SB Nation User Blog: CW

Justin Tuck Still The Man, Jim Zorn's Debut Makes Him Appear To Be An Incompetent Wuss

CW — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:50:55 -0000

Sigh. Sometimes I think about the 2005 Notre Dame season, one in which the Irish lost two regular season games by a combined six points in Oscar-worthy dramatic fashion, and just wonder what would have been if Justin Tuck would have came back for one more season. Tuck was already the career sack leader at Notre Dame when he departed for greener, more lucrative pastures, and with his presence opposite Victor Abiamiri, maybe Reggie Bush doesn't spring all of those twenty-yard gashings of the defense on October 15, 2005.

Tuck has since moved on, and if you weren't watching all the white people party in Minneapolis or some guy wearing Lacoste unable to back up his smack talk, you saw Tuck helping to disrupt the Washington Redskin offense. With the loss of Michael Strahan to retirement and Osi Umenyiora to injury, Tuck is now the undisputed leader of the Super Bowl champions defense, starting at defensive end but rotating into the tackle position on third and longs to really cause some trouble pass rushing. Tom Coughlin's crew will find it nearly impossible to replicate the pressure on the quarterback they had in the Super Bowl, but it won't be the fault of Tuck, a monster of a man earning that contract extension.

The Giants offensive sputtered after rolling down the field early, but thankfully for Tom Coughlin's crew, Jim Zorn comes from the Mike Holmgren school of clock management and might have urged his team to leisurely work their way down the field despite being down the entire game. On top of that, Zorn repeatedly punted from midfield, spitting in the face of math, reason and real men who don't coach like giant wusses (which, in the NFL, pretty much amounts to Bill Belichick). In the third quarter alone, Zorn punted from his own 41 on fourth and one, from his own 46 on fourth and one and from his own 44 on fourth and two. I haven't checked in over at our SBN brother Hogs Haven yet, but I imagine they're not overly happy with their head coach having the testicular fortitude of one without testicles and the clock management skills of division rival Andy Reid.

Ah, football, I am glad you are back.

The Streak Continues? Big East Basketball Schedule Specifics Released

CW — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:23:56 -0000

We knew who the Irish would be player - and where - but outside of the UConn game, the exact order of the Big East schedule remained a mystery. On the eve of the football season, let there be light! NDNation was kind enough to sift through that and give you the Irish line-up:

Wed 12/31 @ DePaul, 8pm ESPN2
Sat 1/3 @ St. John's
Mon 1/5 Georgetown 7pm ESPN
Sat 1/10 Seton Hall
Mon 1/12 @ Louisville 7pm ESPN
Sat 1/17 @ Syracuse Noon ESPN
Sat 1/24 Connecticut 7pm ESPN
Mon 1/26 Marquette 7pm ESPN
Sat 1/31 @ Pittsburgh Noon ESPN
Wed 2/4 @ Cincinnati
Thu 2/12 Louisville 7pm ESPN/2
Sun 2/15 South Florida
Wed 2/18 @ West Virginia 7:30pm ESPN2
Sat 2/21 @ Providence
Wed 2/25 Rutgers
Sat 2/28 @ Connecticut 2pm CBS
Mon 3/2 Villanova 7pm ESPN
Fri 3/6 St. John's

A few comments:

* Of course, after I move to DC, the Irish play Georgetown only in South Bend, and it's over winter break.

* If the Irish can survive that, the main threat to the home win streak will be the trio of games against UConn, Marquette and Louisville. The Irish lost to all three of those teams last season, and they return almost everyone of note (and the Eagles even get rid of d-bag head coach Tom Crean). The one nice thing is all of those games take place after winter break and not over spring break, so the Leprechaun Legion will be in full effect. Should the streak still be intact come Finnies/Fever time on February 12th, I think it lasts until 2010 (Unless the world ends, because 2010? Really?).

* Sorry we're not cool enough for you, CBS. Although hopefully, the Irish will be playing on The Eye well into April. . .

* Who is going to that DePaul game on New Years Eve?

* January has some hellacious road trips, with visits to Freedom Hall, the Carrier Dome and the Petersen Events Center. When you factor in the Ohio State and UCLA games, this is going to be a seasoned squad by the second half of the conference schedule.

The future of Irish basketball looks good.

Hernan Cortes, Chuck Long and the Razing of Tenochtitlan: An Essay on the Aztecs

CW — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:27:01 -0000

* I can’t tell you how much I hope some middle school student, cynical about why he or she actually has to learn history, gives up at the last minute and just Googles "Aztec Essay," finds this post, blindly prints it out and turns it in as is.

Centuries-old rivals, the Irish and Aztecs will square off for the first time Saturday in South Bend, Notre Dame opening up their 2008 campaign against 0-1 San Diego State. Like a host of other teams across the nation, the Aztecs opened up against an I-AA team, but unlike most of those cupcake-feasting favorites, the Cal Poly Mustangs prevailed 29-27 on a last second field goal.

While the end of the game was dramatic, the Aztecs were essentially outplayed throughout by their inconsiderate guests. Although San Diego State had two more first downs (23-21), Cal Poly outgained them 483-379 with a thoroughly balanced attack, led at the end of every quarter and held the ball thirty-eight minutes. Chuck Long’s crew also shot themselves in the foot with a very un-Yacht Rock like minus-four turnover margin.

