Notre Dame at Pittsburgh review

           It sure wasn’t pretty, but the Fighting Irish got the victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday, 15-12. It was probably one of the most boring games I have ever watched. Besides the five scoring drives between each team the game was just penalty after penalty, and dropped pass after dropped pass, with the occasional run for no yards. It was a sloppy game that wasn’t really a “defensive battle” as much as it was “offensive ineptness”.

3 things I liked

Tyler Eifert- Eifert made a name for himself last season after filling in for injured starting tight end, Kyle Rudolph. This year there is no Rudolph, so Eifert has been the starter. He has had a good season but he definitely had the best game of his career on Saturday against Pitt. While the entire Panther’s defense was focused on stopping wide receiver, Michael Floyd, Eifert was open in the middle of the field all day. Eifert also made the game-winning catch in the 4^th quarter and finished the day with 8 catches for 75 yards. Eifert was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana so it’s pretty cool to watch a fellow Hoosier make an impact for the Irish.

Jonas Gray- Gray is the “backup” (I explain this in a second) running back, playing behind Cierre Wood.  Gray is a senior, while Wood is a junior, so it’s nice to see Gray get a lot of touches in his final season. He has never been the starter during his career at Notre Dame, but he proved on Saturday that he has the talent to be a starter. Gray only ran the ball three times in the game, but his run of 79 for a touchdown was fantastic. He took the handoff, found the hole, broke through a couple of tackles, and sprinted into the endzone.

             
            Having Gray and Wood in the backfield gives the Irish offense a great advantage over opposing defenses. Both have their own style of running; Gray is more power while Wood is more finesse, but both have the speed to get into the secondary. Although Gray plays behind Wood, it’s not like he’s Wood’s backup. Both guys are great and either could start ahead of the other.

Defense- All everybody talks about is how incredible the offense is, but this unit deserves a lot of props for what they do. In four games this season they have given up eight touchdowns and seven field goals.  Check out these other defenses and how much they’ve given up:

#1 LSU- 6 TD’s and 5 FG’s

#2 Oklahoma- 7 TD’s 2 FG’s

#3 Alabama- 4 TD’s and 1 FG

#5 Oklahoma State- 11 TD’s and 6 FG’s

#13 Clemson-12 TD’s and 6 FG’s

Notre Dame- 8 TD’s and 7 FG’s

            
            Ok, so the Irish definitely aren’t anywhere near LSU, Oklahoma, or Alabama, but they’re just as good, if not better, than Oklahoma State and Clemson.  You have to remember though; Notre Dame’s offense has given up the ball 15 times, that’s the worst of any team in America.

            
            The Irish defense also racked up six more sacks against Pitt, proving that the defensive line for the Irish is a force to be reckoned with.

3 Things I didn’t like

Tommy Rees- You know I support you Tommy, but god did you make it hard to. Rees finished the game 24/41 on passing, with 216 yards and one touchdown, which isn’t a bad game at all. Then consider the interception and fumble he had and it’s pretty disappointing. Rees threw a lot of passes that left me shaking my head in utter confusion. Over and over he would snap the ball, drop back, and stare at the receiver he wanted to throw to, then try and force the ball to the receiver. Look around! Look at your other receivers! He makes it so obvious where he’s going to throw it. He needs to learn to look for 2-3 receivers each play, not just one.

Penalties- The Irish committed 8 penalties for 85 yards. That’s way too many esp. when the Irish offense turning the ball over and shooting itself in the foot every other drive.

           
            The worst of these penalties came in the 4^th quarter. The Panthers were punting near their own goal line and a Notre Dame defender went to block the kick and scraped against the punter’s foot. This was apparently such a traumatic and endangering play to the punter that the official called “roughing the kicker”. This resulted in the Panthers moving up 15 yards and getting an automatic 1^st down.

            
            The same call was made in favor of the Irish in the 1^st half, but even that penalty should not have been called. It appeared the Panther’s defender smacked into the Irish punter’s legs, but it was all an acting job by the punter.

            
            Moral of the story, there should be a better way to examine what actually happens during punting plays. It is absolutely insane to penalize a player that doesn’t affect the punter or the punter’s punting (That’s a lot, I know). There should be a 5-yard and 15-yard penalty, depending on how hard the defender hits the punter. In both cases on Saturday, a 5-yard penalty would have been appropriate.

