Otter Preview - GA Tech

Sorry for the absence, I've been sequestered for the final week before football in the Pacific Northwest, trying to survive the last week without exploding any internal organs. I've also used the opportunity to commune with some fellow otters to obtain their wisdom and insight into the coming season.

Tomorrow, the college football season starts and we will get our first glimpse of the Irish on the field. Right now, hope blossoms in the heart of every fan as they extrapolate all of the tidings from fall practice. Blogs find reason for optimism amongst the player and coach quotes and the statistical breakdowns of last season and what adjustments are going to yield a surprising number of wins. We rely on sea mammals. Their prediction for ND - GA TECH:

ND OTTER WIN!!

High Fives All Around!

The Otter says: anyone paying close attention will realize that Notre Dame's hopes rely on two major areas of improvement: 1) the impact of defensive coordinator Corwin Brown on a rejuvenated defense and 2) improved offensive line play allowing a power running game to give time for a young quarterback to come of age. If Notre Dame achieves substantial improvements in these two areas they will be able to stay in games with their defense and play a ball control offense which grinds up the clock and relies on their offensive strength - depth and talent at the running back position.

Of course, in the first game, hope meets reality. In terms of defensive improvement, Corwin Brown brings a new fire to the position of defensive coordinator and fans are hoping for an improvement similar to the impact made by Michigan coordinator Ron English in 2006. The defensive secondary is very experienced and has added depth. The increased depth will allow them to field more packages without sacrificing talent. Hopefully, the schemes will eliminate the big plays given up in 2006 and generate more interceptions against the passing game. The other big question mark will be the interior line play, particularly the nose guard in the 3-4 alignment. Notre Dame is undersized in this position and has little depth until Darrell Hand rejoins the team following his 3 game suspension. Georgia Tech will be a tough test in that they have a back in Rashard Choice who can grind out long drives in small chunks if the defensive line can't bear the point of attack.

On offense the key will be the offensive line, even more so than which quarterback starts the game. Expectations were high heading into 2006, with BGS assessing our OL as the 3rd best in comparison with our opponents. The assessment last year was that we had one of the most experienced lines in ND history, but now the post-mortem of last season laments the line's inability to guarantee short yardage. This year's version is the opposite of last year: the line is shorter on experience, but longer on talent and size. If true, it will allow our new quarterback to gain confidence while we rely on a stable of running backs to pound away. This will be a true test because Georgia Tech brings a stout and confusing defense which will test our OL right away. So as cliched as it is, the game will be won or lost in the interior line tomorrow. Get a good rest, boys and bring your A game.

Crash Wrecks Cheer Travel Plans

The Ramblin Wreck of Georgia Tech was in an accident this summer. Old news, you say. Well, we at 91 Screaming Otters have been able to obtain the first photo of this incident, taken at the moment of impact.

Due to this unfortunate event, the Yellow Jacket cheer squad will not be able to make it to the away opener in South Bend. They will be replaced by Granger Fifth Grade baton student, Tracey Farley. Georgia Tech students are reportedly excited about this development.

Said Ga Tech student, George Burdell added:

"I am really looking forward to seeing Tracey in action.
Nothing against our cheer squad, but they've been kinda flat lately. I
mean how many times can you get excited about watching an old car drive around
the stadium? Now if they were doing laps in a Dale Jr. NASCAR series car
at 150 mph? WOOHOO!! Also, our mascot, Buzz, kind of creeps me out - who ever
thought of the combination of a car and an insect, aren't they like karma
opponents? Hey! wait, I'm not done! I've got more. Don't walk
away. . ."

Actual football content!!!

Thoughts and observations about the coming season.

The tired comparisons of Charlie Weis tenure with Ty Willingham could return this season if some analysts (rhymes with Mark Gay?) hold serve. Coach Willingham's record at the end of three seasons is 21-15, and Coach Weis stands currently at 19-6. The Irish would have to go 2-9 in their first eleven games which is highly unlikely. However, the media will make hay of the comparison if the Irish start out poorly in their early stretch which includes USC, Michigan, Penn State, Georgia Tech, UCLA, Boston College, Purdue, and Michigan State. Five losses during this stretch is possible, so brace for the witty analysis. By the way, Bob Davie checks in at 21-16 over his first three seasons, a record which would have been identical to Willingham if Kent Baer had not coached the Insight Bowl loss to Oregon State.