A team that prided itself on ball security last season, finishing third in the Mountain West Conference in turnover margin, SDSU coughed it up four times in the first half and finished with five turnovers, including three fumbles.

"Anytime you have five turnovers, you're going to let teams hang around and find yourself scratching and fighting until the end," Long said. "For some reason, in both games (against Cal Poly), we found a way to beat ourselves." [Ed. – The Aztecs lost to the Mustangs in 2006 16-14 on another late field goal after leading going into the fourth quarter.]

Going into the season, there were all sorts of trouble along the lines for SDSU. Between departures, injuries and switches from one line to the other, things were not looking good. On Saturday, things didn’t go very well.

The Aztecs, whose effort against the run last season ranked second-worst in the nation, allowed Cal Poly to rush for 101 yards in the first quarter. The Mustangs, who finished with 225 yards in their 16-14 win here two years ago, had 263 last night.

And then they got worse.

Junior Tony DeMartinis, who started at defensive end Saturday, will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn anterior and medial collateral ligament in his knee. DeMartinis is the second defensive lineman to be lost for the year. Sophomore tackle Neil Spencer (shoulder) is also out for the season after playing in every game last year.

DeMartinis got the start at defensive end when junior Jonathan Soto was moved to tackle because of a lingering knee injury to senior Siaosi Fifita. Though coach Chuck Long is hopeful Fifita can resume practicing tomorrow as the Aztecs begin preparations for Notre Dame, there are others who required medical attention in the wake of Saturday's loss.

True freshman defensive tackle Jerome Long and sophomore defensive end Eric Ikonne both suffered ankle sprains. Junior defensive end Ryan Williams, who relieved DeMartinis, suffered a concussion, and sophomore defensive tackle Ernie Lawson aggravated a foot injury that troubled him the second half of camp.

It is possible Coach Long might switch to some sort of 2-5-4 defensive formation just to be able to field a team, although senior linebacker, team captain and tragic figure Russell Allen is holding out hope. "It's been tough. Those guys (defensive line) have had some hard times going through training camp and then obviously a couple more injuries during last week's game, but they are tough. They are going to work hard to get back out on the field and we know they will. We know we can count on them." Allen may be less kind as the season goes on and he’s getting flattened by a fullback or pulling guard before he can even see the ball carrier, but I'm still expecting a big play or two from him in the Stadium Saturday.

One of the biggest questions regarding Notre Dame this season is their defensive line. Down in the trenches on the defensive line is just a tough position to make an impact as a freshman, and there isn’t a lot of depth returning from last season, including trying to replace the best defensive lineman in the nation last season, Trevor Laws. Irish fans assume that the Tenuta’s blitzing will balance out a lack of pressure from the line, but it’s possible Coach Weis won’t have to game plan around dealing with the Aztec o-line.

A makeshift offensive front that includes a former defensive tackle and a converted tight end at the tackle spots found itself in a shoving match with a Mustangs defensive line whose biggest starter weighs 260 pounds. The Aztecs allowed a safety and crossed midfield three times in the first half.

Despite the slow start, lack of protection and a bunch of drops by his receivers (Said senior wideout Darren Mougey following the opener, "It was frustrating. It is something that we need to improve on and not let happen again. It was the first game and for a lot of those guys, it was really the first time they were getting game experience, but those are things we need to put behind us."), redshirt freshman Ryan Lindley ended up putting together a respectable game. Or perhaps respectable is being a little too modest. Coach Long?

Long, who worked with a pair of celebrated quarterbacks at Oklahoma in Jason White and Josh Heupel, called the performance of quarterback Ryan Lindley "the best performance by a redshirt freshman I've ever seen."

Just the second SDSU freshman to start at quarterback in a season opener since Todd Santos in 1984, Lindley established school records for completions (27), yards (352) and touchdown passes (three) by a freshman.

"He made some NFL throws," Long said. "He can really see the field. He's the type of young man that will lead us to a championship someday."

Despite Long dipping into some hyperbole at the end, it was a great debut line and some shiny new records for Lindley after some early struggles (to put that into perspective, Clausen’s yardage high last year was 246 in the Air Force loss). Hopefully Lindley is more Heupel than White when it gets to those championship games, but it seems like he’s steadily improved from the disaster of spring practices up through the second half of Saturday’s game, leading three touchdown drives after trailing 16-7 at the half.

Whatever level of quarterbacking Lindley might reach, he – for the sake of Coaches Weis, Brown and Tenuta – best not do it in South Bend Saturday. The Aztec offense has been tepid at best in recent years and couldn’t get over four hundred yards of offense against Cal Poly’s I-AA defense. If things go simply, it’ll mean Robert Hughes and the rest of the running game keeping Lindley off the field and racking up enough offense that when he does get onto the field, he’ll be playing from behind. At that point, he’ll be facing a creative, persistent, destructive pass rush in front of a sun-bathed, liquored-up crowd cheering at full throat, happy to finally see a quality football team on the field again.

It’s also interesting that after spending so much time at Notre Dame and getting used to most people disparaging it at every opportunity to remember that there is still a bit of mystique in the various hallowed halls around campus. Mr. Lindley, please:

"It's definitely exciting, but it is all business. We are going to get out there and maybe we'll be wide-eyed on Friday when we go see the stadium, but once we hit Saturday morning and we are ready for game time, it's all business."

