Bleacher Report - Articles by Mike Muratore

For Charlie Weis and Irish, All Quiet at Notre Dame

Mike Muratore — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:38:03 -0500

Things are strangely quiet this morning in South Bend.

With all the reports swirling regarding office cleanings and clandestine jet trips to Oklahoma, I fully expected a press conference to have been announced by now.

Surely the decision is made. Right?

The Irish limped to a more-than-disappointing 6-6 record, dropping it's last four games to Navy, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, and Stanford.

The Irish defense parted like the Red Sea for anyone carrying a football all year, and forgot how to tackle all together for the stretch run.

Jimmy Clausen is now making headlines for altercations outside CJ's pub rather than for his play, and both he and Golden Tate are almost certainly headed into April's NFL draft.

The program has descended into despair, again, and even Weis states that he would have no argument with his own dismissal.

So why the wait?

Is it to toy with ESPN? Maybe to see just how many hours of coverage can be eaten up speculating about who will replace a coach who hasn't actually been released yet?

There are several articles about what Weis will be doing next year (please come to Cleveland, Brady Quinn needs you) before he is available.

The world has decided. Now we are waiting.

But what if Jack Swarbrick hasn't decided.

What could be the hang up?

Is it that he wants to make the right hire, not just a big name coach? Could it be that he wants to make sure that the next coach is truly a better candidate than the current coach?

Is it that he doesn't want to be "Meyered" by a Chris Petersen or Brian Kelley who may use Notre Dame as a red herring to up an offer from another big school?

Is it because Charlie is taking a hard line on his contract buy-out and negotiations are stalled?

Or is Swarbrick legitimately unsure if he will or will not fire Weis?

For Notre Dame fans, this would be the most terrifying thought.

If there isn't a decision on Weis' future at this moment, what could possibly happen between now and the Little Caesar's Bowl that could sway him one way or another. Would another meaningless third-tear bowl blow out over a MAC school renew Swarbrick's faith in Weis?

As the hours continue to roll by with nothing but silence and speculation spilling out of South Bend, tension and attention is mounting.

We are all eagerly waiting for something.

But waiting for what?

Maybe they will actually announce that Bob Stoops has accepted the Notre Dame job before announcing that Charlie Weis has been terminated.

At least that would live up to the hype!

Dead Man on Campus: Charlie Weis' Last Days at Notre Dame

Mike Muratore — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:19:37 -0500

For all those who say that there are no such thing as zombies, I submit Charlie Weis and the Notre Dame coaching staff.

Even the embattled coach himself seems resigned to the fact that his dismissal is imminent, saying at his weekly postmortem address that he would agree with a coaching change.

When you are the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, you have to believe that you are the best man in the world for the job. The moment you waver in that belief, it is truly time to go.

Through the previous two straight terrible seasons, Weis never wavered in his commitment that he had the program headed in the right direction. He stood steadfast and confident, even after a dreadful 3-9 campaign in 2007 and after losing to 2-8 Syracuse on Senior Day in 2008.

Following this year's Senior Day overtime loss to Connecticut, the third in what looks like four straight losses to end the 2009 season at 6-6, Weis' tank looks empty.

When there is no fight left in the coach of the Fighting Irish, it is impossible to imagine him remaining.

The entire world expects the ax to fall before noon on Monday, Nov. 30, when Notre Dame's season will be complete with either a disappointing 7-5 record, or a disastrous 6-6 and the official worst three-year stretch in Notre Dame history.

There is no doubt as to Weis' fate. The bigger question is, what happens now? How should Charlie Weis spend his last days with the program?

Reports are swirling that Weis has cancelled his planned recruiting trip following the Stanford game, and that the Clausen family has sold their property in South Bend.

If Charlie Weis loves Notre Dame as much as he says he does, he will first make sure that his players share in a commitment to the school above their coach. He will ensure that the incoming recruits remain committed to play for the Irish.

He must also try to leave the program at least as talented as he found it.

He must do everything possible to keep Golden Tate and Jimmy Clausen from entering the NFL draft so they can make runs at the Heisman Trophy in 2010.

He must have a heart-to-heart with Manti Te'o and make sure that the best player on the Irish defense since Frank Stamms remains in South Bend. He must also try to beg Te'o to wait on taking his Mormon Mission for at least another year.

The best thing Weis could do would be to resign.

He needs to admit that he is not the man to coach this team and save the program the embarrassment of having to publicly flog him.

Weis is a great offensive coach, and there is little doubt that soon he will regain success in an NFL coaching booth at the helm of a pro offense.

As a college coach, at Notre Dame, he unfortunately did not fulfill his promise.

So what happens now?

Notre Dame, Say Goodbye To Charlie Weis and Meet Brian Kelly

Mike Muratore — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:51:36 -0500

The Notre Dame football program once again finds itself staring into the abyss following yet another late season loss to a team that they should have easily beaten. All preseason hype and hope is lost as the Irish continue to play to the level of their competition.

Of all the sins committed by the Irish over the Charlie Weis era, Saturday’s 23-21 loss to a good Naval Academy team is by no means the worst. Still it serves as a glowing reminder to all that under Weis Notre Dame has played lots of bad football.

The defense has been a weak point for the entirety of Weis’s five years in South Bend, and has forced the offense to walk a tight rope every week in order to win games against teams that should have been put away early.

The fact that the defense has remained a problem for so long is a damning indictment of the coach in and of itself, but unfortunately for Weis it is not the end of the charges.

In games against ranked opponents, Weis is 5-12. Against teams with winning records he is 11-21.His total record at Notre Dame stands at 35-24. While not terrible, it is no better than the record of his fired predecessors. Weis is averaging a 7-5 mark, and looks to be right on pace for equaling that mediocrity this season. His in game management is highly suspect, often making first-year mistakes well into year five. Often he will go for a fourth down in the first quarter where taking points would be more helpful.

Clock management has been an issue, highlighted by the last-second loss to USC where the game ended on a 3^rd down from the USC three-yard line and a time out on the board.

He no longer has the excuses of Ty Willingham’s recruiting, youth, or lack of talent to fall back on.

He has an upper-classmen led team with Heisman candidates at QB and WR, and a host of two and three year starters. Still this year like last the team is faltering down the stretch. The defense is a mess. The offense looks tired. And the team appears to be getting worse.

The loss to Navy makes nine wins improbable, eight wins a stretch, and seven wins optimistic.

With the talent on the field, the play of this team can not be acceptable.

Enough is enough, and time for change has come

There is little doubt around the Notre Dame community that there will be an off-season coaching search. Unlike last year where the big topic was “will Weis be fired”, this year the talk is mostly of who will replace him.

A good deal of blog chatter deals with uprooting Urban Meyer from his throne at The University of Florida and anointing him the next savior of the program. I feel that Meyer would not only be hard to pull out of the swamp, but that his spread style of football would need too long of a rebuild with Notre Dame’s current roster.

Plus Meyer’s recruiting history is peppered with players with records and academic shortcomings that would make admission to Notre Dame very unlikely.

Very simply Meyer couldn’t get “his” players into Notre Dame.

I do hope that Irish eyes turn south in this year’s very probable coaching search.

But not that far south.

Brian Kelly has his Cincinnati Bearcats poised to make a second straight BCS appearance and win their second Big East title in as many years.

Before coming to Cincinnati, Kelly played linebacker at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, a Division II level Roman Catholic school.

Following his playing days he joined the staff at Grand Valley State University in Michigan as a Graduate assistant before rising to Head Coach four years later.

In his 13-year stay at the Division II school, Kelly amassed a 118-35-2 record including National Titles in 2002 and 2003.

Following the 2003 championship, Kelly accepted the Head Coaching position at Central Michigan University of the Mid America Conference.

Kelly took over a Chippewa program who had only seen one winning program in the previous decade and was languishing at the bottom of a mid-major conference.

Following a 4-7 campaign his first year, the Chippewas went on to post their first winning season in 2005, then win a MAC title with a 9-4 season in 2006. The team also qualified for it’s first bowl game with the MAC title.

Kelly would miss the bowl game as he accepted the vacant position at Cincinnati, however it is important to note that the players that Kelly recruited to Central Michigan have continued to play well, posting 23 wins versus 13 losses including wins over Indiana and Michigan State.

At Cincinnati, Kelly has taken an emerging program and made a BCS contender. Under his predecessor, the Bearcats made the jump from Conference USA to BCS conference in need the Big East. Following two growing years under current Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio (12-12 in 2005 and 2006) the program has taken off with Kelly at the helm.

In 2007 the Bearcats posted a school-first 10 win season and earned a trip to the Papa John’s Bowl where they defeated Southern Mississippi.

In 2008 Kelly’s team finished the regular season atop the Big East at 11-2 and earned the No. 12 ranking and the schools BCS bid, falling to No. 19 Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

The 2009 Bearcats have picked up where the 2008 team left off, racing out to a 9-0 start and the No. 5 ranking in the BCS.

Kelly’s squad plays solid football, with a pro-style offense averaging 324 yards passing and 157 yards on the ground per game.

The defense has been stout most of the year, holding 7 of 9 opponents to under 20 points.

The team has handled injuries well, even losing pro-prospect QB Tony Pike mid season, only to see his back up complete 80% of his throws for 880 yards in his absence.

Also impressive is Kelly’s record against ranked and winning teams since arriving at Cincinnati.

Despite being embarrassed by Oklahoma early last season, Kelly holds a 4-2 edge against ranked opponents over the last three years. He looks better against teams finishing with a winning record owning 14 wins in 18 games.

He has recruited well, despite having talent magnet Ohio State a mere 90 miles away.

More impressively is his knack to find talent that works for him, and developing it into a winning team.

At every level he has won.

Kelly’s over all coaching record stands at 168-57-2, with two DII titles, a MAC title, and a Big East Title. He twice was named Division II coach of the year, once MAC coach of the year, and Big East coach of the year.

At the FBS level, Kelly is 50-22 in six years.

Given the advantages in money and facilities that Notre Dame could offer, what Kelly could do is tantalizing.

Still, pulling Kelly out of Cincinnati could be difficult.

He earns a very comfortable salary ($1,475,000 according to his Wikipedia page), and has built a winner and BCS contender at a school where winning seasons are rewarded eagerly.

Getting him to abandon an emerging program for the most highly publicized and highly pressured job in college sports may be a hard sell.

Money won’t do it.

Notre Dame has to hope that as a man who grew up Catholic there is a soft spot in Kelly’s heart for Notre Dame.

That he will look at the opportunity as Lou Holtz did.

Notre Dame must make a compelling and sane argument that focuses on stability, the University’s commitment to excellence, and highlights the advantages that a coach receives.

They must explain the short fuse with Ty Willingham, and the decision to part ways with Charlie Weis.

They must not believe that every coach still holds the Notre Dame job on a pedestal. They must sell themselves without simply throwing money at him.

Most of all, they must talk Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate into returning to give (any) new coach the huge advantage of having two senior Heisman candidates and team leaders to help the transition.

With the talent now apparent on the roster, the sale is not as hard as it was a year ago. But as 2004 proved, it is in no way a slam dunk.

If Jack Swarbrick can sell Notre Dame as the program and institution that everyone involved knows it is, maybe, just maybe Notre Dame can emerge from this long dark age back into the light.

And maybe a BCS game or two.

Navy-Notre Dame: Navy Sinks Charlie Weis and Notre Dame

Mike Muratore — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:04:52 -0500

Charlie Weis has long held admiration and respect for the U.S. Naval Academy and its Midshepmen football team.

Unfortunately, he forgot to pass that respect on to his team.

At Notre Dame Stadium Saturday, Navy executed a perfect attack and Notre Dame repeatedly shot itself in the foot allowing the Middies to a second straight win at the House that Rockne Built and Lou Holtz Expanded.

The loss dealt a serious blow to the Fighting Irish program, as it casts a deep dark shadow of doubt over their bowl hopes and the future of the coach.

The Irish team has been walking a tight rope of sorts all year, playing close and sweating out wins in the last seconds of games that should have been safely put away earlier.

They have been relying on the offense to outscore the opponent, as the defense has stopped almost no one all year. Finally, the offense had a bad game and the Irish came up just short.

For Weis, the loss brings him several large steps closer to the abyss. With 8-1 Pittsburgh, a tough Connecticut team, and Stanford who put of 51 points on No. 8 Oregon remaining on the schedule, a nine-win campaign is all but lost.

Another 6-6 season is looking more and more probable. Under Weis, Notre Dame continues to struggle against teams with winning records.

Frustrating for Weis is the fact that he did not necessarily lose the game, rather his players did.

Everything simply went wrong.

Usually, if your team is in the red zone on its first eight possessions, racks 512 yards in offense, and never punts, you're going to win.

But the Irish failed to score on all but one of those red zone trips, missing two field goals, failing to score on a 4th-and-goal from the one, having a fumble at the goal line, and a weird interception off of the back of Michael Floyd.

The defense was a bad, but it has been all year. With the Irish team that had been there all season, this was still a game that Notre Dame should have won. With the offensive production that the Irish achieved, they should have easily outscored the Midshipmen.

But they don't give points for should have, so Notre Dame fell.

The loss is devastating in several respects.

Despite turning in Heisman-like numbers, putting up career highs in completions, attempts, and yardage (37/51, 452 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), the teams loss and his inability to lead the Irish back once again will almost certainly also eliminate Jimmy Clausen from the Heisman race.

It may also push him closer to turning pro, as it becomes more and more apparent that he will have to learn a new offensive system next year.

Falling to 6-3 on the year and having only one "quality" win over Boston College, the loss makes meeting season goals in wins and prestige all but impossible.

Notre Dame's schedule is beginning to look as weak as it appeared in preseason. Michigan has descended back into hot mess territory, Purdue and Michigan State are very average, Washington is improved but languishing at 3-6, USC is in fact down, Washington State is gawd awful, and Notre Dame lost to the Naval Academy who lost to Temple the week before.

A 6-3 record versus that schedule should put any Irish coach in jeopardy.

With the finish to the schedule looking to be some of the hardest games of the season, only a 3-0 rally by the Irish could bring the program to where expectations had placed it.

Wins at Pittsburgh and at Stanford will make a 9-3 finish very unlikely.

BCS bowl talk is over.

New Year's bowl talk should quiet.

With a 7-5 or 6-6 record very possible, the calls for Charlie Weis's job are accelerating to screams.

The loss to Navy may not have been coaching, but it was a brutal reminder for many that this very talented Notre Dame team is nowhere near playing at its potential.

Notre Dame has a size and speed advantage at every position over the Midshipmen, as they did against Purdue, Washington, and Michigan. All games should have been decided in the third quarter, yet two were lost, one went to overtime, and the last was in doubt well into the final minute.

The talent is not developing. The team is not gelling.

The same can be said for last year. The team is falling apart down the stretch and is incapable of pulling away from opponents. The opposing coaches make better and faster adjustments than Notre Dame's coaches do, and the inexperience and youth on defense is usually playing out of position.

Recruiting has been good at bringing in talent, but was it the right talent? The Irish are loaded at RB, WR, and QB, but what about the O-line and the defense?

Looking to next year, the talent in place may not be. Standout LB Manti Te'o may be off on his Mormon Mission, Clausen and Tate may be playing on Sundays, and Dayne Crist may not be available until the season has already begun.

The dark ships on the horizon now seem to be closing in, cannons blazing, sinking the Charlie Weis era at Notre Dame.

The Midshipmen didn't start the onslaught, but they may have fired the fatal salvo.

No longer can the Irish ineptitude be blamed on Ty Willingham, or developing players, or lack of leadership.

Weis himself said it at the seasons outset. "No more excuses. It's time to put up."

Weis is out of excuses. And time has run out.

Short of a miracle, Notre Dame's coaching search begins anew in three weeks.

