, especially in American Studies, English, and other academic departments at institutions of higher education all across this country, subjectivity studies continue to be all the rage. This is the idea that the new NCAA rule is rooted in. Academics interested in literary criticism, cultural studies, feminist and gender studies, social history, etc., etc. ", what many here would disdain as "PC" or "revisionist" -- make use of "queering a word."

To lay out the basic argument, "queering a word" means the re-capturing of the meaning of that word by a subjugated group of people. As the argument goes, all relationships are relationships of power. Groups of people -- homosexuals, women, ethnic minorities -- are placed into subjective positions by those with power. In doing so, those forced into these subjective positions are then called convenient, derogatory names -- "queer," "slut," the "N" word -- to reinforce the power structure. In order to regain a sense of control in their subjugated position, the put-upon groups re-claim the meaning of that word for their own purposes. Hence, whole academic conferences on "queer studies," or African-Americans calling each other "N-----," or the embracing of the word "c---" by "Vagina Warriors." The word then loses all strength for those in power -- the word becomes "queered" -- and the people in the subjective position rebel against the power structure.

A strong case could very easily be made, using this "PC," academic argument, that "Fighting Irish" is simply a phrase that has been "queered" by those once subjugated by a majority in just such a relationship of power. The history of anti-Irish sentiment and anti-Catholic feeling in the United States is long and well-established. During the 1920s, especially, anti-Catholic sentiment was such that the exploits of a traveling football team from northern Indiana became a source of pride for Catholics in this country. The originally derogatory term, "Fighting Irish," instead became a sense of pride for that particular subjugated group. We "queered" the phrase, making it a source of strength in a relationship of power.

If the anti-Native-American-name-NCAA types come calling after the "Fighting Irish" name, simply use their own cultural studies argument against them.

I realize this is somewhat of a straw man, since nobody's really calling for ND to change its name. Yet I do think it's instructive as to how names and titles are "reclaimed", and that's certainly what happened with the name "Fighting Irish". For some more on the history of our moniker, take a look here and here.

But back to the current situation. To be clear, there's still some racially-offensive symbology out there in the sporting world, and the protests on the part of Native American groups are often warranted. In other cases, as with the Seminole tribe, everything's been smoothed out, and nobody's got a problem with the mascot. Still others take the light-hearted route, and make a good joke out of the whole situation. For our part, we'll continue to stay out of the argument. We've got bigger fish to fry -- like finding some cornerbacks.

Would that the NCAA crack down on something really offensive...like the '05 version of The Shirt.

Worth a reprint | by Jay

Here's a post from BeijingIrish over on NDN.

There is frequent discussion on this board concerning what is perceived to be anti-Notre Dame bias on the part of the sports media. Much of that dialogue centers on ESPN (with good reason). However, I thought I would share with you an e-mail exchange I had earlier this week with John Henderson, a reporter who covers college football for the Denver Post.

I don’t know Henderson, and I had not paid attention to him before. Occasionally, I read the Post’s internet edition. You all are aware that I was raised in Colorado, and I try to keep reasonably up-to-date on events back home. In this instance, a poster on this board called my attention to a recent article by Henderson entitled, "Willingham up to Husky task at hand" (August 5, 2005). Some of you will recall the article wherein Henderson takes a gratuitous shot at ND, in this instance, decrying ND’s "hypocrisy" for firing Willingham.

Several days later, I went to the Post’s site, re-read the article, and decided to reply. After all, his e-mail contact was right there. Why not?

I sent him a polite note. I mean, I thought it was polite. I did not suggest that he would never win a Pulitzer (he won’t). I won’t repeat my note here--you have all read, said, or thought the same words. I first challenged the hypocrisy charge, i.e., why outrage here, none with Zook or others? I pointed out that ND made TW a wealthy man and continues to send him checks every month when it is now established that he was in contact with UDub even before he was fired. I repeated the Willingham Litany of Futility by omaha, the most elegant case for sacking Ty I have seen.

I concluded my note with the following friendly admonition: "It seems to me that you'd want to do the same research I did (in my spare time) before you write a bullshit article like the one you wrote. After all, journalism is your profession. Have some pride, do your homework. Ty didn't get jobbed. ND gave him the chance of a lifetime, and he simply wasn't up to the job."

Henderson’s verbatim reply follows: "You're forgetting that winning at Notre Dame is no longer a given because of its national reputation. It has no national reputation because its independent status has made it inconsequential to everyone but NBC. Kids don't give a damn about its tradition and its schedule is ludicrously hard. But the reason for the hypocricy [sic] is Notre Dame always touts itself as being above the football factories with itchy trigger fingers. Every coach stayed the length of their coach [sic] but Willingham. I'm not saying he did a great job there or even a good job but if they're merely going to fire based on wins and losses then they shouldn't carry themselves as holier than others and they do. It's a vastly overrated university academically and more arrogant than any school in America."

Well, I was off and running. I would have let it go if he had said, "In my view, it’s a vastly overrated university..." But he reported it as fact, and he should know better. I set him straight by pointing him to various sources, including USN&WR. I also knew I had a hater on my hands, so I had to ask if all this hate--anti-ND, anti-Catholic, whatever--wasn’t a burden.

The Mile High City’s aspiring Grantland Rice comes back with this: "I have never hated Notre Dame. When I was growing up, I admired the way their coaches continued throwing the ball with great success while the national trend was that god-awful wishbone. I like the fact that they graduate their players. I don't hate them now. But their president and AD always talk about how it's not just about football, about how they are true student-athletes. Well, ND's off-field problems, from rapes under Davie to NCAA problems under Holtz, drag the Irish down to the same quagmire the football factories are in. I also think they have a totally unrealistic expectation of success. True, Willingham probably wasn't a great coach but they're bouncing coaches who can't succeed with an impossible independent schedule (You're right. They do consistently play great teams -- but maybe too great.) in an era when kids aren't dreaming of a recruiting letter from South Bend as they did in the '80s. As for academically, I never hear of a long list of great scholars coming out of Notre Dame, Nobel prize winners, astronauts, etc. Talk to Notre Dame's athletic department and you'd think they are Harvard. They're not even Stanford. Not even close. Thanks for your reply."

A little softer perhaps, but I think his problem is that he could not get in. In any case, I replied by refuting his "rapes under Davie" charge (again, do your homework, accuracy is important, etc.) and "great scholars" (cited the Tim Cordes example). The sense of my e-mail is conveyed by the following: "No, ND is not Harvard, nor is it Stanford. It should not want to be either. It is different, and its mission is different...Over the east portal of Sacred Heart Church on campus are inscribed the words, "God, Country, Notre Dame". Most alums and students identify with this sentiment."

It was followed by a second e-mail: "Almost forgot (and I'm so glad you asked): There are two ND grads among the current active duty astronauts: (1) COL Kevin A. Ford, USAF, BS (Aero Eng), 1982; (2) LTC Michael T. Good, USAF, BS (Aero Eng, 1984; MS (Aero Eng), 1986. Among the retired astronauts is CAPT James D. Wetherbee, USN (Ret), BS (Aero Eng), 1972. Wetherbee, who retired in January, is the first American to command five space flights. He was the shuttle commander on five flights, and was the most senior and experienced pilots among the astronauts. You are so poorly informed. That's why I'm helping you."

I don’t think Henderson is an aberration. I think he is typical of people in his profession: biased, cynical, not very bright, lacking journalistic integrity (ignoring facts whenever it is convenient). Basically, he is a hack. He is the Mountain West’s version of David Haugh. We must endure them because they are all over the place. It will be better when we start winning, but, for now, they occupy the tactical high ground.

By the way, I did not apologize for the fact that ND is arrogant. We should be arrogant. Notre Dame is a national treasure. I am rarely troubled by arrogance, but I am profoundly disappointed that the University has been so feckless and incompetent with regard to the management of the football program for a decade. We have given the Hendersons of this world an opening, and they have slimed through. It is my earnest wish that Charlie and his players close this opening, close it soon, and close it with a slam.

Bring out the cocktail napkins... | by Michael

It's time to draw up some plays.

Some more tactical stuff to digest this morning. Came across this the other day on a coaching blog and its ideas repeatedly made me think of Charlie. Then again, maybe it had nothing to do with the article and I'm just madly in love with the man.

Diagrams are a little rough but it's pretty basic and a very good read. Enjoy.

Switching sides | by Jay

SBT has a note on Nate Schiccatano moving over to DE.

"I've never even played here in peewee," said the senior running back-turned-fullback- turned- linebacker of his move to defensive end. "It's something new. I kind of like it. Hopefully, I'm here to stay."

If perseverance counts for anything, the 6-foot-2, 242-pound Coal Township, Pa., product will find a way to make it work. A highly recruited linebacker and tight end prospect coming out of high school. Schiccatano, who was lured to ND in part by the invitation to play tailback, has resisted the urge to transfer through all the position changes and all the non-playing time.

