A Look Ahead: Notre Dame vs. Purdue

By Justin Cates

For whatever reason (Blogger sucks) my ND-Michigan preview didn't post last week despite me making an extensive effort to do so in a timely fashion.

Today, I'll reuse bits of that preview and tie it in to what should be a cakewalk for the Irish against Purdue.

The Boilermakers are one of the worst teams on college football. They got absolutely blasted in their opener 42-7 by Cincinnati and barely edged out lower division foe Indiana State 20-14 last week in West Lafayette.

For reference, Indiana State allowed 73 points to Indiana in their first game.

Basically, Purdue can't stop anyone (79th in points allowed) and they can't score themselves (116th in points scored).

This should be an easy win for the Irish, which gives them an opportunity to address some concerns.

Before Michigan, I attempted to say this:

"Touchdown" "Interception" Tommy Rees played almost perfectly in the opener completing 16-of-23 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns. Against the Wolverines, he and the rest of his offense have to let things come to them and not force the issue.

When I've watched Rees play in the past there seemed to be a tendency to press too much. Now that he isn't battling for a starting job, that may well be a thing of the past.

This proved to be fairly accurate with Tommy reverting to forcing things. Rees played well for the most part but threw two interceptions and was very close to a third. The biggest mistake came on a pass picked off in the endzone. I'm fairly certain it was on first and goal making it a rookie mistake. That ball needs to be in the stands.

Another area I had concerns about was the running game.

One thing I'd like to see from the Irish is one of the running backs stepping up and seizing the bulk of the carries....Even though this can clearly be a pass-heavy offense with Rees at the helm, it's nice to have a go-to-guy at tailback in your back pocket. 

Clearly, the Irish are pass-happy and quite good at it. The problem is the offense is one dimensional.

Notre Dame's leading rusher Amir Carlisle has just 19 carries through two games and right behind him is George Atkinson III with 13 carries. The two have combined for just one rushing touchdown.

That's not sustainable if you want to keep defenses honest.

The good news is Carlisle is averaging 6.9 yards per carry and Atkinson is sitting at 5.5. The Irish need to use this game as an opportunity to establish the run and ideally find a reliable go-to tailback.

I think it's Carlisle based on his more aggressive running, but he needs to grab the job by the throat and make a statement.

The defense struggled against Michigan, but that's perfectly understandable.

All quarterbacks should wear outrageous numbers like Devin Gardner's new 98.

Wolverine quarterback Devin Gardner is an impressive talent—even if he did throw the dumbest pass in the history of organized football—and the Irish defense won't have to worry about stopping anyone quite as dynamic the rest of the season.

Based on that variable, I tend to think this performance was an outlier. The defense can go a long way to putting any fears to rest by dominating a very poor Purdue offense.

There are clearly flaws with Notre Dame, but it's still very early in the season and we've seen nothing that can't be fixed.

No one likes losing, but I'm sure Brian Kelly enjoys being able to so easily get his team's attention regarding their flaws. Now it's time to fix them.  

Back on the Air With The New ACC

Editor's Note: My apologies for the weird font issue in the final section. I hate Blogger with a violent passion and will be moving to a new service as soon as I find one that suits our needs. Also, we just went over 100,000 page views all time despite our recent bout of woeful inactivity. Thanks for stopping by.

By Justin Cates

There's been a significant blackout here on the blog for the month of June. I apologize and will explain in due course. For now though, I'd like to extend a fairly warm welcome to the three new members of the Atlantic Coast Conference: Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame.

Their membership formally kicks into effect today and brings the number of conference members to 14.5 as Notre Dame is only partially in for football because, well, they can I guess.

Despite being driven by the ever-changing landscape of college football, the move really serves to solidify the ACC as the best basketball conference in the nation.

As such, given the current toxic nature of the Virginia Tech basketball program, I don't expect to see the Hokies compete any time soon even though the conference may well be an eight bid league come the big tournament in March.

It will be interesting to see how these programs evolve in the two biggest sports, football and basketball. I'm particularly curious to see how these hoops squads evolve from the physical post play of the Big East to the fast-pace style employed by the bulk of the ACC.

These schools have three of the finest coaches in college hoops so they shouldn't have a problem, still it's a vastly different style. Also, we call fouls.

I'm particularly excited for Syracuse to make only their second ever trip to Cassell Coliseum. It marks the only time since 1978 when the Hokies upset the No. 10 Orange by 17-points likely inducing a number of facial cringes in Jim Boeheim.

Syracuse was the only one of these new schools not to come to Blacksburg during Tech's brief stay in the Big East, likely because they are special.