Notre Dame Alive, But on Life Support for BCS

Mike Muratore — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:12:40 -0500

With their 40-14 win over Washington State Saturday, Notre Dame became bowl eligible in October for the first time since 2006.

Unfortunately, the Irish's strength of schedule rankings and computer numbers took a hit by playing maybe the worst team in a BCS conference. They also had key opponents lose, potentially eliminating Notre Dame from a BCS berth.

Thanks in part to the Big Ten implosion that has been in progress for a couple of years now, and USC continuing to struggle in the Pac-10, Notre Dame's pair of losses that once looked quite respectable are beginning to become suspect.

Michigan has returned to full-on freefall mode, losing to its last four FBS opponents by a combined 48 points. The Wolverines reached a painful low point Saturday in a 15 point loss to 1-6 Illinois.

Once ranked, Michigan has fallen to 1-4 in the Big Ten and will need to beet Purdue this weekend to ensure bowl eligibility.

The Big Ten in general has been brutal for Irish strength of schedule ratings.

Michigan State has a chance to finish its season in a bowl, with Western Michigan and Purdue left on its schedule, but that would mean only a 6-6 finish for a Sparty team that took the Irish to the wire.

Purdue must win out to gain bowl eligibility, and with both Michigan and Michigan State on the schedule, if the Boilermakers aren't home for the holidays, one of the other two Irish Big Ten opponents will be. An eight or nine loss season looks probable.

On the other side of the country, the Pac-10 is doing little to help the Irish as well.

The Trojans of Southern Cal continue to be a thorn in the Irish's side, suffering a blowout loss at Oregon. USC earlier dropped a game to Washington, whom Notre Dame beat, but is also in a bit of a free fall.

Since the overtime loss in South Bend, the Huskies have dropped two of three to Pac-10 foes and need to win three of four to gain bowl eligibility.

Of the teams that the Irish have faced, only USC and Boston College are ensured of having winning seasons and bowl berths.

Beating only one of the two "quality" opponents on the schedule, the road to a BCS Bowl game and a top 10 finish is without a doubt dark, bumpy, and difficult.

To gain an automatic bid, the Irish must finish the season ranked in the top eight by the BCS. They can receive an at large bid ranked in the top 12 (and most likely would).

Conference play around the country has been suspect. The Big Ten is very pedestrian. The Big East is Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and probably only one gets in. The ACC is down, with a probable Georgia Tech vs. Boston College title game deciding the lone BCS entry.

It seems that everyone but Texas in the Big 12 is basically taking the year off, and the Pac-10 remains hard to read because they performed so poorly out of conference (except USC) and all seem to be able to beat each other on any given day by 20-plus points (especially USC).

The only conference that deserves more than one slot is the SEC, who may send a trio of teams to the BCS.

If there were a year where the BCS could use Notre Dame as an at large bid, this is it.

Winning out could get them there.

Remaining on the Irish schedule this year are two teams already bowl-eligible in 6-3 Navy and No. 13 Pittsburgh, who is 7-1.

Stanford has a shot at eligibility, but at 5-3 the Cardinal will have to upset a ranked opponent as they finish against four straight in No. 8 Oregon, No. 12 USC, No. 20 Cal, and No. 22 Notre Dame.

Connecticut also has a shot, but they need a pair of wins, and they also finish with a tough stretch, with only Syracuse left unranked.

Beating No. 13 Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh (providing that they do not slip up this week at Syracuse) would perhaps provide the signature win that the Weis era has been searching for, as well as propel Notre Dame firmly into the BCS picture.

Also potentially helping the Irish cause is a long-forgotten opponent that has rallied to put together a respectable season.

The Nevada Wolfpack began a highly anticipated season with a thud. After being routed at Notre Dame 35-0 the Wolfpack went on to drop their next two contests. Since starting 0-3, Colin Kaepernick and company have run off five straight wins.

The offense is back in gear (and happy to be facing WAC defenses) now averaging 40 points a game, and could lead to an exciting finale on the Blue Turf at No. 7 Boise State.

At minimum, Nevada could amount to a quality win for the Irish, as they look sure to gain bowl eligibility. Should the Wolfpack somehow shock the Broncos, the computer ranking surge could push Notre Dame into the BCS.

That is, of course, only if Notre Dame takes care of business.

Navy, Connecticut, and Stanford are all quality teams that will not allow Notre Dame to play sloppy football and win. Each will test the Irish and force Notre Dame to beat them.

Notre Dame will have the talent advantage in each game, but as the Syracuse game last year and five straight last second finishes this year can attest, talent doesn't always dictate the outcome.

Notre Dame must play smart, disciplined football to contain the triple option of Navy to prevail in a contest that they should win.

Pittsburgh may indeed be the most important game for the Notre Dame program in decades. So much could be on the line—a BCS berth, recruits, respect—for both schools. It's everything you want out of college football in November.

Both Connecticut and Stanford are potential pitfall games, but in each a win by the underdog shouldn't be considered a massive upset.

Still the Irish have a chance to end this season with a flourish.

Since Duval Kumara's slip in the end zone to end the USC game, Notre Dame has responded well. Beating Boston College gave the Irish a rare win over a team with a winning record. Pounding Washington State may have been beating up on a bad team, but Notre Dame has struggled in doing what they should to lesser opponents.

Should the trend of Notre Dame playing at or near their potential continue, as well as the defense continuing to improve, finishing strong and winning out is not out of the question.

A Notre Dame team finishing 10-2 with wins over ACC Atlantic division leader Boston College, ranked Pittsburgh (maybe a BCS team itself), as well as five additional bowl-bound teams would almost certainly find itself in a BCS game.

A loss in the last four games will certainly end all possibility and all but ensure a Gator Bowl bid.

Why Notre Dame Must Beat Boston College

Mike Muratore — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:25:45 -0400

College football's other Catholic university comes calling Saturday touting the second longest winning streak over Notre Dame, and for the 2009 football season to remain successful the streak must end.

High expectations and a perceived weak schedule met the Irish at the outset of the campaign, along with many years of pent-up aggravation. A pair of disappointing seasons, a terrible record to teams with a winning record, and long losing streaks to the two biggest rivals have fans on edge.

With the season's first half in then bag, the only two things that is certain is that the offense can score on anyone and that they must score to win.

The defense has not come around as quickly as the Irish faithful had hoped, and it has taken a weekly herculean effort by Heisman candidate Junior Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and the offense to pull the Irish to a 4-2 record.

What is more frustrating is that if the defense were at all better, so marginally better to prevent one more first down a game, Notre Dame could easily be 6-0.

Tough last-second losses at Michigan and home to USC typically would be easily palatable by Irish fans, but in a year where a perceived "soft" schedule had many predicting a 10 or 11 win finish losing two of the first six games has kept many on edge.

Critics say that the Weis era has yet to bring a signature win to South Bend. While I argue that they must be forgetting his second game, beating a ranked Michigan team at the Big House, I will agree that the 2005 Michigan win is one of the few that Notre Dame has recorded over a winning team under Weis.

Those critics love to remind us that the record against teams that finish the year ranked is staggeringly bad. Entering the season, Weis had posted a lowly 8-19 mark against teams that finished the year with a winning record while beating up on teams on the down side (19-2).

Saturday at home, in the finale of a three game series that this scribe believes will define this team, Weis and his Irish have a chance to begin change the perception of those critics.

The groundwork was laid a week ago when Notre Dame's third straight fourth quarter comeback fell just short. The same voices that usually lampooned Notre Dame lauded them for showing such toughness, and for showing that they have closed the talent gap enough to put the mighty USC on the ropes.

Weis himself should get some praise for coaching a great game. Those of us who have thrown harsh words at him need to tip a cap and credit him with a solid game plan, a well timed trick play, and making smart decisions in down, and distance.

Apart from a time management mess at the end of the game that probably cost the Irish a last crack at evening the score, it was apparent that the primary difference between USC and Notre Dame was speed on the defensive line.

Close, but not quite.

To guard against a post-USC let down, Weis needs to remind his players what is at stake. He must remind them that this schedule is not a cake-walk as many predicted.

Boston College, thought to be a hot mess when the season began, enters the contest 5-2 and atop the ACC. A week ago they pounded North Carolina State 52-20, and are almost certainly going to finish above .500 and in a bowl game.

A win over the Eagles fulfills several needs for the Irish program. It gains them a win over a rival, snaps a lengthy losing streak, and earns a win over a team with a winning record. A win over BC is also necessary to allow the Irish a chance to end the season where they were expected to.

A New Years Day or BCS bowl game, and a Top-25 ranking.

Following the BC tilt, the Irish have their weakest contest of the year meeting Washington State in San Antonio. The Cougars will represent the last team on the Irish schedule that currently holds a losing records.

Following the "home" game in Texas, Notre Dame welcomes the 5-2 Naval Academy who nearly upset Ohio State.

After Navy, the Irish head to Heinz Field to take on the 6-1 No. 20 Pittsburgh Panthers in what should be the second most talented opponent the Irish will face this year.

Notre Dame then hosts the 4-2 Connecticut Huskies who will be playing for a fallen teammate.

The Irish end the season on the West Coast where they meet the scrappy 4-3 Stanford Cardinal.

A loss to the Eagles on Saturday puts the Irish in peril. With tough road games against two solid opponents left on the schedule, and already suffering two losses, a loss to Boston College opens up every barely healed wound on Irish hearts.

Questions will intensify regarding the coach, the program's direction, and the return of offensive stars Golden Tate and Jimmy Clausen who are each climbing up many first round draft boards.

Excitement regarding the massive offensive out-put will be clouded in doubt about the future of this program.

On the other hand...

A win over the Eagles confirms that the Irish are indeed a talented bunch, that despite some weaknesses on defense, can hang with anyone. It shows that Notre Dame is headed in the right direction, and stops at least one rivalry losing streak.

Beating Boston College can propel the Irish through the rest of the season. It can serve to bolster their confidence in themselves and allow them to play with passion to win, rather than fear of losing.

USC 34 Notre Dame 27: So Close, Yet So Far Away

Mike Muratore — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:05:25 -0400

Can a loss really be a win? Can failing to achieve a long standing goal serve to elevate the purpose? Can coming up short eventually drive you further in the long run?

Well, maybe.

Notre Dame's heart-stopping last second loss to the Trojans of Southern California Saturday managed to at least temporarily silence critics. Commentators who had lampooned the Irish for close wins in recent weeks praised Notre Dame for a close loss against USC.

Coming from behind two weeks in a row to beat a scrappy Purdue team that beat Ohio State (USC's "big" win) and a pretty good Washington team (who beat USC) earned Notre Dame no respect. Conversely they were criticized for not pulling away sooner, and for having to gut out tough wins.

Now, following "more-of-the-same" game for Irish fans, the Irish are being praised by even their harshest critic.

"I'm proud of how this team fought back," Mark May said Saturday night. "Jimmy Clausen should be recognized, he is a competitor." May did credit USC with allowing Notre Dame back, but continued to say that this team is better than he thought they were, and that he was impressed.

Probably the highest praise Notre Dame could have earned from the ESPN commentator. And following a loss.

So for Notre Dame simply not getting blown out proves that they are headed in the right direction. I guess.

The final score would lead you to believe that Notre Dame is close to re-emerging as a National power.

Offensively, no one could argue. Give me Michael Floyd, and I may be recapping an Irish victory. Golden Tate proved that he cannot be covered by even the best secondary. Jimmy Clausen showed that if you give him more than two seconds he will kill you. Armando Allen and Robert Hughes even looked as though they could play in Cardinal and Gold.

Clausen's stats were far and away the best any QB has recorded against USC this year, as the junior QB emerged from a dismal first half to cement his name in the Heisman talks.

His third quarter touchdown pass to Tate was an absolute thing of beauty. A perfectly placed ball to hit Tate on the far shoulder away from very tight double coverage from 55 yards away shows that Clausen is not only athletically gifted, but possess the accuracy and confidence to excel at any level.

To highlight his stellar right arm, he is showing great leadership with this string of comebacks, as well as the ability to play through serious pain.

As far as quarterbacks go, there is not much more you could ask.

Notre Dame gave the USC defense everything it could handle.

Notre Dame's defense however, showed exactly why Clausen has to morph into Joe Montana every Saturday, and why Notre Dame is not ready to beat teams like USC.

For the fourth time in six games, the Notre Dame defense surrendered more than 30 points, and had trouble making tackles.

On many of USC Freshman QB Matt Barlkey's completions, a Notre Dame defender should have made an open field tackle for little gain. Instead the Irish defender tried to dance with the Trojan who swiftly juked him to the ground and sprinted up field.

Also notable was the inability of the Irish front four to control the line of scrimmage. USC dominated Notre Dame in the trenches, forcing Notre Dame to blitz constantly (which John Tenuda gleefully obliged to to do) and leave huge openings in coverage that Barkley and his big athletic receivers exploited constantly.

Many times, even when the Irish pass rush seemed close to pinning Barkley for big drive ending sacks, he would flip the ball up to a hopelessly wide-open Anthony McCoy who murdered the Irish secondary for 153 yards on just five catches.

Notre Dame has recruited well at the skilled positions, as they can play with USC at QB, RB, WR, TE, and safety. The talent gap that still exists is entirely at the line of scrimmage.

USC man handled the Irish at the point of attack on both sides of the football. They easily pressured Clausen with only a four man (sometimes only three) rush leaving seven or weight defenders in coverage.

The Irish did manage to rush for 110 yards on 31 carries, but it was clear that the Trojans were too fast up front for the Irish to handle.

On the other side of the ball, it was no where the miss-match that existed the last thee years, but still the Trojans offense was little slowed by the under-sized Irish defense.

Notre Dame took a massive step back into respectability, but also showed that Weis still has work to do on the recruiting trail. He has to continue to increase Notre Dame's team speed. He has done remarkable work on the offensive side of the ball, and needs to produce an equal unit on defense.

Close only counts for so long, but this "close" loss certainly shows that strides have been made and should for now reduce the heat on Weis's seat.

Much will be determined on how Notre Dame responds from here. They've just seen the most talented squad they will face this year, and came a missed extra point and 4 yards away from beating them.

Win out, and Notre Dame is back.

Struggle down the stretch a la 2008 and Notre Dame will again be surrounded in turmoil and doubt in 2010.

The stretch run begins against rival Boston College, who also holds a long win streak versus Notre Dame and is coming off of a 52-20 route of NC State. respect may begin to turn to accolade with a win over the Eagles, which has just become the next of many "must win" games for the Irish.

Notre Dame-USC: Irish Have Much to Fight for Against the Trojans

Mike Muratore — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:27:45 -0400

This Saturday, Notre Dame must wake up the echos.

More specifically, they must channel the echos from 1977, when both the Irish and the Trojans entered the game with one loss. The Irish were heavy underdogs at home, with a junior quarterback with rising stature. The Irish went on to win the game wearing green and ended the year with a National Title.

This year, a title may be out of reach, but a season of promise and rebirth for a once mighty program would become reality with a win over the Trojans.

Since 2001, when Bob Davie's Irish handed Pete Carroll his only double-digit defeat the Irish haven't had much to cheer about in this series. Beginning the following year with a 44-13 pounding at the Coliseum, the Trojans began dominating the Irish.

Only once during USC's current seven game win streak was a game decided by less than 30 points. USC has become the NFL's minor league team, while Notre Dame has suffered through several school-record worsts and have seen the luster of a once dominant program fade.

Since the 2001 Irish victory, Notre Dame has recorded four losing seasons, while USC has won two National Championships and fielded three Heisman winners.

Notre Dame need look no farther than across the field to find inspiration to reverse this trend.

A mere 10 years ago, the rivalry looked quite different.

