True Gipper

Early Outlook

Conner — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:40:33 -0800

Over the weekend the Irish kept its fading tournament hopes alive with a 69-67 2OT win over Louisville. This was the first time the Irish had won in the state of Kentucky since 1980. More importantly these are the type of wins that put a team into the big dance. Notre Dame now sits 10-6 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Even though its still early, Notre Dame can't afford to lose more than seven games from here on out til the Big East tournament. Last year only five at-large team made the tournament with 14 losses and one of those teams was Marquette who had an RPI of 64 and an SOS of 30. This year Notre Dame currently ranks 104 in the RPI and its SOS is 87. For Notre Dame to make the dance they will have to go 10-8 in the conference and win a game at the Big East tournament. That would put the Irish at 20-13 and 10-8 overall which would almost be a lock for the tournament. However the Irish still have games against five ranked opponents, not including road trips to West Virginia, Villinova, and St. Johns.

Michael Floyd's Record 28 Touchdowns

Conner — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:31:44 -0800

Irish pick up Davaris Daniels

Conner — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:00:07 -0800

The Irish received a commitment from Davaris Daniels out of Vernon Hills High School in Illinois. Davaris is 6'3 190lbs and runs a 4.45 40yd dash. A college coach couldn't ask for a better arsenal for a WR recruit. Rivals.com list Davaris has a 4 star, 154th overall in the nation, 15th best WR, and 2nd best in the state of Illinois.

Daniel's dad is former Bears defensive end Philip Daniels and is currently playing for the Washington Redskins. Phillip announced his sons commitment on twitter earlier.

@P_Daniels93:

"Proud to announce that my son DaVaris has committed to Notre Dame. Congrats to him on his decision. ND got one hell of an athlete"

Davaris is the same type of receiver as current Notre Dame star Michael Floyd. Floyd coming out of high school was 6'3 195lbs and ran a 4.55 40 yd dash. Davaris is slightly smaller but also faster. If he develops into something close to the player the Floyd is, the Irish will be in good shape.

Also, Daniels had a very interesting take on Kelly's recruiting ability. Above all else, everyone touted Weis' prowess on the recruiting trail. Looks like this is one recruit Weis couldn't have gotten, but Kelly did:

"I actually used to hate Notre Dame to tell you the truth," Daniels said. "I never got the whole vibe. I went to the USC game last year and didn't get a good vibe. Then Coach Kelly came in, the whole mood changed. It is great."

Stanford Preview

Conner — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:04:55 -0800

Stanford

Rank: #16
Record: 3-0
Passing yards: 47th (233.0)
Rushing yards: 14th (242.3)
PPG: 3rd (51.7)
Points against: 16th (13.7)

Key Players:

QB; Andrew Luck #12. The junior with Pac-Ten player of the year is aiming higher this year. He's putting himself in legit contention for the Heisman Trophy. Luck has completed 45 of his 70 attempts for 674 yards and 10 touchdowns with zero interceptions. He will likely be without his top receiver from a year ago Ryan Whalen who has a dislocated elbow.

WR; Doug Baldwin #89. With Ryan Whalen doubtful for this weekends game the Cardinal will look to go to Baldwin more. He has three touchdowns in as many games and 191 yards but only 10 receptions.

Last year:

Stanford won a barn burner 45-38 has Toby Gerhart rushed for his third touchdown of the game with 59 seconds left has the Irish defense purposefully let Gerhart run threw them on the TD to give the Irish offense a chance.

Prediction:

The Cardinal hasn't won in South Bend in 18 years, but this year around its different. Stanford is 16th in the nation and his off to a quick 3-0 start has the Irish are 1-2 and on a 2 game losing streak. The Irish will have to stop Luck and Coach Kelly must get the Irish offense in a rhythm if they want to win this one. I don't expect the Irish to win this one but don't be shocked if they pull off the upset.

Stanford 35-31

Moving Forward or Backwards?