            
            Not to keep harping on this, but I am SOOO sick of Big 10 officials at Notre Dame games. I swear the Big 10 wants the Fighting Irish to lose every game they referee.

Start time- I know what you’re thinking, “start time? How does that relate to the game?” Beside the fact that fans had to start the party a little earlier; it also meant this was the first game Notre Dame has had to play this season with a start time before 3:30 p.m. Before this they played a home game at 3:30 p.m., an away game in Ann Arbor(which is about 2 hours away from South Bend) at 8:00 p.m., and a home game at 3:30 p.m. Not only was this the first game that the Irish really had to travel to get too, but they had to wake up a few hours earlier.

           

             
            In my preview I noted that three keys to a victory would be: limit turnovers, don’t give up any big plays, and manage the offense. Notre Dame only had two turnovers, but did Rees did not manage the offense at all. Rees needs to learn that he has several people on the team that have big play capability and get the ball to those players. The defense did prevent Pittsburgh from getting any big plays as they held Pitt to just 268 total yards.

             I also predicted a final score of: N.D.-35, Pitt.-16. I was only a little off, right?

            Next up for Notre Dame is the Purdue Boilermakers and the Battle for the Shillelagh. The Boilermakers had a bye week so they’ve had an extra week to get ready for the Irish. The game is at 8:00 p.m. so the Irish should be good and ready to play.

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh preview

           
            The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are looking to even up their record at 2-2 after defeating Michigan State last weekend, 31-13. The Irish proved in their victory over Michigan State that they are a great team that is able to win every game they play in. If they play the same way against the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, they should have no problem winning the game.

            
            The Pitt Panthers are 2-1 with wins over Maine and Buffalo (oooohhhh I’m so impressed) and a loss at Iowa. The Panthers have a pretty mediocre team. They rank in the mid-50’s (out of 120 teams) in passing and rushing yards. Their defense is even worse. Their pass defense is ranked 119^th and total defense is 97^th. To sum things up here; Notre Dame should shut down Pitt’s offense, and Pitt’s defense won’t have a chance against Notre Dame’s offense. This doesn’t mean it’s gonna be a cakewalk though. The Irish need to come out and show that they are the best team on the field.

Keys to the game

Limit Turnovers- So I’m gonna stop asking for “no turnovers” because that appears impossible for the Irish. They had five in each of their first two games and three last week. That’s 13 in three games and the worst in America. Maybe there‘s a pattern here. 5-5-5-_.That means three this week!

Don’t give up any big plays- This means no plays that bring Pitt back into the game or win the game. This includes, but not limited to: kick returns for touchdowns, turnovers returned for touchdowns, long pass plays for touchdowns, and long runs for touchdowns. Notre Dame’s defense has given up several of these “big plays”. This was the biggest problem the Irish had in their loss to Michigan, esp. in the 4^th quarter.

Manage the offense- This one is for Irish quarterback, Tommy Rees. This isn’t gonna be a game where he needs to throw the ball deep every play and attempt to score touchdown after touchdown (like he’s had to do in the past three games). Rees just needs to keep the offense in rhythm and moving forward. Let the running backs, Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray, do the hard work on the ground. Then spread the ball around to the receivers and tight ends.

            
            Pittsburgh is nowhere near as talented as the past three opponents have been for the Irish; all of which have been fairly close games that weren’t decided until the final quarter. That being said, this should be a pretty easy game for Notre Dame fans to watch.

My predicted score: Notre Dame-35, Pittsburgh-16

So I decided to drop this bomb. Yeah, that's Taylor Swift, decked out in Notre Dame gear. Swift was on the sidelines for the Michigan State game last Saturday (9/17). I think this basically solidifies the fact that we were meant to get married.

Notre Dame at Michigan Review

           Notre Dame lost in the final seconds to Michigan last Saturday night, 35-31. The first night game at Michigan Stadium was a thriller as it went back and forth in the 4^th quarter. The first three quarters were dominated by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as they led 24-7 going into the final quarter. Then Michigan Wolverine quarterback, Denard Robinson, caught on fire (figuratively of course) and decimated the Irish secondary. Robinson finished the night with 338 passing yards and four touchdowns; two of those touchdowns came in the final 1:30 of the game

What I liked about the game

Defensive front- The front seven, meaning the linebackers and defensive line, of Notre Dame played with a lot of strength and skill throughout the game. They held Denard Robinson to a lot of short yard runs and got a couple of sacks. In the first half of the game Michigan had nothing going on offense. I’m not sure what happened after halftime but the defensive front lost their edge over Michigan’s offensive line, but still made some good plays.