"We're trying to find him a home," ND first-year head coach Charlie Weis said. "He came into training camp in really great shape. What we don't want is to get anyone buried to a point where they can't get into the mix. Whether they can get on the field or not isn't the point. We want to put them in a position where they have the best chance to get on the field."

That's why junior Chinedum Ndukwe, who split time at Apache linebacker and strong safety in the spring, has settled in at safety and sophomore Anthony Vernaglia has moved from safety to the Apache 'backer position.

Senior defensive end Travis Leitko's exodus opened the door for Schiccatano on the defensive line -- even if he is undersized at the moment.

"(Defensive coordinator) Rick Minter first said something to me about it at the end of spring ball," Schiccatano said. "I hope to put on 10 to 15 more pounds. I want to play against the run too, but right now they're using me as a pass-rush specialist.

"It's a lot different from linebacker, where you're five yards back and you kind of react to everything and can see things happening. At defensive end, everything is kind of up in your face. I'm going to have to learn to react a lot quicker."

Reminiscent of another RB-to-DE switch that worked out pretty well, no? We could use the depth with the loss of Leitko -- I hope it works out.

Attritional Value | by Jay

O-lineman Chauncey Incarnato dropped out of the program yesterday. SBT has the story:

Incarnato counted himself out Tuesday after meeting with Weis before Monday's first fall practice and expressing some doubts about continuing with the program. The 6-foot-5, 275-pounder from Dover, Ohio, joins defensive end Travis Leitko, defensive back Freddie Parish, offensive lineman John Kadous, wide receiver Chris Vaughn and defensive back Tregg Duerson in the six-pack of players to leave during Weis' first offseason. Only Leitko has any chance of returning in 2006.

"(Monday) before practice, he told me he didn't think he wanted to play football," Weis said of Incarnato. "I had a long talk with him, and I said, 'You went through the whole training camp, you went through the whole summer time, you passed a conditioning test, and before the first practice you don't want to play?'

"So he went to practice and I told him to reflect on it. 'Don't do anything premature.' So he talked to his folks, and (Tuesday) morning told us that his heart wasn't into it and he wasn't going to play."

That makes six players to leave during the short Weis era thus far. (Leitko still has an option to return, but he'll be off the team for this year). At first blush, that doesn't sound good. You never want to see people quitting. However...

1. Each case has been different. Only Chris Vaughn had been suspended, and there's nothing indicative of an indemic problem with the program. For each player, there seems to be a different, personal rationale for his departure.

"And the good thing is all the guys we're talking about who are gone, they're all going to end up in another college. It's not like these guys are quitting and not graduating from college. It's just that they won't end up graduating from here," said Weis.

2. Attrition is not only expected, but a somewhat good thing when there's a coaching change. Transfers can be a positive sign. You don't want malcontents on your team, guys who just aren't comfortable, or people who aren't buying in to the program anyway. We'll wish Chauncey well, and if he realized that maybe ND football wasn't for him, then that's a good thing -- for us, and for him.

"At the end of the week, there's going to be 20 guys who listen and swallow up everything we said," Weis said Tuesday evening after announcing sophomore offensive lineman Chauncey Incarnato had become the sixth player to be deleted from the Irish roster since the end of spring practice.

"And there's going to be 20 guys who don't want to listen to anything we say," Weis continued. "And in between there are going to be about 60 players out of the 100 (on your roster). And our whole deal is which way are those 60 going to go? ...

"Now's the time you want to find those things out. I don't want to find out in September when I'm putting them in a game, heaven forbid. This is the time of year you need to find out who you can count on."

(To put on my Junction Boys hat for a moment...you know, if no one quits, you might wonder if the bar is really being raised, and if sufficient demands are being made to revive a moribund program.)

3. Ultimately, the guys who are leaving are moot. As Charlie put it, "I'm worried about the guys we have here, not the guys who are gone." So, the issue now becomes who's going to fill their spots, where do we need to build depth, and how their leaving impacts the roster and recruiting going foward. To that end...

• Incarnto and Kadous leave a big hole on the OL depth chart that's not easily filled. Kadous had the size and skill to work his way to the second team. Incarnato was further down the chart, but he was still a big body at a thin position. We're going to need reliable backups here. Guys like Turkovich, Mattes, Raridon, and Duncan will fill in on the second team, but the third team is up for grabs. A couple of names that might have a chance to move up for this year are two OL walk-ons, David Fitzgerald and James Bent. For some more speculation on the OL situation, check out Todd Burlage's rundown on BGI.

• Parish and Duerson were second- or third-stringers, although Parish might have nailed down the 5th DB spot (nickel) at some point. He started the USC game, and probably would have seen the field quite a bit, although not as a starter. Duerson was a third-teamer.

• Vaughn was a valuable special teams player as a freshman as the gunner on punts and kickoffs. Had he been eligible, he would have seen a lot playing time this fall, and it's possible he would have been a starter in '06 with McKnight, Stovall and Shelton all graduating, and Samardzija the only returner. Hord, Grimes, Parris, and Gallup all just moved up a notch towards cracking the starting unit next year.

• We're going to miss Travis Leitko most of all. He was probably going to be a co-starter at defensive end with Frome, or at the very least the top DE backup, and would have seen a lot of playing time. In addition, he was one of our best special-teamers. Justin Brown and Ron Talley just got a big opportunity.

Backing In | by Dylan

Yeeahaw, Mabel! We ain't got to beat no one!

A few months ago, we gave Purdue a bit of a hard time for leading the brigade of college football whores looking to fatten up on Division 1-AA cupcakes starting in 2006.

Purdue shill Michael Pointer has a piece in today's Indianapolis Star that provides a further glimpse into the irrational giddiness in Boiler Nation, borne of the realization the the best way to win lots of games is to play teams that suck. The key graf:

And don't forget the schedule. The Boilermakers are the envy of the Big Ten because they don't play Michigan or Ohio State. Purdue is 1-7 against those teams over the past four seasons. Excitement is clearly up...

Notice the way they gloss over the loss of Orton, despite the fact that the wheels came off their dream season last year after Orton's injury. They've also lost their best wide receiver, but no biggie.

My first prediction of the '05 season: ND will beat Purdue by two touchdowns, and ruin their breezy run through the lower half of the Big 1?.

Bonanza! | by Jay

Holy hell, there was a lot of info flowing out of ND yesterday. I spent the better part of last night and this morning perusing transcripts, watching videos, sifting through brand-new media guides, reading commentaries, clicking on message board posts, looking at roundups, enjoying quotes, checking out practice photos, and generally revelling in the kickoff of Fall Practice, and in a larger sense, the magnificent start of Notre Dame Football for another year.

The sheer avalanche of media generated from yesterday is almost too much to digest all in one sitting, but there were a couple of salient bullet points.

• Freddy Parish is transferring, making a thin secondary even thinner. Per Freddy, ""I know I still love the school and everybody there like crazy. I just think this is the best move for me and my family. But I want to tell you, I'm going to want them to win every week. Wherever I am, I'm going to be pulling hard for Notre Dame."

• Travis Leitko will not be on the team this fall, and he declined comment as to the reason why.

• Darrin Bragg is officially a wide receiver, moving over from quarterback. "I just felt he was too good an athlete to waste just to have another guy on the depth chart," said Charlie.

• This is the most experienced offensive line to start a season at Notre Dame, with 99 career starts among the five starters.

• Strength coach Ruben Mendoza's nickname is Tiny.


For a good collection of links to all the articles, releases, photos, and opinion from yesterday, take a look at the news wire over on NDN. Lots of stuff to review -- get crackin'.

Pick Six | by Jay

Now that the USA Today/Coaches poll is out, we're going to run a little prediction contest we'll call the Pick Six. This is your opportunity to showcase your pigskin prognostication skills, your chance to get on the record and be able to tell everyone, "I told you Florida International was going to win it all this year!"

Here's how it works.

1. We divide the top 25 into 5 groups of 5 based on the Coaches Poll: 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, etc. For this year's poll, the groups are thus:

• A - USC, Texas, Tennessee, Michigan, Oklahoma
• B - LSU, Virginia Tech, Miami (Fla), Ohio State, Iowa
• C - Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Auburn
• D - Purdue, Texas A&M, Arizona State, Boise State, Cal
• E - Texas Tech, Boston College, Virginia, Alabama, Pittsburgh

2. You pick one team from each group, plus one unranked team. You're trying to pick the teams you think will finish highest in the final BCS poll.

3. Each week we'll update the standings. You get 25 points for having the #1 team, 24 points for the #2 team, on down to 1 point for the #25 team. Unranked teams get zero points.

4. We'll use the USA Today/Coaches poll until October 17th, when the official BCS rankings come out, and we'll use the BCS from that point on.

5. The winner is the person at the end of the year with the most highly-ranked teams.

6. And the grand prize? How about a 1977 Joe Paterno Coca-Cola Commemorative drink tray. Only some very minor scratches.


That's it for the Pick Six: short, sweet and simple. Good luck.

• Register your picks here: Enter the 'Pick Six' (voting open for another couple of weeks)
  

• Current standings coming as soon as voting closes.