BlogPollin' Week One Ballot - Rough Draft

CW — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:04:09 -0000

The first few weeks of the season are some of my favorite to do BlogPoll rankings. There's confusion and chaos reigning over the entire nation and the favorites usually haven't played anyone's that an actual challenge. While the end of the season usually ends up transitioning into the same old oligarchy as years past, early September is the time for new faces to taste the exclusive flavor of single digit rankings before tumbling in the crispness of autumn.

I am a firm believer in resume ranking - basing the ordering off of accomplishments instead of guesstimating a power poll - but there's obviously some difficulty in making judgments based on one game. The one rule I'm putting into full, iron-clad effect this year is you get absolutely zero credit for playing Division I-AA teams (even Appalachian State), meaning teams like Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma will have to wait a little longer to get into the poll. Their schedules will obviously increase with difficulty and they'll assume their (probably) rightful place at the top of the polls as the season goes on, but for now, let's hear it for the Pirates.

Other factors considered included a bump for neutral site or road games, as well as style points for incinerating the spread against teams that should have been at least somewhat competent.

Think anyone deserves to go way up or way down? Hit up the comments, as ballots are not final until Wednesday and adjustments can be made.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Southern Cal	--
2	Alabama	24
3	Missouri	1
4	Texas	8
5	Florida	1
6	East Carolina	20
7	Utah	13
8	Oklahoma State	18
9	California	17
10	Stanford	16
11	Oregon	12
12	Mississippi	14
13	Auburn	--
14	Wisconsin	--
15	Wake Forest	11
16	South Carolina	8
17	Fresno State	9
18	Colorado	8
19	Bowling Green	7
20	Northwestern	6
21	Nebraska	5
22	Tulsa	4
23	Vanderbilt	3
24	Kentucky	2
25	Buffalo	1

Dropped Out: Georgia (#2), Oklahoma (#3), Ohio State (#5), Texas Tech (#7), West Virginia (#8), LSU (#9), Brigham Young (#10), South Florida (#11), Pittsburgh (#15), Tennessee (#16), Penn State (#17), Kansas (#18), North Carolina (#19), Virginia Tech (#21), Clemson (#22), Michigan State (#25).

An Open Letter To My Irish Brethren After A Promising Week One

CW — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 00:58:20 -0000

Dear Notre Dame Fans Who Are As Impatient As I Am About This Damned Season Starting,

I know that as you watched the ticker scroll by on Saturday, the same thoughts flickered in the still-cognizant corners of your mind that flared up for a majority of observant Notre Dame fans:

A lot of the teams we play appear to be really, really bad.

And honestly, that might not be a bad decision. On the positive side of the ledge rwere Stanford's opening win, Southern Cal's evisceration of Virginia (I hoped you all bet big), Shun White's monster day for Navy and a solid showing by Michigan State on the road in a loss versus Cal,but the following less-than-stellar occurrences befell other 2008 Irish opponents.

San Diego State lost on a last-second field goal to Cal Poly. They rushed for a grand total of 27 yards - this is against I-AA Cal Poly - although Ryan Tindley threw for three touchdowns and 352 yards (along with two picks). While a 3-9 team must take it one day at a time, I would support an elimination of the Notre Dame football program should it fail to prevail against the Aztecs.
Michigan almost pulled out a win against the visiting Utah Utes, with their quarterbacking really, really bad. Their three touchdown "drives" came after a menagerie of fumbles, blocked punts and penalties. The defensive line was as good as advertised for the Wolverines, however, who held their Mountain West conquerors below a yard per carry. Brian Johnson managed a good game against a solid Wolverine secondary, and the Wolverine offense will need more than another week before they're humming along at WVU levels.
Purdue didn't play, just like the rest of the cool kids.
Ty Willingham's halftime adjustments left a little to be desired and the Ducks outscored the Huskies thirty to love in the second half, winning 44-10. Washington's sole touchdown came on a second quarter drive that consisted of two worthless runs followed by Jake Locker's magic, but the sophomore couldn't keep it up beyond that one Herculean effort before the Oregon offense started breaking through over and over again.
Boston College pulled out a 21-0, workman-like victory at Kent State. A win is a win is a win, and they're replacing a lot of players, but nothing too impressive from the folks on Chestnut Hill, as three turnovers did in the Golden Flashes. Chris Crane was 12 of 18 for 106 yards and two touchdown runs, but the Eagles only out-first downed their MAC hosts 17 to 12 and outgained them 336 to 260.
Syracuse hung around for a while, had a second half lead and then got blitzed by Tyrell Sutton and Northwestern to the tune of 30-10. Quarterback Andrew Robinson was a cover-your-eyes-bad 14 for 28, 103 yards and a pick against a Wildcat defense not known for its stoutness.
North Carolina barely prevailed over the visiting McNeese State Tigers, triumphing 35-27. Butch Davis' team is young, so these hiccups are to be expected, but that's a little close for comfort against an opponent they should have been scorching. Senior Brandon Tate was the trump card, scoring on both a punt return and reception, then tossing in 106 yards rushing on three carries. Perhaps most embarrassing for the Heels was the fact they turned their preseason festivities into a story that looks like it belongs in The Onion. After all of that, I'm pretty sure they still might be the best team in the ACC.
And the highlight, as always, was Diamond Dave Wannstedt. A 14-0 lead was not enough against the Bowling Green Falcons, who prevailed 27-17 at an empty Heinz Field in a game where Bill Stull threw a staggering 51 times. If you'll remember, Wanny had another memorable MAC loss in his second game at Pitt, following up the opening loss to Notre Dame with an overtime failture at Ohio. One of the biggest problems for the Panthers was on the offensive line, where it turns out Jeff Otah and company may have had more to do with LeSean McCoy's 2007 success than initially thought.