Conner — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 12:00:31 -0800

At this time it is hard to tell if Notre Dame is actually moving forward or just simply running in place. The Irish blew another 4th quarter lead to lose in OT on a fake FG. The Irish have now lost 6 out of 7 games, blowing 4th quarter leads in 4 out of the past 5. Half of those have came this year against Michigan and Michigan State. This looks like the same team has last year only with a slightly better defense (not on paper) and a worse offense. Last year Notre Dame went 2-1 vs Michigan, MSU, and Purdue but only won by a combined 6 points. We got lucky.

Now Notre Dame is sitting at 1-2 and could very well be looking straight into the eyes of a 1-5 start with Stanford this week, at Boston College, then back at home vs Pitt. But this is not the end, this is obviously not the time to already give up on Brian Kelly. I have

already seen numerous people on twitter and other blogs seem to give up on Coach Kelly. in 1986 in Lou Holtz started his 1st season as the Notre Dame head coach, starting off 1-4 and finishing with a 5-6 record—the same 5-6 record from the year before.

Coach Kelly was brought to Notre Dame to win championships because of his ability to develop players. It's going to take more time than just spring practice and 3 weeks into the season to be able to develop a team that has been lacking fundamentals for the past several years. Even though the stats are still not better, by just watching a Notre Dame games this year you can see an improvement in fundamentals. Aside from some very bad missed tackles this past Saturday, the tackling is much improved with alot more players wrapping up instead of just trying to hit them. The penalties are down from a year ago, again aside from the 7 penalties from this past Saturday.

The season is not completely lost, I like many Irish fans was hoping for a quick turnaround and a BCS bowl berth. We can rule that out now, but I'd still be more than happy to see the Irish land in a respectable bowl like the Champs Sports bowl. These next couple of weeks will be the make or break point in the season. The Irish can win a couple and have a realistic chance at 8 wins but they easily could easily lose a couple and wind up not going to a bowl.

Either way i expect the Irish to be in contention for a BCS bowl next year, anything less would be a disappointment.

Michigan State preview

Conner — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 10:38:37 -0800

Michigan State

Rank: NR
Record: 2-0
Passing yards: 94th (164.0)
Rushing yards: 11th (261.0)
PPG: 39th (34.0)
Points against: 32nd (15.5)

Key Players:

RB; Edwin Baker #4. The sophomore from Highland Park, Michigan has well played in his first two games this year rushing for 117 yards against Western Michigan and 183 yards against Florida Atlantic. He has already topped his TD total from a year ago with 3 TD's. Baker only rushed for a total of 427 yards last year on 85 carries with only 1 TD. It's hard to tell how well Baker actually is because he has yet to face a marginal run defense has FAU has let up 570 rushing yards in 2 games and Western Michigan has only played Nicholls State other than MSU. Look for MSU to give Baker his carries this weekend has he is the key for them this weekend.

LB; Greg Jones #53. He was the 2009 Big Ten defensive player of the year and by no surprise 2010 pre season Big Ten defensive player of the year. Not to mention he was also a 2009 consensus first team All-American. Jones recorded a total of 153 tackles last year, 66 solo along with 9 sacks. This year he has 20 tackles and already 2 forced fumbles.

Prediction: Irish 28-17

Michigan Preview

Conner — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:57:21 -0800

Michigan
Rank: NR
Record: 1-0
Passing yards: 79th (186.0)
Rushing yards: 13th (287.0)
PPG: 59th (30.0)
Points against: 27th (10)

Key Players:

QB; Denard Robinson #16. The sophomore got his first start last week against UCONN and made the most of it. He had a combined total of 383 yards: 186 passing and 187 rushing. He also had a TD on the ground and through the air. Notre Dame's ability to stop Robinson's speed will be a major factor tomorrow.

Last year: Yea we all remember what happened last year. Michigan took an early lead in the

1st quarter and went up 14-3. Notre Dame came storming back in the 2nd quarter to take a 20-17. Michigan then went back up 31-20 in the 3rd and when everyone thought the game was over Notre Dame came back to go up 34-31 with 5 minutes left in the game. The Irish kicked the ball back off and made a huge defensive stop and got the ball back but failed to close it out giving Michigan the ball back with 2 minutes to go. Tate Forcier then made quick work of the Irish, scoring with 11 seconds left to win it. The Irish defense failed to stop Forcier as he passed for 240 yards and rushed for 70 while combining for 3 TD's.