Pre-positioning | by Jay

The official preseason USA Today/Coaches Poll came out on Friday. (Quick reminder: the new Harris poll doesn't come out until late September, and the first actual BCS ranking won't be unveiled until October 17th this year). ND opponents in bold.

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Team (first-place votes) Southern California (60) Texas (2) Tennessee Michigan Oklahoma LSU Virginia Tech Miami (Fla.) Ohio State Iowa Florida Florida State Georgia Louisville Auburn Purdue Texas A&M Arizona State Boise State California Texas Tech Boston College Virginia Alabama Pittsburgh

Record 13-0 11-1 10-3 9-3 12-1 9-3 10-3 9-3 8-4 10-2 7-5 9-3 10-2 11-1 13-0 7-5 7-5 9-3 11-1 10-2 8-4 9-3 8-4 6-6 8-4

Points 1547 1405 1259 1242 1223 1109 1090 1080 1033 1014 910 879 838 758 723 616 366 304 303 293 247 237 210 194 193

Final '04 rank 1 4 15 12 3 16 10 11 19 8 25 14 6 7 2 NR NR 20 13 9 17 21 23 NR NR

Others receiving votes: Fresno State (9-3) 188; Oregon (5-6) 145; Utah (12-0) 103; Georgia Tech (7-5) 88; Wisconsin (9-3) 79; North Carolina State (5-6) 69; Bowling Green (9-3) 63; Penn State (4-7) 44; Colorado (8-5) 40; Minnesota (7-5) 34; UCLA (6-6) 24; Texas-El Paso (8-4) 22; Nebraska (5-6) 21; Kansas State (4-7) 20; South Carolina (6-5) 16; Notre Dame (6-6) 13; West Virginia (8-4) 12; Wyoming (7-5) 12; Clemson (6-5) 9; New Mexico (7-5) 9; Arizona (3-8) 8; Northern Illinois (9-3) 8; Southern Mississippi (7-5) 7; Toledo (9-4) 7; Washington State (5-6) 7; Iowa State (7-5) 6; Michigan State (5-7) 6; Memphis (8-4) 5; Washington (1-10) 4; Miami (Ohio) (8-5) 3; Maryland (5-6) 2; UAB (7-5) 1; Duke (2-9) 1; Kansas (4-7) 1.


Does any other school have as many opponents in the top 25 as does ND? In the top 10? In the top 5?

Some more poll fodder, cribbing from BGI:

Barring something remarkable from the AP voters, 2005 will mark the fourth time in the last six seasons Notre Dame has failed to crack the preseason Top 25. It will also mark the first time since 1963 and 1964 (Ara Parseghian's debut year) that the Irish have gone consecutive seasons without a preseason ranking after going 13 straight years with a preseason ranking from 1987 to 1999.

How the mighty have fallen.

Notre Dame was a mainstay in the AP Poll through the 1960s, the 1970s, the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Its run of 15 straight years listed in the final season rankings (1964-78) is the fifth longest ranking streak all-time. Notre Dame's 14 final rankings in the top five are also fifth all time.

Parseghian may have been unranked to start the 1964 season. But after a 31-7 season-opening win over Wisconsin, Parseghian's Irish cracked the polls at No.9 the next week and remained in the poll in all but two weeks during Parseghian's 11 years and 116 games at Notre Dame.

Yet another similarity between the weather conditions for the debuts of Ara and Charlie. It's going to be hard to crack the poll simply by beating Pitt, but let's hope the rest of it plays out according to script.

Fall Forward | by Pat

Fall practice starts today. Earlier in the year, we wrote a series of 5 questions heading into spring practice, and while those are still unanswered for the most part, here's a new set of five as we kickoff the autumn session. It's got to be the most anticipated fall practice in long, long while.

1. Will some dependable backup offensive linemen emerge?

Notre Dame will have perhaps the most experienced offensive line in all of college football this season: all five starters return, and they average 22 starts per man. But behind the starters is a scary lack of depth. All of those bullish 8-3 predictions (some on this staff, in fact) are based largely on the hope that none of the front five are left lying on the ground clutching their knee after a vicious block. But as we all know, injuries to linemen are common occurences, and we should expect at least one of the hawgs to get banged up and miss a few games. Thus, developing a few replacements is of vital concern.

The best backup so far is Dan Santucci. A tough, scrappy player, he actually started in the Insight.com bowl last year, and this his fall he might even push Bob Morton for a starting spot at left guard. So that's one backup, but we're going to need more, especially at tackle. There is no heir apparent at left tackle, and should the unspeakable happen to stalwart LT Ryan Harris, I'd expect Mark LeVoir to slide over and take his spot.

Brian Mattes appears to have the best shot at being the first tackle off the bench but only has 16 minutes of playing so far entering his senior year. This will be a very important fall camp for Mattes to prove to the coaches that he'll be able to handle extended playing time.

2. What's going on at receiver?

We're almost as experienced at receiver as we are on the O-line this fall -- but that doesn't mean there won't be some storylines developing at wideout.

Issue number one to look out for is how Matt Shelton bounces back from his knee surgery. After his breakout year last season, a healthy Shelton will be an excellent weapon to stretch opposing defenses. He should be at full strength, but recovery from knee injuries is never a sure thing.

Another source of drama among the receiving corps: will Jeff Samardzija pass Maurice Stovall on the depth chart? While Stovall struggled through an inconsistent and injury-filled 2004, Samardzija steadily improved as the year went on, even to the point where he lead the team in receptions in the bowl game. Could he be our starting split end under the lights of Heinz Field? Personally, I don't think so. Judging from the roster, Stovall is lighter now than he was last season -- he really seemed bulked-up -- which is a good sign that he's buying into the new coaching and training regimen. If he can stay healthy, I expect Stovall to finally show that he can physically dominate smaller cornerbacks when the ball is in the air. He's shown us flashes over the past three seasons. Now it's time for him to put it all together.

And rounding out the fleet, what will be the pecking order behind McKnight, Stovall, Samardzija, and Shelton? Chase Anastacio has size and speed, but only caught one ball last season, and because of a broken bone in his foot (and perhaps some subpar special teams coaching) he didn't always look comfortable running in the open field. It will be interesting to see if Chase can have a solid fall camp and claim that fifth receiver role as his own. Another candidate for the 5-spot is incoming recruit D.J. Hord. Assuming he picks up the offense quickly, I'd expect to see Hord on the field very early in the season, if only to gain experience for future seasons when the depth at wide receiver takes a nose dive. Hord's classmate David Grimes will probably have to spend this year getting bigger and stronger, so DJ and Chase seem like the two favorites to see action as the primary backups.

Then again, they might find competition from some players who aren't even currently listed at receiver. I expect Ambrose Wooden to stay at cornerback, but if Shelton's knee slows him down, Wooden might be called into service as a deep threat. Two more possibilities to throw out as contributors -- so I can claim I told you so if it comes to pass -- are versatile Justin Hoskins, and a certain quarterback who's rumored to have already moved to wide receiver. (No, not Matt Mooney, despite his nifty Mooney-to-Mooney touchdown catch in the Blue and Gold game).

3. Which freshman will see the field in 2005?

It's unlikely that any freshman will make a big impact this season. The class was small, and some of the most hyped recuits are coming in at deep positions. Still, every year a few guys do make it into games. In the past few seasons, McKnight, Stovall, Nduwke, Abiamiri, Harris, Samardzija, Quinn, Hoskins, Vaughn, and Walker all saw the field as true freshman. The best bet in this class, as mentioned above, is D.J. Hord. Another pick with potential is quarterback Evan Sharpley. He's been on campus all summer working with the team, so today won't be his first time throwing to his future teammates. Who knows if he can beat out Wolker for the second-string position, but I'd also like to think we'll have at least one or two games this year where we actually see some third-stringers get some PT.

The only other likely way for freshmen to see the field (barring injury among the frontliners) is through special teams. It's possible/probable that guys like Ray Herring, Scott Smith, Joey Hiben, and Asaph Schwapp might get to log some time running around and knocking heads around on kickoff coverage.

4. Will Price pitch in at punter?

Perhaps not as pressing as other issues, but one that could really impact the team. Will Geoff Price develop consistency in his punts? Practice reports are that he follows up booming kicks with slices worthy of a former coach's golf game. I'm sure the coaches would love to take some of the workload off of D.J. Fitzpatrick. If Price can let Fitzpatrick concentrate on kickoffs (and field goals...let's not forget about those) hopefully we'll see more and more touchbacks and less chances for our coverage teams to end up on the wrong side of a SportsCenter highlight.

Now, some will see "kicker" and "workload" in the same sentence and start to snicker, but I certainly don't want to see a Reggie Bush or Steve Breaston routinely catching a kickoff at the 8-yard line with a running start.

5. Who are our starting cornerbacks?

Ok, so I lied. I wanted to pick five new questions, but this is just too important. This is still the biggest question mark on the team, our biggest "known unknown", as it were.