So all-in-all, Irish opponents were underwhelming, with a few 52-to-7 and 348-yard exceptions. The initial reaction is immediately go to your nearest messageboard and exclaim that 9-3 just isn't good enough for the regular season, but please temper that enthusiasm for one teeny, tiny reason:

The Irish haven't played yet either, and while I'd like to think the San Diego State game is going to be a pallette-cleansing clinic after the debacles of last season, there's nothing for certain. There's also nothing for certain in regards to the other games, as Stanford looks improved, North Carolina will keep getting better, Michigan State is very dangerous, Southern Cal is still a juggernaut and both Michigan and Boston College looks capable of locking the Irish into a low-scoring, ugly game anyone is capable of winning.

So take a deep breath, get ready for an exciting week leading up to the season opener and stop declaring that we'll be 11-0 heading into the Coliseum at the end of the season.

Happy Labor Day (and XOXO),

~CW~

Good luck, NOLA. You got this.

Lord, I Was Born A Gamblin' Man: Week One Picks

CW — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:49:17 -0000

NORTHWESTERN (-11.5) over Syracuse – It just seems like good sense to bet against Greg Robinson and the Orange, especially when they’re on the road and going against a Northwestern team returning quality offensive threats in the backfield and eight starters on defense. Could Northwestern be going bowling for only the fourth time this millennium? If they sweep their opening month of Syracuse, Duke (who cost them a bowl game last year with the upset), Southern Illinois and Ohio, they just need to steal a couple games in conference play to qualify.

PITTSBURGH (-13.5) over Bowling Green – I don’t know why I have such faith in Dave Wannstedt, but there just seems to be too much talent for the Falcons to overcome, even though they should be fielding a competitive squad in the MAC this year. If we were assigning confidence points to games, this would not be highly rated. If Bill Stull can be as sharp as the practice reports claim he’s been so far this summer, the lanes opening up for LeSean McCoy should cover this spread – barely.

EAST CAROLINA (+9.5) over Virginia Tech – You might remember the Hokies for their early season struggles last season, when they barely prevailed over East Carolina at home before being curb-stomped at LSU. They lose all their big names on defense (Abidi, Hall and Flowers are all gone), leading rusher Branden Ore and dynamic QB change-of-pace Tyrod Taylor. East Carolina isn’t at full power, but they are at home, in the first game of the season and with the benefit of an early start time that may catch Frank Beamer and Company yawning.

FLORIDA (-35) over Hawaii – Hawaii doesn’t have anything left, with Colt Brennan in Washington and June Jones in Dallas coaching SMU. Florida can put up absurd numbers (45 or more 8 times last season, 50-plus four times) and is playing in the comfort of The Swamp.

Utah (+3.5) over MICHIGAN – The Michigan defense is good enough to avoid hitting rock bottom, but the offense? As long as Rich Rodriguez’s system doesn’t need experience at the quarterback, running back, wide receiver or offensive line position, then they should be fine. This is an early season game against a spread offense, and if we take anything away from last year, a Michigan defense stout most of the season got tore up in this situation against Appalachian State and Oregon.

Oklahoma State (-7) over WASHINGTON STATE – Mike Gundy, now a man of the ripe old age of 41, doesn’t have to deal with Bobby Reid, but he also loses his best receiver and running back. This is pretty much a bet based solely on Zac Robinson being seven points better than anything they’re fielding in Pullman.

Southern Cal (-20) over VIRGINIA – It really doesn’t matter who is playing quarterback for the Trojans, or how healthy he is. They’re going to shut out the Cavaliers, score two defensive touchdowns and get a Joe McKnight punt return. They already have the spread covered, so when you factor in the TD catch by Damian Williams and CJ Gable squirting loose for another long score, then this is really easy money, reminiscent of the Arkansas games of yesteryear.

OLE MISS (-7.5) over Memphis – Houston Nutt rolls into Oxford and a cupboard the Orgeron kept very fairly well stocked. He’s got an experienced offensive line (featuring MIKE OHER!) and Texas transfer Jevan Snead. If Nutt can just find a running back to plug into the hole left by All-Name team starter and thousand-yard rusher Ben Jarvus Green-Ellis, the Rebels might go bowling for the first time since Eli Manning.

Michigan State (+4.5) over CALIFORNIA – There’s something to be said for having a heady senior quarterback, a 1500 yard rusher returning, a lot of close losses in ’07 and some experience on defense. Cal always has talent, but it’ll need to fill some holes, including replacing all their receivers and leading rusher Justin Forsett, all while stabilizing the Kevin Riley/Nate Longshore QB Carousel of Death. I also don’t think anyone has ever been that intimidated by playing in Berkeley (unless you’re afraid of hippies raining feces down upon you from their tree homes).

