Bleacher Report - Articles by jeff kalafa

Will Oregon St. Win at Oregon Push Cincinnati Past Texas In BCS Rankings?

jeff kalafa — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:40:04 -0500

The BCS, the awkward, unfair method of determining who plays for the National Championship of College Football could be in store for a shock if No. 16 Oregon State (8-3) beats to No. 7 Oregon (9-2) Thursday night, Dec 3.

In a nationally televised ESPN game, the OSU Beavers will face the Oregon Ducks to decide the winner of the PAC Ten, and a trip to the Rose Bowl. What makes this game so interesting is the impact it could have on the BCS rankings.

The Cincinnati Bearcats (11-0), currently No. 5 in the BCS rankings, aren't expecting to play in the National Championship Game with four undefeated teams ranked ahead of them. That could change!

The Bearcats will be playing for their own conference championship when they travel to No. 15 Pittsburgh (9-2) and play for the Big East title, Saturday, Dec 5. It's a game they have to win and if they do—they are guaranteed to move up to No. 4 when the BCS releases its next rankings.

They and No. 4 TCU (12-0) are going to move up one spot because the loser of this weeks Florida/Alabama game will drop out of the top two spots in the rankings. Florida (12-0), ranked No. 1 in the BCS and Alabama (12-0), No. 2 in the BCS meet for the SEC Championship in Atlanta on Saturday.

The loser of this game is going to drop a couple of spots. That's how the system works.

Back to Cincinnati: If Oregon State beats Oregon on Thursday night, Cincinnati will have a resume that includes and 10 point road win over the PAC Ten Conference Champion. Cincinnati traveled to Corvallis, Oregon on Sept 19 and beat the Beavers 28-18.

What would make the Bearcats win over Oregon State so special is that, if the Beavers walk away with the PAC Ten crown on Thursday, they would have a real good road win over the winner of arguably 2009's best conference.

Texas (12-0), ranked No. 3 in the BCS, is the team that Cincinnati and TCU are trying to jump, in order to have a shot at playing the winner of the SEC Championship in the National Championship game.

A win over the PAC Ten champion would be a rather nice feather in the cap of Cincinnati—probably their best win of the year. Texas' best win? Hard to say. Maybe a 41-14 beating of No. 20 Oklahoma State? Maybe a 16-13 win over unranked Oklahoma (7-5).

Texas gets to play No. 22 Nebraska (9-3) in this weekend's Big 12 Championship.

If Texas beats Nebraska, and they're a two touchdown favorite, that would mean that besides the Texas Longhorns, the only other Big 12 team in the Top 25 would be Oklahoma State. The Big 12 is not what is has been over the last couple of seasons.

Cincinnati has played a Big East schedule, and if they win their game against Pittsburgh, they would most likely be one of only two or three conference teams in the Top 25. Pittsburgh would drop a couple of spots, depending how they perform and West Virginia, currently No. 23, would gain a few spots if they beat Rutgers on Saturday, and drop out of the top 25 if they lose.

The possibilities that this week's games create are unpredictable and uncertain—that's what makes an Oregon State victory so huge for Cincinnati. To have beaten the PAC Ten Champion, on the road, by 10 points would be highly impressive.

If this scenario plays out, the coaches are not likely to make any significant change in the polls, but the computer might. It's a long shot, but it's not out of the realm of possibility!

There's another team that will be watching the Oregon State/Oregon game carefully. No. 6 Boise State (12-0) defeated Oregon earlier this season and if the Ducks prevail —Boise St. can make the claim that they have a victory over the PAC Ten Champions.

Boise State is not likely to jump Cincinnati or TCU if Oregon wins, but it would become very difficult for a BCS Bowl to exclude an undefeated team with a win over the PAC Ten Champions.

The Cincinnati Bearcats can't be thinking about the computer and what it might spit out. They have to keep their minds on Pittsburgh. They can't worry about things they have no control over.

They also have to keep their minds off the rumors swirling around about their coach, Brian Kelly, leaving to take the Notre Dame job.

Cincinnati Bearcats' Brian Kelly Not Going Anywhere

jeff kalafa — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:01:22 -0500

Don't get disappointed, Notre Dame, but Brian Kelly, the Cincinnati Bearcats' head football coach, won't be going anywhere come season's end. The 48-year-old Kelly, whose Bearcats are 11-0 and ranked No. 5 in the BCS, knows that developing a top-flight football program will be a lot easier at Cincinnati than at Notre Dame.

In the three short years that Kelly has assumed the head coaching job, Cincinnati has enjoyed their greatest stretch of football prosperity. This will be the third consecutive year its team will win 10 or more games.

This year, most experts are pointing to the SEC champion playing Texas for the national championship. Cincinnati would be a long shot to play in the championship game, but if the stars line up in their favor over the next two weeks, they still have a shot to pull off the unthinkable.

If the Bearcats can beat Pittsburgh on Dec. 5, that will give them one more win against a ranked team. With the loss Oklahoma State suffered at the hands of Oklahoma yesterday, Texas likely ends their regular season, and their conference championship game, without playing a team that ends up in the top 20, and maybe the top 25 of the BCS rankings.

What's more, Cincinnati's eight point win on the road at Oregon State could be just what the computers like, especially if the Beavers beat their arch rival Oregon Ducks and take the Pac-10 championship on Thursday Dec. 3.

If the Bearcats can't make it in to this year's championship game, the future looks bright and next year's team will be a legitimate top 10 ranked team.

Losing quarterback Tony Pike and receiver Marty Gilard to graduation seems overwhelming. It's strange to think that loosing a Heisman Trophy candidate and one of the best receivers in the country will not set the Bearcats back one bit, but that's just the case.

When Pike got hurt, he was replaced by Zach Collaros in the South Flolrida game and everyone was given a preview of Cincinnati's future. After four games, and a resounding quarterback rating of 195, the country assumed the Bearcat's had a quarterback controversy on their hands.

Collaros threw 10 touchdowns in that span and only threw two interceptions. He completed 75 percent of his passes and he did what Pike was unable to do—he ran. In the South Florida game, Collaros ran for 132 yards and amassed over 300 rushing yards in the four games he subbed for Pike.

Loosing Gilard's 1000 yards of pass receptions, 10 touchdowns, and the great kick and punt returning will be tough but the Bearcats are returning their No 2 and No 3 receivers—and they are good!

6'4" Armon Binns is a junior and has caught 51 passes for 755 yards and 9 touchdowns this season. Sophomore D.J. Woods has caught 40 passes for 533 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Cincininnati's leading rusher is freshman Isaiah Pead. Pead has rushed for 682 yards and 8 touchdowns. He gains 6.5 yards/carry and he can catch the ball out of the backfield.

The skilled positions are set and there are only 16 graduating seniors in the entire program this season. Unlike last year, when Kelly had to replace 10 starters on the defense, he'll only have to replace five or six next year.

That's not the only reason Kelly will realize he's in the right place—next year's recruiting class will be the best in Cincinnati's history and will get stronger before national signing day.

There's another reason that Kelly will stay—the schedule. Next year, the Bearcats will not have to worry about being disrespected by the BCS. Along with a strong Big East schedule, they have a Sept. 25 showdown with Oklahoma at Paul Brown Stadium.

And it's not just about 2010! In 2011 the Bearcats play at Tennessee. In 2012, they'll play the toughest non-conference schedule in the country: @Ohio State, Virginia Tech, and @ Miami, FL.

The plan is set; win 10 games on a regular basis, win the Big East, and play in a BCS bowl—hopefully the National Championship game. That's not happening at Notre Dame anytime soon, and Brian Kelly knows it.

Kelly's in a great bargaining position with the university. He's got leverage! He's getting more leverage each time his name is mentioned as the leading candidate for Charlie Weis's job—but he's not leaving Cincinnati.

Kelly will think about leaving—it's only natural. He'll fantasize being the head coach of the Fighting Irish because it was probably a dream of his at one time. He'll be tempted by the big money they throw at him.

The fans of Cincinnati football are going to get a little anxious. People don't like to lose what took them decades to find. But Brian Kelly will sit down, sometime soon, and realize he can win a National Championship at Cincinnati much sooner than he can at Notre Dame.

USF Bulls Play Calling Questionable In 31-10 Loss To Miami

jeff kalafa — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:04:31 -0500

The Miami Hurricanes pushed around the South Florida Bulls for 60 minutes on Saturday and beat them 31-10. The football game was more lopsided than the score indicated.

The Hurricanes (9-3) ran for 240 yards, rushed for 161 and held the home team Bulls to a total of 161 total yards. If not for an eight minute touchdown drive to open the second half, the Bulls (7-4) didn't do anything all afternoon, except frustrate a sell out crowd at Raymond James Stadium.

The Hurricanes took the opening kick off and marched 81 yards on 12 plays. They scored the game's first touchdown and took a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Jacory Harris hit tight end Leonard Hankerson for an 11-yard touch down to cap the drive.

Javaris James scored on a five-yard run to make it 14-0 with two minutes left in the first quarter.

The Bulls got on the board late in the second quarter with an Eric Schwartz field goal, but Miami was able to put up another touchdown before the half ended and took a 21-3 lead into the locker room.

When the Bulls made it 21-10, on a 12-yard pass from quarterback B.J. Daniels to A. J. Love, there was short-lived hope they were going to get back in the game.

The Hurricanes dashed that hope with a third quarter touchdown and a fourth quarter field goal to close out the scoring.

The Bulls didin't help themselves in this one with play calling that has to be questioned. On 20 first down plays, they threw the ball once and rushed 19 times.

On their first play from scrimmage, the bulls threw an incomplete pass. They chose to run the ball on their next 19 consecutive first down plays for an average of less than three yards/carry.

It just didn't seem like they made an attempt to keep the Hurricanes off balance. They put themselves in the hole most of the game and were able to convert only 5 of 13 third downs.

Even though the Hurricanes were able to rush for 240 yards, they made sure they threw the ball eight times on first down.

In USF's two best wins this year, they kep't their opponents off balanced on first down and made an attempt to throw the football. In a 17-7 upset of FSU, they threw the ball eight times on first down. In their 30-19 upset of West Virginia, they threw it five times on first down.

From the way they approached yesterday's game, it was hard to tell what their offensive plan was. Although Miami was clearly the better team, ultimately Jim Leavitt has some explaining to do for an offensive plan that lacked creativity and failed to keep Miami off balance.

USF closes out their season nest week, on the road against 6-5 Connecticut.

Notre Dame's Next Coach Will Demand Lower Academic Standards

jeff kalafa — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:42:43 -0500

If the University of Notre Dame fires head football coach Charlie Weis, his replacement will demand the university lower academic standards for football players. It will be written into his contract.

If Notre Dame has decided to pursue an experienced college coach with national championship or BCS-bowl credentials, they will have to bend on the issue of academic eligibility and course requirements.

High-powered college football coaches are well aware of the difficulties in winning and the demands of winning at a school like Notre Dame. They will not be naive; they know what they need to get to a BCS bowl and beyond.

In 2004, all-time Notre Dame great Paul Horning made it clear that the school should ease up on academic restrictions. Horning told ESPN's Dan Patrick that former coach Lou Holtz showed him a list of the top-50 recruits and explained that the university's admissions office would only allow him to recruit three players on the list.

Horning felt in the late 1980s, when Notre Dame won its last national championship, that academic standards were eased. He used Tony Rice, the quarterback of that team, as an example.

Horning explained that Rice, at that time, was one of only two Prop 48 players to ever play for Notre Dame. He told Patrick, "Tony Rice honored himself and graduated in four years."

Aron Gopal, of the Daily Grind, when talking about the Holtz era, said, "In the 1980s, Notre Dame wasn't much more than a football school. Consequently, Holtz could recruit anyone he wanted, including non-qualifiers like Rice."

In 2001, when Gopal made this statement, he said, "Notre Dame supporters have yet to grasp that things have changed at Notre Dame." He went on to point out that Notre Dame was on academic par with schools like Vanderbilt and Georgetown.

Regarding the calculus requirement for all freshmen, Gopal said, "It prevented Bob Davie from recruiting T.J. Duckett and David Terrell, both of who wanted to go to Notre Dame but couldn't pass calculus."

One of the names that keeps popping up as a replacement for Weis is Florida coach Urban Meyer. According to ESPN, Meyer told the media today that he wants to stay at Florida "as long as they'll have me."

Those words are similar to those of Nick Saban when asked if he wanted to remain as the Dolphins' coach in 2007. Saban left for the head coaching job at Alabama.

I don't know if Meyer would consider leaving Florida. If he did weigh the Notre Dame job, he'd be almost foolish if he thought he could win without the same recruiting advantages he has at Florida—one being the low academic standards they require of their football players.