They will fit in well with the Carolina schools who as all new members will quickly find feel entitled to things which they are not.  

But enough negativity, welcome friends! Try the barbecue and don't get too comfortable.


Erick Green Drafted in NBA's Second Round 

ACC Player of the Year Erick Green was selected by the Utah Jazz last week with the 16th pick of the second round (46th overall). He was promptly traded to the Denver Nuggets for their first round selection Rudy Gobert (27th pick) and cash.

Denver thinks very highly of Green who led the nation in scoring this past season. If he makes the squad, he figures to help a lack of depth in Denver's backcourt. They are led by former North Carolina star Ty Lawson at point guard with veterans Andre Miller and Andre Iguodala the other major guards.

Iguodala has already met with the Detroit Pistons so he may be on his way out. That would leave Denver perilously thin at the guard spots. If Green has a good summer league, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him suit up in the NBA next season.


Hokie Baseball Coach Pete Hughes Heads to Oklahoma

Virginia Tech is fresh off hosting their first NCAA baseball regional and posting 40-22 record, but they'll have to follow it up with a different head coach.

Pete Hughes decided to take the top job at Oklahoma last week after Sooners' coach Sunny Golloway left for Auburn.

Hughes spent 7 seasons in Blacksburg, rejuvenating a program that had languished at the end of legendary head coach Chuck Hartman's tenure. 

As has become his custom, Tech athletic director Jim Weaver quickly hired Hughes' top assistant, pitching coach Patrick Mason.

Mason has himself led a turnaround during his three seasons in Blacksburg vastly improving Tech's pitching staff. He announced at his introductory press conference that assistant Mike Kunagonis would also be staying with the program as associate head coach.   


     

Comparing Notre Dame and Virginia Tech's Recent Draft History

By Justin Cates

Just like recruiting in college, you can never be sure of the success of an NFL Draft class until years down the line.

However, initially the 2013 draft is a reflection of last season when Notre Dame broke out in a positive way and the Hokies fell flat on their collective faces.

The Irish had 6 players selected this year—the most since 2007—while Virginia Tech had only two players picked.

The first Hokie wasn't taken until the sixth round with pick 171—the lowest the first Tech player has gone off the board since 1993 when no Hokies were drafted.

A number of the undrafted players agreed to free agent deals with various teams just moments after the final pick was made Saturday, but today we're looking at the draftees.

Earlier in the week Brian pointed out a note from NFL.com writer Gil Brandt pertaining to the most successful college programs in terms of players drafted.

Corey Fuller hopes to add depth to the receiving corps in Detroit.

Not including this class, both Virginia Tech and Notre Dame have seen 50 players selected since 2001.

Currently, there are 34 Irish alumni and 27 Hokies on NFL rosters though of course this will likely change a good bit in the coming months.

Still, the numbers give us an interesting look at one of the similarities of two programs that few people would make a connection between apart from Brian and I.

That will change soon with the announcement that Virginia Tech will travel to play Notre Dame in South Bend in 2016.

Tight end Tyler Eifert was the first Irish player selected with Pick No. 21 (Cincinnati) 

It will mark the first meeting between the schools in football and it comes as part of Notre Dame's agreement with the ACC to play five football games per season against conference members.

It remains to be seen when the return date in Lane Stadium will be, but either way we're very excited to finally have a meeting on the field.

It may be a long way off, but consider the gauntlet thrown down for our game preparations.

Maryland is Leaving the ACC, but How's Their Math?

It's been a rough week if you're a fan of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

As everyone knows by now, the University of Maryland voted Monday morning to leave the ACC to join the B1G (that means Big Ten plus three).

The Terrapins are of course a charter member of the ACC—founded in 1953—but their athletic programs are hemorrhaging money to the tune of losing $26.8 million last year.

That apparently means that they had to jump at the chance for slightly more television revenue.

The B1G hands out approximately $24 million a year per school versus $17 million for the ACC.

Interestingly, taking a look at the Nielsen numbers from 2011 tells us that the B1G number is about right while the ACC badly botched their most recent negotiations.

For football, the SEC is clearly No. 1 with 4,447,000 viewers. No. 2 is the B1G with 3,276,000 and the ACC is in third with 2,650,000.

The B1G is first in hoops with the ACC close behind. The biggest difference between the two television deals is the B1G deal expires in 2017 while the ACC locked themselves in until 2027.

According to Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel, the B1G projects to be able to distribute roughly $43 million per school when the conference negotiates its next deal, but that number strikes me as unlikely and based on a lot of assumptions.

The B1G is assuming that the new television markets brought in by adding Maryland and Rutgers—Washington, D.C. and New York City/New Jersey—will give them far more households with the B1G Network on their standard tier 1 sports package.

