The Bowls and Belichick U. | by Mark

In David Halberstam's excellent book on Bill Belichick, "The Education of a Coach", he dubs the coaches that have been groomed under BB as the graduates of "Belichick University".

It was noted recently that Coach Weis went to another grad, Nick Saban, to get advice on how to prepare for Weis's first trip as a head coach to a college bowl game. Weis pointed out that Saban told him to not make the same mistake that he had made, burning his teams out with too much work, both physical and mental, which led to a terrible start to Saban's bowl career.

It's hard to believe that Saban never won a bowl game while as Michigan State. In fact, he got his butt kicked - a lot:

1995 - a 45-26 loss to LSU in the Independence Bowl.

1996 - a 38-0 loss to Stanford in the Sun Bowl (this game being the only bowl win of Tyrone Willingham's entire head coaching career).

1997 - a 51-23 loss to Washington in the Aloha Bowl.

Saban finally learned his lesson, started to treat the bowl games as a "one-game season", and things changed for him at LSU:

2000 - a 28-14 win over Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl.

2001 - a 47-34 win over Illinois in the Sugar Bowl.

2002 - a 35-20 loss to Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

2003 - a 21-14 win over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl (securing a national championship).

2004 - a 30-25 loss to Iowa in the Capital One Bowl (to fellow Belichick U. alum Kirk Ferentz).

Overall, Saban was 3-5 in bowl games. The members of Belichick U. that followed him as head coaches in college have done much better.

As of today, Kirk Ferentz is 3-1 in bowl games at Iowa, including his victory over Saban in his last game at LSU. Aside from the LSU game, his bowl record includes:

2001 - a 19-16 win over Texas Tech in the Alamo Bowl.

2002 - a 38-12 loss to Southern Cal in the Orange Bowl.

2003 - a 37-17 win over Florida in the Gator Bowl.

Al Groh is now 3-1 at Virginia. His only loss in a bowl game was to former Belichick assistant Pat Hill and Fresno State last season. Other than that game, his record is as follows:

2002 - a 48-22 win over West Virginia in the Continential Tire Bowl.

2003 - a 23-16 win over Pittsburgh in the Continential Tire Bowl.

2005 - a 34-31 win over Minnesota in the Music City Bowl.

As for Hill, going into todays contest with Tulsa, he was 3-3 in bowl games. Like Saban, he started out 0-3, but rebounded with wins in the past three years over Georgia Tech, UCLA, and Groh's Virginia.

The difference between the other members of Belichick U. and Weis is that they all worked for "The Genius" while he was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. None of them were part of the glorious run of the Patriots that included 3 Super Bowl victories. We'll find out on Monday if that helps Weis in his first bowl game as a head coach.

Rubber Match | by Jay

The curtain now rises on a new football setting, and there at front stage are the Irish of Notre Dame and the battling Buckeyes of Ohio State. Notre Dame and Ohio State! This is the game the fans of the nation have awaited. This is the greatest test of two powerful gridiron machines, amply supported by replacements, which have rolled over all opposition and now find their victorious paths converge.

Carnival at its zenith: No detail of metropolitan madness, necessary props for football, has been omitted. There are rumors of counterfeit tickets. There are scalpers, professional and amateur, whose prices are said to fluctuate from $7.50 to $25, depending on the author of the tale...

Eighty-thousand fortunates will see the game. Many times that number will hear it described. An army of reporters will write about it. This contest has stirred city and commonwealth so completely that a President might pass these boundaries unnoticed...

Now [head coach Elmer] Layden and his assistants have no knowledge of any loophole in Ohio State's defense. It may be Notre Dame can gain over the Buckeye tackles. Passes may be completed, but only the game itself will answer whether the Irish can breach the Buckeye's defenses...

Of this you may be certain: tomorrow's victor will find few to question its claim to national supremacy.

-- Wilfrid Smith, Chicago Tribune, 1935

(and the letter that kicked off the series in the '30s, care of IrishLegends.)

Bucknuts did a nice series of article on all four previous Notre Dame-Ohio State tilts, starting with a great overview of the matchup, then an article on all four games:

1935 - Game of the Century

1936 - Rematch in South Bend

1995 - A Rivalry Rekindled

1996 - OSU Evens the Score

It still amazes me that the Fiesta Bowl will only be the fifth time Notre Dame and Ohio State have ever played each other. Here we've got two programs who've been in the football business from the very beginning of the sport, separated by a scant three hundred miles, yet through through the first half of the century ND was constantly trekking to Omaha and New York and Los Angeles to fill out their schedule (thanks, Fielding!). It seems like such an obvious regional rivalry, and I'm glad there are some stirrings about another series down the road.

If I Had a Hammer | by Jay

Still no word on outside linebacker Bobby Carpenter's availability for the Fiesta Bowl.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said the X-ray of linebacker Bobby Carpenter’s leg showed improvement, but he did not say whether Carpenter would be available Monday. Carpenter did not practice with the team Thursday and would probably have to get on the practice field by Saturday if he hopes to play.

I sense some gamesmanship going on. In chatting with my radiologist father-in-law over the holidays, I learned that a broken fibula can take anywhere from four to eight weeks to heal, depending on the severity of the fissure, and since it's a break near the ankle, he's probably nowhere near 100% yet. (I also learned that if a fibula is broken at the proximal extremity, or the capitulum fibulae, it would be more severe than if it's broken at the corpus fibulae, especially if the fibers of the anterior ligaments and tubercles are damaged as well. Here, Jay, let me show you some MRIs as an example...)

If no. 42 can't go, it's going to affect our gameplan significantly. Bobby Carpenter's probably a shade faster than A.J. Hawk, and he led the Buckeyes in sacks this season (8.0) from the outside linebacker position. Two freshman would split time in his absence: former ND recruit Lawrence Wilson ("God wanted me to go to Ohio State instead") and James Laurinaitis, whose dad Joe is also known as Road Warrior "Animal" on the WWE Smackdown circuit.

They're nowhere as experienced as the veteran Carpenter, so don't expect any springboard seated sentons to be uncorked on Brady if Laurinaitis is in the game. On the other hand, do expect Charlie to seize upon the talent dropoff and exploit it. I'm thinking Fasano on a crossbody block, springing Darius on a screen who executes a diving elbow drop over the goal line.

Black Tie Affair | by Pat

UND.com has been doing a great job putting up photo galleries of the recent Irish practices in Arizona and featuring quotes from the players and coaches at the media press conferences held after each practice. Check out the photo galleries here and here.

Many of the quotes cover the standard pre-game questions about the skill of the opponent and how each player/coach is approaching the bowl game. But yesterday's presser ventured into the social aspect of the bowl week and Weis offered up this gem on Coach Latina.

On his plans for New Years Eve for him and the team...

"Oh, it is my favorite. I have to go to a black tie dinner. (Laughter) You can just tell this is something I am really looking forward to. Our whole coaching staff is going to it. But the best part of it, there is one really good thing about it, John Latina has not been in a tux since he got married. So I am really looking forward to it and we are going to make sure that we take a lot of pictures of that because he has been whining about it.

Did they get a tux for Coach Mendoza, too?

"Quinn to Win" | by Jay

And it's official: Brady's coming back for another year of Charlieball:

"It really is best for me to come back for an extra year, get the tutelage from coach Weis that you can't receive in the NFL. He's not there anymore. He's here now. So why not utilize that as long as you can and go for every goal that you want? I want to win a national championship, and I think our team has the ability, without a doubt, to win it (in 2006), especially with the people we have coming back on offense and defense."

Weis was elated to hear Quinn's words, but not surprised.

"All I know is Brady and I have had extensive conversations," Weis said. "Like everyone, he's going to get squeezed by a lot of people, because he had such a prolific year. Why wouldn't those agents try to sniff around to try and get a part of him?

"He wants to set his sights at the top. Let's hope that people respect his wishes. He's one of my favorite guys, because of how he handles himself, not because of how he plays. And I think when he says it, you can believe it, because that's the way he is."

Back to the beginning | by Pat

A nice story yesterday in the Chicago Sun-Times focusing on Brady Quinn and his Ohio hometown in the Chicago Sun-Times. One of the more interesting excerpts deals with just how Brady Quinn ended up wearing the Blue and Gold.

Instead, a chance meeting at the start of middle-school football set Quinn on the road to Notre Dame. A new family named Ndukwe had moved to Dublin, and its 12-year-old son, Chinedum -- ''Nedu'' to his friends -- arrived for his first day of practice.

''I was the only African American out there, and not a lot of people were talking to me,'' recalled Ndukwe, now a Notre Dame safety. ''Brady was there, and he had just gotten back from Florida with his family, so he was very tan. I thought he was a Native American, so I also thought, 'Hey, that's good. I'm not the only minority around here.' Then he came over and introduced himself and started talking to me, and we've been friends ever since.''

The two later would star at Coffman High School in Dublin -- Quinn as quarterback, Ndukwe as his fleet wide receiver. But of greater importance, Ndukwe's father, Stephen, would include Quinn when he took Nedu to visit an elder son who was an undergraduate at Notre Dame.

''The influence of Stephen Ndukwe in how Brady got to Notre Dame cannot be overstated enough,'' Ty Quinn said. ''As a young boy, Brady always had Notre Dame pennants and stuff in his room. Then in high school, the school didn't show tremendous interest in him, but coach Willingham was interested in Nedu.

"And then I'll never forget, after Nedu went to South Bend and committed, Stephen came home and got me out of bed at 1 a.m. to talk to me. We drank beer for an hour or so, and he told me that he had told Willingham he should be taking a long look at Brady. And then he was telling me that we should make arrangements to go to South Bend as soon as possible to try and seal the deal. And that's basically how Brady got to Notre Dame.''

Said Mark Crabtree, Quinn's final varsity coach at Coffman: ''The Ndukwes are the hidden heroes of the story at Notre Dame for a couple of reasons. First, it was Stephen who seemed to see the final path of the scholarship there for Brady. Without Stephen, I think Brady would have wound up at Michigan. Second, Nedu has been playing defense, where he never played a snap in his high school career. And now, while Brady gets so many accolades, rightly, for what he has done, Nedu gets overlooked as one of the mainstays of an improving Notre Dame defense.''

I think I speak for all ND fans when I say 'Thank you Mr. Ndukwe".

I'll take Grab Bag for $500 | by Pat

One of the minor perks of playing in a college bowl game is that every player who participates is awarded a gift bag by the host bowl committee. It may not seem that that big a deal to most people, but in the realm of college students, handouts are always welcome. Especially handouts that won't land your team on probation. This year the gifts will be even more expensive than last year as the maximum allowed dollar value of the goody bag was raised from $350 to $500.

So, what will the Fighting Irish and Buckeyes be bringing home with them from Tempe? Well, the official Fiesta Bowl Gift Package includes:

• Sony PSP
• Bulova men's watch
• Commemorative football
• Fiesta Bowl dart board and snack-filled duffel bag

Pretty decent take and I'm going to take a wild guess that the PSP is the item that will interest players the most. I'm also going to take another wild guess and assume that the snack in the snack-filled duffel bag will be of the Tostitos variety. Call it a hunch.

If you're curious how the Fiesta Bowl haul compares with the rest of the bowl games, here's the full list of all bowl game gift bags.

Game Week | by Pat

With the entire team now in Tempe and kickoff just under a week away, the Christmas break is officially over and Coach Weis is making sure that everyone knows that.

"We know it's going to be a tough test, but I can tell you this: We didn't come here just to drink margaritas," Weis said. "We came here to play a football game, and it's been well-documented that Notre Dame hasn't won a bowl game in over a decade, and we're hoping to change that."

Jim Davidson of The O-Zone took some pictures of the Irish as the team charter arrived in Tempe as well as some shots of the Fighting Irish running through their first practice under the warm southwest sun. Check them out here.

Notre Dame is Comin' to Town | by Jay

Charlie had a Christmas Eve presser to talk about the Fiesta Bowl, along with various and sundry other items (including the stellar grades our guys posted this last semester). You can read the presser transcript here, but if you have a half-hour to spare I recommend checking out the full video provided by Irish Eyes.

Interesting tidbits abound. Perhaps the most welcome news is that DJ Fitzpatrick is back to 100%. Charlie also ran down some of the Fiesta week schedule of activities for the team, including taking the whole squad to the Insight.com bowl tomorrow night.

They'll be watching from the stands this time.

Fiesta Forecasting | by Jay

Here's a cursory Fiesta Bowl pick based on average points scored and given up by both teams.

First off, the raw data:

Ohio State's Schedule	Scored vs OSU	Usually Scored	Diff.	Gave up vs OSU	Usually gave up	Diff.
Miami (Ohio)	14	33.73	-19.73	34	23.45	+10.55
Texas	25	50.92	-25.92	22	14.58	+7.42
San Diego State	6	26.92	-20.92	27	27.08	-0.08
Iowa	6	30.55	-24.55	31	19.00	+12.00
Penn State	17	35.18	-18.18	10	16.45	-6.45
Michigan State	24	33.82	-9.82	35	28.73	+6.27
Indiana	10	22.52	-12.52	41	32.82	+8.18
Minnesota	31	36.18	-5.18	45	28.55	+16.45
Illinois	2	17.00	-15.00	40	39.55	+0.45
Northwestern	7	31.82	-24.82	48	32.45	+15.55
Michigan	21	28.82	-7.82	25	19.27	+5.73
OSU averages	14.82		-16.77	32.55		+6.92

Notre Dame's Schedule	Scored vs ND	Usually Scored	Diff.	Gave up vs ND	Usually gave up	Diff.
Pittsburgh	21	24.27	-3.27	42	22.09	+19.91
Michigan	10	28.82	-18.82	17	19.27	-2.27
Michigan State	38	33.82	+4.18	38	28.73	+9.27
Washington	17	21.55	-4.55	36	30.64	+5.36
Purdue	28	30.00	-2.00	49	28.09	+20.91
Southern Cal	34	50.00	-16.00	31	21.33	+9.67
BYU	23	33.45	-10.45	49	28.73	+20.27
Tennessee	21	18.64	+2.36	41	18.64	+22.36
Navy	21	32.64	-11.64	42	25.73	+16.27
Syracuse	10	13.82	-3.82	34	26.82	+7.18
Stanford	31	24.45	+6.55	38	30.64	+7.36
ND averages	23.09		-5.22	37.91		+12.39

The "averages" lines shows each team's strength adjusted by its schedule, i.e., Ohio State is -16.77 points better on defense than what its opponents usually score, and +6.92 points better on offense than what its opponents usually give up. ND is -5.22 points better on defense, and +12.39 points better on offense.

Let's apply those adjustments to the point per game (ppg) totals that the Irish and the Buckeyes usually put up. Offensively...

OSU offense ppg	ND def adj		OSU Offense
32.55	-5.22	=	27.33
ND offense ppg	OSU def adj		ND Offense
37.91	-16.77	=	21.14

And for the defenses...

ND defense ppg	OSU off adj		ND Defense
23.09	+6.92	=	30.01
OSU defense ppg	ND off adj		OSU Defense
14.82	+12.39	=	27.21

Finally, let's average ND's offensive adjusted score with OSU's defensive adjusted score (and vice versa) to get a score prediction for the game:

OSU Offense		ND Defense			OSU Score
( 27.33	+	30.01 )	/ 2	=	28.67
ND Offense		OSU Defense			ND Score
( 21.14	+	27.21 )	/ 2	=	24.18

So, that give us a (rough) final score of Ohio State 29, Notre Dame 24. Oddsmakers, by the way, have Ohio State a 4.5 favorite right now.

