Bleacher Report - Articles by Michael Collins

Notre Dame Under Charlie Weis and Beyond

Michael Collins — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:15:58 -0500

In the cacophony of opinions and numbers shouted in the media by long-time Charlie Weis-haters and Notre Dame detractors, Notre Dame Nation is best served by reviewing where we were in 2005.

Students and alumni were detached from the football program. High school coaches had been shunned and were reluctant to recommend their players to choose Notre Dame. Potential recruits were choosing other summer football camps. Irish football was hurtling toward mediocrity.

Few will argue that those trends have been reversed under Weis and his assistant coaches.

The success of Notre Dame football approaches a religious intensity rivaled only by emotions at Alabama and Texas. No buffer zone of conference championships exists at Notre Dame as it does for Bob Stoops, Jim Tressel, Mark Richt, or Brian Kelly.

We expect a BCS game frequently, and a national championship once every five years. High expectations, constant scrutiny and criticism are part of the job Weis has embraced. As Charlie says, “Welcome to my world.”

To his credit, Weis always accepts the blame for any loss and defers any credit for a win to his players and coaching staff. “No excuses” and Weis’s emphasis on outcomes—wins and losses—were a breath of fresh air in 2005.

We had heard repeatedly from the prior coach, “We had a good game plan. The players just did not execute it.” Ty rarely made changes at halftime and, realistically, did not have the heart and energy to commit to Notre Dame football.

In a prior article , I detailed the difference in offensive line recruiting under Willingham and Weis, and how it impacted 2007 and, to a lesser extent, 2008. Weis’ long days and tireless work habits on behalf of his alma mater have been examples to his staff and players.

Expectations

Clashmore Mike quantified Irish expectations prior to the season. Our readers’ average expectation: nine wins. As an alumnus, Weis sets the bar higher—"9-3 is not good enough." We were enthralled as four-ring Charlie turned a mediocre quarterback into a Heisman candidate and a second-string receiver into a two-time All-American. Yet during Weis’ tenure, the defense has always been the millstone around Irish necks.

With a mature offensive line and the maturity of skill-position players, our offensive production this year has exceeded most expectations, though knowledgeable Irish backers contest its limitations. Again, this year we have a Heisman-caliber quarterback, an All-American receiver, and an offense averaging almost 30 points per game.

The Challenges of History

Another Clashmore Mike article discussed the problems with hype and history. Coaches and players come to Notre Dame to be in the spotlight and commit to the glare whether we win or lose. Is eight wins not good enough to keep the job?

When Bob Davie was the head coach, he joined a bunch of students for a ceremonial trip to Knute Rockne’s grave for an Irish whiskey, and to leave a shot for Rock. The students were shocked into silence when Davie addressed Rock with “Rock, why did you have to set the bar so high?” It's not just Rockne—who won 88 percent of his games—Bob, but Jesse Harper (86 percent), Franke Leahy (85 percent), Ara Paraseghian (83 percent), Elmer Layden (76.9 percent), Lou Holtz (76.5 percent), and Dan Devine (76.4 percent) who have all exceeded the 75 percent (9-3) bar. That's seven coaches.

Historically, only Michigan’s five coaches—Bo Schembechler (85 percent), Lloyd Carr (77.9 percent), Fielding Yost (77.8 percent), Fritz Crisler (77.8 percent), and Gary Moeller (77.5 percent)—come anywhere near ND ’s coaching success.

That success—its history and hype—is what each Notre Dame head coach must face head on. To fail against those expectations is to stand on the shore trying to stop a tsunami.

BCS Bowls, Weis’ Records, 2005 Coaching Hires

In the last four years, only Jim Tressel (four), Pete Carroll (four), and Bob Stoops (three) have taken their teams to more BCS games than Weis (two), who is tied with Joe Paterno, Mack Brown, Urban Meyer, and Frank Beamer for fourth. Brown and Meyer will play in another BCS bowl this year.

Since Weis measures himself in wins and losses, let’s see how he stacks up against other coaching hires in 2005.

Of 23 coaching hires, seven coaches have been fired and one deceased. Five others have losing records. Only 10 of the 23 have winning records. Four—Meyer, Les Miles, Kyle Whittingham, and Bronco Mendenhall—have excellent records (greater than a 70 percent winning percentage). Six others—Mike Gundy, Dave Wannstedt, Skip Holtz, Weis, Bill Cubit, and Steve Spurrier—have comparable winning records.

Subtracting wins over FCS teams, Weis is the winningest coach of those BCS coaches (35-26, 57 percent), Gundy (31-25, 55 percent), Wannstedt (30-24, 55 percent), and Spurrier (30-27, 52 percent). Of all of these 2005 coaching hires, only Weis is discussed as being on the hot seat and with a job imminently in jeopardy.

Arguably, Whittingham, Mendenhall and Holtz, though very good coaches, may not have had the same success at BCS schools. Utah’s BCS win over Alabama is notable, yet BYU’s loss to Arizona, and Boise State’s loss to TCU may be more reflective of records against tougher competition. Comparing Whittingham’s and Mendenhall’s records to Meyer’s and Miles’s success would be a difficult argument to make.

All of which means that, of the 23 new coaches in 2005, Weis has the third-highest winning percentage among BCS coaches—eliminating FCS games. Not good enough at Notre Dame?

In Search of the Next Rockne

Could Meyer, Miles, or Saban have done better at Notre Dame? Before you answer, think of the substance in the arguments that Notre Dame must attract prospects to Indiana and pass admission standards. Ask yourself how many players at Florida, LSU and Alabama could be admitted to Notre Dame?

Among Weis’ proudest accomplishments is his team’s academic successes. Grade point averages and graduation rates are at an all-time high. In two of his five years, Notre Dame has won the trophy for highest graduation rate among all FBS schools. He and his staff commit to four-year scholarships for his players. If one is unable to compete due to an injury, he is switched to another scholarship, so that he can complete his degree at Notre Dame. If academics dip, that player does not play due to “personal reasons” in order to work on his grades. Weis and his staff have generated a great deal of loyalty from their players.

Which coaching hire has done better since 2002?

Comparing Weis’s record with all coaches hired from 2002-07 (88 total), only Nick Saban, Jeff Tedford, Brett Bielema, Chris Petersen, Brian Kelly and the four previously mentioned—Meyer, Miles, Whittingham, and Mendenhall—have had better winning percentages than Weis. Tedford, Bielema, and Mendenhall have not taken their teams to BCS bowls. Petersen, Whittingham, Saban and Kelly have coached their teams in one BCS bowl each. That leaves only two of 88 coaches hired since 2002 who have both a better winning percentage and more BCS bowl appearance record than Weis—Meyer and Miles. To say Notre Dame has higher expectations is an understatement.

Notre Dame Coach Expectations

Using Charlie Weis’s record as not good enough, let’s see what Irish fans expect of any coach:

Continued academic success without lowering admission standards
Recruiting nationally and getting top-10 talent each year
Three BCS games in five years
A national championship once in five years
Five bowl games in five years
A 70 percent winning percentage against BCS competition and Top 10 rankings regularly
Winning records against Top 25 teams and other teams with winning records
Finish at least 9-3, yearly
Minimize losses to traditional rivals, home losses
Continued commitment to the ideals of Notre Dame

Did I miss anything? I could throw in an improved defense and running game. Anything less would fall short of expectations by Irish fans.

A new coaching staff needs to replace the recruiting talent reflected by Rob Ianello’s four years in Rivals Top 25 recruiters, Corwin Brown's two years in the top 25 recruiters, and Brian Polian's one year in the top 25 recruiters. Mike Haywood was chosen as Assistant Coach of the Year in 2005 with Bill Lewis among the final candidates for the same honor one year as well. Frank Verducci has made great strides in improving the offensive line and the running game has improved under his and Tony Alford’s coaching.

What Has Been Missing?

One thing Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian, Devine, and Holtz had that Weis does not is a dominant defense. Defense wins championships and saves your job. Whether the criticism has been poor tackling, poor run defense, poor schemes, or lack of aggressive secondary play, it all comes down to close games this year and trying to outscore our opponents.

Except for Nevada (No. 1 rushing offense), every Notre Dame loss this year has been to highly-ranked rushing offenses, including Navy (ranked third), Pittsburgh (29th), Michigan (31st), USC (34th) and Connecticut (42nd), and each loss has been in the last minute, or in overtime. Stanford (ranked 12th) is upcoming.

Notre Dame’s rushing defense this year ranks 80th, the worst its been in Weis’s five years, except for 2007 (96th).

Notre Dame football has decisions to make that require analyzing whether they throw out the baby with the bathwater. Should Weis be fired, there will be blood-letting. Clausen and Tate may depart for the NFL .

Some very high quality assistant coaches may quickly find work elsewhere. Committed and interested prospects for this recruiting cycle may look elsewhere. Emotional ties between players and staff would be broken. A new staff may take a year or so to implement its offense and defense, longer to put in place some personnel it may need. Michigan’s lesson with Rich Rodriguez cannot be ignored.

While all the publicity brings smiles to a Jim Saunders’ or Mark May’s faces and drives ratings at ESPN, Notre Dame needs to decide if something less than major surgery will fix the direction of the football program.

An Alternative Way of Proceeding

An alternative might be to hire a high-profile, successful defensive coach like Will Muschamp, Charlie Strong or a defensive-minded coach at a non-BCS school like Gary Patterson to provide guidance to a young defense.

Such a selection could be designated as a “head coach in waiting,” so the coaching transition could be smooth. The new coach in waiting could concentrate on the defense, evaluate current talent and assistant coaches, and get used to the pressure and visibility of the Notre Dame head coaching position, with national demands of recruiting and the school's alumni.

Clausen and Tate would naturally move to the NFL after next year, and benefit in another year under Weis’s offense.

If Notre Dame can afford to buy out Weis’ remaining years, they can afford the kind of salary required to lure such a coach away from his current position, especially if it costs one buyout-year less from Weis’ contract.

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For Better or Worse: Re-Evaluating Irish Expectations (Part 2)

Facing an Angry Mob: The Future of Charlie Weis at Notre Dame

Should a Rivalry Dictate a Season?

This article is © 2007-2009 by and was originally published at Clashmore Mike . This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

Notre Dame–USC: A Rivalry of Respect and Heartbreak

Michael Collins — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:17:11 -0400

Maybe the football gods would have this no other way. Two of the most storied football teams in America meet as Indiana fall turns leaves golden and a chill is in the air.

No team has beaten USC more than Notre Dame. No team has beaten the Irish more than the Trojans.

Imagine a stable of running backs—Bush, White, Allen, Simpson, and Garrett led by Palmer and Leinart—facing off against an armload of quarterbacks—Huarte, Horning, Lattner, Lujack, Bertelli, Theisman, and Rice with Brown and Hart as receivers.

Two of the country’s three top Heisman-winning programs annually play each other. Only heroes and Heismans emerge from football’s greatest rivalry.

Twenty-two consensus national champions have emerged from this game. Counting all major selectors of national champions, USC and Notre Dame have been chosen 38 times from a game that has been played 80 times.

Without this virtual elimination game, imagine how many national championships these teams could have claimed.

Always there has been mutual respect—as well as heartbreak.

USC and Notre Dame Through the Decades

After the first game in 1926, Howard Jones came to the Irish locker room after a heartbreaking one point loss to congratulate his friend, Knute Rockne.

Rockne thanked Jones and said, “It was the greatest game I ever saw.” More than one Irish coach would feel that way throughout the years.

Over a five year span from 1928 to 1932, the two teams combined to win the national championships between them every year—USC in 1928, 1931, and 1932 and Notre Dame in 1929 and 1930.

The Trojans spoiled an Irish championship and undefeated hopes in the last game of the season in 1938, 1964, 1970, 1980 and the tie in 1948. The Irish returned the favor in the last game in 1947 and 1952.

A War Story

In 1937, Mario Tonelli, an Italian Catholic from Chicago, took a handoff with the game tied 6-6, late in the fourth quarter, deep in Irish territory.

He rumbled 70 yards, was tackled short of the goal, and then scored the winning touchdown moments later for the Irish victory.

The following year, Tonelli and the rest of the Irish entered the Coliseum ranked #1. The Trojans ended that Irish squad’s national championship aspirations with a 13-0 victory.

Three years later, Tonelli was trapped with his comrades in the Philippines and forced to march 70 miles on the infamous Bataan Death March. He had been stripped of his treasured Notre Dame class ring by scavenging Japanese soldiers.

A Japanese officer soon approached Tonelli and asked in perfect English, “Did one of my soldiers take this from you?” The officer pulled the ring from his pocket. “I went to the University of Southern California,” the officer said. “I graduated the same year you did. In fact, I saw the game when you made that long run that beat us. You were a hell of a player. I know how much this ring means to you, so I wanted to get it back to you.”

“He gave me my ring back and wished me good luck,” Tonelli recalled many years later.

Coaches

After the war, when Frank Leahy was targeted by some Big Ten teams and having difficulty scheduling opponents, Jeff Cravath, the former coach at the University of Southern California wrote to him and said:

“There never will be a time when USC drops Notre Dame from its schedule. The Irish play football the way it was meant to be played and it is a distinct privilege to coach against Frank Leahy.

Let’s preserve the classic USC–Notre Dame game for our grandchildren. The Trojans are proud to play Notre Dame. Never would I criticize boys who fight with all their hearts and soul for their school. Hopefully, that is the same spirit we have at USC.”

After the 1948 game, which ended in a tie between the teams and spoiled Notre Dame’s national championship hopes, “Coach Leahy tried to enter to congratulate his opponents, the (USC) students hoisted him on their shoulders and even gave him three cheers. ‘This is the first time in my coaching career that I have been so highly honored by the student body of an opposing school,’ said the surprised Leahy.” (Source: “Notre Dame vs USC, The Glamour Game,” Cromarte, 1989)

The great coach John McKay said:

“Notre Dame has always lent a lot of dignity and tradition to college football. The enthusiasm of their student body is tremendous, their fight song is inspiring and I get goose bumps when I go back to South Bend and see the leaves falling and the golden dome shining in the sunlight…

It amuses me that coaches say they like to play Notre Dame, but when it’s time to schedule them, few teams stand in line… In 1971 before the game in South Bend, I told my players ‘We’re back here together in the greatest hotbed of football, Notre Dame, and this is the game that typifies college football.

This is what its all about. This is what I’ve believed in since I was a little kid. And I still believe in it.’ Notre Dame–USC is the greatest in college football.” (Source: “The Game is On – Notre Dame vs. USC,” John McKay, 1976)

John Robinson echoed the feeling: “Notre Dame–USC is one of those elite games that is second to none, with great nationwide interest. The entire coaching staff has that feeling at USC… It’s such an honor to have either of these jobs, head coach at USC or Notre Dame, it’s an honor to be in the position. Nothing better can happen to you than to be involved in this great series.”

Former USC athletic director Jess Hill summed up the USC approach to this game:

“The Notre Dame series has proven to be very outstanding in every respect, because our philosophy has been in scheduling, that you play the best in the country and when you play Notre Dame—you are playing the best… There’s no disgrace in ever losing to Notre Dame, but there’s a great deal to be gained by defeating Notre Dame.

I sincerely hope that the USC–Notre Dame series will continue forever, and I think it will.

It has been a privilege and pleasure for me as a coach and athletic director to have the opportunity of meeting the wonderful people from Notre Dame. They are dedicated to excellence.” (Source: NDNation.com)

2009

Well, we’re up against it now, boys. In the last seven years, those great USC teams have averaged more than 40 points a game against us, while we’ve scored more than two touchdowns only twice. They have more talent, more confidence, and ooze success.

We have only each other, standing toe-to-toe against such an onslaught as brothers. Games are not won by statistics or clippings, but by your heart and teamwork—something you can expect from them, something you will need to match and exceed.

Today you will fight on this field for Notre Dame. Perhaps some day, someone will come up to you and say, “I saw you give your all. You were a hell of a player.”

When you see old age, you and your grandchildren will celebrate this day, this game, this rivalry above all others and whisper of what you have done, together.

The day you have worked for is here. Today you become part of of a proud history. We are ND.

Similar Posts

To Hell With Notre Dame

National Championship Drought: How Long Is Too Long?

Notre Dame and the BCS: The "Notre Dame Rule"

This article is © 2007-2009 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

Oregon and Michigan: Violence, Discipline, and Codes of Conduct

Michael Collins — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:04:22 -0400

The leadership and values coaches instill in their players reflects on themselves and their universities.

In turn, players’ actions often reflect those coach’s values. Nick Saban has quietly brought discipline as well as new talent to Alabama, which left no room for those who did not behave as he expects.

The responses to two incidents in this young college football season are illuminating.

Oregon

We all watched replays of Oregon’s top running back, LaGarrette Blount, sucker punch Boise State’s Byron Hout. Hout had yelled in Blount’s face, tapped him on the shoulder, and turned away.

Blount was apologetic after the game: “I just apologize to anyone watching that. I just apologize to all of our fans and all of Boise’s fans. That’s something I shouldn’t have done. I lost my head.”

Oregon’s first-year head coach and long-time offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said, “I did not see anything. I will see it on tape and make a decision on what we need to do with him. There is no place for that. I do not condone that. I will make that decision if that is the case.”

The next day, Kelly suspended Blount, a senior, who set an Oregon record of 17 TDs last year. “Football at the University of Oregon is a privilege, and with that privilege goes responsibilities.”

Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott said, “we commend the University of Oregon and its leadership for taking swift and decisive action in response to this incident. The Pac-10 strongly emphasizes sportsmanship and fair play in all its athletic competitions and expects high standards of sportsmanship from all participants, including student-athletes.”

The University of Oregon’s President Richard Lariviere said, “We do not and will not tolerate the actions that were taken by our player. Oregon’s loyal fans expect and deserve better.”

Kelly made it clear he was not taking away his scholarship so Blount could achieve his education. Oregon would provide Blount with support, calling it a “teachable moment.”

“We will provide him with instruction necessary for him to succeed. He’s going to practice with this football team, he’s going to student support services, he’s going to class. We’re going to make sure LaGarrette gets the goods.”

Michigan

After the second week’s games, video evidence surfaced that Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton sucker punched Notre Dame center Eric Olsen during the second quarter of their game. Olsen was on his knees after the play was over.

Michigan coach, Rich Rodriguez, denied the incident happened to reporters.

“What are you talking about? I know they were talking about one incident on film, and I didn’t see anybody throw a punch or anything like that. The little bit I saw on the clip, I saw guys got tangled up together, and Jonas tried to free himself. There’s a whole lot of officials out there, and I’m sure if there was an infraction, then they’d call it.”

Olsen had done nothing to provoke such an attack. Michigan reviewed the video, but refused to discipline Mouton. The video was clear enough for Big Ten commissioner Jim Delaney, who determined Mouton struck Olsen and violated the league’s sportsmanlike conduct agreement.

In words similar to the Pac-10 commissioner’s, Delaney said, “The actions of Jonas Mouton during the Notre Dame game are unacceptable. Mouton’s behavior has no place in the sport of football or the Big Ten Conference.”

Punches of opponents after a play ends are not that big a deal to Rodriguez. Clearly, he had no intention of disciplining his player, especially if the officials had not seen it.

“I told the team, it should have been a penalty. It should have been a personal foul and maybe the officials didn’t see that part and I understand the league as a whole has to look at what they consider a non-football act and make their judgment accordingly.

"I don’t think for any instance or any stretch of the imagination that it was malicious and you should compare it with a windup punch like we saw earlier in the season (by Blount) in the Oregon game, but it’s an act the Big Ten is going to try to enforce and set a precedent with, so we accept that."

A punch after the whistle is “a non-football act” to Rodriguez and not his responsibility, certainly not “a teachable moment” about the responsibilities that come with the privilege of playing football for a university.

Rodriguez’s “acceptance” of the Big Ten’s reprimand came with a warning to the league and Commissioner Delaney.

“Now I will tell you, my conversation with the commissioner was that we will watch every Big Ten game very closely and any non-football act, whether it’s a six-inch jab or anything that’s not called for the game of football, we’re going to ask that person get the same type of punishment Jonas Mouton got. I’m sure the league will do that.”

Can you ever recall any player suspension by a league which was not first undertaken by a team—and so reluctantly “accepted?”

Can you ever recall a coach who warns his league’s commissioner that he will monitor all other league games for such violations?

Noticeably absent is any statement from the University of Michigan’s president, Mary Sue Coleman, about upholding Michigan’s sportsmanship values, not tolerating such actions, and the privileges and responsibilities of playing football. Mouton, unlike Blount, has not apologized.

Perhaps she has surrendered ultimate control of the athletic department. Or maybe the independent review of the recent allegations of Rodriguez’s program and the possibility of major NCAA infractions consumes her full attentions.

Are Chip Kelly, Larry Scott, and Jim Delaney wrong? Maybe there is a place in college football where those type of acts and values are acceptable by the coach.

The silence in Ann Arbor outside of Rich Rodriguez should speak volumes to the Big Ten and the rest of college football.

SEC Acquires NCAA: Hostile Takeover Of Notre Dame Fails

Michael Collins — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:03:10 -0400

Note: This is a fictional interview.

I sat down with Mike Slive, Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. After some initial pleasantries, we discussed the SEC’s recent acquisition of the NCAA.

Collins: To many this seems like a surprising move, Mike. How did it come about?

Slive: Well, Michael, we’re very honored to make the NCAA part of the Southeastern Conference Corporation of Holdings. We think it fits into what we want to do with our conference. We welcome all those universities who have been part of the NCAA to the SEC.

Collins: How much did it cost?

Slive: Of course, I can’t discuss exact figures. As you know, after signing our recent television contracts, we had a $3 billion windfall. Initially, we committed to support the education of our student-athletes. We decided to lower our admission standards to the NCAA minimum and look around for other opportunities. What return does education get you? We could have acquired the state of California, but that’s a sinkhole for future money, too. We settled on the NCAA.

Collins: My sources tell me you were interested in acquiring Notre Dame football.

Slive: That wasn’t supposed to get out. I know Fr. Jenkins from the BCS Oversight Committee. We had some friendly discussions—even getting to the point of discussing valuations. I tell you those Holy Cross priests are businessmen. They’ve built quite a brand name. We were excited.

Collins: What was the hang-up?

Slive: The Pope got wind of it. We were forced into a hostile takeover bid. Even with the backing of ESPN/ABC though, you can’t fight the Church. He’s quite a fan–the Pope—even to the point of selling some Michelangelos, if it came down to it. He watches every game in the Vatican Theater with his ND cap on. Ol’ Benedict threatened to establish a world-wide Pope Network that would air Notre Dame games to every Catholic throughout the world. Imagine! We capitulated.