Notre Dame won 11 consecutive contests against the Trojans between 1983 and 1993, and it would take a last second field goal in 1996 to finally beat the Irish. Including a 1994 tie, the Irish were 15-3-1 before Pete Carroll wore the Cardinal and Gold.

During that span, USC languished in mediocrity similar to that of the Irish for the last decade. A once mighty and proud program fell on hard times, and fought its way out.

Since 2001 there has not been a program more consistently highly-ranked than USC. No program has delivered more players to the NFL. None have received more attention or accolades.

USC is what Notre Dame so desperately wants to be.

USC is what Notre Dame is very close to being again.

More now that any time over the last seven years, Notre Dame has talent. Charlie Weis has gone into Pete Carroll's back yard and managed to wrangle a few players away, including Junior Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and Freshman Linebacker Manti Te'o. Notre Dame has amassed their fastest and deepest depth chart since Lou Holtz plucked blue grass from the Notre Dame Stadium turf.

Charlie Weis has recruited horses.

But it has yet to bring results where it matters most. Against Top 25 opponents in Weis's tenure Notre Dame is 5-11.

Weis's predecessors did little to help the Irish perception. Bob Davie's teams consistently underachieved, Ty Willingham failed to fill two recruiting classes and had two of the worst consecutive years in Notre Dame history. In between them was the George O'Leary mess.

What was once the premier program in college sport descended into total collapse.

A win Saturday would be huge step in the right direction.

USC enters the contest ranked in the Top 10 despite a loss to an unranked Washington team that Notre Dame defeated two weeks ago. USC is without Senior running back Stafon Johnson following a bizarre weight lifting accident, and is playing a true freshman at QB. The Trojans have also had to replace an entire linebacker corps that sent four members to the NFL.

Even beating a young and injury-weakened USC squad would show that Notre Dame has grown immensely since last year's 38-3 beating. It would also give Notre Dame a win against a Top 10 opponent, a winning team, and in a game that most don't expect them to win.

The Irish come in riding a wave of excitement and frustration, enduring four consecutive games that were not decided until the last minute. Notre Dame re-entered the rankings at No. 25 during their bye week, and are still trying to recoup from the injury to stand-out receiver Michael Floyd.

The biggest concern for Notre Dame entering Saturday's game is on the defensive side of the football. The offense is putting 32 points on the board every week, but the defense has shown an inability to pressure the quarterback and stop the run effectively.

Defensive Coordinator John Tenuda's blitz happy defense has yet to yield the results that were expected. The only thing it has done consistently is pull linebackers out of coverage and overload the Notre Dame secondary.

The defense has worn down late as well, forcing late game heroics from Clausen.

The good news for the Irish is that if USC has a weakness it is that they do not have the offense the have had in years past. They also had the mild advantage of a USC "dress rehearsal" in playing former USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian's Washington Huskies.

The Trojan defense will pose the biggest challenge of the season for the Irish offense, as Taylor Mays can all but erase Golden Tate from the Irish offense.

Notre Dame will need Armando Allen and Robert Hughes to run effectively, and hope that they can find production out of Freshman wide-out Shaquille Evans. Without Floyd, USC could be able to avoid committing a safety to covering Tate, and leave help to keep tight end Kyle Rudolph from having a big impact.

More than anything, Notre Dame needs to play smart football.

Take points when they are there. Punt to gain field position. Prevent penatlites. Protect the football.

All to often it's self-inflicted wounds that sink the Irish. They must play mistake free football to win.

And win they can. For the first time in years, the outcome is in doubt.

Several things aren't in doubt.

Notre Dame is a large home underdog. College Gameday will be in Dallas Texas for the Red River Shootout. Lee Corso, Mark May, and every one not named Holtz will pick USC to win.

Until Notre Dame beats USC, they will not get the respect they feel they should. Their wins can to this point can be in part dismissed because they have been close, and the competition has had some ugly losses. Video-game like stats posted by Clausen and Tate can be attributed to playing weak defenses.

A win against USC ends all of that. It proves that Notre Dame is once again a relevant topic in the college football discussion. It proves that the program is headed in the right direction.

More than anything it proves that Notre Dame are worth respect.

The Cardiac Irish of Notre Dame

Mike Muratore — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:18:39 -0400

Usually the off week in the Notre Dame football season is one of boredom. Anxiously awaiting the next kick-off, starving for the tension and excitement that only a college football game can bring.

This week, however I just needed the rest.

The Notre Dame football team has certainly made fall interesting, and probably life-threatening for many Irish fans.

In fact, from this point on, the games should come with a disclaimer that viewers in poor health, those who are elderly, or have a heart condition would best avert their eyes.

Because the game is going to be close.

Over the first five weeks, Notre Dame has managed to see four games come down to the final play. Following a 35-0 cakewalk to open the season vs. Nevada, the Cardiac Irish arrived.

Solid on offense and a sieve on defense against Michigan and Michigan State, Notre Dame dropped a heart-breaker to the Wolverines with only 11 seconds left and needed an overthrow followed by an interception to prevent a second straight upset loss.

An injury to quarterback Jimmy Clausen allowed Purdue to hold a lead over the Irish until Clausen (like Lazarus) rose from the dead to lead a late touchdown drive and preserve the Irish season.

Still, the best was yet to come as furious finish against Washington reigns supreme so far this year.

Unable to cross the goal line in three of four first half red-zone trips and giving up a backwards-pass return for a touchdown, Notre Dame went into the half trailing 17-16.

After the Irish regained the lead in the third quarter, Washington quickly recaptured the advantage to enter the final stanza leading 24-19.

Following an Irish field goal to draw closer, the Huskies marched the field and were poised to deliver a knock-out blow, gaining a first-and-goal inside the Notre Dame 5 yard line.

The soft-all-day Notre Dame defense holds on three straight runs only to be flagged for an odd "roughing the center" penalty despite the fact that the center had blocked down to his right and was still standing at the play's end.

Unbelievably, the defense held again on three straight snaps from inside the one yard line and prevented a two-score advantage with only three minutes to play.

Trailing 27-22 following a Washington drive that took more than nine minutes off the clock, Clausen for the fourth consecutive week had to lead the Irish to a potential game-winning touchdown.

For the fourth consecutive week, he delivered, marching Notre Dame 63 yards in 1:44 and finding Kyle Rudolph for the second straight week. A questionable two-point conversion drive by Robert Hughes gave an all-important three-point advantage.

Irish lead 30-27.

For longtime Irish fans, a dreadful sight appeared on the scoreboard clock following the kick-off.

1:09

In 1993 Kevin McDougal led a furious comeback of his own to gain a 39-38 advantage on an upset-minded Boston College team, leaving 1:09. Boston College drained the clock en route to a deciding field goal to win 41-39 and knock the No. 1 Irish out of the National Championship.

A chill shot up the spine of anyone at that game, as the Huskies began their final drive. The Jake Locker-driven Huskies tore through the Notre Dame defense and split the uprights with :06 remaining to tie the score.

Notre Dame moved quickly into scoring position following a 22-yard catch by Golden Tate to open overtime, and needed only one more play to score the go-ahead touchdown.

The Washington attempt ended with a bone-jarring hit by Kyle McCarthy to separate ball from receiver and after eight lead changes, the Irish emerged victorious.

A collective deep breath taken by Domer Nation, many nitroglycerin tablets and Aspirin pills dissolved as the faithful collected themselves.

For a fan base, never has an off week been so appreciated.

For next come back-to-back games against No. 5 USC and always-tough Boston College. Back-to-back games that hold deeper meaning that wins and losses.

Win both, and the current No. 25 ranking raises much higher.

Win both and many questions about the direction of the program feel answered.

Win both and the Irish will be 6-1 heading into 4 "should win" contests.

Win both and the Irish beat two teams with winning records and one top ten opponent.

Lose and dark clouds continue to swirl around the Golden Dome, leaving lingering doubts that will no doubt make blood pressures in and around South Bend much higher.

With no more scheduled off weeks to catch our collective breath, I'm just not sure that it's safe.

Still, it will be fun!

Notre Dame's Been on One Long Road Back, Winning Next Three Means It's Arrived

Mike Muratore — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:54:19 -0400

Holding the position of head coach at the University of Notre Dame is a stressful endeavor. Many wilt before the scrutiny and expectations of one of sport's more storied jobs. It takes a special blend of football acumen and ego to withstand the spotlight that seems to beam down from heaven itself.

Following the talent scrubbing that Ty Willingham gave the program in his last two years in South Bend, and the building pressure of restoring a once dominant program from a decade of mediocrity the job has become even more of a quagmire.

If ever there were a man with ego enough to fill the position, it is Charlie Weis.

The only thing that Weis has proven in his five years in South Bend is that he is not lacking in self confidence. His persona oozes empowerment, and his boastful style had drawn considerable scorn from fan and press alike.

To say that Weis's tenure at Notre Dame has been up and down would be a stark understatement.

Following two dismal campaigns and shallow recruiting classes at the end of the Willingham era, Weis immediately seemed to light a fire beneath the golden dome. Quickly Notre Dame re-emerged into the national spotlight and into the BCS picture, winning 19 of 25 games.

Despite record performances on offense, there were still plenty for the critics to question. Notre Dame beat most of their lesser opponents, but struggled against schools with a winning record and was embarrassed twice on the BCS stage.

The knock became that Notre Dame couldn't win the big game, as over 2006 and 2007 the Irish went 2-5 against teams with more than eight wins. The 2006 season then ended badly as Notre Dame lost consecutive games to USC and LSU in blow-out fashion.

Then 2007 happened.

The nightmare that was the 2007 Notre Dame football season was a perfect storm of negatives that led to the worst season in school history.

Poor recruiting in 2003 and 2004 had left the team without upper-class talent, and the team found itself starting 16 players sophomore or younger.

To add to the depth chart woes, nine of Notre Dame's 12 opponents that year ended in a bowl game. Penn State, Michigan, Boston College, USC, and Air Force all finished with nine wins or better. There were only three teams on Notre Dame's schedule that finished less than .500.

And the Irish beat them all.

Still, no Irish team had lost nine games in one year. It took Lou Holtz half a decade to reach nine losses. The embarrassment and anger was palpable. It seemed inconceivable that Notre Dame...NOTRE DAME...could sink so low.

The Davie era was bad...Ty Willingham had some clunkers...but nine losses?

Cries for Weis's head grew into a chant.

But really, apart from an overtime loss to an 8-4 Navy team that won a bowl game, Notre Dame was clearly outmatched athletically in every game. Winning three games, beating a decent UCLA team and a rising Stanford team, should actually be commended. The 2007 schedule was one of the more difficult that any team has fielded in the last 10 years, and Notre Dame faced it with their weakest squad ever.

Still, the Weis death march had begun.

The 2008 season saw more ups and downs for the program, before stumbling at Michigan State. Then again to North Carolina.

The team meandered to a 7-6 finish, losing an overtime heartbreaker to Pittsburgh and being dumped at home by a 2-8 Syracuse team. Despite improvements everywhere on the field, and still averaging Sophomore in age, Weis's job security remained in doubt with daily updates on ESPN hoping to break the story that never came.

If nothing else, Weis's recruiting efforts kept him in South Bend. Three consecutive top-10 classes have filled the program with young talent. And that talent is beginning to emerge.

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen had a solid year in 2008, but mental errors and untimely interceptions hurt his reputation and the Irish in several games. Beginning in the bowl game versus Hawaii, Clausen emerged not only as the quarterback he was hoped to be and a potential Heisman candidate, but as the team's unquestioned leader.

To help Clausen are a deep and talented group of receivers and tight ends, a solid group of running backs, and an offensive line that continues to improve. Weis has built an offensive group that is poised to pull this team out of respectability and back to prominence.

The defense remains Notre Dame's Achilles' heel, and again with an influx of young talent—and blitz happy schemes of John Tenuta—Notre Dame's hope that the defense is on the rise.

This year, despite the team beginning 3-1 and only having lost to a still undefeated Michigan squad on a last-second score, the critics are many and loud.

Notre Dame gets little credit for a win, with talking heads (you know who you are, Mark May) spouting that "Notre Dame SHOULD win that game." Following a loss, or in the case of the last two weeks a near miss, the pundits offer that Notre Dame is faltering, and not really as good as their record indicates.

Weis's tendency to play games wide open, and annoying habit to buck logic and statistics alike and go for fourth downs early and often, and try to PASS out the clock continues to puzzle his critics and keep a fairly sizable group expecting his demise at the end of the year.

They say that you can't win a championship with Weis. He can't beat good teams.

Unfortunately, the record book backs them up.

In his five years, Weis has amassed a 32-22 record. In games against teams at .500 or better, Weis is 9-20. Many of those losses were of the blow-out variety.

If you toss 2007 and blame that year totally on Ty Willingham, the ratio looks much better at 9-11, but the critics would point to losses to Air Force and Navy and say that no Irish squad should ever lose to Air Force AND Navy.

What his critics won't say is that since Weis's arrival, Notre Dame rarely loses to teams that they should beat. Against teams finishing with a sub .500 mark, Notre Dame is 23-2. They also will not mention that of the six losses in 2008, only USC and Boston College beat Notre Dame from gun to gun. The other losses were close games that didn't break Notre Dame's way.

It would be easy to hang those four losses on coaching. Believe me, I've tried. There exists the truth that the team was young. Sure bad decisions were made, but in the end it was lack of depth on defense and the offensive line that did the Irish in.

Entering the 2009 season, Weis said that the time for talk was over, "now it's time to put up."

If ever there were a time to fulfill those words, the time is now.

Over the next four weeks, Notre Dame will play three home games that could silence many of the critics hounding the Irish and their coach. To win all three games would mean that Notre Dame would beat three teams at or better than .500. It would also mean knocking off a perennial national power.

It all starts Saturday against the Washington Huskies. The defense will have its hands full with Jake Locker and Co., but the game should serve as a prelude to the game that Weis absolutely needs to win.

USC.

Having lost to Washington, USC has already had their annual hiccup. They are still a top-15 team. They are still owners of a long winning streak versus the Irish. They are still the one team on Notre Dame's schedule that no one thinks the Irish can beat.

Then comes Boston College. Down perhaps this year, but still sitting at 3-1 and remaining the constant foil for Notre Dame. No matter what the record, the Eagles always bring their best to South Bend.

Should the Irish win out this home stand, they would head to San Antonio a different team: 6-1, absolutely in the top 20, and in control of their BCS bowl chances.

It would also likely mean that Jimmy Clausen has continued playing like a champion, and would be moving further into the Heisman race, as well as moving higher on Mel Kieper's draft board (should he enter the draft).

Three wins would also legitimize Notre Dame's return, and give a boost to Weis's reputation. The critics would have to recognize that Weis would not lose his job, and the focus could return to the team rather than the coach.

Three wins would leave little doubt that the program is on the right path, and is headed back to where Notre Dame should be:

The top.

Jimmy Clausen Saves Charlie Weis From Himself in Irish Win

Mike Muratore — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:56:56 -0400

Just before halftime in Saturday night's Notre Dame win over Purdue, the moment fans of the Fighting Irish had been fearing finally happened.

Jimmy Clausen showed his humanity.

A long pass intended for freshman Shaq Evans fell into the arms of a defender for Clausen's first interception of the 2009 campaign. The Irish went to the locker room leading the Boilermakers 17-7 and holding all the momentum, after delivering a physical pounding to Purdue over the first 30 minutes of football.

Clausen played sparingly in the first half, only entering the game for a handful of plays over four series—looking decided un-Clausen-esque. He missed some throws, was sacked twice, and was obviously hampered by the toe injury he sustained against Michigan State.

It seemed the game was taken out of his hands and the Irish wouldn't need him, as a spread-based rushing offense led by sophomore Dayne Crist and running back Golden Tate took over.

The Irish showed the ability to run at will, and were physically dominating the Biolermakers throughout the first half—being most effective when Tate was at the helm manning the spread-option attack. Notre Dame dominated the first half, running off 17 unanswered points.