Right now, Mike Richardson seems like a near-lock starter for the Pitt game, as he held down one corner all throughout the spring. The other side is still a crapshoot; the names to keep an eye out for are Leo Ferrine, Ambrose Wooden, Terrail Lambert, Junior Jabbie, and Labrose Hedgemon. Right now, there's no definite second starter, so it should be a fun battle to watch -- and Tyler Palko and Greg Lee await the winner.


So, all kinds of questions. Will we have the answers in a couple of weeks? We're gonna have to. Fall practice should help us narrow things down, and show us what we've got heading into Pittsburgh. (For even more detail on positional questions and depth chart issues, be sure to check out Mike Frank's Practice Battles article on IE).

The one thing I do know for certain is that football is officially back in session at the University of Notre Dame. I can't wait for September third. I know movie quotes are hackneyed (especially from this movie), but this sort of sums it up for me:

I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. -- Red

Webb makes it an even 10 | by Pat

On his third trip to Notre Dame since the beginning of April, offensive lineman Bartley Webb pledged his committment to the Fighting Irish and the recruit ticker hit double digits. The 6'7", 285 lb offensive tackle chose Notre Dame over a final five that also included home state team Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, and Texas. Other schools that offered Webb include such programs as Oklahoma, Nebraska, Tennessee, LSU, Clemson, Michigan State, Maryland, and Louisville. That's quite the impressive offer list.

Webb becomes the first offensive lineman in the recruiting class of 2006 to select Notre Dame, which is a great start to the most important position in this year's class. After only signing four offensive lineman in the past two years, any and all offensive lineman in this recruiting class will have ample opportunity to see the field early and often.

But when it came to explain why he picked Notre Dame, Webb's explanation is rather simple.

"It beats all the others hands down," he said. "It was the place I was supposed to be."

It's not often you see the word Arkansas next to a player committed to play for the Irish. In fact, a quick search of the all-time roster (which means said player actually got in a game) only turns up two other players who hailed from The Natural State. John "Tree" Adams played for the Irish from 1942-44, and Skip Holtz, who spent time in Fayetteville while his dad Lou coached the Razorbacks. The only states with fewer ND players than Arkansas? New Mexico(2), Nevada(2), Vermont(1), and Alaska(1).

Geography aside, Webb is an excellent addition to an already impressive recruiting class. Big #78 has his own website, so if you want to satisfy your inner Lemming there are some free highlight videos of him on passing plays and running plays. Enjoy.

Media Daze | by Michael

By now most have seen firsthand or read how ESPN's Mike Gottfried thought the Irish could open their season with five straight losses. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, I suppose.

Now that the dust has settled from the Pac-10, Big East, and Big Ten media days held earlier this week, let's take a very quick look to see what's going on with Gottfried's Goliaths...Pitt (9/3), Michigan (9/10), Michigan State (9/17), Washington (9/24) and Purdue (10/1).

At Pitt, Dave Wannstedt is worried about a completely revamped front seven. Even the returning starters from last year's Pitt defense (Thomas Smith, H.B. Blades, et al.) are lined up at different positions.

A two part interview with Lloyd Carr is up on Go Blue Wolverine. Steve Breaston is mentioned often and expectations are high despite an injury-riddled, inconsistent sophomore season. If he plays like he did as a freshman, it could be a long day in Ann Arbor.

That other team in Michigan is figuring out how to rebuild a defense that soared in 2003 but really struggled last year. With last year's starting CB Jaren Hayes suspended, there's some uncertainty surrounding this year's Spartan defense.

Out in Seattle, the Huskies were picked to finish last in the Pac-10 preseason poll. Is anyone really surprised?

Finally, Purdue appears to have lost two of their top recruits from last year's class. Losing Selwyn Lymon is unfortunate for them, but Purdue's been moving the ball in the air without stud receivers for years, so I think they'll manage.

0-5? Even the pessimist in me says it couldn't get any worse than 2-3.

Admittedly, it was hard not looking ahead to that sixth game against the Trojans. Their defensive line just got a little softer now that Jeff Schweiger broke his leg. He could return for the October 15th match-up in South Bend but the injury can't be making Pete Carroll's job any easier.

I can see clearly now | by Pat

The big rumor today is that all Notre Dame home games on NBC this upcoming season will be broadcast in high definition. ccfond on ndnation had the scoop. Ever since news broke of NBC getting the rights to the NFL Sunday Night game starting in 2006, many Irish fans had voiced their speculations and hopes that Hi-Def programming would be coming to ND Stadium shortly thereafter. Now, it appears the timetable has been pushed up for the Irish. Perhaps NBC is going to use the ND broadcasts as a technological testing ground for their NFL production. Or maybe they just finally decided to put some money into the broadcast. Either way, it's good news for Irish fans (with HDTV).

Adding a bit more credibility to the rumor is confirmation coming on avsforum.com from an engineer who is reportedly working on the NBC/ND/Hi-Def production. For those who speak their language, the HD broadcasts will be in the 16:9 ratio and will include 5.1 sound. If you spent your time in high school shoving the AV Club into lockers and aren't sure what I just wrote, it means that the game will be shown in a widescreen format (so we can see where the secondary is lining up before the snap) and in full surround sound (so the dulcet tones of Pat Hayden and Tom Hammond will surround and envelop you).

Speaking of Tom Hammond and rumors, NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol has stated that Hammond is "at the top for just about any list that I could put together" when it comes to filling the play-by-play position for the NFL Sunday Night game on NBC. If Hammond makes the move to the NFL game, it calls into question if he would be available to do the Notre Dame games as well. Still, that move, if it happens, is a season off so it's not likely any announcements will be made soon about who will be up in the booth for ND games in 2006.

As for other enhancements to the ND on NBC broadcast, no word yet on if the "wailing guitar Victory March intro"^TM has been introduced to a deep, dark, watery grave, but we can only hope.

Million Dollar Safety | by Jay

The Mount Prospect Times has a nice catch-up with Zibby and his pugilistic enthusiasms.

Urban/Charlie, Charlie/Urban | by Jay

In 1962 the Cahiers du Cinema released a publication entitled Hitchcock/Truffaut, the transcript of a conversation between two legends of cinema, François Truffaut and Alfred Hitchcock. It was a monumental meeting of the minds, a remarkable exploration bridging two generations of filmmaking, theory and culture.

Today, we've upped the ante on the French New Wave. BGS is proud to present our first-ever article exchange, a bicameral look at two auteurs of college football, written in conjunction with Every Day Should Be Saturday, the incisive and hysterical Florida Gators blog. Yes, it's Urban Meyer and Charlie Weis, two coaches forever linked by events of this past fall, two coaches hired in the same year, nearly competing for the same job...two men considered offensive geniuses, no-nonsense taskmasters, and upon whose shoulders rests the hopes and dreams of two legions of fandom.

BGS' Michael does a rundown of Meyer's spread-option attack for EDSBS, and EDSBS reciprocates with a look at the foibles and fortunes of our respective commandants, printed below. Enjoy.

---

Dating your Coach: A Primer for the Heartbroken Florida and Notre Dame Fan

by Orson Swindle, Every Day Should Be Saturday

For fans, coaches represent anything and everything under the sun. For some, they’re like lovers—some burn so bad they leave a permanent black smudge on their vision, or cause a rushing, angry buzzing their ears when mentioned; some put it on fans with such consistent ferocity that finding a replacement becomes impossible. (See Alabama for the dire aftermath of a good, consistent thirty-year relationship with a randy, rock-steady provider. Tide fans for the most part probably feel like they’ve gone from one deadbeat loser bartender/actor to another for the better part of two decades now, save for that nice Gene Stallings guy they dated for a while, and even he left them with a little going-away present that didn’t clear up for a while.)

For Notre Dame and for the University of Florida, you might say that we’re both coming off disappointing relationships. Different ones, to be sure, but both letdowns in their own way: Willingham, initially promising in that he was charming, looked the part, and teased the Irish with a delirious first season, and Zook, who just had so much energy, dammit, that something had to happen, right? Both led their respective fanbases/mass dates on agonizing declines. Willingham committed the relationship foul of being disengaged and distant, preferring to recruit through telepathy rather than pressing the flesh, and sometimes letting his team vanish into insignificance between the lines. In contrast, Zook was the obsessive type, always around and always talking, even if what he said and did amounted to less with each passing minute. Ultimately he became the boyfriend who, though they’d come home drunk from the tittie bar for the three-thousandth time, swore up and down he could change, really he could change. Both got the boot they deserved, and both immediately ran to new, unwitting, and less attractive partners eager for someone who just cared, even if they ran the program into the ground.

(Oh, we thought we’d let it go. Then FSN’s “Flash Classics” had to feature the 2003 UF-Kentucky game, the one where UF was down 21-3 going into the fourth with approximately jack shit to pin hope to. Jared Lorenzen did all the work, covered with a thrashing Channing Crowder while throwing a diabolically stupid gimme INT to Johnny Lamar streaking down the sidelines for a TD. What’s the point? Every time we saw Zook with his arms folded and his big, granitic chin stuck pleading toward the sky, we imagined cracking his skull open with the sledgiest of hammers.)