Collins: Will you regret not being able to acquire Notre Dame football?

Slive: When I look back, Notre Dame will probably always be the one that got away. The Irish are such a unique brand. You either love them or hate them. We like that model. We could’ve held it for a few years, building the brand by matching the Irish against Alabama or Florida. Think of the love-hate and further exposure that would have brought. ESPN has been drooling to sink their teeth into that television contract. Then we could have spun it off and been rolling in dough.

Collins: Why the NCAA? Why not Texas? Or the ACC?

Slive: Texas maintains a unique position in the great state of …, but ever try selling Texas to Californians or New Yorkers? Those were markets we wanted to get into. Notre Dame football seemed the ideal fit. I admire the ACC institutions and their commitment to education, but please, where’s the beef? The NCAA presents some unique opportunities for us and, between you and me, was less expensive.

Collins: What are your immediate plans for the new NCAA/SEC?

Slive: A number of changes. Let me reveal a couple.

First, we want full control over all visual images from each game. Our new SEC Digital Network now has rights to every picture taken at every NCAA game. We want to make college football lucrative to those few that can continue to participate.

Second, the history of college football will be changed. National Championships by SEC teams and legitimate All-Americans have been ignored by eastern media and that we will change that. The College Football Hall of Fame will be moved south. We’re considering moving it into the Bear Bryant Museum.

Collins: Is there anything else you’d like to add, Mike?

Slive: No, it’s been my pleasure, Michael. You’ve been a real gentleman. Who do you write for anyway?

Collins: An Irish football blog called Clashmore Mike and an open-source sports community called Bleacher Report.

Slive: Hmm, haven’t heard of either. Luckily, it appears our conversation won’t reach much of an audience.

Collins: Well, Bleacher Report, for instance, now appears on CBS Sportline, ESPN and Yahoo! Sports websites.

Slive: Whoa, I had no idea… How much would you say Bleacher Report is worth? We might be interested. Also, tell me more about Clashmore Mike… You know fans can be businessmen, too.

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This article is © 2007-2009 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

To Hell With Notre Dame: The Rocky Road Of The ND-Michigan Rivalry

Michael Collins — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:33:54 -0400

One hundred years ago an experienced Notre Dame team traveled to Ann Arbor under a national spotlight due to both teams' strong performances thus far that season. Chicago Tribune news writers attended as well as Walter Camp, Yale's legendary coach, and other Eastern football experts.

The 1909 Notre Dame-Michigan Game

Though Michigan had won two national championships and five conference championships in the decade, Wolverine coach Fielding Yost expected a struggle: "We've got to work as we have never worked before. Notre Dame is coming up here Saturday with a bunch of men that have had more football experience than any of the players on our team. They are almighty strong. Saturday's contest will be as hard as either the Pennsylvania or Minnesota games."

Notre Dame dominated first half play against one of Yost's greatest teams and led 5-3. Despite their coach's halftime exhortations---"Git ‘em low, I tell you. Git ‘em low! Fight, fight, FIGHT!"---Notre Dame won 11-3 for their first victory against Michigan, igniting national sports news and an uneasy rivalry.

The Detroit Free Press headline read: "'U. of M. Outplayed and Beaten By the Notre Dame Eleven' -- 'Shorty Longman's Fighting Irishmen Humble the Wolverines to Tune of 11 to 3'." This headline is often credited with the origin of Notre Dame's team name.

Yost, a West Virginian, was crushed following the loss. "What makes me so dag-goned mad is that we might have won the game. Those are the worst kind of games to lose. They leave a worm in a man's heart to gnaw and gnaw. Oh, I don't know. I'm sick and tired of the whole business; it certainly is discouraging. Although we were outplayed we should have won. I take my hat off to the Irishmen."

Notre Dame outscored its first seven opponents 236-14 with five shutouts, but ended with a 0-0 tie against Marquette. At that time in college football's history, champions were crowned in the East and the West. After Michigan eliminated undefeated Minnesota 15-6, Yost was singing a different song. "They will have to do some juggling to make the Indiana bunch champions of the West. Let them fight it out in the newspapers, y'know. We are satisfied. The games that counted, Michigan won."

Michigan proclaimed themselves West champions once again (picture above) and then cancelled the Notre Dame game on the eve of the game in Ann Arbor the following year.

Fritz Crisler and Frank Leahy

The Wolverines did not play Notre Dame for another thirty-three years until two games scheduled during the lean years of World War II. Michigan won 32-20 in 1942 in South Bend and lost 35-12 in Ann Arbor in 1943.

George Ceithaml, captain of Michigan's 1942 team, victorious over ND 32-20 and later an assistant coach at Michigan wrote his old coach Fritz Cristler, "Conference champions come and go, but beating Notre Dame stays forever."

Coach Frank Leahy recalled, "In 1944 I asked Fritz Crisler directly if we could resume the series. He looked me straight in the eyes and said that Michigan was willing to meet Notre Dame any place, any time and any Saturday. I believed him. I repeatedly asked him for a date that we could meet and he never could make room on his schedule for Notre Dame."

When asked by reporters about a Michigan-Notre Dame series in 1947, the normally quiet, reserved Leahy shot back, "I just wish we had the opportunity to beat Michigan. We'd be happy to play them any time, on any Saturday, during any fall."

In the 1940s Michigan coach Fritz Crisler attempted to organize Big Ten schools to boycott ND. Michigan State and Purdue both told Notre Dame they were proud and delighted to have the Irish on their schedules.

Michigan would not play Notre Dame again for another thirty-five years.

Michigan Players and Coaches

Bo Schembechler once spat, “To hell with Notre Dame.” Much as he tried, Bo could not downplay the rivalry. "When you are setting your goals at the beginning of the season, Notre Dame always pops into the picture." Bo also railed against the winds of history, "We don't need Notre Dame. They need us more than we need them." Ultimately, Schembechler was 4-6 versus Notre Dame all-time.

In fact, of Wolverine coaches in modern times, only Lloyd Carr has a winning record (5-4-1) against the Irish. Carr felt, "In the history of college football, in my judgment the biggest game you could ever have for the national championship would be Michigan and Notre Dame."

Michigan football also players feel strongly about the Notre Dame game.

QB Elvis Grbac, when asked in 1991 if Michigan were to go 1-11 which team would he want the one victory to come against without hesitation answered, "Notre Dame."

Mike Hart ('07) knew the score, "You can't be considered a great back until you perform against Notre Dame."

"I think of Notre Dame 365 days of the year." ---Greg Skrepanek, OT, 1990

"We at Michigan want to say, 'We're the greatest college football team ever and we're the ones who taught you guys football. When it comes to these two schools, you should just throw the rankings out the window. Everybody knows what's at stake." ---Jamie Morris, 1986

"When we lose to Notre Dame, it is so disheartening. It leaves a bitter taste you can't seem to get out of your mouth." ---Tony Henderson, DT, 1994

Gerald Ford (UM '33) said of the rivalry, "It's good for Michigan, it's good for Notre Dame and it's good for college football."

This week, Rich Rodriquez sounded much like Fielding Yost did a century ago: "We're going to get challenged by a quarterback that is playing as well as you can possibly play. He's [a] very strong armed, accurate, smart guy. He can take advantage of some situations. He throws a deep ball extremely well and he's got some guys that can catch it in Tate and Floyd. He has got two in the best of the country at wide out. Their tight end is an NFL guy, an outstanding player. I really like their tailback. I remember Armando Allen coming out of high school. I thought he was one of the top guys in the country coming out… They've got a lot of talent and they're playing and executing at a nice [level], ever since the bowl game. You can see that the bowl game gave them confidence. They carried it over last week against Nevada and I'm sure that they are going to have a lot of confidence coming in here."

Throw out the rankings, the statistics, your logical choices and the Irish's 15-12-1 record against Michigan in this century of play. The Irish are headed to Ann Arbor once again to play before 100,000 Wolverine fans who may feel as Bo did. In this rivalry, the worst emotions of Othello rule us: "Now by heaven, my blood begins my safer guides to rule, and passion, having my best judgment collied, assays to lead the way."

Wins over Michigan have always taken heart, passion and everything players and coaches can muster.

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Fifteen Answers on Notre Dame’s Rivalries

This article is © 2007-2009 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

The Bleacher's Community: Drive-By Articles

Michael Collins — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:55:40 -0400

Most everyone here at Bleachers is civil, respectful of differences of opinion, and open to a little healthy debate. That’s the basis of the Community established at Bleachers. Gray Ghost put it best in describing his rules for his family’s dinner table discussions in an article that’s an all-time favorite here:

“The rule at these table debates is simple: No yelling, no name calling, and no personal insults. Sort of like a verbal hockey game, if that rule is broken during our debates the offending party is exiled from the discussion until he, or she, cools their jets and is ready to talk civilly again.

"It’s never good to run the mouth when the brain has been shut off! That is a sure sign of someone who has been intellectually bested and now must resort to a verbal smokescreen in hopes of covering up their inability to contribute anything else of value.”

Each of us has something worthwhile to contribute, something we take time to work on and express to those who will take the time to read our articles. Only occasionally will we experience what I call “drive-by” articles.

You know the type—the author spends his or her time venting, bashing, or insulting. Most neighborhoods rarely see these articles in Bleachers.

We’re their second neighborhood. Without us, who would they pull the trigger on?

Community	Members	Articles in the Last Month	Drive-by Articles in the Last Month
Oklahoma	249	19	0
Texas	311	28	0
USC	429	54	0
Alabama	746	101	1
Ohio State	710	96	2
Florida	588	82	3
Notre Dame	607	114	14

In the Notre Dame Community, to the tune of more than three articles per week, we hear Lou’s senile, Charlie’s fat, the Irish have never played anyone, etc. Our independence can be a bulls eye.

Imagine reading only about preseason prospects, positional battles, and opponent analyses as in other Communities!!

They unfortunately have not lived at Gray Ghost’s table. For my writing, I try to remember his advice—“If you want respect, then show respect. If you want to feel accepted here, be willing to accept others—regardless of how their opinion differs from yours.”

Football is inherently divisive since hubris and bragging rights come down to wins and losses. The media love to garner the pro-Irish and anti-Irish for an audience in a potion that draws in and divides too many.

Should the Irish have a more successful season than some think we deserve, we shall hear it. We rarely change how such an author looks at Notre Dame with our comments, even if we remind him or her we are an alumni or fan like they are of their team. Our responsibility, though, is that we must accept that they and their teams are as equally important to college football and to all of us.

My father said frequently, “If you can’t say anything nice about someone, don’t say anything at all,” to help me understand the importance of controlling an Irish temper.

Gray Ghost’s advice: “There is a difference between reacting and responding. Reaction requires no real thought process. You hit me, I hit you—we both deal with the consequences later. Graveyards are full of reactionaries. Response, on the other hand, requires that we engage our gray matter—that we take the time to consider our next move.”

We can only control our responses. Which can include no response.

Bleachers does not exile someone from the dinner table for name-calling or personal insults. An individual's Writer Rankings can actually increase if we pay too much attention to drive-bys. It's up to us.

We have our Community. They will drive through. We'll leave it on the field.

*Stats from Bleachers' Archives on August 30th.

The Math, Money, and Scheduling Mayhem Behind College Football's 12th Game

Michael Collins — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:30:25 -0400

August is the cruelest month for football fans. Heat, humidity and sweat sweep over the dead land in two-a-days, catching us between memory and desire, mingling historical ghosts and anticipatory future greatness with the specters of past failed expectations lingering over our shoulders.

We can begin to see the sprouts that summer rain, perspiration and summer workouts and conditioning programs bring to our favorite teams.We are less than two weeks away. We are all delusional in anticipation—without the brakes of retrospection.

The 12th Game

So, for now, let’s look back on how the college football landscape has changed over three years with the introduction of the 12th game.

Opposition to the 12th game included some heavy hitters—the football coaches (the AFCA), the ACC, the Knight Foundation and the Coalition of Intercollegiate Athletics, which represents 47 FBS schools. FCS schools (D-IAA at the time) rejected the proposal. The D-1 Board passed the proposal 8-2.

“An overwhelming majority (of coaches) are against this, and their rationale is the student-athlete,” Grant Teaff, executive director of the AFCA said in 2005. “But we’re realists. Even though we came out and said we’re against it, we knew it was a financial issue for institutions.”

Unbalanced Schedules

This year, of 66 BCS schools (the 65 conference schools and Notre Dame), only 15 (23% or less than one in four) will play a 6-6 schedule balanced between home and away games. The other 77% (51 teams) have utilized the 12th game to increase home games and/or include big payday neutral site games.

Seven schools will have 8-4 schedules (Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Auburn, North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, and Syracuse).
The first three will maximize the home game benefit from stadiums whose capacity is greater than 100,000—more than neutral site venues. Auburn’s home game capacity is 87,000.
LSU with a stadium capacity of 92,000 reportedly makes $3-4 million per home game. In two of the last three years, the Tigers have had an 8-4 schedule.
26 schools have a 7-5 schedule.

“It was quite clear that the motivation for mounting a 12th game was financial,” said Bob Eno of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics in 2005. “Well, the motivation for having intercollegiate athletics is supposed to be for educational enhancement.”

Neutral Site Games (Plus More Home Games)

Neutral site games are becoming common. 18 BCS schools (27%) will play a neutral site game. More schools have neutral site games than have a 6-6 schedule (15).

Eight schools have 7-4-1 schedules (Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Ohio State, and Notre Dame).
Eight schools have 6-5-1 schedules (Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Washington State, and Illinois).
Two schools will play two neutral site games in a 6-4-2 schedule (Missouri and Oklahoma).
Only four non-BCS schools will play neutral site games (BYU, Toledo, Army, and Navy).

The advantage of the 12th game coupled with large stadiums like the Georgia Dome, the new Meadowlands stadium, the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando and the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas looking for ways to fill seats have led to the phenomenon of big payouts for neutral site games.

Arkansas and Texas A&M inked a ten year contract to play each other in Cowboys Stadium for $5 million each per year—more than a BCS at-large participant and without having to share the revenue with their conference teams.

Big-time college football has entered a new era with 12th game scheduling, neutral site games, new rules for playing FCS teams and national and conference TV contracts. With $205 million per year from CBS and ESPN, SEC coffers are overflowing. Each SEC school will benefit with over $17 million per year from the TV deals. Notre Dame makes $9 million per year with its contract with NBC.

Four SEC teams—Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia—will play neutral site games this year, reeling in more money for their schools.

Breakdown by Conference

Both the Big East and the Pac-10 have 50% of their schools playing a 6-6 schedule. The ACC, which opposed the 12th game, has 67% (eight of 12) teams playing an unbalanced scheduled.

The three top conferences with unbalanced home-away schedules are:

The Big 12—92% (11 of 12 teams, 12 neutral site games)
The SEC—92% (11 of 12 teams, 4 neutral site games)
The Big Ten—91% (10 of 11 teams, 2 neutral site games)

Only one Big Ten team (Indiana), one SEC team (Vanderbilt) and one Big 12 team (Colorado) play a 6-6 schedule.

The overwhelming winner in scheduling neutral site games is the Big 12. 10 of their 12 members have neutral site games in 2009 with two schools with two neutral site games. Only Colorado and Nebraska are not involved in neutral site games, though Colorado had one in Denver in 2008.

Two Big Ten teams (Ohio State and Illinois), one ACC team (Virginia Tech), one Pac-10 team (Washington State), one Independent (Notre Dame), two non-BCS Independent teams (traditionally, Army and Navy), the two non-BCS teams (BYU and Toledo). No Big East teams play neutral site games this year.

Are the Rich Getting Richer?

No question. While the Big Ten only has two teams with neutral site games this year, many of their schools have stadium capacities of over 100,000.

Seven of the Forbes’ Top 10 richest college football programs will have neutral site games this year in addition to their TV revenues. Of the other three, Michigan and Tennessee have eight home games in stadiums over 100,000. LSU will have thirty home games from 2006-09. The Tigers paid a BCS record of $2.85 million to four visiting teams last year. Forbes Top 10 includes five SEC schools.

“(College football) is not a student’s game as it once was. It is a highly organized commercial enterprise. The athletes who take part in it have come up through years of training; they are commanded by professional coaches; little if any initiative of ordinary play is left to the player.

The great matches are highly profitable enterprises. Sometimes the profits go to finance college sports, sometimes to pay the cost of the sports amphitheater, in some cases the college authorities take a slice for college buildings.” —Carnegie Commission Report, 1929

Commercialism and Costs

The Carnegie Commission Report’s statement from eighty years ago is similar to those concerns issued today about big-time college football.

“The Commission received reports on three new financial studies commissioned by the NCAA that examine operating revenues and expenditures and spending on athletics facilities. The Commission noted that even without full costing of capital expenditures and staff compensation, the preliminary data show that from 2001 to 2003, athletics spending grew at a rate four times faster than overall institutional spending.” —Knight Commission, May 23, 2005

In short, despite the drain on college resources, colleges are expanding stadiums and their facilities to keep pace with the competition, paying spiraling coaching contracts, travel costs, national recruiting costs and opponents’ buy-in game fees.

However, few teams can cover their costs. In a recent study, only 19 teams in FBS football make enough profit to cover their costs without raising student fees or getting a subsidy from the university to support the football program. The gap between those elite football teams and the others would appear to be on the rise in the coming years.

Imagine what the Carnegie Commission would say about athletic apparel contracts, stadium sponsorships, advertising, Jumbotrons, luxury boxes and mega-TV deals.

In the last week, the SEC has acted to restrict photographs and videos of its games and players for use on Internet websites that charge for access or advertising. The conference, with its broadcast partners, view these uses as infringements on their rights.

The soon-to-launch SEC Digital Network will market highlight reels, videos and slideshows—for a price.

Non-BCS and FCS Game Impacts, More Conference Games?

More non-BCS and FCS games are being scheduled than ever before to fill out the schedules for the ninety-two games over a 6-6 schedule.

Only 16 BCS teams will not play a FCS opponent this year.
Only five BCS teams—Notre Dame, USC, UCLA, Washington, and Tennessee—have never played a FCS opponent.
Eight teams—Rutgers, Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Kansas State, Iowa, Mississippi, and South Florida—will play two FCS opponents (only one counts as a win).
The typical buy-in fees for those games is rapidly approaching $1 million.

Could FBS football survive without a 12th game? Does FCS football with 11 games and a majority on the road need the income from the BCS opponent game?

Delaware State has already lost a game this year, forfeiting to North Carolina A&T on October 17 for the $550,000 check to play Michigan in the Big House as one of the Wolverines’ eight home game opponents.

Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin explains the revenue/cost/competition dilemma: “We (Big Ten Athletic Directors) talk about that at every meeting. As the guarantees (for non-conference games) go up and up and up and the fans want to play our sister institutions in the conference, to me it’s a no-brainer. Play ‘em…” and “It is a revenue hit to you (losing a home game), but you have to balance that with the responsibility to give your fans some quality opponents.”

The earliest that schedules could be adjusted for nine conference games is for the 2012 season. The problem for the Big Ten is that without adding a 12th team one team would have one less conference game. A 12-team Big Ten could also split into divisions and play a lucrative conference championship game. The clock is ticking.

The 12-team ACC, too has talked about having nine conference games, which could improve their strength of schedule rankings—as well as lower their costs for buy-in games. Are they too addicted to the extra home game?

Education vs. the Big Business of Football

The history of college football includes many instances where colleges and their organizations have tried to come to grips with the inclusion of football as entertainment within their mandate to educate.

Knight Commission Chairman William C. Friday, president emeritus of the University of North Carolina said in 2003: “It is unacceptable to the Knight Commission–and, we trust, to other university presidents as well—that nearly two-thirds of the teams participating in bowl games fail to graduate at least 50 percent of their players. It is a reasonable—indeed, minimum—standard for demonstrating that academics are valued in big-time college football.”

The current average NCAA graduation rate is 60%. Why not reserve bowl participation for teams that graduate more than 50% of their players? No problem, right? Any school should be able to graduate one out of two football players in six years.

For the 2008-09 bowl season, using the 50% graduation measurement:

Only 12 of 34 bowl games could have been played.
33% of the participating teams failed to graduate at least 50% of their players.
The national championship game between Florida and Oklahoma graduated football players at 36% and 36%, respectively.

The graduation rates by teams in the national championship game is especially miserable. From 2001-08, only two of the 16 teams exceeded a 50% graduation rate—USC (58%) in 2004 and Nebraska (57%) in 2001. Eight of those 16 teams had graduation rates in the 30-40% range.

For BCS conference breakdown, with teams graduating 50% or more in 2008:

Big East—100%, all 8 teams
ACC—83%, 10 of 12 teams
Big 12—75%, 8 of 12 teams
Big 10—66%, 6 of 11 teams
Pac 10—60%, 6 of 10 teams
SEC—42%, 5 of 12 teams

Off-season moves by the SEC include lowering admission standards to the NCAA minimum, verbal commitments by their schools to utilize some TV revenue towards improving educational outcomes of their players and limiting recruiting signing classes to twenty-seven per team per year.

Are we educating football players or just hiring them for entertainment?

Wasteland or Garden

In anticipation of the coming season, look farther down the road where there is no shade for those not blessed with large stadiums, neutral site games opportunities and lacking compelling matchups. A generation of student-athletes, who have a 50% chance of graduating college and care less about their “academic needs,” want to be paid. Their education is not enough.

There is shadow under improved graduation rates and the thirsty can quench under equitable revenue-sharing. With both, we may see more competition, less mediocrity, and the student-athlete with a promising future upon graduation.

Without either change, I will show you fear in an armful of unsold tickets, teams that resemble semi-pros, and a shrinking hierarchy in college football.

August becomes less cruel daily, as flexed sinews in soil and sweat comes closer to the clash triggered by whistles. Sitting in the stands, would I sacrifice some of those players’ graduations and careers for a win or two more?

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Syracuse Schedules Notre Dame in the New Meadowlands

Michael Collins — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:43:26 -0400

Syracuse University Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross and CEO of New Meadowlands Stadium Company Mark Lamping announced yesterday that Syracuse will play the University of Notre Dame twice at the New Meadowlands, including September 27, 2014 and September 3, 2016, and USC on September 8, 2012. The Orange will be the home team for all three games at the new stadium.