Defense: Notre Dame will have their hands full on defense against Denard Robinson. This will be the first test for Bob Diaco's defense. The Irish have to stop Robinson on the ground and make him try to beat 'em through the air. If Bob Diaco's defense cant stop Robinson, it could very well be a long day for the Irish.

Offense: Notre Dame will look to go after a weak inexperienced secondary. Michigan lost Senior Corner Troy Wolfolk to a broken leg in August. All Big-Ten selection Donovan Warren left for the NFL a year early last year. The Irish will attack them with Michael Floyd who had 137 yards and 7 receptions and a TD last year vs Michigan. I believe this week Dayne Crist will be a bit more confident in the passing game after getting his first start out of the way. Brian Kelly will look to Crist to lead the Irish against Michigan's inexperienced corners. I believe this will be Crist's break out game. Also don't be surprised if the Irish look to run the ball a bit as Armando Allen had 139 yards on 21 carries last year vs Michigan. Cierre Wood and Allen combined to rush for 151 yards on 25 carries last week.

Prediction: Last week I had Notre Dame winning this game no doubt but after seeing Denard Robinson last week I'm a little hesitant. I still think Notre Dame will pull out the win at home.

Final Score, Notre Dame 27-23

Purdue Preview

Conner — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:03:05 -0800

Purdue-

Preseason rank: NR

Record: 5-7*

Passing yards: 34th (255.3)*

Rushing yards: 75th (136.1)*

PPG: 35th (27.8)*

Points against: 91st (29.1)*

*2009 stats

Key Players:

QB; Robert Marve. He was a four star quarterback from Tampa Florida in 2007. Signed with Miami and stayed there until after his Sophomore season, Marve only got action has a sophomore where he passed for 1293 yards and 9 TDs while throwing 13 ints. Marve was later beat out by star Miami QB Jacory Harris. Marve then transferred and sat out a year and will finally be getting another chance to show off what he's got.

WR; Keith Smith #9. Last year Smith caught 91 passes for 1100 yards and 6 TDs. Against the Irish last year, Smith showed off his top talents catching 11 passes for 136 yards and a TD.

DE; Ryan Kerrigan #94. The senior out of Muncie, Indiana recored a total of 66 tackles and 12 sacks last season. Kerrigan was one of the few, maybe only bright spot on the Purdue defense last year that was 91st in the nation in points against.

Prediction: ND 31-24

Liar Liar: Lane Kiffin

Conner — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:47:36 -0800

USC has stayed classy of course like usual and chosen Lane Kiffin to become their next head coach. Kiffin quickly bolted out of knoxville after just one year one the job. He left the university with no problems at all just a couple NCAA violations. So the Tennessee students/fans/alums are more then furious. On Tuesday students gathered around and chanted "F*** you Kiffin", I wouldn't it a riot but it was close has UT students were lighting things on fire like a mattress, mostly paper, and in one video a guy made a torch. Some angry fans even raided Neyland-Thompson Sports Complex and yelled at Lane Kiffin when he was telling his ex-players that he will be very loyal and leave them. I'm sure they were all very proud of him.

Lane Kiffin was introduced as the Head Football Coach at USC on Wednesday. It went just as planned, full of lies. Lane Kiffin actually got into an argument with LA times writer TJ Simmers about how Lane Kiffin said he wouldn't recruit any UT players unless they called him. Turns out his good assistant Ed Orgeron has already called UT commits, that means theres a good possibility that Kiffin did to. After Kiffin started saying things over again he confused everyone when trying to explain the commit situation that SC AD Mike Garret had to stand up, stop Kiffin from being an idiot, and to of course get a new question going. So Kiffin has started out great, couldn't be better. Now going into this conference i knew i was going to at some point just start laughing. I was hoping for some trash talk against ND. Or just him saying "I cant wait to commit some major recruiting violations after we beat Notre Dame next year. Its going to be a blast!!". I'm just glad we have Brian Kelly.