Merry Christmas to all | by Pat

...and to all, a good night.

Konrad commits | by Pat

By and large considered the top tight end recruit in the country, Konrad Reuland recently committed to Notre Dame and became the latest recruit in a stellar class that is rapidly approaching maximum occupancy. The 6'6" 240lb recruit had offers from just about every school in the country but selected the Irish over finalists USC, Ohio State, and Nebraska. It has been a few years since Notre Dame has been able to go into USC's backyard and land a recruit high on the Trojan wishlist, but apparently that is exactly what Coach Weis was able to do with Reuland. The odds were definitely not in ND's favor from the start as Reuland's quarterback last year at Mission Viejo is current Trojan freshman Mark Sanchez.

"Even two years ago," Reuland said Thursday night on CSTV's 'Tom Lemming's Generation Next,' "I never imagined myself playing for Notre Dame.".....

"Playing with Mark would have been awesome," Reuland said. "In the end I had to go with my heart and what I felt deep down inside.

"The place that stood out to me was Notre Dame."

Of course, one of the reasons why Reuland wouldn't have imagined playing for the Irish is due to the fact that he only started playing football two years ago. As a freshman in high school, Reuland attended Mater Dei high school where he played on the varsity basketball team that won the state championship and ended the season ranked as the nation's 3rd best team. But Konrad then transferred to Mission Viejo where he soon got noticed as a tight end for the perenially strong Diablos. He still plays basketball (#33), but football is his focus now.

As a tight end recruit, Reuland's accolades are a result of his ability both as a pass-catching tight end and a physical blocker. As Weis has noted about current Irish tight end Anthony Fasano, many tight ends can catch and run, and many can block, but very few can do both successfully. From all of the various internet reports, it appears that Reuland is among that select group of versatile tight ends.

It helps that Reuland looks to be the reciepent of some quality coaching. His high school coach is Bob Johnson, the director of the Elite 11 quarterback camps and father of former USC QB Rob Johnson. While some recruits are not exposed to offenses anywhere near the complexity of those taught in colleges, I think it's safe to say that Konrad has and that will only help him adapt faster to the teaching he will receive at Notre Dame. It also helps that Reuland spent time before high school in Germany living with relatives. I'd imagine that if you can learn physics in German, a college playbook isn't all that daunting.

Reuland is the 25th known verbal commitment to the Irish, and seeing as how that is the maximum number allowed in a single recruiting class, I figure it's worth going over the numbers one more time.

First off, Will Yeatman is not included in the count as he is technically a lacrosse recruit, despite his future plans to play football. He will be counted in the scholarship equation in 2007, but not now. That leaves the 25 other known verbal commits to Coach Weis and the Fighting Irish. James Aldridge and Chris Stewart have already been announced as early entry students, which means that they will enter Notre Dame in a few weeks and not officially count in the 2006 recruiting class tally. Fellow verbal George West is also rumored to be an early entry possibility but nothing official has been announced yet. If West does indeed join Aldridge and Stewart -- and we should find out for sure shortly as the spring semester is not that far away -- then this current recruiting class will have three remaining open slots for additional players. With offensive lineman Matt Carufel still considered a heavy favorite to pick the Irish (the current take is that he will make his choice public at the US Army All-American Bowl in early January), that leaves two seats open. The most likely candidates to fight for those spots are Florida offensive tackle Sam Young, Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, Colorado offensive/defensive tackle Butch Lewis, and California wide receiver Terrance Austin.

Season's Thanks | by Pete

Mr. Charlie Weis
Football Team -- Head Coach
University of Notre Dame
C113 Joyce Center
Notre Dame, IN 46556

Dear Charlie,

Thanks a lot. I know that right now you're probably dissecting tape, talking to recruits, or some other general coaching activity, and I know you're not reading a football blog. The mere fact that I assume Notre Dame's coach is actually spending most of his day doing coaching type-things just shows how far the program has come in just one short year.

But to reiterate, thanks, Charlie, thanks for this year. I'm a senior, and as such, I've had the luxury of witnessing the entirety of the Tyrone Willingham era. Yes, I bought into it all at 8-0, but I was a freshman, and I also bought into the "Dude, they never card" and "Seriously, she's really got a great personality" philosophy. But I was there when it all came crashing down, where we all felt duped by those eight wins, and I spent the next two years swallowing smug grins from opposing teams' fans and 30+ point losses two or three times every year.

Then you came onto the scene, you took the reins of a team that everyone said couldn't do anything, that everybody said didn't have the talent to compete, and you made them do lots of things, and this nothing team is six points, even a single fourth-down-stop versus USC from playing in the national title game. With Ty, we were a single fourth down stop from . . . well, we never had the chance to have a fourth down stop against them, so who knows what would have happened. Wouldn't have been good, I'm sure of that.

It's been an incredible year, and I think it's one that Notre Dame and college football fans across the country will remember for a long time. People aren't saying that nobody cares about Notre Dame anymore, and people aren't saying that Notre Dame can't keep up in college football anymore, and it turns out that talented players do want to go to Notre Dame...they just need a reason. Most, if not all, is due to you, Charlie. You get "it," and you've brought "it" back to where it belongs.

Thanks for giving the great players on this team a chance. You gave players like the Shark, Stovall, and Quinn the opportunity to show the world what they could do when given the opportunity, and they've risen to the occasion. Beyond the millions of dollars you've made them by not burying them under poor coaching schemes, you've got all of us believing that they're some of the best in the country. And they deserve that, because they are.

Thanks for teaching college football that you can win -- and not just "at any cost". You've reminded us time and time again to readjust our perspective, which is something most Notre Dame fans sorely needed. From keeping your promise to Montana to congratulating USC on a tough win (I still don't know how you managed to do that) to showing the respect deserved of Navy and their alma mater, you've gone a long way towards pushing college football back toward games and school pride, rather than boosters and kinesiology. College football is a better place because of it, so thanks for reminding us.

Thanks for making people respect Notre Dame again. When I used to wear my gear around, I would get looks of pity, people seeing Notre Dame as nowhere near its former self, a real fall from grace. Talks about the team during Christmas break would include questions like "Man, what happened this year?" and "There's such a thing as the Capital One Bowl? Really?" Nowadays, I get big grins and questions like, "Heck of a year, huh?" and "Do you think you can make a run next year?" Trust me, coming from near the center of Pennsylvania, this is greatly appreciated.

But most of all, thanks for making me feel for Notre Dame football again. During games like the 38-0 Michigan game, the 37-0 Florida State game, and (take your pick of one of) the 31-point losses to USC, I found myself in a similar position every game: seated on the bench, head in my hands, wondering how soon I can go home from this masochism. I stuck around to support the players, because they needed it more than ever, but those were some of my deepest and darkest days as a Notre Dame student, mainly because I stopped caring about the games. I went because I knew it was the right thing to do, but I didn't think about it that much. It's been two months since the USC game, and I still let out an audible groan whenever I picture that ball grazing past Wooden's arm into Jarrett's hands. I don't think I'll ever stop groaning, and in a weird way, that feels really good. I care again, along with countless others, and I owe that to you. Thanks.

When you first showed up at Notre Dame, you shocked the "molder of men" mindset by saying, "You're going to have a hardworking, intelligent, nasty football team." We've all seen the hard-working, the team is playing intelligently (yes, eleven men belong on the field), and by God, I'm comfortable calling this team nasty. Charlie, you've taught this team to expect to win, and you've given them every opportunity to do so.

I'm trying really hard to not be cheesy or get all warm fuzzy on you, so I'll just leave it at this: it's been an incredible year, and Notre Dame has made leaps and bounds as a football team, and the credit goes to you, Charlie. I'm not sure what will happen against Ohio State, they're a great team, but I'm resting easy knowing that Notre Dame can play with any team in the country, rather than dreading a possible embarrassment in front of a national audience. I owe that to you, Charlie.

In summary...thanks for making me hate the fact that I have to graduate before next season.

Sincerely,

A Grateful Senior

You Love Us, You Really Love Us | by Jay

As promised, we sent Orson (in his finest buckskins) to accept an award that we won earlier this week. Here's the text of his acceptance speech on our behalf.

O-si-yo, Weblog Voters. O-si-yo, First Nations. We bring you peace. Your giggles carry through this hall like the call of the lonely buck for his mate. This is the native dress of someone's people, so act straight. And yes, we've got the legs to carry this off, so stop gawking unless you're willing to take the merchandise home, sailor.

We would first like to accept this award on behalf of the good men behind Blue-Gray Sky, which has traveled across many rivers and fields to find itself here under the banner of heaven today. It is a blessing to both the people of the Notre Dame tribe and to all of those who ride the fruited plains with it. They are full like a ripe pomegranate with the pride of their people. Let every asgehya and asgaya rejoice.

We would also like to state that this tribal outfit is drafty in the most surprising places. That is all.

We would also like to thank those who watered our horses and signalled their way to victory: our readers, whose posting and support was constant like the rains in the land of the skunk, deserves much thanks. Wado, friends. Also deserving thanks is EDSBS, whose two lone tribesman carry such burdens in their pants as to earn the nickname "They who need hose reel for manpipes". Again, wado, friends.

Any one else who braved the cold plains of the internet to earn our victory, much
thanks. A victory for one tribe in the nation, though, is a victory for all. Ride away then with a piece of the trophy reader, and follow it as it wanders like the goose through the clear skies of the limitless internet.

And now we are going to change into something more comfortable immediately following this speech. Like a muu-muu or something other than this glorified mini-skirt. Peace, friends.

Thanks to everyone who voted for us in this meaningless contest of mouse clicks. Now, let's rotate this prize through the blogosphere, Stanley Cup-style, and give everybody a little taste.

At our victory party at the Linebacker last night we filled our trophy Cup with Long Island ice tea, drank it down, hooked up with a couple St. Mary's girls to the dulcet strains of "I Think I Love You", and woke up in front of Oak Hill with a nasty hangover and a severe case of frostbite. The Cup, however, was still intact. We now pass the Cup to Everyday Should Be Saturday, to the land of gator chomps and jean shorts. Enjoy a full bowl of kamikazes on us, guys (but you better rinse that sucker out first).

When you guys are done with it, pass it along to another worthy sports blog, and let us know where it's going so we can update the "Where's the Cup" chain.

Do we have a consensus? | by Pat

As the awards and all-american honors keep rolling in for Jeff Samardzija, he's an easy pick for one of the most dramatic breakout years in Irish history. His rise is production and publicity has been meteoric as he transformed from seldom used "possession receiver" to consensus All-American.

But hold on a minute. You see, you can't just call yourself a consensus all-american. Despite the fact that Jeff Samardzija has been named to eight different All-American teams, he is still not by definition a Consensus All-American yet. So just what will it take for Samardzija to be awarded the "Consensus" label and become the 79th Fighting Irish player to earn this honor?

Well, to be named to the official Consensus All-American team, it appears that a player must be named as a 1st team All-American by at least three of five select All-American lists. Those chosen All-American lists are the ones produced by the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America, the American Football Coaches Association, the Walter Camp Foundation, and The Sporting News.

The fifth and final list was released yesterday by The Sporting News and Jeff Samardzija was named as a 1st Team All-American wide receiver. However, among the other four "official" lists, only one, the Football Writers Association of America, also named him to the 1st Team. That means that Jeff only nabbed two 1st team honors and therefore will fall short of earning the Consensus tag. This despite also being named as a 1st Team All-American by ESPN.com, CBS Sportsline.com, Rivals.com, and Sports Illustrated.

But it wouldn't be college football if there wasn't some loophole programmed into the system to give everyone some wiggle room. And in this case, a repeat of what happened with the 2004 team may just be that loophole. Last year, only four offensive lineman reached the 3 of 5 limit with two other lineman each being named to two teams. Rather than flip a coin, both were named to the Consensus All-American team.

That situation appears to have repeated itself with the 2005 lists at wide receiver. Southern Cal's Dwayne Jarrett was a unamious choice to all five 1st teams (another debate for another time), but the 2nd WR chosen varied from list to list. As previously mentioned, Samardzija was named 1st Team by The Sporting News and the Football Writers Association of America. The Associated Press and Walter Camp foundation decided to nominated Oregon State's Mike Hass. And the American Football Coaches Association in somewhat of a surprise selected Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson. That means that only Jarrett reached the 3 of 5 limit and Samardzija and Hass tied with two selections apiece.

It then leads me to believe that, assuming they follow protocol from last year, both Samardzija and Hass will be named along with Jarrett as Consensus All-Americans. The official list will be released in early January so we'll have to wait until them for the final word. Personally, I don't see any reason for leaving either of them off the list. If Samardzija does get named to the Consensus All-American list he will be the first Irish player to earn the title since Shane Walton after the 2002 season and only the 2nd Irish player since Bobby Taylor in 1994.

the Graduatin' Irish | by Jay

The NCAA came out with its report on graduation rates yesterday, with a new calculation that takes into account transfers (the Graduation Success Rate, or GSR). Here's ND's release per UND.com.

In football, Notre Dame achieved a 96 GSR rating, with only the United States Naval Academy (at 98) ranking higher.

Here are the top 10 for football:

Institution	Football GSR
1. U.S. Naval Academy	98
2. Notre Dame	96
2. Wake Forest	96
4. Clemson	94
5. Vanderbilt	93
6. Northwestern	92
6. Stanford	92
8. U.S. Air Force Academy	91
8. U.S. Military Academy	91
10. Boston College	89
10. Rice	89

For the full report across all sports, check out the NCAA release, which features a handy searchable database of schools and their results.

Our opponents this year, by the way: Navy 98%, Stanford 92%, Washington 75%, Syracuse 75%, Purdue 70%, Michigan 68%, Southern Cal 55%, Ohio State 54%, Pittsburgh 48%, Michigan State 41%, and BYU 40%. (I wonder if the new calculation takes into account LDS missions for BYU. Doesn't look like it.)

Six Pickin' | by Jay

In case you thought the Pick Six was over...nuthin's over until we say it is. By the way, BGS = morons: we didn't realize until now that the BCS doesn't do an end-of-the-year poll after the bowl games. (Did you know that? It's one of those things you wouldn't think about unless, you know, you were setting up a pick'em contest based on poll rankings.)

The AP, of course, does have a final poll, and since we like the idea of extending the P6 until after the bowl season (you know, after Texas knocks off Southern Cal), we're switching back to their rankings. Next year we'll do AP all the way through.

Updated standings here. Blogpoller's division here.

Combo Athlete | by Pat

Coach Weis and the Fighting Irish football team gained another football recruit last week when Will Yeatman verbally committed to Notre Dame. But in a unique twist to the standard recruiting story, Yeatman committed to Coach Corrigan and the ND lacrosse program.

“I’m excited to be part of he program,” Will Yeatman said of his decision to come to Notre Dame. “I committed to coach Corrigan.

It’s funny I haven’t even talked to coach Weis yet. I’m going to call him in a little bit. He’ll probably read your article before I even talk to him.

A standout in both lacrosse and football, Yeatman plans on playing both sports at Notre Dame, but is coming into the University on a lacrosse scholarship. An All-American attackman in lacrosse and a tight end in football, Yeatman had scholarships from across the country from schools hoping he would choose them for either lacrosse, football, or both. The 6'6 255lb San Diego athlete ultimately narrowed down his list to Notre Dame and Maryland, his mother's alma mater, before selecting the Irish. As a football recruit, Yeatman drew offers from Nebraska, Michigan, Maryland, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Boston College, Duke, and North Carolina.