Still, there were points left off the board.

On Notre Dame's second possession following Purdue's easy touchdown, the Irish drove inside the Purdue 30-yard line but decided to go for a 4th-and four with a quarterback playing on one leg. The Irish were denied, and left a crucial three points on the field.

Beginning the second half, it was obvious that things had changed. The Irish ground game that had averaged more than six yards per carry was finding little room.

Abandoned was the Wildcat formation that saw huge gains in the second quarter, and Crist was left to hand off twice before forcing a throw on 3rd-and-long. It seemed as if the Irish were content to sit on their 10-point lead and try to burn out the clock.

The "scorched earth" plan seemed to be working for the third quarter, as despite scoring zero points Notre Dame held the ball for 13 of 15 minutes and held Purdue to only nine yards on seven offensive plays.

Everything changed on a 4th-and-long early in the fourth.

With the ball just on the Boilermaker side of the field, rather than punt and pin Purdue deep Notre Dame spent its second time out of the second half. They decided to allow Crist to attempt only his sixth pass of the game on the fourth-down attempt.

Crist was pulled down (by his helmet) for a loss, and Purdue had the ball at mid-field.

Purdue quickly marched down the field, seeming to realize that Notre Dame blitzes their linebackers on nearly every play, allowing more-than-ample room over the middle.

Very quickly, Purdue was inside the Irish five-yard line. On a 3rd-and-goal play, Notre Dame—for the 60th time in the game—gave a pre-snap blitz look. Like all other of the 60 plays, the Irish sent their left outside linebacker, leaving an opening in the short secondary that Purdue exploited, hitting a short slant to the open space and sliding easily into the end zone.

Pressuring the passer is a good and necessary part of building a great defense, but so is confusing them. Kyle McCarthy missed picking off the ball at the goal line by a millisecond. Had the Irish not blitzed, and instead from a pre-snap blitz look dropped that linebacker (one of the Smiths) into coverage, the passing lane that Purdue QB Joey Elliot expected to be open may have been filled with Irish defenders.

Following the touchdown, having done little more that kill clock for the entirety of the second half, Weis throws a heavily limping Jimmy Clausen back into the game. The Boilermakers send pressure on all three downs, and the hobbled Clausen is forced into an incompletion, a sack, and a short run.

Following the Notre Dame punt, it was apparent that one team spent the appropriate amount of time in the film room—and it wasn't Notre Dame. Purdue channeled the final Michigan State drive from a week ago, and succeeded where State failed as Elliot hit wide-open running back Jaycen Taylor on a wheel route for a 38-yard score.

For the third straight week, Notre Dame was in a dire situation. Facing losing to a team who they had dominated for 50 minutes. Losing to a team that they had a significant talent advantage against.

Losing to a team who had made the correct adjustments and had simply out-coached the Irish.

Excuses were plenty: no Michael Floyd, no Armando Allen, Clausen was injured and clearly not himself.

The trend, however is clear. Notre Dame still has trouble closing. The trend was there last year, with the Irish constantly giving up big leads late. This year it continues. It cost the Irish wins last year, as it has this year.

If it continues, it will cost Charlie Weis his job.

Now trailing Purdue 21-17 with threee minutes to play, it appeared the end of the Weis era had begun. Losing to a 1-2 Boilermaker team who a week ago lost to a MAC team would ignite an inferno of calls for Weis's head. ESPN would begin a "Weis Watch" ticker counting down until his ultimate demise.

In the late momets Saturday night, fate seemed to be closing in on the Irish coach.

Enter Jimmy Clausen.

Fighting everything imaginable—injury, field position, a defense that knew you had to throw—Clausen led the Irish on a 12-play, 72-yard drive that culminated in a two-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph with 25 seconds to play.

On the drive, Clausen was masterful. Every ball was either thrown with pinpoint accuracy or thrown away. He moved well in the pocket, extending one third down play before finding Robby Paris for a big gain and a first down.

Of the 12 plays on the drive, Clausen threw nine times, completing six for 68 yards and the touchdown.

On the drive, no play was more impressive than the 3rd-and-goal play.

Following a gift from the Purdue coaching staff in the form of a timeout, Clausen took the third-down snap from the two-yard line, avoided the pass rush in sliding right, then threw the ball high and wide at Robby Paris and out of the end zone.

In quickly recognizing good coverage and not taking a sack or forcing a ball into coverage, he showed his growth as a quarterback and lived to fight another play.

The fourth-down throw was also impressive, as he looked off Tate, Rudolph, Evans, Paris, and came back to Rudolph (his fifth read) before throwing the ball low and away from the defender, where only Rudolph could catch it.

Ballgame.

Purdue could only manage one bizzare sweep-reverse-lateral-fumble ruskie play that resulted in a tunrover and an Irish kneel-down to officially end the game.

Victory snatched from defeat, and a coaching staff lives another week.

Troubles are everywhere for the Irish.

They continue to go for fourth downs constantly when a field goal would better serve the cause.

They blitz constantly, despite rarely getting the the quarterback and leaving their secondary out to dry.

They continue to have an air of arrogance in game-planning, refusing to adjust as the game progresses and allowing the opposition to climb back into games, and just as often overtake them.

They continue to commit way too many mental and procedural penalties that cut deeply. (I can't wait until Sam Young graduates. He is literally the "biggest" disappointment on the team.)

The saving grace is that this team has talent.

Golden Tate and Jimmy Clausen can take a game over and win nearly singlehandedly. The offensive line has improved to the point the Irish can run when they need to.

It should be mentioned that Weis did a commendable job game-planning for two completely different offenses for Clausen and Crist. Each were effective. Where Weis continues to fail is making the decisions that a head coach must make. He continues to make decisions that place his players in desperate situations.

On this night, the players overcame and the Irish prevailed.

Will Losing Michael Floyd Cost Charlie Weis His Job at Notre Dame?

Mike Muratore — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:54:18 -0400

Charlie Weis must feel as if the walls are closing in on him.

Sure, his team is 2-1 and lost in the last 11 seconds to an undefeated and ranked opponent. Still, it somehow seems like the breaks are going against the Notre Dame coach.

The opening game was a breeze, and maybe falsely reinforced that the Notre Dame defense would be equal to its offensive counterpart in a 35-0 beating of Nevada.

Against Michigan, not only was the defense a sieve, but Weis' questionable coaching decisions down the stretch clearly factored into the Irish loss.

In Week Three, it took a lucky interception to prevent another Notre Dame fourth quarter collapse. Again, there were questionable decisions made along the way.

Notre Dame opened by tearing through the Michigan State defense like a bullet through tissue paper, scoring twice before breaking a sweat.

On Notre Dame's third possession, however, Weis decided to run two plays from the wildcat formation, breaking from everything that worked on the previous possessions leading to the first surrendered sack of the year on 3rd-and-25.

Quickly Michigan State gained momentum, and for the rest of the first half gained control of the game.

Luckily for Weis, quarterback Jimmy Clausen had another gargantuan game, and Michigan State made the big mistake and the big moment and allowed the Irish off the hook.

Just prior to Kirk Cousins finding Kyle McCarthy to seal the game, Weis' life must have flashed before his eyes. Cousins overthrew a wide open State running back in the end zone that more than likely would have sent the Irish to defeat.

That balls flight must have felt like an eternity for Weis. His very legacy could be hanging in the balance. He must have flashed back to everything odd that has happened in the last two games to bring him here:

Several phantom holding penalties, personal foul calls that both extended opponents drives and killed Irish drives, a dropped interception that miraculously landed in the arms of a receiver...

Mostly he had to be thinking of the play that ended stand-out receiver Michael Floyd's season.

Late in the second quarter, Floyd caught what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown in the right corner of the end zone before falling out of bounds and landing hard, snapping his left clavicle.

Puzzlingly the referee near the play signaled "incomplete," and despite every video replay showing Floyd with possession of the ball and two feet in bounds—needing only one—before falling to the ground the call was upheld by video replay.

As the pass from Cousins floated to Spartan running back Larry Caper with no Irish defenders within 20 yards, Weis had to be haunted by the non-touchdown. Notre Dame settled for a field goal to pull within one at the half, and was holding on by only a three-point margin late in the fourth.

It seemed that at worst Michigan State would kick a game-tying field goal on its final possession. With the ghosts of a week ago still lingering, there wasn't a soul in Notre Dame Stadium that didn't believe that Larry Caper was going to haul the pass in for a touchdown.

Had Floyd's catch been correctly called a touchdown, the Spartans would have needed a touchdown to tie the game. Had Floyd not been injured, Notre Dame would stand a much better chance in a potential overtime period.

The pass was long and tipped harmlessly off of Caper's outstretched hands.

The Irish would prevail.

The relief for Weis must have been short-lived.

By the time the Notre Dame post-game press conferences were over, the landscape surrounding them had changed.

Michael Floyd was lost for the season.

USC lost to Notre Dame's next home opponent Washington.

Notre Dame's once easy schedule now looked anything but.

Last season a knee injury cost Michael Floyd the last four games. The Irish went 1-3 in those games, losing to Boston College, Syracuse, and USC. In those games, the Notre Dame offense went from potent to pathetic, and Jimmy Clausen's break-out season began to turn tragic.

Defenses found it easy to cover Golden Tate and Kyle Rudolph, and pressure Clausen while eliminating any hope of an Irish ground game.

Michael Floyd is the player that demands a double team, pulls a safety for containment, and essentially makes playing offense feel like 11 on 10.

Without Floyd, Washington, USC, Pittsburgh, and Stanford all become scary.

For Weis, this could be the end.

A 9-3 season could be tolerated if the team continues to improve and compete, but losing five games would almost certainly cost Weis his job.

He has shown that he is a legitimately brilliant offensive mind, but has shown equally that he doesn't understand college football.

In a game where momentum and emotion can overcome game plans, he often falls short by going for a fourth down that he shouldn't, throwing in a Wildcat series rather than making his opponent stop what is working, and he has developed an annoying habit of placing his players in do-or-die situations to cover for his bad decisions.

He has yet to learn that you can't win coaching like you have a reset button. If he can't learn to control himself, his fate may be out of his hands.

In fact, without Floyd, Charlie Weis' survival at Notre Dame rests in the hands of one man: Jimmy Clausen.

If Clausen can find Duval Kumara and Shaq Evans in place of Floyd, the Irish may be able to continue outscoring opponents. The Irish defense has shown little hope of holding a quality opponent under 27 points, so the offense is walking a tight rope.

Clausen has to continue his amazing season to keep the Irish headed in the right direction. He has to play mistake free football to keep the Notre Dame defense off the field. He has to get his team in the end zone five times a game to win.

And Weis has to let him.

Notre Dame Loss To Michigan Renews Doubts

Mike Muratore — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:40:16 -0400

In big time college football, you learn to accept that your team will lose games. It will be beaten by better teams, and on occasion something truly absurd will occur to cost your beloved a game.

But for Irish fans, a disturbing trend is emerging.

The Notre Dame football team is making a bad habit of out-performing an opponent on the field and coming up short on the scoreboard.

Take nothing away from a tenacious and tough Michigan Wolverine football team. They played every bit the game they had to and they earned a great victory.

Tate Forcier is every bit the quarterback that Rich Rodriguez dreamed of and his play against Notre Dame cemented his role as a centerpiece for the Michigan rebuild.

Michigan ran well and exploited every Irish weakness to keep pace with Notre Dame and eventually pull ahead for the win.

The frustration for Notre Dame fans is that for the entirety of the game, Michigan had no answer for the Irish offense. It was often a penalty that killed an Irish drive, with three first downs and a long touchdown called back in the first half alone.

The Michigan defense was unable to pressure Clausen and a huge performance by the Irish signal caller was wasted. Armando Allen rushed for the highest single-game total by any Irish back since 2005. The Irish posted 34 points and held a three-point advantage with less than three minutes to play.

With a confident offense that had been easily moving the football all day, and a hot running back that minutes before found pay dirt through gaping holes in the Michigan defense, how do you let this game slip away?

You throw the football.

Charlie Weis may indeed be a brilliant offensive strategist, but the general "do's and don'ts" of football often seem to escape him.

You don't go for a 4th-and-5 on your own side of the field in the first half. You always take the points in the red zone. You play two safeties on kick returns. You don't randomly sub players at key moments. You run the ball to close out games.

Weis is learning these lessons the hard way. The learning process, a full five years on, now is costing the Irish games.

The theme of the 2008 Notre Dame team was "unable to close." They lost four games in which they held a fourth quarter lead and nearly succumbed to Navy and Stanford down the stretch.

But most Notre Dame fans believed that their team was just young—that inexperience led to these erosions.

Now new doubt arrives.

Maybe Charlie Weis needs someone to tell him no.

Three plays cost Notre Dame this football game, and all three can be traced back to coaching decisions.

First was the kickoff return for a touchdown. Take nothing away from a great Michigan wedge and a returner with great down-field vision who hit the hole full stride and made the kicker look silly.

But why was the kicker the only safety? Not that many Irish attackers were blocked, and once the returner came through the initial blocking wedge, there was no one but the kicker between him and the end zone.

This was either a breakdown in coverage, a misplaced kickoff, or a poor design on kick coverage. At any rate, a failure in preparation.

Second, in the disastrous third quarter, following a Michigan missed field goal to open the half, the Irish switch running backs from the sure-handed Armando Allen to the inexperienced Jonas Gray. On the second play, with the Irish leading 20-17, Gray fumbles the handoff, giving Michigan the ball back inside the Irish 40 yard line.

Michigan quickly scores its second offensive touchdown and the Michigan offense that had been sluggish and confused in the first half finally gained traction. And Forcier gained confidence.

Quickly, Michigan jumped out to a 31-20 advantage.

Keeping your play-making back in the game on your first possession of the second half when you have a legitimate shot at burying your opponent makes more sense. Allen couldn't have needed a break as it was the first touch of the second half.

It was a seemingly innocent substitution at the time, but one with dire consequences in the end.

The third and final insult came following a Michigan punt with four minutes remaining in the game. Michigan, trailing by three and needing the ball back, gave up a quick rushing first down to start the drive that moved Notre Dame near midfield.

On the previous possession, Michael Floyd, who had been open at nearly every point all game, left the game after injuring his knee diving for a ball out of the end zone. He was replaced by true freshman Shaquille Evans.

After a first down run and subsequent Michigan time out, Charlie Weis decides to give Michigan a Christmas gift in September. He dials up a go route to Golden Tate which falls incomplete.

In the only play in Notre Dame history where a sack would have been the best thing that could happen, pass protection was perfect. But Clausen's pass fell hopelessly to the turf as Floyd's absence allowed the weak side safety to provide man over coverage, assist the cornerback, and break up the pass.

The play also stopped the clock and allowed Michigan to save a timeout.

On the third down play, Notre Dame again passed, but the freshman Evans cut off the route early and only slapped the ball with his outstretched left hand.

Had Floyd been in the game, it is a sure first down reception. Instead, it is a five-second incompletion that again saves the Wolverines a timeout.

Following the Notre Dame punt, the inevitable Michigan drive ensued. Using their timeouts on a pair of critical third downs, they drove the field and scored with only 11 seconds to play.

The scoreboard read Michigan 38, Notre Dame 34.

But the game felt much different.

Notre Dame was the more talented team and it felt all day that the talent on the field was working to overcome the problems on the sidelines.

For this team, or any for that matter, to live up to its potential and hype, it has to have a coach that doesn't act as if he's playing the latest edition of Madden.

In real football, if your stupid ideas don't pan out, you cannot hit reset.

On a day that Notre Dame played well enough to win, Weis coached to lose.