In 2008, when the Atlanta Journal Constitution released their study on gaps between football players and students' SAT scores, they listed the University of Florida in the bottom 10 of their study, with their Florida football players averaging a score of 890.

In the top of their study were schools like Georgia Tech (1028) and Michigan (997). The study only included public universities. Notre Dame was not part of their findings.

Another name mentioned as Weis' replacement is University of Cincinnati's Brian Kelly. Kelly's four years at Cincinnati have been the best years in the history of the school. The Bearcats are currently No. 5 in this week's BCS rankings.

When the NCAA released the rankings for the 2009 Football Academic Progress Reports (APR) Notre Dame finished No. 10. Cincinnati finished No. 47.

It can be difficult understanding what the APR is trying to measure. It's based on eligibility, retention, and graduation of each scholarship athlete, but these are all relative to each school's degree of difficulty. For 2009, Notre Dame listed a 94 percent graduation rate while Cincinnati listed a graduation rate of 77 percent.

It becomes quite clear that Notre Dame's academic requirements are extremely difficult when compared to most schools in the FBS. This will not make it easy for the next coach to recruit—they have to be lowered.

Some will point to Jim Harbough coached Stanford, the school ranked No. 1 in every academic category for BCS schools, and say they are the exception. Stanford is 7-4 and just dropped out of the top 25.

In his third year as Stanford's coach, Harbaugh has led the Cardinal to their first winning season in eight years. He's beaten USC twice. Maybe Harbaugh should be on the top of Notre Dame's list?

Notre Dame has some decisions to make. They have to decide if they want a new coach. If so, they have to decide on who that will be, but the biggest decision could be about lowering academic standards for football players.

Times have changed since the days when football powers didn't have to abide by the 85-man scholarship rule. There is more parity and more schools in the game—the money is good.

When former Notre Dame stars—some holding Heisman Trophies—say it's time to lower academic standards, it may be time for Notre Dame to listen.

UConn Next for Notre Dame: Huskies Try to Deal Irish Fifth Loss

jeff kalafa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:59:04 -0500

The University of Connecticut's football team brings their 4-5 record west to take on Notre Dame (6-4) on Saturday. The Irish opened as a six-point favorite but the Huskies are confident and capable of dealing the Irish their fifth defeat of the season.

No team has had to deal with more adversity this year, on and off the field, than UConn. When defensive back Jasper Howard was murdered on Oct. 18, the Huskies could have fallen apart. With the leadership of coach Randy Edsall, the team stuck together and dedicated the rest of the season to their fallen star.

Nothing can compare with the loss of Howard, but this year's Huskies have had more of their share of heartbreaks on the field. The five UConn loses, all to to teams either ranked when they played or currently ranked, came by a total of 16 points.

This is not your average five-loss team! The Huskies are capable of staying on the field with the best teams in college football, and they've shown it this year.

UConn dominated North Carolina for three quarters but a freakish holding penalty in the end zone casued a saftey to be called on UConn. North Carolina won 12-10.

Pittsburgh came back in the fourth quarter to win 24-21. West Virginia needed Noel Devine to tip-toe down the side line, with two minutes left in the game, to beat them 28-24.

Rutgers threw an 80 yard pass with 33 seconds on the clock, after UConn took the lead, and won 28-24. Two weeks ago, after trailing Cincinnati by more than two touchdowns, UConn fought back to lose by two points, 47-45.

Besides dedicating the season to Howard, there are other reasons why the Huskies want to leave South Bend with a win:

If UConn wants to go to a bowl game, they need to win two of their last three games to become bowl eligible. In order to better their hopes, they'll need to win all three games and finish 7-5.

Zach Frazer, a Notre Dame transfer, quarterbacks UConn. Frazer will want to play well against his old team.

UConn and Notre Dame have a proposal to play 6-10 games in the coming seasons. Notre Dame wants the Huskies to play their "home" games at neutral sites in New Jersey and Massachusetts.

The Connecticut legislature isn't happy about playing these games out of state. A win on Saturday would help UConn encourage the Irish to play the games at UConn's home field.

The Huskies will bring a balanced offense with them on Saturday. Jordan Todman (826 yds) and Andre Dixon (730 yds) are two punishing runners who've done a good job replacing Donald Brown, now with the Indianapolis Colts. They run behind a huge offensive line that has no trouble pushing other teams around.

Frazer, who replaced the injured Cody Endres at quarterback, needs to pick up his accuracy but if he gets the ball to Marcus Easley, UConn's leading receiver, defenses have problems. Easley broke one for 88 yards earlier this year.

UConn's defense is solid. Cincinnati was the only team to score more than 28 points against them. Lindsey Witten, one of the country's sack leaders, will be trying to get to Clausen but the UConn pass defense has given up too many passing yards.

Pittsburgh's Bill Stull passed for 268 yards against the Huskies. Louisville's Adam Froman (295), Rutger's Tom Savage (236), and Cincinatti's Zach Collaros passed for 480 yards. Expect Clausen to have a huge day, what else is new!

EXTRA POINTS

Six points is too many to give away. I expect UConn to cover the spread.

UConn has shown, throughout the season, they don't quit. They come off a bye week and have had time to prepare for Clausen.

All the rumors swirling around Notre Dame about Weis' job can be a huge distraction.

PREDICTION: UConn 31 Notre Dame 26

Notre Dame Running Game as Suspect as Its Defense

jeff kalafa — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:25:40 -0500

Everyone wants to pile on Notre Dame's defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta. They say there's nothing wrong with an offense that puts up 30 points a game—an offense that has only lost the total yards battle twice this season (USC & Pitt). They say it's the defense that's been responsible for this year's demise.

It may be true, the defense has had problems. It's allowed too many big plays and has given up about as many points as the offense has scored—a sure-fire way to produce a 6-4 record.

When distributing blame for this year's disappointments, it's just not about the Irish's defense. Have you seen the running game this year? I'm guessing you haven't because it's been hard to find—it's been almost non-existent.

I don't know if you need a running game. Notre Dame has only gotten fewer total yards than two of it's opponents. In a loss to USC, Notre Dame had 30 fewer total yards than the Trojans and last Saturday, in the loss at Pitt, the Panthers had close to 100 more total yards.

A lot of Notre Dame's big yardage totals are the result of comeback wins, and comebacks that fell short. They come from having to pass the ball in desperation. This isn't the way an offense wants to rack up yardage.

While good teams can kill the clock with the running game, Notre Dame doen't have that luxury. Not only don't they have a strong running game, but they've hardly been in position to kill the clock at the end of most games this year.

Nothing against the great Dan Marino, but a lot of his 50,000 passing yards are the bi-product of the Dolphins not having a good running game while he was there—very similar to Jimmy Clausen. I'm sure Clausen would gladly give up some of his passing totals to be able to control the game with a better running attack.

Last Year the Irish knew things were bad when they rushed for only 1426 total yards. They knew it needed fixing and were basing their hopes on four returning backs, all of whom saw playing time in 2008.

There's been a slight improvement this season in total yards. After ten games, they've rushed for 1309 yards. With two remaining regular season games, and a bowl game, they'll likely exceed last year's total.

However, of the 12 teams on Notre Dame's 09 schedule, only Washington and Washington State currently have fewer total rushing yards.

Nevada (3531) and Navy (3108) are two of the best running teams in the country—no one's comparing the Irish running game to these teams.

It's Stanford (2224), UConn (2169) and Michigan (2154) that have run the ball the way Charlie Weis and company would have wanted

Pitt (1876) and USC (1812) also have good running games.

It's not just that these teams are running the ball, but they have complimentary passing attacks-they're balanced. They're balanced and they keep their opponents off balance--the key to winning football games.

What's more remarkable than the shortage in rushing yards is the lack of big plays the the running game has seen. Robert Hughes has the longest run this year—37 yards. Armando Allen's longest is 24 yards.

Every team on the schedule, including Washington State has had at least one running play longer than Hughes' 37 yard run.

The numbers are staggering! Nevada's had three different runners with runs of 75 yards or more, Michigan's had three with 55 yards or more, and Michigan State's had two with 71 yards or more.

Purdue's had two different runners with runs longer than 58 yards, UConn's had three runners rip off runs of 50 yards or more, and Pitt's Deon Lewis broke one for 85 yards.

Navy, Washington, USC and Stanford have had at least one running play longer than 50 yards.

It's hard to understand how most defenses that the Irish have seen, being so focused on Jimmy Clausen and the passing game, haven't gotten stung with one big running play.

This has been going on for quite some time. Notre Dame hasn't had a running back break one for over 40 yards since Julius Jones had a run of 61 yards in 2003.

Lack of production like this is incredible. With an outstanding quarterback and two great receivers, Charlie Weis may have geared his offense around the passing game. That's fine, but balance is still what's important to most good football teams—it's just not there.

As an assistant in the NFL to Bill Parcells, Weis, if anything, must have learned the value of a good running game.

Notre Dame without a "smash mouth, in-your-face" running game? It's just not Notre Dame football!

Time for Lou Holtz To Say "Trust Me, I'm a Doctor"

jeff kalafa — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:44:57 -0500

Talk about a Notre Dame bias! When is former Notre Dame head football coach, and arguably the school's most visible fan, Lou Holtz, going to get his chance to be in a Dr. Pepper commercial and say "Trust me, I'm a doctor?"

Dr. Pepper, the soft drink company out of Waco, Texas, has recently used celebrity "doctors" in their latest advertising campaign. At the end of each commercial, each celebrity says "Trust me, I'm a doctor."

Former NBA great Julius Irving, known throughout his career as "Dr. J" is seen in one of the commercials. Rapper "Dr. Dre" is in one.

Gene Simmons, former rock star of Kiss, known as "Dr. Love", is seen promoting the new Dr. Pepper Cheery, and Kelsey Grammer, who played "Dr. Frasier Crane" on "Cheers", and the "Frasier" show, also got a spot in one of the commercials.

Isn't it time for "Dr. Lou" to get his shot at temporary immortality, and look into the camera, and say "Trust me, I'm a doctor?"

Lou Holtz, along with Mark May, and Rece Davis, can be seen on ESPN doing the college football pregame, halftime, and post game shows.

During these shows Holtz does segments where he is called "Dr. Lou." These segments have become very popular with college football audiences.

When the "doctor is in", he gives inspirational pep talks, and holds colorful question and answer sessions, where celebrities from all fields get to ask him for advice.

Dr. Lou has also been know to make a house call from time to time.

Holtz, born in Follensbee, West Virginia, grew up in Ohio, and attended Kent State University. While at Kent he played linebacker on the football team.

His head coaching career started at William and Mary. He also coached North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, and the school he'll be forever linked with—Notre Dame.

In 1976 Holtz made a failed attempt at the NFL with the New York Jets, but resigned in his first year, and returned to college football.

He coached Notre Dame from 1986-96, and in 1988 he won the schools last national championship.

On ESPN, Holtz is known for his fiery debates with Mark May where he isn't afraid to hide his passion for Notre Dame.

Holtz and May go back and forth about how Notre Dame will play in the coming week, while Davis tries to keep the discussion under control.

Holtz and ESPN's Lee Corso, who does the College Game Day show, are refreshing departures from some of the typical talking heads. They rely on more of the emotional side of prognosticating.

Holtz's college coaching record was 239-132-7. While at Notre Dame he finished 100-30-2, and is regarded as one of the school's greatest head coaches.

There's one thing that remains a mystery about Holtz. We know he's a huge Notre Dame fan, but he doesn't seem to have that same kind of fire for his Alma mater, Kent State.

At the beginning of the season, he never guaranteed Kent State would play in a BCS bowl game.

Extra Points:

Dr. Pepper can be reached by going to Dr. Pepper Snapple Group on the Internet.

I urge all of you to hold off on buying any of their products until Dr. Lou is given a spot in one of their "Trust me, I'm a doctor" commercials.

Notre Dame Football Needs New Recipe to Hire Coach, Regain Glory

jeff kalafa — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:34:09 -0500

Everyone is coming down on Charlie Weis, fans and media especially. Has the board of trustees issued a statement avowing he's still in good standing? You know the answer to that one!

Weis has one foot out the door, and he may be all the way out after Notre Dame plays Pittsburgh Saturday night. A loss would be devastating to his chances of remaining the Irish's coach. A win would help him retain his job.

Since Lou Holtz left in 1996, the Irish have suffered through, what seems like futility, with Bob Davie, George O'Leary, Tyronne Willingham, and now Charlie Weis.

They've proved hiring a solid coach, someone who'll be around in ten years and win a national championship, is not an exact science.

If the board sees fit to oust Charlie Weis, either before or after the season ends, they'll be in the hunt for a replacement, and their record on hiring head coaches is no better or worse than most big-time football schools.