In the end, the offer from Notre Dame to play both sports was enough to sway Yeatman to come to South Bend.

"It's a great fit," Yeatman said. "Notre Dame is a great academic institution and it has a rich athletic tradition. I'm really excited about the prospect of playing there."

Yeatman was recruited to Notre Dame as a tight end, but other schools saw him as a possible offensive lineman. For now it's safe to assume that Yeatman will stay at tight end, especially if he keeps up with the lacrosse as it can't be too easy to gain the weight needed for offensive line when you are running around as much as the average lacrosse player. Yeatman recognizes this and highlights the positives of his multi-sport cross training.

"Lacrosse is a great sport to help with my footwork (in football)," Yeatman said. "Maybe, too, the physical nature of football can help out in lacrosse."

The expected route for Yeatman from lacrosse recruit to football tight end is a bit roundabout due to NCAA regulations on how scholarships can be awarded. Since Yeatman is coming into Notre Dame on a lacrosse scholarship, he can practice, but not play with the football team in the fall. In the spring, he will play with the lacrosse team during their regular season. However, the following fall in what will be his sophomore year, Yeatman will have his scholarship moved from a lacrosse scholarship to a football scholarship. At this time he will be free to play for the football team, as well as the lacrosse team. His scholarship though will count in the 85-scholarship limit placed on the football team.

In the meantime however, Yeatman's scholarhip will not count against the 25 per class scholarship limit imposed by the NCAA. This means that the signing of the future tight end will not affect the number of offers left for the recruiting class of 2006.

Say, mister, can you help a fellow domer who's down on his luck? | by Jay

BGS reader Jamie sends us this tale of ticket lottery woe. Enjoy.

Need One

I can’t feel more like a loser.

It’s Friday afternoon. I’m hungover and sitting in my boxers with my black socks still on from last night. And now I’ve got the chorus to Crowded House’s “Been locked out” on repeat in my brain.

Ten minutes ago, a 20-year old kid gleefully told me I was “unsuccessful” in the Fiesta Bowl ticket lottery, which is a lot like saying Kerry took silver in '04.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. See, I’m connected.

Not in a “Patrick McCartan, I-can-get-one-of-the-only-four-black-coaches-in-America-fired” kinda way, but in a “I’ve-sat-on-the-fifty-with-Chuck Lennon-against-BC and watched-the-aformentioned-coach-continue-to-believe-halftime-adjustments-are-illegal” kinda way. I can call Lou Nanni – well, I guess anybody can call Lou Nanni – and he sometimes calls me back. I’m hooked up.

Besides, I wear the jacket (see photo from the '04 USC game. The smiles tell me it was taken pre-game). At Notre Dame, we revere our athletic achievements with such reverence that we don’t have varsity letter winners; we have monogram winners (as I love to explain to anyone who will listen). I did not wrestle often. And I never wrestled well. In fact, guys on the team would get into fights over who got to wrestle me at the end of practice when they were exhausted ("I got Reidy!")

But I still earned my monogram, which is SUPPOSED to give me some juice over normal students (some of whom probably could have beaten me in a wrestle-off for tickets). Yet, the 20-year-old told me Monogram Club members got no special treatment in the Fiesta Lottery. First, I got no wrestling groupies (actually, none of us got wrestling groupies, which is a hazard of attending a school where women find guys with mangled ears unattractive). Now, I get no tickets. THEN WHY THE HELL DID I GET MY ASS KICKED EVERY DAY FOR FOUR YEARS?

Perhaps this is karma, paying me back for missing a bowl game to which I had a ticket. In December 1991, four classmates and I drove down to New Orleans for a bowl of cereal with Steve Spurrier. Ah, The Big Easy. Just thinking about that glorious trip makes me want to hurl, just for old time's sake. I have since learned that I am allergic to Hurricanes (took three subsequent trips to confirm the diagnosis; I believe in being thorough, medically), but back then I couldn’t get enough of the sugary poison. And Cherry Bombs! What heavenly host planted the seed of inspiration for a man to soak marachino cherries in grain alcohol and then sell them on the street for a dollar apiece? Alas, there is a much steeper price to pay for such nectar. I woke up New Year’s morning on the floor of an “aromatic” room in the luxurious Days Inn, stepped over ten of my fellow thrifty buddies and found the bathroom. Where I spent the majority of the next eleven hours. It wasn’t so bad, though. I mean, I eventually had nothing left to vomit, so the last 160 minutes were just dry heaves (which is a great ab workout, by the way). But at least I could see the TV from the cold tile floor, so the day wasn’t a total loss. And my mom even believed me when I explained missing the last bowl game of my college career because, “I got ahold of some bad crawfish.” But then my Uncle Gary told her that was a euphemism for too much booze. He seemed upset later when I asked my aunt about that strange blonde lady I’d seen him kissing in NYC.

All I want for Christmas is to be sitting in a Tempe hotel on January 3rd, hungover, wearing boxers and my black socks from the night before.

---

Jamie's a good friend of ours and a terrific writer. He also wrote a hilarious book about his days as a Viagra salesman.

Film Session | by Jay

In case you haven't seen this Buckeye team up close and personal this year, ESPN Classic is showing three of this season's Ohio State games tomorrow, including both of their losses:

• 9am (ET), Ohio State at Penn State (L, 17-10)
Quote from Buckeye Commentary: "Put simply, the offense was an abomination at Penn State. Some of our problems can be attributed to Penn State's D and coaching staff, but we are so easy to defend. Our arsenal of plays may reach double figures in number."

• 3pm, Ohio State at Michigan (W, 25-21)
Quote from Buckeye Commentary: "Anytime you can go to Michigan, win and roll up nearly 420 yards of offense, it's always a very good performance. The offense did just that on Saturday. From the opening drive which they promptly took 80 yards for a TD, the offense was humming for most of the day...Troy Smith and Antonio Pittman were clearly the catalysts..."

• 6pm, Ohio State versus Texas (L, 25-22)
Quote from Buckeye Commentary: "Still, the D was nearly flawless after the first 2 series of the game. Forced fumbles and 2 INTs gave the offense prime field position most of the night. All 3 linebackers were excellent with AJ Hawk showing why he's the best LB in the country. The front 4 did yeomen's work by tying up the Texas OL so they could not release to the 2nd level. There were some other breakdowns (tackling and assignments) but all in all, a good performance, one that would win most games."

Set your Tivo, and be sure to give us your armchair scouting report. (Oh, and if you want to see a really great game, '88 ND-Michigan is also on tomorrow on Classic at 7am. I bet Gillette misses again.)

Do you feel lucky? | by Jay

Starting today you can call the ND ticket office to find out if you've won Fiesta Bowl tickets in the lottery.

We're curious how everything shook out, so we threw together this highly unscientific poll. (We also posted it over on NDN, so if you've already answered there, don't double up on the response.) Only enter if you sent in an application.

Take the Poll.

Enter once per application sent on your behalf (for instance, if you and your spouse both sent apps, take the survey twice).

Results shown here: Running totals.

Thanks for the response. This poll is for entertainment purposes only and the last time we checked, it was not certified by the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse.

Hope everybody going to the game is able to come up with tickets. And if you hear of any extras, let us know.

the Edge | by Mike

Young man, there's a place you can go I said young man, when you're short on your dough

When you think about it, you have to admit that bowl season is one big bundle of absurdity. Silly bowl names (the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl! the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl! the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl!), Dangerfield-worthy bowl committee blazers, puerile (in a bad way) actions of an outraged fanbase, pissed off that no one was impressed with their marquee victory over 7-4 Fresno State (if that last bit left you wondering if something can be puerile in a good way, the answer is yes), and all manner of crazy pageantry, both sublime and silly.

With Teds' comprehensive review of the Buckeyes fulfilling our duty to provide legitimate analysis of the game, we're now free to present our contribution to bowl season inanity (inspired by the inimitable House That Rock Built). Here's our breakdown of factors that, though certain to have an impact on the game, the oddsmakers appear to have overlooked:

Category	Ohio State	Notre Dame	Edge
Heisman Trophies	Six	Seven
Distinctive Fashion Choice	Sweatervest	Hood
Distance from Ann Arbor	192.83 miles	177.73 miles
Rock/Pop Alumni	O.A.R.	Ted Leo
Gameday Tradition	Play, like, a tuba today	Play Like A Champion Today
Wide Receiver's First Name	Santonio	Jeff
Cornerback's First Name	Ashton	Mike
Apropos Wu Tang Lyric	"Rumble with patrolmen, tear gas laced the function"	"We return like Jesus, when the whole world needs us"
90's Lombardi Award Winner	Pace	Taylor
First round draft choice who said he was retiring from the NFL early to become a doctor became a...	Third-string ESPN analyst	Doctor
Artistic Alumnus	Roy Lichtenstein	Jay
Investment Strategy	Straight cash, homie	Berkshire Hathaway
Helmets	déclassé	the gold standard (Even William Jennings Bryan digs this one)
Novelty Song	The Dead Schembechlers, "Bo For 24"	Marco, "The Day The Losing Died"	Push

That looks like a 9-4-1 advantage for Notre Dame in these critical areas. Adjust your bets accordingly.

Golden Tickets | by Jay

Per today's SBT:

SOUTH BEND -- Fighting Irish fans in the lottery for Fiesta Bowl tickets will know by Monday whether their holiday wishes will come true.

Because of high demand, the majority of those ticket seekers will be disappointed.

The Notre Dame ticket office will notify lottery participants Monday whether they are among those who will receive tickets for the Jan. 2 bowl game, said Josh Berlo, the university's director of ticket operations.

Some lottery participants may call the ticket office Friday hoping for results. "If we have the results, we'll be glad to give them out," Berlo said, but Monday is the more likely date.

A total of 45,589 tickets have been requested by Notre Dame alumni, faculty, season-ticket holders and others eligible for the lottery. School officials believe it is the most requests ever received for an Irish bowl trip.

Just 10,000 to 11,000 of those ticket requests will be granted.

Notre Dame and Ohio State each received 15,000 tickets as their official allotment from the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.

Of Notre Dame's allotment, 2,500 tickets were sold last week to students. Another 1,000 go to Anthony Travel, the Notre Dame-affiliated travel agency, as part of travel packages sold for the game. Some tickets also will go to university officials, coaches' families and players' families.

That leaves 10,000 to 11,000 to be distributed in the lottery, Berlo said. The lottery is a computer-generated, random-number selection process that takes about 24 hours to run, he said.

There is no chance either school will receive additional tickets from the Fiesta Bowl, because all the tickets are gone.

Wow, so many tickets, and such little demand.

Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.

Buckeye Bonanza | by Teds

Okay, enough of the season retrospective: we got ourselves a bowl game to prepare for. Filing this report from deep behind enemy lines...

Living in Columbus, I could sense the unabashed enthusiasm for the Buckeyes building to a head way back in August, as Ohio State began this season as one of the primary national title contenders. After a heartbreaking defeat to Texas and a lackluster misstep in Happy Valley, the momentum waned, and it appeared the campaign might get away from them. But similar to '04, when they stood 3-3 at their lowest point in October, the Buckeyes pulled themselves together and finished the season very strongly. After six consecutive wins, they close the season by circling back to where they started, once again acknowledged as one of the best teams in the country.

Ohio State (stats here) features one of the most respected defenses in college football, an offense that has become surprisingly proficient and a handful of the most talented players in the nation. Suffice it to say that a victory over the Buckeyes in Tempe on January 2 would trump every doubt about the strength of Notre Dame's football team (doubts that linger even after nine regular season wins, and putting Southern Cal's feet to the fire like no other opponent has during the Trojans' ongoing 34-game win streak).

The offense. In spite of the criticism that head coach Jim Tressel and longtime offensive coordinator Jim Bollman are continually peppered with by OSU supporters over what is perceived to be a rudimentary and overly conservative offense, the 2005 Buckeyes have been both effective and balanced in their attack. Ohio State ranks 28th nationally in scoring offense and 37th in yardage accumulated, averaging 190 yards rushing and 215 passing per game. Following a woeful performance at Penn State when they accumulated 10 points and only 230 total yards, the Buckeyes bounced back to average 39 points over their remaining six games, winning as much with offensive firepower as defensive might.

It wouldn't be particularly unusual to say that a team's offensive fortunes go as its quarterback does, but that's probably more true of Ohio State and Troy Smith than it is anyone in the country. Smith was once viewed as someone who might ultimately find himself and his noteworthy package of physical skills shuffled off to another position in college, but he has fully come into his own this season as the starting quarterback of the Buckeyes. Smith has improved his performance immensely since 2004, as his completion percentage (62% compared to 55%), yards per attempt (9.3 versus 7.3) and touchdown/interception ratio (3.5 against 2.67) all illustrate clear growth as a passer. He currently ranks sixth nationally in passing efficiency, just two spots behind Brady Quinn. As Smith has grown more comfortable and successful in his play within the pocket, so too has the Ohio State offense become more consistent and dangerous.

Smith can make opposing defenses pay with his legs, as well, averaging almost 55 yards and over a touchdown rushing per contest this year. His success running has resulted from a balanced mix of designed plays and improvisational scrambling, and Rick Minter and the Irish defense will have to commit resources otherwise focused on the intermediate attack to containing Smith. Related in part to his running, the single largest pressure point in Smith's game is his tendency for fumbling the football. In total, he's put the ball on the ground nine times this year, with the opponent recovering four of those. It's not a glaring shortcoming but something to keep in mind when Smith is running loose, especially in a game likely to hinge on events like unexpected changes of possession.

In its more traditional running attack, Ohio State turns primarily to sophomore Antonio Pittman. Pittman is a dependable back who is deceptively effective without possessing overwhelming size (5'11", 200) or speed. He averaged nearly 5.4 yards per carry during the regular season, a more than respectable mark in Big Ten play, especially when compared to more celebrated in-conference peers such as Minnesota's Laurence Maroney (5.3 ypc) and Wisconsin's Brian Calhoun (4.5). Tressel likes to use Pittman to grind out yards, maintain a steady offensive tempo and control the clock. To the extent that the Irish are able to deny OSU's lead back and force the Buckeyes to alter their offensive philosophy, it will likely be to their benefit.

Of the three games in which Pittman has been held under 85 yards this season, the Buckeyes have lost two. Ohio State rarely turns elsewhere when it looks to run, as backup tailback Maurice Wells has accumulated most of his 61 carries during garbage time. Fullback Dionte Johnson hardly ever touches the ball, indicative of Bollman opening up the offense with more spread looks and three-receiver sets as the season progressed.

Ohio State's receivers offer Notre Dame a variety of threats. Their best and most accomplished wideout is junior Santonio Holmes, who shows off an enviable mix of natural athleticism and polished receiving skills. He has the ability to make a living running intermediate routes but also possesses the burst to challenge most any cornerback on a deep route. Holmes has fewer catches than he did in 2004 (48 compared to 55), but his yards per catch average has shot up from 14.0 last year to 17.8 this season. He has nearly twice as many receiving touchdowns (10) as all other Buckeyes combined (6).

Ted Ginn Jr. (#7, left) entered 2005 spoken of as a legitimate Heisman candidate, but he's endured the proverbial sophomore slump, suffering more than his share of dropped passes and fumbles (seven of them -- three lost -- between his work on offense and special teams). Still, Ginn has world-class speed and is as dangerous as any player in college football with the ball in his hands, so he is someone who must be personally accounted for on the field at all times. Anthony Gonzalez is better than the average third receiver and someone who can hurt an opponent overcommitting on Holmes and/or Ginn. He played an integral role in several Buckeye wins this year. Ohio State doesn't generally make much use of its tight ends, but senior Ryan Hamby (out for the past month with a knee injury but probable to return for the bowl game) and sophomore Marcel Frost can probably be counted on for a catch or two.