USC sent the wrong message to the NCAA about cleaning up their act. SC did the opposite of cleaning up their act when they hired a guy who has a past of recruiting violations. Kiffins violations have all been secondary violations unless the most recent one about hostesses turns out true and ends up more then just a secondary violation.

At this moment, I cannot wait for ND vs SC next year. No matter what the records are this game will be remembered. It's the classy Brian Kelly vs the most hated college football coach in the country Lane Kiffin. I really wish recruits would start questioning this guy. He has nothing. He is not loyal at all and he is selfish. I hope we destroy him.

Irish add depth at QB

Conner — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:47:44 -0800

Brian Kelly got another solid commitment today, solidifying the depth at quarterback. Andrew Hendrix recommitted to Notre Dame today, choosing the Irish over the Gators. Hendrix originally committed to Weis and his staff all the way back in june. Here's an article from back in june from Truegipper. Hendrix is now the second QB in the class high school class of 2010. Tommy Rees from Lake Forest, Illinois is the other QB who enrolled early so he can practice with the team in the spring. To add to the depth at quarterback Nate Montana transferred back from Pasedena College. Some even thought that WR John Goodman would be moved back to QB (use to play QB in high school). Now with the Irish gaining Montana and Hendrix this week, Goodman will stay at wideout.

I would like to see Kelly bring in a more mobile QB in the years to come. I liked the play of Cincy QB Zach Collaros last year, he rushed for 325 yard in 5 games when starting QB Tony Pike was hurt. It wasn't like ColIaros had blazing speed, he just had good speed for a QB. am not questioning at all what Brian Kelly is doing, I am just saying that I think a mobile QB would only be for the best. Plus it would be pretty awesome to watch.

Irish Recruiting outlook with Carrol gone

Conner — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:07:17 -0800

With Pete Carrol leaving USC; Brian Kelly should have for now SC commit Kyle Prater on speed dial. Kyle Prater was suppose to go to class at USC today but with Petey gone Kyle is at home in Hillside Illinois weighing his options with his family. Kyle has been to Notre Dame a number of times and made his official visit to Notre Dame for the UCONN game. Just because the Irish lost on senior day to a marginal opponenet doesnt mean Prater won't come to South Bend. First off different coach, second off Manti Te'o was at the Syracuse game last year and he couldnt stay outside in the cold for the whole game. Also if the Irish can get Kyle's good friend/teammate Corey Cooper then maybe that could push Kyle over the ledge to South Bend.

Seantrel Henderson spoke before the Army All-American game on Saturday and said Carrol leaving will definitely effect his decision. Henderson is down to six schools Florida, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and USC. Miami appears to be the long shot while at the moment with Carrol gone the front runners appear to be Florida, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.

"The coaching and football are second to the education and situation Seantrel would be in. We know he's going to play, and get opportunities, and get as close as he can to a title..." - Seantrel Henderson's father

Again we see this. This is with most recruits where their parents love the education that Notre Dame brings. This was the same story with Manti Te'o last year. Coach Brian Kelly (I love saying that) could make a huge recruiting statement for years to come if he could pick up Prater or Henderson.

Kelly keeps Alford

Conner — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:41:51 -0800

Today many media outlets are reporting that coach Brian Kelly will only retain running backs coach Tony Alford from the Weis era. This shouldn't be a huge surprise to anyone. Last week I wanted our new coach to retain great receivers coach and recruiter Rob Ianello but he was chose to become the head football coach at Akron. I am happy that Kelly held onto at least one of the coaches from the Weis staff because of recruiting reasons. Tony Alford is a solid coach to bring back, in only his first recruiting season with the Irish; he has gotten verbals from top recruits Giovanni Bernard and Louis Nix.

Coach Kelly will likely bring along a handful of coaches with him from Cincy. He will almost certainly bring long time offensive coordinator Jeff Quinn. Only problem is Jeff Quinn could get coaching gig somewhere else. Yesterday Cincinnati chose Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones which eliminated a job for Quinn to take. I wouldn't be surprised though if Central Michigan takes a look at Quinn.

Weis.