Syracuse saw the opportunity to leverage the local and national exposure for Syracuse’s football program both for their alumni support and for recruiting advantages.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for Syracuse University to be associated with the New Meadowlands," Gross said. "We embrace the opportunity to play in the New York metropolitan area, which boasts our most popular alumni base, to enhance our football program and University objectives. As the only BCS team in the state of New York, we feel it is our responsibility to represent this region successfully. The national exposure and playing these traditional college football programs are exciting for us as we look forward to re-establishing our own football tradition. The timing of this is perfect as we begin a new era in our history with head coach Doug Marrone, who grew up in this area and served as Jets offensive line coach from 2002 to 2005. The stadium is absolutely fabulous and we thank everyone at the New Meadowlands who helped make this opportunity come to fruition. We look forward to this great partnership."

New Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone was equally enthusiastic, especially about the appeal to greater NYC alumni and for recruiting: "It's great for us to have the opportunity to play in a tremendous venue that gives us terrific exposure as a University and helps the program in a lot of ways, including recruiting. We have a strong alumni presence in the metropolitan area and, hopefully, our fans here in Syracuse will join us for the trip. Our fans do a great job supporting the basketball team when we play for the Big East Championship in Madison Square Garden. We hope to gain that same type of support in this game."

Syracuse plays eight home games at the Carrier Dome this year. Gross said that the Orange will play no fewer than six home games at the Carrier Dome in those years they will play USC and Notre Dame. He feels that the addition of the twelfth game allows them to pursue such opportunities to further their football program’s goals.

Rutgers declined a longer series with Notre Dame at the Meadowlands, which is ten miles from their campus. Syracuse and Gross jumped at the chance for appearances in northern New Jersey. "It's nice to know the new Meadowlands people recruited us. We started a relationship. They're very serious about it. Obviously, we're very excited financially with the terms. It has the makings to be a terrific relationship for the future of our program."

Gross explained how the games should improve recruiting. "Recruiting is really important. To play those games in the New York area, now you hit Northern New Jersey, now you hit Long Island, now you hit New York City, now you hit Pennsylvania, you have exposure that's unrivaled.”

Meadowlands CEO Lampling was equally excited about the relationship. "We designed New Meadowlands Stadium to accommodate a variety of games, sporting events and concerts. We are thrilled to host Syracuse University, a school with rich and time-honored athletic tradition, and we likewise welcome the Orange to be a part of New Meadowlands history."

"The scheduling of these highly anticipated Syracuse games versus USC and Notre Dame means the best of college football will be in the best venue for football and stadium events," said Woody Johnson, Chairman and CEO of the New York Jets.

"The history of college football at Meadowlands runs deep, dating back to the Garden State Bowl in the 1970s and Kickoff Classics in the 1980s," said John Mara, co-owner of the New York Giants. "I am thrilled to continue this long-standing tradition, and to watch it grow at our new home."

After the University of Connecticut declined a series with Notre Dame fifteen days ago, the Orange moved in to schedule their four-game series against Notre Dame. Syracuse will travel to South Bend for games on November 21, 2015 and October 7, 2017. None of those dates for games with Syracuse correspond to the UConn proposed games.

Also worth noting is that the ND-UConn game dates in 2011 and 2013 were not replaced by Syracuse. Could other announcements be pending?

Bowl Affiliation News

The Big East affiliations with the Gator Bowl will be ended, replaced by the Champs Sports Bowl, beginning in 2010. Notre Dame could be chosen once during the four year contract. The Champs Sports Bowl is played December 27th, 28th, or 29th, while the Gator Bowl was on January 1st.

"We are thrilled to be a partner with the Champs Sports Bowl, said Big East Commissioner John Marinatto. "I know our schools are very excited about the agreement. Orlando is an outstanding destination for our teams and fans. It's going to be a great experience for everyone. The Champs Sports Bowl is an outstanding addition to the Big East bowl lineup."

"We are very excited about gaining another top pick through the Big East and Notre Dame," said Steve Hogan, CEO of Florida Citrus Sports.

For the moment, with the Big East’s decision, Notre Dame does not have any further tie-ins with the Big East and does not have any affiliations for a non-BCS January 1st bowl game. As far as setting up a tie-in with other Big East-affiliated bowls, Notre Dame Athletic Director, Jack Swarbrick said: "The Big East will present that information to us as they develop it and we'll evaluate it. We also have our own conversations with other bowls."

Fifteen Answers on Notre Dame's Rivalries

Michael Collins — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:02:02 -0400

Some great regional rivalries form some of the history and intensity that vibrates through college football, often determining conference champions: Texas-Texas A&M (115 years), Auburn-Georgia (112)—"The Oldest Rivalry in the Deep South," Ohio State-Michigan (105), Texas-Oklahoma (103), Nebraska-Oklahoma (82), USC-UCLA (78), Auburn-Alabama (73), LSU-Arkansas (54).

Navy-Army (109) transcends regions. Miami-Florida State (53) and Florida-FSU (53) transcend conferences with the winner owning state bragging rights.

Rivalries are defined by tradition, often naturally linked by distance, and usually contribute to a tougher conference strength of schedule. Here are the answers to the quiz questions from my previous article on Notre Dame’s rivalries.

Tradition Questions

How many Big Ten teams has Purdue played more times than Notre Dame?
- 1, Indiana
How many Big Ten teams has Michigan State played more times than Notre Dame?
- 1, Michigan
How many teams has Pittsburgh played more than Notre Dame?
- 2, Penn State and West Virginia
How many teams has Navy played more than Notre Dame?
- 1, Army
A. Who has played USC more: Notre Dame or UCLA? B. How many Pac-10 teams has USC played more than Notre Dame?
- A. Notre Dame
- B. 2, Cal and Stanford
How many ACC teams has Boston College played more than Notre Dame?
- 1, Miami—Clemson and Notre Dame are tied for second.
Which rivalry is older: Navy-Notre Dame or Alabama-Auburn?
- Alabama-Auburn, which began in 1893 (73 games). Navy-Notre Dame is the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in college football, played annually since 1927 (82 games).
Which rivalry is older: Michigan-Ohio State or Michigan-Notre Dame?
- Michigan-Notre Dame, which began in 1887 when they played 3 games (Michigan was Notre Dame’s first opponent). Ohio State first played Michigan ten years later in 1897.
Which rivalry began first: Auburn-Georgia (the “Oldest Rivalry in the South”) or Michigan-Notre Dame?
- Michigan-Notre Dame (1887)—however, Auburn-Georgia is five years older (1892) than Michigan-Ohio State.
What college football rivalry has produced the most national titles, the most Heisman trophy winners, All-Americans, College Football Hall of Famers and future NFL Hall of Famers?
- Notre Dame-USC

Distance Questions

In the heart of Big Ten country, in northern Indiana, Notre Dame has three natural Big Ten rivals by distance—Purdue, Michigan State and Michigan.

Which campuses are closer to each other?
- Notre Dame-Purdue or Florida-Florida State (intrastate rivalries)
  - Notre Dame-Purdue by one mile
- Michigan-Ohio State or Michigan-Notre Dame (interstate rivalries)
  - Notre Dame-Michigan by 15 miles
- Alabama-Auburn or Michigan State-Notre Dame (intrastate vs. interstate)
  - Notre Dame-Michigan State by two miles

Purdue, Michigan State, and Michigan each have only one Big Ten team closer than Notre Dame in distance.

Conference Rivalries Questions

Using number of years played:

Pittsburgh is Notre Dame’s fifth-oldest rivalry. How many of last year’s BCS conference champions have played their fifth longest conference opponent more years?
- Notre Dame’s oldest rivalries: Navy (82 years), USC and Purdue (80), Michigan State (72), and Pittsburgh (64). Only three BCS conference champions—Oklahoma, Ohio State, and USC—have played their fifth-longest opponent more.
  - Oklahoma-Kansas State (90 years)
  - Ohio State-Northwestern and Wisconsin (74 years)
  - USC-Oregon State (72 years)

As for the other three BCS conference champions, their only opponents (of all opponents) they have played longer than the Notre Dame-Pittsburgh rivalry are:

Cincinnati—1, Miami
Virginia Tech—2, Virginia and VMI
Florida—2, Georgia and Auburn

Rank these rivalries in length of time played:
1. Miami-Florida State
2. Florida-Florida State
3. LSU-Arkansas
4. Notre Dame-Pittsburgh
  - Pittsburgh-Notre Dame (64 years) is older by about a decade than LSU-Arkansas (54), Miami-Florida State (53 years) and Florida-Florida State (53).

A. How many of Notre Dame’s rivalries predate ACC football (1953)? B. How many predate Big East football (1991)?
- A. Navy, USC, Purdue, Michigan State and Pittsburgh (five) predate ACC football (six, counting Michigan, is also considered correct).
- B. Michigan played nine games with ND until 1909, then two in the WWII years, and did not play the Irish annually until 1978. Since then, ND has played Michigan 23 of the last 25 years. Stanford played ND in the 1925 Rose Bowl and once during WWII. Since then, the Cardinals have played the Irish 19 of the last 21 years from 1988. Boston College first played ND in 1975 and has played Notre Dame 15 of the last 17 years. All eight of these rivalries predate Big East football.

Taken together, USC, Navy, Purdue, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Michigan, Boston College and Stanford can be considered as Notre Dame’s "conference" of eight.

Strength of Schedule Questions

Who had the tougher regular season schedule last year?
- Alabama (SEC West champion) or Notre Dame
  - Notre Dame
- Ohio State (Big Ten champion) or Notre Dame
  - Notre Dame
- Cincinnati (Big East champion) or Notre Dame
  - Notre Dame

If you chose Alabama or Ohio State, you would be wrong. I’ll use Jeff Sagarin’s rankings (lower number is stronger; * indicates matchup winner).

Conference

Alabama	Notre Dame
Mississippi, #10	*USC, #2
*Georgia, #15	Pittsburgh, #27
*LSU, #21	Boston College, #28
Kentucky, #49	*Michigan State, #33
Tennessee, #58	*Stanford, #50
Auburn, #60	*Navy, #51
*Arkansas, #64	Purdue, #78
*Mississippi State, #93	Michigan, #95

Mean—Alabama, 46.25, Notre Dame, 45.5

Non-Conference

Alabama	Notre Dame
Clemson, #30	*North Carolina, #29
Arkansas State, #107	*Syracuse, #104
Tulane, #148	*Washington, #129
Western Kentucky, #161	*San Diego State, #136

Mean—Alabama, 111.5, Notre Dame, 99.5

Strength of Schedule Analysis

The media sometimes trumpets how tough the SEC conference schedule is. Notre Dame’s "conference" and Alabama’s conference opponents tied 4 to 4 in matchups of strength. Notre Dame had a lower mean in-conference strength of schedule.

Non-conference comparison was no contest with Notre Dame winning four of four. Overall, Notre Dame had eight of 12 teams stronger than Alabama’s. Additionally, a full schedule comparison does not help Alabama. Their non-conference schedule widens the gap—Alabama mean, 68 and Notre Dame, 63.5.

Notre Dame’s "conference" schedule was as tough as any SEC West team’s, since Georgia was the highest-ranked SEC East team on any West’s schedule.

Since Ohio State and Notre Dame had four common opponents—USC, Michigan State, Purdue and Michigan—and one, USC, was non-conference—a full regular season comparison makes more sense here.

Ohio State	Notre Dame
USC, #2	USC, #2
*Penn State, #8	Pittsburgh, #27
Michigan State, #33	*Boston College, #28
Northwestern, #44	*North Carolina, #29
Wisconsin, #61	*Michigan State, #33
Illinois, #68	*Stanford, #50
Troy, #70	*Navy, #51
*Minnesota, #75	Purdue, #78
*Purdue, #78	Michigan, #95
*Michigan, #95	Syracuse, #104
*Ohio, #120	Washington, #129
Youngstown State, #198	*San Diego State, #136

Notre Dame’s opponents win this matchup—6 to 5 with one tie (USC). Most of Notre Dame’s opponents’ strength were in the first seven, 5-1-1 to ND. That difference shows in the mean strength numbers. Ohio State with eight teams >60 has a mean of 71. Notre Dame with seven teams <52 has a mean of 63.5.

Cincinnati—I’ll use Sagarin’s strength of schedule, even though he includes bowl games—even with a bowl game against Virginia Tech (No. 18 by Sagarin), has a schedule rank of 60. Notre Dame with a bowl game against Hawaii (No. 91 by Sagarin) has a schedule rank of 50.

Conclusion

If the Irish were to join the SEC West, the Big Ten or the Big East, they would have an easier road to a BCS bowl than staying independent.

From 2000-08, Notre Dame has had the eighth toughest schedule in the nation. Florida, at thirteenth, has had the toughest SEC schedule. Michigan, at 18th, has had the toughest Big Ten schedule. Syracuse, at 49th, has had the toughest schedule of current Big East members.

Joining a Conference: Big Ten or Big East

If the Irish joined the Big Ten, they might keep Purdue, Michigan State and Michigan, but would choose their four non-conference games between USC, Navy, Pittsburgh, BC and Stanford. Notre Dame’s non-conference schedule would be tougher than any current Big Ten teams.

If the Irish joined the Big East, only rival Pittsburgh would become a conference team. The Irish would have to choose between four of their other seven traditional rivals. This would cripple a national schedule that also includes two Pac-10, one ACC, and three Big Ten and one Independent.

Conclusion

Joining the Big Ten or the Big East would lighten ND’s strength of schedule and clear an easier road to a BCS bowl rather than staying independent.

USC, Navy, Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan and Pittsburgh are on the Irish schedule through 2016 with MSU through 2025. So, discussion of Notre Dame joining a conference would have to take into account those contracts—and NBC’s through 2015.

Notre Dame would have to end some great traditional rivalries that have contributed to the intensity of college football history—something neither Notre Dame nor their opponents are prepared to sacrifice.

Furthermore

Fifteen Questions: A Quiz on Notre Dame's Rivalries

Michael Collins — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:26:40 -0400

I’ve lost track of how many articles have been written this offseason advising Notre Dame football to join a conference. Any conference affiliation will require the independent Irish to sacrifice some long-time rivalries.

Rivalries are defined by tradition, often naturally linked by distance, and usually contribute to a tougher conference strength of schedule.

The great regional rivalries form the history and intensity that vibrates through college football, often determining conference champions:

Texas–Texas A&M (115 years)

Auburn–Georgia (112)

Ohio State–Michigan (105)

Texas–Oklahoma (103)

Nebraska–Oklahoma (82)

USC–UCLA (78)

Auburn–Alabama (73)

LSU–Arkansas (54)

Navy–Army (109) transcends regions. Miami–Florida State (53) and Florida–FSU (53) transcend conferences with the winner owning state bragging rights.

How much do you know about tradition, distance and strength of schedule for Notre Dame and her rivals?

Go with your gut—or research these. The answers will challenge and may surprise you. I'll post the answers next week.

The Quiz

How many Big Ten teams has Purdue played more times than Notre Dame?
How many Big Ten teams has Michigan State played more times than Notre Dame?
How many teams has Pittsburgh played more than Notre Dame?
How many teams has Navy played more than Notre Dame?
Who has played USC more—Notre Dame or UCLA? How many Pac-10 teams has USC played more than Notre Dame?
How many ACC teams has Boston College played more than Notre Dame?
Which rivalry is older: Navy—Notre Dame or Alabama—Auburn?
Which rivalry is older: Michigan—Ohio State or Michigan—Notre Dame?
Which rivalry began first: Auburn—Georgia, the “Oldest Rivalry in the South,” or Michigan—Notre Dame?
What college football rivalry has produced the most national titles, the most Heisman trophy winners, All-Americans, College Football Hall of Famers, and future NFL Hall of Famers?
Which campuses are closer to each other?
- Notre Dame—Purdue or Florida—Florida State
- Michigan—Ohio State or Michigan—Notre Dame
- Alabama—Auburn or Michigan State—Notre Dame
Pittsburgh is Notre Dame’s fifth-oldest rivalry. How many of last year’s BCS conference champions have played their fifth longest conference opponent more years?
Rank these rivalries in length of time played:
1. Miami—Florida State
2. Florida—Florida State
3. LSU—Arkansas
4. Notre Dame—Pittsburgh
How many of Notre Dame’s rivalries predate ACC football (1953)? How many predate Big East football (1991)?
Who had the tougher regular season schedule last year?
- Alabama (SEC West champion) or Notre Dame
- Ohio State (Big Ten champion) or Notre Dame
- Cincinnati (Big East champion) or Notre Dame

Answer Guide

15	Head of the Class
12-14	Gifted
8-11	Good, but need more time studying
4-8	Ask for the Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia as a gift
0-3	Stick to writing articles about other team

This article is © 2007-2009 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

Notre Dame- Army in 2010 and the Rutgers Rules

Michael Collins — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:05:15 -0400

We've all been exposed to the propaganda from Notre Dame football-crazed fans and Notre Dame-controlled media that the Irish will be renewing one of the historic rivalries of 20th century college football: Army vs. Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium.

Yes, yes, Notre Dame and Army will play the first football game in the new Yankee Stadium in 2010. The real news is that Rutgers will play Army at Yankee Stadium in 2011. New Yawk vs. New Joisee.

The Irish own Yankee Stadium with a history of 20 games from 1925-1946, when they played annually at the House that Ruth Built, but for a couple of games. The games were legendary, often for the national championship.

Rutgers, it seems, has its own history of playing games in large venue sites, frequently playing at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, forsaking their university football stadium for the big bucks.

Now they'll cross the river to do the same in New York against Army. Same as it ever was.

Still, the Rutgers-Army game is ground-breaking: the first time the Irish have allowed the Scarlet Knights to play on their home turf.

Fans are left puzzling over the Rutgers Rules: they won't play Notre Dame closer to home in East Rutherford but will play Army in New York. Perhaps Rutgers is attempting to gain a recruiting advantage. Or the money was better?

The worst of us will see that somehow the Irish are behind this and will get their cut of the 2011 game.

Perhaps a Princeton-Rutgers game in East Rutherford in 2019 is in the works to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first college football game.

Notre Dame and the BCS: The “Notre Dame Rule”

Michael Collins — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:12:33 -0400

With Independence Day upon us, some college football fans have difficulty in swallowing an independent Notre Dame. The cartel that is the BCS—a conglomeration of the biggest bowls and the biggest conferences—succeeds in siphoning more money into their teams’ coffers.

Meanwhile, some delusional non-Irish fans think that somehow, someway Notre Dame has a BCS “rule” that bestows preferential treatment. Nothing is further from the truth.

Fallacy No. 1: “Notre Dame is preferred in the BCS selection process.”

Notre Dame is guaranteed a BCS selection if they finish in the top eight in the final poll. To guarantee themselves a BCS game, ND must finish higher than some conference champions each year.

In the 11-year history of the BCS, 19 BCS conference champions have finished below the top eight teams. Here they are:

2008-09: Cincinnati (No. 12), Virginia Tech (No. 19)
2007-08: West Virginia (No. 9), Illinois (No. 13)
2006-07: Oklahoma (No. 10), Wake Forest (No. 14)
2005-06: West Virginia (No. 11), Florida State (No. 22)
2004-05: Michigan (No. 13), Pittsburgh (No. 21)
2003-04: Miami (No. 9), Kansas State (No. 10)
2002-03: Florida State (No. 14)
2001-02: Maryland (No. 10), LSU (No. 13)
2000-01: Purdue (unranked)
1999-00: Stanford (unranked)
1998-99: Wisconsin (No. 9), Syracuse (No. 15)

In the three years Notre Dame played in BCS games, the Irish finished higher in the final BCS standings than Big Ten champion Purdue (2000-01), Big East champion West Virginia and ACC champion Florida State (2005-06) and Big 12 champion Oklahoma and ACC champion Wake Forest (2006-07).

Notre Dame has never been selected for any BCS games when they have lost more than two games in a season. In 10 of the 11 years, BCS conference teams have played a BCS bowl with three losses or more—more than any Notre Dame BCS team.

2008-09: Virginia Tech (9-4), ACC Champion
2007-08: Illinois (9-3), At Large
2005-06: Florida State (8-4), ACC Champion
2004-05: Pitt (8-4), Big East Champion
2003-04: Kansas State (11-3), Big 12 Champion
2002-03: Florida State (9-4), ACC Champion
2001-02: LSU (9-3), SEC Champion
2000-01: Purdue (8-3), Big Ten Champion
1999-00: Stanford (8-3), Pac-10 Champion
1998-99: Syracuse (8-3), Big East Champion

Somehow, a three or four-loss BCS team confers a special dispensation from the criticism aimed at Notre Dame. Every BCS conference has a champion in that list. Of those 10 teams, only Virginia Tech and LSU won their games. Only Illinois was an at-large selection.

Who is really getting preferential selection treatment?

Fallacy No. 2: “Notre Dame gets an unfair distribution of BCS money.”

With the implementation of the most recent BCS contract in 2006, Notre Dame no longer gets a full BCS share for a BCS game ($14 million at the time, now $18 million) but settled for $4.5 million, the amount given to a second place team from a conference.

Additionally, for the length of the four-year contract, the Irish would receive a 1/66th share of BCS money as the 66th team in the BCS—about $1.3 million—when they did not go to a BCS game.

For the last two years, here are the BCS conferences' profits and average per team:

ACC

2007-08: Profit — $19,263,649, Average/Team - $1.6 Million
2008-09: Profit — $18,765,375, Average/Team - $1.56 Million

Big East

2007-08: Profit — $14,197,021, Average/Team - $1.77 Million
2008-09: Profit — $15,526,656, Average/Team - $1.94 Million

Big Ten

2007-08: Profit — $24,394,305, Average/Team - $2.2 Million
2008-09: Profit — $23,846,330, Average/Team - $2.17 Million

Big 12

2007-08: Profit — $21,706,427, Average/Team - $1.81 Million
2008-09: Profit — $22,521,061, Average/Team - $1.88 Million

Pac-10

2007-08: Profit — $17,647,012, Average/Team - $1.76 Million
2008-09: Profit — $18,766,786, Average/Team - $1.88 Million

SEC

2007-08: Profit — $28,991,720, Average/Team - $2.42 Million
2008-09: Profit — $28, 362,667, Average/Team - $2.36 Million

(Source: NCAA Financials 2007-08, 2008-09)

Do you see any BCS team taking home $1.3 million—other than ND?

To make the same amount ($14 million in 2005) for a BCS appearance under the old contract, Notre Dame would need to appear in three BCS bowls in the four year contract (3 x $4.5 = $13.5 + $1.3 million for the fourth year = $14.8 million).

With the conference champion’s share increased to $18 million, though, ND would currently need four BCS appearances in four years (4 x $4.5 = $18 million) to equal one year. The Irish settled for 25 percent of what they used to take for a BCS participation.