Receivers- This unit made a complete turnaround of what they did last week. The Notre Dame receivers all made great plays and were the key to the Irish offense. Michael Floyd had another spectacular game with more than 100 receiving yards. Theo Riddick had six catches and two touchdowns and took a lot of pressure off Floyd. T.J. Jones and tight end Tyler Eifert also had catches that showed just how much talent there is on the offense.

Balance on offense- This was one of my keys to winning the game. At halftime Notre Dame had run 41 plays, 22 of those were passes, 18 were runs. That’s a little pass heavy but that’s where the strength is at on offense. In the 2^nd half Notre Dame called 16 runs and 14 passes (before the final Irish drive that was all passes and led to a touchdown).  There was balance on offense, but there didn’t need to be. The Irish needed to continue passing throughout the third and fourth quarters. Sure they had the lead, but it’s not like they were up by 21 or more points. Until you have a huge lead like that there is no reason to play conservatively, which is what it felt like the Irish were doing.

            Again, a round of applause goes to Irish running back, Cierre Wood, who had another fantastic game. There were just too many fumbles and lack of consistent runs in the fourth quarter to make me like all of the Irish running game.

What I didn’t like about the game

Defensive secondary- This would be the cornerbacks and safeties, although there wasn’t anything safe last night. These guys were decimated the entire night. On the Wolverines last two drives in the closing minutes of the game, Robinson led their offense down the field twice, passing to whomever he wanted whenever he wanted. Everybody knew that the Wolverines were gonna pass; there wasn’t enough time to call any run plays. There were also numerous long passes in the first half that could have resulted in Michigan touchdowns had the ball not been overthrown or dropped by receivers. Something has to change, whether it’s with the defensive coordinator or defensive backs coach. 

            On the plus side, this unit did get three interceptions.

Turnovers- Five, there were five turnovers last night. That’s TEN turnovers in two games. Seriously, how hard is it to keep control of the ball? Notre Dame is losing these games on their own. Could you imagine if they dropped that number down to three turnovers a game? They would have won both of their games. There were two interceptions by Rees, a fumble by Rees, a fumble by Cierre Wood, and another one that I don’t recall.

Play calling in the second half- As I mentioned, Notre Dame actually passed the ball more than they ran the ball in the second half, which is a good thing. The runs though came on crucial third downs when a pass would have been a better call. On every third and short the Irish ran the ball and got stuffed. It was so obvious that they were gonna run that the Wolverines blitzed just about everyone on their defense. Irish quarterback Tommy Rees has to see this and call an audible, or as he did earlier in the game, fake the audible call and still run it.

            In the second half they also used a two tight-end set. I am completely confused and shocked on why anybody thought that would be a good idea. Bring in one tight-end and make the other defense think you’re gonna pass. Two tight-ends on the field is the biggest indication that you’re going to run than anything else.

            

            My patience with Notre Dame Football is growing shorter and shorter with every disappointing loss and disappointing season. I am sick of going through “rebuilding years” and “motivational losses”.  I want to experience the same joy and happiness that other fans enjoy when their teams win big games. Notre Dame has not beaten a Top #25 team in years and that’s a shame. How long can you continue to say “This is Notre Dame. We can’t lose forever; we have a rich tradition; etc.” This is the 21^st Century, and Notre Dame Football is losing relevance every year.

           The Fighting Irish take on the Michigan State Spartans next Saturday.

Notre Dame at Michigan Preview

            
            The rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and University of Michigan Wolverines dates back all the way to 1887. In autumn of that year the Wolverines football team visited South Bend to teach the newly formed Notre Dame football team the basics of the game. Little did anybody know that that would result in one of college football’s best rivalries with two of college football most storied programs.

            
            Michigan has won the past five games against Notre Dame, but in the past two they have only won by a combined eight points. Last year Notre Dame could have easily won (I seem to say that a lot with the Irish), but nobody on the Irish defense could even slow down Michigan quarterback, Denard Robinson, as he racked up 500 total yards just by himself.