Alabama (+5) over Clemson – Such a tough call here, but I think it boils down to Bowden vs. Saban, an advantage that benefits the Tide. Plus, doesn’t it always seem smart to bet against the ACC in out-of-conference play, especially against the SEC? I also want to see the look on Tiger fans (both Clemson and Auburn) when Julio Jones hauls in his third jump ball touchdown of the game. As good as the James Davis/CJ Spiller tandem is (and oh, they are good; remember that ’06 game versus Georgia Tech where it seemed like they had reinvented how to rush the ball?), Terry Grant was having a helluva season for the Tide before a hip injury knocked his producting down. A very exciting, enigmatic game to highlight the weekend.

Missouri (-9) over Illinois – My second lockiest game of the week after Southern Cal/Virginia, the wheels will continue to come off of the Ron Zook train following the Rose Bowl. They lose the heart of their offense (Mendenhall) and the heart of their defense (Leman) while Chase Daniel is still there to toss up epic numbers for the Tigers. Eight starters on defense return for a Mizzou team that, remember, only lost to Oklahoma last season and blew out Nebraska, Texas Tech, Kansas and Arkansas last season.

This is so random and so awesome I had to post it.

Raking The Muck: Retroactive Recruiting Rankings

CW — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:23:42 -0000

Selfish Barry Hussein had to go and deliver some historic speech last night - in a football stadium, no less! - and try to steal the thunder from the start of college football. Thankfully, the NCAA made the decision to concede to the Democratic nominee and toss up a few mildly entertaining contests, with most teams taking on I-AA opponents (or whatever the politcally correct terminology for them is now). As the Irish are still seven painful days from kicking off, let's go over a few things.

We got our first look at an Irish opponent last night in the Stanford Cardinal, and while Oregon State kindly gave them three turnovers and a shiny safety in the second half, Jim Harbaugh's crew seemed rather confident. They were running the ball well, Tavita Pritchard was moving around nicely and the defense was constantly on the attack. It appears that the offense is disciplined but not spectacular, the defense of the bend-not-break-and-force-turnovers variety. The Beavers were replacing some players but coming off nine and ten-win seasons, and while we'll get a better look at their first opponent outside the PAC-10 against Penn State next week, this is a great start for Harbaugh's second campaign.
VPILF? If McCain is trying to get the votes of young males, Mayor-Turned-Governor Palin might be a good choice.

Granted, it's a town of 6,700, but not bad.

We're number one! We're number one! The snake oil salesmen down in Alabama couldn't actually give scholarships to the 72 prospects they promised one to, so that bumps the Irish up to tops in Rivals 2008 recruiting rankings. Omar Hunter would still look nice along that defensive line, but MICHAEL FLOYD MICHAEL FLOYD MICHAEL FLOYD.
Ty Proffitt transfers, which is probably a good move because he wouldn't be seeing the floor much this year, with Ben Hansbrough taking his minutes next year. I imagine most Irish fans are shrugging and wishing him the best.
Speaking of Irish hoops, College Gameday is coming to your city, descending on South Bend for UConn's visit January 24th. It'll be nice for some heavy ESPN coverage when the students are actually around in the spring (winter) semester. Between the Maui Invitational, the Ohio State neutral site throwdown, the visit to UCLA and a packed Big East, this is going to be legen - wait for it - dary basketball season. Or a devastatingly disappointing one.
Essential reading over at BlueGraySky in regards to number of starts for offensive linemen. There still is probably going to be trouble, but nothing compared to up in Ann Arbor.
First weekend picks coming up later in a very rainy DC day.

Probably picking Alabama (+4.5) for that picture alone.

You Have Real Games, We Have Mock Drafts.

CW — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:40:27 -0000

We on the Irish side of the partisan fence are obviously pretty jealous pretty much everyone else has a game, so we need to pass the time until things kick off Thursday night, or more specifically, September 6th at 3:30. Matt eloquently wrapped up our draft - with charts times four - and I just want to make a few comments. This whole exercise is probably futile, but it was a way to combine two things very prevalent in late August: a parched thirst for college football and fantasy drafts.

It's probably a good sign for the Irish that you can almost fill out two starting line-ups with players who will see time this year. Considering they had to do offense vs. defense in the spring game this year due to lack of players, this is progress.
I think Matt wins this if Jimmy Clausen has the year we all hope he can. That's something I can sign off on.
His skill position players on offense have me trumped by a mile, but I tried to go big across the front lines. If Robert Hughes is the monster he was at the end of last season, David Grimes stays steady and Michael Floyd becomes the freakish big play threat we hope (a recurring word in Irish previews), then I think my offense could move the chains enough to keep our high-flying rivals off the field.
No one drafted Asaph Schwapp.
Matt has John Ryan and Terrail Lambert on the same defense. Just saying.

Tomorrow is football. Rejoice.

A Look At The Top 10: Who will end up on top at the end of '08?

CW — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:53:01 -0000

With the season starting – grab a loved one, crack open a beer and smile – on Thursday freaking night, it's about time to take a walk through the Top 25. As pumped as I am for the Irish to take the field against their traditional enemy, the Aztecs, this extended weekend of kickoff action is just as exciting for me. I love Notre Dame, but I love football just as much, and I like to have a very good idea of what is going on across the collegiate pigskin nation.

