Low has a new name: Jamar

This is incredible. A Florida safety was arraigned for using the credit card of a teammate's dead girlfriend. The first instance was the day after her death and the activity continued for 6 months.

Of all the dumb things that college football players have done, this has got to be the worst.

Rose Bowl Boycott

I'm not one to rant against the BCS in favor of playoffs. I like the controversy that the BCS generates and the importance of every regular season game and the impact it can have on the national title picture. The mythical national championship is just that, mythical. The NBA, NHL, and MLB all have seven game playoff series which are far more likely to yield the best team every year and the result is boring.

That said, times change. I fully expect the evolution towards a playoff and will probably enjoy the result when it comes. I'm not against improving the system, I just don't think it's as bad as others.

What does upset me is the way that conference commissioners, specifically the Big Ten and Pac Ten, block changes to the system in protection of their own interests. Jim Delany, at the 2008 BCS meetings, provided the latest example of obstructionism.

The principle reason preventing the Big Ten and Pac Ten from supporting ANY change is the same that delayed the advent of the BCS in its present form - The Rose Bowl. Citing the historical intent of this game, concessions had to be made to the Pac 10 and Big 10 conferences which resulted in the current system. Both commissioners have cited the conference affiliation to the Rose Bowl as the primary reason for opposition to changes.

We all know this is mostly about money. For those wanting change, the only way to affect this position is to affect the economics. The only way I know to do this is to call for a nationwide boycott of the Rose Bowl. I call on the blogging world to take up this cry. Act now and there may be enough time to impact the environment for the BCS conference in 2009.

Granted, if your team is in the game, you're going to watch. Otherwise, don't watch it. Tell everyone you know not to watch it. Post on your blogs (from your basements) that you are not going to watch it and why - because the Rose Bowl, Big Ten, and Pac Ten are standing in the way of your playoff!

Walkin' On

Today's article in the South Bend Tribune features walk-ons and Mike Brennan. I knew Mike through my brother who was a walk-on at the same time, and he is a great example of the Notre Dame spirit.

Recrootin Math

A bit of internet war just erupted between Brian of MGoBlog and Alabama fans.

In the ashes of the furor, I came across the following article. I'm by no means a recruiting aficionado, but I find the practice of over-signing extremely interesting and am wondering if anyone knows about ND's practices in these regards.





I would think that ND operates with a different principle here, but I'm not entirely sure. The whole thing seems pretty distasteful that a school would accept letters of intent counting on attrition. However, if one doesn't then they will operate below the maximum scholarship limits. I would hope that ND screens players academically before accepting LOI's and falls below the maximum limit when attrition happens rather than having a system that needs attrition to balance.

Sean McTenuta to South Bend?

If true, this would seem like good news.

Tenuta was the architect of some wicked good defenses at Georgia Tech. Getting him on our staff would seem a definite win.

However, I am slightly nervous about why he is available for this position. He was not retained by incoming coach, Paul Johnson - no big thing there as he was passed over as a candidate and the new coach may have wanted his own people. However, he has also been rumored in a number of positions as DC and head coach at various openings around the country. For him to now be accepting a defensive back position, an apparent demotion, seems to indicate he is not the sought after guru that his record would indicate. Makes me wonder if there are some unknown negatives or maybe ND just through a big heap of money at him. Hopefully, he is not damaged goods or overrated and can add yet another big coaching name to Charlie's staff.

Oh, and let's hope he knows something about special teams.

Bulls in 2011

So I've already slipped in my new year's resolution of a post a week - what of it? I didn't say I'd post every week, only average a post a week.

Anyway, news today that ND scheduled the University of South Florida as part of the 2011 schedule. I actually watched a fair bit of the Bulls this year and they were one of the more exciting stories with wins against Auburn and West Virginia launching them to #2 in the country before a loss to Rutgers sent them into a 3 game losing streak. They were also handled by Oregon in the Sun Bowl. Jim Leavitt seems to have turned the corner on building a program which is only eleven years old, mining the rich Florida recruiting waters for castoffs which is now garnering its share of heralded recruits. I would expect them to be a dangerous foe in 2011 and have the additional motivation of playing in one of college footballs most storied venues. A patsy they are not.