            
            This year the game is being blitzed by the media for several reasons. First off, it’s Notre Dame and Michigan. No matter how bad the two teams are they are two teams that are the foundation of college football. This year’s game will also be the first night game at Michigan Stadium. The two teams will also wear “retro” uniforms.

Michgan's uniform features stripes on the shoulders. Notre Dame has green numbers and striped socks.

Keys to an Irish Victory

No Turnovers- Last week’s 5-tunrover cannot be duplicated if the Fighting Irish expect to leave Ann Arbor with a victory. There can’t be any bonehead moves by players. Everybody needs to be focused on moving the ball down the field and getting into the end zone. That means you Jonas Gray, Theo Riddick, and T.J. Jones.

Stop Denard Robinson- Hopefully some of the returning Irish defense remembers Robinson’s thrashing of them last year. Robinson is the key to Michigan’s offense. If he is stopped, they will not score. The Irish defense held the USF offense to just one touchdown last game and their quarterback likes to run all over field similar to Robinson.

Balance on offense- It seems like when Tommy Rees, who was named the starting quarterback over Dayne Crist thankfully, is in the game the Irish throw the ball a lot. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but it can lead to interceptions and sacks. Notre Dame running back, Cierre Wood, needs to continue the good job he had last week and rip off some good runs to keep the Wolverines secondary honest. Michigan’s defense is supposed to be improved from last year, but they gave up 183 passing yards and 70 rushing yards in three quarters to Western Michigan.

            Michigan is not that great of a team, although the same could be said for Notre Dame. If Notre Dame can play solid and not do anything stupid this game should be theirs to lose. The key to a Michigan victory may not even be on the field. You just know that the 109,000 fans at Michigan Stadium will be rocking tomorrow night. There is a lot of lead up to this game and they will be dying to see their Michigan Wolverines win.

            My predicted score: 31-21, Notre Dame.

Tune into "College Gameday" on ESPN Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The show is broadcasting from right outside Michigan Stadium.


GO IRISH!

The newly renovated Michigan Stadium. Suites and press boxes have been added (the giant brick structures along the side). This is thought to keep more of the crowd noise inside the stadium. We'll find out tomorrow night if that's true.

Notre Dame vs. USF Analysis

Tommy Rees (blue jersey) after USF defeated Notre Dame 23-20

           
            The Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost their first game of the season to the University of South Florida Bulls last Saturday night. The final score was 23-20 but it was never really that close of a game. The Bulls played hard all day (literally all day, it took six hours to play the game because of weather delays) but Notre Dame basically gave the game away. The Irish had five turnovers, three of which came in the redzone.

Three things I liked about the game:

1. Tommy Rees: You heard it here first folks. Ever since the end of the 2011 season I have been praising and preaching that Rees is the best quarterback on Notre Dame’s roster. After starter Dayne Crist put no points on the scoreboard, Rees was put into the game at halftime. On his first drive he marched the Irish all the way down to the goal line until he threw the ball and it bounced off wide receiver T.J. Jones’s helmet. Eventually Rees would allow the Irish offense to score 20 points. Rees HAS to be the starter the rest of the year. It’s a crying shame that it took a loss to prove I was right about Tommy.

2. Notre Dame’s defense: The Irish defense held USF’s offense to just one touchdown and three field goals and only gave up about 250 total yards the whole game. That is damn impressive considering how many times USF had the ball in good field position. Everybody on the defense should be applauded for the way they played. They played with heart and tenacity when the offense showed none.

3. Michael Floyd: Thank god for Floyd. It seemed like Floyd was the ONLY Irish receiver that realized there was a game on Saturday. Floyd finished the game with 12 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. He has a serious chance for the Heisman trophy in my opinion esp. if he can average a touchdown a game.

I’d also like to mention running back Cierre Wood and the Irish offensive line. Wood and the o-line played with a lot heart and skill. Wood finished the game with 21 carries and 104 yards. That would not have been possible though without his o-line opening up holes in the defensive line.

Three things I didn’t like:

I don’t know where to start, there are just so many different things to choose from.

1. Dayne Crist and other wide receivers not named Floyd: Crist played like his usual self so I guess I’m not too disappointed with him. I am disappointed that head coach Brian Kelly did not realize this. Receivers T.J. Jones and Theo Riddick ought to both be placed on probation or something for their absolutely inexcusable performances. Jones’s ineptness right outside the end zone and Riddick’s dropped punt return destroyed all momentum Notre Dame ever had. Both players also dropped several catchable passes. You are scholarship athletes at the University of Notre Dame. Play like it. Or how about “playing like a champion today”?