Ohio State features a mostly veteran offensive line that includes two all-Big Ten performers who also happen to be three-year starters (C Nick Mangold and LG Rob Sims). As expected based on the balance in offensive output, the Buckeye line is similarly adept at drive blocking as well as giving their quarterback a stable pocket from which to throw. The intriguing matchup between this unit and Notre Dame's thin but capable defensive line may be the most important battle in determining the outcome of the war in Tempe.

The defense. Though the offense has taken on an increasing amount of the burden in recent games, Ohio State's defense is still the backbone of the team, in spirit as well as statistical measures. They rank fourth nationally in points allowed, seventh in yardage allowed, first in rush defense and eighth in pass efficiency defense. They feature seven starters who are seniors, all of whom also started in 2004. Seven OSU players on the defensive side ended the season by earning all-conference honors. Their Lombardi Award-winning linebacker might not even be the best player within the unit. In summary, this is the best defense and biggest challenge that Charlie Weis and his Irish team will face all year.

However, it's not an entirely infallible crew. Because of the matchup against ND's high-powered offense, much has been made of the fact that the Buckeye defense has accumulated its impressive stats in spite of playing four regular season games against top-ten offenses. While technically accurate, it should also be noted that Ohio State lost one of those four games (vs Texas) and allowed a combined 66 points and over a thousand yards of offense in two of the others (vs Michigan State and vs Minnesota).

The most vulnerable aspect of the Buckeye defense is its pass defense, and this coincides nicely with the best and most dependable facet of Notre Dame's offense, which involves Quinn distributing the ball to his big, talented receivers. The opportunity is there for the Irish to score points.

Though perhaps not as disruptive as past editions, the Buckeyes feature a solid front four that can penetrate and create pressure on its own. Defensive end Mike Kudla has finally realized his potential and is the lineman most likely to pressure the quarterback, while junior David Patterson showed promise as a first-year starter. Marcus Green and the underrated Quinn Pitcock handle most of the work inside at defensive tackle. This group doesn't feature the sort of individual stars that past Buckeye defensive lines have, but the 2.36 yards opponents are averaging per carry on the ground against Ohio State attest to the quality of their play.

Ohio State's focal point on this side of the ball is its celebrated crew of linebackers. Senior A.J. Hawk won the Lombardi Award last week and is likely to be a consensus All-American selection, as well as a high NFL draft pick. Hawk combines great quickness and size with an uncanny ability to work in traffic and find the ballcarrier. It is likely that his name will be called early and often when the Irish have the ball. Senior Bobby Carpenter broke his fibula on the first play of the Michigan game, and those who have followed the Buckeyes closely this year understand what a damaging blow his absence would be to an OSU team faced with a pass-happy opponent. Co-defensive coordinators Jim Heacock and Luke Fickell have had tremendous success this season shifting Carpenter to rush end in passing downs, and losing that flexibility would negate a legitimate weapon in thwarting the Irish attack. It is possible that Carpenter will recover in time to play in the Fiesta Bowl, but how effective he might be even if able to suit up is another question entirely. Anthony Schlegel is the forgotten member of this linebacking corps, but he's an experienced and steady performer, finishing the season second on the team in tackles. When 100% healthy, there's not a better set of linebackers in the nation.

You wouldn't know that opponents had enjoyed any amount of success against Ohio State's secondary based on the Big Ten awards, as three-quarters of the Buckeyes' defensive backfield made first-team all-conference. The Buckeyes will challenge ND's tall, physical receivers with larger corners, Ashton Youboty (6'1", 188) and Tyler Everett (5'11", 196). Youboty is the more accomplished of the two, and Quinn will probably pay close attention to where he'll be lined up throughout the game. The safeties are perhaps even better, with resident intimidator Nate Salley terrorizing receivers trespassing in the middle of the field from the free safety spot, while junior Donte Whitner mans the strong safety post. If Bobby Carpenter is unable to play or limited in some respect, it's likely that the Buckeyes will often shift to a modified nickel set, with promising junior Brandon Mitchell, a big-hitting safety with linebacker size (6'3", 205) supplanting him. Interestingly, in spite of the talent and reputation of the defensive backfield, the Buckeye secondary accounted for only five interceptions as a group during the regular season.

Special Teams. Most outsiders expected Ohio State to suffer dearly in 2005 after losing Lou Groza winner and second-round NFL pick, kicker Mike Nugent. However, Josh Huston had backed up Nugent for the balance of his career and made the most of the opportunity to step out from his predecessor's shadow this season, connecting on 20 of 24 field goal attempts and all but one of his 41 extra points. Huston wields a strong leg capable of kicking field goals from 50 yards without difficulty, and he isn't likely to give the Irish much of a chance to do damage returning kickoffs. Ted Ginn returns both kicks and punts for the Buckeyes, though he's been much more successful doing the former this year, ranking third nationally in averaging 29.6 yards per return. However, Ginn's aforementioned fumbling problems cannot be ignored, as he dropped the ball twice on returns in Ohio State's most recent win over Michigan. Given that he's also returned six punts or kicks for touchdowns in less than two years playing at the college level, Ginn makes for the ultimate risk/reward proposition on special teams.

---

It's difficult to find an appropriate antecedent for Notre Dame among Ohio State's opponents this year. The two teams who beat the Buckeyes this season did so behind A) great defense and B) quarterbacks who neutralized OSU's defense with their ability to sustain drives with their legs. The Irish enter the game presenting a completely new repertoire of talents and tendencies, and it's one that Ohio State isn't altogether familiar with in their experiences this season.

The best comparison is probably Michigan State, a team with a strong, accurate quarterback and a dynamic, pass-first offensive attack. In that game, the Spartans more than held their own during the first half and appeared to be in line for a big road win. However, a huge Michigan State special-teams blunder just before halftime resulted in a ten-point swing (and sparked a memorable John L. Smith halftime meltdown). The Spartans' mistake shifted the momentum for both teams in the second half, and sent their fortunes over the remainder of the season spiraling in opposite directions.

Keys to the game:

1. Winning the special teams battle. As illustrated just above, special teams are going to be critical. Charlie Weis made improvement in this area one of his priorities when he took the job, and though the Irish have had their share of shining moments here during the season, the performance in general has tapered off over the past month. The team needs to focus on containing the Buckeyes' dangerous return men, something that their snuffing of Reggie Bush on punts back in October proves that they are capable of accomplishing. The kicking game nearly cost the Irish a victory in the regular season finale at Stanford, and they can obviously use the December downtime to get D.J. Fitzpatrick healthy and this particular package sorted out. In a game between well-matched teams, the "lost yardage" that Weis has mentioned in the special teams area becomes that much more valuable.

2. Limiting Antonio Pittman. Although not the focal point of the offense, negating Antonio Pittman would have a significant impact on the outcome of this game. Pittman's hardly the cover boy of this Buckeye team, but he's the underlying heartbeat that keeps the offense's blood pumping. Quarterback Troy Smith is averaging just 20 passing attempts per game and has thrown more than 26 passes only once all season. Taking away the clock-grinding runs that Pittman provides would push the Buckeyes out of their comfort zone and likely give an Irish defense that's more opportunistic than stifling that many more chances to make a big, game-defining play.

3. Giving Brady Quinn time and space to do his thing. On the other side of the ball, ND must give Quinn adequate protection to throw the ball. While it is likely that Weis will come up with a few wrinkles that will allow his team moderate yardage on the ground, Notre Dame is going to have to throw the ball effectively first in order to crack Ohio State's defense. It's imperative that Quinn is able to set his feet on most throws and doesn't spend half of the afternoon on his back. To that end, part of that responsibility will be shouldered by the quarterback himself in recognizing at the line of scrimmage when and from where extra pressure will come and taking advantage by exploiting the resulting hole(s) in the defense. With one of the more intelligent quarterbacks in the game as directed by Weis matching wits with a swarming defense led by a very sharp Buckeye staff, this should be a fascinating chess match to observe for the duration of the contest.

In my estimation, there isn't a team in the nation Notre Dame could have been paired with (outside those competing in the Rose Bowl) who would offer them more of a challenge and a tougher measuring stick than Ohio State. By winning the Fiesta Bowl, the Irish can stake a claim to being the best team in the country not playing in Pasadena and bolster their prospects as a primary championship contender for 2006.

---

Irish detractors have saturated the airwaves, the print media and the internet the past several weeks, clamoring about "undeserved" BCS bids and bowls who pick teams for all the wrong reasons. Throughout, Notre Dame's coaches and players have mostly stayed mum on the issue, exuding quiet confidence and giving the impression of knowing something that the enraged masses do not. The team's best performances this season have generally come when the least was expected of them, and I believe that this underdog status will play in their favor against an Ohio State team celebrated as one of the hottest teams in the country.

My experience with OSU fans regarding Notre Dame's chances since the official announcement of the Fiesta matchup ranges widely from casually dismissive to respectfully uneasy and all points in between. A vast majority acknowledge the quality job Weis has done at ND this year, though many believe that Ohio State is just playing too damned well and has too many weapons to be vanquished. Given Tressel's recent record in bowl games -- four three consecutive wins, including both previous trips to Tempe -- their confidence is justified.

The hype surrounding two traditional powers colliding in a bowl for the very first time is already at a fever pitch. In the end, I expect another one for the ages, likely decided by a touchdown or less.

the $14 Million Drive | by Jay

Pop quiz, hotshot. Who said this?

I wouldn't be surprised to see a thorough domination, the first complete game we play all year. The last time we played at Stanford Stadium it was a 57-7 rout; except for Charlie's disinclination to run it up, expect a similar outcome.

Spot-on prediction, as it turned out.

Well, except for a couple of interceptions. And missing two field goals. And an extra point. And allowing Stanford to run a kickoff back for a touchdown. And letting them score the go-ahead TD with less than two minutes to play. And the fact that we needed a last-minute drive to win it. Other than that -- total domination.

(Actually, if you looked only at the stat box, you'd have thought it was a rout: 663 to 336 overall yards, held them to -11 rushing, ran 27 more plays, Stanford only converted 1 of 11 first downs, we sacked 'em seven times, we held the ball for almost 10 more minutes. But that's football. You can dominate the field as much as you want, but if you turn the ball over and make mistakes on special teams, any team, even UC Davis, can beat you.)

Down by two with 1:46 to play, a BCS bid on the line. Panic? No panic. As Charlie said:

We had three timeouts left and it was not a panic situation. Even if they scored a touchdown, we still were in position to have plenty of time to go down and score to win the game.

Despite the anxiety, there's something incredibly encouraging about a Notre Dame game coming down to the last minute, with us coming out on top. We lost two of those nailbiters this year, we lost two of them last year. In fact, I think you have to go back to the Navy game in '03 to find an example of us coming from behind to win it just before the final tick.

Now that it's over, and we're going to Fiesta (forever), we can sit back and say that this was a welcome, character-building trial that gives us some invaluable battle experience going into Tempe. As Charlie pointed out:

Something critical happened in that game Saturday night, something critical that happened was in a close game they won. There's definitely a lesson that can be learned in every game, and each week there's a separate lesson to be learned, and the fact that now all of a sudden something bad happened at the end of the game and the team comes back and wins the game, that's just as important as any other lesson that can be taught because a team doesn't start winning those close games until they experience it. Now that they know they can do it, it'll make it a little easier next time it presents itself.

This last-minute drive against Stanford wasn't the best drive of the season -- the go-ahead against Southern Cal probably ranks higher -- but it was certainly the most dire. At the end of the field was a BCS bowl and a $14 million payday; it was more like a Giant Eagle Foods Halftime Challenge ("Drive for a Million!") than an ending to a football game.

But, the team did it, they drove the field, they got the ball in the endzone, thus sealing the win and wrapping up a bid to the BCS. Afterwards, everybody, Domer and Cardinal alike, was invited down onto the field to haul off a piece of turf, which was really akin to tearing down the stadium itself, since the whole structure was nothing more than sets of metal bleachers sunk into a mound of dirt. The original House of Mud. (That's right, Audrey...and when the Stanford developers ran out of sod...they used mud.) I got a nice 10"x10" square of sod for myself, but left it in the hotel bar at the end of the night. (Which is probably just as well. What was I going to do with a piece of turf from Stanford Stadium? I thought about selling it to Dan Fouts, who was also in the hotel bar all weekend, and who clearly was on something during the broadcast of the game. Maybe he'd want to smoke it.)

The whole scene had a friendly, let's-color-on-the-walls-before-we-repaint atmosphere to it, a slo-motion demolition with fans from both sides politely mingling and chatting and every so often pausing to dig at the turf, local contractors hanging off their backhoes, and a few teenagers trying half-heartedly to bring down the goalposts. It felt like the cheery aftermath of a rock concert, which, if you looked back over our whole season, it sort of was.

Top 5 Drives of 2005 1. The Go-Ahead. Last drive versus Southern Cal. 8 plays, 87 yards, 3:05 minutes. To take the lead on Southern Cal late in the game. The streak-breaker. The season-maker. The-- crap, still not enough. Key play: Brady flushed left, Samardzija improvs and Brady does a running jumper to the Shark, complete for 14 yards. Alas, still two minutes left on the clock... 2. The $14 Million Drive. Last drive at Stanford. 6 plays, 80 yards, :51 seconds. Key play: Charlie brings a crossing pattern out of mothballs, Brady hits Samardzija for thirty yards on the first play of the drive, and the table is set for a BCS berth. 3. The Opener. First drive at Pitt. 6 plays, 78 yards. It took Ty three games to score an offensive touchdown; it took Charlie six plays. First drive of the season...first drive of a new era, and a revelation for all of us. Key play: Darius' 50 yard ramble for a TD on a screen pass, with a convoy of blockers around him. 4. Putting the Big House to Sleep. First drive at Michigan. 12 plays, 76 yards. Five wide, no huddle to start the game, drive right down and score. The rest of the day was much tougher, so that early cushion was crucial, and we never relinquished the lead. Key play: Brady picks out McKnight from an array of receivers for a five yard TD, an early indication that the QB coaching might be just a little bit better this year. 5. Choo Choo at Purdue. A 40-play, 324-yard demolition resulting in a 28-point touchdown. The first half against the Boilers was as thorough a beatdown as you'll see: four consecutive drives for touchdowns, with only 1 incomplete pass through that whole stretch. Key play: too many to name.

But back to that last drive. It really was the lynchpin to the entire season, a last-ditch effort that came up aces. Jason Kelly had a great recap:

Eighty yards from the end zone, one point down, with 1:46 to play and an ailing kicking game that made a touchdown feel like the only way to win, Charlie Weis improvised. He went away from the elaborate game plan on the laminated sheet in his hand and the crib notes on quarterback Brady Quinn's wristband. Forget those connoisseur's selections from his expansive playbook based on meticulous study of Stanford's tendencies. To generate momentum on the drive that would define the 2005 Notre Dame football season for better or worse, Weis went sandlot.

"It was definitely an in-the-dirt type of play with a stick," Irish wide receiver Jeff Samardzija said.

Everything Notre Dame built in the previous 10 games, not to mention the promise of Bowl Championship Series revenue and respect, teetered on a perilous fault line. Instead of a play the Irish worked on all week, Weis called one that required a refresher course right there on the sideline with the season on the line.