So maybe you weren’t ready to love again, Notre Dame and Florida fans. Too bad—life moves fast, the body count’s high, and the action is non-stop. (We ripped that off from an old Lobo comic, we’re pretty sure.) Enter our two new partners, Urban Meyer and Charlie Weis. Yeah, we know it’s awkward, especially since y’all were googly-eyed over Urban. But you’re already over it, right? We’re all adults here. Admittedly, one loss and we’ll get wandering eyes again, as will you when Weis, the dude with all the rings, well-timed screens and skinny posts that always seem to find a hole, yeah, when he loses a game to Purdue, you’ll be silently wondering why a guy named after the Pope couldn’t just nut up and take on a challenge like Notre Dame. But let’s compare notes on our new spouses, just in case we need to look back years later from now and laugh at how wrong we were when Weis dies in the middle of his third BCS national championship game and Meyer’s off coaching the tight ends at Northwestern Multidirectional State with Hal Mumme and Mike Dubose.

The Charlie Weis-Urban Meyer Dating Comparison

What’s their sign?

Weis is an Aries: confident, energetic, and quick witted. Though the humor hasn’t come through the streetwise Parcells/Belichick veneer yet, the confidence and energy can be seen in the way he coaches offense, a quirky, cerebral attack that is simultaneously simple and beguiling in its formations and attack. Weis often brought out entirely new attacks from one quarter to the next in his time with the Pats, going dink-mad in the first half, then switching to a perimeter game passed on quick screens and tosses for the fourth, and then confounding their next opponent by coming out throwing deep down the middle for the first four plays of the next game. The best word to describe the coaching style would be one that works with quantum predictability—that is, none at all.

The downside of an Aries is a strong daredevil tendency, often leaning to the foolhardy sign. See all those Pats fans nodding their heads? The moments at which the dynastic Patriots looked weakest came when Weis played a game against himself, trying to eke out the perfect play no matter what the defense was throwing at him. The 4th and 4 test would invariably result in Weis going for it. It will benefit his team, but in his first season look for him to go for it and send the Irish crashing in the name of bravery and ego at least once. Be prepared.

Meyer, weirdly enough, is the same sign as us: Cancer. Cancerians are, above all things, protective, moody, and imaginative types. Looking at Meyer’s gaudy offenses, you might think how incongruous this matchup is, but take another look at the fundamentals of Meyer’s system—short passes, tons of fakes, and a systematic emphasis on protecting the ball, moving sticks, and controlling the tempo of the game. The high-wire act Urban Warfare appears to be is actually at its heart a conservative approach, albeit a novel one. Thus a coach who could emphasize the importance of a retro-offense done in a novel fashion without batting an eye.

Darkside cancerian traits include an innate mercurial streak and an inability to let go. The comparison we heard coming in that frightened us most in relation to Meyer came in the form of one horrid name: Bobby Knight, who’s as moody and vengeful as they get. Knight drove his recruits like a swarm of demons for a decade of excellence, then proceeded to believe his own hype while choking players and cursing the paint off the locker room walls. We might be okay with that, since a single coach staying anywhere for ten years now would be an eternity—but Urban’s Cancer vindictiveness could lead to some of the ugliest run-it-up blowouts the world has known since…well, since Steve Spurrier, actually. Come to think of it, we have no problem with this at all. Forget we said anything, unless Meyer attacks a player with a chainsaw on the practice field for missing a block.

Are they cute?

Well, not really. Meyer has a certain Teutonic intensity about him, sure. Oh, and he does have well-sculpted legs in the runners mode. We think he looks like a character from a Wim Wenders movie, or maybe the Edge.



Weis, while not quite Jabba the Hutt fat, does have a teensy weight problem, though the surgery that nearly killed him did help a bit. Weis probably has those nice fat guy calves, though, the only part of a fat guy that’s really bankable in the attractiveness department.
For some reason, we always think of this in our heads.



Which side of the bed do they sleep on?

Both Weis and Meyer sleep on the offensive side of the bed, but don’t expect this to lead to the kind of neglect you sometimes see on the defenses of offensive masterminds. (Mike Leach! Put down that controller and listen the f--- up! We’re talking about yooooouuuu.) Meyer’s defenses do take their cues from the offense’s style and tempo; solid, unpredictable coverages coupled with balls-out bump and run technique and the occasional massive blitz package. Meyer takes more than a passing interest in his other units (groan at the punnery,) particularly special teams, where the Gators will be using a funky formation that resembles a well-formed free-kick defense in soccer.

Weis coached under Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. Need we say more? The D is going to be integral, especially since Weis doesn’t have the smurf corps of speedy wideouts he seemed to prefer in New England or a proven line.

How do they fight?

A crucial question. How does your coaching partner fight?

If you’re an Irish fan, you’re about to marvel at a passive-aggressive genius. Weis’ attack relies on setting up call after call after call, forcing defenses to vacate zones, abandon gaps, and generally make asses of themselves based on the previous three or four successful calls. Aggressive defenses get a steady diet of screens, followed by countless under routes and power runs once they back off. That and plenty of throwing to the tight end creates a subtle, nibbling attack that eventually gives linebackers and dbs vertigo from the rocking motion they’ve been making all day. And just when you think you’ve gotten the idea, they go deep and embarrass you.

Weis will take the same tack in motivating his players, getting alternately icy and warm with them, much like Parcells did to great effect in New England and New York. Men who would have liked to see Parcells trapped under the ice of the East River came to love him after a while. Irish players, especially those with thick skins, will likely come to crave their coach’s tough brand of love.

Meyer, as Gator fans saw in the Orange and Blue game, is just plain aggressive. He points. He threatens to kick loafers not just off the field, but also off the team, out of the town, and out of the country and universe if necessary. His plays are designed to attack the entire field from sideline to sideline, and even the teeniest wideout is forced to compete in the “Circle of Life,” a mano a mano pit fight where the winner gets to sip Cristal while getting a lap dance, and the loser goes to work in the lead mines for a year to learn the meaning of pain. Or something like that, at least.

Weis, in short, would fight much like your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/whatever does: methodically, unpredictably, and to great effect. Meyer would play Ike to your Tina and ask you to have some of his cake.

But are they serious? I don’t want to get hurt...

The answer here may surprise you: Meyer may be the more long-term, stable partner for those looking for a coaching relationship with some security. Meyer’s young, he’s in great health, he’s finished the last step of the three-rung climb to a major program, and he’s working with a system that would NEVER, EVER work on the professional level. He’s got kids in school, a wife with more money to spend now than she can handle, and beaches and golf courses a plenty surrounding him. The incentive to stay and the fit are there for the long haul.

Saying that Meyer’s the better fit is not a knock on Weis—he could be that successful-- but a few things must be remembered here. The money Weis could make after a few years at the helm at ND moving back to the pros could be too staggering to resist, especially after the snub job they’d given him before as an assistant. The comeuppance of pro GMs and owners begging a guy they’d rejected out of hand a few years prior to the Irish hire would be a powerful pull. There’s also the issue of health: Weis has already almost died once, his father died of a second heart attack at 56, and he’s a former pro assistant taking over a head coaching job for the first time. It’s not pleasant to think about, but you can bet your ass it’s something the Irish administration took into careful consideration when they interviewed him.

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Be sure to check out EDSBS for your daily dose of wit and wisdom.

BlogPoll Roundtable Wrapup | by Jay

So many good responses from the latest blogpoll ("It's All About the Rivalry"). Be sure to check out the listed comments plus the trackbacks for some quality edification and trash talk. I learned a lot about rivalries at other schools. Most of the time we're focused on our own team with laserlike precision, so it's nice to take a look around at the other squabbles that make college football such a wonderfully detailed tapestry of scorn and hilarity.

For instance, I learned BC doesn't apologize for their boorishness when in South Bend; nay, they celebrate it. I learned the Tennessee mascot once pooped on the Auburn sideline. I learned the trophy for the winner of the Iowa State-Missori game is a freaking telephone. I learned that the hills are alive with the sound of song boys. Great, great stuff. Here's some selected highlights:

Cheap Seats (Texas Tech)
Two years later, Tech upset A&M in Lubbock again, and again the fans in tore down the goal post. Unfortunately, the fans decided to deposit it in the visiting fans section of Jones Stadium and a riot ensued in between the A&M fans and Tech fans. Among the spectators for A&M was the chief of staff for Governor Rick Perry, who got punched in the melee and blamed it on a Lubbock resident. Later it was discovered on videotape that Perry's chief of staff got hit by a fellow Aggie.

The DJL Zone (Bowling Green)
I despise Toledo with every fiber of my being. From their tolerance of football players beating the crap out of actual students at parties, to their ghetto eyesore of a campus, to that freaking guy who screams "FIRST DOWN ROCKETS!" over the Ass Bowl's PA system every time they gain ten yards, as if the fans should respond by storming the field and tearing down the goalposts. They tried that. Didn't work out so well. And after watching BG play the single worst quarter in the history of its football program last year in the third quarter of the Toledo game, I can honestly say that beating them 90-0 this year wouldn't be enough. Toledo must be destroyed. Salt the Earth, wipe them off the map.