Alabama seems to have hired the right man to lead their football program, Nick Saban. It took six failed attempts before this football power got the right man.

Gene Stallings was their last coach to win a national championship and after he retired, Alabama suffered through the eras of Mike DuBose (24-23), Dennis Franchione (17-8), Joe Kines (0-1) and Mike Shula (26-23).

Alabama also made a failed hiring attempt, similar to Notre Dame's hire of O'Leaery, when in 2003, Mike Price was their coach for a couple of days.

Most schools go through the same frustrations in hiring head football coaches.

Oklahoma failed three times, from the time Barry Switzer left and Bob Stoops took over.

Nebraska is still looking for the next Tom Osbourne and Michigan is looking for another Bo Schembechler. In both cases, the jury is still out on whether or not they've got the "right" man.

The list goes on and on!

Do you remember the names Tollner, Smith and Hackett? They're the coaches USC hired after John Robinson left, and before Pete Carroll took over.

There are always exceptions to the rule, and Miami is the exception. They won five national championships with four successive coaches from 1983-2001.

So what's the remedy? How did Alabama finally get it right?

In Alabama's case they were very clear about who they wanted. They wanted a man who proved he could win at the big-time college level. Nick Saban won a national championship at LSU in 2003.

Saban, born in 1951, still had some good coaching years left when they hired him in 2007.

They identified the man who could resurrect their program, and although some folks worried about hiring the ex-coach of such a huge rival, they made it clear he was their guy.

One small problem—Saban was the head coach of the NFL's Miami Dolphins. It didn't stop Alabama. They held secret, and not so secret, talks with him, right under the nose of Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga.

It wasn't hard to twist Saban's arm. They offered him a lot of money, and it helped that Saban was not happy coaching in the professional ranks.

Part 1 of the recipe: Choose a proven winner, someone who's won a national championship preferably.

Part 2: Go out and get that someone even if you have to be ruthless, and even if some will call your actions "unethical."

What's the third and final step in the recipe for winning? The school has to be willing to work with the coach.

That means that the school has to allow the coach to recruit and matriculate athletes whose academic and moral standards are, in many cases, questionable.

Why has Florida won two national championships in the last three years and are on their way to their third in 2009?

Of course they have incredibly talented football players and Urban Meyer has proved he's a great coach—he won a BCS game with an undefeated Utah team in 2004.

That's only part of it. The university works with him. Florida has the largest discrepancy of any BCS school when it comes to SAT scores between average students and football players.

Does the school mind that 24 football players have been arrested under Meyer's watch? It doesn't seem like they do; they work with him.

Does the school have a problem when Meyer suspends Brandon Spikes for eye gouging an opponent, they only give him a half-game suspension? No, they work with him.

Why has Alabama and Oklahoma been on suspension more than any two schools in the country? Do you think it has something to do with wanting to win football games?

So that's the recipe. Get a proven winner, even if you have to be ruthless. Find every loop hole in the NCAA rule book to get athletes into school. Sometimes don't even bother to follow the rules.

Can this work for Notre Dame? It doesn't seem likely.

Notre Dame, although they were put under probation for actions that took place under the Holtz era, is a school that prides itself in having so many of their football players graduate.

Notre Dame is an honorable school. They respect morality and teach their student-athletes the real meaning of sportsmanship.

Can they win without lowering standards? That's a tough question.

If Weis is fired, or asked to resign as coach, Notre Dame will embark on another search, for what will hopefully be the next coach to take them to a national championship.

The odds on them choosing the right coach, and restoring the glory, on their next attempt—not great!

Notre Dame 7 Point Underdog vs Pitt: Irish 2-7 Against Spread

jeff kalafa — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:28:51 -0500

Notre Dame (6-3) opened a seven point underdog against Pittsburgh in their game Saturday night at Pittsburgh's Heinz Field.

For a team coming off their worst loss of the season, and having to go on the road to play No. 9 Pitt, the spread appears rather low. One would have thought it would be closer to 10 points.

Notre Dame's been quite easy to handicap this season because they've usually been over-valued. As a result, they're 2-7 against the spread with covers coming in the opener against Nevada and the USC game.

Why is the spread only seven points? It's hard to say, but one would guess that on Saturday Notre Dame will be playing to save their season, to defend their football manhood, and also to save Charlie Weis' job for at least one more week.

Could it be that the odds makers feel that Pittsburgh will be overlooking the Irish in line of what lays ahead?

After Saturday's game with Notre Dame, Pittsburgh will play their most famous and bitter rival West Virginia, and then finish up with Cincinnati. The Cincinnati game could determine who gets the Big East's automatic BCS bid.

These two games are huge for the Panthers, and seeing that the Notre Dame game has no effect on conference standing, it wont affect their chances to get the BCS bid.

Keeping these factors in mind, it still seems unlikely that Pitt will be taking Notre Dame lightly. Saturday night, national television and a chance to notch a win against a team that holds a 44-18-1 series record should be more than enough to keep the Panthers focused.

If one just looks at Pittsburgh's resume it would appear that the spread is off, and should be closer to two touchdowns.

The Panthers (8-1) are on a five game win streak, they manhandled No. 23 USF 41-14 and they held the vaunted Navy running attack to 129 total yards. Navy ran up 347 yards last week against the Irish.

The defense was expected to be one of the nation's best, and it's living up to its billing.

The offense has been the big surprise. It's one of the best balanced that Notre Dame will face and features running back Deon Lewis and quarterback Bill Stull.

Saturday's game could provide the national exposure both are looking for to introduce them to the country, and possibly vault one of them into the race for the Heisman Trophy.

Stull is having a comparable year to Clausen. The senior has thrown 17 touchdowns and only four picks. His quarterback rating is 161.6, Clausen's is 162.9.

Every time Deon Lewis gets the ball he runs for almost six yards, He's No. 6 in the country in total rushing yards. What makes him so impressive—he's only a freshman.

Pittsburgh is a physical team and they've shown they can get to any quarterback. If they can't sack him, they'll contain him. They held USF's speedy BJ Daniels to 50 yards rushing on 15 carries.

This could be Notre Dame's most important games of the year. The phrase has a familiar ring to it but it's true—a win here can get them back on track, heading for a 9-3 season.

Although we've seen Irish fans jumping off the band wagon after the Navy loss, everything will be forgotten if Notre Dame can walk into Heinz Field and leave with a win.

EXTRA POINTS:

Although the Irish are playing for quite a lot, I can't see them being able to stay with Pitt. Pitt is too balanced. If you shut down the run, the passing game will step up and if you shut down the pass, Deon Lewis will dominate.

PREDICTION: Best Bet of the Year Pitt 41-27

348 Rushing Yards Propel Navy Past Notre Dame 23-21

jeff kalafa — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:33:11 -0500

It's still too early to write the obituary for Notre Dame's 2009 season but today's 23-21 loss to Navy is more than a hiccup—it's more like a case of full blown acid reflux.

No. 22 Notre Dame wasn't the only one to get dealt a hard dose of reality on this Saturday. Along with the Irish, five other ranked teams went from the contender column into the pretender column.

No. 4 Iowa, No. 8 Oregon, No. 11 Penn State, No. 20 California, and No. 24 Oklahoma were also exposed for not being worthy of the lofty rankings the coaches poll had given them.

Northwestern (6-4) knocked Iowa out of the unbeaten ranks. Oregon (7-2), the team that pummelled USC last weak was beaten by Stanford (6-3) 51-42, and No. 16 Ohio State (8-2) upset Penn State (8-2) in Happy Valley.

Oregon State (6-3) went on the road to beat California (6-3) and Nebraska (6-3) beat Oklahoma (6-3).

Two other ranked teams had trouble but were able to hang on for wins. No. 10 Georgia Tech had to go into overtime to beat determined Wake Forest and No. No. 15 Houston beat Tulsa on a last second field goal 46-45.

The fighting Irish had no answer for the Navy running game. Navy compiled 348 rushing yards and running back Vince Murray had 158 of them.

Along with allowing too many rushing yards, Notre Dame sputtered too many times inside the red zone. The Irish tried to mount another last minute comeback and closed a third quarter gap of 21-7 by scoring 14 fourth quarter points.

With the help of a successful on-side kick, Notre Dame scored with one minute left to cut the score to 23-21. They tried another on-side kick but Navy recovered the ball and ran out the clock.

Although the Irish can still have a solid 2009 season by winning their last three games, Charlie Weis has the unenviable task of explaining how his team has lost the last two out of three to Navy--both at home.

This loss takes a little luster off next weeks game at Pitt (8-1) but with an upset, Notre Dame can get back on track.

Were the Irish focused on the Pitt game? Was that the reason they turned in what has to be called their worst performance of the season or were they simply outplayed by a gritty Navy team?

What's so disappointing for Irish fans about this loss is that many of them, after Notre Dame's 2008 Hawaii Bowl win were confident that they could win ten games this season and play in a BCS game.

Former Notre Dame quarterback Joe Montana encouraged fans to lower expectations and actually took criticism for his statement.

The voters on the coaches poll added fuel to the fire when they voted Notre Dame to a spot in their preseason top 25 poll. The coaches put the Irish back in the poll after their Washigton State win even though they don't have a win over a ranked team and already lost to Michigan and USC.

Michigan (5-5) lost today to Purdue and USC (7-2) struggled to get by Arizona State (4-5) 14-9.

It's still possible for the Irish to have a respectable season but things don't get easier from here--they get a lot tougher.

They'll travel to Pitt, at home against Uconn and finish on the road at Stanford. Pitt could make it into the top 10 this week, Uconn (4-5) plays everyone tough(tonight they lost a close one to No. 5 Cincinnati 47-45) and Stanford's win over Oregon today proves they're legit.

If the Irish had trouble stopping the ground game today, they better shape up quickly because Pittsburgh's Deon Lewis and Stanford's Toby Gerhart are two of the country's best running backs. Both have gone over the 1,000 yard mark already.

Florida Legislature Bans Three Stooges Reruns

jeff kalafa — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:08:58 -0500

In an unprecedented move by the Florida State Legislature all Three Stooges reruns were officially banned throughout the state today.

Local networks, cable, and Direct TV companies were told to pull the plug on the Stooges by Monday, Nov. 8 or face "steep fines."

The vote was nearly unanimous with only a few die-hard fans of the Stooges voting against the motion.

One congressman from Brevard County was heard saying, "Curley Howard was one of the best actors to have never received an Oscar nomination and I will not vote for this bill. It's just bad legislation."

The bill swept through both houses even though Florida's Governor Charlie Crist made an eleventh hour plea to hold off on the final vote until, "We come to our senses."

The Governor is reported to be a huge Larry Fein fan and considers his autographed picture of him one of his most prized possessions. The picture is framed and said to be displayed in the Governor's mansion in Tallahassee.

The public outcry for the banning of the Stooges started about 6 p.m. this past Saturday when University of Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes tried to gauge the eyes out of a player on the Georgia team during their game in Jacksonville's Gator Bowl.

Womens' and Childrens' advocacy groups made thousand of calls demanding some kind of action be taken. The director of one such group said, "We can't let our children see this on television anymore. We can't let them see the Three Stooges doing it and we can't let them see our own Florida Gators doing it."

Similar groups throughout the state have been making appeals on local radio and television for parents to confiscate any Three Stooges videos their children might have in their possession.

Spikes, who's been given a half-game suspension by Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer, was in a scrum when the eye gouging occurred.

In addition to the ban, the state is conducting it's own investigation to find out if Spikes was a fan of the Three Stooges and could have possibly been influenced by the eye gouging routines in their films.

The state has already brought in video experts and Marshall Arts experts to review the tape from Saturday's game.

We've learned that all experts are in agreement that the technique that Spikes used in the Georgia game was the same technique that Moe used on Curley during a five year period from 1938-43.

Irish Focus on Navy while Pitt Game Approaches

jeff kalafa — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:27:17 -0500

It's almost like watching the perfect storm start to form. The ingredients for the Notre Dame-Pitt game, only nine days away, are starting to come together and turn it into one of the biggest games both teams have played in years.

Saturday night, national TV, and a packed Heinz field. BCS bowl bids on the line. Notre Dame (6-2) could be ranked in the top 20 and if a couple of teams in front of them lose this week, Pitt (7-1) could enter the game ranked in or close to the top 10.

When asked if this game would qualify as a signature game for Notre Dame, Bleacher Report's Mike Muratore wrote, "Beating 8-1 Pitt in Pittsburgh would qualify. It would honestly make the year and ensure that Weis will be here for the next three years."

Although Pitt's signature game looks to be a Dec. 5 meeting with Cincinnati, they know how important it is for them to beat Notre Dame next Saturday.

Two FBS teams are hoping that Notre Dame and Pitt are already thinking about their Nov. 13 meeting. Syracuse, Pitt's opponent this week and Navy, Notre Dame's, are hoping their thoughts are somewhere else when they meet two days from now.