"About five seconds before we went on the field," he said, they went over assignments that sounded familiar enough from the last time they practiced it over a month ago. Quinn, channeling Weis, even had time to offer some Jersey sarcasm about the preposterous idea of blowing the dust off a shelved play in that situation.

"Brady goes, 'Thanks a lot for bringing one out of the archives,'" Weis said.

Samardzija ran his ad-libbed route and the cool quarterback with the one-liner for his coach threw a pass with the poise and precision of an ER surgeon. Chewing up a 30-yard chunk of precious Bay Area real estate, Samardzija moved Notre Dame to midfield and put his coach's mind at ease.

"That was the one that changed field position," Weis said, "and now all of a sudden, I kind of felt good about our chances."

Another slant-in to the Shark, a scramble around right end by Brady, a long jump ball to Stovall, two runs by Darius, and we were back on top (capping it off with fun 2-point conversion: shotgun, four receivers spread wide, and a direct snap to Walker, who darted left and hiked right in).

And that was the $14 million drive.

Oh, and about that $14 million. Isn't it nice that we negotiated a new BCS deal just before the season that severely reduces our payout going forward? Impeccable timing, as we seem to be on the verge of multiple BCS appearances over the next decade. Like us, you've probably sifted through all the various conspiracy theories, examined the rationales for accepting this agreement, and heard all the justifications, both official and non-. Whatever the reason for reconfiguring our payout participation, the fact remains that we reduced our benefit at the worst possible moment in time. And it's especially bitter considering the destination of all that BCS lucre:

The estimated $14.5 million share will go toward undergraduate and graduate financial aid, library acquisitions and scientific instruments for the new Jordan Hall of Science that will open in mid-2006, Father Jenkins said.

I just have one line of questioning for Kevin White: 1) Prior to this new deal, did the AD run a projection on how many times we'd be in the BCS? And 2) How has that projection changed with the advent of Charlie Weis?

Statistically Speaking | by Pat

With the regular season behind us, let's dip into the game notes and check out some interesting numbers and figures about the season that was and the bowl game that will be.

• Starting with the Stanford game, the -11 yards rushing allowed to the Cardinal is the lowest total in 37 years. Back in 1968 Notre Dame held Georgia Tech to -42 yards rushing. The -11 yards total is still the 4th lowest rushing total in the modern era. If you subtract sacks from the rushing total and only consider the running back production, Stanford accumulated 41 yards on 15 carries for an average of 2.73 yards/carry.

• On the offensive side of the ball, the 663 yards of offense rank as the 5th best offensive output in Notre Dame history. The top 5 games offensively are:

1. 720 yards - Navy, 1969
2. 680 yards - Air Force, 1977
3. 673 yards - Illinois, 1968
4. 667 yards - Georgia Tech, 1977
5. 663 yards - Stanford, 2005

• While hitting career highs in both yards (186) and carries (35), Darius Walker moved up to 8th on the all-time single season rushing record. With 1106 yards, Walker is one yard ahead of 9th place Allen Pinkett ('85) and 70 yards behind 7th place Autry Denson ('98). Vagas Ferguson still has a hold on the single season record with 1437 yards in 1979.

• Not only did Jeff Samardzija lead the nation with 15 receiving touchdowns, but he combined with Maurice Stovall to become the only WR tandem in the country to each catch 10 or more touchdowns. Stovall's 11 touchdowns rank 12th in the nation.

• Staying with Stovall's production, with one game left to play his 121 career receptions rank 6th all-time. Here is the breakdown of the top 6.

1. Tom Gatewood - 157
2. Jim Seymour - 138
3. Tim Brown - 137
4. Derrick Mayes - 129
5. Ken McAfee - 128
6. Maurice Stovall - 121

• All of this offensive output has pushed Notre Dame very close to the school record for points scored in a single season. Currently the 2005 Irish have 420 points. The record is 426 points scored by the 1991 team.

• As for other records, all told the Irish team has already broken 32 individual records this season. Most of that can be attributed to Brady Quinn, who has set 17 records already this season, and is on pace to break 10 more.

• Notre Dame and Fiesta Bowl opponent Ohio State (along with Texas and Auburn) are the only 4 schools in the country that are ranked in the Top 19 for both offensive and defensive 3rd down conversion rates.

• Penn State's Paul Poslusnzy won the Butkus Award for the nation's best college linebacker. Many Ohio State fans claim that A.J. Hawk should have won and one of the reasons given is his superior statistics. Out of curiosity -- and not an attempt to prove that Hotye is on par with Poslusnzy or Hawk -- here is a comparison of Hoyte's stats with those of Poslusnzy and Hawk.

Category	Tackles	TFL	Sacks	Int	Pass BrUp	QBH	FF	FR
Brandon Hoyte	82	15.5	6.0	0	3	2	2	0
Paul Poslusnzy	111	11.0	3.0	0	2	1	0	0
A.J. Hawk	109	13.0	7.5	1	3	N/A	2	1

• Moving on to the bowl game, Notre Dame has a chance to break the series tie with the Buckeyes as the teams are tied at 2-2 all-time. Notre Dame won the first two games in 1935 and 1936 and Ohio State returned the favor in 1995 and 1996. Furthermore, Notre Dame currently stands 13-13 in bowl games. The final twist to this matchup is the fact that Notre Dame has never faced a Big 10 opponent in a bowl game.

• Other bowl related trivia. In addition to Charlie Weis, the only coaches in ND history to get ND to a bowl game in their first year at Bob Davie and Ty Willingham. Both lost. Of course, the main reason for this is the self-imposed bowl ban at Notre Dame that lasted from 1924 to 1970. Also, Dan Devine went 8-3 his first year as ND head coach, but the Irish did not play in a bowl game that year.

Season Long Running Averages

First six games breakdown here.

Category	BYU	UT	Navy	'Cuse	Stan	1st Six	2005	2004
Yards per rush	1.9	1.4	5.7	3.7	4.6	3.6	3.7	3.32
Avg yards per PA	11.4	8.9	9.2	7.5	11.4	8.4	9.0	7.2
Avg yards per PC	14.6	14.8	12.9	13.0	17.3	13.3	13.9	13.4
Pass completion %	78%	61%	71%	58%	66%	63%	65%	54%
3rd downs conv.	6/11 (55%)	7/16 (44%)	8/12 (75%)	6/17 (35%)	8/15 (53%)	46/96 (48%)	81/167 (49%)	68/183 (37%)
Rushing yd avg	44.0	48.0	221.0	134.0	231.0	170.8	154.82 (49th)	127.4 (85th)
Passing yd avg	467.0	295.0	284.0	286.0	432.0	318.8	334.27 (4th)	218.1 (54th)
Passing Eff. (Quinn)	222.0	164.46	184.05	138.48	176.81	150.9	162.91 (4th)	125.87 (55th)
Total Offense	511.0	343.0	505.0	420.0	663.0	489.7	489.09 (10th)	345.5 (81st)
Scoring Offense	49.0	41.0	42.0	34.0	38.0	36.0	38.18 (6th)	24.1 (72nd)
Time of Possession	26:21	32:12	28:25	32:12	34:35	35:12	33:11	30:50
Red Zone TDs	3/4 (75%)	1/3 (33%)	5/5 (100%)	1/5 (20%)	4/7 (57%)	21/27 (81%)	35/51 (67%)	25/36 (69%)

Defense

Category	BYU	UT	Navy	'Cuse	Stan	1st Six	2005	2004
Yards per rush given up	2.2	2.8	4.1	3.8	-0.4	4.4	3.6	2.7
Avg yards per PA	7.0	5.8	7.5	3.5	9.6	7.7	7.4	7.9
Avg yards per PC	12.2	14.4	18.8	8.7	15.1	14.8	14.2	13.6
Pass completion %	58%	41%	40%	41%	64%	52%	52%	58%
Quarterback sacks	4	3	0	3	7	13	30	30
Rushing yd against	75.0	109.0	239.0	143.0	-11.0	126.3	119.36 (25th)	88.2 (4th)
Passing yd against	317.0	187.0	75.0	78.0	347.0	304.8	257.55 (97th)	281.2 (116th)
Passing Eff. def.	122.73	90.39	116.00	76.6	163.18	122.24	121.41 (53rd)	138.34 (98th)
Total yd against	392.0	296.0	314.0	221.0	336.0	431.2	376.91 (64th)	369.4 (54th)
Scoring Defense	23.0	21.0	21.0	10.0	31.0	25.67	23.64 (45th)	24.08 (46th)
Red Zone Defense	3/4 (75%)	4/4 (100%)	3/3 (100%)	2/2 (100%)	2/2 (100%)	16/23 (70%)	30/38 (79%)	33/38 (87%)
Red Zone TD Def.	3/4 (75%)	2/4 (50%)	3/3 (100%)	1/2 (50%)	1/2 (50%)	13/23 (57%)	23/38 (61%)	19/38 (50%)

Turnovers

Category	BYU	UT	Navy	'Cuse	Stan	1st Six	2005	2004
Interceptions by ND	2	2	1	1	0	7	13	9
Fumbles Forced / Recovered	0/0	2/1	2/1	1/0	0/0	13/7	18/9	27/12
Turnovers gained	2	3	2	1	0	14	22	21
Had Intercepted	0	0	1	0	2	5	8	10
Fumbles / Lost	3/2	2/1	0/0	1/0	1/0	9/3	16/6	15/6
Turnovers lost	2	1	1	0	2	8	14	16
Turnover Margin	+0	+2	+1	+1	-2	+6	+8	+5

Special Teams

Category	BYU	UT	Navy	'Cuse	Stan	1st Six	2005	2004
Kickoff return average	17.2	23.3	13.5	19.5	24.2	19.8	19.5	18.7
Kickoff return average allowed	21.7	21.4	26.5	18.5	30.0	19.1	21.4	19.9
Punt return average	7.5	39.3	12.5	7.3	5.7	16.5	14.7	10.8
Punt return average allowed	11.8	4.7	-	5.0	-	5.2	6.2	8.2

Fun Fact O' the Day: Yes, it is true. In addition to all of his offense records, Brady Quinn is leading the nation in punting average.

Knee-deep in the hoopla | by Jay

A couple of weeks ago we were nominated for a "Best Sports Blog" award. Initially we were honored, but then we saw the field of nominees, noted the absence of EDSBS, and immediately declared the endeavor horribly flawed. (How does Heismanpundit get a nod over Orson and Stranko?) It's a bizarre list of candidates: on one hand you've got über-corporate blogging conglomerate Deadspin, on the other end, something called "the Blockhole", which looks like it gets about twenty visitors a day.

We were going to ignore the whole contest, but frankly, our competitive nature got the better of us (that, and certain posters on the competitions' sites saying disaparaging things about Notre Dame). So we figured, if we're in this thing, we might as well make a run at it. There are only a couple of college football blogs in the field, and we're the only one with a ND connection (yep, they even left out Marco). And it bugs us that a blog covering a mid-market baseball team might eclipse Our Lady's University.

So, if you've got a minute, lend us a hand, and let's bring this home not only for us, but also for our favorite sites that were snubbed (see our links section), all our fellow ND bloggers, and the glory of the Dome. (If we win, Orson's promised to don feathers and a buckskin miniskirt and accept the award on our behalf, while we sip mai tais out of coconut husks somewhere off the coast of Bora Bora). Polls close in four days, and you can vote once every day. Thanks.

Vote here.

He got my vote | by Jay

Reggie Bush wins the Heisman in a landslide. Amid the Torrettas and Whites and Detmers of the world, I can't ever remember a winner so deserving. While there were clear-cut favorites in years past, nobody stood out among the rest like he did this year.

Or any year, frankly. In your lifetime, have you ever seen a better football player than Reggie Bush?

Postscript: Southern Cal's now tied with us at seven Heisman winners apiece. Let's get the lead back next year.

Man in the Middle | by Pat

Right on the heels of Dan Wenger, Georgia linebacker Toryan Smith announced his decision to attend the University of Notre Dame and became the 24th known verbal commitment. And Smith didn't need a fancy explanation as to why he chose the Irish.

“It’s just Notre Dame — enough said,” said Smith, who ESPN.com ranked as the No. 5 inside linebacker in the nation.

“Academically, athletically, there’s nothing above that. I think they have the best coach in the nation and they can get me where I want to go.”

Also important was his connection with Coach Weis.

“He was honest with me from day one and he never second guessed and me never knocked any other schools,” Smith said. “I appreciate that honesty. He thought I was the best player and I thought he was the best coach. It was a match made in heaven.”

The Rome, Georgia native is expected to come into Notre Dame as a middle linebacker, a position that loses current starter Corey Mays after this year. With Scott Smith seemingly ahead of Mitchell Thomas on the depth chart at MLB, the battle for a starting position seems to be wide open. It will be interesting to see if the physical Smith can make a push for early playing time next year.

We make fun of the recruiting "star ranking" system all the time, and the 6', 240-lb Smith is a perfect example of why Top 100 lists and such on rivals, scout, and elsewhere should always be taken with the proverbial grain (or ton) of salt. According to Rivals, Smith is the 14th-best inside linebacker in the country and a 3-star recruit. Pretty good, but not great. Scout is even harsher: they have Smith listed as a 3-star player and the 46th best linebacker in the country. The funny thing is, when you look at the scholarship offers that Toryan Smith attracted, it really makes you wonder what the internet experts saw (or didn't see) in comparsion with the legion of D-1 coaches who deemed Smith talented enough to join their programs.

The truth is, Toryan Smith is one of the most heavily recruited players to commit to Notre Dame this year. As far back as April, Smith had scholarship offers from finalists Alabama, Michigan, and Florida, as well as Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee. One would think that a player possessing those sort of offers would be better than the 46th-best at his position (cough-Scout-cough).

For those wondering how ND pulled such a player out of the South, which tends to do a great job keeping local kids local, it turns out that ND coaches had an interesting connection to the Smith family. Toryan's father was an offensive lineman who blocked for Herschel Walker at Georgia in the early 80's. And his defenisve coordinator at that time? None other than Notre Dame's current secondary coach Bill Lewis.

Time of course will tell if Smith can live up to the expectations generated by scholarship offers from nearly every strong football program in the South. In the meantime, he will do all he can to help the Irish.

"I can promise that I am going to bring that intensity to the defense," Smith said. "Right now, they've got a great offense because coach Weis is probably the best offensive coach that has every coached. But I want to bring that cut-throat attitude to the defense. That's what you want to do being a middle linebacker."

Center of Attention | by Pat

Recruit number 23 pulled the trigger for Notre Dame when offensive lineman Dan Wenger publicly announced his verbal committment to Coach Weis and the Irish.

"I think [Notre Dame] is unmatched to any other place," Wenger said. "It's the best fit all around between academics and athletics. You obviously have the football tradition and what they've done in the past, but wherever you go, you're meeting someone that was a graduate of Notre Dame. Everyone knows about Notre Dame. It's not something people are blind to."

The 6'4" 285lbs Wenger is now the 4th known offensive lineman recruit for the Irish, joining Bartley Webb, Eric Olsen, and Chris Stewart. It's also expected that Matt Carufel will announce his intentions to attend Notre Dame publicly in January at the Army All-American Bowl Game. Also, Notre Dame is still after Wenger's teammate Sam Young, who is one of the top recruits in America, regardless of position.