Sports Illustrated's college football preview is out and has the Irish ranked 42nd and is predicting a 7-5 record. Unlike other magazines, they do not predict individual games but by looking at predictions for each of our opponents for their conference wins and losses this season you can deduce the following

Wins - Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Purdue, Navy, Air Force, Duke, Stanford
Losses - USC, UCLA, Michigan, Penn State, Boston College

Discarding my irrational exuberance, these predictions are pretty realistic in that most pundits would forecast 2 automatic losses in USC and Michigan, six competitive games in UCLA, Penn State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Purdue, and Michigan State which SI splits at 3-3. The four final games are all heavy leans towards the Irish. One ray of hope is that SI picks USC as their national champion this season. A pretty safe bet, but one that Carroll and company may have wished away, given the SI curse. For an outstanding resource compiling all of the various predictions, accountants click here.


There's another win in here somewhere.

Borrowing from SMQ's prediction method, which is an expansion of the Athlon system. The method rates each game per the following points system:

• 9: Likely blowout win; no conceivable defeat
• 8: Comfortable win; chance of competitive game
• 7: Competitive win; minor upset threat
• 6: Close win; major upset threat
• 5: Toss-up win (likely, but not specifically, awarded to the home team)
• 4: Toss-up loss
• 3: Close loss; major upset threat
• 2: Competitive loss; minor upset threat
• 1: Big loss; chance of competitive game
• 0: Blowout loss; no conceivable victory

Without further ado, this is how I would subjectively evaluate this season's prospects:

	By Game
5	Georgia Tech
3	at Penn State
1	at Michigan
7	Michigan State
6	at Purdue
4	at UCLA
5	Boston College
1	USC
7	Navy
8	Air Force
9	Duke
7	at Stanford
5.25	Total

Weis Hires Freshman Choir Coach

AP Newswire: South Bend, IN
Notre Dame head coach, Charlie Weis announced the hire of Dwight Jones as a special assistant coach for football choir. The hire was prompted by poor performances by the football team in singing the Alma Mater following football games. "We feel that Mr. Jones can significantly improve the level of singing, especially with our freshman class" stated coach Weis. "I was impressed with what I heard in the following clip, and this will let me get back to evaluating quarterbacks while addressing a situation of need"

Famous moments in Spartan History

Yes, I am very bitter about the way the Spartans have dominated ND in our stadium for the last umpteen years. However, Notre Dame is not the first to suffer from Spartan humiliation. A review of the historical archives revealed that the first Michigan State flag planting occurred with the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the new world, succinctly captured in this 16th century painting.

Why, yes, I do have a new paint program.

Help Wanted: Research Assistant

Once you finish reading Joyce's Ulysses, why don't you stroll on by Blue Gray Sky and check out this article. Holy cow! I would think that they were making stuff up, but they actually use sources and everything. Between them and SMQ, the bar for college football blogging is really getting high.

That's why I am dismissing my current research assistant (yes, your allowance will decrease accordingly) and accepting applications. Position pays well in accolades and titles but monetary compensation is more of a growth opportunity. Please submit bona fides and work samples via the comment section.

Spartan Flag Hijinx Continue

The Michigan State Spartans continued their 2007 season tuneup by executing their traditional flag planting ceremony on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima today. In related news, former coach John L. Smith may be working in a special role for the Spartans since his dismissal and replacement by Mark Dantonio. Rumors persist that the firing was a well orchestrated ruse to allow Coach Smith to further focus on his special gift, player motivation and gamesmanship, under the new title of Special Assistant to Deploy Flags After Games (S.A.D.F.A.G.). The following satellite image was taken at a mothballed Air Force base near Louisville, Kentucky where Coach Smith is reported to be working on 'something special' for the ND game on September 22.