Conner — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:22:11 -0800

Charlie Weis failed to take Notre Dame to the glory it deserves but I will always respect him.

Weis gave us a thrilling five years of ups and down. He's one of the biggest reasons why I am such a huge Irish fan today. Three days after Weis was fired he called up Irish commit Daniel Smith and told him that he shouldn't think elsewhere just because he isn't the coach anymore (read full story here). He's the bizarro George Costanza. I couldn't respect him more, I wish him the best luck in his next job.

I was ten years old at the end of the Ty Losingham era. I would still watch the games during the Willingham era at times but it was never quite as exciting as things were during Weis' time in South Bend. By the seventh game into the Weis era i loved Notre Dame and hated USC more than anything in the world. Charlie Weis was in the process turning the Irish into an offensive machine. Quinn to Samardzija was becoming a saturday tradition. That was the season I became a devoted Fighting Irish fan; I watched every minute of every game and checked for news on a daily basis.

People can continue to hate Weis and say we (Notre Dame and its fans) are no better off than we were five years ago. We're a whole lot better than we were five years ago. Weis has consistently convinced great recruits to come to Notre Dame. He made Irish fans believe. He put Notre Dame back in the recruiting world. A great part about that is, he got alot of them to commit to the University not just him. For example to our knowledge only one commit from the upcoming recruiting class has decommited. That was DE Chris Martin, who was the top commit of the Irish class. Although he did decomitt today Notre Dame landed a top 100 recruit today DE Louis Nix. Weis has put the next head coach in a perfect position. The next coach will inherit at minimum a former five stat recruit Dayne Crist at QB and arguably the best reciever in the nation in Michael "The Cannon" Floyd. He will inherit a talented defense that with some coaching could reach a very high level. Stars on the defense will include sophomore Manti Te'o, junior Brian Smith, junior Ethan Johnson, junior Kapron Lewis Moore, etc. Notre Dame will probably lose only five starters from last year whom are Jimmy Clausen (NFL draft), Golden Tate (NFL draft), and seniors Eric Olson, Sam Young, and Kyle McCarthy.

While Charlie Weis has teed up this job for the next person to take over, he's also set a new precedent and a dangerous standard. He's proven that you can recruit to this frigid blue collar town, even when you're six games below .500. He's shown there's no reason Notre Dame cannot be an elite program

With a good coach next year don't be surprised to see the Irish in the middle of the BCS picture. I'm looking forward to it.

It's Over

Conner — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:05:05 -0800

Looks like the Charlie Weis era will soon be in the past. The Irish have to win out for Weis to have a somewhat good chance of staying. Winning out won't easy, Weis has to beat Pitt and Stanford, two teams that will most likely finish the season ranked. Weis hasn't even beaten two teams that have finished ranked in the top 25 in his life. Even if Weis wins out and losing in a bowl game he should still be gone. There is no reason why this Irish team should have four losses. Its unacceptable. When Weis came in has head coach in his press conference he stated that being a 6 and 5 football team was not good enough for us (obviously) and that it certainly wasnt good enough for him. Well Charlie you have a pretty good chance of having five losses this year. That is simply not good enough.

Yeah, yeah. I know we will in be in almost the same situation we were in 5 years ago. It breaks my heart to see us have to fire another coach. Especially after seeing such a successful and quick turnaround in 2005. But look on the bright side we could bring in a proven head college football coach in Brian Kelly. We will have great players for sure for about the next 3 years after the recruiting Weis did. This team would come in next year has if we have had the same great coach for years. We would immediately be a top 25 team at minimum with Brian Kelly

"The Cardiac Kids"

Conner — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:45:32 -0800

Notre Dame just pulled it out yesterday against Boston College ending a six game skid against the Golden Eagles. The Irish won a close game 20-16 because of five golden eagle turnovers going to the Irish. People have been calling this years team "The Cardiac Kids" and have been praising them for playing the full 60 minutes. I'm happy they have been competing the whole game but alot of these close wins should be huge blowouts in the Irish' favor. Notre Dame should not be playing down to their opponents skill level week after week. We shouldnt be having close games against Michigan State, Purdue, Washington, and Boston College. At least 2-3 of those games should be huge blowouts. You could even say that Notre Dame played down to the skill level of Michigan but i give respect to Tate Forcier playing a great game that day. If Notre Dame doesnt stop this they will end with two more losses.