Since ND’s BCS appearance revenue has been fixed, the “rising tide lifts all boats” theory applies to all the other BCS teams except ND. The BCS contract with fixed amounts has been an anchor to Notre Dame, while the sea rises around them.

Notre Dame could appear in a national championship game for 25 percent of what its opponent will get for their conference.

Notre Dame’s annual share is not only less than the average for each conference team, but is one percent of the total bowl revenue distributed among BCS teams. Some fans think one percent of bowl monies is too much to give Notre Dame.

In short, it is more profitable to be Duke, Iowa State, Indiana, Washington State, Syracuse, or Mississippi State than to be an independent Notre Dame. Independence for ND is certainly not about the BCS money.

Who really is getting an unfair distribution of BCS money?

Fallacy No. 3: “Notre Dame keeps all of its revenue, much more than conference champions who must share it with the rest of its conference teams. This is an unfair advantage.”

This is a half-truth, part of the story. It is true that Notre Dame keeps all its revenue, but the Irish get no help from a conference for expenses and do not share in bowl revenue brought in by conference teams. The impact of that revenue-sharing for BCS teams is detailed in the profits listed above.

Furthermore, Notre Dame does not get revenue from a conference championship game, which for the SEC amounted to $14.3 million last year to be divided among its 12 member schools. (Source: SECsports.com)

“Unlike all other BCS universities, Notre Dame realizes no revenues from games in which it does not participate,” former Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White has said. “So for Notre Dame, it’s simply feast or famine.” (Source: ESPN.com)

Notre Dame, during the three years of this BCS contract, has had income revenues of $7.85 million—$4.5 million (2006) + $1.3 million (2007) + $1.3 million + $750,000 from the Hawaii Bowl (2008).

Expenses run from $2-$2.5 million per bowl game, more for Hawaii. Notre Dame’s estimated football expenses from two bowl trips were about $4.5 million, a conservative estimate.

So, their profits from the BCS contract and bowl appearances were probably about $3.35 million for three years total, averaging $1.1 million per year.

Where’s the beef in the argument that Notre Dame’s BCS provision is overwhelming favorable for the Irish? Sounds like less feast with a slower famine.

In 2006, ND’s BCS profit went to financial aid, library acquisitions, and scientific instruments, not football. BCS monies do not give ND any unfair advantage in recruiting, for instance. (Source: Notre Dame Office of News and Information)

Who really has an unfair financial advantage in this arrangement? Who really benefits from a strong Notre Dame and the "Notre Dame Rule?" The BCS.

You’ve heard, “College football needs a strong Notre Dame.” Especially the BCS.

BCS rules from an ESPN article in 2002: “And if there are two teams from a conference in BCS games, they don’t get two full shares. Instead, they get one and a third (between $18.1 million and $18.6 million). The BCS distributes the final two-thirds ($9.1 million) equally among BCS’ six member conferences.” (Source: ESPN.com)

As Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs explained in 2007: “One other noteworthy fact is the BCS now has in place a rule governing conferences that place two teams in BCS bowls, which the SEC did this season with Florida and LSU.

"The payout for a second BCS team from any conference drops from $17 million to $4.5 million. The same participation fee is taken off the top, and the remaining money is divided evenly among the 12 SEC schools and the conference.” (Source: NCAA Football FanHouse)

For Notre Dame, one can easily conclude the same payout is taken off the top from the bowls and the remaining money is split between the BCS schools.

Each time Notre Dame goes to a BCS bowl, the BCS gets $13.5 million, the difference between ND’s revenue and the BCS payout.

Split between all 65 BCS schools, a Notre Dame appearance in the National Championship game (or other BCS game) could provide every other school with about $200,000 ($13.5 million/65).

In short, Notre Dame is the only team in the BCS who has a conference of 65 schools, sharing its bowl revenue with all of them.

“College football needs a strong Notre Dame. ”

Why include Notre Dame? It's not a member of any conference.

Bret Bielema: “I understand why certain teams get exemptions. I don’t understand why Notre Dame does. If they want to play by conference rules, join a conference.” (Source: Fanblogs College Football Blog)

Why include Notre Dame? It’s good business, Bret. The BCS does not want to lose Notre Dame. Conference commissioners, bowl committees, local business owners and their cities, and television and advertisers are first and foremost good businessmen.

The three highest-rated BCS TV ratings years all included Notre Dame teams:

2006-07: 56.0 rating, Sugar Bowl - ND vs. LSU
2005-06: 55.9 rating, Fiesta Bowl - ND vs. Ohio State
2000-01: 55.5 rating, Fiesta Bowl - ND vs. Oregon State
1999-00: 52.4 rating
2008-09: 51.1 rating
1998-99: 50.4 rating

The Fiesta Bowls in 2005-06 and 2000-01 have the two of the three highest, non-national championship TV ratings in their history. The 2007 Sugar Bowl has one of the highest ratings. That’s more advertising dollars.

Notre Dame fans travel, stay for days, and fill their allotment of seats and more, if available, even to Hawaii. The Hawaii Bowl enjoyed a 43 percent jump in its attendance, setting a record.

The Hawaii Bowl set records in viewership—for its bowl and for all ESPN regional bowls. The Hawaii Bowl had a live rating of 3.03 and combined with replay, had 3.70 rating, reaching 6.6 million viewers.

For the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, Notre Dame received 45,000 ticket requests for their allotment of 15,000 tickets.

Blame the businessmen behind the BCS, blame your conference commissioners, but don't attack Notre Dame.

Would the BCS prefer Notre Dame be totally independent, sign its own contracts with the bowls, and enjoy the “feast or famine” of a market economy for the Irish? Think of the money they would lose.

Notre Dame has much to gain by going totally independent outside the BCS and taking home only what market forces and its performance each year would demand.

Notre Dame's BCS bowl performance stinks.

Absolutely. No question that they are still evolving into a national powerhouse and have a lot to prove.

Bielema: “They don’t take, maybe, into consideration past bowl history. Notre Dame hasn’t won in the last nine bowl appearances, or whatever it is. And to me, we’ve proven over time that we deserve the opportunity.” (Source: see above)

Hindsight is always 20/20, Bret. In 2005-06, Barry Alvarez, then head coach at Wisconsin, voted the Irish as fifth in the nation (poll finish was sixth). In 2006-07, the Big Ten coaches had an average ranking of 10.6 for Notre Dame (poll finish was 11th).

The only teams higher than ND that were not selected were Wisconsin (seventh) and Auburn (ninth) who were ineligible by BCS rules since they were their conference’s third teams.

Big Ten coaches, including Bielema’s previous head coach, have ranked Notre Dame slightly higher or at the final BCS poll ranking. If Notre Dame has been overrated, it has been by Wisconsin, other Big Ten, and other coaches nationally, pollsters, and the computers.

Most of this talk is the kind of posturing and gamesmanship that goes on in BCS rankings. Bielema just needs to make sure his Badgers are one of the top two Big Ten teams. Otherwise, they have not proven they deserve the opportunity. Blame the BCS for the rules.

While Wisconsin is in negotiations to play Notre Dame in the future, Bielema implies that an independent Notre Dame does not deserve the same opportunity his team does because they are not a conference team and the BCS is for conferences.

I’d prefer the top 10 teams, no matter what conference they are in, be the BCS teams, and that each get a full share. But each conference has to assure its pieces of the pie.

The “Notre Dame Rule:” Preferential Bull

Should Notre Dame qualify for a BCS berth, they will, with all statistical probability:

finish higher than one or more BCS conference champions
have a better record than one or more BCS conference champions
meet stricter criteria than one or more BCS conference champions and a non-BCS qualifier

The Irish will also:

earn less money after conference bowl distributions than BCS teams
increase BCS TV ratings and revenue, making the BCS more attractive
sell more tickets and bring in more revenue to cities than some BCS conference champions
earn the BCS two-thirds of its payout

Despite these facts, a few Irish trashers may keep shovelling the idea that the BCS contract provisions favor Notre Dame in some sinister way.

With the '06-'10 BCS contract, bowl revenue increased by 13 percent in 2006 from 2005. Of the $16.7 million increase, $13.5 million (80 percent) went to BCS conferences. (Television revenue increased only $4 million.)

Since then, bowl revenue has increased annually only by a minimal 2.2 percent and 1.6 percent. Restructuring the BCS contract, including the “Notre Dame Rule”, certainly benefited BCS teams.

For those who want the Irish out of the BCS, be careful what you wish for.

Who really benefits the most from Notre Dame’s involvement in the BCS?

Furthermore

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National Championship Drought: How Long Is Too Long?

2008 Elite Selection Playoff: Week Fifteen and BCS Championship Predictions

This article is © 2007-2009 by De Veritate, LLC and was originally published at Clashmore Mike. This article may not be copied, distributed, or transmitted without attribution. Additionally, you may not use this article for commercial purposes or to generate derivative works without explicit written permission. Please contact us if you wish to license this content for your own use.

College Football Coaches Choose Darkness: Coaches Poll Changes in 2010

Michael Collins — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:45:11 -0400

The American Football College Association (AFCA) decided that transparency in revealing coaches’ voting in its final poll was a mistake. Over the four years coaches’ votes have been publicized, fans have seen a pattern of coaches promoting their own teams, sometimes shamelessly, clear conference bias and some strange votes.

Rather than dealing with these issues, the AFCA, whose Board members make up those coaches who vote in the poll, jumped at the opportunity to hide its participants’ results. Like a rotting, barnacled hulk brought to the surface sinking out of sight again, the USA Today Coaches poll will once again become secret in 2010.

"Historically, we have never released the votes," AFCA executive director Grant Teaff said. "When it came up that, OK, it would be better if you did, I think there was acquiescing by the coaches. As to whether it's helped the poll or not, I don't think I can really say. Whether it's hurt it or not, I don't know.”

The Coaches Poll is one of the three components in the BCS and wants to be the only without accountability and visibility of votes. With millionaire coach’s livelihoods, contract bonuses with performance clauses for themselves and their assistants, and inherent biases, the poll’s credibility has been tested by revealing individual coach’s voting results.

"The perception is that there's a huge bias, and we've never really found that," Teaff said.

You’re not looking very hard, Grant, at your Board members’ voting.

Self-Promoting Their Teams

For the 2008 Coaches’ Poll, I found that twelve of the sixty-one AFCA Board members’ teams finished in the top 25. Of those twelve, nine (75%) voted their team one spot or higher. Four (33%) coaches voted their team two spots or higher.

Frank Beamer was the only coach who voted his team lower (-4 positions) than its final ranking.

Eliminating Beamer’s uncommon vote, the other eleven coaches voted their team higher at an average of 1.8 spots!!

Since Florida’s Urban Meyer and Texas’s Mack Brown could not have realistically increased their respective team’s spot by more than one—which they did, the other eight coaches inflated their team’s ranking by an average of 2.0 spots led by Mike Leach (+6) and Gary Pinkel (+4).

Three other AFCA Board members voted their teams into the top 25, though final voting totals left their teams out of the top 25. Using final total vote rankings, Greg Schiano (+11), Butch Davis (+7) and Bo Pellini (+4) significantly self-promoted their team’s rankings.

Schiano evidently did not consider Fresno State, who beat up Rutgers 24-7, a better team—nor Boston College, Iowa, Florida State or California, all of whom had better records and many more votes.

Including all fifteen AFCA coaches who voted for their teams in the final poll, the average Self-Promotion was 2.5 spots!!

Big 12 coaches (4) won the top spot in Self-Promotion by elevating their individual teams by an average of an overwhelming +4.0 positions, followed by the WAC (1) - +2.0, Mountain West (2) and ACC (2) – +1.5, Big 10 (2), Pac-10 (2) and SEC (2)– +1.0! (If I include Schiano’s voting, the Big East would have taken the top spot with 11.0.)

The AFCA coaches do not feel that coaches should not be able to vote for their own teams.

"By keeping things confidential, I think there will be less hidden agendas," said Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, AFCA Board member. More secrecy, less hidden agendas, Rich?? Lewis Carroll would have loved that one.

Coaches also had a clear tendency to boost teams in their conference both for the Poll’s Top Spot and for the Top 25 rankings.

Conference Boost – Top Spot Voting

Six of the seven SEC coaches with a vote voted Florida to the top spot. Steve Spurrier had the Gators at number two to Big 12 Oklahoma. Urban Meyer had Florida and Alabama 1-2 after the SEC Championship.

Four of seven Big 12 coaches (Chizek, Hawlins, Pellini, Pinkel) had Oklahoma and Texas 1-2. Mike Leach had Oklahoma and his Texas Tech 1-2 with Florida No. 3. Art Briles (Baylor) had Oklahoma and Florida 1-2. Mack Brown was the Spurrier of the Big 12, picking out of conference SEC Florida No. 1 and his Texas Longhorns No. 2.

Of the seven Big Ten coaches voting, only one (Lynch) had Florida No. 1, four (Bielema, Dantonio, Rodriguez and Zook) had the Gators No. 2, and the other two (Tiller and Tressel) had Florida No. 3.

With 26 of the 61 first place votes for the Gators, an average percentage for a block of seven coaches would have netted Florida two or three top spot votes.

Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said of the change: "My personal feeling is that a person is more free to vote his conscience instead of worrying about what the public is going to think about his vote."

Bobby, you mean in secret balloting more SEC coaches would vote for a Big 12 champion instead of the SEC champ? How will we know?

Ranking Boost by Conference – Top 25 Teams

Urban Meyer: “I think at some point you have to trust the people who vote.” Urban wants fans to take a “leap of faith” after observing four years of clear bias in voting for conference teams.

For 2008, conference coaches tended to vote for each other’s teams. Pac-10 – 2.3 spots, WAC – 2.0 spots, Big 10 – 1.6 Big East -1.6, Big 12 – 1.6, ACC – 1.5, Conference USA – 1.5, SEC – 1.3, MWC – 0.1, MAC – -0.6.

In other words, if you have a team competing for the top 25 in any conference except the MWC and MAC last year, you could expect an average boost by conference coaches of 1.7 spots!!

Six of the seven Big 10 coaches included Iowa in their top 25. Boston College was named on four of the six ACC coaches ballots. SEC coaches were not as uniform with regards to Mississippi. Five of the seven coaches boosted the Rebels higher on their ballots. Mississippi was bumped up 15 spots by Les Miles, 10 by Urban Meyer, 5 by Phil Fulmer, and 4 by Mark Richt.

Tommy Tuberville listed them one spot higher, Sylvester Croom one spot lower, and Steve Spurrier three spots lower. Miles and Meyer lost to Mississippi, while Spurrier beat them. Does that mean these coaches are more impacted by head-to-head conference matches and less able to evaluate other teams nationally over the course of a season?

Tommy Bowden was king of Conference Boosting. Though he lost his job at Clemson in mid-October, he kept his vote and voted five ACC teams in the top 25—Georgia Tech 10th (7 spot boost), Virginia Tech 13th (+6), Boston College 16th (+10), Florida State 21st (+7), North Carolina 25th (+6).

His ACC advocacy resulted in his voting five conference teams 34 total spots higher than their results, an average of 6.8!!

Regional Voting – Florida vs. Texas

In addition to the six SEC coaches voting Florida No. 1, the five other coaches in Florida ranked the Gators either No. 1 or No. 2. Mario Cristobel, Florida International, and Howard Schellenberg, Florida Atlantic, ranked the Gators as No. 1 - as did Tommy Bowden.

FSU’s Bobby Bowden, USF’s Jim Leavitt and UCF’s George O’Leary voted Florida No. 2, and former Florida coaches Steve Spurrier and Ron Zook.

Of the nine votes for SEC Champion and eventual National Champion Florida as No. 3, five came from Big 12 coaches, two from non-Big 12 Texas coaches and two from Big 10 coaches.

Mack Brown did not get the kind of solid support in Texas that Meyer got in Florida. His Longhorns were not conference champions, though they had only one loss. Three coaches from the state of Texas voted UT No. 1 or 2 and the other three voted them No. 3 or 5. In all, four coaches—Mike Price of UTEP, Todd Dodge of North Texas, Gene Chizek of Iowa State (former Defensive Coordinator at Texas), as well as Rick Neuheisel of UCLA (whose assistant coach at Washington was Texas’s Bobby Kennedy) voted the Longhorns No. 1.

Brown voted his Longhorns No. 2. Mike Patterson of TCU chose them No. 3. Art Briles of Baylor and Mike Leach of Texas Tech voted Texas No. 5.

Also, no significant regional boosts came from the six MAC coaches to the Big 10 teams (+0.6 spots), nor from the six Conference USA coaches to the SEC teams (+0.6), nor from the four Mountain West coaches to the Pac-10 teams (+0.15).

I picked these conferences since the MAC had 13 games against the Big Ten (4-9), Conference USA had 9 games against the SEC (0-9), and the Mountain West had eight games (6-2) against the Pac-10.

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks feels keeping the Coaches Poll’s final voting public "maybe has a little more validity if it's not protected, if it's open."

Steve Spurrier feels the same: "I thought that we would stay public on that last vote. I sort of think we ought to stay public, you know. It keeps everybody pretty honest."

Coaches Poll 2010

Mack Brown remarked, after looking at the AFCA decision: “I appreciate Grant Teaff and the AFCA taking such a serious and thoughtful look at improving the coaches poll.The Gallup Poll provided valuable insight and the AFCA put a great deal of thought into it. Since it is such a key factor in our national championship game, the goal is to continue to make the poll as fair and accurate as possible. I like the changes that are taking place this year and am excited about the recommendations for the future."

For the Coaches Poll results for 2005, 2006, 2007, The Blue-Gray Sky, a Notre Dame football blog, made a thorough analysis. Their blogger, Jeff, concluded in his 2005 analysis “it’s still somewhat shocking to see such blatant gamesmanship laid bare”.

Each year he showed worsening patterns of Self-Promotion and Conference Boosting among the coaches. This year Jeff took the four years of Coaches polls rankings,and crunched the numbers to see how accurate coaches ranking of teams were, assuming the higher ranked teams were considered better by the coaches. He compared those rankings to bowl outcomes. Coaches were less than 52% accurate in predicting bowl winners over those four years and, in BCS games, were worse - 49.3% correct. He concluded "You would be better off flipping a coin to figure out who was going to win a BCS game than looking at how the coaches ranked the teams." (May 14th article)

Whether the Coaches Poll remains part of the BCS formula is not up to them and their participation may be in doubt.

After declaring their final vote would no longer be publicized, BCS Coordinator, John Swofford: "In the past, the commissioners have favored transparency in voting by the people who participate in the two polls that are used to compile the BCS standings. The commissioners review all aspects of the BCS arrangement—including the BCS standings—at the conclusion of each season, and I know the AFCA's decision will be on the agenda for that review after the January 2010 games."

After viewing such blatant partisanship and obvious bias, the relic of the Coaches Poll should be allowed to slip quietly beneath the surface of college football.

Drafting USC 2006: An Analysis

Michael Collins — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:20:32 -0400

At this time three years ago, Southern Cal had played in the National Championship, barely losing to Texas and Vince Young. The Trojans boasted of two Heisman trophy winners, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinhart, leading a phalanx of Trojans into the NFL draft.

11 players were drafted by NFL teams. Five of them declared early for the draft. After three NFL seasons, let’s examine how all have fared.

Four of the top five Trojan draftees have become integral parts of their teams:

Reggie Bush RB

Drafted in the first round, second pick (1-2). Games (G) – 38, Games Started (GS) – 27. Depth Chart - first string running back (Saints). Exciting, a good player, but has limitations running from tackle to tackle.

Matt Leinhart QB

(1-10). G - 21, GS – 16. Depth Chart - second string QB (Cardinals). Will he be holding a clipboard until Kurt Warner retires?

Deuce Lutui G

(2-41). G - 46, GS – 40. Depth Chart – firststring RG (Cardinals). A serviceable starter, better than average but not outstanding.

LenDale White RB

(2-45). G – 45, GS – 18. Depth Chart – first string RB (Titans). Really a second stringer in a two back rotation.

Judging by games played and games started, Lutui has been the most valuable contribution to his team. Bush and White declared early for the draft that year.

The other seven have not fared as well.

Winston Justice, T.

(2-39), drafted higher than Lutui and White, has been second string for three years on an Eagles team that always seems to be searching for tackles. G – 12. GS - 1. Disappointingly second string material. Gave up 11 sacks in a game against the New York Giants.

Frostee Rucker, DE

(3-91) has started more games than Justice – G – 16, GS – 4, all last year. Listed as second string DE, Bengals. The Bengals will again draft defensive linemen. Not a bad option in the defensive line rotation. Holds his own.

Dominique Byrd, TE.

(3-93) is out of the NFL and played two seasons with six receptions.

Darnell Bing, LB

(4-101) is now playing with his third NFL team—the Lions. He was drafted by Oakland, then played for St. Louis. He did not play in 2007. He is listed as Detroit’s third string SLB. If you can't play for the Raiders or the Rams, can you play third string on the Lions?

David Kirtman, FB

(5-163) Taken by Seattle and is also now playing with his third team, New Orleans. He also played for San Francisco. He is not listed on the Saints depth chart.

LaJuan Ramsey, DT

(6-204) by Philadelphia. He played two years with the Eagles and last year with the Indianapolis Colts. He has had 12 tackles in three seasons, six last year. G – 19, GS – 0. He is not listed on the depth chart.

Fred Matua, G

(7-214) by Detroit. Is out of the NFL after two seasons. G – 0, GS – 0.

Those Trojans who have succeeded in the NFL were drafted in the first two rounds and went to teams south of the Mason-Dixon line (extended to the coast). Is it the lack of experience in cold weather? Should some have stayed another year?

With the average NFL draftees salary at $400,000 per year, clearly the lion’s share goes to the top draft prospects, not Bing, Kirtman, Ramsey or Matua.

Justice, Bing, and Matua declared early for the draft. The second day rounds get much less than the average. NFL players average 2.9 years in the league.

Tally after three seasons of play for the 2006 Trojans—four players integral to their teams, two second stringers, one third stringer, two scout team players, and two players out of football.

Even on a championship caliber team, you need experience to succeed in the NFL and a degree to fall back on. Many players feel pressure to help their families and leave early.

Still, Pete Carroll may be right—stay another year and get more experience and a degree. Or maybe the lesson is that it is very difficult to succeed in the NFL and last longer than three years.

Successful general managers and player development specialists make their money on making the right choices on the second day of the draft.

NCAA Reports Self for Lack of Institutional Control

Michael Collins — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:20:29 -0400

In developing news, the NCAA announced that its West Coast Infractions Committee has self-reported 87 violations of its compliance rules.