That would give them tremendous bargaining power when the time to talk turkey comes up again.

However, the way people watch television is changing rapidly and the industry will have to change too if it wants to keep its subscribers.

A recent study suggests that the average monthly cable bill could be $200 by 2020. That's absolutely insane.

Prices are already far above what the shoddy product we receive is worth which has been driving people online for entertainment.

It's not surprising when services like HuluPlus, Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Prime and others are all vastly superior to wildly inconsistent cable connections filled with dozens of channels that go unwatched.

Thus, the thinking is that in the future cable companies will offer broadband connections with more options for à la carte programming and less of the stuff you don't want in an attempt to keep people from going online. 

This is an intriguing issue in and of itself, but my point is simply these revenue projections by the B1G are likely overly optimistic. 

That's especially true when you consider that the league is simply diluting its product by adding two middling football programs and hoping that market share somehow overrides the product on the field. 

It's somewhat sad to see Maryland leave I guess, but they're a mediocre athletic department that brings very little to the table in the sport driving all this conference realignment nonsense, football. 

I'm hoping that ACC commissioner John Swofford holds the Terps to the $50 million exit fee (one they didn't agree to) and finally shows he has some cajones when it comes to negotiating. 

Stick it to the deserters I say, and take your time finding the new member to fill their shoes. Everyone's assuming a school like UConn or Cincinnati is the logical choice, but are both unappealing options. 

I say take that $50 million and pay a better candidate's exit fee from some other conference. 

Or, umm...Notre Dame, are you sure you don't want to play football with us for real? Pleeeeeeeease?  

Notre Dame Joins ACC...Sort Of

In typical Notre Dame fashion, they've finally elected to join the ACC solely for football reasons and managed to not actually join the conference fully for football.

It's classic hypocrisy as only the Irish can muster. They'll play five games a season against ACC competition meaning they can have their cake and eat it too.

They'll get to pick and choose which rivalries they keep and which become rarer than an ND bowl win.

They'll no doubt get special treatment and not have to paint the ACC logo on their historic and soon to be synthetic field. Perhaps the Irish will have gold-embossed portable logos for the weeks they're part of the conference that can be easily removed the rest of the time.

I'm certain there will be equal revenue sharing amongst all 15 (yikes!) ACC programs even though Notre Dame will continue to hold onto their unique television deal with NBC without sharing.

The only thing ACC commissioner John Swofford managed to leverage in favor of the existing conference members is that the Irish won't be eligible for the ACC Championship game.

It's outrageous that the ACC cowed to the demands of a prospective member like this. It shows once again that greedheads like Swofford care nothing about "student-athletes" or the integrity of their organization and only about the almighty dollar.

As Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John I. Jenkins said of the ACC's arrangement, "I don't think there's out there a better situation than the one we have."

Yeah, no crap.

As my dear friend Eric succinctly put it earlier, "I wish we weren't humoring their [Notre Dame] laughably pompous and misguided exceptionalism."

Indeed.

Here come the Irish...to the Atlantic Coast.

It's not all bad of course. People are talking about ACC football in a slightly less sarcastic way than normal which has always been a problem.

It will open ACC football to a Notre Dame fan base that is only intimately familiar with the bottom-dwellers of the league.

Most importantly, Notre Dame will finally have to take on opponents like Virginia Tech, Florida State, Clemson and Miami without being able to dictate the terms of when and where they play.

The Irish are notoriously difficult to schedule because of their insistence to make non-rival opponents play multiple games in South Bend in exchange for only one game on their own campus.

That will now only be an issue for the "non-conference" opponents, whatever that means to the Irish.

Now Notre Dame will dig into their bottomless pockets to pay what is sure to be a hefty exit fee from the Big East. They will join their new conference members on unequal footing, but what else is new?

Oh yeah, welcome to the ACC.

Notre Dame Football 2012 Preview

Notre Dame gets a lot of press - both positive and negative - wether it's in-season or in the doldrums of the offseason, but the intensity always seems to rise this time of year.

Joining together to form the 2012 edition of Fighting Irish Football squad are veteran players growing into new roles and a talented group of underclassmen and new players.

It sounds like a lot of change on paper, but in reality not much should change from last season.

Sure, several key players are gone from the 2011 team, such as Michael Floyd, the school's all-time record holder in many wide receiving categories and 1st round NFL draft pick, and Safety Harrison Smith, another 1st round draft pick. Jonas Gray, a late bloomer at running back, graduated and is attempting to create his own NFL destiny. Ethan Johnson, a four-year starter at DE, Trevor Robsinon (OG), and CBs Gary Gray and Robert Blanton moved on to chase their NFL dreams as well.