As far as polling goes, I split my voting into two distinct areas. The preseason poll is simply a meter of how good I am at predicting (Spoiler alert: Not very), just trying to guesstimate where teams will end up when the dust is settled after the mythical national championship. Every other poll throughout the course of the season is done strictly on resume voting, which looks very screwy throughout September (and makes some of the other writers on this site quite upset with your intrepid voter), but it works considerably better in the end. I can't even listen to someone who believes in power polls or the "I can tell you who would win on a neutral field" argument without laughing and desiring to lead pipe them to the face (like you used to be able to do in Clue).

Just believe this, folks: I know you've watched South Florida play about a quarter and a half while flipping between 30 Rock that one Thursday night game, but you do not know exactly how they'd match up with Team X from Conference Y. The resume ranking still has an amount of subjectivity to it (of course), but it grounds it a little more in reality, numbers and facts to point at beyond "I saw them play and I know."

Using the initial BlogPoll, in which I ranked Southern Cal number one followed by a kerfluffle of other teams I find it very difficult to distinguish between at this early hour, some thoughts on the top-ish tier of teams.

(Also, I don't have that many vendettas when it comes to college football. They mostly develop during the season, so if you're a partisan for one of the teams mentioned, don't take it personally. Please please please correct me on anything I totally miss, because while I put in the research time for these, rosters are fluid and things get missed.)

1) Georgia – The Bulldogs have a lot of the important parts coming back, with 9 starters (six of the top seven tacklers) returning from a defense that got downright dominant as the season progressed and a backfield combo of experienced youth that combined for 37 touchdowns in 2007. UGA does not pass all that often, so the lack of a big-time receiver isn't particularly hurtful (high man holdover is Mohamed Massaquoi, who had 32 grabs last season), because hey, you've got Knowshon Moreno, the whole offense thing gets relatively simple.

Still, the offseason has not come without problems for the Bulldogs. The two departures from the defense were their leaders in sacks and interceptions, and then injury unfairly struck down starting left tackle and All-Name team shoe-in Trinton Sturdivant. When you recruit as well as Mark Richt does, these are not huge, gaping problems, but they still need addressed. Young Matthew Stafford will also have to hone down the picks a bit, because you need to do slightly better than 19:10 to survive undefeated.

The most glaring problem for the Dawgs is the schedule, which seems to be unfairly colluding with the Fates to deny them their mythical national championship chance. They must travel to South Carolina (who knocked them off in Athens last year), Arizona State (their first trip outside the south for a road game ever, or something like that), LSU, Kentucky and Auburn, plus the Cocktail Party versus Florida, plus home games against Alabama, Rocky Top and Georgia Tech. And, oh yeah, if they survive all that, it'll likely be a rematch against Auburn or LSU in the SEC Championship game. That just isn't the type of schedule one can navigate undefeated, no matter how talented they are. LSU made the title game with two losses last year, but that's an aberration, not the norm, and I just don't see anyway Georgia makes it through the season untainted, and therefore, number one.

2) Ohio State – Everything for Ohio State hinges on the September 13^th game with Southern Cal. If they lose that, then no matter of Big Ten dominance will be able to dispel the memories of the Januarys from the minds of voters and fans, while a victory there sets them up nicely for a merry run through their conference. Road trips to Wisconsin, Michigan State and Illinois might be tricky, and home dates with Penn State and Michigan could cause trouble, but there shouldn't be anything in-conference that will derail a team returning pretty much everybody of note.

Predictions right now say that a lot of hardware will be going to the Buckeyes come December, and that seems like an incredibly safe prediction. Criminally overrated linebacker James Laurinaitis will win any and all defensive awards of note, while Chris "Beanie" Wells will be a deserved Heisman favorite. The Todd Boeckman-to-Robiskie and Hartline connection, while not staggering in production last season, was good enough to keep defenses honest against the run. Throw in potential all-world X factor Terrelle Pryor, and there's no reason to think the offense won't keep chugging along while the defense continues oppressing.

But then again, you all saw the games against Florida and LSU right? Wastes of your extended-Christmas and New Years holiday? A lot of these players were here for one if not both of those, and it doesn't seem like the kind of thing you can just forget. While the internets were abuzz with "OMG Speed Killz," the real downside was just really stupid errors from the Buckeyes, including "Not tackling," "dropping passes" and "Heisman winners totally imploding." Can The Senator right the ship? If they don't come out of Troy alive, it won't matter.

3) Southern Cal – My pick for number one, just because it's always easy to spring to the top of the polls – one early loss to Ohio State or not - with nationally broadcast beatdowns of Notre Dame and UCLA to end the season. As I say in this space nearly every year, say what you will of Pete Carroll and his program, but they do not shirk in their non-conference scheduling. This year it's a trip to Virginia to open the season and the epic clash with Ohio State, both of which should be manageable, with or without Mark Sanchez. As far as conference play goes, the Trojans get all the tough ones at home after traveling to Berkeley, Eugene and Tempe last year.

But then again, no one saw the war machine losing to UCLA, Oregon State or Stanford the last two years, or being pressed like they did by the likes of Washington last year. They always right the ship in elaborate, January fashion (poor Michigan and Illinois felt their wrath), but with logjams of talent (some of it proven, some of it not so much), will those position battles result in the best shining brightest or a never ending Lazy Susan of roster switches resulting in another shocking loss? It feels like a comfortable bet to say the Trojans will be winning a BCS bowl when the dust settles (they've done so 5 of the last 6 years, all in extremely comfortable fashion), but will it be in the mythical national championship game or another Rose Bowl? It's not like either result is bad, but I imagine the folks in Troy would like to return to the glory days of '03/'04.

