Irish Eyes Are Smiling at a Possible National Championship

Notre Dame's 22-13 victory over rival USC Saturday gave the Irish the jeweled shillelagh trophy as well as a berth in the BCS national championship game in Miami on January 7.

Despite not having starting quarterback Matt Barkley, the Trojans gave a decent effort behind a solid first career start from redshirt freshman Max Wittek.

The Irish were led by Theo Riddick who rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown to pace an Irish offense otherwise consisting of five Kyle Brindza field goals.

It was a big test passed for a Notre Dame team that has been tested primarily by its own shortcomings.

The much vaunted schedule strength has been simply good with the only real highlights being impressive road wins against USC and Oklahoma and a nice home win against Stanford.

The good thing for Irish fans is they don't have to worry about any of that now.

Now, they simply wait for the SEC to sort itself out to find an opponent for the biggest ND game in two decades.

My gut tells me that it will be Alabama facing the Irish. Despite tripping up against Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M, Alabama is still the most ruthlessly efficient team in the country.

Of course that's all simply conjecture.

I'll wait until things officially unfold next weekend to start analyzing a match up, which will give me plenty to fill the outrageous time left until the national championship is formally settled.

It will be 43 days since the Irish have played football when they tee it up in Miami and 36 days for their SEC opponent [I originally had these numbers wrong because apparently I can't count].

Lots and lots of dead air in other words.

I'll begin filling it by adding that sometime in the second quarter Saturday, I decided that Everett Golson is probably my favorite college football player currently.

People love to talk about Manti Te'o—and rightfully so—but the Notre Dame defense is good enough that without him, they would still be a top ten unit.

Without Golson, the Irish might have only won seven or eight games.

Aside from the fact his athleticism brings an element of unpredictability that defenses can't do much about, Everett has grown as a passer. He throws a nice, accurate, catchable ball and he rarely panics in the pocket.

I also love the way he whips his passes. In other words, his throwing motion is delightful and generates great power.

I'm not sure how he'll fare against a defense like Alabama's or Georgia's, but it sure will be exciting.

So once again, enjoy yourselves Irish fans. Toast the victories and now you can start imagining what it will be like to redecorate in South Bend.

For once though don't use gold, go for crystal.

College Football Just Imploded and Notre Dame is the New No. 1

There's little doubt that college football's final weeks of the regular season tend to be chaotic, but this weekend was absolutely nuts.

For the first time since December 2007, the top two teams in the BCS standings lost Saturday vaulting the Irish to the top spot and opening the floodgates for challengers—so long as they're from the SEC.

This scenario seemed unthinkable just a week ago when Kansas State moved atop the rankings with the vaunted Oregon offense nipping at the Wildcats' heels.

Now, the national championship dreams of those teams are shattered and the Golden Dome is shining a little brighter with the Irish once again ranked No. 1.

You can debate the merits of this team all you like. Notre Dame might not be the best team in the country, but thus far, they've earned the opportunity to prove it in the BCS title game.

Undeniable is the fact that ND is 11-0 and every other eligible team (how's that taste Buckeyes?) has lost at least once now.

Brian and I briefly discussed this kind of experience a couple weeks ago. We weren't really sure what would happen down the stretch, but we agreed that if you can finish the undefeated it's a special season regardless of what the stupid polls tell us.

I liken the Irish experience this year to my youthful days in Blacksburg during the Hokies' magical run to the national championship game in 1999.

No one really expected that to happen.

Tech was relying on a mobile redshirt-freshman quarterback, a stout defense filled with NFL talent and a whole lot of luck. Frank Beamer just hoped things would come together.

Along the road there were some close calls and furious comebacks and despite preseason predictions, Tech found itself in the BCS national championship game.

Sound familiar?

Now, as I told Brian during his late night post game call Saturday, don't go getting drunk and excited and order tickets to Miami just yet.

There's nothing more worrisome than a wounded team as talented the USC Trojans, especially in a big rivalry game.