2. Defensive penalties: At first I was going to write about how awful the Big East officiating crew was during the game. Then I saw that USF actually had more penalties called on them. Irish safety, Harrison Smith, was called for two back to back facemask calls. That was two penalties on subsequent plays that gave the USF Bulls free 30 yards. Smith ought to be riding the bench next week. There was also a late hit call on one of the Irish defensive lineman that gave the Bulls another 15 yards. Again, you are a scholarship athlete. You are being soundly beaten. Why take your anger out on the other team? How about you go hit yourself.

3. Turnovers: This destroyed Notre Dame’s chances. You can not commit five turnovers and expect to win the game. There was a fumble by Jonas Gray that USF recovered and took back for a touchdown. The punt return fumble by Riddick led to the Bulls getting a field goal. There were two interceptions by Rees (I can only account for one and that was when it bounced off of Jones’s helmet.) but neither resulted in the Bulls getting any points. Then of course Crist threw an interception in the end zone. As I also stated, three of those five turnovers occurred in the red zone. You got to believe that even if ND hadn’t of scored a touchdown, they would have at least gotten three field goals and have nine points.

            In my preview posted on Saturday I said the three keys to the game for the Irish would be to: Stop B.J. Daniels, get the offense rolling, and start strong. Notre Dame did stop USF’s quarterback B.J. Daniels. However, the Irish did not get any kind of offense going consistently until the second half. They also had the complete opposite of a strong start. That is basically why they did not win.

Skip Holtz with one of his players after the game. Holtz's father, Lou, coached a national championship team at Notre Dame. Skip also attended Notre Dame and was a member of the football team.

            Notre Dame’s (0-1) next game is next Saturday against the Michigan Wolverines (1-0) who won their game, beating mighty Western Michigan. Be sure to watch ESPN’s “College Gameday” Saturday morning as they will be broadcasting from Michigan Stadium.

Quarterback news!

            There was big news for two Indiana teams and their QB situation. On Wednesday, the Indianapolis Colts finally signed a veteran quarterback out of retirement to back up Peyton Manning. The catch is his name isn’t Brett Favre. Instead, the Colts picked up Kerry Collins.

-The news of this signing was actually announced on Twitter by Colts owner, Jim Irsay. This comes less than 24 hours of me writing “Twitter should never be used as a valid source”. Thanks for proving me wrong Irsay!

            
            The 38-year old Collins has played in the NFL for 17 years for five different teams. He was actually drafted by current Colts president, Bill Polian in 1995 when Polian controlled the Carolina Panthers. Collins has a total of 206 career touchdown passes (Manning has 399) and 40,441 yards (Manning has 54,828).

            
            Some see this move as an indication that Manning will miss significant time at the beginning of the season, others see it as an insurance move. I tend to believe that this is more of an insurance move. I like to believe that Manning will be ready to go 100% once the regular season starts Sept. 11. There is a chance though that he could further injure his neck so signing a veteran like Collins is a good move.

            
            With Collins in, current back up Curtis Painter may be on his way out. I’m crossing my fingers!

           

            
            In other NFL news, the Oakland Raiders picked up former Ohio State player, Terrelle Pryor. This is just another fantastic move by the geniuses in Oakland. The Denver Broncos named Kyle Orton their starter. This means that neither Tim Tebow nor Brady Quinn (my favorite Notre Dame quarterback) will be starting. The Carolina Panthers also named their starter. That will be the 2011 No. 1 draft pick, Cam Newton. This forces former Irish QB Jimmy Clausen to the bench. It’s not a good time to be a Notre Dame quarterback.
 -How awesome would have it been to see the Colts make a move for Clausen or Quinn? I know Quinn has what it takes to be a great QB if he was given a chance.

           

            
            This brings me to the disappointing news I found out on Wednesday as well (not via Twitter). The starting quarterback for the 2011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be Dayne Crist. Crist and Tommy Rees had been battling since spring to determine who would be the starter. I guess Crist won the battle.

            
            I have been preaching and teaching and preaching some more that Rees is the man for the job. I have been arguing on ESPN, blogs, Facebook, and Xbox Live! When Crist leads the Irish to another 3-3 start, just remember I was right.