On the positive side, November is the right time to take on a team in South Bend from the deep South. Also, like Michigan State, the Bulls will have difficulty with quality depth - so playing them late in the year is preferable to the first few weeks of the season. Kudos to Dr. Kevin White for this one. I could definitely see a return 'neutral' site game being announced in Tampa. The purpose of the neutral label would be more for ticket and revenue allotment as it would make sense to play in USF's home stadium.

Bowl Opponent Review

Now that the bowl season is winding down, let's take a look at the performance of our 2007 opponents' bowl records. (When is our bowl game? Oh, yes, that's quite funny! Splendid! Did you come up with that yourself?)

Opponent Result vs. ND Bowl Bowl Opponent (Record) Result
GA Tech(7-5) W 33-3 Humanitarian Fresno State (8-4) L 28-40
Penn State (8-4) W 31-10 Alamo Texas A&M(7-5) W 24-17
Michigan (8-4) W 38-0 Capital One Florida(9-3) W 41-35
MSU(7-5) W 31-14 Champs Sports BC(10-3) L 21-24
Purdue (7-5) W 33-19 Motor City Central Mich (8-5) W 51-48
UCLA(6-6) L 6-20 Las Vegas BYU (10-2) L 16-17
BC (10-3) W 27-14 Champs Sports MSU (7-5) W 24-21
USC (10-2) W 38-0 Rose Illinois (9-3) W 49-17
Navy(8-4) W 46-44 Poinsettia Utah (8-4) L 32-35
Air Force (9-3) W 41-24 Armed Forces Cal(6-6) L 36-42
Duke (1-11) L 7-28 None
Stanford (4-8) L 14-21 None

What can be gleaned from this? (besides the fact that my html skilz do not include table formatting?) Unfortunately, the number one thing is just how badly we were beaten all season long. I had blocked the memory of most of these games, but entering the scores above was simply painful. We lost often and we lost badly.

That said, the combined regular season record of our opponents was a respectable 85-60 (0.586) although the bowl record was a pedestrian 5-5. Three of these losses came from UCLA, Navy, and Air Force - three of our more competitive games. The biggest relative loss was Georgia Tech's dismantling by Fresno State.

I had hoped that there would be some solace in that we played a monster schedule this year against top tier teams. This was anecdotally supported by the showing of some of the marquis teams like USC and Michigan who looked dominant in their postseason berths. The trend did not hold true, it will take a bit longer for the rose color to come back to my glasses.

Resolutions

OK, faithful readers, I must admit that I let you down. My posting activity waned dramatically as our season progressed and it became painful to dwell upon the reality of our team this year.

This, however, is contrary to what it means to be a fan. Mea culpa. I therefore pledge to produce at least one posting per week on this blog, no matter what the odds. As I prepare to watch the feast of bowl games and the spinning of the coaching carousel this holiday, there is no shortage of thoughts on the college game. With time, there will return hope as well. That is the beauty of a new season.

So enjoy whatever plans you have to ring in the new year. I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. Also, take advantage of the opportunity to reflect on the past year and to dedicate yourself to goals for 2008.

Schedule Revisions

Notre Dame athletic director, Dr. Kevin White, announced changes to the 2008 football schedule. "In an ongoing attempt to improve revenue and competitiveness, we have determined it was necessary to tweak the schedule for next year. As always, we will seek to bring the best possible teams to South Bend and continue the barnstorming ways established by Rockne"

Revised 2008 Football Schedule
Sept 6: SAN DIEGO STATE
Sept 13: DUKE
Sept 20: @ Duke
Sept 27: DUKE
Oct 4: DUKE
Oct 11: @ Duke
Oct 25: @ Duke
Nov 1: DUKE
Nov 8: @ Duke
Nov 15: @ Duke (Baltimore)
Nov 22: DUKE
Nov 29: @ Temple

ND Extends Home Win Streak to 21!!!

Notre Dame extended its home win streak with its 21st consecutive home victory, 3 shy of the record by beating LIU Blackbirds.

Hurray for basketball season.