"We failed in our responsibility to take steps when indications were that our existing compliance reporting system was not working," said spokesman Bill Peterson. "Multiple infractions were being reported at a rate that required us to establish a West Coast office with an experienced compliance officer four years ago. But continuing serious violations seemed to end in a black hole of investigations.

"For this we take full responsibility and are accountable to our member institutions," Peterson said. “We expect to lose our share of bowl revenue for the next two years."

Peterson added that NCAA "member institutions in good standing will share a portion of that revenue, which amounted to over $102 million. And we will penalize ourselves with a television ban, issuing only press statements for two years."

The Infractions Committee will monitor itself for 10 years. The committee has accepted the resignation of its now former West Coast Committee head, Humbert Humbert. Mr. Humbert could not be reached to verify a personal ban by the NCAA from contact with underage cheerleaders.

Most of the alleged violations centered around processing of university controls involving improper contact by agents, improper benefits and cash to players, improper contact by coaches and former players, recruiting violations, and a pattern of university lack of control over its football program.

Secondary violations reported by the Infractions Committee to the NCAA included improper benefits of housing, entertainment, cash, and meals of Committee members by representatives of member institutions.

When asked specifically if the school was the University of Southern California or whether the West Coast Infractions Committee was established due to USC's alleged violations, Peterson declined to comment due to “an ongoing investigation.”

Mike Garrett, USC’s Athletic Director, said, “This is an NCAA matter, and it would not be appropriate for me to comment.” Pete Carroll, reached at football practice, said, “This is the first I have heard of any violations.”

An email obtained by ESPN from the NCAA’s West Coast Infractions Committee admits to many of the abuses of processing of violations, but says it will “vigorously fight any charge of lack of institutional control” and vowed to fight on.

Peterson noted that the West Coast Infractions Committee had been disbanded. Ten large U-Haul trucks were seen hauling paperwork from its office. The NCAA has formed an Infractions Oversight Commission consisting of the Athletic Directors of the Armed Forces Academies to monitor it during its imposed ban period. A second violation during that period could lead to the "death penalty"—loss of regulation of its institutions.

Peterson felt that, while highly trained and experienced, Humbert and his staff may not have been adequately prepared for transitioning from Indianapolis to Southern California and its enticements. The NCAA does not feel that this lack of control in one area will affect any appeals by other football programs over books and online music classes.

Austin Carr's NCAA Tournament Records: You Can't Stop That

Michael Collins — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:27:37 -0400

Notre Dame’s Austin Carr owns the NCAA Tournament scoring record book. Just call him The Man and be done with it—especially considering Austin did not benefit from a three point line.

"With that short three-point line in college, that's a lay-up. I would have loved to have played with that line," said Carr. A remarkable thirty-eight years have passed with sharpshooters taking aim at his records. The closest anyone has come since then is David Robinson’s 50 points against Michigan in 1987.

Austin Carr's NCAA Tournament Records

Most Points in One Game – 61 versus Ohio, 1970
Top Two Highest Scoring Averages for a Tournament – 52.7 points per game, 1970 and 41.7 points per game, 1971 (minimum three games).
All-Time Career Tournament Scoring Average – 41.3 over seven games (Bill Bradley is second, 33.7 over nine games. Oscar Robertson’s 32.4 is third, over ten games.)
Three of the top five scoring games in NCAA Tournament history – 61 (Ohio), 52 (Kentucky), 52 (TCU).
Five of the top 12 scoring games in NCAA Tournament history (No other player appears more than once in that top 12 list, including Bill Bradley, Oscar Robertson, David Robertson and Elvin Hayes). link
Most Field Goals Made in a Game – 25. (Ohio, 1970)
Most Field Goals Attempted – 44 (Ohio, 1970)

(Tournament Records link)

Ohio in 1970 had beaten Ohio State, Purdue and Indiana. When asked in his post game press conference about how to stop Carr, Ohio University Coach Jim Snyder said simply, "deflate the ball."

Observers from that Ohio game have analyzed the game and estimated that, with today’s three point line, Austin would have scored 70-75 points!! In spite of a Notre Dame exit after three games in 1970, Carr was chosen as the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Comparisons to Today's Scorers

Jodie Meeks, Kentucky, has had three of the top scoring games in the regular season this year—45, 46, and 54 points. Impressive, but not comparable to Carr’s achievements. Converting Meek’s threes to two point shots, Meek’s scores would have been 38, 37, and 44 points according to 1970 rules.

Austin Carr averaged 38.1 points his junior year and 37.9 points his senior year against a schedule that included perennial powerhouses UCLA, Kentucky, Marquette, West Virginia, Illinois, South Carolina, Villanova, Houston and Indiana.

The best scorer over the course of this past season was Stephen Curry, who averaged 28.6 ppg. Converting Curry's threes to two points, Curry would have averaged 24.8 ppg.

Rupp, Wooden on Carr

Notre Dame’s Carr nightly faced box and one or triangle and two defenses, specifically aimed to stop him. During his senior year, Carr poured in 50 points in a 99-92 victory over No. 8 Kentucky in Louisville.

"We put five different players on Carr tonight, and he still scored 50 points," said Kentucky’s legendary coach Adolph Rupp. "It was an amazing performance." (link)

Carr was fluid, smooth, a pure shooter and as a 6’4”, 200 pound guard posed a difficult matchup. He moved well without the ball, and had the endurance to play an entire game.

Meehan, his point guard, described Carr: “When Austin was on—which was most of the time—he was a shooting machine. I could tell the minute Austin released the ball whether I could turn around and run back, I knew his stroke so well.” (from Michael Coffey's, Echoes on the Hardwood)

Later that same year, Carr scored 46 points in Notre Dame's win over No. 1-ranked UCLA, 89-82—the most points anyone ever scored against a John Wooden-coached team. Notre Dame controlled the game most of the way.

Austin had two steals leading to breakaway layups in the final minutes. According to Carr, “Coach John Wooden always played a man-to-man defense, which I liked. Four different players guarded me during that game and the final opponent was Sidney Wicks, who was an All-American and future star in the NBA. In the closing minutes I took him to the basket and had a layup that clinched the game. I remember him looking at Wooden and saying, ‘I told you not to put me on him!’" (picture)

This loss would be UCLA’s last for 88 games - before Notre Dame won in 1974. Wooden said of Carr’s performance, “"There is no one to compare with him man-to-man." The Irish crowd was as raucous as in the old Fieldhouse and, afterwards, lifted Carr up to cut down the nets.

More Achievements

CBS chose Austin Carr on their First Team All-Tournament Team with other legends Oscar Robertson, Bill Bradley, Bill Walton, Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley (Jerry West, Glen Rice, and Gail Goodrich were chosen Second Team guards).

Carr’s three year NCAA career scoring average (freshmen did not play varsity at that time) is 34.6 points per game, second in the record books only to Pete Maravich’s 44.2.

Carr is proud that his points came by shooting better than 50% for his career—54 percent for his final 58 games, 10 percent higher than Maravich’s shooting percentage.

Street and Smith chose Carr as the 19th best college basketball player of their Top 100, fourth among pure guards. ESPN chose Carr as the 22nd best collegiate player of all time.

Coming to Notre Dame - The Fieldhouse 1967

A Washington, D.C.legend from his playground and Mackin High Schools days and a Parade All-American, Carr came to Notre Dame in 1967, part of the best recruiting class in Irish basketball history.

Collis Jones (St. John’s) and Sid Catlett, Jr. (DeMatha) came with Carr from D.C. Jackie Meehan, Tom Sinnott, Jim Hinga and Big John Pleick joined the DC three.

Football was king. The Irish had won the national championship the year before Carr arrived. A skinny, New Jersey kid named Joe Theismann was a freshman quarterback recruit.

On Friday nights, students streamed into one end of Notre Dame’s Fieldhouse, built in 1898, for the football Pep Rally. Ara Parseghian and the Irish Guard led the team up wooden stairs to a wooden balcony while the Band played the Fight Song, reverberating off the walls and ceiling. Students would stomp up a cloud of dust from the dirt floor and cheered so loudly that the old building would sway. Alcohol may have been a factor.

The other end of the Fieldhouse was Notre Dame’s home basketball games with a raised basketball floor, surrounded by students in an area resembling an old airplane hanger. (picture)

Notre Dame had more students, who got in free, than the Fieldhouse’s capacity (6,000). The Irish crowds made the most of the echoes, shouting and waving white handkerchiefs behind the visitors’ backboard. The noise could get deafening.

The Varsity squad went to the NIT that year, finishing third. Carr’s freshmen squad, however, had beaten the Varsity seven out of eight times in practice.

The next year, the echoes of the Fieldhouse with its Pep Rallies, Austin’s swishes and Sid Catlett bouncing medicine balls off the backboards in darkened practices became part of Irish lore.

Carr, Catlett, Meehan, Jones and company joined the Varsity, opening the new basketball facilities of the Athletic and Convocation Center (ACC) against Wooden’s UCLA, featuring Lew Alcindor.

What Mattered Most

"We all went there to try and start a basketball tradition—Collis and Sid and Jackie [Meehan] and Tom Sinnott and I," Carr said. "And it seems that we were successful in doing what we came there to do, except win a championship. I'd give up all the scoring I did to win a championship.” (from: Echoes on the Hardwood, link above)

When asked if he was a Bill Bradley fan, Austin responded, “Oh, yeah. They played the game the way I was taught to play it—as a team. I loved watching him. I loved the way he played. He was a great spot shooter.” (Sporting News, link) Many have said the same about how Austin Carr played the game.

Carr said: “Notre Dame certainly prepared me for life after college because it is such a national school with all nationalities represented. My experience at Notre Dame taught me to be responsible, but also to take pride in who and what you are. At Notre Dame I was around so many people who strove for greatness. When you are around successful people, it carries over to your own work ethic and self esteem.” (link)

Carr and the Notre Dame basketball players were involved in a community outreach program in South Bend called Operation Reach. This targeted children at risk of becoming involved in violence by mentoring them.

"It gave us an opportunity to get involved with the community. We did a lot of things with little kids. We had basketball clinics at the different locations. It was a good situation—something that really stuck with me." (from Echoes of the Hardwood, above)

Carr has been involved in community work in Cleveland, Washington, D.C. and held an annual fund-raising tournament at Notre Dame.

If You Have to Ask....

Will anyone approach Austin Carr’s 61 points in one game, 52 point average for one tournament, or career tournament average of 41 points? Ludicrous. Carr was money. You can’t stop that.

Notre Dame: Where My Heart Is

Michael Collins — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:21:40 -0500

Tom Freeman, Jr., a talented offensive guard from Kansas City, grew up in a Notre Dame family.

His parents graduated from Notre Dame. His father played as a left guard on the Irish offensive line from 1983-87, the last two years under Lou Holtz.

Growing up, Tom would sit with his dad in North End Zone seats at numerous games in the House That Rock Built. He watched the players enter and exit through the tunnel beneath him. He’d join in the Alma Mater at the end of the game as players and students saluted each other, finishing in the crescendo “Love Thee Notre Dame.” Tom dreamed of becoming one of them.

He attended Junior Days and summer camps, hoping to impress the coaching staff with his skills and work ethic.

Tom had anchored a Rockhurst High School offensive line that took the Missouri state football championship in 2007 and contended for the championship in 2008.

As the recruiting season wore on, the Irish obtained commitments from Chris Watts, Rival’s No. 2 Offensive Guard in the nation, and Alex Bullard, the No. 15 rated guard—the top guard tandem of any team nationally. Notre Dame had taken two centers, Mike Golic, Jr. and Brandon Cave in 2008. The Irish staff now needed tackles.

At 6'4" and 280 pounds, Freeman attracted scholarship offers from Northwestern, South Florida, Duke, Harvard, Army, Air Force, and Ball State.

With the grades to get accepted to some of the top schools in the country, Freeman still was up front with them. Notre Dame was where he wanted to be. Perhaps that’s why Stanford did not offer.

Signing Day came and went without Tom inking his commitment. The Freeman family had decided. Tom would walk-on at his dream school.

In a Scout article, his father said: “He grew up in a Notre Dame family with Notre Dame tradition around him. It’s what he’s always dreamed of doing, and I think that’s going to be a big help to him. He understands what it means to be a Notre Dame football player and the tradition that goes into it. He’s not going up there for a free education. He’s going back there to try and help them get back to where they were for many, many years. Nobody is going to outwork him or out hustle him. I just feel confident he has all the tools to do it. Like Lou Holtz always said, it’s a 40-year decision, not a four-year decision.”

Yesterday, Charlie Weis and Rob Ianello awarded Tom a Preferred Walk-On status, meaning he will be on the roster and can earn a future scholarship.

Nate Montana came to Notre Dame last year as a Preferred Walk-On. Shane Walton, a three year starter and All-American in 2002 and Mike Anello were walk-ons. Other prominent walk-ons at Notre Dame are reviewed in this article.

Rivals may have ranked Freeman as a three-star recruit. So was Jeff Samardzija (a two-time All-American), Ryan Harris (now a starter with the Denver Broncos), Chinedum Ndukwe (a Cincinnati Bengal), John Carlson (Seattle Seahawks), Darius Walker, David Bruton, David Grimes, Pat Kuntz, and Mike Turkovich.

Hard work, heart, and pursuing your dreams. Welcome to Notre Dame, Tom. I’ll look for you coming out of the tunnel.

Alabama Recruiting: Nick's Tricks

Michael Collins — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:49:41 -0500

Ever tried to move a refrigerator or a piano through a 32” door? Angles and tricks—like taking the door off—can help do the job.

Nick Saban performed such a move to get Alabama’s roster to the required eight-five scholarships with an incoming class of thirty-two for 2008. (The NCAA limits football scholarships to twenty-five per year.)

Two signees decided on major league baseball careers.

Two counted towards the class of 2007—originally a class of twenty-five.

Two went to junior college.

One was a Bryant scholarship (more on that later).

One signee was deferred until 2009 due to a medical condition.

By the time Saban finished—even in the wake of 116 letters of intent signed with Alabama in the four previous years—Nick had room for scholarships for three walk-ons. Voila. The piano is in the living room, unscratched, beautiful—NCAA approved.

With redshirting—when a player gains another year of eligibility because he does not play, usually his freshman year—and with medical years granted by the NCAA, Saban’s achievement is even more impressive. One hundred and forty-one recruits over five years, including possible redshirt years, signed with Alabama.

A few were counted twice due to academic ineligibility or greyshirting. Greyshirting is the opposite of early entry, which is a semester early. A player who greyshirts enters the University the second semester, and counts against the next year’s scholarships. When the Tide averages over twenty-eight letters of intent per year for five years, some movement of recruits is expected.

The Bryant scholarships are awarded to all children—male or female—of a player who played for the Bear. They are considered institutional aid. A male recipient could practice football and be on scholarship. When he “engages in intercollegiate competition”—plays in a game, he is counted towards the NCAA scholarship limits.

Currently, three sons of Bryant players are on the Alabama football team. The Alabama roster lists one hundred and five players, necessitating twenty-two players sharing numbers. Would you want to be a greyshirt, a JUCO, a Bryant scholarship or a medical redshirt trying to get back onto the team and see playing time?

Saban may be saving his greatest trick for this year. Minus the Seniors who have used up their eligibility and expecting Glen Coffee to join Andre Smith for the NFL draft, seventy-three players on scholarship will return next year for the Tide. Four players are expected to join the team—two are early entries and have started school, one is the medical deferment from last year, and one player has resolved some academic difficulties.

Seventy-seven leaves eight scholarships for 2009. Nineteen other recruits have committed to Alabama for 2009 so far with the Tide involved in some more possible commitments that will go down to Signing Day. One conservative estimate is 23 total commitments. (The two early entrees somehow counted towards last year.)

Twenty-seven recruits signed letters of intent with Alabama on Signing Day.

How Saban will finagle the difference between eight available scholarships and twenty-seven signees will be truly magical. It’s somewhat like fitting an elephant through a door—and into the living room.

Predicting Recruits' Choices: Football Recruiting Made Easy

Michael Collins — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:56:47 -0500

“I've found that prayers work best when you have big players.”—Knute Rockne

Successful college football recruiting is simply attracting the most skilled, talented, and biggest players to your team. The Arms Race for these high school athletes each year attracts more exposure on Internet sites, creates more recruiting experts, and consumes more time for fans, coaches and athletes. Coaches realize how much recruiting can impact their programs no matter what the sport.

"I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.”—John Wooden

Can’t we just predict which recruit to pursue? Statistics to the rescue. Three football-junkie economists from Mercer College developed a model using statistical analysis software for predicting the top recruits’ choices with uncanny accuracy. (2009 link) In 2005, using Rivals' top 100, they correctly predicted 68 percent of recruits' choices. Recruits averaged four schools. Not too shabby.

The pressure and tension in getting 17- or 18-year-old high school stars to commit to your university can become unbearable. Paul Bryant described the Recruiting Burnout that affects many coaches best: “I can remember loving to recruit. I knew I was going to do my best. But traveling and recruiting doesn’t appeal to me any more. It’s not as much fun as it used to be.”

By tweaking what factors do matter, the Mercer three have increased their success rate to 73.2 percent, expanding it last year to the Rivals 250, with recruits averaging 6.2 schools! Dude! Almost three out of every four players. For a statistician, that makes recruiting more fun each year. Even the Bear would have loved those results, though maybe not the increasing recruiting time each year.

What factors influence recruits' decisions? This generation’s Rocknes, Woodens, and Bryants are listening. Those factors turn out to be predictable, insightful, and surprising.

A few factors are almost predictable:

— Whether the school is in a BCS conference

— Whether the recruit made an official visit to the college

— The number of conference titles the school recorded in recent years

— The final AP ranking of the school—but only in the previous year. Recruits seem to have short memories.

Distance matters:

— Whether the school is in the same state as the recruit

— The distance the school is from their hometown

Universities in football-rich states—California, Texas, Ohio, Florida—with numerous Rivals 250 prospects should be favored. The first rule in recruiting should be, “We will protect this house.”

Some factors have to do with facilities:

— The size of the college’s stadium in seating capacity

— Whether the school has an on-campus stadium

— The current age of the stadium

The ideal recruiting situation for a coach would be to represent a BCS school, in a talent-rich state, either in the same state and near to the recruit’s home, ranked high in the previous year’s AP poll, with large, modern on-campus facilities, with highly-ranked athletes recruited at the prospect’s position the previous year. This is a tendency of the rich getting richer.

A recent study by Sports Illustrated found that, “Of the nine schools that won 50 or more games from 2004-08, seven signed more than half their recruits during that span from within their state or from within 200 miles of campus.”

Texas rarely recruits out of state—93.2 percent of their roster are in-state. Only seven non-Texas residents are on UT’s current roster. The Longhorns are the big dogs of Texas, a state where the top 48 recruits in 2009 carry a four or five-star rating. “Bag ‘em and Tag ‘em” is the slogan heard in Austin in June, as recruiting the best in Texas winds down.

(Rival’s 2008 and current 2009 recruiting rankings in parentheses)

Those football-rich programs must also fight off neighboring raiders—Oklahoma (6, 11), LSU (11, 1), and Georgia (7, 7). Oklahoma has 72 non-residents on the football roster with 42 from Texas, while 32 are from Oklahoma. The annual Red River Shootout impacts more than the conference championship, but recruiting as well. Oklahoma stole the top three Texas recruits in the 2008 class and has three of the top 14 Texas ’09 recruits.

LSU has 38 non-residents on their roster, with 15 from Texas. LSU has verbal commitments from two of the top four Texas recruits this year.

Florida (3, 10), Miami (5, 9), and Florida State (9, 13) carve up Florida athletes based on state geography. (Rival’s 2008 recruiting rankings in parentheses) Florida, Florida State, and Miami have 33, 32, and 23 non-resident football players, but only seven, six, and eight reside outside the South and Texas. Georgia has eight Florida residents on their roster and has gotten the commitment of the top quarterback from Florida in 2009.

Ohio State (4, 2), USC (8, 5), and Texas (14, 3) dominate their respective states. For 2009, Ohio State already has seven of the top nine committed players in Ohio. USC has the top five California players. UCLA (13) scoops up more of the California recruits. The Bruins have only 12 non-California residents on its roster. USC has 21 non-California residents.

Here's a breakdown by Rivals of who is winning in the top states in 2009.

The following factors, to the surprise of the Mercer economists, “don’t systematically influence the decisions of high school athletes”: the number of Bowl Championship (BCS) appearances, the number of players from the college drafted by the NFL, the number of national championships won by a school, a school’s graduation rate, and, curiously, the current roster depth at the player’s position.

The economists found that highly-sought recruits were statistically attracted to schools that had recruited one or more top recruits the previous year. Many recruits say they want early playing time, but then choose successful football programs loaded at their position. That may explain why Southern California can recruit some of the nation’s top running backs each year.

Which football programs must work the hardest and have shown the greatest success? Ones without conference titles, far away from a recruit’s hometown, in less football-rich states, and who were not ranked highly the previous year—even if they have numerous National Championships, BCS appearances, a number of players drafted by the NFL, and a high graduation rate.

Looks like Notre Dame and Alabama would be in real trouble in 2008. Far from it. Both achieved recruiting success against statistical odds.

Notre Dame (1), Alabama (2), Clemson (12), and Colorado (15) finished out the top 15 in 2008. Only Clemson was ranked in the 2007 AP’s top 15. Notre Dame, in 2007, had their worst season ever but their best recruiting class in history. The '08 class of 23 players averaged almost four stars (3.96) out of five—tops in the nation. Alabama signed 32 players (average stars: 3.72), but have ended up with a class of 27 due to attrition.

What’s brewing in these programs? How are recruits attracted to Indiana, Alabama, South Carolina, and Colorado?

All have been rebuilding with coaching staffs with three years or less at these institutions. Alabama and Notre Dame are rebuilding on tradition-rich and nationally known football programs. Nick Saban and Charlie Weis both surrounded themselves with great recruiters. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney possesses an excellent recruiting and coaching staff. Dan Hawkins has brought optimism, competition and pride back at Boulder.

A detailed look at the Mercer’s Prediction Breakdown in 2008 shows these same football programs stole recruits from other programs based on predictions, bucking recruiting trends. While the statisticians correctly predicted 73 percent of recruits’ choices, the top football programs who unpredictably took the remaining 27 percent of prospects were:

— Miami: won the most predicted prospects from other schools with eight, taking three from Florida

— Alabama: won seven, including four from Auburn

— Clemson: won six, including two from South Carolina

— Colorado: won four

— Notre Dame: won three

But almost all have to fight the distance factor. Of the five schools, Notre Dame and Colorado fight the distance factor the most.