If the Irish are thinking too much about the Pitt game, they are going to have all they can handle, because Navy could pose a problem for them regardless.

The 7-3 Middies are No. 2 in the nation in rushing, No. 1 in fewest penalties, and earlier this year, gave Ohio St all they wanted when coming real close to taking the game into overtime.

With less than a minute to play, Navy decided to go for a two-point conversion to tie the game but failed. Two weeks ago, they beat a stubborn Wake Forest team, 13-10.

Last week, Navy let one get away. They let Temple, a much improved team with a six-game winning streak, score the last 10 points of the game and got beat 27-24.

Notre Dame knows all about Navy and their triple-option attack. The 2007 46-44 loss to Navy and last year's 27-21 win are reminders that if they don't play their best, their dreams of finishing 10-2 will be over.

The Irish come into the game with a couple of questions—the big one being the health concerns of their quarterbacks. Last week they lost backup Dayne Crist when he tore his ACL against Washington St and Jimmy Clausen re-aggravated his turf toe injury.

Crist is done for the year and if needed, Evan Sharpley gets the call. Sharpley last saw playing time two years ago during Clausen's freshman season.

After Clausen got tripped up and re-injured the toe he said, "My toe was feeling real good going into the Washington State game and after that play it kind of set me back a few weeks."

Clausen has played through pain all year and no one's too worried about him it's just that couple with the Crist injury, there's reason for Irish fans to be somewhat concerned.

This is also the week when Notre Dame wide out Michael Floyd returns to the line up. The amount of playing time he gets is up in the air.

This could turn into another nail biter. As always, Navy gives away about 40 pounds per man on both lines but they run the option with such precision that they don't seem to be bothered by the weight difference.

The key for them will be ball control. The longer they have the ball, the longer Jimmy Clausen stays off the field. Third-down conversions will decide this game. If Navy can convert over 50 percent—they've got a shot to pull off the upset.

EXTRA POINTS

The opening line was Notre Dame by 12 and currently it's an 11 point spread. I'm expecting Navy to cover. This is the second biggest game on their schedule, and a win on Saturday could make their season a huge success.

The biggest game on their schedule is Army and always will be.

PREDICTION: ND 31 Navy 28

Jimmy Clausen Doesn't Owe His Soul to Notre Dame's Company Store

jeff kalafa — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:08:48 -0500

If you listen carefully, you'll here the rumblings. Notre Dame football fans have already started talking and projecting about 2010.

Bleacher Report's very own Eric Murtaugh, a steadfast supporter, has written "2010 is going to be huge." GT, another Notre Dame backer and a member of Bleacher Report wrote, "Seriously, if the Irish can keep everyone here and healthy for next year, expect them to make a serious run for the NC."

In case you don't know what the initials "NC" mean in GT's statement, he's talking about the National Championship.

Of course, Notre Dame's chances for next year or next week ride on Jimmy Clausen being their quarterback. Without him, next year is going to be one long work in progress.

If Clausen doesn't return for 2010 and declares for the NFL draft, the Irish will head into the season the same way any team does with a first-year quarterback—hopeful but confused.

With Mark Sanchez at the helm USC would probably be undefeated this season but even with freshman sensation Matt Barkley, they've lost two games.

And Charlie Weis hasn't exactly planned for the early departure of his prized quarterback. This year Clausen has thrown 257 times. His backups have thrown a total of 21 passes.

In a blow-out win over Nevada, Dayne Crist should have thrown more than two passes, and in last week's blow-out win over Washington St. he should have attempted more than six.

Crist probably should have gotten more quality playing time just to prepare him in case Clausen got injured—just in case Clausen's turf toe gets worse.

Weis let Clausen play into the fourth quarter of the Nevada game with a 35-0 lead and he let Clausen play well into the third quarter of the Washington St. game with a 33-7 lead.

Is Weis more conservative than the average coach? Was he padding Clausen's Heisman stats? Is it a commentary on his confidence in Crist? It's hard to say but why take a chance on getting Clausen injured or aggravating the turf toe?

So it all boils down to whether or not Clausen will be returning for the 2010 season. It's never a good idea to look too far into the future, but Jimmy Clausen doesn't owe his soul to the company store. Golden Domers don't want to hear it but the odds against him coming back are increasing.

There are so many good reasons why he'd be foolish to return for another season. According to most draft geeks, Clausen is going to be the first or second quarterback to be picked in the 2010 NFL draft.

It's pretty hard to improve on that, and if he leaves early, he'll get another year added to his NFL life span.

What about the money? There's an NFL team that is most likely prepared to offer him about $50 million over five years with a huge signing bonus.

Should he take the offer while it's out there? Yes he should! Our economy is fragile, the offer may not be as good in 2011.

And what if he comes back for his senior year? Does Notre Dame have a realistic chance to make a run for the National Championship without a major overhaul to a defense that hasn't held up this season?

Does he have a realistic chance to win the Heisman Trophy next year? There are no guarantees and with so many other good players out there, I wouldn't bet on it.

Let's talk about the Heisman for a second. Last year's winner, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, came back for his senior season. Hopefully he hasn't put his pro career in jeopardy after being thrown to the turf in the BYU game and having his shoulder dislocated.

Tim Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winner in 2007 returned because his chance to win another National Championship is strong. Unfortunately, he received a concussion in this year's Kentucky game and his stock in next year's draft has to have suffered.

Jimmy Clausen has paid his dues. He got sacked 35 times as a freshman and 21 times in his sophomore season. He stood in the pocket and accepted the punishment. He's given more than he's taken.

Notre Dame fans should be happy for Clausen and thank him for all he's done for the program. Charlie Weis should thank him everyday. Without Clausen, Weis would be at home clipping coupons out of the local paper.

Notre Dame fans should thank Clausen and if he decides to leave eary they should wish him a long and fruitful NFL career. They should hope he finishes this season strong and leaves on a winning note.

The Heisman Trophy's First Tandem Winner: The Cincinnati Quarterbacks

jeff kalafa — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:36:24 -0500

"And the 2009 Heisman Trophy goes to the Cincinnati quarterback." That's right, if the Heisman Trophy was being presented in this, the 10th week of the college football season, the dual entry of Tony Pike and Zach Collaros would claim the prize for the Bearcats.

I can't take credit for this revolation completely. Bleacher Report's very own Jux Berg wrote an article entitled, "Cincinnati Football: Quarterback Controversy Brewing for Brain Kelly?".

Berg made us realize how far Zach Collaros has come. I'm just taking it to the next level.

Everyone knew about Cincinnati's senior quarterback Tony Pike. Before he got hurt in the South Florida game he was a top 5 Heisman Trophy candidate with a quarterback rating of 155.1. The 6'6" Cincinnati gunslinger was burning it up before he re-injured his fragile left arm.

Collaros replaced Pike in the first half of the USF game and in the three games he's been calling signals he's outplayed Pike. Yes, Collaros has outplayed his teammate and true Heisman candidate.

In three games Collaros has thrown seven touchdowns and only one interception. He's completed 75 per cent of his passes and thrown for 253 yards against Louisville and 295 yards against Syracuse.

In the USF game Collaros only threw the ball seven times but he ran for 132 yards and scored two touchdowns on the ground.

If Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen is Heisman worthy with a quarterback rating of 164.2, what do you call Collaros, his rating after three games is 218.4.

Collaros, a 6'1" sophomore from Steubenville, Ohio is another Brian Kelly prototype athlete who came out of high school as a two-star recruit. Cincinnati was his only offer and in two short years--he's playing as good as any five-star in the country.

Zach Berg raises a real question. "What happens when and if Pike returns?"

Kelly may not have the answer at this time but one thing is certain--Pike can take his time and heal properly because the Cincinnati Bearcat offensive machine is in good hands.

It's hard to remember a situation like this--a top Heisman Trophy Candidate getting hurt and getting outplayed by his replacement. It's unique and what would be even more unique would be hearing "The 2009 Heisman goes to the tandem of Tony Pike and Zach Collaros!"

EXTRA POINT: The Big East, the conference slighted by pollsters when they didn't put one team in this year's preseason top 25 has sure produced some good quarterbacks.

Along with Pike, Pittsburgh's senior Bill Stull has done a great job and could work his way into the Heisman talk if the Panthers' keep winning.

The conference won't be short of great quarterbacks of the future because along with Collaros, USF's BJ Daniels and Rutgers' Tom Savage are starting to get recognized. Daniels and Savage are both on everyone's short list of this year's best freshman quarterbacks.

Notre Dame No. 21, USF Unranked: Are Voters Biased?

jeff kalafa — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:36:38 -0500

Week 10's USA Today Coaches Poll was just released, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish moved up four spots from last week to No. 21.

The thought of Notre Dame (6-2) even being listed in the Top 25 while the South Florida Bulls (6-2) were completely left out of the rankings has to raise an issue with all open-minded college football fans.

Isn't it reasonable to ask oneself, "where is the quality win?" Any ranked team should have at least one win that could be called a "quality win." If not a quality win, maybe just a good win!

No. 25 BYU beat Oklahoma. No. 24 Virginia Tech beat Miami. No. 23 California and No. 22 Wisconsin don't have much in the way of a quality win. They both beat Minnesota (5-4).

What about Notre Dame. Where's the quality win?

Wins against Washington (3-5), Purdue (3-5), Michigan State (4-5), and Washington State (1-7) certainly can't be considered as quality wins.

They beat Nevada (5-3) and Boston College (6-3), but neither of the two are anywhere near anybody's Top 25, so it's unlikely they could be considered as quality wins.

Once again it seems like the signature win for this team is a "loss," against USC. The highlight of Notre Dame's season thus far is a 34-27 loss to USC in a game where they were driving toward the end zone when the clock ran out.

When fans think of Notre Dame's relative strength as a football team, do they recall the last minute comebacks against a bunch teams ranked somewhere between no. 40-100, or is it the USC game that stands out in their minds?

Do the South Florida Bulls have a quality win? Yes. Friday night they beat then-ranked No. 21 West Virginia (6-2) 30-19. They also have a good win, beaintg FSU(4-4) on the road earlier this year.

One must also ask oneself, "what about the losses, are they good losses?"

Notre Dame lost at home to USC (6-2) and Michigan (4-5) on the road. USC is weaker than usual and Michigan is not a good football team.

The USC loss is a good loss, but the Michigan loss can't be considered as a good loss.

Although California and Wisconsin didn't have much in the quality win column, one has to consider their losses. Cal lost to Oregon and USC. Wisconsin lost to Ohio St and Iowa. No problem here!

South Florida has lost to No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 14 Pittsburgh—two quality losses and, combined with their win over West Virginina, they deserve better!

If the numbers aren't enough to make one see there's probably an injustice in the rankings, think about USF's two All-American defensive ends chasing down Jimmy Clausen, doing to him what USC was able to do.

If one still isn't convinced, think about Notre Dame trying to contain USF quarterback BJ Daniels. They can't contain anyone!

Are you getting the message?

Here's a bulletin: The AP poll was just released, and Notre Dame is ranked no. 19 and South Florida isn't ranked.

Is something wrong here?

Notre Dame-Boston College: It's Always Bigger for the Eagles

jeff kalafa — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:17:52 -0400

This is the week when the Boston College Eagles football team forgets about the ACC and prepares for the biggest game on their schedule—at Notre Dame.

This game always means more for Boston College. Although they've played in an ACC championship and have developed a rivalry with Virginia Tech dating back to Big East days, Notre Dame is "The Game." It's their Super Bowl.

More than anything, it's a matter of respect. It's about overcoming the perception that hangs over the Eagles and reminds them that they are conveniently referred to as "the second Catholic school" by everyone outside of Chestnut Hill.

When they put the stripe down the middle of their gold helmets to help fans realize they were watching Boston College as opposed to "the first Catholic school," they thought it would help. It didn't do much.

When they gave up their independent status and joined a conference they thought that would help. It didn't do much.

When they started beating Notre Dame on a regular basis they thought they would finally get the respect they wanted. It helped some.

There's only one thing the Eagles can do to overcome the image of being Notre Dame's little brother, and that's just to keep winning this game.

It's personal for the players. So many carry chips on their shoulders as large as bricks into the game on Saturday. These are players that were not offered scholarships to play at Notre Dame and they want to make a statement. They want to prove that the Irish made a big mistake.

The Eagles have done a pretty good job of making an impact and have won the last six meetings with the Irish. Last year, they held that high-powered Notre Dame offense scoreless.

What To Expect from Boston College

Boston College (5-2, 3-2) has been an up-and-down team and is not as good as its record. They're certainly not as good as a division leader of a BCS conference should be, but the Atlantic Division of this year's ACC has a poor 8-14 conference record.