Game Two: Notre Dame at Michigan

Mike Muratore — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:05:40 -0400

Notre Dame and Michigan each opened their respective seasons with resounding success. The Irish pounded a skilled and confident Nevada squad, while Michigan beat a well-appointed Western Michigan team into submission.

Each team's big wins have the media and fans alike buzzing with renewed hope and new found enthusiasm for a pair of storied programs that had recently fallen upon hard times.

The last two Michigan-Notre Dame contests have served to highlight the low point in recent history for each. Two years ago, the Wolverines woodsheded the young and inexperienced Irish in the Big House setting the tone for what was a painful 3-9 season to come for the Irish.

Last year, the Irish returned the favor while capitalizing on every Wolverine blunder in route to an easy win and spiraling Michigan to a 3-9 campaign of their own.

This year's game finds both schools trying to return to glory.

Coming off of its worst season since before Bo Shembeckler came to Ann Arbor, Michigan has begun the transition to Rich Rodriguez's spread attack. They are smaller and faster, but they are still young.

The team strength centers around an experienced offensive line, and an offensive with many returning starters including standout running back Brandon Minor. The line found a consistency against Western Michigan that it never had in 2008, allowing the Wolverines to rack up an impressive 257 yards on the ground.

The offensive line will be key to the Michigan hopes of upsetting the Irish, as behind them will be true freshman Tate Forcier. In the win against Western Michigan, Forcier completed passes early and often, soaring through his first game connecting on 13 of 20 pass attempts for 179 yards and 3 touchdowns.

In addition to exploiting the Bronco secondary, Forcier managed to carry the ball 11 times for 41 yards.

Forcier will remind the Irish of the Quarterback that they faced in their season opener, the dual threat Colin Keapernick. In fact, Kaepernick is the player that Rodriguez is banking on Forcier becoming.

Rodriguez is also banking on Forcier's supporting cast being better than Kaepernick's, as the 2008 WAC player of the year found little success against the Notre Dame defense.

Forcier's play will be a determining factor to Michigan's fate Saturday.

He will be facing a much improved Irish defense who held the nation's third best rushing team, with a trio of 1,000-yard rushers to 153 yards and zero points. Notre Dame's skilled and experienced secondary is the strength of their defense and could wreak havoc on Forcier if the linebackers find themselves in the backfield nearly as much as they did against Nevada's experienced line.

The question mark on this side of the ball for the Irish is the defensive line, who, despite playing far and away better than a year ago were gashed for several large gains and displayed an annoying tendency to miss tackles.

Notre Dame will crank up it's new-found blitzing offense and try to pressure Forcier into mistakes. Slowing the run is necessary for the Irish, but not as necessary as hitting the Freshman early and often.

If Michigan finds success running inside and can effectively stop the pass rush of the Irish, it could be a long day for the Notre Dame defense.

Michigan's primary concern Saturday will be how to stop Notre Dame's passing attack.

Notre Dame's receivers are the biggest and deepest unit that Michigan will face this year. Golden Tate and Michael Floyd create matchup problems on the outside, and committing a safety to help either opens up stand-out tight end Kyle Rudolph.

Jimmy Clausen is riding a wave of success (and wishing he'd accepted a scholarship to a WAC school) coming off of his best two games as a collegiate athlete. His 17 of 20 332 yard 4 TD performance that lasted only two minutes into the second half was an eye opener for every defensive coordinator with the Irish on their schedule.

It should be understood that the Michigan secondary will be light-years better than their Nevadan counterparts, as Clausen found receivers running wide open often. Even when well covered, the Nevada corners were no match for Irish receivers.

Still, Michigan's corners, although faster and more talented than all of Nevada's combined are still at a disadvantage. None are more than 6'0" tall, and none can easily cover Tate or Floyd one-on-one.

Notre Dame, like Michigan, needs to establish a ground game. In this game, the best defense may be a good offense, as the team that controls the football will control the game.

Against Nevada, the No. 3 rush defense a year ago (I know...if you can throw it, why run it...still it is what it is) Notre Dame had it's best rushing performance in recent memory.

The Irish have to be able to run the ball to prevent Michigan from focusing totally on getting to the quarterback.

I expect Michigan to run a lot of Cover-2 and man under zones to try to cut off the Irish posts and crosses while relying on defensive end pressure and LB "dog" blitzes.

Look for Notre Dame to counter by running many screens and draws to keep the Michigan defense off balance as they continue their transition to a 3-4.

A huge factor for the Irish, similar to Michigan will be the play of Jimmy Clausen.

If Clausen continues his progression, and is making lightening fast reads and delivering accurate throws, it's hard to believe that Michigan will be able to keep the Irish from moving the football.

In a high-scoring game, the Irish would have to be favored having more play-makers and more experience at the quarterback position.

For Michigan to win, they have to control the clock, keep the Irish offense on the sidelines and wear out the defense. Michigan also has to avoid turnovers, as putting Notre Dame on a short field will result in Irish points.

Notre Dame will focus on establishing the run, pressure Forcier, and be explosive.

In the end, Notre Dame's experience and depth will win out as Rodriguez is still a year away from having all of his bullets loaded. The game is a slug fest early, but a key turnover breaks it for the Irish late.

Notre Dame 27

Michigan 21

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Fulfill Promise in 35-0 Win Over Nevada

Mike Muratore — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 23:11:26 -0400

On the opening Saturday of the 2009 college football season, Notre Dame took a solid first step on the road back to respectability, and does what they could not last year in burrying an opponent.

The Irish throttled the Nevada Wolfpack, 35-0, earning their first shut-out since 2002, and dominating Nevada in each phase of the game.

Notre Dame coasted for the last quarter-and-a-half after scoring on five of it's first six possessions.

The Nevada defense couldn't stop Michael Floyd and spent much of the day watching him sprint unmlested down the sidelines as he hauled in three touchdowns.

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen statistically had the second best game of his career, going 15-for-18, posting 310 yards, and 4 TDs touchdowns.

Protection was good all day, and Clausen had no trouble making correct reads and delivering the ball on time to an open target.

The Irish also added 175 yards on the ground, with Armando Allen leading the way with 75 yards and a touchdown.

Better news for Irish fans is that the defense held a high powered offensive unit to zero points and just over 300 yards total offense.

The Wolfpack had some success running the ball, but the passing attack never found solid footing.

Despite connecting on only 12-of-23 attempts for 149 yards and a pair of interceptions, Junior quarterback Colin Keapernick was the brightest bulb of the bunch for the Wolfpack. He eluded Irish linebackers all day and proved very hard to tackle.

Several times Kaepernick was the victim of poor play surrounding him, several key dropped passes and a pair of offensive interference penalties wiped out first downs and led to punts.

His play was solid until the game was out of hand and the Irish no longer had to fear the run.

For Nevada, the game seemed to only last three series.

Notre Dame scored easily on their first possession, marching 65 yards in 11 plays with Clausen hitting Kyle Rudolph for the score.

Nevada seemed poised to answer as they took the kick and marched 41 yards in 7 plays before missing a field goal.

The Irish, still having trouble getting the ground game going, remained airborne, with Clausen connecting with Golden Tate for 38 and 15 yards, Robbie Paris for a clutch eight yard first down conversion before finding a wide open Floyd on the first play of the second quarter for a 24 yard touchdown.

All the air came out of Nevada's balloon following that score.

By the time Nevada gained it's next first down, it was 28-0 and the route was on.

Following Floyd's third touchdown at the 10:12 mark of the third quarter, Weis called off the attack and coasted his team to the easy 35-0 win.

By many accounts, Notre Dame exceeded expectations.

The point spread was 14.5, and most sites advised readers to take Nevada.

Many commentators, including Kordell Stewart and Mark May picked Nevada to win outright. The ESPN College Gameday crew remarked that Notre Dame would struggle with Kaepernick and the "high powered" Nevada attack, and would be lucky to win.

Then the Irish hang a 35 point shut-out win on Nevada.

The same commentators that picked Nevada to win now said that "it was only a WAC team" and that "Notre Dame should beat a Nevada by 30 points".

The crowd gathered outside the Georgia Dome chanted "over-rated" at ever mention of the Irish.

It all begs the question "what are the Irish to do?"

The answer is simple.

Beat Michigan.

Game One: Notre Dame Vs. Nevada

Mike Muratore — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:47:45 -0400

Colin Kaepernick.

The name that Irish fans will have etched into their memories by the end of the day Sept. 5. The name that will burst forth from the loudspeakers at Notre Dame Stadium all day. The reason that Nevada has a chance to upset the Irish.

The Wolfpack's junior signal caller holds a host of Nevada records, and has been noticed nationally by being one of a handful of quarterbacks ever to throw for more than 2000 yards in a season while also rushing for 1000. He narrowly missed joining Tim Tebow in the 20/20 club (20 TD's rushing and passing).

Kaepernick is fast and can throw. He runs Nevada's spread option offense the way Rich Rodriguez wishes his recruits at Michigan could he will be responsible for roughly 75 percent of the total Nevada offensive tally. And he will put points on the board.

The burden of stopping the Nevada attack will fall mainly on the linebackers and safeties of the Irish, as the Wolfpack employ more of a misdirection rushing attack with a lot of option, counter, and trap plays. There is little straight ahead rushing until they have sufficiently worn their opponent down.

Kaepernick lives outside the pocket, running bootleg after bootleg, often optioning off the halfback before rolling, then opting to throw or run depending on how the outside linebacker plays.

He is slippery, fast, and agile, and by the end of the day, Irish fans will be sick of hearing his name.

The Irish defense will have it's hands full trying to contain the Nevada offense.

The good news for Irish fans is that for all it's point scoring firepower, Nevada is one of the weaker defensive units that the Irish will face this year. Their secondary is a sieve that has yielded large yardage sums regularly.

In 2008, the Wolfpack allowed an average of 311 yards per game passing, along with 32.3 points.

If Kaepernick will keep the Wolfpack close, the defense will prevent them from winning it.

Notre Dame's receiving duo of Floyd and Tate along with TE Kyle Rudolph should haul in passes early and often and roll up a large yardage tally against the Nevada secondary.

Also key for the Irish is keeping the turnover margin in the positive. Interceptions can kill you against a team that can control the football and sustain drives. Last year the Wolfpack showed that it will fumble the football, putting it on the ground 21 times while losing 15.

The secondary made some amends for it's lack of coverage by picking-off 16 passes to net a turnover margin in the positive, if only by one.

Irish fans expecting a blow out victory should avoid the television, as this should be anything but. If the Irish are what they are expected to be, they should pull away late. If they are at all looking past, they could find their stay in the top 25 very brief.

In the end, look for Notre Dame's offensive weapons and improved ground game to be too much for the Nevada defense to contain.

Notre Dame 37

Nevada 21

How Notre Dame Can Reach the BCS Championship Game

Mike Muratore — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:56:38 -0400

For the first time in recent memory, a national commentator paid to make predictions has placed the Irish in the BCS Championship Game.

That commentator was former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, which somewhat diminishes the weight of the prediction (as well as leads to questions regarding Lou's sanity and/or sobriety).

However, the question remains...

Is it possible?

Forget for a moment the plausibility, but from a sheer logistical standpoint, what would have to happen to land the Irish in the BCS Championship game this year?

With very strong conferences in the Big 12 and SEC, winning all 12 scheduled games may not be enough to get a 23rd-ranked Notre Dame into the dance. If Texas or Oklahoma comes out of the Big 12 undefeated, and Florida runs the table, even a dominant 12-0 Irish team is relegated to the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl.

To get there at all, the Irish need a little help from their friends.

First and foremost, they have to win.

They have to have throttled Nevada, Michigan, Purdue, and Washington, and have beaten Michigan State by any margin heading into the Oct. 17 clash with USC.

The Trojans have to have beaten Ohio State and enter the game undefeated and highly ranked. Notre Dame has to win the game. A loss to USC keeps Notre Dame in the "not ready" category and would immediately place the Irish behind every other major conference one-loss team, as well as Utah and/or Boise State.

The one game that Notre Dame could potentially lose and still find consideration is Boston College, if and only if the Eagles end the season ranked in the top 15 and in the ACC title game. I feel that a loss drops the Blue and Gold from any title contention, but the argument should be posed.

Notre Dame must build momentum throughout the rest of the season, beating Washington State and Navy easily before meeting a hopefully ranked Pittsburgh team at Heinz Field.

The Irish must perform well and beat Pitt at home before protecting home field against Connecticut.

The Irish must close strong and avoid a potential pitfall against a tough Stanford team in Palo Alto, beating the Cardinal soundly to impress voters and finish 11-1 or 12-0.

In addition to the Irish taking care of business, Notre Dame's title hopes revolve around the Ohio State Buckeyes more than any other team in NCAA Bowl Subdivision play.

Ohio State shares four opponents with the Irish. Of those four, Ohio State must beat three handily (Navy, Michigan, and Purdue) and lose at home to USC. Oddly, thanks to Big Ten schedule rotations, the Buckeyes avoid Michigan State this year.

Ohio State also has to beat Penn State and secure a league championship, finishing no worse than 10-2. Therefore, by beating USC, Notre Dame has a leg up on the eventual Big Ten and Pac-10 champions, who may finish with an equal or better record than the Irish.

The reverse could happen if Penn State beats the Buckeyes but loses to Michigan State, but for simplicity, we'll stick with the Ohio State strategy.

The waters muddy when looking at the Big 12.

Someone is more than likely coming out undefeated. Notre Dame has to hope that last year repeats itself and the winner of the Texas-Oklahoma game is upset late in the year.

If the Irish fall to BC, you also need the winner of the Big 12 North to upset either the Longhorns or Sooners in the Big 12 Championship game.

You almost have to have someone stumble in the Big 12, because Florida will more than likely run the table and emerge from the SEC again. It is also unlikely that a one-loss Irish team gets picked in front of a one-loss team from the Big 12 or SEC, further reinforcing my belief that Notre Dame must win out.

It is also a must that Notre Dame's opponents, most thought to be soft and mushy, have better-than-expected seasons.

Nevada needs to do very well in the WAC, if possible beating Boise State. Michigan has to win seven games. Pitt or UConn needs to win the Big East. Navy needs to end up back in a bowl game, and Stanford must make a bowl as well.

If Notre Dame runs the table, and everyone from the Big 12 loses a game, it is possible.

If Notre Dame finishes 11-1, losing to only Boston College, who wins the ACC, and has Nevada win the WAC, USC win the Pac-10, Ohio State win the Big Ten having lost to USC and anyone else, Pittsburgh win the Big East, AND the Big 12 winner lose the conference championship finishing with two losses, it is also possible.

The most likely scenario finding Notre Dame in the BCS championship game has the calendar reading 2010. Notre Dame will have a solid shot at landing in a BCS bowl game at the end of the 2009 season, but its big time talent and emerging depth are still probably a year from reaching their true potential.

Lou Holtz did exactly what he is supposed to do by picking the Irish to arrive in the Championship game this year—he got people talking about college football at the height of the NFL preseason. The impending "are you crazy" argument with Mark May has to have increased ESPN's College GameDay rating by 10 points alone.

No one should expect Notre Dame to be in Pasadena, CA this Jan. 7. It is much more likely they are there for the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

Nonetheless, despite its glaring improbability, should all the stars align and all the right teams lose, it could happen.

Mistakes Made Jimmy Clausen Stronger; Irish Hope He Can Shoulder Team Burden Now

Mike Muratore — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:28:56 -0400

A team will only go as far as its leader can take it.

For Notre Dame, Jimmy Clausen has to be that leader. He has to bear the burden of expectation and the intense heat of scrutiny as he prepares to captain the Fighting Irish through their most crucial season of the Charlie Weis era.

Clausen, by now, should be familiar with pressure. He arrived at his press conference in South Bend to announce his signing in a limo. He held the event not at the University, but at the College Football Hall of Fame, where he declared that he wanted to win four national titles for the Irish.