TAMU & Baseball (Texas A&M)
In recent years, the texas tech game has been quite heated because they're the most disrespectful fans in the conference. Most Aggies refuse to consider this a rivalry game because tech is....well....tech. My old roommate, a starting LBer for the Ags in the late 90s-2000, said that the fans would throw batteries at the players and they slashed the tires on the team bus so they couldn't leave after the game. Their fans (ages 8-60) have been known to spit and cuss at Aggie fans who venture out up to lubbock every other year.

Every Day Should Be Saturday (Florida)
Florida State is a cardiac serious one, and probably the consensus pick for the Gator fan’s Moriarty/Voldemort/Lundberg of choice. They make it worse by beating us most of the time and patting players on the head while they steal the colostomy bags off senior citizens. (We’ve always wondered what Randy Moss really did to get kicked out there; sure, it was weed. We bet he shot a hapless fratboy in the face in broad daylight for scuffing his kicks and yelled “Riverside, motherf---er!” after he did it.) We just puked typing that, so that must be close.

Bruins Nation (UCLA)
We really have only other rival in mind. And, we are looking at straight at you, BGS. UCLA's only other football rival should be none other than ND. It makes sense, considering what we have going in hoops. UCLA football v. ND football, should have the same relationship between ND hoops v. UCLA hoops. This is a rivalry waiting to happen, and thankfully it will get started soon - like next year. Hopefully it will be someone like Dan Hawkins or Mike Leach leading the Bruin charge into South Bend, not Dorrell. BTW, Cal thinks they are our rivals, but who gives a flying f--- about a bunch of hippies from Bezerkley.

Boi from Troy (USC)
New rivalry? South Carolina. USC vs. USC. Cocks versus Trojans. The metaphors would be endless--and, perhaps, the winner would get to call themself USC for the next year.

1000 Movies (Alabama)
I can be friends with AU fans, I can watch them on TV and have no problem rooting for them if they play someone I dislike or their winning will help The Tide, but when it comes time to play them I want them beaten, and beaten badly. Tennessee is a different story. I hate Tennessee with every fiber of my being. The recent sanctions and Fulmer's Henry Hydeesque participation with the NCAA has only furthered that hatred. The sight of their particular brand of orange is like putting a red flag in front of a bull for an Alabama fan. So that's probably the most hated of rival, though I'd still say Auburn is enemy #1.

mgoblog (Michigan)
Best trophy: Does it have a grandiose name resembling that of a medieval knight? Check. Would it look natural on the mantle of the crazy old lady in the neighborhood with 100 cats? Check. Is it absolutely, completely ridiculous in every way? Check. Does it remind you of bratwurst, tailgate food of the gods? Check. Ladies and gentlemen, I present Minnesota and Iowa's Floyd of Rosedale to you:



If you have a moment, check out all the responses; there's a ton of great material there, some wonderful blogs to read, some terrific writing and some incisive wit.

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So, now we get to answer our own questions.

1. Who's your rival?

This is easy: Southern Cal. In our eyes, there's no greater rivalry than the Irish-Trojan tilt. It's been going on for what seems like thousands of years in an epic clash befitting Athens versus Sparta, Rome versus Carthage, or Irish students versus the SBPD. ND has played Southern Cal 76 times (more than any other opponent not named Navy) and 59 years straight, interrupted only by WWII. ND leads the series 42-29-5.

Macor tells me there have been 16 times that both teams were ranked in the top 10; 29 games where both teams were ranked in the top 20; and 18 games where ND or Southern Cal was ranked either #1 or #2. The games have featured thirteen Heisman winners, countless All-Americans, and at least a score of eventual National Champion teams (depending on how you measure such things). I think it's safe to say no rivalry in football has produced the sheer number of accolades as ND-Southern Cal. (Nope, not even Michigan-Ohio State).

Rockne and Southern Cal administrator Gwynn Wilson started the series back in 1926 (a 13-12 nailbiter in the Coliseum with 100,000+ people on hand) as a way to gain national exposure for both schools, and the matchup since then has featured dozens of classic battles. Some are well-known by Irish and Trojan fans alike by a simple moniker: the Green Jersey game. The Anthony Davis game. The Comeback. The Eric Penick game. And the illustrious array of football greats who distinguished themselves in this game is seemingly endless: McKay, Montana, the Juice, Allen, Parseghian, Fertig, Brown, Haden, Rice, Leinart, Holtz, Stams, Bush, Carney, White, Browner (Ross and Joey), Palmer.

I could go on and on about Southern Cal-Notre Dame. The tradition is just that rich.

2. How will we fare against Southern Cal this year?

Seeing as we've dropped the last three by thirty-one points apiece, I'm going to have to say...no comment. Teds picked up the ball:

We're going to give them a hell of a game. The stern tests we'll get over the first five games of the year and the bye week immediately before are going to be of incalculable value to Weis and the team. If we don't beat them, it's going to be awfully close. As of today, I believe we'll pull it off.

Man, I hope you're right.

3. If you could start up a new rivalry with another team, who would it be?

We had a little roundtable of our own on this question, and the team that kept coming up again and again was Alabama. Two storied programs, two tremendous histories, and some great clashes already. We've only played the Tide six times, but it seems like each one of those games was a classic, and amazingly, only one team out of those six matchups wasn't ranked at the time. Four of the six featured two top-10 teams squaring off.

The very first meeting was in the 1973 Sugar Bowl, and that game has to go down as one of the best title games every played. Third-ranked ND versus #1 Alabama. The Bear versus Ara. In a battle that saw the lead change hands six times, the Irish came from behind to win 24–23 on a late field goal.

As another intersectional rivalry along the lines of Southern Cal, it'd be great to rekindle a series with the Crimson Tide. I think it would have tremendous national appeal as well.

4. Best rivalry in the country?

There are a lot of great ones, but we're going to go with the Iron Bowl. It's just so heated, so nasty, and so provincial. It divides a state, neighborhoods and families, pitting cousins against cousins and fathers against sons. As the Tigers' equipment manager Frank Cox once said, "The best thing about this game is also the worst thing about this game. It's too important to too many people." It's a rivalry so deep and scarred that it was suspended for 40 years for fear that it would tear the state apart. We love it.

5. Best (and worst) rivalry trophy?

There were a lot of potential winners and losers in this category found on the rivalry cribsheet, but one in particular caught our eye, and it qualifies simultaneously as the best and the worst: Montana and Montana State duke it out each year for something called the Grizzly-Bobcat Trophy:

Close to 3 feet high, about 31/2 feet long and 2 feet wide, the bronze depicts a grizzly bear and a bobcat grasping the side of a craggy mountain in an attempt to reach the football that sits on top.

But it’s not easy to pick out either animal at first glance and each time you examine the piece, more details, like claw marks on the front, are revealed.

“You have to study it to see the detail,” said Jones.

A grizzly bear and a bobcat fighting over a football? That's outstanding. If anybody has a picture of this thing, we've gotta see it.

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Once again, thanks to all the BlogPollers for their great responses, and we'll see you all in Week 1 for the first vote.

The duality of man -- the Jungian thing, sir. | by Jay

There's a short Q&A with Gerome Sapp in the Indy Star today.

Player Profile: Gerome Sapp

Age: 24
Position: Defensive back
Height/weight: 6-1/216
College: Notre Dame, bachelor's degree in finance
Pro tenure: Two seasons, with Colts, Ravens
Family: Wife, Tracy
Pet: Bentley, a Yorkshire Terrier, 11 months

Where do you call home? Houston

Does a Notre Dame degree mean as much as they say? I was in Mexico and met an alum and he offered me a job as a trader on the Chicago Board of Exchange. Maybe that's an option after I'm done. That happens all the time.

What was Notre Dame like? In college, you weren't just a number. You were a student, a face to the professors and your classmates. We lived with our classmates and ate with them. There were only three football players in my dorm. I roomed with a hockey player and an architecture major.

You dispel the dumb jock stereotype: I think so, but it would be naïve for me to think that people don't look at me just like they look at every other football player until they get to know me. When they get to know me, I know I do stand out. If you want to talk finance with me, we'll talk finance.

Got a favorite finance term? Leveraged buyout. You basically fireball the shares of a company and you buy them back at a higher price. That's how you forcefully take control of a company.

Not just football, huh? My world is so much more than football. It's so much more complex than what I do out here. Even though I love doing it, it's like a duality of my life. Football started off as a hobby to me and I was blessed enough to be good enough to be here. But when you get down to it, it's still just a glorified hobby.

Football goal: Pro Bowl some time after we play in the Super Bowl.

Meatballs | by Mark

I just love the fact the ND's coach is best buddies with, and can pick the brain of, the best coach in all of football. The following blurb is in today's Boston Herald:

Weis a camp counselor
By Michael Felger
Tuesday, August 2, 2005 - Updated: 10:00 AM EST

It apparently didn't take former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis very long to get homesick.