For as much as those players will be missed, the group of returnees and newcomers should put the Irish on a level playing field talent wise in 2012.
Manti Te'o (ILB) and Tyler Eiffert (TE) were expected to bolt for the NFL, but both return as the superstars and likely captains of their respective sides of the ball.

On offense, RB Cierre Wood looks to build on his 1,000+ yard season behind a veteran offensive line anchored by C Braxston Cave. Michael Floyd's graduation leaves a tremendous hole in the Irish receiving corps but Eiffert's unlikely return and pass-catching dependabilily will help comfort the to-be-determined starting quarterback.

On defense, DE Kapron Lewis-Moore and DTs Louis Nix and Stephon Tuitt will anchor a stout defensive front to Notre Dame’s standard 3-4 set. Aaron Lynch, who transferred to South Florida in the off-season due to homesickness, will be sorely missed but for the first time in many years there is considerable depth with veterans Sean Cwynar and Kona Schwenke and can supplement when needed. In all, they will help clear the way for Te'o and his fellow linebackers (Danny Spond, Prince Shembo, Carlo Calabrese, Dan Fox) to attack opposing quarterbacks.

Nonetheless, two monumental questions (at QB and in the secondary) loom that will determine how good the Irish can be in 2012.

First and foremost, who will be under center for the Irish in Dublin and beyond?

Tommy Rees, last year's starter, won't step foot in Dublin, so the answer to the first part of that question becomes a little easier. Rees was suspended by Coach Kelly as a result of a charges stemming from an off-campus incident in the spring (resisting arrest and punching an officer). While his suspension doesn't mean he's entirely out of the picture for 2012 it does put him at a considerable disadvantage.

Andrew Hendrix, Everett Golson, and Blair Kiel will all compete for snaps in Dublin. Golson, whose performance in the spring game was spectacular, seems most likely to earn the first opportunity. Although Hendrix actually saw sparingly meaningful minutes on the playing field last season, Golson is essentially a more athletic, quicker, and younger version of Hendrix.

Regardless of who starts, the inexperience at the position will yield mistakes. Unlike last year and with any bit of luck, though, there will hopefully be fewer than 10 turnovers in the first two games of the season. In building the future of the program it is more likely Kelly will side with someone who has more upside and development potential. That doesn't rule out freshman Blair Kiel, but chances are he will redshirt and preserve a year before being thrown to the wolves.

The second biggest question is who will step up in the defensive secondary? Stout veterans Robert Blanton, Harrison Smith and Gary Gray are all gone, rendering the defensive backfield with inexperienced raw talent.

Jamoris Slaughter and Zeke Motta, who have each seen meaningful minutes and have already made positive contributions at the safety position, will attempt to fill some shoes but their inexperience in pressure situations may leave the Irish vulnerable. Bennett Jackson and Lo Wood are two upperclassmen cornerbacks with blazing speed and minimal experience, and being the only non walk-on upperclassmen makes them the likely starters in the high-pressure position.

David Ruffer, the alk-on turned scholarship sensational kicker, graduated but his roles will be assumed by experienced place kicker and Kyle Brindza and former placekick starter Nick Tausch. Ben Turk, who struggled at the start of last season but recovered by mid-year, returns as the team's punter.

Without a doubt this is the most difficult schedule (on paper) in years. After starting the year overseas against an ever-challenging Navy team, the Irish return home to face Purdue, Michigan State on the road, and Michigan at home all before October.

A bye week preceeds the continuation of the Shamrock Series, Notre Dame's now annual offsite home game, against the Miami (Fl) Hurricanes. Consecutive home games against Stanford and BYU will prep the Irish for arguably their toughest opponent of the year as they head on the road to face Oklahoma. Easier breathing will ensue with a home game against Pittsburgh, road game Boston College, and home game against Wake Forest. All of that leads up to the regular season finale at USC, argubaly the second toughest opponent on this year's schedule.

With all of that in mind, this will certainly be a defining year for Coach Kelly's program. He has publicly stated that this his finally his team as they've begun to reflect his personality. One can only hope that fewer turnovers and more consistent quarterback play will steer the Irish to their third consecutive season of at least eight wins. If so, it would mark the first time since the Lou Holtz era that Notre Dame teams accomplished that pedestrian feat.

Objectively speaking, the translation of the aforementioned challenges and aspects to Notre Dame's 2012 season will likely equate to seven or eight wins and a modest bowl invitation. Given what is probably the nation's toughest schedule, earning more than six wins would surely be a treat. After all, last year's team was a few turnovers away (South Florida, Michigan, Florida State) from finishing 11-2 with at least a New Year's bowl berth.