— Notre Dame: 20.8 percent from within 200 miles, 5.9 percent from in-state, average distance—640.9 miles

— Colorado: 21.1 percent, 21.1 percent, 888.99 miles

— Clemson: 48.2 percent, 35.17 percent, 244.4 miles

— North Carolina: 56.8 percent, 44.1 percent, 301.8 miles

— Alabama: 70.2 percent, 54.2 percent, 211.9 miles

Their model this year, in the case of the nation’s top inside linebacker, Manti Te’o from Hawaii, goes against the distance factor. Te’o is predicted to go to Notre Dame (32.1 percent) over USC (22.1 percent), Stanford (18.8 percent), and UCLA (17.5 percent).

The South’s high school football talent is indeed rising again and benefits their recruiting rankings. (map link) Nine of this year’s Rivals' top 15 teams in recruiting are from the Deep South. Including Texas and Oklahoma as part of the South, only four non-South teams—USC, Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State—crack the 2009 top 15.

How are the Mercer trio doing this year in predicting recruits' choices for the Rivals 250? 76 percent—with one week and 37 high school prospects to go. Is that because Notre Dame, Clemson, and Colorado have dipped in the rankings? We’ll know for sure in another week when the letters of intent are all in.

Of the three schools' commitments in the Rivals 250, only one recruit’s choice (for Notre Dame) was not predicted—compared to 13 last year.

Until then, it’s nice to know that statisticians can’t always predict all behavior. Some prospects may choose schools based on future success outside of football, graduation rates or even national championships. That won’t stop the Mercer trio won’t stop trying to even more accurately predict the choices of these talented teenagers—something every coach would like to do.

College Football's Best Recruiters: Who's the King?

Michael Collins — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:49:52 -0500

If recruiting is a football program’s lifeblood, who’s best at transfusing new life to their programs? Recruitniks know that the best recruiters are not the head coaches but assistant coaches, and occasionally a recruiting coordinator.

With National Signing Day on Feb. 4, only a couple of weeks away, all eyes turn towards recruiting the last few top high school recruits.

Rivals ranks the top 25 recruiters each year, based on the number and quality ranking (stars) of recruits for each recruiter. In a review of their top recruiters for the past four years, 19 recruiters were multiple-year winners. Here are my personal rankings of the top college football recruiters.

No. 4: Charlie Strong, Florida—Defensive Coordinator

Why is this guy not a head coach? Strong has just been picked as the Defensive Coordinator of the Year, has been on Rivals’ Best Recruiters List for 2007 and 2008, and has recruited 12 four-star and one five-star players to Florida in three years. Strong stymied Oklahoma’s high-flying offense in the national championship. For 2009, he has two four-star recruits and one five-star recruit committed to Florida so far.

Only three recruiters were chosen more than twice.

No. 3: Dabo Swinney, Clemson—Head Coach

The Tigers’ new head coach, chosen three times to Rivals’ Best Recruiters list in four years, has played a huge part in bringing talented high school players to Clemson from South Carolina, Alabama, and Northern Florida. In 2006, Rivals ranked Swinney as the fifth-best recruiter and tagged him “a fast-rising star in the recruiting world and the coaching world.”

Over a five-year span, Swinney has recruited 40 players to Clemson! In the last three years, Swinney is responsible for bringing seven four-star players and one five-star player to Clemson, including C.J. Spiller, DeAndre McDaniel, Jamie Harper, Antoine McClain, Kyle Parker, and Jonathan Willard. No wonder he was chosen as head coach.

If he had been passed over, would he be at Alabama, his alma mater, now?

No. 2: Josh Henson, LSU—Recruiting Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach

Rivals has included Henson on their Best Recruiters list for the last three years. Henson has been Les Miles’ recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach since their Oklahoma State days from 2001.

Henson’s best year of the three was 2007. That year the Tigers garnered 19 four-star prospects and two five-star prospects. LSU got the fourth-best ranking in the nation.

Yet, 2009 may turn out to be Henson’s best recruiting coordinator year. LSU leads the nation. So far, the Tigers have four five-star commits and 11 four-star commits. Of Henson’s two commits so far in 2009, one, OL Chris Faulk, is a four-star.

Henson has personally been responsible for a total of 13 four-star recruits from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and a total of 17 recruits over three years.

Henson is credited with landing Jai Eugene, Richard Dickson, Shomari Clemons, Phelon Jones, and Kentravis Aubrey.

Only two of Henson’s 13 four-star recruits are no longer on the LSU roster.

Multiple reports have Henson is on his way to the Missouri Tigers.

No. 1: Rob Ianello, Notre Dame—Recruiting Coordinator and Wide Receivers Coach

Ianello is the only recruiter to appear all four years on Rivals’ Best Recruiters list and is the architect of the Irish resurgence in recruiting. In the three full recruiting classes Charlie Weis has had, Notre Dame has finished eighth, eighth, and first in 2008 (after some of Alabama’s recruits did not qualify). Fourteen Irish recruits from the class of 2008 played in last year’s Army All-America Bowl.

Ianello has personally recruited 22 players in three years for the Irish, including two five-stars and 13 four-stars for the Irish. He has recruited the entire Irish backfield of Allen, Aldridge, and Hughes, as well as starters Michael Floyd, Brian Smith, Ian Williams, and Trevor Robinson and former starter Duval Kamara.

Prior to coming to South Bend, Ianello was a top recruiter at Wisconsin, convincing Joe Thomas to come to Madison over ND. He was the assistant recruiting coordinator at Alabama under Bill Curry and helped sign 17 of the eventual 22 starters on Alabama’s 1992 national championship team.

Ianello was chosen the second-best recruiter in 2006. He has served six years on the Board of Trustees of the American Football Coaches Association and is the only assistant coach on the Board.

Honorable Mention (Rivals Top 25 Recruiters List years in parentheses)

ACC

John Blake (’05, ’06 with Nebraska)—now at North Carolina. Blake may challenge for 2009’s Recruiter of the Year, with eight commitments for the Tar Heels—one five-star, four four-stars.

Clint Hurtt (’08)—Miami. Made Rivals’ list last year for the first time. Has eight commitments for 2009, including one five-star and five four-star prospects. Another possible recruiter of the year?

Kevin Steele (Recruiter of the Year ’05 with FSU, Top 25 in ’07 with Alabama)—Now with Clemson.

Big East

Stan Drayton (’06, ’07 with Florida)—Tennessee in ’08, now with Syracuse.

John “Doc” Holliday (’05, ’06 with Florida)—now at West Virginia. Holliday has not had the recruiting success with his alma mater that he did with the Gators.

Big Ten

Tim Cross (’08)—Minnesota.

Luke Fickell (’06)—Ohio State. Long-time Buckeye assistant and LB coach.

Larry Johnson, Sr. (Recruiter of the Year, ’06)—Penn State. Has been with Joe Paterno for 12 years. Is responsible for 12 commitments to the Lions in 2009, including two four-stars.

Big 12

Joe DeForest (’06, ’08)—Oklahoma State.

Bobby Kennedy (’06, ’08)—Texas. Kennedy has the luxury of not having to recruit outside of the Lone Star State.

Pac-10

Tim Kish (’05, ’06)—Arizona. Kish regularly appears on the Pac-10's best recruiters list.

Steve Greatwood (’07)—Oregon. The Ducks' great OL coach. Could he be on the move, too?

Todd McNair (’06, ’07)—USC. McNair has recruited star power for the Trojans, averaging 4.5 and 4.67 stars for seven commitments in those two years. Three players—Antwine Perez, Broderick Green, and Vidal Hazelton—of his seven have now transferred.

Pat Ruel (’08)—USC.

SEC

Steve Addazio (’08)—Florida. Seven top commitments for 2009 so far.

Rodney Gardner (’05, ’06)—Georgia. Gardner is considered “the dean of recruiters in the Southeast.”

Tony Hughes (’06 with Ole Miss, ’08 with Southern Miss) - Now with Miss State

Trooper Taylor (’05, ’07 with Tennessee)—Oklahoma State ‘08, now with Auburn.

Lance Thompson (Recruiter of the Year ’08 with Alabama)—Now with Tennessee.

Independents

Corwin Brown (’08)—Notre Dame.

Non-BCS Conferences

Mike Locksley (’05, ’07 with Illinois)—Locksley is the new head coach of the New Mexico Lobos.

DeWayne Walker (’07, ’08 with UCLA)—Walker is the new head coach of the New Mexico State Aggies.

Coaches who know how to recruit and have established relationships with high school coaches are valued and aggressively pursued. Swinney, Locksley, and Walker have been hired this year as head coaches. Great recruiters and coaches like Thompson, Taylor, Drayton, Steele, Blake, and Hughes have moved to new positions over the last four years.

We should not be surprised that good recruiters are part of the staff moves by new head coaches at Washington, Tennessee, Auburn, and Syracuse to effect quick turnarounds in their programs—new lifeblood.

Some recruiters at a new school attempt to swing their former verbal commitments to their new school, especially if the teams are in the same conference. All’s fair, but it can get low-down and dirty. Signing Day brings stunners and sweaters.

No one rests until after Feb. 4. All eyes are on the fax machine for the letters of intent. Then on to the Class of 2010, who have already made junior day workouts, unofficial visits during the past season, and a few ’10 commitments to the top schools already. Many colleges are holding their junior days this weekend.

New Notre Dame Coaching Staff Takes Shape

Michael Collins — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:55:09 -0500

Last week, Notre Dame announced the hiring of Frank Verducci, veteran offensive line coach from the NFL with the Browns, Bills, Cowboys, and Bengals. Verducci also spent nine years on Hayden Fry’s Iowa staff.

Verducci said, "I'm very excited for this opportunity and am grateful to Coach Weis. Notre Dame is the one college job I pursued and is the only school I considered leaving the NFL for.”

Today, Notre Dame announced the hiring of Tony Alford, running backs coach (pictured above). Alford replaces Mike Haywood, who left to become the new head coach of Miami (Ohio). Alford has 14 years experience as RB coach, with the last two years at Louisville and five years prior at Iowa State.

According to Weis, "In talking with several sources at the college and NFL levels for suggestions, the first name that came up was Tony's. He came highly recommended because of his tremendous reputation as both a running backs coach and as a recruiter and is a great addition to our program.”

Alford expressed his pleasure at joining Notre Dame: "Notre Dame is the epitome of college football. To join a place with the tradition and history of Notre Dame is very exciting, and I'm grateful to Coach Weis for extending me this tremendous opportunity.

"I have several people in my life that I greatly respect and use as sounding boards for important life decisions such as changing jobs. When this position opened, I counseled with those individuals, and they were as enthusiastic about this opportunity as I am. I am very flattered that Coach Weis considered me for this post, and my family and I are thrilled to join the Notre Dame family."

Two graduate assistant positions may have some star power names. Former Notre Dame All-American lineman Bryant Young, who enjoyed a 14-year All-Pro career with the San Francisco 49ers, has, according to Irish Illustrated, agreed verbally to the position of assisting coaching the defensive line.

Tim Grunhard, another former Notre Dame player and an ex-Kansas City Chief, will interview for the position today of assisting in coaching the offensive line. At Notre Dame, Grunhard anchored an offensive line that went 24-1 in his junior and senior years, including the classic 1988 Miami game. He was the fourth offensive lineman taken in the 1990 NFL draft, anchored one of the best offensive lines in the NFL for eleven years and played in the Pro Bowl once. Grunhard is currently head coach at Bishop Miege High School in Kansas City.

We’ll have to wait on formal announcements for those. The defensive line coach position has yet to be filled by Weis.

Mike Haywood Named Miami(Ohio)'s First African-American Head Football Coach

Michael Collins — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:11:25 -0500

Miami of Ohio—“The Cradle of Football Coaches”—will name Mike Haywood, Notre Dame’s former offensive coordinator, as Miami’s next head football coach, according to sources close to Haywood.

Mike Haywood, a Notre Dame graduate, will bring the number of African-American head football coaches to six in the 119 FBS programs. Haywood has been the Fighting Irish’s offensive coordinator for four years under Charlie Weis. His contributions to the Irish offensive explosion in 2005 earned him recognition by the American Football Coaches Association as the Assistant Coach of the Year.

Haywood is also Notre Dame’s running backs coach. He previously served as running backs coach for two years at Texas, where he coached Cedric Benson, the 2004 Doak Walker Award winner. In his two years at Texas, the Longhorns were ranked second (2004) and fifth (2003) nationally in rushing.

Haywood was also the Longhorns' recruiting coordinator until Weis lured him back to Notre Dame. A native of Texas, Haywood recruited the Lone Star state and Louisiana for the Irish. Haywood was a four-year letterman at Notre Dame.

Haywood was a running back coach at LSU from 1995-2002, where he developed some of the Tigers’ finest running backs, including Kevin Faulk, LaBrandon Toefield, Domanick Davis (NFL Rookie of the Year, 2003), Cecil Collins, and Rondell Mealey. Haywood has been chosen as one of LSU’s All-Time Assistant Coaches.

He has also been an assistant coach at Ball State, Ohio University, Army, and Minnesota.

Haywood will join Turner Gill (Buffalo), Randy Shannon (Miami, Fl.), Kevin Sumlin (Houston), Mike Locksley (New Mexico), and Ron English (Eastern Michigan) as the sole African-American head coaches. Haywood was a finalist last year for the head coaching position at Houston.

With Haywood fillling Miami's position, Army and New Mexico State are the remaining FBS head coach openings. Army is rumored to be on the verge of naming Rich Ellerson, Cal-Poly, head coach from eleven candidates. Ivin Jasper, Navy, recently withdrew his name from consideration. New Mexico State announced narrowing their field to three. Only DeWayne Walker's name has emerged as one of the three. Six of the ten candidates under consideration are African-American.

Miami (O) got its nickname "The Cradle of Coaches" by producing such coaches as Earl (Red) Blaik, Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Weeb Ewbank, Sid Gillman, Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler, Jim Tressel, Bill Arnsparger, George Little, Bill Mallory, John Pont, Ron Zook, Gary Moeller, Dick Tomey, Sean Payton, Dick Crum, Paul Dietzel, Randy Walker, John Harbaugh, Larry Smith, and Terry Hoeppner.

Under previous coach Shane Montgomery, the RedHawks were 17-30 over the last four years, including a 2-10 record in 2008.

Help Wanted: SEC Defenses - A Search for Its Identity for Bowl Games

Michael Collins — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:40:47 -0500

Outside of Florida and Alabama, SEC defenses this year have been porous with a pitiful record against winning teams.

Isn’t it one of the mantras of college football that the SEC has the best defenses? Could that myth be crumbling in the light of a more complete analysis?

On the surface, SEC defenses appear to be stalwart. Eleven of its twelve teams rank in the top thirty-eight defenses in the country, based on total defense yards per game. Link. The SEC non-conference record is 37-11 (68.2 percent), tied with the ACC for second of all conferences. Only the Big 12 has a better record by one game (38-10). Scratch the surface and those records are inflated by playing poor competition and bad offenses.

Scratching the Surface

The SEC non-conference wins include a 9-0 record vs FCS opponents and 22-2 against non-BCS opponents. Against all BCS foes, the SEC limps in this year at 6-9!

What happened when these highly-ranked defenses played winning non-conference teams? They sputtered.

Of their 39 FBS non-conference opponents, only 16 had winning records (41%). The SEC was 9-7 against those winning opponents including 6-0 versus non-BCS opponents. What happened when these highly-ranked SEC defenses played winning BCS opponents? They collapsed.

Their record was 3-7. Eliminating Florida’s and Alabama’s wins, the rest of SEC was 0-7 against winning BCS teams!

Conference Rankings and Records Link

Offenses

The SEC is home to some of the worst offenses in the country with six teams in the bottom 22 of all 119 FBS teams. Link. The offenders include Spurrier’s South Carolina (97th), Auburn (102), Kentucky (105), Mississippi State (105), Tennessee (115), and Vanderbilt (117)—four in the SEC East, two in the SEC West.

Three head coaches of those teams lost their jobs. Auburn’s 3-2 victory over MSU looks like the product of two bad offenses. How accurate are your defensive statistics when six of the 12 SEC teams opponents have anemic offenses?

Bowl-Bound SEC Teams

Outside of Florida and Alabama, who deserve their national ranking, the other SEC bowl-bound teams (below) have gone 0-4 against winning BCS opponents. SEC nationally ranked defenses not only lost, but their opponents scored more points and made more yards than their season averages. Can anyone really make a serious claim for strong defenses with such consistent failures?

-South Carolina’s 11th-ranked defense was whupped by Clemson by 17 points, 31-14. South Carolina surrendered 383 yards. Clemson averaged 25.5 points (62nd) and 339.3 yards per game (81st) for the season.

- Mississippi’s 15th-ranked defense allowed Wake Forest to outscore their offense, 39-28. Mississippi surrendered 348 yards. Wake exceeded its seasonal averages of 20 points (97th) and 300.3 yards per game (103rd).

- Georgia’s 28th-ranked defense’s was humbled 45-42, surrendering 428 yards. Georgia Tech’s offense soared over their seasonal averages of 26.2 points (56th) and 377.2 yards per game (47th).

- Vanderbilt’s 29th-ranked defense was taken to the woodshed by Wake Forest by 13 points, 23-10. Wake’s 103rd-rated offense amassed 331 yards, again exceeding its seasonal averages for points (20) and yardage (300.3) per game.

Are the first-, fourth-, and 10th-ranked offenses in the ACC too much for these SEC defenses? Imagine if any of these paper tigers played some nationally ranked offenses. The Rebels, at least, will get that chance.

Non-Bowl-Bound SEC Teams

Second tier SEC teams fared no better, of course. Auburn’s 27th-ranked defense was crushed by West Virginia’s 65th-ranked offense, 34-17. West Virginia rolled up 445 yards. The Big East’s Mountaineers are sixth in total offense in their conference, averaging 352.5 yards and 24 points for the season.

Texas destroyed Arkansas, 52-10. Arkansas has the worst defense in the SEC, 73rd in the nation, averaging 375.17 yards. The Longhorns got only 421 yards, calling off the dogs in the fourth quarter.

How to Play “Bowl Bound”

Want to look good? Vanderbilt (29th) may be the poster child for skewing your defensive statistics. Vandy’s stats reap the rewards of playing some of the lowest ranked offenses in the country—Tennessee (115), Mississippi State (113), Kentucky (105), Wake Forest (103), Auburn (102), Duke (101), South Carolina (97), and Miami (O) (90). The Commodores played eight games against the bottom 30 offenses in the nation! Total Offenses Nationally Link.

Georgia (28th) played five of the offensive bottom dwellers from the SEC, plus Arizona State (100th) and FCS Georgia Southern—seven teams!

Tennessee (4th)—The Vols defense performed better than Georgia’s against seven bottom 30 feeders—Vanderbilt (117), Mississippi State (113), UCLA (111), Wyoming (109), Kentucky (105), Auburn (102), South Carolina (97). But their offense was so offensive that Phil Fulmer lost his job.

LSU’s defense’s (36th) only winning non-conference opponent, Troy, led by a 31-3 score before the Tigers came back to win, 40-31. Troy averaged 33.3 points per game for the season against all opponents, 36 points per game against their Sun Belt conference competition. LSU’s defense against Troy was equivalent to Middle Tennessee State (31 points). Florida Atlantic’s and Louisiana-Monroe’s (30 points) games were slightly better than LSU’s! Troy's Games Link

Kentucky (37th) played no non-conference opponents with winning records. The Wildcats are only one of only two BCS bowl teams with a 2-6 conference records. Kentucky played Vanderbilt (117), Tennessee (115), Mississippi State (113), Western Kentucky (110), South Carolina (97), and Norfolk State (102nd in FCS)—six poor offenses. The Wildcats played eight non-winning teams, limiting them to 14.3 points per game. When their defense played winning teams, the Wildcats were pussycats—36.5 points per game. Total Defense vs. Winning Teams Only Link.

All these teams except Tennessee will face the music in bowl games. Tennessee did not play any non-conference opponent with a winning record. Losing to UCLA (eighth in the Pac-10, 111th offense) and Wyoming (eighth in the Mountain West, 109th in offense) exposed the Vols’ defense.

The Bruins were only able to match their 27-point outburst against Tennessee in wins over Washington (27), Washington State (28) and a loss to Fresno State (31), none of whom are remotely considered defensive powerhouses. UCLA Games Link. Imagine Tennessee playing in the Big 12! Whoa, Nellie.

Rating SEC Scoring Defenses

Nationally, the SEC defenses look worse when looking at their scoring defenses. Arkansas drops to 92nd. LSU is 65th. Georgia is 64th. Mississippi State is 58th, just above the 50th percentile. Against winning teams, all four of these teams plus Kentucky allow over 30 points per game! Scoring Defense Link.

Only two SEC teams played more than six winning teams over the season. Only Arkansas (7) and Florida (8) played a majority of their games against winners this season. Arkansas’s defense stunk. Florida’s dominated.

Winners, Real Defensive Rankings

Let’s see how good the SEC when they play against winning teams and which BCS team their defenses are most comparable to, using Total Defense and Scoring Defense. Number of winning opponents played in parentheses.

Total Defense vs Winning Teams Link.

National Total Defense vs Winning Teams Link.

Florida (8) – Ranks 2^nd, 270.4 yards per game. (Connecticut (6), 3^rd, 276.3 yards.)

Florida is 3^rd in Scoring Defense, 14.5 points.

Alabama (5) – Ranks 13^th, 322.2 yards per game. (Notre Dame (6), 325.2 yards.)

Alabama is 14^th in Scoring Defense, 22.4 points.

Tennessee (4) – Ranks 17^th, 330.5 yards per game. (Pittsburgh (8), 331 yards.)

Tennessee is 43^rd in Scoring Defense, 28.0 points.

Mississippi (5) – Ranks 25^th, 347.4 yards per game. (Cincinnati (7), 350.3 yards.)

Mississippi is 30^th in Scoring Defense, 25.6 points.

Georgia (6) – Ranks 38^th, 371.7 yards per game. (Purdue (8), 372.4 yards.)

Georgia is 66^th in Scoring Defense, 32.8 points.

South Carolina (5), Ranks 41^st, 375.6 yards per game. (Illinois (5), 375.9 yards.)

South Carolina is 55^th in Scoring Defense, 29.8 points.

Vanderbilt (6), Ranks 48^th, 382.5 yards per game. (Duke (8), 384 yards.)