Biggest questions for the Trojans personnel-wise? Figuring things out at QB – especially if one of the replacements particularly shines with Sanchez out, leading to a controversy – will be the first priority. Protecting the QB might be a problem as well, since they return only one starter from a line that wasn't overly dominant last season. They're still waiting for a wide receiver to step up to Dwayne Jarrett/Mike Williams/Steve Smith level, and while there are plenty of candidates, none have done so yet. You could make that exact same statement and substitute in "running back" and "Reggie Bush/LenDale White," but I think this might go down as the Season of Joe McKnight, erasing those worries. Defense should be absolutely fantastic, so they might not have to score all that many points anyway.

4) Oklahoma – What to think of the Sooners. The less than pleasing aftertaste left for many fans were the primetime thrashings by Texas Tech and West Virginia, both teams that embarrassed Bob Stoops' defense in every way imaginable. Sam Bradford was a revelation at quarterback, but when SMQ was looking at sophomore quarterbacks who played as freshman, they almost always head towards the mean, which is not a good thing for a stellar performer like Bradford. He also loses second leading receiver Malcolm Kelly, All-Namer Joe Jon Finley and leading rusher Allen Patrick (although DeMarco Murry and Chris Brown should make that a very, very moot point).

Questions arise in the defense, which returns only five starters and none of the top four tacklers. The frontline should be somewhere between "stout" and "impregnable," with both highly-touted tackles back, but both Pat White and Graham Harrell made the defensive backfield look plain silly. They contained Chase Daniel, who they won't see until (maybe) the Big XII championship, but they do have to contend with a deep conference QB-wise, with Todd Reesing (who the Sooners didn't have to contend with last year), Graham Harrell, Colt McCoy, Zac Robinson and Steve McGee. None of the tougher games are on the road, with Texas Tech, Kansas and Nebraska in Norman and the Shootout in Dallas with the 'Horns, but the non-conference games aren't exactly cakewalks. They have to play Washington in Seattle, where both Ohio State and USC almost slipped up last season, and host Cincinnati, who were beyond frisky in 2007. They'll be double-digit favorites in both of those games, but if Bradford slips up and the defense starts leaking, I can't be wholly confident.

The main problem for the Sooners is that their pass defense was revealed as pretty flawed last season and they're playing in a conference stacked with quarterbacks. If they can tighten the screws in the secondary and Bradford doesn't suffer a drastic drop-off, they will be Big XII favorites, but those are two incredibly big "if's" to factor in.

5) Florida – Tim Tebow Tim Tebow Tim Tebow Tim Tebow. Do not let the rather underwhelming performance against Michigan make you forget how good of a season Tebow had, or that Percy Harvin is, to go along with the cliché, a threat to score every time he touches the ball. With Emmanuel Moody coming in from the left coast to steady things at the tailback position (which was not a strong point for Urban Meyer's offense last year), the offense should be back to putting gobs of points every game. Remember, this unit put up 59 against Rocky Top, 45 against Kentucky, 51 at South Carolina, 45 against Florida State and 35 against the Wolverines. The loss of tight end Cornelius Ingram to injury, along with crafty receiver Andre Caldwell to old age, will have an impact, but there's a reason Meyer recruits a dozen receivers every year.

But much like the Sooners, the defense could be trouble. The defensive line, essentially divided into groups of guys who de-committed from Notre Dame and groups of guys who shoot of AK-47's in parking lots, could end up being solid, but oh, it is tough to tell. I'm sure the Citrus Bowl performance against Michigan had more to do with Healthy Chad Henne and Healthy Mike Hart coming together, but another game in Florida, the Cocktail Party, conjures up images of Knowshon Moreno just running off tackle for a dozen yards a pop. Major Wright may complete his transformation into Reggie Nelson, but it seems like a lot of people have to step up for the Gators to reach the heights of 2006.

Schedule-wise, it's not too tough for the SEC, with LSU and South Carolina coming to the Swamp, a road trip to Knoxville, missing Auburn and the Cocktail Party, but they do have games against Miami (FL) and Florida State out-of-conference, either of which could be due for a bounce-back season. The only real question is the defense, which shouldn't be tested by a complete unit the Cocktail Party. It all really hinges on the Georgia game, so be sure and circle your calendars for November 1^st. Odds are good that either both of these teams will be undefeated, making it Epic with a capital "E," or one will get the chance to play a deliciously sweet spoiler for the other.

6) Missouri – An out-of-nowhere dream season for the Tigers last year, who managed to receive one of the biggest shaftings in BCS history before taking out all of that frustration on a hapless Arkansas team. The key to the whole thing, Chase Daniel, is back, along with all-everything offensive talent Jeremy Maclin (they're like a Tebow-Harvin North). They have to find somebody to replace Tony Temple at tailback, but beyond that, the defense is mostly intact and the only team to beat Mizzou last year, Oklahoma, isn't on the schedule.

The schedule breaks pretty favorably, as they get Illinois to open the season then take a month off before trips to Lincoln and Austin, with a home date against Oklahoma State wedged in-between. They miss Texas Tech and Oklahoma, then again close out the season with the Jayhawks. With the schedule and Daniel, there is really no reason to think the Tigers can't run the table at least until the Big XII title game, where the Sooners or Red Raiders would most likely loom.