The Eagles built up a 4-1 record by playing the likes of Kent St. and Northeastern, and then went to Blacksburg, where they got pummeled by the Hokies, 48-14. The game was over before it began.

They did rebound and put up 52 points on a North Carolina State team that's lost its last three, including a 49-28 loss to Duke.

The Eagles' best game so far has been a 28-21 win over FSU. They were physical and took a 21-3 lead before letting FSU creep back and make it close.

If you discard the Virginia Tech game, quarterback Dave Shinskie has thrown seven touchdowns and just one interception in his last three games. The 6'4" Shinskie is just a freshman, but at 25 years old, he has more composure than the average first year player.

Montel Harris ran for 252 yards against North Carolina State and 179 yards against FSU. Harris, a sophomore, has gained respect as a quality running back.

What To Expect from Notre Dame

The big question going into Saturday's game for Notre Dame is how they'll respond to last week's tough loss to USC. Will they be ready to play?

Another question is the extent of Jimmy Clausen's nagging turf toe. Is it getting better or is it getting worse? Clausen is the ultimate competitor, but how much pain will he be able to endure?

How the Game Will Shake Down

Notre Dame is almost unstoppable on offense. They scored 27 points last week on a defense that is one of the country's best. They're going to try to establish the run, but will use the pass to set it up.

They're going to use their biggest weapons and throw across the middle to the tight end Kyle Rudolph and down field to Golden Tate.

Boston College is more of a balanced team and will try to establish the run and not rely on the pass as much as the Irish. They know that they need to run the ball to establish long drives. They have to keep Clausen on the bench as long as possible.

There is going to be a lot of scoring in this one. Boston College's defense is better than Notre Dame's, but they are going to have problems all day with Clausen if they don't put some pressure on him.

Who Gets the Win

This has been a difficult game to figure out. The game opened with Note Dame as a 10-point favorite and it went down to nine and has stayed there.

I can't see giving a team that has figured out how to beat you six times in a row so many points. Boston College will cover this spread.

The Eagles come into the game with some momentum from the North Carolina State win and the Irish come in with the wind taken out of their sails.

The Irish have to win this game! Their hopes of a BCS game are not dead yet.

For Boston College, this is the biggest game on its schedule, and I believe they are going to play like it. For them, it's about respect!

Prediction

Boston College 38-35

Notre Dame Falls Short to USC: Where Do the Irish Go From Here?

jeff kalafa — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:59:47 -0400

Notre Dame's chances of taking USC into overtime sputtered on the five-yard line when the clock ran out, giving the Trojans a 34-27 win. It was their eighth consecutive win over the Irish in the country's most notable inter-sectional rivalry.

Notre Dame overcame USC's 34-14 fourth quarter lead to make the game appear closer than the numbers indicate.

After holding a 13-7 lead at halftime, USC was unstoppable in the second half and scored on their first three drives. Although Notre Dame was able to put up three second-half touchdowns drives of their own, two of them were clearly "penalty-aided."

One of those penalties was an unsportsmanlike conduct infraction against a USC defensive lineman for what the officials indicated was "taunting." This came after he sacked Jimmy Clausen on third down midway through the third quarter.

The 15-yard penalty extended Notre Dame's drive and they eventually scored to make it 20-14.

Notre Dame was trailing 34-14 before they put up two fourth quarter scores to make it 34-27. They got the ball back again for what could have been one of the most remarkable comebacks in their history.

USC (5-1) was pushing Notre Dame (4-2) around most of the afternoon and recorded five Clausen sacks. When Clausen wasn't on the ground, he was throwing the ball away.

On offense, USC racked up over 500 total yards to Notre Dame's 367. USC's Matt Barkley passed for 380 yards to Jimmy Clausen's 285, and as the great Travel8 of Bleacher Report noted, most of Clausen's yardage came against USC's prevent defense.

WHAT CAN BE TAKEN FROM THIS GAME

This was supposed to be the measuring stick. The USC game was supposed answer the question, "How far back have the Irish come?"

As things turned out, the only conclusion drawn from yesterday's loss is that the question was still not answered. Folks are still wondering if this outcome indicates that the Irish are back or if it was still another "signature loss" for Charlie Weis and Co., another sign that nothing has changed.

The Irish showed great fight, but they failed to stop the Trojans from scoring at will in the second half.

They showed they could put up 27 points on a defense that was allowing eight points per game, but they failed to keep Jimmy Clausen from having to run for cover in too many passing situations.

When compared to 2008's (38-3) and 2007's (38-0) defeats, Irish fans have to feel encouraged as they go over the game in their minds.

WHERE THIS TEAM STANDS AT THE MIDWAY POINT

Half the season is complete, and after six games, how good is this football team?

The Michigan loss was disappointing, the three fourth quarter comebacks (Michigan State, Purdue, and Washington) and the USC performance were encouraging.

Playing Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Washington so close was not what the Irish faithful had wanted.

A record of 4-2 might be considered an improvement and a solid start...something to build on, but the lofty goal of a BCS game, although unlikely, is still intact.

WHERE THE SEASON GOES FROM HERE

The relative success or failure of the Notre Dame's 2009 football season is going to be measured over the second half of the season.

With six games left to play, Irish fans are asking themselves, "can this team finish 10-2?" Irish detractors are convinced they'll lose five of these six games, and objective prognosticators are predicting something in the middle.

Other than Washington State, five of the remaining games will not be easy! Navy (5-2), Stanford (4-3, 3-2), and UConn (4-2, 1-1) are a lot better than thought when Phil Steele and the like were ranking the Irish in their preseason top 25.

Navy doesn't make mistakes, Stanford runs the football well, and if you punch UConn in the mouth, they'll punch you back, maybe harder.

If Pittsburgh (6-1, 3-0) wins against USF and Syracuse, they might be that "signature game" the Irish are looking to win, but the Boston College game will be the most telling game of the season.

Boston College (5-2, 3-2) comes to Notre Dame Stadium next week. This is a team that is weak enough to give up 48 points to Virginia Tech and lose to Clemson. They are strong enough to handle FSU and put up 52 points up on North Carolina State.

Notre Dame has to win this game and they have to win it handily. If it comes down to another fourth quarter nail-biter, it would likely indicate that this Notre Dame team doesn't have what it takes to win 10 games in 2009.

I say this because winning the last three games of the season (@Pittsburgh, UConn & @Stanford) appears to be a very tough assignment for any team in the country, including most of the teams in the top 25.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Yesterday seemed to put the end to the Jimmy Clausen Heisman talk. His Heisman chances aren't dead...they're somewhere between intensive care and critical.

It's ironic that in half the games he's played the opposing quarterback was the one that raised most eyebrows. Tate Forcier pulled out the Michigan game, Jake Locker showed why Washington couldn't win a game last year without him, and USC's Matt Barkley.

The only thing to be said about Barkley is that if the NFL was allowed to draft kids his age, he'd be "numero uno." He looked like a pro yesterday. This kid is ready right now!

2. In an article written last week entitled "Does Notre Dame Have the mUSCle" I predicted the Irish would cover the spread and lose by eight points. They lost by seven; I'm sorry, I'll try to do better next time.

Texas-Oklahoma: A Sooner Win Guarantees BCS Chaos

jeff kalafa — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:16:43 -0400

This Saturday's Red River Shootout could play a major role in determining who plays in this year's BCS Championship Game.

It's a generally held belief that the winner of the SEC is going to be one of the teams to travel to Pasadena on Jan. 7 but there isn't as much agreement on who the second team will be. At the moment it looks like Texas.

If Texas wins the Big 12, and if they can do it as an undefeated team—they'll play in the championship, and not too many folks would have a problem with that.

In Saturday's game, the No. 3 Longhorns (5-0) face the No. 18 Sooners (3-2) in the Cotton Bowl, and at this point, there is no telling whether form holds true and the higher ranked Longhorns win.

In Oklahoma's two losses (BYU & Miami) they played without their Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford got injured early in the 14-13 loss to BYU and missed the entire 21-20 loss to Miami.

Bradford's healthy now and if a Heisman Trophy winner can't help a team—who can?

If Bradford had played in both the BYU and Miami games they would have probably won and on the basis of their body of work up to this point, they would probably have been the higher ranked team and the favorite on Saturday.

Texas just hasn't played enough quality teams to make a real assessment of their capabilities at this time. They didn't exactly dominate Texas Tech and last week they sputtered against Colorado in the first half.

It's not necessary to make any predictions because the matter will be settled soon enough, but what makes this game so interesting is that an Oklahoma victory can turn the BCS rankings upside down.

The ramifications of an Oklahoma win could be large enough to put a real dagger into the hopes of the Big 12 Conference's chance to play in the BCS Championship Game, and if Oklahoma wins the Big 12, the dagger goes deeper.

Hardly anyone considers the Sooners as a real "two-loss" team because they didn't have Bradford for the losses and they do have a chance to win the Big 12 if he's back to his old self. Presently they do not have a conference loss.

A "two-loss" team will not be going to the championship game unless there's a shortage of teams that finish the regular season undefeated or with only one loss.

If the season ended today, the winner of the SEC and Texas would be playing for the title and only the undefeated teams, if there were any, would claim injustice.

If Oklahoma wins on Saturday, it opens up the flood gates for so many scenarios that one could drive him or herself crazy thinking about all of them.

If Miami wins out, they make a claim because they beat Oklahoma. If Virginia Tech wins out, they make a claim because they beat Miami.

If there is an undefeated team like Boise St, TCU, Iowa, or a team from the Big East, they make a claim.

There might be a whole slew of one-loss teams hanging around. USC, along with the aforementioned Miami, Virginia Tech, and the like would be some of the teams with the best chance to get to Pasadena.

There is also a possibility that there could be two teams from the SEC that play for the championship. Once again, the scenarios seem endless.

This year's Texas Shootout should be one of the best games of the year. Texas vs Oklahoma! McCoy vs Bradford!

This game is too closes to call. I'm making two predictions; It will be a high-scoring contest, and it could be the game that turns the BSC upside down.

Cincinnati-USF: Winner Could Reach BCS Championship Game

jeff kalafa — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:36:37 -0400

Could the winner of Thursday night's Big East showdown make it all the way to this year's BCS Championship Game? Could this be the year the Big East sends a team to play for the national championship?

An emphatic YES! to both questions. The winner of the Cincinnati Bearcats (5-0) and South Florida Bulls (5-0) game could be making their first big step that leads to a Jan. 7 visit to the historic Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

There are three reasons that makes this scenario a real possibility. First, the Big East is a solid football conference this year. Second, both these teams have had aggressive out-of-conference schedules, and third, the Miami Hurricanes became a key variable to the equation when they defeated Oklahoma.

I know the Big East was supposed to be a real joke because they "didn't have a team in the preseason top-25 rankings." There was talk about having their automatic BCS bid revoked and given to the Mountain West Conference.

Well it turns out that three or four Big East teams could work their way into the top-25 in the coming week. Unless Cincinnati destroys USF, there's no reason to think that either of these teams would drop out of the rankings. Moreover, if West Virginia wins this week, they have a good chance of becoming ranked in the next poll.

Same thing for Pittsburgh. If they beat Rutgers on the road this week, they're most likely going to join the party.

Both Cincinnati and South Florida decided to schedule some tough out-of-conference games in 2009.

Cincinnati has beaten Oregon State on the road when they were ranked, they beat Fresno State and they'll get to play Illinois on Nov. 28.

The Bulls, in case you didn't see it on the tube, beat Florida State on the road and they punished the Seminoles in the process. The 17-7 score wasn't reflective of how much they dominated on both sides of the ball.

They have another game with another Florida team that's also scheduled for Nov. 28—the Miami Hurricanes. The game is in Tampa.

Miami, you might remember used to belong to the Big East Conference and they have become the key ingredient to allow an undefeated South Florida team to make a very potent argument that they would deserve a title shot.

When the Canes beat Oklahoma, they jumped way up in the polls and this could be the quality win that catapults USF into the national championship picture.

Of course before either of these teams start thinking about a possible chance to play in the BCS Championship Game they have to take care of business in the Big East, and that will not be easy.

Aside from Syracuse and Louisville, any Big East team is capable of beating any other Big East team this season.

Even Syracuse can't be considered an easy "W." They're probably the worst team in the league, but last year they beat Notre Dame on the road and this year they beat Northwestern. They also took Minnesota into overtime before losing.

Thursday night's game could be another one of those special Big East thrillers and it could become another huge win for ESPN.

This game could be called "Tale of Two Quarterbacks." Most people know about Cincinnati's 6'6" Tony Pike—a true Heisman candidate—but the country will get a chance to see USF's freshman sensation B.J. Daniels.