Double digit wins seem highly unlikely given the magnitude of questions and difficult schedule, but Kelly will go a long way in earning some good faith with AD Jack Swarbrick in guiding the team to eight regular season wins and a bowl win to boot.

Time to get to work, Irish!

Irish Hockey Reaches 2011 Frozen Four

In front of a partisan crowd in Manchester, NH the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Hockey team defeated the New Hampshire Wildcats 2-1 to earn their second Frozen Four bid in four years. With five seconds remaining in the second period Billy Maday scored what would be the eventual game-winning goal.

Goalie Mike Johnson, a sophomore, was the real story of the day though as he turned away 37 of the Wildcats' 38 shots.

AP Photo / Josh Gibney

One day earlier Johnson made 32 saves on 35 shots to help the Irish earn a thrilling come from behind 4-3 OT victory against Merrimack College. Anders Lee led the way against the Warriors with two goals including the game-winner roughly five minutes into the overtime period.

Notre Dame will play Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) on Thursday, April 7 at 5pm EST in the Frozen Four in St. Paul, MN. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and will also be available on ESPN3.com. Should the Irish defeat the UMD Bulldogs they would advance to the NCAA title game on Sunday, April 9 at 7pm EST against the winner of Michigan and North Dakota. The championship game will be televised on ESPN.

This marks only the second time in school history the Irish have advanced to the Frozen Four. In 2008 the Irish advanced to Denver for the Frozen Four where they defeated rival Michigan in an overtime thriller. Boston College defeated the Irish in the championship game.

Head coach Jeff Jackson enters his fifth Frozen Four in his coaching career. He won two national championships (1992 and 1994) while at Lake Superior State. In between the two titles Jackson's squad lost the 1993 title game to Maine.

If Jackson's title game history has any sense of repeating itself it could develop into Notre Dame's first hockey championship in school history.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, though, the Irish must beat Minnesota-Duluth. From there, the Irish would take on the Wolverines of Michigan or Fighting Sioux of North Dakota, two schools that hold winning records against the Irish this season.

Hokies And Irish End Seasons

Basketball season has effectively come to an end here at Stars & Slights.

Sunday saw the Hokies give a valiant but ill-fated effort in an overtime home loss to Wichita State in the Second Round of the NIT. Tech fell 79-76 despite one final amazing performance from Malcolm Delaney.

The senior finished with 30 points on 8 of 14 shooting, including 3 of 6 from three-point range.

Delaney also had 4 steals and an impressive block that saw him sprint full court to snuff out a fast break by the Shockers.

The loss leaves Tech with a 22-12 overall record to end the season, and leaves a lot of people wondering what kind of season might have been with a full roster.

The No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame had a tough one against No. 10 Florida State. The Seminoles used their stifling defense and athleticism to knock off the Irish 71-57, reaching the team's first Sweet Sixteen since 1993.

Senior Tim Abromaitis had a typical 21 points and 6 rebounds, but fellow senior and Big East player of the year Ben Hansbrough was kept to just 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

The loss brings Notre Dame's record to 27-7 overall with a 14-4 mark in Big East play.

The Irish, like the Hokies will wonder what might have been this offseason, but they were afforded a chance at the big prize.

Yes Brian, it's better to be one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament than make a run (or lose early) in the NIT.

Brian vs. Justin - Week 9 CFB Predictions Tracker

For the first time in what seems like an eternity Notre Dame finally put away a team in the first half.

Jimmy Clausen continued to pad his Heisman candidacy stats by completing 22 of 27 passes for 268 yards and two TDs.

Golden Tate also showed why he's worthy of the sought after trophy with an unbelievable Hail Mary grab from Clausen at the end of the first half to give the Irish a 30-7 lead. Prior to that outstanding snag he bounced off of two Washington State defenders, leaving them confused and in his rearview mirror as he coasted to a TD run out of the Wildcat formation.

All in all there were only a few negatives to glean from the game: Ben Turk's 11 yard punt, Nick Tausch's blocked extra point attempt, Dayne Crist's injury, and the lack of ND campus shots as this marked the first in a series of neutral site "home" games for the Irish.

The same cannot be said for the Hokies, who suffered their third loss of the year with a crushing last-second home defeat to the North Carolina Tar Heels who recorded their first ACC victory of the season.

To be fair, the Tar Heels have turned into a talented program under the direction of Butch Davis. Had it not been for the unfortunate Ryan Williams fumble, however, the Hokies would have walked away with an Orange Effect victory. Williams is a tremendous back and I can't help but feel sorry for the guy who has elevated himself while filling in seamlessly for the injured Darren Evans.