7) LSU – 2007 didn't prove anything to me in regards to Les Miles' ability to coach, and while I may just be being stubborn, I think I'm seeing this relatively clearly. He took a team super-loaded with talent, caught a bunch of breaks (Georgia missing the SEC title game, WVU getting upset, coming out ahead in the Incredibly Close Games which have just as much to do with luck as any sort of skill) and then played an Ohio State team that totally crapped the bed in front of a home crowd. He has since lost his savvy quarterback, and while the talent is still there, the schedule is just as tough and the dice may have gone cold.

They'll blaze into the Plains of Auburn at an easy 3-0, whoever their quarterback ends up being, but then things get tricky with that game and road trips to Florida and South Carolina before hosting Georgia at home. They'll roll up a gaudy record and maybe even slip into the SEC Title game, but they will not be repeating the least heralded "championship" of 21^st century.

8) Clemson – If I just told you a team was returning eight starters on both sides of the ball, a quarterback who had a 27:6 TD:INT ratio last season, two stud tailbacks and was playing a very manageable schedule in the worst major conference, you'd immediately assume that team has a great shot at perfection. And they should. But this is Clemson, who manages to drop at least one game every season that has you shaking your head and wondering how exactly Tommy Bowden managed to fight off Victory and claim Defeat for his Tigers.

Granted, this reason alone is not enough to dismiss someone, as the 21^st century has proven to us that "They can't win the big one" is not a legitimate reason to toss someone aside. Consider: Roy Williams, Bill Self, Jim Boeheim, Phil Mickelson, Bill Cowher, the Red Sox, the White Sox, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning. But because I still don't want to believe in Clemson, I'll point to the neutral site opener with Alabama, road trips to Wake Forest, Florida State and Boston College and the home finale against the Ol' Ball Coach as reason enough to boo-hoo their chances of immortality.

9) West Virginia – I think the Mountaineers are in serious trouble this season. I could care less about the loss of Steve Slaton with Noel Devine there to replace him and Pat White's transcendent brilliance, but you can't account for the departure of guys who had a huge part in almost every big win WVU had last season. Folk hero Owen Schmitt, go-to receiver Darius Reynaud and sackmaster Johnny Dingle are all gone, along with seven other defensive starters. Count in the fact that White will miss a game or part of a game with injury, that they have a tougher non-conference slate than past years (at East Carolina, at Colorado, Auburn) and end the season at Louisville, at Pittsburgh and home against South Florida, and I'm saying the Mountaineers have the potential to be fall well below the double-digit win mark. Perhaps the steady hand of Bill Stewart guides them to the Promised Land, but I think the odds are better he ends up crashing them into a goddamn bridge embankment.

10) Auburn – I initially disregarded Auburn, but after looking at things a little more closely, they're quite enticing as a "Buy" in regards to the preseason poll. They're switching to a more spread-like offense, inducting Kodi Burns (he of 26 pass attempts in '07) in at quarterback and don't have a particularly awe-inspiring rusher returning from last season, although the tailbacks are all returning. But then you look at it a little closer. The entire offensive line is back. They get LSU, Rocky Top and Georgia at home after the death march last year, while missing Florida. They're at Alabama but own the Tide. Tommy Tuberville always- always – has a good defense. Burns gets to tune up with a rather slight opening three weeks before the Bayou Bengals come to town, and voila, there's your SEC West champion. I'm not sure Burns is the real deal at quarterback, but with the running game in place around him, he really only has to be serviceable to get Tuberville another quality season and SEC championship appearance.

Offseason Difficulties For Some Irish Opponents

CW — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:20:16 -0000

While I'm not sure it's possible to set these instances to the Benny Hill theme music, the Michigan Wolverines have had their last few weeks be reminiscent of Notre Dame's on-the-field efforts against them in '06 and '07 (Mind you, not nearly as bad as the Irish effort in those games, but still, not great). Since fall camp officially started, the following has Yakety Saxed the maize and blue:

Yesterday, top-notch QB recruit Kevin Newsome decommitted, perhaps heading instead to Virginia Tech and Penn State. They still have a line on Tate Forcier, but Newsome seemed to be in the fold and a great fit Ric Rodriguez's offense. (I was also scanning the comments, and this one was particularly hilarious to me.)
This might not be as big of a problem if the new favorite to start this season wasn't a walk-on. Of course, last time Michigan played the majority of their season with youth in backfield, Henne and Hart led them to the Rose Bowl. (And lost to the Irish! Heyo!)
And perhaps seeing the writing on the wall in regards to the season, running back Kevin Grady had a bit too much to drunk earlier in the summer, and has plead guilty to drunk driving. MGo linked to a report about the arrest, and Grady was apparently not just casually drinking and out for a spin, but drunk to the tune of "Thompson said he asked for a number between 12 and 14, and Grady answered '15.'" Of course, you could just potentially say that a sober Wolverine couldn't correctly answer that question. (Again, zing! On fire!)

Over on the left coast, San Diego State is converting a defensive lineman to left tackle after starter Mike Matamua went down with a foot injury. The Trojans are still trying to find a replacement for Mark Sanchez after his injury, but there's a tiny bit of talent behind him to fill in until Sanchez can return. Irish Band of Brothers is keeping track of our 2008 opponents' camps, so be sure and check in there.

Hey, at least none of them had the day this guy did.