Yesterday I attended a prime example of what Notre Dame should be doing. I woke up yesterday and found out I had a ticket to the Oregon Vs. Washington game. Right when I found out, I downloaded the Notre Dame central app on my iphone allowing me to watch the Notre Dame game while being at the Washington game. So I got to see Oregon put away their opponent the Washington Huskies in the 3rd quarter. Notre Dame should be doing this. They should be coming out strong to start the 2nd half and proving that they belong in the top 25. Instead Notre Dame lets their opponent hang with them the entire game.

Wait til' Next Year?

Conner — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:55:44 -0800

The Irish fall 4 yards short of greatness. Just 4 more yards for Notre Dame and they would control their own destiny to play in a BCS bowl. Clausen came up 4 yards short of of potentially winning the Heisman Trophy. So now what happens? Clausen plays great rest of season and gets invited to New York for heisman ceremony and Notre Dame ends up playing in the Gator Bowl. Some might think that we've done well to improve over last year but that's really not important. We're Notre Dame and our expectations should always be BCS win or bust.

I dont want to keep having to say wait til next year. I want "just wait til the title game". We (Notre Dame fans) have been talking about the future for the past 5 years. In 2005 it was just wait til' next year we will have Brady and Samardzija back. I know we went to a BCS bowl in 2006 but we lost big to Michigan, USC and LSU. In 2006 we were all hype with National Title expectations; we werent looking towards future but immediatley after USC game in '06 i know at least I was saying "Oh just wait til we have Jimmy Clausen, no stopping him and all of our great recruits". My dad bought 6 tickets to that SC game in '06 so that my me and the rest of my family could go down and see a Notre Dame win. I left Southern Cal wanting redemption. Right after I left I thought about when next our best chance to get redemption against SC would be. It was this game, Clausen as a junior, at home. And again, we fell short. I probably shouldnt even talk about 2007; that year was only for the future. Again in '08 we were waiting for our great recruits to transform into great players. Well our great recruits are all emerging (Clausen, Tate, Floyd, Rudolph, etc.) but still we are left waiting for next year. Just waiting for those players to lead the Irish to greatness. I dont know about the rest of you but I am sick and tired of waiting.

I'm not gonna say that I don't think that our future is bright but I don't think our future has us winning a title game with Weis. I will reconsider keeping weis if we go undefeated the rest of the way and a win over a decent oponent in at least the Gator Bowl. Otherwise, we should bring in Jon Gruden. He would be that hard-nosed but fun loving college football coach. Pete Carol-esque?. If we were to bring in Gruden we would keep most of our defensive and offensive recruits like Martin and potentially more recruits that we might get this week. The recruits would look at Gruden's defenses with the Bucs and would come right to Notre Dame. I know it was Monte Kiffin coaching defense with those Bucs teams but Gruden would bring in that tough defensive attitude and possible some NFL assistants with him.

If Notre Dame wins out or just loses a barn-burner in a bowl game, Notre Dame should bring Weis back and see what he can do with Clausen. I dont think it would be a good idea to bring in a new coach and system when you have Clausen, Tate and Allen all seniors.There's a good chance it'd be Floyd's last year as well. Could be a complete waste of year for those great players. I would like to see what this offense could do next year rather than seeing all these great athletes waste a season. Would be better to do a coaching change the following season and bring in new system with Crist , Theo Riddick and Shaq Evans all being juniors.

After this past loss to USC, Charlie's seat has gotten alot hotter. No more room for mistakes.

Could this be the year?

Conner — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:06:43 -0800

This weekend I'm hoping to see Notre Dame beat USC for the first time in my life that I can remember. I don't remember any sports earlier than the year 2000. The first USC vs ND game that I remember is the game where Carson Palmer won the Heisman. I know that some of you will think to yourself "oh this kid has barely been an Irish fan, this game doesnt mean has much to him". It means more than anything to me. A Notre Dame win would pretty much bring tears of joy to my eyes.