That's not to say that Wenger hasn't earned his own share of accolades. Playing center for his high school team and expected to play center for Notre Dame, Wenger is ranked as one of the best centers in the country. Rivals.com ranks him 3rd among centers while scout.com tabs him at the 18th best offensive lineman in the country. More important than recruiting rankings though are the impressive collection of offers that Wenger accumulated. Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, Penn State, Purdue, Boston College, and Pittsburgh all offered and pursued the talented lineman. Also, Wenger was invited to participate in the US Army All-American Bowl in January. He's the 8th publically committed player for the Irish to be invited to the game.

Here's a free highlight video of Dan for all. Now, judging lineman from a grainy internet video is pretty hard to do. With that in mind, here's a review of Wenger from an article written back in April. The writer covers Florida high school football so I'd imagine he's seen more than his fair share of good players. And while one would expect a complimentary review for a player who collects as many scholarship as Wenger, this is still heady praise.

DANIEL WENGER: If there is a better high school center in the nation, please let me see him. Very seldom has any young linemen ever been groomed to play this position at this age. Watching him play, you get the sense that, like Young, here is a position that Wenger will settle at for the next decade – and beyond. Last year, in two games, I tracked him on three different series to see what he did that was so impressive, and after writing down notes, I came to the conclusion that he dominates, standing defensive linemen straight up, trap blocks so well and can open holes quickly with his strength and pure athletic ability.

HIS STRENGTHS: If you watch Daniel on four different plays, he won't block the same on any of those plays. While most 17-year-olds have been trained to repeat blocks and use one or two different blocking schemes, Wenger variates from play to play, which comes from plenty of practice and film watching.

NEEDS TO WORK ON: Just gaining the natural experience the position requires. He will be given more and more responsibility as he gets to college and at the professional level.

IN CONCLUSION: After watching him play three different times, I proclaimed that this will be the first linemen in this class, who will start in the National Football League. He just has the look of a center who will play in the league for a long time. He reminds me a lot of another Floridian Jeff Faine.

Pretty impressive stuff and I'm sure ND fans will love the Faine comparisions. Not sure if that is exactly fair to Wenger since those are mighty big shoes to fill, but I think it's safe to say that expectations are high for all of the offensive lineman recruits this year as most of them have excellent shots at very early playing time. And speaking of early playing time, one extra benefit that Wenger brings is his experience at the position. This positive was hightlighted in an article from June.

There has to be something said about a high school football player who competed over a four year period at the center position. In this day of playing a number of positions on the line, here is an athlete who will have over 40 starts at a position that colleges seem to fall over the place trying to cement.

Bob Morton should return for a 5th year and John Sullivan still has 2 years of eligibility left, but it's nice to know that their backup won't be learning the position from scratch next year.

Congratulations, you're not invited | by Pat

Good news, bad news for Brady Quinn this week as he was rewarded for his stellar play at quarterback while at the same time informed that when it comes to the Heisman, stellar play apparently doesn't cut it.

The good news was that Brady Quinn was selected as the reciepent of the Sammy Baugh Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation's best passer by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. Quinn, who was second in the nation in touchdown passes, finished 4th in passing effficiency and yards per pass, and shattered countless ND single-season and career records, is the second Irish QB to win the award. The other is Terry Hanratty who won in 1967.

This isn't the first time Quinn has had to deal with the Touchdown Club of Columbus. Last year he attended the awards banquet and was presented an Award of Distinction and as a high school senior at nearby Dublin Coffman was invited to the 2002 banquet. That year he was a finalist for the Rhodes Award, given to Ohio's top high school player, and along with Chinedum Nduwke was honored as a "Buckeye Bluechip", given to the state's top players. This year Irish recruits Robby Parris and Kallen Wade are recipients of the Buckeye Bluechip award.

For those who hope that Quinn will be able to build upon the Sammy Baugh award and take home the Davey O'Brien award for nation's best quarterback when it is presented tonight live on espn, history is not in Quinn's favor. Going back 15 years, the winner of the Sammy Baugh award also won the Davey O'Brien award exactly twice (Chris Weinke in 2000, Danny Wuerffel in 1995).

The other bad news for Quinn is that it was recently announced that he will not be invited to the Heisman Trophy Award presentation in New York. The snub is a bit of a surprise as since 1999, either four or five finalists have been invited to the presentation, whereas this year, only three were selected.

According to stiffarmtrophy.com, Quinn is running a solid 4th place, but really isn't challenging current 3rd place vote getter Matt Leinart. Personally, I'm a bit torn on this. As an Irish fan I'd like to see Quinn get rewarded for a great season and I'm sure Coach Weis wouldn't mind the recruiting and PR boost of getting Quinn to New York in his first year. Then again, it's really been a three person race all year between Leinart, Bush, and Young so I can understand that they want to keep that intact, even if it does just further the idea that Heisman finalist status is largely awarded pre-season by media hype. That and there's the whole "watch all 3 play in the Rose Bowl live on ABC" cross-promotion I'm sure you'll see. The flip side of that of course is they will miss out on hyping runners-up Young and Quinn for next year's Heisman.

But as for whether or not Quinn deserved an invite should go beyond marketing. And unfortunately in this year, even as a 4th place finisher, Quinn is not going to get nearly the same number of votes that 4th place finishers normally get. For that you can thank Reggie Bush and to a lesser extent Vince Young. Looking at the projections on stiffarmtrophy.com and looking at the records on the Heisman.com website, not only could Bush push O.J. Simpson's record for highest vote total, but Vince Young could also finish in the top 3 for most votes for a runner-up. So as much as I'd like to see Quinn honored with an invitation, it's really a two person race (with Bush clearly ahead) and perhaps the only compelling reason why Leinart is invited is because he won the thing last year.

Seeing as how Notre Dame has practice this Saturday, I don't think Notre Dame fans should be too upset that Quinn will be able to stick around and prepare for Ohio State rather than potentially miss practice in order to fly to New York and be told he didn't even come close to winning the Heisman.

I totally predicted ND versus Ohio State in the Fiesta... | by Jay

Remember, oh, way back, at the beginning of the season? Do you remember what you thought ND would do this year?

We do. In August we did a survey here, with 1,408 responders. Here's what you said at the time:

What games are we going to win this year?

Pittsburgh	94.32%
Michigan	76.36%
Michigan State	94.68%
Washington	99.42%
Purdue	61.24%
Southern Cal	21.75%
BYU	99.21%
Tennessee	40.76%
Navy	99.42%
Syracuse	97.76%
Stanford	97.83%

Michigan State, an easier game than Pittsburgh. Hmph.

What will ND's regular season record be?

3-8 or worse	6 (0.43%)
4-7	8 (0.58%)
5-6	13 (0.94%)
6-5	47 (3.41%)
7-4	279 (20.22%)
8-3	474 (34.35%)
9-2	377 (27.32%)
10-1	96 (6.96%)
11-0	80 (5.80%)

About 60% said 8-3 or worse, so that means we did pretty well, expectation-wise.


What would be an "acceptable" record for ND this year? (Define "acceptable" any way you wish).

3-8	6 (0.43%)
4-7	6 (0.43%)
5-6	35 (2.51%)
6-5	274 (19.66%)
7-4	756 (54.23%)
8-3	242 (17.36%)
9-2	46 (3.30%)
10-1	12 (0.86%)
11-0	17 (1.22%)

7-4 seems unthinkable now, but fully 75% of us would have been happy with that outcome.

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

Michigan	449 (31.93%)
Southern Cal	429 (30.51%)
Tennessee	528 (37.55%)

We all hit that one right on the head: Tennessee was correctly predicted as the easiest "tough" game.

How about a pitfall game? That is, a game we should win, but might blow.

Pitt	501 (35.63%)
Michigan State	549 (39.05%)
BYU	89 (6.33%)
Navy	38 (2.70%)
Syracuse	95 (6.76%)
Stanford	134 (9.53%)

Nice job for us again, plucking Michigan State out of the hat as the biggest pitfall matchup.

Will ND play in a bowl game, and if so, which one?

Rose Bowl	73 (5.23%)
Other BCS Bowl	239 (17.12%)
a non-BCS Bowl	1038 (74.36%)
No Bowl Game	46 (3.30%)

Bunch of glass-half-empty losers we are.


Collectively, the BGS crew predicted a record of 8-3, with losses to Michigan, Southern Cal, and Tennessee. Two staffers predicted 9-2, Teds (losses to Michigan and Tennessee) and Michael (losses to Purdue and Southern Cal). So, we'll crown Michael the BGS prognosticator of the season based on picking the Southern Cal game correctly in the head-to-head matchup.

Nice job Michael! You've just won two tickets to the Fiesta Bowl.

(Note to readers: can someone send us at least two tickets to the Fiesta Bowl so we can properly reward Michael? Thanks in advance.)

Stevie's Blunder | by Mike

If you had asked me what I thought of Steve Spurrier a week ago, I’d have told you I admired the man's transparency. In a sport filled with people claiming to be something they’re not, Spurrier was remarkably honest. He didn’t pretend to respect Bobby Bowden or Tennessee. He didn’t deny that he enjoyed running up the score. He was successful, he knew it, and he wasn't afraid to tell you. His forthright nature was refreshing.

Yet the release of the coaches’ ballots this week presents an instance where some mystery surrounds Spurrier’s motivations. As you’ve assuredly heard by now, Spurrier gave Notre Dame its lowest ranking in the entire poll at 14. (Two spots below Texas Tech, of all people!) While one normally knows where one stands with Spurrier, I’m not sure why he voted this way. This forces me to resort to the first principle of the internet – when in doubt, resort to baseless speculation. With this axiom in mind, here are a few possible reasons for Spurrier’s vote:

The Man's Own Words. When asked to explain his vote, Spurrier said:

Somebody said we had Notre Dame lower than anybody else. I said, ‘Well, they didn’t even put us in there. So what’s the big deal?’

Of course, Spurrier is not so much attempting to explain his vote here as minimize its significance. Yet his comparison is inapt. Only eleven coaches voted for South Carolina at all, and the only coaches who voted South Carolina above 24 were Spurrier and his former DC Bob Stoops. Weis wasn't exactly an outlier. The question remains why Spurrier did take an outlier position with regard to Notre Dame.

The Sugar Bowl. Following the 1991 season, Spurrier’s third-ranked, SEC champion Gators faced off against Lou Holtz’s 18th-ranked Irish. Jerome Bettis rewrote Notre Dame’s bowl records (150 rushing yards on 16 carries for 3 touchdowns) en route to a 39-28 Irish victory in the heart of SEC country. Thus most remember this game for the performance of the Irish offense and overlook the manner in which Holtz exploited Spurrier’s greatest weakness – his hubris. Holtz’s defensive scheme called for the Irish to drop practically the entire defense into coverage, knowing that Spurrier would not abandon the passing attack on which he prided himself. Although Notre Dame dropped as many as nine defenders into coverage during much of the second half, Spurrier could not bring himself to call running plays. (This despite the presence of the SEC’s leading rusher in the Gator backfield.) Spurrier just had to prove his team could pass against anyone, and this obstinance played right into Holtz’s hands. Does this humbling still haunt Spurrier?

John Latina. Last December, Spurrier hired the former Ole Miss offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for his Gamecock staff. In hiring Latina, Spurrier was adding a coach who had sent ten offensive linemen to the NFL at Ole Miss and who sported a truly majestic moustache. Shortly thereafter, however, Latina would leave Spurrier to join Charlie Weis’s staff. Does Spurrier harbor a grudge because Latina valued the opportunity to work with Coach Weis more highly?

Jimmy Clausen. The über-recruit from the class of 2007 is said to be considering both Notre Dame and South Carolina. If Spurrier could land Clausen, he would have the opportunity to run his system with a quarterback who received more high school accolades than either Danny Wuerffel or Rex Grossman. However, Spurrier can’t feel too confident recruiting against the man who transformed Tom Brady from a sixth-round quarterback befouled by what passes for QB coaching at Michigan into a two-time Super Bowl MVP and who has made Brady Quinn the early frontrunner for the 2006 Heisman and a top NFL Draft choice. Did recruiting concerns figure into the man’s calculations?

The Unforgiven Slight. Back in August, Weis was asked whether he thought Spurrier would succeed in his return to college football after his failure in the NFL. Perhaps Weis was a little too blunt in his response for Spurrier’s taste:

Well, first of all Steve's a great coach. I think one thing that's a little different, though, is those defenses in the NFL, they'll figure you out in a hurry now. I mean you're just sitting there, and every time they blitz, you're going to throw a slip screen. That's what he did. Everyone in the league knew it. He was going to throw a slip screen and everyone would be playing the slip screen.

The good folks at EDSBS have described Spurrier’s “long memory and sense of Old Testament justice.” Are we witnessing another of Spurrier's famed grudges?

What was Spurrier thinking? Tell us what you think, but beware the black helicopters and computer viruses.

Pass Right | by Jay

We're a little late in passing this along, but still in time for Christmas. MTIrish and friends have a set up a fundraiser and are selling a T-shirt for the Montana Mazurkiewicz family, with all net profits donated to them.

In the spirit of the season, consider buying a shirt at the link below, and helping out a worthy cause.

Buy a "Pass Right" Tee.

Inside the Coaches Poll | by Jeff

Amid all of the inanity involved in the BCS process, the Coaches Poll has to be the most problematic piece of the structural puzzle. The coaches have a personal, vested interest in the results of the BCS, which can have a huge impact on their careers, as well as the careers of their friends and associates. In addition, a BCS appearance can have a multi-million dollar impact on a coach's school and its conference.

For the Harris pollsters, any effort to rig the ballot is of tangential value; the coaches, however, can directly benefit from their own gamesmanship. It's a wonder that anyone believes a Coaches poll would result in an unbiased ranking of college football teams.

With USA Today releasing the voting breakdown of the coaches poll, we finally get the opportunity to evaluate the numerous biases inherent in the poll.

Conference Bias

On average, each coach rates every team in his own conference about one position higher than the rest of the voters. While this might be somewhat expected, it is not an objective way to determine a national champion, and certainly not an fair way to distribute the 4+ million dollars a conference will receive from an additional BCS bid.

Ranking Boost by Conference Voters
Big East	+1.5
ACC	+1.2
Big Ten	+1.1
SEC	+1.1
PAC 10	+0.9
CUSA	+0.9
WAC	+0.3
Big 12	+0.3
Independent *	-2.2

* One note on the independents: Charlie Weis voted the Irish at #4 while the only other independent coach, Bobby Wallace of Temple, voted the Irish #13. This accounts for the -2.2 among independent schools voting.

Self Gratification

As conflicted as supporting a team from your own conference might be, the poll also allows coaches to vote on their own team. On average, a coach placed his own team 1.7 spots higher than the rest of the voters. Only seven of twenty-two coaches placed his team within one spot of their final ranking, with Bobby Bowden the only coach to drop his own team down a meaningful amount. The five coaches that likely twisted an arm while patting themselves on the back are:

Coach, School	"Bump"
Steve Spurrier, South Carolina	+4.67
Randy Walker, Northwestern	+4.61
Bob Stoops, Oklahoma	+4.27
Tommy Tuberville, Auburn	+3.59
Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin	+3.56

S.O.S. - Save Our Schedule

Actually competing against a team during the season also appears to have a positive impact on a ranking. In general, coaches ranked a team .7 positions higher if they actaully played the team during the regular season.

Excluding conference games, this increase drops to half a spot, but is still significant. Eleven teams got a boost of one place in the polls or more from their non-conference foes (see table), and only two teams (Clemson and Miami) suffered more than a one position drop.