USC has had plenty of troubles recently, and the biggest may be the potentially separated throwing shoulder of quarterback Matt Barkley.

Despite that and the fact that I—along with most people—don't think too highly of Lane Kiffen's coaching abilities, this will be a very difficult game.

USC coach Lane Kiffen practices his ND post game press conference responses. 

Even worrying about USC is looking too far into the future. Enjoy the moment Irish fans. Realize what this season has been so far and don't focus too much on the possibilities.

As the Hokie nation is painfully aware, seasons like these don't happen too often. They are special things to be savored and remembered for years to come.

The game next week will be just like the season. Tense moments with potential heartbreak that  can quickly turn to jubilation.

Just remember, you're No. 1 and no one can take that away.

Well, except maybe the Trojans.

Lane Kiffin Heads Back To USC...LOLZ!

First, let me say that I'm extremely excited about the contribution of Mr. Chris Jones just below. I would have posted this last night as news broke, but I didn't want to bump his fine piece which I would encourage everyone to read.

That said, Lane Kiffin!!!! LOLZ!!!!

After one average to very average season in Knoxville (and a Hokie butt-whoopin' to cap it all off) Lane Kiffin is returning to Southern California as the head coach of USC.

What USC sees in their former offensive coordinator is beyond me. I think he can be a good coach, but he's now failed to prove himself during two very brief head-coaching stints.

Of course Papa Kiffin will be along once again so the defense is covered, Ed Orgeron is along to handle recruiting and word is offensive guru Norm Chow will be returning to USC as well. Lane will be in charge of the most overqualified staff in America.

This one will be tough to screw up.

Here's what is almost legitimately Florida coach Urban Myer's reaction to the news. Judging by the time in the game of this clip, you can piece together that it's about when news was breaking.



And finally the obligatory picture of Lane's smokin' hot wife Layla.

College Football Quick Picks: Week 13

It's almost Thanksgiving, and that means excessive amounts of food and rivalry football.

This week is a football fan's dream as there are games Thursday on into next week if you include the NFL.

Rivalry's are one of the best parts of college sports. In college football in particular, rivalry games provide for all kinds of added excitement. I'll be watching a whole lot of the stuff this weekend, and I find a lot of cool games out there so I give to you the gift of many many picks.


No. 2 Alabama defeats Auburn

No. 3 Texas defeats Texas A&M (though I'm really pulling for the Aggies in this one)

West Virginia defeats No. 9 Pittsburgh

No. 18 Clemson defeats South Carolina

No. 7 Georgia Tech defeats Georgia

No. 19 BYU defeats No. 21 Utah

No. 20 USC defeats UCLA

This Week's Irrational Upset Special


Florida State defeats No. 1 Florida

This is based on the Bobby Bowden factor, so it may be a silly pick.

I personally think Bowden will get one final season, and he should, but there are still rumblings that the boosters want Bowden to step aside and let offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher start being the head ball coach (probably so someone else can start calling plays).

If this is indeed Bowden's final game against Florida, his team knows about it and will play out of their minds for him to get one more big win.

Of course, if he's coming back next year, the 'Noles sans Christian Ponder will probably just get steam-rolled by little Timmy Tebow on his senior day.

Quick Picks Recap: Week 2

One fewer game picked, one less loss. Not a bad week with a 4-2 record. Leave it to Tennessee and West Virginia to screw up a perfect week. With all the craziness going on in college football yesterday, I consider this a highly successful week. There were some real classic games, and just tons of excitement. Reason 1,321 why college football is superior to the NFL in all ways aside from the overall talent pool.


Some late game heroics by USC and Wake Forest helped push my season record to 8-5. We need to get some separation from .500 though in the coming weeks.

NCAA Athletics: Taking The Student Out Of Student Athletes Since 1906

Gotta hand it to the NCAA. They are incredibly tough on their criteria for student athlete eligibility:

According to Beamer, Marshman has already graduated but was taking six credit hours as required by the NCAA and failed to pass.