With his brashness, he drew more than a little fire. Even Notre Dame-friendly Lou Holtz couldn't resist bashing the nation's No. 1 recruit in saying, "Usually a player gets to the Hall of Fame AFTER their career."

Clausen learned quickly that being the quarterback at Notre Dame was a little different than being a prep star.

In 2007, Clausen endured weekly beatings on and off the football field as the Irish trudged their way to a 3-9 record, establishing several all-time lows. Clausen's swagger was gone. It was clear that there was little talent on the Irish roster, and questions began to swirl as to whether he would stay enrolled at Notre Dame.

Clausen did come back for the 2008 season, along with another highly touted recruit in Dayne Crist. There was initial speculation that Crist may take the starting job from Clausen.

The season saw Crist remain on the sideline (earning Notre Dame's version of a redshirt) with Clausen grasping the starting job, having the best statistical season that an Irish signal caller not named Brady Quinn has ever had.

For 2009, a new kind of pressure awaits Clausen. It's not the nagging pressure of doubt or the scrutiny of those who want him to fail—now he must meet expectations.

Clausen is a captain, has found his name on the Maxwell Award watch list, and finds his team in the national rankings for the first time. He is an upperclassman and can no longer use "learning" as an excuse. As his coach says, "It's time to put up."

Clausen's 2008 season mirrored the Irish: Notre Dame literally succeeded as Clausen did. There were moments of sheer brilliance and hints that what is to come may be special. But there were also moments that reminded us that he, along with his team, is still young and still learning.

Games against Michigan State and North Carolina both turned on ill-advised interceptions on similar plays. Each time Clausen locked onto Golden Tate and threw a ball into the flat without locating the safety, who jumped the route and made the interception. These are mistakes that a young quarterback makes, but which a championship quarterback cannot afford.

For the Irish to rise to the level of expectation in 2009, they must have Clausen among college football's best passers. He ranked 40th in 2008, completing 60.9 percent of his throws for 3,172 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions. He needs to increase completions to be in the 65 percent range and cut down on the INTs.

The most direct way that Notre Dame can help Clausen grow is to run the football effectively. In six losses last year, Notre Dame managed only 377 yards on 167 carries—a dreadful 2.2 yard-per-carry average.

Only against Pittsburgh did Notre Dame surpass the 100-yard mark on the ground and lose. In the other losses, the Irish ground game averaged only 52 yards a game on 25 carries.

Against Syracuse, Notre Dame could only muster 41 yards, and they set an all-time worst of only 16 yards on 22 carries versus Michigan State.

Critics of Clausen's game point to his 17 interceptions as an indication that he is flawed as a player. It seems more amazing that he produced as well as he did despite the total lack of a running attack.

Given a little help in the rushing department and better pass protection, Clausen could easily flourish in the upcoming season.

In the offseason he has already shown his leadership and desire to win by flying Tate, Michael Floyd, and Kyle Rudolph out to California for a week of eight hour a day workout sessions.

Before that, he came into spring practice determined and quickly put to bed any thoughts of Dayne Crist emerging. He has continued this into camp, showing accuracy and strength while displaying a firm grasp on the offense.

Clausen is expected to have a big season, and the Irish along with him. He has the talent to live up to his hype and keep Irish eyes smiling all autumn.

Ranked For First Time Since 2006, Notre Dame Prays It Lives Up To Hype

Mike Muratore — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:54:13 -0400

The 100-degree temperatures in Northern Indiana weren't the only thing making the Notre Dame football team sweat as it opened camp this weekend. The Irish, for the first time in a long time, find themselves in the USA Today Coaches' Poll at No. 23 and officially move into the realm of expectation.

The last poll in which Notre Dame held rank was the final 2006 vote following a pounding at the hands of LSU. The Irish slid from No. 10 to No. 17 following the loss, beginning a slide that ended after the 2007 season with Notre Dame tallying many school-record "worsts."

After a year of rebuilding and overall improvement in 2008, culminating with a blowout bowl win, the feeling around South Bend has changed from one of hope to one of demands.

The faithful are expecting to win.

That Notre Dame finds itself ranked at No. 23 is no great cause for celebration, as history practically mandates that even average Irish teams are given the benefit of the doubt and often placed in preseason rankings well above their true talent. This year, however, the Irish believe themselves to be underrated.

With a less demanding than usual schedule awaiting them and the deepest and most talented roster in camp since the Lou Holtz era, there is plenty of reason for optimism. Many around Irish camp are talking BCS.

But with high expectations often comes pressure. Nowhere does pressure build as quickly as at Notre Dame. One big win over Hawaii has turned a rebuilding process on its ear and has many folks, serious folks in the Notre Dame camp, talking 10-plus wins.

The burden of these expectations falls on the embattled shoulders of head coach Charlie Weis.

"Let's not talk about expectations," Weis quipped at his pre-camp press conference last week. "It's time to put up."

Weis has never been shy about his lofty beliefs regarding his own abilities, but there seems to be a grittiness to his tone this year. There is no boasting of a "marked schematic advantage" or being able to do "whatever he wants" against an opponent. His comments are much more grounded in realism, more to the point.

"Since I've been here, this is the most exciting depth chart I've been able to go into the season with," Weis said.

A look at the players on the practice field will reinforce the coach's belief. These guys are big and fast. They are healthy. The only holdout of the first two days of camp was sophomore DT Hafis Williams, who is expected back any day.

They are deep. Fifteen offensive linemen on scholarship. Deep enough to slide one of last year's O-line standouts, Eric Olsen, from guard to center. Deep enough to have a two-year starter in Dan Wenger be the odd man out.

In fact, the only disturbing sight at Irish camp was the new vertical stripes adorning the jerseys. Let's hope those stay on the practice field...

Weis is banking on these guys being as good as they look (discounting the jerseys), as he continues to say that he has set a goal for his team to meet last year's BCS teams at averaging 4.6 rushing yards per carry—a 1.3-yard per carry improvement over last year.

But Weis knows that even with all the returning firepower on offense, without the ability to run the football there is little hope of fulfilling the 10-win expectation.

Weis realizes that it was the lack of a rushing attack that allowed games against North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse to slip away, and prevented Notre Dame from having a chance against Boston College and Michigan State.

Everyone knows that you'll have to run the ball, and run it well, to stay on the field with USC, but to admit that it is your primary concern is a huge step forward in fixing it.

On paper, all the tools are there. Talent. Speed. Size. Depth. Health.

Weis said it best himself: "It's time to put up."

Can Notre Dame Wake up the Echos in '09?

Mike Muratore — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:56:38 -0400

For fans of the Fighting Irish times have been hard of late. The mere fact that a 7-6 record and bowl victory over Hawaii left an uplifting feeling among Irish faithful speaks volumes as to how far the might have fallen since the Sugar Bowl thumping in January 2007.

The last two seasons have not been kind to the Notre Dame football program, as recruiting woes past and experience deficiencies led to two rather forgettable seasons.

For the Irish coaching staff, to call 2009 a "do or die" year would be an understatement.

With four recruiting classes now enrolled, there can be no more fingers pointed back at Ty Willingham. With three of those four classes ranked among college football's best, the talent is here. The burden now rests on the shoulders of the Weis regime alone.

There are signs that the dark ages may be ending for Irish fans. Slowly the ice may be melting from the long and painful winter. Notre Dame is poised to potentially put up double digit wins in 2009.

But will they?

A glance at the 2009 schedule will give any Irish fan lofty expectations. Eight of the opponents rank in either the "easy win" category or the "hot mess" group.

Nevada, Washington, Navy, Stanford, Washington St., and this year, Connecticut are deficient talent wise from a basic player-to-player standpoint. Notre Dame should be able to physically outgun these teams from the start.

Michigan and Boston College are both rebuilding, transitioning under new leadership, and are experiencing much turmoil. Really, Washington fits into this category as well...

For even the most grounded of Irish fans, nine wins should be expected.

But a glance back to 2008 quickly casts a shadow of doubt. A lose to 2-8 Syracuse. Losing fourth quarter leads to North Carolina and Pittsburgh. Stanford and Navy almost rallying. Struggling versus San Diego State. Suddenly some of those sure wins don't looks so sure.

Why will 2009 be different?

As an Irish fan, you hope that last year showed rising talent, but the lack of on field experience and leadership. You are banking that returning 10 starters on offense and seven on defense are going to account for leaps in execution.

It's easy to see that Notre Dame will score points. Their skilled players on offense will outmatch every secondary not wearing garnet and gold. Clausen has shown that with pass protection he can make any throw on the field. The backs are capable, if there is room to run.

The offensive line will be the barometer to Notre Dame's success. Seniors Eric Olsen and Sam Young have to be better than they were last year. One of them needs to be the leader for a unit that has size, but has lacked strength.

In all of Notre Dame's losses a year ago, the Irish failed to rush for 100 yards. Not surprisingly those games also mark Jimmy Clausen's lowest ratings. If the poor run production continues, the Irish fate may be similar to that of 2008 where three times leads slipped away as the offense could not convert a first down and the defense tired down the stretch.

The remedy for this problem may be experience. For the first time since Brady Quinn and co. left the Kentucky Bluegrass and Notre Dame Stadium, there will be a predominantly upper-classmen team on the field.

Despite expectations, it is fairly certain that Notre Dame will be Bowl eligible come November. The remaining question is will they be in a big-time bowl? A large clue will reveal itself on Sept. 19 when Notre Dame hosts Michigan State.

For all purposes, Notre Dame should beat the Spartans at home, but they rarely do. Sparty has dominated the Irish of late, and beating them would be the first sure sign that things in South Bend are finally on the right track.

Leading up to Notre Dame's open date on Oct. 10, Notre Dame hosts Nevada, Michigan State, and Washington while traveling to Ann Arbor and Purdue. Winning all five early contests is possible, and absolutely necessary if Irish fans want to start thinking BCS.

Looming after the bye are Notre Dame's two most challenging contests, hosting first USC then Boston College in back-to-back weeks. A sweep in these two games would send Irish stock over the moon, and thoughts of BCS would quickly turn to Championship, as the rest of the schedule is decidedly down hill as Notre Dame travels for a date with Washington State in San Antonio, to Pittsburgh, and to Stanford, while hosting Navy and UConn.

Not many realistic Irish fans expect to end the losing streak to the Trojans, but after flooding day one of the NFL draft this year, USC will be a younger team than Notre Dame has seen in a while. USC is far and away the toughest test on the 2009 schedule, and will prove to be the tell-tale as to how far Notre Dame has come.

For the Irish, 2009 will be a year of improvement. They will hold leads that they lost last year, and be more competitive where they weren't. They will be confident enough to win close, but still not quite good enough to not let one slip away.

Look for the Irish to win the games that they should, lose a competitive contest to USC, and drop a heart-breaker to Michigan State, Boston College, or Connecticut. At 10-2, Notre Dame will be invited to a BCS game to play a team that everyone (including me) will expect to beat the Irish.

Maybe, just maybe, we will be surprised!

Futility: The Curse of the Cleveland Sports Fan

Mike Muratore — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:45:48 -0400

The good people of Cleveland must endure a lot these days—struggling economy, collapsing infrastructure, the weather.

And much like the weather, always hanging over the city like a never-ending blanket of gray clouds are our beloved sports teams.

After the beating of the Cavaliers at the hands of the Orlando Magic, a Cleveland fan must sit back and wonder "are we cursed?" The best chance at a title in a long while ran into a jump-shooting team on a hot streak and made a sudden—some may say, early—exit from the playoffs.

A Clevelander would call this normal.

Cleveland fans are well into their 45th year without a major sport championship. Not just baseball, Cub fans, but any of the four major sports. Cubs fans are called "long-suffering." Red Sox fans were often referred to as "suffering." But in those cities there were championships-a-plenty in other sports.

But not in Cleveland.

In fact, if you consider that Cleveland fields teams in three of the four major team sports, since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964 Cleveland teams have played 124 seasons without a championship.

Of cities fielding professional teams in at least three of the four leagues, only Atlanta can come close to Cleveland's mark of futility. In 145 seasons Atlanta teams combine for only one championship. However, this one win was the Braves' 1995 win over who?

The Cleveland Indians.

The Red Sox may have gone nearly a century without winning a ring, but in the time since a Cleveland team last hoisted a championship banner Boston teams have won 18 championships! At an average rate of one per 9.7 years! Clevelanders would love to suffer so! Since 1964, no metropolitan area fielding a professional sports team is crowned as often as teams from Boston.

Chicago? Home to the lovable loser Cubs? Nine championships have found their way to the Windy City since 1964.

Counting only cities where no major sport team has won a title, Cleveland is the only one fielding teams in three sports, and also teams that have played in their league for at least 30 years.

To add insult, Cleveland's geographical and emotional rival, Pittsburgh, hoisted a Stanley Cup Friday night, adding to the Lombardi Trophy in February. The steel city has hauled in 11 championships since Cleveland last won one.

To add further insult to injury, Cleveland has had a pair of football teams leave, only to later win championships—the St. Louis Rams (via L.A.) and the Baltimore Ravens.

65 professional sports franchises have come into existence since the last Cleveland championship. 24 of those teams have won 49 championships in their respective sports.

In Cleveland, it's not enough that we lose. We like to go out in memorable fashion! Throughout this championship drought, we've fielded some great teams. Almost great. We've gotten so used to being almost great that we refer to the 1995 to 2002 era of Indians Baseball "the era of Champions" despite the fact that we never actually won.

No in Cleveland, it's not losing, but how painfully close we come before bowing out. The Drive. The Fumble. The Shot. Red Right 88. They all seemed to be headed to a championship. And blew it.

None sting as badly as the 1997 World Series. Against the expansion Marlins. An out into the ninth inning in Game Seven, up a run with your record-setting closer on the bump. A ball trickles off of Jose Fernandez's glove, Mesa implodes, and the drought continues.

Still, you don't often hear of the commentators mentioning the "long-suffering fans of Cleveland." You do hear jokes—about seagulls. And about burning rivers. And plastic bottles. Just Saturday, I heard Peter Gammons on ESPN radio sarcastically say, "Oh yeah, Cleveland in June. There is little finer," in the pre-game before the Cardinals - Indians broadcast.

So should it really have surprised anyone to see the Cavaliers sitting at home watching the Lakers lift another trophy? (Los Angeles's 16th since 1964, if you're counting)

Was it really a shock that Cleveland demolished Detroit and Atlanta, and then ran into an Orlando Magic team that shot 45 percent from the three-point line? Despite looking seriously outplayed for much of the series, Games One and Four came down to the last shot. Had one bounce gone differently it may have been the Cavaliers, not the Magic, trying to keep up with the Lakers.

Mathematically Cleveland is long overdue. On average, a professional sports team wins their league's championship once every 35 years. True, there are teams that severely buck the trend, like the Cubs who are into their second century between rings, or the Yankees and Celtics who average a win every six years.

But no city has gone so long with three teams not winning. The Indians are going on 61 years. The Browns 45. The Cavaliers 39 years. No other city fielding professional teams in any sport can claim that stretch.

So, fellow Cleveland fans, don't let futility lead into hopelessness. Even if by accident one of our teams should win a championship in something in most of our lifetimes.

I'm 30... so I've got a while. But I'm getting impatient!

Jay Cutler Has Much To Learn from the Cleveland Browns' QBs

Mike Muratore — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:35:52 -0400

Many times we hear the word "professional" associated with the National Football League. Often it is stated that "it is a business," and it should be known by now that player movements are very common.

Coaches prefer "their guys" that fit "their system", and sometimes even very talented players find themselves being moved to new teams.

All of this, apparently was lost on Jay Cutler.

New Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels upon taking the job probably had no intention of trading his pro-bowl face-of-the-franchise quarterback. At the scouting combine however, he was approached about the possibility of acquiring the QB he has spent the last two years grooming in Matt Cassel.