Daniels took over the starting quarterback position when long-time starter Matt Grothe went down for the season, and possibly for his career, with an ACL injury.

Against Florida State Daniels passed for 215 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 126 yards. Against Syracuse he passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns. His 2009 quarterback rating is 175.66. Jimmy Clausen's quarterback rating in 179.3 and Tim Tebow's is 165.9.

Whoever emerges as the winner in Thursday night's game is going to get a lot of respect from the pollsters. If South Florida upsets Cincinnati their stock goes up and if Cincinnati wins another road game against a ranked opponent, their stock goes up.

Most college football gurus believe that either Florida or Alabama will be one of the teams to play for the National Championship. Texas would be the next choice but if the Big 12 doesn't produce an undefeated team, that's where an undefeated team from the Big East or Boise State comes into the picture.

If Texas ends up with at least one loss and it happens to be against Oklahoma who they play this weekend, then the perfect storm could start to form.

DOES NOTRE DAME HAVE THE MuscLE?

jeff kalafa — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:12:47 -0400

It's time for the BCS and the Heisman talk to stop. Everything will be sorted out on Saturday when Notre Dame hosts USC in one of the most anticipated games of the 2009 college football season.

What does the game mean to No. 5 ranked USC? They have to win! They believe their National Championship hopes are very much alive, and they will be serious when they show up at Notre Dame Stadium.

USC knows that only one team will emerge from the SEC and they are hoping the Big 12 knocks out each other. They're hoping to squeeze in and not get locked out like last year's team.

They also want the pollsters to take note and forget about the blemish on their 2009 record—an unexpected loss on the road to Washington.

What about the Irish, do they have to win this game? The answer is an emphatic NO! They don't have to win because no one expects it, and they know that it would be a semi-miracle if they could pull off the upset over the Trojans.

That doesn't mean they won't show up determined to win. They are playing for respect! Respect for themselves and respect for the Notre Dame Football program.

They want to show the country that Notre Dame is back. They want to show that the program is headed in the right direction and this game is the measuring stick for just how far back they have come.

This game isn't going to be an easy for the Irish. Forget about their Top 25 ranking and the fact that they have put up big numbers on offense in all of their games this season.

Forget about all the pre-game hype because the Las Vegas book makers have installed USC as a 12-point favorite.

I don't care about what a bunch of biased sportswriters and a bunch of coaches who don't even watch the games have to say. I care about what the number crunchers in Las Vegas say.

For a Top 25 team to have to get 12 points at home doesn't sound like they believe these teams are close to being on the same level.

The odds-makers want action and they know that even the Irish faithful would not touch this game if they weren't getting almost two touchdowns.

This will be the first time this year that Notre Dame will see a team that plays defense.

Does USC have as strong a defense as last year's great team that gave up just nine points/game? This year's team has allowed their opponent eight points/game.

USC has held two top-10 teams (Ohio St and Cal) to 15 and three points. In their loss to Washington, they allowed the Huskies 16 points.

How will Notre Dame handle the USC defense? They will simply have to play error free football. They'll have to win the turnover battle and they will have to establish the run to open up the passing game.

How will the Irish handle the USC offense? They'll have to play the best defensive game they have played in years.

Notre Dame can't expect to stop USC's Joe McKnight. They'll have to contain him. Every time he runs the football, he gains an average of seven yards.

It's going to have to come from the pressure they can put on the Trojans young quarterback Matt Barkley. The Irish are going to have to get to him and make his day as unpleasant as possible.

I think it was tennis great Andre Agassi who was known for saying "Image is everything." In a press conference last week, Charlie Weis said his team deserved to be a top ranked team and they were just "eleven seconds away from being undefeated."

Some folks think that Notre Dame is just about two minutes away from being a 1-4 football team.

Some folks think that against Washington, Chris Polk appeared to score a touchdown that would have put the game out of reach. They think the official looked into a screen, like the one in that commercial, and asked a bunch of Notre Dame fans in a South Bend bar if they wanted the game to go into overtime.

Everything is going to be cleared up in a couple of days.

EXTRA POINT 1: In an article entitled "Notre Dame - Washington: Irish Favored by Too Much Against the Huskies" I predicted the game would be very close and get decided late in the fourth quarter.

I'm going the other way this time. Notre Dame will cover the spread and is going to make this game a lot closer than most people think. A late touchdown will decide this one. USC 31 ND 23.

EXTRA POINT 2: Although the No. 25 ranking the Irish received this week is questionable, it's not as questionable as the No. 13 ranking that Penn State received. Penn State hasn't done anything to prove they're worth being in the top 25.

Notre Dame-Washington: Irish Favored By Too Much Against Huskies

jeff kalafa — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:42:32 -0400

Certain things just stand out.

I was shocked when South Florida got snubbed by the pollsters this week and didn't make the top 25. I felt the same way upon learning that Las Vegas odds makers installed Notre Dame as a 13-point favorite over Washington this week.

The Vegas odds makers are the best. If they did the rankings, we wouldn't have any problem finding the two best teams in the country at the end of the year and we certainly wouldn't have the mess that the Coaches Poll has become.

But I'm going against them big time. Thirteen points is way too much to give away if one is betting on the Irish to defeat the Huskies on Saturday.

These teams are just too similar to make one of them almost a two touchdown favorite!

Everyone knows about Notre Dame's junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen. Clausen's having a bang-up year and he's taken the Irish on his shoulders to pull out close wins over Michigan State and Purdue.

Clausen has done everything asked of him—he's only thrown one interception this season, his quarterback rating is flying off the charts, and he played the last game with a real bad case of turf toe.

Don't get me wrong, he hasn't done it all by himself.

His wide outs are some of the best in the country and 6'6" junior tight end Kyle Rudolph is as large a target as a quarterback could wish for. There is no doubt Rudolph is a sure-fire first day NFL pick when he gets drafted.

Washington's Jake Locker is lesser known than Clausen. He was hurt most of last season, but the junior is healthy and starting to get noticed.

Locker is the same size as Clausen—6'3" and weighs about the same at 225 pounds. He's thrown for about 100 yards less this season and his completion percentage is a little lower at 58 percent to Clausen's 66 percent.

Locker has an extra dimension to his game that Clausen does not—he can run.

While Clausen has run for negative yardage this season, Locker ran 12 times for 54 yards against LSU in the season opener. He'll run for positive yardage if he sees an opening.

His receivers are young. James Johnson (6'1'') has pulled in 19 passes for 220 yards and sophomore Jermaine Kearse (6'1'') has caught 11 passes for 182 yards.

Locker impressed USC's coach Pete Carroll so much in Washington's upset over his Trojans that Carroll, in an ESPN article, called Locker "the best quarterback we've played in nine years." He went on to say that if Locker was healthy last year, "Willingham would still be coaching."

Both teams have had rather opposite starts to the 2009 season.

Notre Dame has been a mild disappointment, struggling to win games against two relatively average teams (Michigan State and Purdue), while Washington, up until its loss to Stanford, was considered the biggest surprise of the season with the USC win and a tough loss to LSU.

There is going to be a lot of scoring in Saturday's game. Both teams like to throw the ball and both teams have lots of trouble stopping their opponents from throwing.

Notre Dame has given up over 250 passing yards per game this season. Washington has done better—they've allowed 185 passing yards per game.

Notre Dame has done better stopping the run. They've allowed 130 rushing yards per game and Washington has allowed 195 rushing yards per game.

Both teams are similar, but there are differences.

The biggest one is probably that Washington has performed against a much tougher schedule. They played two top 10 teams, while Notre Dame has not played anyone close to a top 10 opponent.

Washington opened against LSU and gave them all they wanted in a 31-23 defeat before beating USC, 16-13.

Notre Dame lost to Michigan in the last minute of a 38-34 game that elevated the Wolverines to the top 25.

Another difference is, while Washington suffered a disappointing 34-14 road loss to Stanford last Saturday, Notre Dame won an inspired last-minute road victory against Purdue.

Washington is very young at the skilled positions and relies on freshman 220-pounder Chris Polk to do the running. Polk has gained 316 yards this season, most of them on tough inside runs.

It's hard to tell if the point spread is so high because the odds makers feel Washington is young and lost its only road game of the season, or if they feel that Notre Dame Stadium is just too tough for any visiting team.

But there are two other variables that figure into the equation—one being the let-down factor that Notre Dame might suffer after the dramatic Purdue win, and the other being the distraction of USC being the next game on the Irish's schedule.

No matter how you cut it, I see these teams as very close in talent and very close in performance. I see this game going deep into the fourth quarter before it is decided.

Notre Dame Coaching Dilemma Overshadowing Fighting Irish

jeff kalafa — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:13:59 -0400

The Charlie Weis coaching saga hangs over the head of the Notre Dame program like a large dark cloud that could burst at any moment.

It seems the 2009 Fighting Irish football team is running second in a two-horse race for attention to a coaching controversy. And the players are wearing it like an albatross around their collective necks.

They are reminded every day that the next game they lose could be the last game for Weis.

Will the team use this as a motivator and rise up to play nine games of inspired football? Or will it be a detractor that takes their minds off winning football games?

Though the first three games are in the books, it's still too early to make any predictions about how many games Notre Dame will win in 2009.

Is it out of the question that they'll win 10 games and go to a BCS bowl? Not at this time. In fact, there is good reason to believe they will.

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen has improved and has deleted the word "interception" from his dictionary. Running back Armando Allen is running harder and smarter than last year.

The Irish are averaging 35 points per game so far. That's up from 25 points last season.

There is also encouraging news when one looks at the 2009 schedule.

USC and Boston College are teams that hold seven and six-game winning streaks, respectively, against the Irish.

They are weaker than they've been in years. And both teams must go to South Bend.

But there are also indications that 2009 will be a year that the Irish fail to meet the lofty expectations of their fans and, in their eyes, underachieve.

The defense is giving up too many yards and too many points.

Michigan put up 38 points on the Irish, and Michigan State put up 30. That's not an improvement over last season, when they gave up an average of 22 points per game.

There are other red flags.

Receivers are still dropping crucial passes, the offensive line is still allowing too much pressure, and the kicking game is scary.

Missing extra points and chip-shot field goals will spell disaster down the line.

There is also reason for concern when looking at the schedule. Though USC and Boston College have worsened, others have improved.

Washington is the most improved team on the schedule and in the country. Last week, they upset USC and are the No. 1 rags-to-riches story of the college football season thus far.

UConn has proved better than previously thought. Pittsburgh is solid, and Navy will not go down easily.

So as the Irish prepare for Saturday's game at Purdue, we can be relatively sure of one thing: We're not sure how Notre Dame will finish.

Maybe we can be sure of something else—something that affects the players, assistant coaches, and Charlie Weis himself...uncertainty.

Will they fire him or will they keep him? Will they fire him after the next loss or at the end of the season? Will he take this team to a BCS bowl game?

It seems because Notre Dame decided to give Weis a huge contract, a move seen to be prudent after a very successful first year.

Notre Dame wasn't this patient with their last few head coaches, but they didn't invest $40 million over 10 years in any of them.

Instead of firing Weis after last year's Syracuse loss, they kept him. The fans were put on sort of a coaching death watch that gets upgraded to intensive care with every win, then back to death watch with a loss.

Doing this publicly wasn't a good move. It just added fuel to this coaching dilemma that won't go away.

As the Irish head into their last nine games, I figure they're about as good as Michigan, to whom they lost a close one on the road, and are about as bad as Michigan State, whom they beat at home.

Where they go from here is anybody's guess. But it would be refreshing if the coaching situation would take a back seat to the game played on the field.

At least for the next couple of games.

Notre Dame Football Fan Base May Be on Decline

jeff kalafa — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:07:23 -0400

Notre Dame has the largest football fan base of any school in the country. They can sell out just about any stadium from Dublin to Honolulu, and it doesn't matter who and when they play or the records they and their opponent have compiled.

Although their following is huge, there's a strong possibility they're losing fans while other teams gain.

The downward trend in the Irish's television ratings has been well documented. And we've heard about conferences like the SEC, whose teams are now surpassing the television revenue that Notre Dame is bringing in.

But it's hard to judge a fan base when one team is being compared to a conference of teams.

The television numbers may be down due to the last 15 years of sub-par football— especially the last two. But with improved play, good ratings can return as quickly as they left.

It's not necessarily wins and losses that have led to a smaller fan base—it has to do with modernization and the way the fan is getting his or her information.

We've entered the computer age and have occupied it long enough to know that we like it.

Notre Dame has millions of fans from older generations, and many of them don't know much about computers. But today's fan, the fan of the future, follows their teams more with computers and less with newspapers.

Of the five teams with the largest membership on Bleacher Report—Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, and Florida—the Irish are not the leaders. And they're not leading on the two most popular college football Web sites either—Scout and Rivals.