Vanderbilt is 21^st in Scoring Defense, 24.0 points. (Lost to Duke, 7-10)

LSU (6), Ranks 52^nd, 385.7 yards per game. (Northwestern (4), 385 yards.)

LSU is 76^th in Scoring Defense, 34.8 points.

Auburn (5), Ranks 55^th, 395.8 yards per game. (Oklahoma (8), 399.9 yards.)

Auburn is 33^rd in Scoring Defense, 26.0 points.

Mississippi State (5), Ranks 61^st, 404.2 yards per game. (Arizona State (6), 403.5 yards.)

Mississippi State is 72^nd in Scoring Defense, 34.2 points.

Arkansas (7), Ranks 67^th, 412.7 yards per game. (Stanford (6), 410.2 yards per game.)

Arkansas is 82^nd in Scoring Defense, 35.6 points.

Kentucky (4), Ranks 81^st, 425.5 yards per game. (Michigan State (6), 425.7 yards.)

Kentucky is 87^th in Scoring Defense, 37 points.

National Scoring Defense Ranking vs. Winning Teams Link.

Charlie Strong, Florida’s Defensive Coordinator, deserves his kudos. Florida excels as the best defense in the SEC and one of the best, nationally.

Isn’t is interesting that Notre Dame and Alabama have virtually the same numbers for Total Defense against winning teams, though the Irish played more winning teams? Cupcake scheduling of FCS and non-BCS teams gets you improved stats and hollow chest thumping. But to be the best you have to play the best.

Bowl Matchups

While all SEC teams except Florida and Alabama choked against winning BCS teams in non-conference play, Bowl Season brings a chance for redemption—or further embarrassment. Here are the SEC non-BCS bowl matchups, my choices, and my rationales.

Cotton—Mississippi vs. Texas Tech—Texas Tech

Mississippi is 11th in SEC in Pass Defense, 209.83 yards per game. Texas Tech is No. 1 nationally in Passing Offense, 417.3 yards. When Mississippi faced the second best passing offense in the SEC in Arkansas (23rd nationally), the Rebels surrendered 282 yards and 21 points to Arkansas’s Casey Dick. Dick is the 28th best passer nationally, completing 57.4 percent of his attempts. Arkansas's Dick threw two of his 13 touchdowns against the Rebels and has 14 interceptions for the season, one by the Rebels. Graham Harrell ranks as the second-best quarterback in the nation, completes 71.5 percent of his passes, and has thrown 41 touchdowns with 7 interceptions. Not to mention he has a healthy Michael Crabtree.

Capital One—Georgia vs. Michigan State—Georgia

Michigan State’s defense gave up 425.7 yards per game to winning teams. Georgia’s defense gave up 371.7 yards. Could this be an offensive show involving Big Ten and SEC teams? Believe it.

Outback—South Carolina vs. Iowa—Iowa

Iowa’s defense has flown under the radar—Total Defense—12th, Scoring Defense—eighth, Rushing Defense—10th, Pass Efficiency Defense—eighth. Shoon Greene, second nationally in rushing with 144 yards per game, should run over South Carolina’s Rushing Defense, 81st against winning teams in allowing 183.6 yards per game. Iowa’s Total Offense, 52nd, would rank fourth in the SEC.

Chick-fil-A—LSU vs. Georgia Tech—Georgia Tech

These teams have two common opponents—Mississippi State and Georgia.

Against Mississippi State, Georgia Tech won, 38-7. LSU won, 34-24. Against Georgia, Georgia Tech won, 45-42. LSU lost 38-52, surrendering 194 rushing yards. The Rambling Wreck’s rushing offense ranks third in the country. Georgia’s rushing offense is 54th.

Music City—Vanderbilt vs. Boston College—Boston College

These teams have one common opponent, Wake Forest. The Commodores lost, 23-10. The prior week, Boston College beat the Demon Deacons, 24-21. Vanderbilt has lost six of its last seven games. The Eagles have won four of their last five, losing only the ACC championship. Boston College has the sixth best defense in the nation.

Liberty—Kentucky vs. East Carolina—East Carolina

Kentucky’s defense against winning teams is 425.5 yards per game, last in the SEC. Kentucky has lost six of its last eight games. East Carolina won six of its last seven, including the Conference USA championship. The Pirates defeated Virginia Tech and West Virginia. Kentucky’s best win was over Arkansas, 21-20.

With Florida and Alabama having competitive matchups, will we be asking after the bowl games what happened to the SEC?

I think so.

Black Coaches in The NCAA: Race Matters and Coaching Hires

Michael Collins — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:49:43 -0500

Take Eugene Smith.

Smith, Ohio State University’s Athletic Director, runs the largest athletic department budget by revenue—$104.7 million—and the tenth most valuable college football team as ranked by Forbes. He is past president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), past president of the Division 1-A Athletic Directors Association, served on the NCAA Management Council and the NCAA Executive Committee.

Gene Smith was honored in 2008 with the John L. Toner Award, presented annually to the director of athletics “who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics and particularly college football.” An extraordinarily accomplished administrator, he has also been the first African-American for most of these positions and awards. Black Enterprise Magazine named Smith as one of the “50 Most Powerful African Americans in College Sports”.

Three factors contributed to Gene Smith’s success—preparation, the opportunity to succeed and performance. These factors are all considerations he must weigh before hiring a new coach for any of the thirty-six Ohio State programs.

Minority Hiring

By now, we are well aware of the miserable statistics for minority coaching in college football. Dr. Richard Lapchick’s study, “The Buck Stops Here”, highlighted the fact that there were only six black coaches in the FBS Division prior to Tyrone Willingham’s firing and Ron Prince’s and Sylvester Crum’s resignations.

Willingham, who coached the only winless team in the FBS division and is the elected president of the American Football Coaches Association, feels "Obviously, it should be a great concern to all of us because there's a pool of resources in our country that's not being tapped. We've battled this for some time. At no time has that number been where it should be.” according to the Seattle Times.

Success in Athletics

Eugene Smith began his preparation for success at Notre Dame on a football scholarship, obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1977. He was part of the Irish’s national championship team in 1973 and, on graduation, became part of Dan Devine’s staff that coached the Irish to the 1977 national championship.

He left Notre Dame in 1981 to accept a marketing position with IBM. He returned to college athletics as assistant athletic director at Eastern Michigan and became athletic director there in 1986. In 1993 he accepted the opportunity to become athletic director at Iowa State University.

In 2000 he moved to Arizona State to become their athletic director. His performance in each of these positions and on the numerous NCAA committees led him to success at Ohio State.

Coaching opportunities and success in performance often follows a similar path of preparation—FCS or non-BCS schools to higher levels of BCS teams. Kevin Sumlin went from Offensive Coordinator at Oklahoma last year to head coach at Houston this year. Turner Gill is finding success in his first head coaching opportunity at Buffalo.

Promoting or hiring coaches before they are prepared in order to give them the opportunity to succeed is a recipe for disaster. Even with preparation and given the opportunity, first-time coaches can fail.

Jason Whitlock’s article on Ron Prince, “Black Coaches Need to Pick the Right Jobs”, points out some of the difficulties, mistakes and need for support that the former Virginia Offensive Coordinator encountered in his first head coaching position at Kansas State.

One of the criticisms of Charlie Weis’s performance is that he has been unprepared because he lacked head coaching experience prior to Notre Dame’s.

The Black Coaches Statistics Analyzed

Lapchick’s study used by the Black Coaches Association (BCA) notes 54.1 percent of football student athletes and 33 percent of assistant football coaches are minorities . The discrepancy to me is in the relative lack of coordinators compared to a 33 percent of minority assistant coaches pool.

Only 13.3 percent (34) of FBS offensive and defensive coordinators are African-American. A further look beyond the coordinator statistics is more alarming. While one is a designated head coach in waiting, thirteen coordinators have two years or less experience in that position. Another six have not demonstrated success with records that put their teams at the bottom of their conferences in their respective categories.

That leaves only nine (3.5 percent) FBS black coordinators have strong enough records to be considered for head coaching positions. While a handful of FCS head coaches, some ex-FBS coaches and some NFL coaches may enlarge this, this is not a deep pool of resources.

College Coaching Hiring

Some pundits have advocated the Rooney Rule used in the NFL requiring teams to interview a minority candidate. The NCAA has pointed out it has no authority over its member institutions to enact such a rule.

Some institutions prefer someone who has put their time in or is a known commodity. The BCA report card graded Mississippi, West Virginia and Dayton with F's last year for not interviewing any black candidates. Mississippi quickly focused on Houston Nutt, who had resigned from Arkansas.

West Virginia and Dayton hired long-time assistant coaches for the positions, Bill Stewart and Rick Chamberlin, respectively. Long-time Miami defensive coordinator, Randy Shannon, is finding success rebuilding the Hurricanes. Kentucky has designated offensive coordinator Joker Phillips, who is African-American, as its Head Coach in Waiting. However, conferences could pass such a Rooney rule requirement for its member institutions. Would the SEC universities, for instance, be willing to pass such a rule?

With seventy-six FBS coaching vacancies in the last four years—or an average of nineteen per year, with a Rooney rule, those nine strong African-American candidates would be making a lot of head coaching interviews. Only forty-two of the seventy-six FBS coaching vacancies over four years were BCS conference head coaching opportunities, averaging 1.66 candidates per BCS conference per year. The BCA report also noted that almost one-third of the coaching candidates last year were minorities.

If three or four qualified African-Americans from the talented nine coordinators rose to the ranks of head coach each year, the experience level of black potential coordinators in the supply line would quickly dwindle without being replenished.

Wouldn’t it be wiser to pass a Rooney rule for the choice of coordinators? That would draw on the resources of the 33 percent of minority assistant coaches, deepening the talent pool and providing more preparation and experience to optimize a coach’s chances for success.

African-American Coordinators

The nine black coordinators I identified who have all the qualifications for the right positions now, in no particular order, are:

o Charlie Strong, University of Florida, six years, Defensive Coordinator (DC); 3 yrs DC at South Carolina; Defense has ranked 3rd, 7th, 2nd, 4th and 6th in his last five years, Excellent recruiter of Florida talent. Two post-graduate degrees.

o Mike Locksley, University of Illinois, Champaign. Three years Offensive Coordinator (OC), 2,3,9th in Big 10 last three years, excellent recruiter of D.C. talent.

-- Hired, New Mexico Lobos Head Coach, December 9.

o DeWayne Walker, UCLA, DC, three yrs; Defense has ranked 6th, 3rd, 2nd in past three years in conference. Position coach in the NFL. He has an excellent recruiting record of Southern California talent.

-- Hired, New Mexico State Aggies Head Coach, December 30.

o Don Treadwell, Michigan State, OC, 2nd yr; OC with Mark Dantonio at Cincinnati for three years, OC Ball State one year, OC at MSU for three years

o Ron English, University of Louisville, DC, 1st yr at Louisville, two years DC at Michigan, NFL position coaching experience. In his first year, he improved Louisville’s defense by 100 yards and is No. 4 in Big East. At Michigan, his defenses ranked 3rd and 2nd in the conference.

--Hired, Eastern Michigan Eagles Head Coach, December 22.

o Jay Novell, Oklahoma University, 1st year. Co-OC; one-year UCLA OC; three years OC at Nebraska. Novell’s results have been mixed. Oklahoma’s offense is 1^st in the conference. At UCLA, his offense ranked 9th. At Nebraska, his offenses ranked 3rd, 11th, 8th.

o Ruffin McNeill, Texas Tech University, Ass’t Head Coach (DC), 5th yr, and ST & LB coach; Defense has ranked 3rd, 5th, 4th, 5th, and 6th in last five years against conference opponents.

o Calvin Magee, University of Michigan, OC, 1st year at Michigan; four years at West Virginia where the Mountaineers ranked 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd in their conference.

o Michael Haywood, University of Notre Dame, 4th yr OC, Running back coach at Texas and LSU of NFL RBs Cedric Benson, LaBrandon Toefield, Domanick Davis, Kevin Faulk, Rondell Mealey and Cecil Collins. Haywood played football for Notre Dame for four years.

-- Hired Miami (O) Redhawks Head Coach, December 23.

Who Offers Opportunities?

Three FBS programs afforded opportunities to two black coordinators in 2008—Charlie Weis’s Notre Dame, Sylvester Croom’s Mississippi State, and Rich Brook’s Kentucky. Al Groh’s Virginia has sent coordinators Ron Prince to Kansas State and Mike London to Richmond in head coaching positions in the past. Bob Stoops’ Oklahoma sent Kevin Sumlin to Houston last year and has current OC Jay Novell.

Performance is any Athletic Director’s primary consideration since their jobs may depend on their choice. Of the eleven African-American ADs, Eugene Smith. Ohio State, Mike Garrett, USC, Damon Evans, Georgia, Craig Littlepage, Virginia, and Warde Manuel, Buffalo may be quite satisfied with their head coach’s performance.

Derrick Gragg, Eastern Michigan, and Daryl Gross, Syracuse, are already searching for coaches. Keith Tribble, U. of Central Florida, and McKinley Boston, Jr, New Mexico State, have coaches in the fifth year of their contracts.

Coaching Candidates

Notre Dame’s DC Corwin Brown and long-time Michigan RB coach, Fred Jackson are two of three final candidates at EMU. Locksley, ND’s Haywood and Gill have been spoken of as candidates for Syracuse. San Diego State is considering Dennis Green, former SDSU assistant coach Ron English and DeWayne Walker.

Already this year twelve head coaching positions are still open. Bill Snyder is returning to Kansas State. Expect more coaching openings in the MAC, the WAC and replacement openings for head coaches who move on. Two Missouri coordinators are expected to fill two of those coaching vacancies.

Dave Christensen, who coached at Washington and Idaho State, is rumored to have accepted the Wyoming head coach position. Matt Eberflus, who grew up in Toledo, played football for four years and coached there for nine years, is expected to take that head coaching position. Lane Kiffen may have taken the Tennessee position. Dabo Swinney, interim head coach and on Rivals best recruiters rankings three out of his four years, has taken the Clemson position.

Success Stories

Croom, Shannon, Prince and Gill have all included African-Americans in their coaching staffs including their coordinators, effectively creating hiring trees for black coaches to obtain valuable experience. Willingham, regrettably, stands out as a head coach who never had a black coordinator, ironically never tapping that “valuable resource”.

More success stories like Eugene Smiths are waiting to be written. Notre Dame’s Graduation Success Rate for African-American football players is 93%. It has been estimated that over thirty percent of those football players at Notre Dame graduate with a business degree. Those players pursue roads beyond athletics, too.

Take Alan Page, Associate Justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court, former All-Pro Minnesota Viking, graduate of Notre Dame’s 1966 class and member of the Irish’s '66 National Championship team….

Isn't successful performance all about preparation and opportunity?

College Football's Bubble Watch: The Final Week

Michael Collins — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:47:54 -0500

Thirty-four bowls, sixty-eight teams.

Isn’t college football at this time of year like pre-tournament college hoops? The real money games are college football’s version of bubble games between conference teams verging on bowl eligibility or being home for the holidays. More bowl contracts filled means more revenue to be shared for the conferences.

BCS conferences have contracted to place 48 teams in bowls—with another two for the national championship game, of course. That leaves 18 spots for non-BCS football teams: More than they deserve, but throw them a scrap.

In a good year, non-BCS teams will get 15 percent of the bowl revenues. When Notre Dame makes a BCS bowl, it gets one percent.

Which conference is winning the bowl contract race? Who’s doing the most sweating? Which teams are on the "Bubble Watch"?

Here’s what the conference commissioners will be watching.

*Overall records are listed first, followed by conference records.

Sitting Pretty

ACC (12 teams)

2008-09—Contracts for nine bowls (75 percent of teams in conference)

Teams In (10)—Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Clemson, NC State

Bubble Teams (0)

Games of the Week:

Conclusion: The ACC already has one more bowl eligible team than last year and have met their contracts. But both Virginia and NC State have difficult games to become bowl eligible. The ACC’s strategy of playing FCS schools has paid off—14 for the 12 teams. Virginia and NC State count wins over Richmond and William & Mary, respectively.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $19,263,649 (eight teams)

Average distribution per conference team (after expenses): $1.6 Million

Revenue Will Be Up

Big East (8 teams)

Contracts for seven bowls (87.5 percent)

Teams In (6)—Connecticut, South Florida, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Rutgers

Bubble Teams (1)

Louisville (5-6, 1-5)

L’ville non-conference record (4-1): W—Tenn. Tech, Kansas State, Memphis, Middle Tenn. State; L—Kentucky

Games of the Week: Louisville @ Rutgers (12/4)

Conclusion: Louisville has lost four conference games in a row. Rutgers has won five in a row. Louisville faces the prospect of finishing the season with five losses, unable to win one game in last five to become bowl-eligible.

The Big East has qualified one more team than last year but will not their contracts without a Louisville win.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $14,197,021 (five teams)

Average distribution per conference team: $1.77 Million

Sweating It Out

Pac-10 (10 teams)

Contracts for seven bowls (70 percent)

Teams In (5)—USC, Oregon, California, Oregon State, Arizona

Bubble Teams (1)

Arizona St. (5-6)

ASU schedule (3-4)— @ Arizona

Games of the Week: ASU @ Arizona

Conclusion: ASU has to win in Tucson.

The Pac-10 was clearly hurt by the Mountain West losses. Stanford, ASU and UCLA lost to TCU, UNLV and BYU respectively. ASU does count a win against FCS Northern Arizona. Should the Pac-10 consider a watered-down non-conference schedule more like the SEC, ACC, or Big 12?

One bubble team is eliminated this weekend. The winner must win their final game to qualify. Both have tough final games. Revenue may well be down this year with one less team.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $17,647,012 (six teams)

Average per conference team: $1.76 million

SEC (12 teams)

Contracts for nine bowls (75 percent)

Teams In (8)—Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, LSU, Mississippi, Vanderbilt

Bubble Teams (0)

Auburn schedule (2-6)
Non-conference (3-1): Wins—La-Monroe, S. Miss, Tenn-Martin; Loss—West Virginia

Games of the Week:

Conclusion: Auburn's non-conference wins over weak opponents are keeping them in consideration. Auburn winning at Bryant-Denny against undefeated and number one Alabama is improbable. But with such a poor conference record, should the Tigers be bowl-eligible? The SEC will likely have one less team than last year—revenue down—and one less team than contracted for.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $28,991,720 (nine teams)

Average per conference team: $2.42 million

Big 12 (12 teams)

Contracts for nine bowls (75 percent)

Teams In (7)—Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Nebraska

Bubble Teams (0)

Games of the Week:

Conclusion: Hot seat. The Buffs will have to win in Lincoln against a Bo Pelini-coached Cornhusker team that has won four of its last five and who lost to Texas Tech by only six.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $21,706,427 (eight teams)

Average per conference team: $1.81 million

Bets are that the Big 12 will have one less team than last year.

Revenue Will Be Down

Big Ten (11 teams)

Contracts for seven bowls (63 percent)

Teams In (7)—Penn St., Ohio St., Michigan St., Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin

Bubble Teams (0)

Conclusion: The Big Ten will have one less team than last year, but will meet their contracts. Revenue will be down.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $24,394,305 (eight teams)

Average distribution per conference team: $2.2 Million

Non-BCS Conference Teams

Bowl Eligible (28)

Mountain West (5) —Utah, TCU, BYU, Air Force, Colo St; MAC (6) —Ball State, C. Michigan, W. Michigan, Buffalo, Northern Illinois, Bowling Green; Conference USA (6) —Tulsa, Rice, Houston, East Carolina, Southern Mississippi, Memphis; Independent (2) —Navy (Congressional/Eagle Bank Bowl), Notre Dame; Sun Belt (3) —Troy, Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic; WAC (6) —Boise State, La. Tech, Fresno State, San Jose State, Nevada, Hawaii.

Need One Win (1)

Middle Tenn St. (5-6).

Games of the Week: Middle Tennessee State @ La-Lafayette

Conclusion: Non-BCS conference teams may have more than 25 bowl-eligible teams for 18-20 spots. How many scraps are left over will depend on how the BCS Bowl Bubble Teams finish.

Total Profits to Non-BCS schools and Other Distribution, 2007-08 Bowls: $16,670,198—11.6 percent of all bowl profits, slightly over $300,000 per team if divided equally.

After today's (11/29) games:

the ACC has two extra teams
the Big 12 is two teams short of their contracts
the Big 10 made their contracts
the SEC is one team short of their contracts
the Big East has one Bubble team to make their contracts with one game to play
the Pac-10 Bubble teams still have games to play but will be at least one team short, possibly two

The estimated total number of non-BCS teams should be 21 with one more Pac 10 team. If Louisville, UCLA and ASU all do not qualify, twenty-two spots will be open.

Earning Your Props in the BR College Football Community Redux

Michael Collins — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:56:05 -0500

Gray Ghost's article almost two months ago seemed worth revisiting in light of some comments last week concerning Notre Dame and Charlie Weis. Gray earned numerous Pick of the Days for the article, "Four Ways to Earn Your Props in the B/R College Football Community."

Gray opened with:

"Let me establish from the beginning that this is not another 'Let’s take Bleacher Report to the next level' article. However well-meaning those may be, that is not the intent of this article. My purpose is simply to offer some suggestions on how you can gain a hearing from your peers."

I wish to highlight some Gray's Four Ways with recent examples. My intent is not to embarrass anyone.

A selection of comments or passages from this past week follows each of his explanations.

1. Don’t Insist on Identicalness

“His (Timothy Croley) cyber-friendship means more to me than trying to best him in a verbal slugfest over which team (Georgia v. Alabama) is going to triumph this weekend. That will be settled between the hedges, not on Bleacher Report.

"Debate is great, but cutthroat comments won’t add one point to your team's score. What those types of comments will do is destroy your credibility with thinking people.”

— "Notre Dame: Lousy team even worse on the road" (by miamimitch.com)

— "Ever wonder what happened to Spanky from Our Gang? He's the confused coach of the Notre Dame Irish, that's what" (by Dan Boone)

2. Don’t Overstate Your Importance

“I will give you my opinion when I comment on your articles, and I hope you will take the time to consider what I say, but I will not attempt to force my opinion down your throat. I have always despised a bully and have had my fair share of trips to the principal’s office because I stood up for someone who was getting shoved around.

"A keyboard bully is no less reprehensible to me.”

— “You would think that superior talent and the decided schematic advantage that Weis promised upon his coronation as Notre Dame messiah would allow the Irish to at least kick a field goal against Boston College. That's naive thinking. You don't understand the damage being caused in South Bend by Willingham's recruiting in Seattle.