With the summer practice schedule yet to get under way at Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish coach was a visitor at Patriots camp for the second straight day yesterday.

Unlike Sunday, when he viewed practice from the sidelines, Weis walked out to the session with his former boss, Bill Belichick, and then took in the action from the middle of the two practice fields, chatting with former colleagues along the way.

Belichick even called the full team over to Weis – who was in the area tending to other business – prior to practice. Weis said a few words, and when he was done the players cheered.

"He just told us he was appreciative of all the things we did for him, and he thanked us for helping him get a (head coaching) job,'' said wide receiver Troy Brown. "And there weren't even any (swear words). That was different.''

2005 Opponent Position Preview - Offensive Lines/Tight Ends | by Pat

The season is approaching faster than ever so we're going to combine tight ends and offensive lines into one jumbo-sized preview fitting for the biggest guys on offense.

(all stats are from the '04 season)

PITTSBURGH

TE - Erik Gill. 25 receptions, 433 yards, 4 TDs. Returning starter.

Gill started out as primarily as a blocking tight end, but last year showed that he's very capable as a receiver as well. His clutch catch and run was more or less the key play in the Pitt victory over the Irish last year. A true veteran who has played in all 38 games of his Pitt career, he should be a frequent safety value for Palko this year as well as a extra big body for Wannstedt's power running game. Depth: At 6'4" 250 lbs, Steve Buches isn't as big as Gill (6'5", 270lbs) so he tends to be more of a receiver. And he's a rather effective one as last year he four touchdowns on only seven receptions. A year older and presumably stronger, he should be able to see more time and passes thrown his way. A third TE who might make some noise is quarterback turned TE, Darrell Strong, who has turned some heads with his impressive athletic ability.

LT - Charles Spencer - Returning starter.
LG - Dominic Williams
C - Joe Villani
RG - John Sinonitis - Returning starter.
RT - Mike McGlynn - Returning starter.

Spencer was an All-Big East performer at guard last year but now must try to replace 3-time All-Big East tackle Rob Petitti. At the other tackle spot, space eater McGlynn returns and will give Pitt a seasoned right side of the line with veteran Sinonitis. Villani is a former walk-on, but seemed to grab the starting spot at the end of spring practice. The line remains a work in progress, but has the size to keep Palko relatively safe. Depth: Chris Vangas should push Villani for playing time while big Jerald Robinson will see the field as Spencer's heir apparent.

MICHIGAN

TE - Tim Massaquoi. 18 receptions, 184 yards, 0 TDs. Returning starter.

Michigan has had a long line of exceptional tight ends and Massaquoi doesn't appear to be much different. The one knock on him is that he isn't the greatest blocking tight end. On the other hand though, he is probably the fastest tight end that Notre Dame will have to face next season. Depth: Backup Tyler Ecker had nearly identical stats as Massaquoi and while not a great blocker is a very serviceable compliment.

LT- Adam Stenavich - Returning starter.
LG - Adam Kraus
C - Rueben Riley - Returning starter.
RG - Matt Lentz - Returning starter.
RT - Jake Long - Returning starter.

If it's Michigan, you can count on a solid offensive line. This year however, despite returning talent, the players are not neccesarily locked into one position. Stenavich anchors the left tackle position but the high praise in the media for his abilities isn't mirrored by all Michigan fans. Internet chatter suggests he may move to left guard to make room for 6'7" 325 lb Mike Kolodziej. Kraus is a converted tight end that should stay at LG if Stenavich stays at LT. Riley is another versitale offensive lineman that can line up anywhere on the line. For now it appears center is where his skills will be most needed to help replace all-american David Baas. Lentz, like Stenavich is entering his third year as a starter and will be a team leader. Jake Long is the lineman that many expect to become a first round pick and he should have a dominant year. Depth: In addition to Kolodzief, Leo Heinge at 339 lbs will add beef to the line. One time ND recruit Jeremy Ciulla might see time along the line as well.

MICHIGAN STATE

TE - Ryan Woods. 1 reception, 17 yards, 0 TDs.

Woods fills in by default for departing Eric Knott and will need to elevate his receiving skills to match his blocking skills. Especially since TE is a big target in a John L. Smith offense. Twice while at Louisville his TE's lead the NCAA in receptions. Depth: Kellen Davis is a highly recruited tight end who fits the mold of receiver first/blocker second and could be the starter by the time the Spartans run out the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium.

LT- Stefon Wheeler - Returning starter.
LG - Kyle Cook - Returning starter.
C - Chris Morris - Returning starter.
RG - Gordon Niebylski
RT - Mike Gyetvai

Morris is the Boss Hogg of this group of hog mollies and is a definite Rimington Award candidate. Look for all of the short yardage runs to go right behind Morris, Cook, and Wheeler on the veteran left side of the line. New starters and color commentary pronunciation nightmares Neibyski and Gyetvai(left) are both 300+lb wide bodies, but Neibyski missed spring practice with injury and Gyetvai is inexperienced. In MSU's favor though is QB Stanton's mobility which means a missed block here and there isn't always going to result in a sack. Depth: Manchild Roland Martin is the future of the MSU line and should see action as he develops more familiarity with his position.

WASHINGTON

TE - Robert Lewis. 5 receptions, 32 yards, 0 TDs.

With Joe Toledo transplanted to the left tackle position, Robert Lewis will be the new starter at TE for the Huskies. Lewis started out as a linebacker but should be a serviceable tight end for the Huskies. Depth: Dash Crutchley is another converted linebacker, but has a cooler, comic-book worthy name and is bigger than Lewis.

LT- Joe Toledo
LG - Clay Walker - Returning starter.
C - Brad Vannerman - Returning starter.
RG - Tusi Sa'au
RT - Robin Meadow - Returning starter.

New to the offensive line, Joe Toledo will have to pick things up in a hurry as he's now charged with protecting the weak side of whatever QB is eventually named the starter. He has pro size at 6'6" 310lbs, but his lack of experience could hurt the Huskies early on. Meadow anchors the other side of this veteran line and should have a great year. While not listed as a returning starter, senior Sa'au did start five games last year. Depth: Washington has some decent OL depth with Chad Macklin and Stanley Daniels pushing Joe Toledo and Tusi Sa'au for playing time. The rest of the Washington offense may struggle this year, but their offensive line should be fairly solid.

PURDUE

TE - Charles Davis. 34 receptions, 416 yards, 3 TDs. Returning starter.

One of the better tight ends that the Irish will face, Davis is an excellent athlete who also plays on the Purdue basketball team. He's big enough to be a quality blocker but has great hands and can be dangerous in the Purdue spread offense. Depth: Dustin Keller has been bulking up since his move from wide receiver to tight end and like Davis is more receiver than blocker.

LT - Mike Otto - Returning starter.
LG - Uche Nwaneri - Returning starter.
C - Matt Turner - Returning starter.
RG - Jordan Grimes
RT - Sean Sester

Returning starters Otto, Nwaneri, and Turner will give Purdue experience on the left side of the line. Otto in particular is expected to be a dominant tackle given his outstanding freshman year in 2003. Grimes, one of the strongest guys on the team, isn't technically a returning starter but last year played in 10 games and did start one game, becoming the first true freshman to ever start for a Tiller coached team. Redshirted freshman Sean Sester emerged in the spring to fill the big void at right tackle. Depth: Robbie Powell should push Sester for playing time.

USC

TE - Dominique Byrd. 37 receptions, 384 yards, 3 TDs. - Returning starter.

Byrd continues the trend of receiver-first, blocker-second tight ends and might be the best. Extremely agile for his size, Byrd is a tough matchup for anyone in the secondary. Especially considering his penchant for one handed catches and high leg kicks. Depth: Yet another bulked up wide receiver, Fred Davis still has some size to gain if he wants to be an effective blocker. He is still facing competition from Rick Vanderboom and Dale Thompson who all shared co-starter honors in the spring.

LT - Sam Baker - Returning starter.
LG - Drew Radovich
C - Ryan Kalil - Returning starter.
RG - Fred Matua - Returning starter.
RT - Winston Justice

A line that at times had trouble last year should develop into a dominant unit this season. The Trojan tackles will be two of the best in the nation as Sam Baker follows up to last year's impressive performance and big gun Winston Justice returns from a year suspension ready to knock some heads. Big, strong, and tough, Fred Matua is the most likely to end up on All-American lists while Kalil returns to run the show from the middle. Depth: The depth took a hit when projected starter Jeff Byers ruled out any PT in 2005 due to a hip injury. But don't weep for the Trojans as there are plenty of talented reserves. Taitusi Lutui actually was the starting right tackle last year (and could start there this year) but Justice already beat him out for the spot in the spring. Alatini Malu is another player who had a great spring and could provide quality depth.

BYU

TE - Daniel Coats. 13 receptions, 160 yards, 0 TDs. Returning starter.