Neither Justin nor I correctly picked the outcome of the Hokies' game but, as previously mentioned, we're left playing for pride and point totals as our records and remaining picks are identical.

We both sit at 12-4 for the year but have varying degrees of point differential accuracy. Justin is -50 while I am -93 with only nine regular season games left between the two teams (including the ACC championship).

In related news, prognosticators are projecting a Gator Bowl matchup between the Fighting Irish and the Hokies. If that theory comes to fruition my fiancee claims that "Stars and Slights would explode!" Personally, I would love to meet up against the Hokies in a bowl game especially since the two schools have never played against one another.

As long as both teams keep winning we very well might see that explosion.

Go Hokies, Go Irish!

Week 5 Recap

Well I'm 5-2 this week and just an impressive finish by LSU away from 6-1. That was one of the most boring 20-14 games I've ever seen. Really brutal, physical football.

I didn't have a good feeling about the UVA-UNC pick. Virginia was poised to get out of their own way at some point. Carolina's offense is truly miserable. They won't win many more games without some production. Not more production mind you, any production. Hopefully that victory will help keep Al Groh around another season.

So my overall record now sits at 18-17. Still not very good but I think we can get on a roll now.

On a side note, The Notre Dame-Washington game was absolutely crazy, but the end of the broadcast really bothered me. Of course as we all know Jake Locker's (side note: I love me some Jake Locker) pass intended for D'Andre Goodwin at the last second was broken up by a sandwich-style hit from two Irish defenders. The hits were legal, I have no issue with that. It was just incredibly unfortunate that poor D'Andre was literally knocked stiff and the announcers barely made mention, instead choosing to focus on the Irish post game celebration. Granted Tom Hammond and Pat Haden are miserable announcers, I just thought that was a pretty inconsiderate move. Also, I don't think Jimmy Clausen really knows the words to his alma mater.

End rant.

Come On Brian?!?!?!

I have returned from my trip to San Diego, CA only to find that in my time away Brian has been unable to post anything. Nothing. I know he's got a job and all, but I shall be on him as if I were the above horse and he the scampering dog.

Loads of stuff coming this week. Trip thoughts, crucial video game review and all the March Madness you can shake a stick at.



To start that discussion, neither Notre Dame or Virginia Tech were able to gain enough traction down the stretch to sneak into the Big Dance. Both teams will take their skills to the NIT.

No. 2 seed Virginia Tech will host No. 7 Duquesne Wednesday at 7 pm on ESPNU.

No. 2 seed Notre Dame hosts No. 7 UAB Tuesday at 9 pm on ESPN2.

We'll have full previews and recaps in due time.

Our 100th Post Is A Real Downer...

AP Photo/Joe Raymond


Optimism is a commodity in short supply around here today. Both Virginia Tech and Notre Dame turned in real stinkers on the gridiron yesterday, Notre Dame inexplicably falling to Syracuse 24-23 and Virginia Tech winning a war of attrition with the Duke Blue Devils 14-3.

First let's dissect the Irish.

GOOD

Notre Dame had zero turnovers Saturday in South Bend and Jimmy Clausen turned in another solid performance completing 22 of 39 passes for 291 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Golden Tate continues to impress during his sophomore season. Tate caught 7 passes for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the year, Tate has 50 catches for 888 yards and 7 touchdowns.

That's about all the good I could find in this one (granted I missed the end to go to the Tech game).

BAD

This should be pretty obvious. The Irish led Syracuse 23-10 and looked pretty good doing it up to that point. 'Cuse looked like the hapless shell of a once great program that they are but something strange happened on the way to 7-4 for the Irish...

Notre Dame suddenly couldn't muster any offense. Starting inside the Orange 23-yard line on 4 possessions, the Irish managed just 6 points.

"I really don't know why that happened," said a bewildered Clausen after the game.

The only way to rationalize this game is to chock it up to the dreaded "look ahead" factor with the #6 USC Trojans on the docket next weekend. In the end, it's a matter of executing consistently on offense which has been a problem throughout the season.

Now for the Hokies.

GOOD

The Virginia Tech defense played one of its best games of the season holding Duke to just 136 total yards. The Blue Devils were able to complete just 2 passes for 20 yards and quarterback Zack Asack threw 4 interceptions, though he did run for 87 yards and was effective on the ground most of the night.

Sean Glennon played well again, completing 12 of 22 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown. It was the first touchdown pass of the year to a wide receiver, freshman Jarrett Boykin who led the Hokies with 67 yards receiving.