For the past seven years the Irish have lost to the trojans and all of them other than the "bush push" game they have been blowouts. The difference between this game and the rest of them, the irish players actually believe they are going to prevail. Do I think Notre Dame will win? I think that if the offensive line protects jimmy and if the pass coverage steps up when Tenuta tries to stop the run then I think Notre Dame will win. Yeah thats alot to ask. But I feel like no matter who we are playing, we are going to put up at least 24 points. On the weather its suppose to be about 45 degrees or colder at kickoff but will continue to get colder throughout the game. The weather will help the Irish defense the most. With tenuta selling out to stop the run, the cold weather could get to barkley causing him to make bad passes. Clausen said the weather affected him the first time he practiced in the cold in South bend, he said he was throwing ducks all over the field. So hopefully it takes Barkley sometime to get use to.

Irish take on Washington at home

Conner — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:50:39 -0800

This Saturday, Notre Dame will take on Jake Locker and his somewhat inconsistent Washington football team. The Irish are a little more healthy than last week so expect more from Jimmy Clausen and Armando Allen; though you will still probably see Dayne Crist at times because Jimmy's turf toeis still hurting him. Expect to also see that Wildcat offense; however, I'm guessing Allen will be taking the snaps when in wildcat instead of Golden Tate. But only because Allen was hurt, I would like to see Golden take some snaps after seeing how effective he was in that formation last week.

This week I am very curious to see what Tenuta does with the defense against a moblie quarterback in Jake Locker. Tenuta let up big numbers to Forcier but that was probably a byproduct of Rich Rodriguez' spread offense. Weis and Tenuta said they expect to see more of freshman Manti Te'o this week and throughout the rest of the season. Teo's speed in pursuit should very helpful to Tenuta Jake Locker when it comes to containing locker and limiting gains when he does move outside the pocket.

The past is in the past: Irish will rebound against Michigan State

Conner — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:56:01 -0800

After a disappointing loss at The Big House on Saturday many people compared this 2009 season to the 1999 season. After seeing this comparison at UHND, I think the Irish will go in a different direction than the '99 team did. I do not think Charlie Weis and the Irish team will let that happen this year. Coach Weis noted that many more players than usual were coming into his office telling him they have forgotten about Michigan and are only looking ahead to Michigan State. After last week I think Michael Floyd has certainly established himself has one of the premiere wide receivers in the country, right there with Dez Bryant. Second coming of Tim Brown? Maybe too early to say that, but the kid can ball. Who knows how that Michigan game plays out if with him on the field, even serving as a distraction and pulling one more man outside the box.

I expect Clausen to continue to impress, keeping the offense in rhythm with the aid of the best wideout duo in the nation. This week's offensive attack will be centered around Clausen and those receivers after MSU let up 328 yards passing to Central Michigan QB Dan Lefevour. He may be the working man's Tim Tebow, but it's still Central Michigan and they're still from the MAC. I'm expecting a big day for Tate and Floyd who will do more than mirror Central Michigan's top receivers who combined for 191 yards and 16 receptions. The losing streak—both this one-gamer and the lengthy one to MSU at home—will end. Irish win, 35-14.

South Bend billboard blasts Charlie Weis

Conner — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:43:48 -0800

The timing on this probably could've been a lot better. One fan's take, courtesy of the South Bend Tribune:

Well, it's just as much of a surprise to us as it was to everyone else,” said Greg Delinski, General Manager of Linebacker Inn.

Delinski says his establishment had nothing to do with the billboard; but it sure is generating a lot of comments on the street.

“And now they put this up on this end of the campus with the home opener coming up and you have recruits coming in and the team is trying to get motivated,” one fan told WSBT News.

No, this probably isn't going to pump up anyone for the home opener but honestly, is this that creative? Sounds dumb to me. Oh hoah hoah hoah, it's funny because he's a head coach but an intern! Hilarious. Sounds like these linebackers were hit a little too much. Then again, I'd make a fat joke or something.