2011 Notre Dame Football Preview

            
            Being a Notre Dame fan in the 21^st Century has been incredibly difficult. I have seen four different coaches, two bowl game victories out of seven, three losing seasons, and a decade of domination by USC over the Irish.

            
            I wish I could say “this is the year Notre Dame returns to glory!” but I’ve said that twice in the past and it’s starting to get old. Notre Dame fans like myself have long been tantalized with this hope that each upcoming season will be the one that reasserts the Fighting Irish on top of the college football world. Every season begins like this one has, with dozens of articles predicting how the Irish will win 10 games and be in contention for a BCS Bowl. There are posts by bloggers like me with outlandish predictions about how we’ll blow out every opponent and every other player is a possible Heisman candidate. Notre Dame will get there at some point under head coach Brian Kelly, but we’re not there yet.

           

            
            The #18 Fighting Irish opened their camp with a problem that could be considered envious or disastrous. Who should be the starting quarterback? If you remember, this question has been lingering since spring practices in April. There are four quarterbacks at Notre Dame, with two in serious contention for the starting spot; Tommy Rees and Dayne Crist. Crist went 4-4 as the starter last year. Crist then got injured and Rees filled his spot and led the team to finish 8-5. Rees is my choice for a starter. He showed improvement in every game and had the dynamics to lead the team to victory.

Tommy Rees(#11) and Dayne Crist(#10) talk to Brian Kelly

            
            Notre Dame also brings back almost the entire defense. If I’m not mistaken, the only starter that will not be here for this season is linebacker Brian Smith. That means ten returning starters, including monstrous linebacker Manti Te’o. The starting defensive backs, safeties Dan McCarthy and Harrison Smith, and cornerbacks Robert Blanton and Gary Gray, are all hoping to be even better than last season. Notre Dame ranked 20^th  in interceptions in 2010 and had a fairly good pass defense, so it wouldn’t shock to me to see the Irish have a top 10 pass defense in 2011. Although, an important factor to having a good pass defense is having a good rush defense. Notre Dame should be great in that department too. As I said, Manti Te’o is back, and so are defensive linemen Kapron Lewis-Moore and Ethan Johnson.

            
            On the offensive side, returning wide receivers Michael Floyd, T.J. Jones, and Theo Riddick should provide excellent targets for whoever the quarterback is. The biggest question mark other than the quarterback position is how the running back position will play out. Last year’s starter Armando Allen is gone, and Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray have to fill his shoes. Notre Dame hasn’t had a dominant running back in a long time, mainly because the offense has focused on the passing game so much. Neither Wood nor Gray have to be game changers, they just need to be solid backs that don’t fumble and can break the occasional tackle.

Schedule for 2011

Sept. 3- vs. South Florida Bulls

Sept. 10- at Michigan Wolverines

Sept. 17- vs. Michigan State Spartans

Sept. 24- at Pittsburgh Panthers

Oct. 1- at Purdue Boilermakers

Oct. 8- vs. Air Force Falcons

Oct. 22- vs. U. of Southern California Trojans

Oct. 29- vs. Navy Midshipmen

Nov. 5- at Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Nov. 12- vs. Maryland Terrapins

Nov. 19- vs. Boston College Eagles

Nov. 26- at Stanford Cardinal

            There are several games to be excited about for Irish fans. The head coach of the USF Bulls is Skip Holtz, son of former N.D. coach, Lou Holtz. The Michigan game will be the first night game EVER at the more than 100-years old Michigan Stadium. That game will also see the teams wearing “retro” uniforms; I am not a fan of this. The big one for me is the USC match- up as I LOATHE the Trojans. It will also be the first night game in South Bend in more than 20 years. I’m going to the Navy game! The last game against Stanford could be an incredible match up if both teams match their preseason expectations.

            
            Looking at the schedule and referring to what I know about the current roster of players, I see Notre Dame going….…. 10-2. The easy wins are USF, Pitt., Purdue, Air Force, Navy, Wake Forest, Maryland, and Boston College. The Michigan and U.S.C. games are toss-ups for me. I don’t think the Irish will be able to beat Stanford, esp. after than man-handling the Cardinal did to the Irish last season. Anything less than 8-4 should be, and will be considered a disappointment.

            Look for a preview and review for each game this season. GO IRISH!

This is not me, I swear!