Darren Evans also had another good game rushing 24 times for 111 yards. Evans needs just 74 yards to eclipse 1,000 for the season.


BAD

The Hokies offense scored just 7 points on a frigid evening in Blacksburg. I would have to say it was among the worst performances by a Virginia Tech team that I've seen end in victory.

Tyrod Taylor had an alarmingly off night. Taylor was just 2 of 5 passing for 15 yards and two interceptions. He also lost two fumbles. Couple that with the unlucky interception on Sean Glennon's first passing play and Tech turned the ball over 5 times, in the first half.

Tech coaches will decide who starts against Virginia during the week. Based on recent performance, it's hard not to pull for senior Sean Glennon to get the start in his final game at Lane Stadium.


FINAL THOUGHTS

The Irish are now 6-5 and will head out west to take on USC (9-1, 7-1). Virginia Tech is 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the ACC. If the Hokies can retain possession of the Commonwealth Cup and defeat Virginia (5-6, 3-4) on Saturday they will go to the ACC Championship for the third time in four years.

Notre Dame has a tough challenge ahead of them but I expect a game effort come Saturday. The result could get ugly, but I expect the team will rally around head coach Charlie Weis who has come under tremendous fire recently. Also, the Irish want to cement their bowl hopes. They could certainly go to a bowl at 6-6, but would be heavily criticized in the press in such a scenario. They don't want to limp into the postseason, but neither do the Trojans.

The Hokies are in an unbelievable position. The ACC has been an outrage of inconsistency this season, as a result, the Hokies are one win away from a pretty big accomplishment. Rivalry games are always tough, and this weekend should be no different. I actually give the Hoos a better shot at victory this year in Lane Stadium than last year up in Charlottesville. Just the nature of the conference and of these two teams this season lead me to expect the unexpected.

Plenty more to come on both these games as the week progresses.

Song Of The Day - September 3, 2008

Following along the same path of today's earlier post, the song of the day is brought to you in part by the University of Notre Dame.

In 2003, former Notre Dame All-American center John Scully set out to create a song that captured the Notre Dame spirit, and he did just that.

Teamed with producer Jim Tullio, Scully managed to add to the illustrious history of great Notre Dame songs like The Victory March, Hike Notre Dame, The Rakes of Mallow, and Damsha Bua.

Here is an excerpt from a 2004 article about Scully:

He gained perhaps his greatest notoriety for writing and recording "Here Come the Irish," a song about the University of Notre Dame that - wouldn't you know it - doesn't contain a single explicit reference to football.The song illustrates Scully's willingness to take on a daunting challenge. It wasn't as if Scully and co-producer Jim Tullio had never heard "The Notre Dame Victory March."

"We wanted a distinctive effort," Scully says. "But we wanted something perpendicular, not opposite."

The universal acclaim which greeted the release of "Here Come the Irish" left no doubt that Scully and Tullio had hit their target.

"The lyrics are from an observer's point of view," Scully explains.

"It doesn't matter if you're an All-American, the president of the University or a freshman in his first semester, everyone ends up being a brick in the wall."

Scully is proud of what he and his teammates accomplished at Notre Dame. The 1980 team he captained as a senior surprised nearly everybody by climbing to the top of the polls by November. But Scully doesn't spend much time reliving those days.

"We get to go out every day and write our own biographies," he says. "What I did at Notre Dame is ancient history."

Two labels which Scully does gladly embrace are that of husband and father. Living in Joliet, Ill., with his wife and two teenage daughters, Scully has changed labels once again, entering the commercial insurance field.

The early indications are that Scully will be labeled a success once again.

Without any further adieu, HERE COME THE IRISH.*

* - My esteemed colleague, Justin, actually penned one of the better ND articles I have read in a long time. Have a look.

Ra-Gone For The Year

According to WNDU and several other sources, Notre Dame sophomore tight end Mike Ragone will miss the entire 2008 season with an ACL tear. The injury is the same one that prevented Ragone from playing during his senior year at Camden Catholic in New Jersey.

Ragone was the expected starter at tight end and would have likely split time with Junior Will Yeatman, who has returned to the team after a DUI arrest cost him the spring with both the football and lacrosse teams. Yeatman will move up the depth charts and is the new projected starter. He was one of the Irish's best players as a freshman attacker on the lacrosse team and was sorely missed during last spring during the post-season.

True freshman Kyle Rudolph and junior converted fullback/running back Luke Schmidt are the likely candidates vying to serve as Yeatman's backup. Joseph Fauria, another true freshman, was expected to preserve a year of eligibility but could see the field in lieu of Ragone's injury.