"And if you can't understand that, then you surely can't grasp the self-serving motive of Weis retaking over his offense with two weak opponents on the schedule.

"It's no secret. I dislike Charlie Weis and despise the free pass he was given by the media when he was handed a huge contract extension for doing less than Willingham.

"Weis is a bully and a coward, and his well-timed announcement that he would abandon this 'head coach stuff' so he could bail out his offense proves my contentions...

"Weis is an average college head coach with horrendous people skills....

"Weis is in over his head coaching the college game.

"There are rumors that Notre Dame might pull the plug on The Great Weis Hope if he loses to Navy.

"I'll be rooting for Notre Dame this weekend. I want Charlie Weis at Notre Dame as long as I'm a columnist. His failures and the rationalizations offered up by Notre Dame fans are worth two to three columns a year.

"Hell, I've written two this month and could easily get a third if Navy pulls an upset. Stay tuned."

(by Jason Whitlock, who also termed Weis a blowhard, lacking in reasonable character and integrity, and more.)

3. Think

“There is a difference between reacting and responding. Reaction requires no real thought process. You hit me, I hit you—we both deal with the consequences later. Graveyards are full of reactionaries.

"Response, on the other hand, requires that we engage our gray matter—that we take the time to consider our next move.”

— "Get Used to Notre Dame Irrelevance. Notre Dame has been in a free fall for a while now, and Weis seems only capable of preparing himself for Slimfast commercials rather than preparing this team to win football games." (by Larry Burton)

— "Is Weis Hot Seat Scorching? Rumors are starting to circulate that Charlie Weis will not return next year if the Irish don't go bowling this year. Of course, they are just rumors, but the performance Weis has turned in this year seems to warrant some huge red flags—bigger than last year's red flags." (by Lisa Horne)

4. Respect

"We are a community, and we expect to have to earn our stripes. We do not ask that anything be handed to us. We may not agree on some of the issues that arise on the various threads of this site, and we may argue from time to time, but we will have each other's back.

"If you want respect, then show respect. If you want to feel accepted here, be willing to accept others—regardless of how their opinion differs from yours.”

— "Navy. Oh for crying out loud, why the hell is Notre Dame favored? I'm rooting for the Middies to make it two straight over the Irish, and finally experience Weis' alleged genius mind since he's calling the plays." (by Lisa Horne)

— "Navy. They have a winning record, right? Then ND can't beat 'em." (by James Doker)

(from their Picks of the Week article)

Gray said: "We bring many different things to the table. We are from the North, the South, the East, and the West. We are also wired somewhat differently. Some are positive, some are negative, some are analytical, and some don’t want to be confused with facts.

"We all love our teams, and those of us from the SEC even love our conference (as if you didn’t know!).

"With all of these variations, how do we keep from verbally killing each other? Please don’t hurl the 'Content Nazi' label at me. Remember: these are merely suggestions on how to gain a hearing from your peers here on B/R. You may write whatever you please, but we don’t have to read, or reply."

I don't know if any of the BR writers above commented on Gray's article. I wholeheartedly agree, "you may write whatever you please." I guess "journalists" now feel that rumors are worthy of reporting without any reference to their source (another journalist?) or to give the subject an opportunity to respond (to rumors?) before writing.

In so doing and in engaging in articles that amount to character assassination, don't they lead the way to lower level of communication? I prefer Gray's approach.

Feel free to comment if you wish.

College Football's Bubble Watch: How Will Your Conference Do?

Michael Collins — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:57:07 -0500

Thirty-four bowls, sixty-eight teams. Isn’t college football at this time of year like pre-tournament college hoops? At least it is for those BCS conference commissioners who are sweating out filling their bowl contracts, who signed up more bowls this year than last.

The real money games are college football’s version of Bubble Games between conference teams verging on bowl eligibility or being home for the holidays. More bowl contracts filled means more revenue to be shared for the conferences.

BCS conferences have contracted to place 48 teams in bowls—with another two for the National Championship game, of course. There are 18 spots for non-BCS football teams: More than they deserve, but throw them a scrap.

In a good year, non-BCS teams will get 15 percent of the bowl revenues. When Notre Dame makes a BCS bowl, they get one percent.

Which conference is winning the bowl contract race? Who’s doing the most sweating? Which teams are on the Bubble Watch?

Here’s what the conference commissioners will be watching.

***Overall records are listed behind the Bubble Teams. Conference records are in parentheses after the team’s schedule.

Sitting Pretty

ACC (12 teams)

2008-09—Contracts for nine bowls (75 percent of teams in conference)

Teams In (8)—Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

Bubble Teams (2)

Virginia (5-5), Clemson (5-5)

Virginia (3-3) schedule—Clemson, Virginia Tech

Clemson (3-4) schedule—@ Virginia, S. Carolina

Outside Chance (2)

Duke (4-6), NC State (4-6)

NC State (2-4) schedule—@ North Carolina, Miami

Duke (1-5) schedule—@ Virginia Tech, North Carolina

Games of the Week: Clemson @ Virginia, NC State @ North Carolina, Duke @ Virginia Tech

Conclusion: Can you believe with two weeks to go that every ACC team could become bowl eligible? Improbably, NC State climbed back into it with last week’s win.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $19,263,649 (eight teams)

– Average distribution per conference team (after expenses): $1.6 Million

The ACC already has as many bowl eligible teams as last year. Either Clemson or Virginia qualifies in their Bubble matchup this week. Sweet! A sudden bear market would leave three bubble teams short. This will go down to the wire. Stay tuned!

More is Gravy

Big Ten (11 teams)

Contracts for seven bowls (63 percent)

Teams In (7)—Penn St., Ohio St., Michigan St., Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin

Bubble Teams (1)

Illinois (5-6)

Illinois (3-4) schedule—@ Northwestern

Games of the Week: Illinois @ Northwestern

Conclusion: Illinois will have to win their rivalry game at Northwestern to qualify.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $24,394,305 (eight teams)

– Average distribution per conference team: $2.2 Million

Without the Illini, the Big Ten will have one less team than last year - but will meet their contracts. Revenue would be down.

Big East (8 teams)

Contracts for seven bowls (87.5 percent)

Teams In (5)—Connecticut, South Florida, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, West Virginia

Bubble Teams (2)

Louisville (5-5), Rutgers (5-5)

Rutgers (4-2) schedule—Army and Louisville

Louisville (1-4) schedule – West Virginia, @ Rutgers
-- L’ville non-conference record (4-1): W—Tenn. Tech, Kansas State, Memphis, Middle Tenn. State; L—Kentucky

Games of the Week: Army @ Rutgers, West Virginia @ Louisville

Conclusion: Louisville is losing—three conference games in a row. Rutgers is winning—four in a row. Should Louisville lose to West Virginia and Rutgers, they will finish the season with five losses.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $14,197,021 (five teams)

- Average distribution per conference team: $1.77 Million

The Big East already qualified the same number of teams as last year but will not get 87 percent of their teams to bowls this year, filling their contracts. Whoever wins the Rutgers-Louisville game adds one more team. Big East’s dream scenario is for Rutgers to clinch against Army and then lose to Louisville. More revenue than last, but an opening for a non-BCS team.

Sweating It Out

Pac-10 (10 teams)

Contracts for seven bowls (70 percent)

Teams In (5)—USC, Oregon, California, Oregon State, Arizona

Bubble Teams (1)

Stanford (5-6)

Stanford schedule (4-4)—@ Cal

Outside Chance (2)

Arizona St. (4-6), UCLA (4-6)

ASU schedule (3-4)—UCLA, @Arizona
UCLA schedule (3-4)—ASU, USC

Games of the Week: Stanford @ Cal, UCLA @ ASU—an elimination game

Conclusion: Pac-10 needs Stanford and ASU to win. UCLA winning out is very improbable. Stanford faces a very good Cal team in Berkeley. Should the Sun Devils knock UCLA out, ASU will have to win in Tucson.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $17,647,012 (six teams)

-Average per conference team: $1.76 million

Should the Pac-10 consider a non-conference schedule more like the SEC, ACC, or Big 12? The probability is that the Pac-10 will again have six bowl teams.

SEC (12 teams)

Contracts for nine bowls (75 percent)

Teams In (8)—Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, LSU, Mississippi, Vanderbilt

Bubble Teams (2)

Auburn (5-6), Arkansas (4-6)

Auburn schedule (2-5)—@ Alabama
-- Non-conference (3-1): Wins—La-Monroe, S. Miss, Tenn-Martin; Loss—West Virginia

Arkansas schedule (1-5)—@ Mississippi State, LSU
-- Non-conference (3-1): Wins—W. Illinois, La-Monroe, Tulsa; Loss—Texas

Games of the Week: Auburn @ Alabama, Arkansas @ Mississippi State

Conclusion: Auburn's and Arkansas's non-conference wins are keeping them in consideration. I doubt either Auburn or Arkansas will qualify. With such poor conference records, should they?

2007-08 Bowls, Profit - $28,991,720 (nine teams)

- Average per conference team - $2.42 million

Since the SEC had two BCS teams last year, Alabama or Florida going to the National Championship and a second BCS bowl team will not increase bowl revenue. SEC should have one less team this year and less bowl revenue.

Coming Up Short

Big 12 (12 teams)

Contracts for nine bowls (75 percent)

Teams In (7)—Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Nebraska

Bubble Teams (1)

Colorado (5-6)

Colorado (2-5) schedule - @ Nebraska

Games of the Week: Colorado @ Nebraska

Conclusion: Hot seat. The Buffs will have to go into Lincoln and win against a Cornhusker team that has won four of its last five and who lost to Texas Tech by only six.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit: $21,706,427 (eight teams)

- Average per conference team: $1.81 million

Bets are that the Big 12 will have one less team than last year.

Non-BCS Conference Teams

Bowl Eligible (21)

Utah, Ball State, Boise State, TCU, BYU, Air Force, C. Michigan, W. Michigan, Tulsa, Rice, East Carolina, Navy (Congressional/Eagle Bank Bowl), Troy, Notre Dame, Buffalo, La Tech, Fresno State, Houston, San Jose State, Nevada, Northern Illinois

Need One Win (10)

Akron (5-5), Bowling Green (5-5), Memphis (5-5), Louisiana-Lafayette (5-5), Hawaii (5-5), S. Miss (5-6), Colorado State (5-6), UNLV (5-6), Fla Atl (5-5), UTEP (5-5)

Games of the Week: Buffalo @ Bowling Green, UCF @ Memphis, Colorado St @ Wyoming, Fla Atl. @ Arkansas State, Akron @ Ohio, UTEP @ Houston, La-Lafayette @ Troy, UNLV @ San Diego State, Idaho @ Hawaii

Conclusion: Non-BCS conference teams may have more than 26 bowl-eligible teams for 18-20 spots. How many scraps are left over will depend on how the BCS Bowl Bubble Teams finish.

Four BCS conferences may come up one team short each. The ACC should eat into that with two extra teams. That leaves 20 spots for the non-BCS conference teams. Already 20 non-BCS teams have qualified, with 11 more with one more win needed.

Total Profits to Non-BCS schools and Other Distribution, 2007-08 Bowls: $16,670,198—11.6 percent of all bowl profits, slightly over $300,000 per team if divided equally.

Bubble Teams need to win their rivalry games this week: Stanford over Cal, Illinois over Northwestern, Auburn over Alabama, and NC State over North Carolina. Almost all the Bubble Teams are on the road.

BCS: Fox Sports Loses Its Edge and ESPN Steps In

Michael Collins — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:19:27 -0500

Fox Sports lost its 30 day exclusive negotiations window for the new four year BCS contract, beginning 2010. BCS Commissioners and ND Athletic Director, Jack Swarbrick, had been in negotiations with Fox, beginning the first week of October.

ESPN/ABC, who lost the current contract to Fox, immediately swooped in and upped the bidding. Fox had reportedly offered $100 million per year. ESPN is offering $125 million per year – a $500 million contract. Fox has until next week to respond. Insiders consider it unlikely that Fox will match the bid to broadcast the National Championship game and the Orange, Sugar and Fiesta Bowls.

Last spring, BCS Commissioners were hoping for a huge windfall with a possible new contract up to a $1 billion. The BCS expected such an increase not only due to fan appeal but also to a 50% increase in a new rights deal. In an economic downturn with advertisers scaling back, the reality may be half that. ESPN is considered more immune to economic changes in advertising since its revenue is more stable due to being cable-based. In August, ESPN signed a 15 year deal with the SEC for $2.25 billion.

One byproduct of an ESPN/ABC BCS contract would be that all BCS bowls would be broadcast by the same corporation. In the past, Disney – ESPN/ABC’s parent company – the Big 10 and the Pac 10 opposed any type of college football playoff. Would Disney make the financial adjustments in the Rose Bowl contract to facilitate a playoff for the national championship? We can only speculate on the potential for such a popular and possibly lucrative move. We could truly call this The Bowl Cartel Series. ESPN is now viewed in 92% of all American households.

"BCS seeks big jump from Fox"http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/60463

"Economic storm dampens BCS hopes for rights-fee jackpot" http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/60280

The Case For Firing Mark Richt

Michael Collins — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:44:23 -0500

Has there been a more disappointing season to its fans than Georgia’s? Rated preseason No. 1, the Bulldogs have arguably the best quarterback in the nation, who may be the No. 1 draft choice of the NFL, and a premier running back who is a Heisman candidate.

Here are my reasons Richt has to go:

Richt is personable, well-liked, good looking and successful. He has been to two BCS bowls in the past three years. But he cannot lead Georgia over the hump to the SEC conference game to have a chance at a conference title. The SEC expects its coaches to lead their teams to the league championship. Ask Tommy Tuberville, or Philip Fulmer whose Volunteers did last year, but he was fired.

Richt has been a successful recruiter. In the last three years, Rivals ranked Georgia’s recruiting classes seventh, ninth, and fourth. With all that talent, coaching should have made Georgia at least a conference championship player. Clearly, coaching has been deficient.

The offensive line has performed poorly and been unable to dominate top competition. Yes, they are talented freshmen and sophomores. But that’s no excuse. Look at what Saban has done at Alabama.

Georgia has struggled against top competition. The Bulldogs got blown out by Florida by an embarrassing 39 points. That’s worse than Notre Dame’s loss to USC last year by 38 points. The Irish were a pitiful 3-9.

Georgia has feasted on losing teams. Conference records of Arizona State (2-4), Tennessee (1-5), Vanderbilt (3-3) with four straight losses, and South Carolina (4-3) are mediocre to poor. Richt apologists want to count FCS Georgia Southern and MAC Central Michigan. Only South Carolina barely slipped into the Top 25 this week for the first time all year. Richt’s Bulldogs beat the Gamecocks by only seven points.

Georgia plays a weaker schedule this year with the SEC down, but will not improve over last year’s record with all that talent. Bulldog talent deserves a better coach to develop their skills.

Richt's expectations were two games more in the win column than the Bulldogs will probably achieve.

Richt is living off past accomplishments: SEC championships in 2005 and 2002, SEC East Champions in 2003.

Clearly, Mark Richt should get the pink slip. These are the same arguments leveled against Charlie Weis, which have put him on the media Hot Seat.

Okay, Weis is not good looking. Charlie did take his team to two BCS bowls in the past three years, his recruiting classes have ranked higher, and his accomplishments were in the NFL: four Super Bowl wins.

Notre Dame faithful are not more demanding of their coach than Bulldog diehards, are they?

College Football's Bowl Bubble Games

Michael Collins — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:30:43 -0500

Isn’t college football at this time of year like pre-tournament college hoops? At least for the BCS conference commissioners who are sweating out filling their bowl contracts, who signed up more bowls this year than last.

Thirty-four bowls, sixty-eight teams. BCS conferences have contracted for 48 bowls with another two for the National Championship game. Eighteen spots for non-BCS football teams.

More than they deserve, but throw them a scrap. In a good year, non-BCS teams will get 15 percent of the bowl revenues. When Notre Dame makes a BCS bowl, they get 1 percent.

The real money are college football’s version of Bubble Games between conference teams verging on bowl-eligibility or being home for the holidays. More bowl contracts filled means more revenue to be shared for the conferences.

Who’s doing the most sweating? (Besides the non-BCS teams wanting to fill an empty contract slot) Which teams are on the Bubble Watch, while we look at the top games?

Here’s what the conference commissioners will be watching:

***Overall records are listed behind the Bubble Teams. Conference records are in parentheses after the team’s schedule.

ACC—(12 teams) 2008-09 - Contracts for nine bowls (75 percent of teams in conference).

Teams In (8)—Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest.

Bubble Teams (3) – Virginia (5-5), Duke (4-5), Clemson (4-5)

Virginia (3-3) schedule – (Clemson (11/22), Virginia Tech)

Duke (1-4) schedule - (@Clemson, @Virginia Tech, North Carolina)

Clemson (2-4) schedule - (Duke, @Virginia, S. Carolina)

Games of the Week – Duke @ Clemson, two bubble teams - Blue Devils in Death Valley

Conclusion: Sitting pretty. The ACC already has as many bowl-eligible teams as last year and will fill their contracts. Sweet! Only one team, NC State, has no chance at a bowl. The ACC may well have two more bowl teams than last year with an outside chance at three. Cha-ching!

2007-08 Bowls, Profit - $19,263,649 (eight teams)

– Average distribution per conference team (after expenses) - $1.6 Million

Big East—(8 teams) - Contracts for 7 bowls (87.5 percent)

Teams In (5)—Connecticut, South Florida, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, West Virginia

Bubble Teams (2)— Louisville (5-4), Rutgers (4-5)

Louisville (1-3) schedule – Cincinnati, West Virginia, @Rutgers

Rutgers (3-2) schedule - @S. Florida, Army and Louisville

Games of the Week – Cincinnati @ Louisville, Rutgers @ S. Florida

Conclusion: Sweating it out. Big East may not fill their contracts and has as many teams as last year already. The conference would like Louisville to clinch prior to the Rutgers game and for Rutgers to win two of three. Losing this weekend would mean Rutgers would need to win the Louisville game.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit - $14,197,021 (five teams) - Average distribution per conference team - $1.77 Million

Big 10—(11 teams) Contracts for 7 bowls (63 percent)

Teams In (6)—Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Iowa.

Bubble Teams (2) — Illinois (5-5), Wisconsin (5-5)

Illinois (3-3) schedule – Ohio State, @Northwestern

Wisconsin (2-5) schedule - Minnesota, Cal-Poly

Games of the Week— Ohio State @ Illinois, Minnesota @ Wisconsin

Conclusion: Wisconsin with a losing conference record should qualify with a win over FCS Cal-Poly. Illinois may have to win at Northwestern to qualify. The Big Ten will meet its contracts with possibly an extra bowl team. With eight, you get the same number as last year.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit - $24,394,305 (eight teams)

– Average distribution per conference team - $2.2 Million

Big 12—(12 teams) Contracts for 9 bowls (75%)

Teams In (7)—Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Nebraska

Bubble Teams (2)—Kansas State (4-6), Colorado (5-5)

Kansas State (1-5) schedule - Nebraska, Iowa State

Colorado (2-4) schedule - Oklahoma State, @Nebraska

Games of the Week— Nebraska @ K-State, Oklahoma State @ Colorado

Conclusion: Hot seat. Every game now is an elimination game for Kansas State. For Colorado, the Buffs will probably lose to the Cowboys and then have to go into Lincoln and win. Should both fall short, the conference will have one less team than last year. Both teams will have losing conference records and will have relied on their non-conference games to qualify.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit - $21,706,427 (eight teams)

- Average per conference team - $1.81 million

PAC 10—(10 teams) Contracts for seven bowls (70 percent)

Teams In (5)—USC, Oregon, California, Oregon State, Arizona

Bubble Teams (2) – Stanford (5-5), Arizona St (3-6)

Stanford (4-3) schedule - USC, @Cal – two tough teams

ASU (2-4) schedule - Wash St, UCLA, @Arizona – three winnable games

Probable Out (1)—UCLA (3-6) - Wash, ASU, USC – Bruins need to win out

Games of the Week— USC@ Stanford, Washington St@ ASU, Washington@ UCLA

Conclusion: Pac-10 needs Stanford and ASU to win. UCLA winning out is very improbable. The probability is that the Pac-10 will again have six bowl teams.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit - $17,647,012 (6 teams)

-Average per conference team - $1.76 million

SEC—(12 teams) Contracts for nine bowls (75 percent)

Teams In (6)—Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, LSU

Bubble Teams (2)— Vanderbilt (5-4), Mississippi (5-4)

Vanderbilt (3-3) schedule – @Kentucky, Tennessee, @Wake Forest

Mississippi (3-3) schedule - La-Monroe, LSU, Miss St

Probable Out – Auburn (5-5) - Georgia, @ Alabama. Tigers need one of two. Either would be a huge upset. Tigers are 2-4 in conference play.

Games of the Week— Vanderbilt @ Kentucky

Conclusion: Hot seat. Mississippi should qualify with a win over La-Monroe (3-7). Vandy should win one of last three. Since the SEC had two BCS teams last year, Alabama or Florida going to the National Championship and a second BCS bowl team will not increase bowl revenue. SEC should have one less team this year and less bowl revenue.

2007-08 Bowls, Profit - $28,991,720 (nine teams)

-Average per conference team - $2.42 million

Non-BCS Conference Teams:

Bowl Eligible (15): Utah, Ball State, Boise State, TCU, BYU, Air Force, C. Michigan, W. Michigan, Tulsa, Rice, East Carolina, Navy (Congressional/Eagle Bank Bowl), San Jose State, Troy, Buffalo

Bubble Teams (11): Notre Dame (5-4), Akron (5-5), Bowling Green (5-5), Northern Illinois (5-5), Memphis (5-5), Houston (5-4), Fresno State (5-4), Louisiana-Lafayette (5-4), Nevada (5-4), Hawaii (5-5), La Tech (5-4)

Need Two Wins (6): UTEP (4-5), S. Miss (4-6), Colorado State (4-6), Fla Int’l (4-5), Ark State (4-5), Fla Atlantic (4-5)

Games of the Week: Notre Dame @ Navy, Buffalo @ Akron, Tulsa @ Houston, Louisiana-Lafayette @ Florida Atlantic.

Conclusion: Non-BCS conference teams may have more than 26 bowl-eligible teams for 18-20 spots. The SEC may be the sole conference that does not meet its bowl contracts, though the Pac-10 and Big 12 are struggling.

Total Profits to Non-BCS schools and Other Distribution, 2007-08 Bowls - $16,670,198 – 11.6% of all bowl profits

Non-BCS Conference Teams - 55