Boost from Non-Conf Opponent Voters
LSU	+2.83
West Virginia	+2.63
Northwestern	+2.61
Louisville	+2.56
Boston College	+2.11
UCLA	+1.93
Auburn	+1.59
Oregon	+1.56
Virginia Tech	+1.09
Boise State	+1.08
Ohio State	+1.01

Bubble Bias

The most crucial result of the Coaches Poll has to do with the teams on the 'bubble' of a BCS appareance, as an inclusion (or exclusion) results in a swing of millions of dollars for the team and its conference. As you might expect, the results for teams on the bubble for inclusion in the BCS are quite peculiar. Not only do you see coaches inflating the rankings of teams in their own conferences, but you also see the coaches penalizing teams competing for the same BCS spot.

• Isn't it a little odd that eight out of twelve SEC and PAC-10 coaches had Notre Dame ranked 8th or worse? The actual rankings from the SEC and PAC-10 voters were 5th (twice), 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th x4, 10th, 12th and 14th.

• How about the fact that over half the coaches had Ohio State at 4th, but 8 of the 12 SEC and PAC 10 coaches ranked them worse?

• And what about Oregon? Half of the coaches that ranked them 8th or worse were from the Big Ten and SEC, and 8 of the 13 that ranked them 7th or worse were from these two conferences.

• Auburn, the team furthest from the bubble, fared much better. Only four of the 21 rankings of 9th or worse came from the Big Ten or PAC 10. However, they were the biggest benefactor of inflation as their lone third place vote came from the SEC, as did two of their three fourth place votes (the other being from an in-state team, Troy). Auburn effectively became a pawn, as coaches inserted the Tigers into the rankings above teams they wished to downgrade.

	Voter's Conference
	Big Ten	PAC 10	SEC
Ohio State	+0.87	+0.42	-0.56
Oregon	-1.22	+1.47	-0.51
Notre Dame	+0.48	-2.67	-1.95
Auburn	+0.45	+0.20	+2.31

While every coach of a bubble team placed his own team at the top of the bubble list, I was most impressed with Coach Weis for placing the Irish, Ohio State, Oregon, and Auburn at 4-5-6-7 in the rankings, the only coach of the four to place the four teams in sequence. Belotti and Tuberville dropped the Irish to #9 behind Georgia & Miami, and Tressel did the same to Oregon. Perhaps Charlie fell victim to the old "you vote for me and I'll vote for you" scam that I used to become class president of the third grade.

	Bellotti	Tressel	Tuberville	Weis
Ohio State	+0.02	+1.02	+0.02	+0.02
Oregon	+2.06	-2.94	+0.06	+0.06
Notre Dame	-2.66	+1.34	-2.66	+2.34
Auburn	+1.60	+1.60	+3.60	+0.60

Conclusion

It comes as no surprise that the Coaches Poll is fraught with bias. However, since this is the first year we actually get to see the results, it's still somewhat shocking to see such blatant gamesmanship laid bare. The supposed advantage of the BCS polls, and the Coaches poll in particular, is that you have a body of "football experts" who are ranking the teams; their vast experience and acumen is supposed to lend the poll unquestioned authenticity.

Unfortunately, with so much money at stake, with careers hanging in the balance, and with so much rampant conflict of interest, the Coaches Poll is anything but authentic and honestly considered. Perhaps by revealing the votes this year, egregious voters will check themselves a bit next year, but considering what's at stake (and the absence of censure), I tend to doubt it. As long as it's included in the calculus, the Coaches Poll will remain the most problematic component of the BCS.

Star Chamber | by Jay

The USA Today/Coaches poll was supposed to be revealed after the final vote yesterday, but those dastardly connivers decided at the last second to conceal their collusion, keep the tally secret for another year. The Coaches cabal is quickly approaching Stonecutters-level power and secrecy ("Who keeps Joe Paterno alive? We do!"), and I expect a Dan Brown novel any day now--

Wait a second...they just put it online? Nevermind.

Bill has a good rundown on some of the quackery. You gotta wonder about the ol' ball coach.

Year One | by Pat

Well, it's been one year since Jay put up the first post on BGS. We've had a blast and can't thank all of our readers, fellow bloggers, and commenters enough. From not having a head coach a year ago to officially being invited to the BCS yesterday, ND Football has had an absolutely unforgettable year.

In honor of our birthday, we'll dial it back a few years and offer up a story that explains the famous photo that adorns our blog. Pull up a chair, grab a piece of cake, and enjoy.

The Untold Story of the Four Horsemen Photograph

By Walter “Bud” Stuhldreher

Much has been written about the most famous sports picture ever taken, the one of Notre Dame’s immortal Four Horsemen. This tells the story of how it almost wasn’t made. My uncle, Harry Stuhldreher, was the quarterback on the Four Horsemen Team. He is the little fellow on the right in the picture. He told this story to me while having lunch in the Cleveland Athletic Club in 1958. I later verified the story with Jim Crowley in 1968 when he was visiting my home in Huntsville, Alabama. If it wasn’t the most famous, and reproduced, sports picture of all time it wouldn’t make sense to tell the story now, 81 years after the picture was made. Due to its uniqueness however, I believe the story is worth telling.

In October of 1924, the Notre Dame football team beat Army 13-7. During the half-time George Strickler, a student, was in the press box and commented that the Notre Dame team reminded him of a movie he had just seen, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Grantland Rice, the famous sports writer, picked up on this idea, and started his column for the New York Herald Tribune as follows:

“Outlined against a blue-gray October sky,
the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic
lore they are known as Famine, Pestilence,
Destruction and Death. These are only aliases.
Their real names are Stuhldreher, Miller,
Crowley and Layden.”

But the team wouldn’t be remembered today if George Strickler, who made the original comparison between the Notre Dame quartet and the title of Vincente Blasco Ibanez’s novel, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, hadn’t followed up on the story when the ream returned to South Bend. Strickler, a junior at Notre Dame at the time, and Knute Rockne’s student publicist, told how the picture came to be made.

At midnight at the Belmont Hotel, where the team was staying, there were stacks of the early editions of the New York papers. That’s when Strickler first read Rice’s epic. On Sunday morning, just before the team entrained for South Bend, he got the idea for the picture of the Four Horsemen on horseback. “I wired my father. My dad was working at Notre Dame, worked for them for years. I asked him to see if he could round up four horses. The next afternoon (Monday), as soon as we got into the depot, I called my father. He had the horses lined up at a coal and ice house. They weren’t very well taken care of, but they were saddled up and ready to go.”

“I got on one and started pulling the other three. I got pulled off that horse three or four times and I had a hell of a time getting back on. Then, when I got to the football field I had to talk the guard into letting me get into practice. I broke up Rock’s practice to get the picture. My photographer was already there. I led the horses onto the field, put the Horsemen on them, and took the picture.

“Later in the day, Rock gave me a little hell. He didn’t like the idea of me breaking up his practice. He said he only had a couple of practices before the Princeton game, and that I should have made other arrangements. I said, ‘I didn’t have a chance.’ He kept giving me hell, but he wound up saying it was a good idea.”

It certainly was a good idea. It made the Four Horsemen famous for life – and beyond. But, according to Harry, and later verified by Crowley, the above wasn’t the whole story. Here’s what actually happened.

When Strickler motioned for the Four Horsemen to get on the nags they refused and no amount of Strickler’s cajoling could get them to change their minds. Rockne, already mad at having the practice interrupted, angrily asked what was the holdup. Crowley told Rockne they didn’t want to get on the horses for three reasons: Polo was played on horses, football on a field; the photographer wanted them each to hold a football but there was only one football at a time in a game; and hey had their practice uniforms on which were dirty, full of holes, and didn’t look very good.

Rockne looked at Crowley suspiciously. A couple of weeks earlier, distressed at a bad play, Rockne had yelled at Crowley, “What’s dumber than a dumb Irishman?” Crowley, never at loss for words, unwisely fired right back, “A smart Swede?” (Never mind that Rockne had been born in Voss, Norway; the point had been made.) So Rockne didn’t believe Crowley’s tale and asked him for the real reason they weren’t getting on the horses. Crowley admitted they were all scared of horses.

Rockne then told them George had gone to a lot of trouble to get the horses out there, that he was sick and tired at having his practice held up so get on the horses and be damn quick about it. As usual, Rockne had the last word, and the picture was made.

This explains two aspects of the picture. In spite of photography being a very inexact science in 1924, only one picture was made, instead of the usual three or four to ensure a good picture. There’s only been one picture of the Four Horsemen ever shown simply because there weren’t any others. In addition, It explains the glum expressions on their faces: they were scared to death!

There you have it, the story of how the picture that changed their lives, that made them famous, almost didn’t get taken. I asked Harry, during that lunch in 1958, how they felt about the picture, and the ensuing notoriety. He replied that they didn’t understand the continuing interest by the public in them, but they appreciated it and enjoyed it very much. They all felt it had been simply an accident which caused them to be remembered by the public when so many other backfields had long been forgotten.

He went on to illustrate this being remembered so many years after they played. During the Battle of the Bulge, near the end of WWII in Europe, German soldiers had infiltrated the Allied lines and, wearing American uniforms taken from prisoners, had wreaked havoc by misdirecting traffic. The disguised Germans would direct the Americans down the wrong roads, either away from the battle or into ambushes where scores of American soldiers were killed, injured or taken prisoner. After the Americans realized this was happening they solved the problem by refusing to follow instructions unless the traffic soldiers could respond to a simple question: What college did the Four Horsemen play for? And this, Harry stated with some pride, happened 20 years after they had played. He was, understandably, quite pleased with that recollection. (Years later I came across this story in a military history of the Battle of the Bulge so I know it’s true.)

There you have it, an addition to the story of how the most famous sports picture ever came to be made. Yeah, it’s some picture. Imagine: 20 years later a screwy picture of four unhappy football players in ratty uniforms sitting on four nags saved the lives of hundreds of American soldiers in one of the closing battles of WWII in Europe. And even today, if you so choose, you can buy a tee shirt or a sweater at Notre Dame with the picture on it. The Four Horsemen continue to ride into glory!

that night I had a dream... | by Jay

I dreamt I was as light as the ether

a floating spirit visiting things to come

the shades and spirits of two football teams

wrestled their way into my slumber

and I dreamed on,

into the future

to a day in January

the Irish and the Buckeyes

and it seemed real

like it was meant to be

in a land, not too far away

where the players are strong

and the coaches are wise and capable

I dunno...

maybe it was Arizona.

final Harris Poll | by Jay

The Harris Poll went public today. ND at #5 overall.

The individual ballots are interesting to sift through. Blaine Bishiop and Pat Haden gave us our best ranking at #3; professional moron Mike Grace, listed as a "media" voter, and who runs something called the College Football Radio Network out of Alabama, was the low outlier, placing us at #13.

For short bios (and biases) on all the voters, check out this post on Gunslingers.

If it looks like a Duck... | by Jay

Coaches Poll nonsense. Last week:

1. Southern Cal
2. Texas
3. LSU
4. Penn State
5. Virginia Tech
6. Ohio State
7. Notre Dame - 1,153
8. Oregon - 1,127

Today:

1. Southern Cal
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Oregon - 1,234
6. Notre Dame - 1,219

Did Oregon win a game yesterday that we didn't know about? Can't wait to see the coaches' ballots revealed this week, especially those from the Pac-10.

Bowl Selection Sunday | by Jay

There's been so much griping over the past couple of weeks by media and fans of other schools about Notre Dame getting "special" treatment by the BCS (reaching a fever pitch after ND's cardiac comeback last Saturday). We largely ignored the discussion here, as it seemed premature: there were a raft of important games left to play, and the picture hadn't been sorted out yet.

After the Virginia Tech implosion yesterday we can finally take out the earplugs. Everyone with a gripe about ND can now refocus their ire towards a flawed system that would give a four-loss Florida State team a guaranteed slot in the Orange Bowl. With the at-large selections, the bowls at least have some freedom to weigh the merits of the eligible teams and make their own selection; with the automatic conference berths, you're stuck with a 8-3, #21 Pittsburgh (2004 Fiesta), a 9-4, #14 Florida State (2002 Sugar), a 8-3, #14 Purdue (2000 Rose), or this year's Seminole entry.

Some worthy team, one of the best eight in the country, is going to be playing in a crummy, second-tier bowl game this year, and there's nothing we can do about it.

Roundball | by Dylan

Last year, I waited until after the fourteenth game to weigh in on the basketball team. Looking back at what I wrote then, I think that the season's trends were visible at that point and even earlier. Here's what I wrote at the time:

I have to say that, despite the gaudy 11-3 record, I am not terribly high on the Irish right now. At the end of last year, I was terrifically optimistic about the returning team, particularly with the addition of Latimore. I had visions of a top 10 squad and a return to the Sweet 16. But when I look at the schedule and the dearth of RPI-bouncing wins, I see a ten-loss Irish squad (potentially 9-7 in the BE) once again bubbling down the stretch to an eventual date with East Tennessee State or somesuch in the NIT.

It sucks to be right sometimes. As it stands right now, after today's home loss to Big 10 middle-of-the-roader Michigan, I'm afraid the trends are equally predictable. The Irish are 2-2 and heading into their last real test (at Alabama on Wednesday) before a month-long stretch of also-rans prior to getting into conference play on January 4th. By that time, the Irish may have the same type of "nice on paper" record as last year, likely 9-2 or 8-3. Unfortunately, my gut tells me that it's going to be a struggle for this year's squad to achieve even last year's mediocre results.

First of all, a couple of caveats. Number one, I've seen exactly one-and-a-half games (N.C. State and Michigan). Not exactly a scientific sample. Second, there are players getting their first real chance (Russell Carter, Zeller, Kurz) who may grow as the season progresses, making this kind of early-season prognostication as valuable and insightful as the Harris Poll. In other words, salt grains are available, cheap.

I have been a consistent defender of Mike Brey since he's been the coach. The sweet sixteen run and the team that did it pointed to a bright future. After all, we were competing at that level with 2nd tier talent. Our guys played over their heads and, the thinking went, when Brey capitalized on that run with similarly successful recruiting, the program would make strides toward becoming a perennial top-20, NCAA tournament caliber team. The reasons why it hasn't happened are numerous, and many of them have nothing to do with Brey (injuries, deteriorating team chemistry, facilities). But rebuilding Notre Dame into a solid winning program cannot be a ten year project, and Brey is in his sixth year. Unless things turn around this year, I see next year as Brey's swan song, although it's possible (and would be understandable, should we finish the way I think we will) that he won't make it to the summer.

Looking at the schedule, I'm having a hard time finding more than seven Big East wins. Among the nine losses, I see some truly epic blowouts (at Villanova, at UConn, at Louisville) looming. I think we're going to end up 15-12, give or take a game, prior to hitting the road for an NIT date. Needless to say, this scenario doesn't bode well for Brey.

Here's my take on what I've seen so far:

The Good

Torin Francis is playing very well. He seems healthy, strong, and motivated. He's always been a funny player around the basket, opting for up-and-under moves over more powerful drives to the basket, but he seems to have refined his footwork a bit. I'd guess this is due to the lack of pain in his back.

Quinn is managing the point pretty effectively. He's not as flashy as Thomas, obviously, but he's doing a good job of beating his man to the lane. He's also moving really well without the ball, setting up back-door cuts for layups. He's only going to get better in this role.

The Bad

The three guard lineups continue. All last year, I felt that we were forced by circumstance to run out small, three guard lineups. This year, it seems to be a choice. In my opinion, it's a bad one. My complaint last year was that we were too "guardable", and that was with Chris Thomas in the backcourt. This year, it's even worse, with Quinn, Carter, and Falls. Carter is a solid, athletic player, but he is not the offensive threat that Thomas was. What we end up with is a lazy, high-low game in which no one demands a double-team. No double-team means no rotation which means no open jumpers for Falls which means there's no point in the three guard offense. Falls took three shots today and made none. That's a failure of coaching.