Way to really challenge student athletes, NCAA officials! Six credits? Hmm what to choose: underwater basket weaving or ballroom dancing? 

Yes, the aforementioned Beamer is Frank, head football coach for Virginia Tech. That excerpt was from this article, which reported that the Hokies may be without three players for their bout against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the FedEx Orange Bowl on New Year's Day. Left guard Nick Marshman (academically ineligible), defensive end Jason Worlids (shoulder injury), and linebacker Brett Warren (torn ACL) will all likely miss the game against Cincy.

Coming from a school that requires all student athletes - football players included - to take at least 12 credits to be eligible, this is truly appalling news. It's like they want to set students to stay longer than 4 years. But why would they want to keep athletes on scholarship for an extra year given the economic implications?

I know many student athletes take summer courses as well, but I cannot understand how they don't finish in 4 years.

For the record, I don't think there is anything wrong with not finishing in 4 years. However, when given the opportunity to take summer courses to offset the course load during season one would expect these so-called student athletes to finish on schedule.

At Notre Dame, football players who apply for a fifth year must first apply and gain admission to one of Notre Dame's graduate programs. All players must finish their undergraduate schooling in 4 years. Moreover, they must also take at least 12 credits while in season.

If the NCAA were really serious about emphasizing the former portion of "student athlete" rather than the latter they might want to take a look at the requirements and standards ND, the Ivies, and many other schools hold their student athletes accountable to.

You have probably seen those commercials promoted by the NCAA with the tag line, "There are over 380,000 NCAA student athletes, and most of us will go pro in something other than sports."  I couldn't agree more with that statement, but it's an absolute joke considering the minimal requirements "enforced" by the NCAA.

 

Requiring a meager six credits is a disgrace and seems like quite the contradiction based on the above commercial series and NCAA student athletes tag line, doesn't it? The really sad part: some athletes have gotten away with taking less than that minimum...

If you recall, former USC quarterback Matt Leinart apparently took just one course, Ballroom Dancing, during his fifth year at the University of Southern California. Leinart clearly was not concerned about school at all.

A sociology major, Leinart needs two credits to graduate as he begins his fifth year at USC.

"School's done for me -- I'm here to concentrate on football," he said.

Leinart will complete his schooling by taking a class in ballroom dancing with Cameron, a sophomore from Thousand Oaks who plays on USC's women's basketball team.

"We both kind of figured, 'Let's take that.' We'll practice our tango or whatever the heck they do -- the 1-2 step," Leinart said, smiling.

Something is not right in paradise. I highly doubt that Ballroom Dancing at USC is worth six credits, let alone three. A quick academic search on their website revealed that Ballroom Dancing is listed as a club sport.

I wonder what Leinart filled out on his USC admissions application?

The moral of the story? Any attempt by the NCAA purporting its emphasis on student athletes is comical at worst and depressing at best. 

The NCAA should increase its academic requirements for its athletes, else those "going pro in something other than sports" commercials are nothing than a facade.

Rey Maualuga: The Next Victoria's Secret Model?

If real men really do wear pink, and if only women wear thongs, what does that make USC linebacker Rey Maualuga? 

Last week, pictures were revealed of Maualuga wearing a bright pink thong over his workout sweats during a Trojans football practice. I have no problem with men who wear pink (I also wear it on occasion) but I do, however, have a problem when it's in the form of undergarments meant for use by women only. 

Maybe he was in a slump, like New York Yankees first-baseman Jason Giambi. 

My hunch is that he either lost a bet or was trying to lighten up the team's mood during practice. Pete Carroll certainly has a knack for pulling pranks on his fellow Trojans, although not everyone appreciates the humor involved. 

April Fool's 2008 Prank

Personally, I would like to see Will Ferrell involved in more pranks.

Will Ferrell as USC Strength Coach "Chuck Berry"