In a study measuring the popularity of these five teams' performance on these three Web sites, Ohio State ranked first and Notre Dame ranked second.

The study weighed Bleacher Report and Scout equally. Because Rivals gets approximately 40 percent of the hits of Scout, it was weighed at 40 percent of the other two.

Alabama had the largest number of Bleacher Report members (696). Ohio State (686), Michigan (595), Notre Dame (577), and Florida (575) followed.

Alabama received a 100 percent grade and the others received percentage scores in relation to Alabama's 100—Ohio State (98), Michigan (85), Notre Dame (82), and Florida (82).

Scout and Rivals were measured throughout the day of May 11, the day when most every team had been fully underway with preseason practice and interest around the country was high. Readings were taken between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. and the results were averaged.

Ohio State had huge ratings on Scout. The average number of Ohio State fans logged on to Scout at any time on May 11 was 2,562. Florida (1,759) was next, and Notre Dame (1,605), Michigan (1,122), and Alabama (966) followed.

On the percentage rating, Ohio State received 100, followed by Florida (68), Notre Dame (62), Michigan (43), and Alabama (31).

Michigan led Rivals with an average reading of 995 fans throughout the day. Notre Dame was next with 905, and Alabama (591), Florida (455), and Ohio State (193) followed.

Michigan received a 100 percent score for Rivals, but because it was worth 40 percent of Scout, it was scaled down to 40, while Notre Dame (36), Alabama (24), Florida (18), and Ohio State (8) followed.

Cumulative scores were compiled by adding each team’s percentage values in the three categories. Ohio State finished first with 208, Notre Dame was second with 180. Florida and Michigan tied with 168, and Alabama scored 155.

The five teams were relatively close, but it was clear that more Ohio State fans followed their team on the Internet than the other four.

Of course, this can not be considered conclusive and merely reflects the results of Bleacher Report, Scout, and Rivals, while there are other websites, including official team websites, where people get information.

This is just a raw sampling, but Scout and Rivals are considered two of the most respected college football Web sites. It's more difficult to measure the popularity of Bleacher Report in relation to other Web sites of its kind.

It should be clear that viewer numbers fluctuate on a daily basis, which adds to the lack of reliability contained in this study.

Once again, this was a random sampling and the results should be taken with a statistical grain of salt.

History Is With Rich Rodriguez to Turn Michigan Around In 2009

jeff kalafa — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:45:56 -0400

I'm betting on Rich Rodriguez to turn Michigan around in 2009.

There's a good chance he'll reverse last season's 3-9 showing and I'm betting everything I got that Michigan will win at least eight games and cover the "over/under" of seven wins Las Vegas has set for the Wolverines.

It's not because they have eight home games, including Ohio State and Penn State, or because of the talent that will be on the Michigan sidelines in the coming year.

It's because history dictates that a good coach like Rich Rodriguez will make major improvement in his second year with this team.

Rodriguez is a good coach and he can take most of the credit for originating the no-huddle spread offense which nearly every team in the country has some variation of in their offensive package.

It's that simple. That's the formula; A, your a good coach, plus B, it's your second year on the job, equals C, a winning season.

Eddie Robinson, the late great Grambling Football Coach who finished with 408 career wins took over as head coach in 1941 and went 3-5 that year. Next season he led Grambling to an undefeated (9-0) season.

Joe Paterno became head coach of Penn State in 1966 and led the Lions to a lackluster 5-5 record. The following season Paterno and Penn State finished 8-2-1.

When Bobby Bowden took over at Florida State in 1976 the Seminoles finished under .500 at 5-6. In 1977, Bobby won 10 games and lost two.

This isn't a coincidence folks, there is something to this. The great Bear Bryant became head coach at Texas A&M in 1954 and compiled a 1-9 record. In 1955 his record was 7-2-1.

He did the same thing when he went to Alabama. 1958 was Bryant's initial year in Tuscaloosa and the Tide finished 5-4-1. The next year they were 7-2-2.

Jim Tressel, Ohio State's head coach took over the Buckeyes in 2001 and went 7-5. The following year Ohio State finished 14-0 and won the National Championship.

Pete Carroll at USC did the same thing. His first year was 2001 and the Trojans won six and lost six. The following year they went 11-2.

I guess a good coach has to knock them down and build them up. It takes these guys about a year to get it right.

Bob Stoops went 7-5 in 1999, his first year at Oklahoma. In 2000 he finished 13-0 and won the National Championship.

In what might be considered Steve Spurrier's greatest coaching accomplishment, he took Duke from his first year record of 5-6 to 7-3-1 in 1988. That was Duke!

It took Urban Meyer a year to really get adjusted at both of his major coaching jobs. While at Utah, in his first season (2003) the Utes finished 10-2. In 2004 they went 12-0 and won a BCS bowl game.

Meyer took over the Florida job in 2003 and the Gators finished 8-3. In 2004 Meyer's team went 13-1 and won a National Championship.

I hope your getting the message and if you know anything about Rich Rodriguez, he falls right in line with the names mentioned above. He's already proved it!

2001 was the year Rodriguez took over the West Virginia Mountaineers and they finished a dismal 3-8, that's the same amount of wins that Michigan had last year.

It took Rodriguez a year to install the spread offense, and he did have the right personnel to run it which helped but in 2002 they finished 9-4 and were on their way to winning a lot of games and a couple of BCS Bowls over the remainder of his stay in Morgantown.

So I'm betting on Michigan this coming season and I'm betting on Rodriguez to get the job done. It's not that I'm some kind of clairvoyant that gives me such confidence that he'll come through, it's history! History is on the Wolverines side in 2009!

Don't bet against the Wolverines!

Ten of College Football's "Top 25" Won't Make Final Poll: Is Your Team One?

jeff kalafa — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 11:45:17 -0400

The ESPN Coaches' Poll came out this week, and fans of 25 of the 120 FBS football teams are happy at the placement their team received, upset that they weren't ranked higher, or just delighted to see their name as one of the "chosen."

A message to about half of these fans: Enjoy it now, because your team isn't likely to be there when the final Coaches' Poll is released at year's end.

In 2006, 10 teams in the preseason poll didn't make the final poll. In 2007, 11 teams didn't make it, and last season, 13 teams, more than half, didn't make the final poll.

This just points out what so many people are realizing about preseason polls—they are about as useless as "fill in the blank."

In 2008, the regulars—the Tennessees, Auburns, Michigans, West Virginias, and the like—were all ranked way up there in the preseason poll by the coaches, and to be fair, in many other polls and college football tabloids.

Some of these teams had horrible seasons. Michigan was 3-9, Auburn and Tennessee finished under .500, and 10 other preseason favorites didn't live up to the hype.

These polls seem to get more unreliable every year and only serve to make it difficult for the deserving teams to work their way up to top positions because they have to start so far behind the leaders on the poll.

Some teams, even if they are undefeated, suffer that old affliction called, "you can't jump a team in front of you unless they lose."

These polls are about as useless as the "Watch Lists" for awards like the Jim Thorpe Award, for example. The Thorpe award, for the nation's best defensive back, is one of about 10 postseason awards given to the best player at a position.

Are you telling me that it makes one bit of difference if you're on the "watch list" or not?

Every year it seems that we hear the argument that the coaches' poll shouldn't be released until at least three weeks into the season.

It's a good argument because of the effect the coaches' poll has on the ultimate prize: the BCS Championship.

Not only is the poll released too early, but there are also always coaches that vote with emotion and loyalty over logic and fairness. Hello Steve Spurrier! Duke's a great school, but do you think you can try to leave them off your ballot if they aren't deserving?

So if your team made the "top 25" the other day, and you pretty much know that it's only a dart-throwing contest, enjoy the recognition, hype, and false sense of accomplishment while it lasts.

Enjoy the fact that a bunch of people, many of whom have never seen your team play, have decided to rank your team. Enjoy the flattery, because about half of these teams will not be there at the end of the 2009 season.

Notre Dame May Need Clausen to Run the Football in '09'

jeff kalafa — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:14:10 -0400

College football fans know about Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, Notre Dame's highly regarded wide out tandem and they know about Jimmy Clausen, the gunslinger who can deliver the pigskin to them.

If the Fighting Irish are going to win those 10 games and make it to a BCS bowl in 2009, they'll need something that hasn't been seen in South Bend for a good while—a running game.

Jimmy Clausen has the arm. The seasoned junior, from Westlake Village, California, connected for 25 touchdowns last season but if he doesn't want to spend as much time in the backfield scrambling for his life, as he did his first two years - he'll need a running game to keep the defense honest.

Not only will the Irish need production from the running backs, but Clausen might have to tuck the ball under his arm and move it forward also.

The Irish need more weapons. They can't be a one dimentional team in '09' or the defenses are going to double up on receivers or blitz as much as they can.

No one's asking Clausen to be another Vince Young or Pat White, that's ridiculous, but he's going to have to show enough mobility to put the ball in the end zone when he has the opening.

Last year, the 44th rated quarterback (ESPN QB RATING), didn't score one rushing touchdown.

When a team knows that your quarterback isn't going to run the quarterback option, playing defense inside the red zone becomes that much easier.

There's nothing wrong with NFL type quarterbacks, pocket passers, but even the man whose reputation hangs over Clausen like a blanket, Brady Quinn, ran the ball into the end zone a couple of times in 2006.

Clausen has never scored a touchdown for Notre Dame. The other Brady that's always linked to Charlie Weis, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, ran it in twice in 2007, the last season he played.

There are single threat quarterbacks that do very well in college. Matt Stafford and Mark Sanchez, the first two to be drafted in 2009, were both pro-style quarterbacks and never ran. Stafford had the luxury of Knowshon Moreno in the backfield and USC didn't need Sanchez to run the ball.

Very simply, when a defense knows that the quarterback will not run at all, they bring up an extra blitzer and make their afternoons three hours of misery.

This happened a lot to Clausen in 2008 and he was forced to throw too many interceptions. His 17 picks last season was second most of the top 60 rated quarterbacks. Tulsa's Dave Johnson threw 18 picks but he also threw 21 more touchdowns than Clausen.

Last year there were three quarterbacks mentioned all season as Heisman Trophy Candidates. All three ran the ball and gave the defense the illusion that they were playing against 12 men instead of 11.

Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, who won the Heisman Trophy ran for five touchdowns, Colt McCoy of Texas ran for 11 and Tim Tebow, of Florida, ran for 12.

There are going to be times when Clausen is just going to have to head up field with the ball under his arm. Charlie Weis, the former NFL offensive coordinator, might have to change his thinking as it relates to the quarterback running the ball.

Clausen doesn't have to become a runner, don't misunderstand the point, he just has to run enough times for the defense to respect him and give the Irish another option.

But Notre Dame clearly needs to improve an all-around running game. Last season they averaged 3.3 yards a carry and their leading runner, Armando Allen, only had 585 yards on the season.

They need a running game to control the ball and run the clock out. Last year they lost too many games in the fourth quarter because they couldn't control the ball.

A good running game is not just going to appear at the stadium one day and announce its arrival. It's going to take work and the offensive line has to step up and they have to replace an offensive tackle in the process.

I believe the line is improving and although Clausen got sacked 21 times in 2008, that was much better than the 37 sacks they gave up in 2007.

Armando Allen, Robert Hughes and James Aldridge are all returning in 2009. The ground game should be better.

And, of course the symbiotic relationship that exists between the passing and running games is so important. A good passing game will free up the running game and make things that much easier. Charlie Weis is hoping for this to materialize.

So the Irish, trying to make it back to a BCS bowl in 2009, are going to need a passing game, a running game and they are going to need to know that they have a quarterback that can run on occasion.

Yes, they are going to need a defense that can stop the run.

Quick Fix for the Florida Marlilns' Base-Running Mistakes

jeff kalafa — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:00:21 -0400

It's happening again.

The Florida Marlins are once again starting to make those embarrassing mental errors known as base-running mistakes.

Lately, it seems I sit down to watch a Marlins game, and all of a sudden, a little league game breaks out. These base-running blunders are just plain inexcusable.

It became obvious early in the season that the Marlins were prone to making mistakes on the base paths—mistakes that were costly and killed some good rallies.

In a 7-3 loss to the Phillies on April 25, Hanley Ramirez hit a long fly ball to left-center that looked like it was leaving the park.

Now you've got to realize, this was around the time when Ramirez claimed he wanted to be traded because he was upset about the Marlins' newly installed dress code, so maybe he was sulking when he hit this fly ball in front of 29,000 fans.

Anyway, he thought the ball was going over the fence, so he starts a casual home run trot.