The issue was explored, but nothing came of the discussions.

Cutler, meanwhile, already stewing that a coach he liked playing for was fired, further enraged that his offensive coordinator was not retained catches wind of the trade murmurs and has a hissy fit.

Upon Shanahan's release, he hinted that maybe he should be released as well, and that negative sentiment boiled over into a full on temper-tantrum with the star QB stamping his feet and pounding his fists screaming "I WANT TO BE TRADED!"

A meeting set to "calm the waters" seemed to only throw gas on the fire, and rather than mending fences Cutler placed his Denver home for sale.

McDaniels and the Broncos ownership seem fairly stunned at Cutler's reaction, and why shouldn't they? Every player is trade-able for the right price, and a QB that the new coach is already familiar with is in many cases the right price.

Still, the deal wasn't done, it wasn't more than an idea, and isn't Cutler over-reacting just a tad?

Juxtapose to the Cleveland Browns' quarterback room for a moment.

Cleveland is also housing a new coaching regime, and has a fan favorite Quarterback that the front office hasn't publicly endorsed as of yet in Brady Quinn.

Quinn has been involved in several trade-for-Cutler scenarios, as well as being battered by NFL Network's Mike Lombardi in several recent stories saying everything from "Quinn will have to compete for job" to "Quinn is not accurate enough to succeed in the NFL".

Quinn is also in a real struggle to emerge as the starter over former Pro-Bowler Derek Anderson.

Interviewed at a Cavaliers game Saturday, Quinn downplays the rumors. He maintains the attitude that he can only control what he can, and he continues to work as hard as he can on the field. "As of now I am a Cleveland Brown, and I will continue to work to make the Browns better as long as I am a member of the team," Quinn says.

The attitude is shared by his competition as well.

Anderson, in a word, flopped following his Pro-Bowl appearance in 2007. He was benched after eight starts in 2008 following a very lack-luster half season. Still, he remained up beat.

He remained a team player and has stated again and again that he will do everything he can to make the Browns better as long as he is on the roster. Following several trade rumors this off season, Anderson's attitude stayed true. "I am a Cleveland Brown," Anderson said at an Oregon golf outing. "That's who I play for and that is who I will work hard for."

So what is it that makes the Brown's QB's so humble and so quick to say the right thing? Through struggles and injuries, benching and competitions, these guys have never let an inflammatory comment fly.

They have maintained a level head throughout, and have always said exactly what you would want the leader of your team to say.

What is to be made of Cutler then? If he is a true Franchise Quarterback, shouldn't he have just a little bit of a stiffer upper lip? Shouldn't he be able to take a punch and wipe it off with a smile? Shouldn't a leader set some kind of example for his team?

The answer of course is no, as the phones in Denver endlessly ring with a minimum of ten teams calling for Cutler's services.

His arm is dazzling. He can sling it. But when the cards are down, and the pressure is on, can he take it? In this competition of composure, Cutler is coming up short.

Mangini Comes Full Circle

Mike Muratore — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:37:49 -0500

Eric Mangini will assume control of a storied, yet troubled football franchise tomorrow as he accepts the head coaching position with the Cleveland Browns. For Mangini, this is an opportunity to restore his status, restore the team that first gave him employment to prominence, and a chance to come home.

Mangini began his football career in 1993 with the Browns, initially a glorified copy boy that poured over stats for 18 hours a day until then head coach Bill Belichick took notice and asked to promote him. Mangini remained a "special assistant" for two years (essentially fetching coffee and info for the staff) before again being promoted.

For the Browns final season in Cleveland, Mangini served as a defensive assistant coach gaining his first true coaching experience.

He followed the franchise to Baltimore and remained with the Ravens as an offensive assistant for only one season before bolting in 1997 to re-join his mentor on Bill Parcell's Jet's staff, returning to his preferred defensive side of the ball.

In 2000 he again followed the rising star to New England earning a trio of Super Bowl rings serving as defensive backs coach before again being promoted to defensive coordinator.

Mangini continued the "every Belichick assistant gets a head coaching job!" trend as he was tapped to lead the New York Jets. After three seasons, one playoff appearance, and a 23-25 record, he was dismissed.

Tomorrow Mangini will be announced as the fourth head coach of the "new Browns," and in many ways comes full circle.

Cleveland is a blue-collar town, and a self-styled one at that. The fans of the team recognize hard work, self-made success, and guys who through hard work and performance are rewarded. Mangini started as a ball boy for these very Cleveland Browns. He is married to the sister of the Indians GM. He demonstrates toughness and the stoic attitude that Clevelanders respect.

So why isn't everyone happy to have him?

Because Cleveland is also a smart football town. And after Chris Palmer, Butch Davis, Romeo Crennel, and one playoff appearance since returning in 1999, a very skeptical football town.

But should they be so skeptical of Mangini?

Shortly, yes.

Taking only head coaches of the Belichick lineage, there isn't much success once the apple falls off the tree. Charlie Weis is on very thin ice at Notre Dame following the worst two-year period in school history, and Romeo Crennel achieved little in four very forgettable years in Cleveland.

Mangini's own Jets posted a 4-12 mark in 2007, and ended a promising beginning with an all-out collapse this season. With Mangini's firing, it seemed as though the bloom was off the rose.

Browns fans have every reason to have a "wait and see" attitude. They do not, however, have reason to declare this a disaster at its outset.

Mangini's Jets earned a wild card berth in 2006 finishing 10-6 before being knocked out by the mentor and his Patriots. In 2006 however, the Jets improved over the previous year in every category. In 2007 injuries (including Chad Pennington missing 12 games) led to a 4-12 mark that still saw the Jets improve in rushing and over all defense.

The 2008 New York Jets season that saw the end of the Mangini era began with the addition of Brett Favre. The season began well, and reached fever pitch as the Jets knocked off undefeated Tennessee to improve to 8-3 and on a "control your own destiny" path toward a playoff spot, as well as a division title.

For the year the team again posted improvement in over all scoring, passing, rushing, and total defense over the last four years.

Down the stretch the wheels fell off. The Jets lost four of their last five games and fell out of the playoffs. Three of the four losses were to NFC west opponents that were out of playoff contention. All were games the team that the Jets could have won.

And the coach was fired.

What gives me most hope for the future of Mangini was the outcry from the players angry that Mangini was blamed for the collapse. They also pointed fingers at what they felt was the culprit, 40-year-old dead-armed QB Brett Favre.

Favre in fact, may be as much the reason that Mangini is gone than the collapse.

Over the last five games, Favre posted a 55.3 rating throwing two touchdowns and nine interceptions. Favre's arm strength was on the decline, and his decision-making was as erratic as ever. After one particularly erratic performance, Mangini called Favre out in front of the team calling for "better choices from a veteran."

It was reported in the locker room that Favre made it clear that if he were to return, he did not want to play for Mangini. Favre was forced on the coach to begin with by GM Mike Tannenbaum and owner Woody Johnson.

And when it became more and more clear that the two couldn't exist together, a financial decision was made. If Favre comes back, he'll sell more jerseys, and put bodies in the seats.

So should Browns fans be worried of more of the same?

I don't believe so.

Mangini's path is much more reflective of his mentor Bill Belichick than his predecessor here, or Weis at Notre Dame. Mangini is young, football smart, relates well to players, but knows the difference between friends and friendly.

He gained experience and incrementally more experience before getting his opportunity as a head coach. Like Belichick, the first opportunity was bumpy while showing that there is potential there.

Now, like Belicheck in New England, Mangini has a chance to show that he can learn on the job.

Cleveland fans should try to hope.

Maybe, this is completing the circle. Maybe, this is where he was meant to be. Maybe, he will be good for this team, and maybe this town will be good for him.

If Mangini called out Favre, he will have no problem calling Braylon Edwards to the carpet for a case of the dropsy's or not running routes. He should have no problem calling out any of the defensive players for "taking plays off."

If this team's biggest problem is that it needs a disciplinarian to control it, Mangini may fit the bill.

If all goes well he will be paired with a General Manager that will work with him rather than for himself and build a team, rather than a collection of talent.

Browns fans will be Browns fans, and there will be doubt along with the usual mix of cheers and jeers. But if nothing else Browns fans should give pause.

Since the team's return fans have clamored for a coach with experience as a head coach in the league, and with playoff experience. And as a bonus in Mangini Browns fans get a guy who wants to give back to the franchise that gave him a chance.

Browns fans have gotten what they wanted.

And now we can pray.

Notre Dame Shows Its Potential

Mike Muratore — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 04:46:39 -0500

We faithful believed that it was there. We'd been told that it was there. Hiding somewhere, beneath the messy formations and missed blitz pickups, waiting to emerge. And maybe, just maybe it has! Like a Christmas present to Irish fans everywhere...

Talent. Speed. Strength.

Coming into the Hawaii Bowl, everything swirling around the Fighting Irish football team was negative. ESPN was running hourly updates on the failure-in-progress that had been the 2008 Notre Dame football campaign.

Constant recaps of the nine straight Irish bowl defeats, scrolling lists of the 89 different teams that have won a bowl since Lou Holtz's 1993 Irish team beat No. 6 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl to finish No. 2 in the AP poll.

Non-stop talk of the lost leads and late game meltdowns that landed the Irish in the Hawaii Bowl, had every analyst not named Jesse Palmer picking the Warriors.

Everyone wearing blue and gold had something to prove. A loss to a 7-6 Hawaii team would only heighten the intense scrutiny already focusing on head coach Charlie Weis and quarterback Jimmy Clausen.

A win, and maybe the young team could build some momentum heading into next year (maybe like Lou Holtz's 1987 team? HEY! It's Christmas... I can dream!).

What Weis needed most was for his four and five star recruits that Notre Dame recruited to start playing up to expectations. Clausen needed to be the QB that he was hyped up to be.

And for one night, it happened.

Despite all the talk of Notre Dame's impending demise at the hands of the Warriors, a glance at the rosters would suggest that the Irish should have a talent, speed, and size advantage across the board. Hawaii's defense never could mount much of a pass rush, and by that time Clausen had the game that everyone had been waiting for him to have.

He broke Irish bowl records for pass yardage and touchdowns in a bowl by HALFTIME. Completed 84% of his throws (every incompletion hit the hands of it's intended receiver) throwing for 405 yards and five touchdowns. He made the Warriors' defense look like high-schoolers.

There were many wide open receivers, but he also made some great throws. The touchdown to Tate in the back left corner of the end zone was one of the most perfect passes he has thrown.

The fourth-and-one scramble, broken tackle completion for 29 yards to Rudolph showed strength, mobility, poise, as well as accuracy. In many games past he'd have fired the ball into a linebacker's hands, but suddenly, Clausen could do no wrong.

Golden Tate often ran by cornerbacks like they were standing still. On the 69 yard TD catch Tate showed a burst to gain separation that no Irish receiver has shown since a guy named Ismail.

When the ball was thrown, Tate was even with the corner. He gained eight yards of space by the time it settled against his chest. He proceeded by making an easy walk into the end zone.

The Hawaii defense could not control any aspect of the line of scrimmage. As Hughes and Allen found running room not seen this season outside of the Navy game.

Notre Dame continued a season-long tradition of pounding the Hawaii quarterback, while limiting the speedy Warrior receivers to season-low yardages.

On special teams, the Irish blocked a punt, returned a kick, and returned a punt (although the punt was called back due to a roughing the kicker foul).

The 49-21 score, as lopsided as it was, was not as bad as the game was on the field. Notre Dame emptied its bench early in the fourth, and Hawaii added a TD late. With the punt return TD called back, it could have easily been worse.

Still, I can't help but wonder...

Shouldn't this have been somewhat expected?

Talent. Speed. Strength.

This team is composed of two straight top five recruiting classes, they were returning healthy for the bowl game, and had all their talent on the field. There were flashes all year that pointed to this, that the Irish were capable of being good, very good, if and only if they could find something to bring it all together.

For a team that wants desperately to back among the elite, shouldn't they expect to pound a WAC team mercilessly? But what was it that brought it all together?

Was it rage? Constantly being poked?

Whatever it was, the Hawaii Warriors are feeling the aftermath Christmas morning.

...and for Notre Dame fans, we can only hope that there will be longer-lasting effects of this Christmas explosion as winter turns to spring, and spring turns into the 2009 football season.

Questions will remain, but if what we saw last night could become the norm for the Irish next season, Christmas 2009 could be very Merry indeed!

Finally cheerful, GO IRISH!

Merry Christmas!

Notre Dame Football: Reason For Faith

Mike Muratore — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:05:09 -0500

It is Kool-Aid drinking day for Irish fans as it now appears that Charlie Weis will be retained as head coach. Right or wrong, for better or worse, the Notre Dame ship will continue to sail its current course. ESPN can pause their hourly "Weis Watch" segments and constant "what is wrong in South Bend" stories.

They can now sit back and watch with the rest of us. For one more season at least.

But there is a silver lining to the dark clouds hanging over the golden dome. A reality behind the scenes that not only may give weight to Weis's assertions that better days are ahead. There is a glimmer of hope to Irish fans everywhere that maybe, just maybe there is a plan behind the madness.

Youth.

The "youth" excuse is wearing quite thin after two disastrous campaigns. But what if its not an excuse? What if Notre Dame actually suffers from a lack of experience? Coaching needs to be better for sure, but what if there is a message there, and the players haven't gotten it yet? Is it really possible?

For the sake of argument, and the hope that I haven't wasted a morning of thought on nothing... let's say it is possible. Does the Irish roster support the theory?

Well... it may.

The roster contains 24 seniors, almost a quarter of the squad. About what you'd expect. But of those seniors, only 12 saw meaningful playing time. Only six were starters. None were at skilled offensive positions. The two seniors who made an impact on offense and will be leaving the Irish are Asap Schwap and Mike Turkovich.

The defense will miss Pat Kuntz, Maurice Crumm, David Burton, Kyle McCarthy, and Tarrail Lambert. It is a bit startling to see that so few of the impactful Irish players are upper classmen.

Of Notre Dame's 54 freshmen and sophomores, only half saw serious playing time. Many were starters. The quarterback, two of the top three running backs, three of the top four receivers, the tight end, three of the top eight offensive linemen, as well as starters on the defensive line, in the linebacking core, and in the secondary, are all under classmen.

The offensive line is the only spot on the team with an abundance of juniors counting Young, Olsen, and Wenger.

What this says about the Irish is that of 22 starters, 16 will return. Of those returning starters, half will be juniors or younger. They ARE young. It's really not an excuse, but a fact.

It is very plausible that Notre Dame is in a recovery from Ty's cupboard cleaning the last two recruiting years in South Bend. Weis's first incoming class will be seniors in 2009, and the stat sheets and depth charts show that few of the players recruited before him are making an impact. Like Weis or hate him, there is a point to be pondered here.

There have been successful "youthful" teams in college football before. There will again. Young running backs can have standout years. Young quarterbacks can flourish. Like Sam Bradford... or Tim Tebow... but if you look at what surrounded them, versus what fills out the roster in South Bend, there is a stark difference.

Those Sooners and Gators squads were never as under- classmen heavy as the Irish are. They've never had an entirely sophomore-or-younger set of talented players. The team has true freshmen starting at wide receiver, tight end, and guard and sophomores at quarterback and running back.

Given that argument, Weis needs one more year. He's building another strong recruiting class that will add an element that may have also been missing this year- depth.

Fourth quarter disasters were somewhat of a norm for the Irish this year, and a possible explanation (along with dumb decisions) could be the lack of depth. Without a wealth of talent to spell your starters, by the fourth quarter your play makers are gassed.

Blocking and tackling go out the window, you get blown off the ball, and Syracuse defeats you. Or you turn to the second team with a 21 point lead and under six minutes on the clock, and end up hanging on to beat Navy.