ESPN + College Football Live = Garbage

Over the years I have become less and less of an ESPN fan. They have shelled out numerous stories with many factual inaccuracies and biases and it's disappointing and contradictory that they claim to be the worldwide leader in sports.

Their latest transgression occurred recently on the show College Football Live. On the ticker they show on the left-hand side of the screen they show various teams and their upcoming schedules for the season. At the bottom of the visual they include a little information about the team and/or coach and then list key returners and key losses. For Notre Dame, they list key losses as Tom Zbikowski and Maurice Crum.

Apparently Charlie Weis and co. were so upset over the loss of Crum that they decided to insert him at the starting inside linebacker position. Or maybe, just maybe, ESPN is incapable of typing Maurice Crum into Google. 

Maurice was a senior last year, so maybe that confused them. However, he applied for and was granted a 5th year with the Fighting Irish. This information is readily available on the internet at the official athletic website. It can be found in the section entitled roster. It can also be found here about halfway down the page.

It's amazing how the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports can't fact check or do any research to corroborate their statements. Scratch that. It's sad. Very sad. 

Swarbrick To Be Announced Notre Dame Athletic Director

The wait is finally over! In a press conference on Wednesday Jack Swarbrick will be announced as the new Athletic Director at the University of Notre Dame. Credit the guys over at Blue-Gray Sky for breaking the story, which was initially reported by WTHR news (an NBC affiliate in Indianapolis).

Swarbrick's name was not thrown around much in public discussion pertaining to potential successors to Kevin White, who left ND for Duke University. Steve Orsini (AD at SMU), Rick Chryst (MAC Commissioner), and Joel Maturi (AD at University of Minnesota) were among the other candidates.

ND wanted to make sure it found the right man for the job so it sought out the aid of Parker Executive Search. Though he was not the first name to come to mind when the job opened up Swarbrick is indeed an excellent choice. His bio is very impressive and he's an ND alum, a trait that many Domers were hoping the new AD would possess. He was also a finalist for the NCAA president job in 2002 when Myles Brand was hired.

Congratulations to Jack, his family, and Notre Dame! 

Song Of The Day - July 2, 2008

Today's song, "Dark Blue," is brought to you by Orange County, California rockers Jack's Mannequin. Originally from Something Corporate, frontman Andrew McMahon spent an entire summer writing the tracks on Jack's Mannequin's  debut album entitled Everything In Transit. On the day he finished mastering the last song on the album, McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which forced him to forgo touring and undergo chemotherapy. The album was released on schedule and was received well by critics and fans.

"Dark Blue" was the opening song performed by Jack's Mannequin on their March 28, 2008 performance at Stepan Center (or 'space-aged dome' as McMahon referred to it) on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. For their encore, JM performed a cover of Tom Petty's "American Girl," which can be seen below.

Welcome!

Greetings to all of our friends, families, fellow bloggers, and internet surfers. Consider this as the first among (hopefully) many posts from Stars and Slights.

We have never done this before but we promise not to disappoint you. In the unlikely event that you are disappointed, you have permission to tell us why we suck, why you suck, or why you couldn't understand the intellectual and satiric nature of our posts. But most importantly, tell us what you'd like to see us do to improve our website or impart some overall blogging knowledge. Seriously though, we want to provide you with the best experience possible while viewing our site, so please leave your feedback!

A little bit about us:

Brian

• Graduated from the University of Notre Dame from the Mendoza College of Business with a BA in Marketing on May 18, 2008
• Currently resides in Minneapolis, MN
• Enjoys golfing, playing guitar, listening/creating music, sports, Notre Dame athletics and beer

Justin

• Finishing up his final semester at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Currently resides in Blacksburg, VA
• Enjoys golf, making, listening to and studying music, bourbon, Virginia Tech athletics and the greatest town in the entire Commonwealth, Blacksburg

Stars and Slights

• "Stars and Slights" is the eponymous name of a song by the band Cutting Room Floor, which was co-founded by Justin (vocals) and Brian (guitars) along with fellow members Alan Brown (drums, auxiliary percussion) and Luke Sweet (bass, back-up vocals, guitars, keys)
• It is the seventh track on CRF's second album, The Whiskey Rebellion EP, which was released during the summer of 2006. It also will appear as the eighth track on their third newly released album entitled In Our Luck

Things to expect from us:

We will provide commentary on world news, sports, trends, music and much more. Check in with us daily to see our "Song of the Day." Additionally, each week we will select an "Album of the Week."

Thank you for reading the inaugural post from Stars and Slights!

Enjoy and thank you for visiting our site!