I'd like to see Kurz, Francis, and Zeller on the floor at the same time with Francis and Zeller sharing time at center and with Kurz and Zeller pulling their larger defenders out to the wings on occasion. Quinn and Falls would be the guards, with Carter (at 2 or 3) and Cornett (3) rotating in frequently. We have to face up to what we are. We are not going to make Louisville pay on ball reversal, nor are we going to extend our defense to the half-court line. We simply can't do it. We need to work the middle. We need to rebound. We need to collapse the other guys' defense. That's how Falls will get his shots, not on skip passes.

The Ugly

We were a solid defensive team last year. This year, four games in, we're atrocious. We can't stop penetration and we can't cover the wings. We play a very compact 2-3 zone a lot of the time which, when you compare it to what Syracuse or Louisville do, looks amateurish. It's rare that we cover beyond the 3-point line. We are not physical inside, despite the presence of a healthy Francis.

Worst of all, and this goes back to Brey, we don't appear to be in good shape. Falls, McAlarney, Kurz, and Quinn all seem to be, I don't know, a little bit doughy. Francis, Cornett, and Zeller are the only guys who look like they spend time on conditioning. These guys play in the best league in the country, and they don't look physically prepared. Maybe this one will work itself out through the season. But we look sloooooow, and that doesn't bode well for us.

This is going to be an interesting year, the first in which we'll get a really good look as to what kind of coach Mike Brey is. He's going to need to do a good job, because we're not going to win by just throwing guys out there. Seasons like this one are where you earn the right to coach at a program like Notre Dame. Here's hoping we read this post next year and it's as wrong as last year's was right.

Walk-On, Kick-Off | by Pat

You may remember this paragraph, written here in September, about ND's newest recruit Ryan Burkhart.

This summer, Burkhart participated in the Ray Guy/Prokicker.com kicking academy, which held 30 camps across the country. Not only did Burkhart place as the top kicker at the Indianapolis camp (ahead of the melodiously-named Tamba Samba), he finished as the top kicker nationally when all of the camp performances were lumped together. Keeping with the kickoff theme, Burkhart broke the kicking academy record for longest kickoff when he booted a 75-yarder during the camp. And while Notre Dame coaches told him he was coming in as a kicker only, it doesn't hurt that Burkhart also rated out as the top punter nationally at the same camp.

The funny thing is, Ryan might not be the only ND kicker mentioned in that paragraph. The runner-up to Burkhart in the Indianapolis kicking camp, Tamba Samba from Ben Davis High School, has accepted a scholarship offer to play soccer for Notre Dame. The connection to the football program comes from quotes from Samba that he might try to walk on to the football team once up in South Bend.

"I love to play football," he said. "After we lost to Decatur Central (in the sectional on Friday night), I really realized I'm going to miss it. So I'm considering walking on at Notre Dame at some point and kicking. I think I have a decent leg. I don't want to throw that talent away. So I should leave that door open.

It sounds like it's far from a sure thing that he will be donning a gold helmet, but it's always nice to have options. With the graduation of D.J. Fitzpatrick, the job for kicker is going to be wide open. Both the offense and defense will be full of experience and ready to build off of this year's success, but having a dependable kicker can mean the difference between a good season and a great one. So when it comes to tryouts for that spot, the more the merrier in my mind. If anything, Tamba Samba will make a great addition to the Notre Dame All-Moniker Team.

the Banquet | by Jay

The ND football banquet was last night, with Brady and Jeff winning co-MVP awards for their outstanding seasons this year. Plenty of other awards as well; check out the entire rundown of the evening from UND.com.

Great stuff from Lou last night too, as the featured speaker. Here's some of what he had to say (I think it works best if you try and read it in Lou's voice):

Charlie, that introduction means a lot to me, especially coming from the outstanding college football coach of year, 2005. He talked about some of the confidence that I shared with him, but I want you to understand this, Charlie: I was not smart enough to get into Notre Dame. They rejected my application. And I never could understand why they thought I was smart enough to coach here, if I wasn’t good enough to go to school here. I’m probably the only person in the world who’s written more books than he’s read.

I want to congratulate the administration, I want to congratulate the coaches, the players, the fans, the band, the cheerleaders. Certainly I want to thank Father Riehle for all you did for me when I was here. Congratulations to everyone here; it was just an incredible year. You captivated the country not just by your accomplishments but by the way you played and the way you did things. It’s more than what’s in the stat book; you’re as good as any in the country. Somebody here might win the Biletnikoff award, but I don’t want to start singling out people, because where would you stop? Let me just say this: it was a pleasure to watch you play. The love and the feeling you had for one another was very inspirational. I saw every single game you played from the studio, and I just can’t begin to tell you how impressed I was, and how proud I was.

See, it’s really important that Notre Dame be on top in college football. I say this fairly and I say it honestly. This is why it’s such a great football season: because of the interest you all generated. You’re probably the lead story of this entire season.

And it’s not just the atmosphere you generated: you set an example for other schools to emulate. You can be well-educated, you can be unselfish, and you CAN win.

I think a football team has a personality just like any individual does, and the unselfishness with which this team played was impressive. The attitude of so many players and so many teams today is one of selfishness, their attitude is “hey, here I am.” The minute they do something they turn to the camera and say, “look at me”. What was really great in watching this football team was that anytime you accomplished something, the attitude was “there you are.” Whether it be bumping chests with one another, congratulating one another, celebrating with one another – that’s the way college football should be.

I know that everybody you played gave you their best effort – you’ve figured that out by now. You’re Notre Dame. You’re going to get the very best effort that anybody can give you. I used to hear other players say, “boy what an honor it is to play against Notre Dame. I came to this school so I could play against Notre Dame.” I can’t think of much that would motivate an individual more than playing against Notre Dame, other than one thing: it’s much, much better to be able to play FOR Notre Dame than it is to play against them.

Notre Dame is very special. When I came here it was under Father Hesburgh and Father Joyce, under Gene Corrigan and Dick Rosenthal, and now it’s Father Jenkins. But Notre Dame stays the same. It’s a very special place. Father Hesburgh said to me one time, “You don’t come to Notre Dame to learn to do something. You come to Notre Dame to learn to be somebody.”

People ask me why Notre Dame is so special, Mark May asked me – now Mark May is a beautiful individual and I love him dearly, and if he didn’t get a good education at Pittsburgh it’s not his fault. Mark asked me, and I said, Mark, if you’ve been to Notre Dame you don’t need an explanation. And if you’re not part of the Notre Dame family, no explanation will do. There’s no way you can possibly explain it.

I think of the tradition that you have built upon. And at Notre Dame, tradition is always under construction. You can talk about all the All-Americans over the years, but I can tell you no team represented Our Lady’s University better than you did this past year.

There’s four things you need in your life. Number one, you need something to do. Number two, you need someone to love. (My lovely wife is here. We’ve been married eighty-eight years. Forty-four apiece.) Number three, you certainly need something to hope for. And four, you need something to believe in. Something to do, someone to love, something to hope for, and something to believe in.

And you’ve had tremendous success. But I see a lot of people that reach success and then say, that’s pretty good, let’s keep it here, let’s maintain it. That’s not what greatness is all about, and that’s not what life is all about. You have to keep dreaming.

Let me just tell you a couple stories. With our football team here in 1989, we were going up to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. They had a good football team coached by Bo Schembechler, and we were getting ready for them. But during the week, and Charlie and I’m sure you’re familiar with this, after a few days you’re tired, you’re worn out, you’re sore, and you don’t care about Michigan anymore. So I gathered everyone one day and said, “Men, I called Bo Schembechler” – now, I didn’t call Bo, but I said I called Bo. I asked Bo, Bo, are your guys tired? And he said, yes, and I said, we’re tired too, Bo. I’ll tell you what, Bo: you give your Michigan players a day off and I’ll give Notre Dame a day off. And the team starts high-fiving with each other and cheering until I said, “Bo said no.” If they’re practicing two hours, we’re gonna practice two hours, and if we want to beat them, we better practice two-and-a-half. Of course it took three hours before we had two-and-a-half good hours.

I gathered everyone the next day and said, “Men, I called Bo again.” And they looked at me suspiciously: “What’d Bo say?” I said I made him a deal that we’d practice in shorts today if Michigan would too. And I said, men, you’re not going to believe this, but Bo said no. Bo said he wasn’t going to practice in shorts, in fact, he was going to scrimmage. Now I don’t want to scrimmage either, but if we want to beat Michigan, we have to scrimmage. Don’t get mad at me. Just remember this when you see Bo on that sideline on Saturday.

I did that four straight days, true story. Every day I came in and said, “I called Bo today.” On that fifth day one of our players cut me off: “Hey coach, I called Bo today.” And I said, “Oh, what’d Bo say?” “Bo said his players eat steak and lobster.”

The great teams are the ones that truly care about each other. Just a true feeling and a genuine caring. I had one of the great experiences in my life here in Notre Dame stadium and it wasn’t a football game. 1987, August. I worked the Special Olympics. I was a ‘hugger’. I had lane number 3, and it didn’t matter if my runner finished first, last, or in between, my only job was to run up and hug ‘em. All anybody wants is to be loved. People have every reason to be bitter, and every reason to be down – I see people with ability and talent and all kinds of opportunities complaining about some little thing that’s irrelevant in the whole picture of life.

People say, well what do great teams have? In 1988 we were fortunate enough to be successful. We went to the White House to meet with the president on January 19th, Father Riehle, you were there, and I was asked to stay over to meet some more with the president the next day. I got a phone call at one o’clock in the morning saying one of our players, Bobby Satterfield, had died. I flew home immediately and we had a team meeting at eight o’clock in the morning. When I told them Bobby Satterfield had died, you couldn’t tell if Bobby Satterfield was white or black, you couldn’t tell if he was Catholic or Protestant, freshman or senior, first team or third team. But the one thing you could tell is that the players mourned the loss of Bobby Satterfield. Bobby happened to be a defensive back, a senior, a walk-on, a third teamer.

It’s just a love and a feeling that you have about Notre Dame. Gentlemen, when you come back years from now, you’ll have that same feeling too. The friends that you have in this world are those you eat with, you sleep with, played with, laughed with, and cried with. Above all, a team is a family.

I congratulate you once again, and I leave you with this last question: if you didn’t show up, who would miss you, and why? I ask myself if I didn’t show up at home would my wife miss me, and would my children miss me. We’re blessed to have four children, three of them graduated from Notre Dame. And my wife and I have our cemetary plots – we will be buried here at Notre Dame. The alumni buried me every weekend, so I thought I’d make it permanent. The plot has a nice view of the dome, but it is a better view when you’re sitting up than when you’re lying down.

But if you didn’t show up, who would miss you, and why? If you don’t show up to a game, would your teammates miss you? If Notre Dame ceased to exist – why would you miss Notre Dame? Because there’s no place like it. It cannot be duplicated. It’s special. It’s unique.

After dinner tonight I will fly back to Hartford and I will be on the air tomorrow. And I will be on the air on Sunday congratulating you on a bowl selection and sharing in your enjoyment. When I went to work up there, they said, “we don’t want you to be partial.” There is no way I cannot be partial about Notre Dame or this football team.

If I have any advice for your opponent in the bowl game, it would be this: bring your lunch, because it’s gonna be a full day’s work. Thank you.

the Chicken or the Egg | by Jay

One of the classic bar-room football arguments concerns the heyday of the San Francisco 49ers, and it goes like this:

Did Jerry Rice make Joe Montana, or did Joe Montana make Jerry Rice?

The argument goes 'round and 'round among Niners fans. Montana, of course, Hall of Fame quarterback, was a passer with pinpoint precision and a deft touch who made even John Taylor and Roger Craig look like all-world receivers. Rice, on the other hand, Hall of Fame receiver, best of all time, who ran better routes than anyone in the NFL and simply caught everything thrown his way. Without Rice, whither Montana? Without Montana, whither Rice?

Let's apply this frame to our '05 Irish team.

Point: Brady Quinn makes his receivers look good. His pocket presence buys enough time for the receivers to shake a pesky defender, he's got excellent vision to find the open man, and he's accurate enough to put the ball where only his guys can make a play at it. Most of all, he instills confidence in his receivers, often checking from runs into passes and making great decisions. Without Quinn, his receivers wouldn't have nearly the years that they're having.

Counterpoint: The receivers make Brady look good. First things first: Samardzija and Stovall are the best pair of wideouts the Irish have had in what seems like forever. Quinn, while a mostly accurate passer, has put up a lot of throws that can best be described as "jump balls". Sure, you can say that he's putting it only where his 6'5 trees can grab it, but that doesn't mean they're precise throws -- that speaks to the quality of his receivers more than his own talent. And on bad throws, check the highlight reel: how many circus catches by #21 and #83 have bailed out Quinn on something that was basically up-for-grabs? And how many short passes were turned into long rambles by the excellent downfield blocking by the receivers?

How much credit for the offensive explosion does each unit deserve? Feel free to take up either banner and make your case. Or if you'd like, factor in a third ingredient: Charlie Weis. In the pie chart of the Irish offense, how big is everyone's slice?

Haywood Accolades | by Jay

Mike Haywood won the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year. Per the description, "The Assistant Coach of the Year award...was created to honor assistant coaches who excel in community service, commitment to the student-athlete, on-field coaching success and AFCA professional organization involvement." In other words, it's not strictly an on-the-field performance award. Here's what the AFCA had to say about Haywood:

Haywood has been an assistant coach for 17 years and is in his first season at Notre Dame ... For the past couple of years, Haywood pays and hosts a Thanksgiving dinner for a different underprivileged family each year that he is personally acquainted with ... He also picks a local family to pay for all Christmas expenses for gifts for the entire family, particularly fulfilling the wishes and needs of the family's children ... Haywood is a long-time volunteer for Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America, acting as a positive male role model to underprivileged or orphaned African-American males ... In addition to earning a reputation as one of college football's brightest young coaches, Haywood also makes an impact on the student-athletes as a mentor, motivator and role model...

That's a nice feather in the cap for coach Haywood.

Haywood's in an interesting spot: along with being the running backs coach, he's listed as the titular "offensive coordinator" -- but we all know Charlie creates the gameplan and calls the plays (per an August presser: "I'm calling the plays...that's the end of that question"). As an up-and-coming coach, where does Haywood's career go from here?

There was another quote I'm failing to find (perhaps it was excised from the official presser transcripts -- they do that sometimes -- or maybe it was a newspaper quote), where Charlie waxes about the future of Irish playcalling, and saying something to the effect of "perhaps someday down the road I'll relinquish playcalling, but not until I feel comfortable handing it over."

We know Haywood would like to be a head coach someday, and upon taking the Irish job said that it was a golden opportunity to "work with Charlie Weis and learn a new offense under him." To become a head coach, you usually have to be an established OC or a DC for a while. In a couple of years, will we see Mike Haywood calling the plays for the Irish, in preparation for a head coaching gig somewhere else? I wouldn't be surprised.

Everyday Reading | by Jay

You're hitting EDSBS every day, right? Then I'm sure you saw their 52 Reasons ESPN/ABC Sucks -- possibly the greatest collection of criticisms and witticisms (and truth) ever levied at the sports leviathan.

Today they may have topped themselves with Phil Fulmer's letter of apology to Vol Nation.