A great mix of size and speed, Coats will probably be the #2 option in BYU's pass happy attack after superstar Todd Watkins. Coats can run block with some of the best tight ends, but has excellent hands and can be a big threat catching the ball. He will be a tough assignment for any linebacker or safety assigned to cover him. Depth: Joe Griffin isn't quite as good a blocker as Coats, but will see time as a pass-catching threat. Jonny Harline had a great spring and should be a productive pass target in the BYU offense.

LT - Eddie Keele
LG - Brian Sanders - Returning starter.
C - Lance Reynolds - Returning starter.
RG - Travis Bright
RT - Jake Kuresa - Returning starter.

Former linebacker Lance Reynolds returns for his second tour of duty as the BYU center and will be a force in the middle. To his left, Sanders has the reputation of not being the most athletic lineman on the team, but he's a big bulldozer of a player with plenty of size and strength. Kuresa (left) is the most veteran player on the line while Bright balances his enourmous potential with his complete lack of playing time. He'll be a good one, but will make mistakes along the way. Depth: The most promising lineman on the Cougars team all seem to be freshman who undoutably will be worked into the rotation. All-Everything recruit Matt Reynolds is away on a mission, but another true freshman, Terrance Brown could work his way into the starting lineup by the time the Cougars visit South Bend.

TENNESSEE

TE - grab bag.

Going into the season Tennessee has no clear cut starter, but a number of guys with different strengths vying for the position. Justin Reed is the bulldozer type of tight end checking in a 289 lbs. After attempts at receiver, defensive end, and punter, Vols fans hope Reed will help their ground attack by knocking linebackers off the line. As you can guess at 289 lbs, he's not much of a threat in the passing game. Chris Brown is 50 pounds lighter than Reed, so that should clue you in that he falls into the pass catching tight end realm. An excellent athlete, Reed should benefit from another year in the weight room and emerge as the tight end of choice when the Vols are thinking pass. Depth: Rounding out the TE rotation are brothers Brad and Jeff Cottam.

LT - Arron Sears - Returning starter. (left)
LG - Rob Smith - Returning starter.
C - David Ligon
RG - Cody Douglas - Returning starter.
RT - Albert Toeaina - Returning starter.

Perhaps the biggest OL that Notre Dame will face, the Vols bring 3 lineman that weigh in at over 330 lbs. The star of the line is Sears (left) who is supposed to step right into departing All-American Michael Munoz's big shoes. In a line of Big Bertha's, tackle Toeainia is the biggest at 355 lbs but will need to develop a mental game to match his physical one. Ligon steps into the middle after projected starter Richie Gandy went down with a season-ending knee injury. Depth: The Vol backups are pretty young with most of the 2nd teamers being sophomores. Still, the line had injury problems last year so look for some of the bench guys like Eric Young, Ramon Foster, and Steven Jones to get a chance to knock helmets in game situations in order to build depth should the injury bug strike again.

NAVY

TE - not applicable.

Navy doesn't have a tight end on their roster. Their option attack uses an extra slot back that we covered in the running back preview.

LT - Matt Pritchett
LG - Zach Gallion
C - James Rossi - Returning starter.
RG - Antron Harper
RT - Joe Person

Quite frankly, Navy is going to have a very young, small, and inexperienced offensive line. For a team that lives and dies by the run, Navy is going to have to quickly develop their line if they want to have another successful season. Rossi is the lone returning starter and he only has six starts under his belt. When your starting right guard, in this case Harper, tips the scales at 5'11" 249 lbs, you know it could get ugly. They are all quick, which helps in running the option, and always play harder than any other team the Irish play, but the lack of size and talent will be hard for them to overcome against a team like Notre Dame. Depth: Cole Smith, another 250-something pounder, will back up Rossi at center and Dan Wendolowski will back up both guard spots.

SYRACUSE

TE - Joseph Kowalewski. 14 receptions, 181 yards, 0 TDs.

After life as a defensive end and linebacker, Kowalewski has finally landed at tight end. He is a solid blocker but must work in improving as a receiver. A good pass-catching TE is vital in the West Coast Offense that 'Cuse hopes to run this year. He did miss all of spring practice with a shoulder injury so fall practice will be his first work with the new coaching staff. Depth: Alex Shor played in all 12 games last season but was primarily used as a third tackle. If he can work on becoming a credible receiving threat, his playing time should increase.

LT - Kurt Falke
LG - Jason Greene - Returning starter. (right)
C - Steve Franklin - Returning starter.
RG - Ryan Durand
RT - Quinn Ojinnaka - Returning starter.

Durand is the only non-senior starting on a line that has experience, but no real dominant players. Franklin is entering his third year as starter at center after playing guard the first two. Falke was used as a blocking tight end in short-yardage situations last season, but now must be ready to hold down the important left tackle position. Depth: If Durand struggles, Franklin could move back to guard and make room for Justin Outten. Another big body who might see PT is 322 lb OG Carroll Madison.

STANFORD

TE - grab bag.

Replacing NFL draftee Alex Smith at tight end is probably one of the top chores on Walt Harris' To-Do List. So far the candidates seem to be either Patrick Danahy or Michael Horgan. Danahy is the very definition of red zone receiver with three of his four career receptions going for touchdowns. Horgan is an effective blocker that will need to develop into a downfield threat. Both tight ends will most likely see a lot of playing time in two-tight end sets, but how they perform in fall camp will determine just how many balls are thrown their way.

LT - Jeff Edwards - Returning starter.
LG - Josiah Vinson - Returning starter.
C - Brian Head - Returning starter. (left)
RG - Ismail Simpson - Returning starter.
RT - Jon Cochran - Returning starter.

Good news, bad news for the Cardinal. The good news is that all five starters return. This is the only team on ND's 2005 schedule that can make that claim. The bad news? These 5 are responsible for allowing 41 sacks last season. However, it should be noted that Head is the only senior of the group so they were very young last year. A year older and hopefully wiser (it is Stanford after all) the veteran line will be a big aid in the transition to the Walt Harris era. (We should probably also note that Buddy Ball did the Stanford offense no favors.) Vinson is developing into a great all-conference type lineman and will be a force on the line. Depth: The fun part for Stanford fans is that while their starting unit is experienced, their backups are extremely talented and already pushing the starters for playing time. Sophomore Ben Muth split first team duties with Jon Cochran during spring practice and is a future star according to internet gurus. (And if you can't believe internet gurus, who can you believe?) Also in the mix are heralded recruits Mikal Brewer and Alex Fletcher. Stanford will have a strong, tough, and deep offensive line this year.

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2005 Opponent Tight End/Offensive Line Anaylsis and Ranking


Tight Ends

This season Notre Dame will not face too many experienced tight ends with only five returning starters lining up against the Irish. But those five returning starters are all extremely capable receivers and not just pass-eligble lineman. Byrd, Davis, and Coats in particular will all be focal points of the opposing offenses as they try to exploit personnel mismatches. Here's a rough idea of where I think these tight end units rank.

1. USC - Byrd has proven to be a very effective weapon and has the size to be a quality blocker.
2. Purdue - Davis is a fast tight end with good hands who can run after the catch.
3. BYU - Coats is extremely well-rounded and will be tough to cover
4. Michigan - Massaquoi is very fast and can't be left alone.
5. Pittsburgh - Gill's ability to get yards after the catch killed the Irish last year.
6. Tennessee - They have a mix of talented players. Someone will step up and be effective.
7. MSU - If Kellen Davis picks up the offense, he could move up this list.
8. Washington - Inexperience will limit their production early.
9. Stanford - Most likely a tight-end by committee approach until someone steps up.
10. Syracuse - Blocking tight ends who will need to quickly develop into solid receivers.
11. Navy - Lack of any tight end on the roster hurts their ranking.

Offensive Lines

Much has been made of the lack of depth at DL for Notre Dame this season and for good reason. After a talented first four, the depth quickly turns into undersized and inexperienced underclassmen. Teams with talented, veteran offensive lines will likely try to pound it out on the ground and wear down the Irish front four. The first three schools on this list should be no surprise as they always turn out solid, if not great, offensive lines. Kudos to Michigan for finally breaking USC's stranglehold on the top ranking spot.

1. Michigan - Potential All-Americans all over the line and plenty of experience.
2. USC - Both USC and Michigan have O-lines that belong in the Top 10 nationally.
3. Tennessee - Even with losing their starting center, a very impressive group.
4. MSU - Excellent run blockers who should become solid at blocking for the pass as well.
5. Purdue - A veteran line that will be a tough task for the Irish D-line.
6. Stanford - Experience is there with a good crop of backups.
7. Pitt - A line with a lot of potential. They could be undervalued here.
8. BYU - A big line with a talented group of backups that could develop by the ND game.
9. Washington - A converted tight end joins a veteran line that didn't do much last season.
10. Syracuse - Another line moving a tight end to the left tackle spot.
11. Navy - Inexperienced and very small, the line will have to execute flawlessly to succeed.

That's it for the offense. Tune for the next installment when we turn our attention to the Defensive Line.