NASA Unveils New Lunar Photos

The Michigan State Spartans held a scrimmage on the lunar surface this weekend, to simulate the gray, lifeless environment which is Spartan Stadium on a home football weekend. After soundly beating themselves, the Spartans continued their rich tradition of flag planting on conquered terrain.MSU plans to plant flags this season on soil in South Bend, Madison, Columbus, Iowa City, West Lafayette, and Ganymede.

This Is Why We're Hot

Why is Notre Dame still the lead story on SportsCenter even when they are not picked to finish this year in the top 25? Even the most optimistic Irish fan would have to admit that a BCS bowl would be a major accomplishment this season. Despite all the pundits claims that Notre Dame is irrelevant, a capitalist society is governed by the laws of supply and demand. If the secondary ticket market is any indication, Notre Dame still rules the college football world.

If you didn't follow the link, Ticket City released the top 25 games of the 2007 season as judged by market ticket price. Notre Dame is playing in an astounding 5 of the top 25 including 4 of the top 5 games - Penn State(1), USC (3), Michigan (4), BC (5), and UCLA (21).

The reigning national champs and preseason favorite USC both play in 4 of the top 24 games, followed by Michigan, LSU, Ohio State, and Alabama appearing in 3 each. Only USC, Michigan, and Florida appear in two of the top ten.

So while sportswriters and pundits are ready to turn the page on ND season, don't think for a minute that the programmers and advertisers don't recognize the appetite for ND in the marketplace. (I'm sure Brian of MGoBlog will argue that it's because ND football players are concentrated in the Mendoza school of business, but HLS puts the kabosh to that)

Chocolates and Chaps!

If you are alive and reading this blog, you probably know that football practice has begun. The sleeping giant that is the college football internet media has awoken and there are prodigious amounts of candy out there for the fans.

If you are looking to gorge yourself on the fine chocolates of ND fall practice, head over to NDNation for starters or any of the blogroll links at right. I won't try to keep up unless I see some interesting tidbit or insight, such as deciphering Charlie Weis' starting QB via hidden hieroglyphic messages in ancient Egyption artifacts (Dan Brown's next novel, perchance?)

In case you missed it, Rocket Ismail will be entering the fray of reality TV in Ty Murray's Celebrity Bullriding Challenge. Not sure how Rocket's speed is going to help him stay atop the bull, but we'll keep you posted.

Oh, Canada!

Recent travels took me north of our borders into the land of maple syrup, hockey, and 12 man football. What I did not expect was to see such a rabid bunch of Notre Dame fans in Quebec. While I was unable to interview any of the local denizens (they spoke some form of gobbleydegook), I did notice that they have the habit of naming their local churches after their favorite college football team.

I submit the L'Eglise Notre Dame des Victoires, built after ND beat Miami 31-30 in 1988.


and the chapelle Notre Dame de Bon Secours in Montreal, which is gobbleydegook for 'Notre Dame is good, suckers!"


and the Basilique Notre Dame de Montreal, which means 'Basically, Notre Dame IS Montreal'. This is where Montrealiers congregate to watch Irish games on big screen plasma TVs.



The visitor to the basilique is greeted by a familiar logo.



Go Irish, eh!

This buckeye brakes for kitties!

As I was wandering around the net, the following quote from an ESPN article on Michael Vick caught my eye:

The public outcry had reached a fever pitch. PETA protested outside. Cars honk
and drivers waved to the group. The condemnation seemed universal. "I've been
doing this 20 years," says Bill Long, PETA activist and former Ohio State
quarterback, "and I've never seen anything like this."

What?? A former Ohio State QB and PETA activist? That's like a peanut butter and asparagus sandwich, Keith Richards and Julie Andrews, 4th of July and sashimi, ND football players and solicitation, uh, you get the picture.
From what I can find on the web, it looks like Mr. Long was the starting quarterback in 1967 and went 6-3. Including in this win total were victories over Ducks, Wolverines, and Badgers with a loss to the Wildcats. Apparently, his activism was not a problem on the field, although he did convince Woody Hayes to become a vegan for about twenty minutes.

ND Spirit vs Spirituality: Ch 2

Click here to see chapter 1 of this series.