There's only one problem—the ball never made it over the fence, and Ramirez landed on second base when there was no doubt he should have had a triple or inside-the-park home run because the ball caromed off the fence and away from both outfielders

Ross Gload came up next and he hit a long fly ball to left-center. Ramirez went way too far down the line toward third, waiting to see if the ball was going to be caught. The left fielder made a great running catch, and Ramirez had too long of a trip back to second and couldn't tag up.

Then, with one out, Ramirez decided to try to steal third base and got thrown out by two feet.

Three base-running mistakes on three consecutive plays—that's got to be a record.

Ramirez started playing better, and he's having a great year. He's single-handedly carrying the team at times and is currently leading the league in hitting.

Fast forward to July 31—the last day of the trade deadline, when the Marlins acquired Nick Johnson from the Washington Nationals.

Johnson, a first baseman, is a patient hitter who will get a lot of walks and will allow Jorge Cantu to go back to his natural position at third base.

But one thing Johnson doesn't do is run fast—I'd say he runs about as fast as Yogi Berra, and Yogi's in his eighties.

Johnson played for the Marlins on Aug. 1 against the Cubs and unexpectedly decided to try to steal second base. He got thrown out by a yard, which killed a rally.

He then decided to try it again the following day with the same result. One would think that was going to be the last base-running mistake Johnston would make for a while.

But on Tuesday night against the Nationals, Johnson was on second, with a runner at first and Cantu was at the plate. There were no outs.

Cantu hit a line shot to center that landed a few feet in front of the center fielder. Unbelievably, Johnson was thrown out at third base, and Cantu didn't get credit for a hit.

I've never seen that before.

Let's go back to July 28 in a game against the Braves. Jeremy Hermida, a strikeout specialist with men on base, slapped a single to left field and made a casual turn around the bag.

Hermida stoped his turn and walked back to first base without keeping his eye on the ball, and he got picked off with the relay throw.

That is something I have seen before—about about ten years ago in a beer league game.

These are just some of the base-running mistakes that this team has been making all year. These are the memorable ones—the kind that just don't happen.

So, how do the Marlins fix the situation? How do they stop this team from having the mental lapses that they just can't afford, especially when their trying not to lose ground on the other Wild Card contenders.

Freddie Gonzales, who is a good manager, doesn't believe in sitting down a player to make the point, but there is no doubt that Hermida should have sat for at least one game.

But sitting a player down may not be the way to fix this problem—there is a better way.

Maybe it's time for this team and the television network that covers them to incorporate a new statistic into the group of statistics they flash on the screen when a batter comes to the plate.

Maybe it's time to show his batting average, home run total, RBI total and his "BRM" total—his base-running mistake total—so everyone can see how careless and mentally aloof the player is.

Let the viewers, people who would die to have the talent and huge contracts that these player have, see how many times they screw up because they just don't think.

And there's another statistic that could be flashed across the screen with this team—the total amount of runners the hitter has stranded on the base paths.

It's amazing that with all these mistakes and lapses that the Marlins are still in the Wild Card race.

The pitching and timely hitting have obviously helped and in Tuesday night's loss to the Nationals, where Josh Johnson had a two-hitter going into the eighth inning, it wasn't the bullpen allowing the Nationals to take a two run lead, that lost the game.

It was base-running mistakes and the stranded runners.

UConn Likely to Opt Out of Football Series with Notre Dame

jeff kalafa — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:55:33 -0400

It looks like the state of Connecticut, UConn Athletic Director Jeff Hathaway, and Coach Randy Edsall finally got the message—ultimately it just didn't make sense!

The Star Ledger's long-time college football writer Tom Luicci, while covering Big East Media Days in Rhode Island, reported that, "Randy Edsall said his school was likely going to opt out of a scheduled four-game series with Notre Dame because the Irish won't play at Rentschler Field."

Chip Malafronte, UConn football beat writer for the New Haven Register, when speaking of the proposed series, wrote, "With no games in Connecticut, it is no longer being pursued by UConn."

The Hartford Courant's Jeff Jacobs pretty much agreed.

In today's column Jacobs said, "While it would be factually premature to report the six-game football series for Notre Dame and UConn is already dead, it would be equally irresponsible to assert that UConn has any intention to sign a contract for an agreement of such length."

One thing is certain; nobody appeared to know just how long the proposed series was supposed to last. Four games, six games, or 10 games?

At first, it seemed that playing Note Dame was just what UConn's rising football program needed to put them on the map. However, the powers that be realized they didn't need the Fighting Irish and the fans of Connecticut grew increasingly upset that they could have been serious about entering into agreement where not one game would be played in the Nutmeg State.

Jacobs went on to suggest that playing the series the way Notre Dame wanted it was a slap in the face to Connecticut and now, "UConn finally has the hand to slap back."

I don't know if he was referring to Michigan announcing they would play the Huskies in East Hartford in 2013 when he talked about "slapping back" or whether he just felt that UConn knew it was time to take a stand.

He went on to say that he thinks most fans of Connecticut would, "applaud Hathaway for showing some cojones."

Connecticut's football program is certainly on the rise. In 2007, they won a piece of the Big East title and this past season, they finished 8-5 and had four of their players selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.

Everyone in the state was upset—lawmakers in particular. They argued that the state didn't construct a brand-new football stadium only to have it's team play their home games in Gillette Stadium or the Meadowlands.

The state legislature was already hearing it from hotel and restaurant owners in the greater Hartford area that didn't want to lose revenue that home games at Rentschler Field create.

Fans were upset that Notre Dame was, in their eyes, "bullying" the Huskies and pointed out that Notre Dame was using history to make their case. In 2009, they felt there was no reason for UConn to bend over backwards for them.

Jacobs feels that the Big East has accepted the fact that Notre Dame is not going to join the conference in football. Although they admire Notre Dame's national marketing campaign, he says in reference to their opponents, "It's demeaning to the other team."

Rutgers was in a similar situation when they entered into negotiations with Notre Dame. When the Irish told Rutgers they wanted them to play their three home games in the Meadowlands, they pulled out of the process.

UConn has made huge progress in football. Ten years ago they didn't even have a FBS division team but until they stand up to Notre Dame, they're not big-time.

Standing up to Notre Dame shows how they feel about themselves and where their program is headed. Congratulations UConn—today, you are a man!

Once again, with the way this series appears to have self-destructed, it seams that scheduling could become more complicated for the Irish in the future.

All but four of the 120 FBS teams are in a conference and some of those teams, like UConn, are likely to stand up for their conference and not let anyone push them around.

Michigan and UConn to Play Home and Home Football Starting 2010

jeff kalafa — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:25:45 -0400

ESPN and the Hartford Courant have announced that the Michigan Wolverines and Connecticut Huskies have agreed to a home and home football series beginning in 2010.

UConn will make the trip to Michigan Stadium on Sept. 4 of next year and Michigan will travel to Rentschler Field in Hartford in 2013.

The Huskies were scheduled to play Northeastern on Sept. 2, 2010 but in light of this announcement, that game will be moved.

The 2010 game will mark the opening of the $225 million renovation to Michigan Stadium. This may not be the "big-splash game" that some of the Wolverine faithful had been hoping for but Connecticut is an up start program and will be a good test for Michigan.

This past season the Huskies finished 8-5 and in 2007 they won a share of the Big East title and finished the season 9-4.

It's somewhat unexpected that Michigan, the team that plays in the largest football stadium in the country, has agreed to play in 40,000 seat Rentschler Field when they visit the Huskies in 2013.

It could be that Connecticut's coach Randy Edsall has relied on his old Big East ties with Michigan's Rich Rodriguez, the former West Virginia coach, to pull this off.

Michigan and Connecticut are presently in the middle of a home and home men's basketball series and that might have had something to do with the football arrangement announced last night.

UConn has already announced a home and home football series with the Tennessee Volunteers that begins in Hartford in 2015 and concludes the following year in Tennessee's 105,000 seat Neyland Stadium.

These two schools will also meet on the basketball court and have announced a two year series where The Volunteer men will travel to Connecticut in the 2010-11 season and in the 2011-12 season the Connecticut men will play at Tennessee.

What's particularly interesting about yesterday's announcement is how it will affect the proposed long-term football series the Huskies have been planning with Notre Dame.

As of now, UConn and Notre Dame are tentatively scheduled to play at least six games, three of which are Notre Dame home games scheduled for Notre Dame Stadium. Connecticut has agreed to play their home games off campus in Foxboro's Gillete Stadium and the New Jersey Meadowlands.

Now that Michigan and Tennessee, along with Maryland, Iowa State and North Carolina State have all agreed to play in Rentschler in the coming years it might be time for Connecticut to renegotiate with the Irish and insist that they do also.

Notre Dame had been negotiating a similar contract with Rutgers, another Big East school whereby they wanted the Scarlet Knights to play their home games off campus but Rutgers' Coach Greg Schiano called off the deal.

If anything, it might be time to, as one UConn fan states, "Refine the Notre Dame series."

Michigan's Rich Rodriguez was 4-0 against Connecticut's Randy Edsall while at West Virginia.

Big Ten Seems to Still Be Waiting for Notre Dame

jeff kalafa — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:53:58 -0400

As the Big Ten Football Media Days conclude, it's interesting to read between the lines, to sift through the rhetoric and misdirection to find some meaning in what can be described as "meaningless jibber-jabber" and a meaningless vote to decide who will win the 2009 conference championship—as if it wasn't going to be decided on the field.

One thing that appears to be coming out of these meetings is a growing desire by the coaches to improve the quality of Big Ten football.

In order to improve Big Ten football, there's been an idea that's picking up energy recently—teams playing deeper into December so they'll be sharper for bowl games.

Minnesota's coach Tim Brewster and Illinois's Ron Zook spoke in favor of this plan, but the originator, Joe Paterno, went even further awhile back and suggested that it's time for the Big Ten to expand to 12 teams. In this new system, the Big Ten Conference Championship Game would serve as a prep game for the Big Ten's BCS bowl team.

Although Paterno probably has more clout than just about any coach in the country, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delaney has made it clear that the presidents, not the coaches, will make the call when and if they expand to 12 teams.

The Big Ten is in a good spot. It's making plenty of money. Out of all the college football teams, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Penn State rank two, four, five, and six in revenue. Iowa and Michigan State are in the top 20.

Even though the SEC just signed a huge 15-year, $2.25-billion TV contract with ESPN, the Big Ten is making big money for their members, and they are not in the position where they have to scramble for a 12^thteam at this time.

But what are they waiting for? Financially, it could be wise to add an FBS team who would not only serve as a 12^thteam, the number required by the NCAA to have a conference championship game, but also add a financial boost to the conference.

Rutgers is a likely candidate, as it is located near the biggest marketing area in the western world, New York City.

Although the Scarlet Knights are still in the process of establishing themselves as "greater New York's team," they represent a potential ratings powerhouse.

Rutgers would also find a natural rival in the Big Ten, Penn State.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse wouldn't fit the description of a typical Big Ten state school, but they would bring strong basketball programs and competitive football programs.

There have been rumors alluding to Missouri and West Virginia as possible candidates, but at this time, no one really knows what the Big Ten is thinking.

The Big Ten believes it's calling the shots, and if it needs a 12^th team, they can always reach into the "grab bag" known as the Big East Conference.

And what about the Big East? What's that saying, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." Is the Big East going to roll over again like they did when the defections of 2003 took place?

The Big East has been claiming to be a closer-knit group, a group that is seriously interested in preserving the conference and has talked about expanding to a nine-team conference.

All of this sounds great, but when the Big Ten comes calling and sticks a ton of bills under the nose of the team from the Big East that makes the most sense, so much for loyalty.

So, what seems to be the mindset of the Big Ten regarding expansion right now? They're not in a hurry, but they are aware that their brand of football has taken a competitive dip, and they also know that a conference championship game would translate into more money. Let's face it; in the end, isn't that what it's really about?

It seems that the Big Ten is playing the hand they've been dealt, and it's a good one.

They are also aware that the school in South Bend has seen it's football fortunes take a hit, and they know that, although it has always been thought of as sacrilegious, joining a conference has seemed more advantageous to the Irish over the last five to ten years.

It's more advantageous because it's getting harder for an independent team to schedule games, as most everyone has joined a conference and is required to play at least eight or nine conference games.

It's more advantageous because recruits like to know that they will be playing for a conference championship if the dream of a national championship dies with the onset of that dreaded second defeat.

It's advantageous because the once-huge TV contract that the Irish have is being challenged and surpassed by schools in the major conferences.

So it seems like the Big Ten is still waiting for Notre Dame.

As the call for a 12^th team gets stronger, the Big Ten will have more opposition from fans and alumni. It will become increasingly more difficult not to act.

But today, as we get ready for the beginning of the 2009 college football season, the Big Ten is apparently in a good position. As compared to last year and the year before, they seem to feel more confident that the Irish are in the waiting.