In order to consider the interaction between Notre Dame's football program and its place as a religious institution, I thought we should evaluate the peer group to see what other programs share this trait. My research assistant has gone through the 119 institutions which play Div 1 college football and the removed the obviously public institutions which are, by law, secular. The following is a rundown of the remaining institutions and what can be gleaned regarding their religious affiliation from the web.


Texas Christian University - associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

University of Southern California - private university with no religious affiliation. Interestingly enough, of the limited information on the school website, they point out that the three founders were a Protestant, Catholic, and a Jew, which seems intended to stress their secular nature.

Brigham Young University - associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Named after the early Mormon leader who was also the first governor of the state of Utah.

University of Miami - private secular university.

University of Tulsa - private university affiliated with the Presbyterian church

Boston College - private college associated with the Catholic Church, founded and operated by the Jesuits (Society of Jesus)

Wake Forest University - private university founded by North Carolina Baptists. Unsure of present religious affiliation - mission statement mentions religious pluralism but there is also a recently added divinity school with Baptist and Presbyterian studies.

Stanford University - private university with no religious affiliation.

Northwestern University - private university founded by Methodists but with no current religious affiliation.

Baylor University - private university affiliated with the Baptist Church.

Vanderbilt University - private university founded with ties to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South - but no current religious affiliation.

Southern Methodist University - private university affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Notre Dame - private university affiliated with the Catholic Church, founded and operated by the Brothers of the Holy Cross

Syracuse University - private university founded with ties to the Methodist Episcopal Church, but no current religious affiliation.

Rice University - private university with no religious affiliation.

Tulane University - private university with no religious affiliation. Only public school to go private.

Duke University - private university with historical ties to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Interestingly, Duke's website compares it's Methodist affiliation to Northwestern, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and USC? Yet USC does not make any similar claim to religious affilitation. Similar to Wake Forest, Duke has a historical religious connection but is primarily a secular university in its current mission.

So, of 119 universities playing division 1 college football, we can glean the following.

112 are public universities.
Of the 17 private universities
5 have never had any religious affiliation (USC, Miami, Stanford, Rice, Tulane)
5 have historical ties but claim no current religious mission (Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Syracuse, Duke, Wake Forest)
7 universities claim a religious affiliation (TCU, BYU, Tulsa, Boston College, Baylor, ND, SMU)

Of the seven universities in Division 1A football, Notre Dame and Boston College are the only two Catholic institutions and are the only programs in a BCS conference (yes - I know ND is not technically in a conference, but it has its own rules about BCS eligibility). I don't claim to know a great deal about the other five non-catholic schools, but they do not have either the historical success or national following that Notre Dame has achieved. Of these schools, BYU appears to be most similar to ND as a standard carrier for a religious affiliation with a national following. With regards to Boston College, they retain a regional fanbase in comparison with ND. Thus, Notre Dame does hold a unique position with a relatively small peer group for comparison.

I Think I'm Going to be Sick

Not much I can say about this. Is Mike Celizic serious comparing the sainted Rockne with the horned Carroll.

Honestly, I'm a little nauseous from reading it. I think I have to go lie down.

Discipline or PR

Quiet news about two key opponents status for the 2008 season was made yesterday. One was the reinstatement of Michigan receiver Adrian Arrington after being suspended from spring practices for violating team rules and a domestic violence arrest (charges were dropped). The second is the undecided status of Penn State safety, Anthony Scirotto, and tackle, Chris Baker.

The optimist in me says that the young men involved have shown character by accepting their punishment, learning a valuable lesson, and should be allowed to continue. The pessimist in me wonders if these punishments were more about appearing tough than reform - in Arrington's case, his position as a a starter was not in question during spring ball and he has been reinstated jus before fall practice. If Scirroto returns for the home opener, then JoePa will appear tough as nails (pick up trash, throw the bums out), then get credit for his compassion without a player missing so much as a single practice.

I contrast this to the way ND has handled a couple of discipline cases in the past. Lou Holtz, for all his critics, has a history of suspending talented starters for key games and the suspension of fullback Rashon Powers-Neal was handled in a way that punished the team but protected his privacy and didn't allow any PR-hounding by coach, Charlie Weis. Are Michigan and Penn State posturing about being tough while Notre Dame stays true to its beliefs or are we generalizing individual cases? We may never know.