So why be optimistic?

All of their youth will be more experienced next year. The offensive line will not be so offensive. They are building depth, and gaining experience. Run blocking is based largely off technique, and the more experienced your linemen are the more pulls, traps, and zone blocks you can run.

The backs and receivers aren't the problem, and will be more experienced and deeper next year (if the recruiting class holds). The kicker will be able to make a 45 yard field goal (ND finally recruiting a kicker). The defense which improved this year will have the majority of it's players returning, especially if a couple of fifth year petitions are accepted.

Add all that to a cushy schedule that includes Washington, Washington State, Stanford, Nevada, Purdue, Navy, UConn, and a terrible Michigan team, and you've got a realistic chance at a 10 win season and a top 15 finish. A season that Notre Dame fans will smile about, and Weis can point to as an accomplishment.

What you really have here is clear accountability. There are no more excuses. No more blaming "youth" or "Willingham". No more B.S. Just plain and simple results. If Weis says that the rebuilding process was a 2-3 year project, and that after the Sugar Bowl in 2006 he knew that there were two dismal years ahead... I guess I have to buy it.

I don't like what I'm typing here. I am as mad and as done with Charlie Weis as anyone here. But numbers don't lie, and facts are hard to get around. Something terrible has happened at Notre Dame.

The last two seasons are more proof of that than you'll ever need. But you have to wait one more year before you officially label Weis as destroyer or savior, as problem or solution.

2009 will tell much. It will tell if it is time to wake up the echoes, or tear it all down and start again. We can't know which way it will all go. But we can hope.

Now where is my Kool-Aid...

Cleveland Browns Fans More Embarrassing Than Team

Mike Muratore — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:04:10 -0500

At least Philly fans cheers when the OTHER team's players are hurt. Not that there is anything to be proud of in that, but at least there is sense in it.

During Sunday's 10-6 loss to the Indianpolis Colts, Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson was being helped from the field to a chorus of jeers raining down from the rafters of those who remained at Browns Stadium, ushering in a new low of embarrassing moments for fans who once considered themselves the best in the game.

It is understandable that Browns fans are bitter. I know I still turn a redder shade every time the name "Modell" is mentioned. But there has to be a little restraint and a little humility out there, people.

The now infamous "bottling" of the referees in 2002 was amusing at least. Booing Tim Couch as he lay semi-conscious on his own turf was sad. But this year brings it all down to disgusting.

Poor play may bring anger, it may bring frustration, but some of you need to remember that even though a player may not be playing well, he is placing himself on the line for your entertainment. Yes, he is getting paid, and quite well, but cheering as Anderson is helped off the field is simply hateful and mean.

The concept of karma comes to mind.

Maybe the Browns continually catch all the bad breaks because their fans are mean? Maybe it is the football gods getting back at the rubber dog mask-wearing dog bone-throwing maniacs for being horrible and calling it impassioned? Maybe this is the team that Browns fans deserve.

Derek Anderson didn't deserve what he received yesterday. I, like many, have questioned him and hoped to see Brady Quinn get a chance. But Quinn is out.

Despite being benched and being told that even if he played flawlessly for five games, Brady Quinn would be the starter come 2009, Anderson sucked it up and played quite well. He was playing for his job and his future, and while trying to make a play to rally the team he was hurt.

And Browns fans rejoiced?

Embarrassing.

This isn't Oakland.

Notre Dame Failure Not on Jimmy Clausen's Shoulders

Mike Muratore — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:51:01 -0500

Notre Dame's sophomore quarterback has been taking as much beating off the field as on it as of late. Scrutiny is to be expected as a highly touted recruit in the most important position on the most watched team in college football.

With half of the college football world hoping you fail, and the other half demanding perfection, playing the quarterback position at Notre Dame is much like negotiating a mine field blindfolded.

Ever since Beano Cook's prediction of two Heisman trophies for the last big-time Irish quarterback recruit, the road has been bumpy for the signal caller in South Bend. Even Brady Quinn, who for all accounts elevated the play of the team around him, couldn't escape scorn as his Irish career wound down.

Despite re-writing the record book in South Bend, Quinn was labelled as a player who "couldn't win the big game". Never mind that he was completely out manned against LSU, Michigan, USC, and Ohio State. The scrutiny was there.

So it is for Jimmy Clausen. The now beleaguered signal-caller wound down his second regular campaign in South Bend Saturday night with a soft thud on the turf at the Los Angeles Coliseum as he and his Irish brethren were man handled and beaten by the Men of Troy.

The season that at times showed so much promise and so much hope wound down to a disastrous ending. Clausen himself produced little. Hitting on half of his attempts for only 41 yards and an interception that was as much on Kyle Rudolph as the quarterback himself. The game was reflective of the last half of the Irish season, where little went right, and even lining up in a correct formation was a struggle.

Notre Dame Football is a lowly phrase these days, jeers and sneers come from all around kicking the wounded while they are down. Head Coach Charlie Weis is the primary focus of these attacks, but not far behind is Clausen.

"Over-rated" and " Over-hyped" are the most common charges against the sophomore. Many are beginning to suggest turning to Dayne Christ for the bowl game, if not for next season. I ask a more careful examination of Clausen's performance, and ask whether the experience he is gaining in failure could lead to a better future?

The largest knock on Clausen are the interceptions. He throws too many to be sure. But young Quarterbacks always do. Only once this season, in the loss at Boston College did Clausen throw more than two (four) in one game. Four times he threw zero picks.

From his first year to his second, he improved greatly in many areas. His release was much quicker, and his pocket awareness improved immensely. Sack totals dropped from 34 to 20, while completion percentage increased 3 percent despite 160 more attempts. Every measurable number was better except for interceptions, which remain at a 7:6 ratio against touchdowns.

Worrisome to many is the decline of production from the first six games to the last six games, as well as play against "quality" opponents. To be sure, the team played dismally over the last half of the year, and Clausen does not escape scorn. But I argue that there is more behind the numbers to help ease the burden on No. 7.

In the loss at Michigan State, certainly a "poor" performance by any standard, Clausen finished 24-of-41 for 242 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. The Spartans sacked Clausen three times, marking the first three sacks on an Irish QB in 2008. When not having Clausen attempt a pass, the Irish could do little else, rushing 22 times for 16 yards. Brandon Walker also missed a pair of field goals.

In the win against Stanford, Notre Dame held off a furious fourth quarter comeback attempt by the Cardinal turning a comfortable 28-7 lead into a nail-biting 28-21 win. The Irish were shouldered by Clausen who turned in a solid performance hitting on 29-of-40 attempts for 347 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. Clausen was only sacked once, despite the Irish gaining little control of the offensive line, rushing 27 times for only 83 yards.

In the loss at North Carolina, Clausen threw on bad pass that was returned for a touchdown on what was otherwise his best day in Blue and Gold. He finished 31 of 48 for 383 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT and was sacked four times. He also almost led the Irish on a manic last second game winning drive were it not for completely bizarre officiating on a Michael Floyd fumble. To keep the Irish in a position to win, Clausen had to again bear the burden as the Irish never established a running game attempting 30 carries for just 89 yards.

The win at Washington was nearly phoned in by the entire Irish offense. Washington was bad enough to allow Notre Dame to run 49 times for a season-high 252 yards and control the game from start to finish. Clausen had a slow night, going 14-of-26 for 201 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

The loss to Pittsburgh was again confounding because it was one of Clausen's best performances of the year. The offense in fact played well enough to win. Brandon Walker even connected on 5-of-6 field goals (the last one being a killer, of course). The defense collapse in this game, allowing a game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Clausen finished 23-of-44 for 271 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Irish respectably rushed 39 times for 115 yards.

The BC game really began the funeral march that was the 2008's culmination. In the loss, Notre Dame was more offensive than playing offense. Despite being sacked only once, at no point did the Irish line control anyone. Notre Dame rushed the ball 21 times for only 66 yards. Clausen threw the ball 46 times, connecting on 26 for 226 yards. The 4 INT are a career high for Clausen, and the game marked a low point in the sophomore's play.

Clausen's BC hangover seemed to extend into the Navy game, where he was hit early and often despite only being sacked once. The small but quick Navy defensive front pressured the passer from the outset, forcing Clausen into two first half interceptions and leading Notre Dame to do something that they had really not attempted yet during the 2008 campaign- establish the run.

The Irish carried 51 times for 230 yards dominating the Midshipmen for three and one-half quarters until turning the game over to the second-string and nearly losing while proving to be unable to recover an onside kick. Clausen ironically had his career high completion percentage game, hitting 15 of 18. Only one ball actually hit the field-turf at M&T Bank Stadium! (Two were hauled in by Midshipmen.)

In the lower than lowpoint game, the loss at home, on Senior Day, to 2-8 Syracuse, again Clausen has no reason to hang his head. Penalties, total lack of a rushing attack, and the complete inability to tackle a ball carrier doomed the Irish. Overcoming a 28 carry 41 yard performance by the Irish ground game, Clausen went 22-39 for 291 yards with 2 TD and 0 INT, leaving the Irish with a lead before the Defense began it's implosion. He also would have completed a game-sealing pass to Allen that was called back on a down-field holding penalty on Kyle Rudolph. He also again led a furious last-second drive that ended in a Brandon Walker 54 yard field goal attempt (we all remember how that went).

In the finale, Notre Dame was a 30 point underdog. Playing at USC. What ensued was exactly what you'd expect to ensue. A season high in 4 sacks, season lows in completions, completion percentage, and pass yardage. Only the 16 yard output at Michigan State beats the 27 carry 50 yard showing against the Trojans.

For the season, Clausen finished with a line of 246-of-414, 59.5%, 2771 YDS, 20 TD, and 17 INT. As a team, the Irish rushed 402 times for 1,361 yards. ON THE SEASON. As a team, 1,361 yards.

Only twice, against Washington and against Navy, did Notre Dame control the line of scrimmage. Only in those two games did Notre Dame's line play like it had the size advantage that it carried almost all year.

For most of the season, the Irish line had trouble opening running lanes, and had trouble protecting the passer. Twenty sacks is an improvement, but it's nothing to go around grinning about. That number would have been higher had Clausen not been better about moving out of the pocket and throwing the ball away.

By the North Carolina game, Notre Dame could not run the football and could not pick up a blitz, and the opposing coaches new it. The Notre Dame coaching staff could not, or would not alter their approach and change schemes to help protect Clausen, and maybe establish a ground game, and losses followed.

When you are Notre Dame, or anywhere outside the Big 12 South, passing may be pretty, and may put you on SportsCenter, but it is the run that wins you games. The ability to control the line and run the football helps out the passing game, it helps out the defense, and it controls the clock. Notre Dame lost three games because it could not run the ball, and defenses could pressure the quarterback without a blitz.

The winning coaches made half-time adjustments and took away Notre Dame's strength (until the Floyd injury, the outside passing game) and made them run at them. The result was the defense being on the field way too long and subsequent collapse. Stanford was the first to exploit this weakness in a near comeback. Any ability to run the football could have also greatly impacted the outcomes of the Michigan State game, as well as the BC game.

The frustration is that the Irish line has size, supposed to have talent, but they are not performing. The blame, and to large extent credit, always fall on the Quarterback. The true culprit lies elsewhere for the Irish. Even the most talented of skilled players cannot be successful if there is no line to block for them.

Notre Dame is not talented enough to be among college football's elite. Not yet. But they have talent. At receiver. At running back. At tight end. And at quarterback. Clausen played better than the record indicates. He is a true sophomore who was placed into a must throw situation way too often. He was thrown against more prepared defenses that new exactly what was coming at them. He was asked to be perfect.

And he wasn't.

Next year, the team will be one year older. Clausen will be one year wiser. It is up to the coaching staff (whom ever that may be) to fix the line, and give the Irish a running game. Clausen will improve, even if only by the same margin he improved between his frosh and sophomore campaigns. Clausen was not the problem, but the easier target.

There are a lot of decisions, and a lot of changes to be made in South Bend. But quarterback shouldn't be one of them.

Only Solution to BCS Is a Playoff

Mike Muratore — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 07:18:32 -0500

Everyone wants one. Even Barack Obama. Logic dictates that it's the only way to really declare a champion. Surely everyone knows that? Right?

Well...Not exactly...

The powers that hold up a division I/FBS playoff do so, citing all the valid reasons they can muster, including the detriment to the students for being away from class so long (March Madness anyone?) and the integrity of the traditional bowls.

What they are really saying is that they have a lot of money tied up in television and corporate sponsorship with this BCS business and are terrified that having a playoff of any magnitude would disrupt their revenue stream.

The mere fact that the premier flight in NCAA football refers to itself as the "Football Bowl Subdivision" leaving the word "championship" to the lesser levels is quite telling. They get it, and almost admit that the system is flawed, therefore will not call the winner the National Champion any longer, just the BCS champion.

I never thought I'd say that the old system of unfair human voting may have worked better.

A look at this year is an example of both how the BCS was meant to play out and a magnification of it's greatest failure.

The conference championship games of the SEC and Big 12 will produce the teams that will meed in the BCS Championship games. The remaining eight BCS Bowl slots will be filled with the winners of the remaining conferences and four "at-large" bids. At least one at-large will go to a mid-major, the others to high quality BCS conference teams ranked in the top 10.

On paper, it looks like a win for the BCS. Basically two conferences have all the guns, and the last one standing from each will advance for the big prize! Yea BCS!

But the Big 12 screws it up.

Thanks to geographical alignment and a down year by half of the conference, the Big 12's three best teams are all in it's southern division and have all traded losses. The triumvirate not only are holding identical 10-1 records, but also make up three of the top five in the BCS standings. If all win out, and the highest-rated loses the conference title game (to one would guess Missouri), you may see a team that did not win it's conference play for a national title.

We can all hope that someone, say, Oklahoma State, helps us all out by upsetting the Sooners in Stillwater this weekend, but it's much more likely that there will be debate and violent disagreement among those three schools as one goes and two don't.

The ACC and Big East also screw things up by not really being better than the Mountain West or WAC, or maybe the MAC. It is a shame that the BCS has to take the winner of the ACC or Big East. As exciting as it is for Cincinnati to get to the Orange Bowl, will a matchup between Cincinnati and Boise State really draw a lot of television viewers? Or 73,000 people?

How about a Boston College vs. Utah in the Fiesta? Not the Peach...or the Citrus...The Freaking Fiesta Bowl.

Thankfully, Penn State and the winner of the PAC 10 have helped oput the situation naturally. They nullify themselves from Championship games buy their losses early. Penn State, who lost to an 8-4 Iowa team, but pounded Oregon State at home. So no matter who the representative from the PAC 10 is, they are disqualified. (USC lost to Oregon State, and Oregon State IS Oregon State)

Years like this make any argument against a playoff seem much less valid. Apart from the Rose Bowl, which will get it's traditional Big Ten vs. USC, err... Pac 10 game, there isn't much tradition left among the Big Bowls. Most are no longer on New Year's Day. The Championship game is a WEEK later. It's all getting out of hand anyway.

So why NOT go ahead and crown an actual champion?

It is not like basketball, where you've got to invite the world because you never know if George Mason or Kent State can get hot and make a run...

You pretty much know that there are maybe 15 schools with a realistic shot. To make that an even number, cut it down to 14. Keep your six conference champions, give the poll No. 1 and No. 2 a bye. That will give you the six conference champs, plus eight at-large berths.

IF and ONLY IF Notre Dame is in the Top 10 and at least 9-2, they receive one of the berths. (Come on...it's fair)

For the sake of argument, if the Top 25 remained as it is today, and Cincinnati and we'll say Florida State round out the conference winners (hey, they have a Rhode Scholar on the team! PROPS!)...a tournament field would appear as follows:

Round one, played the week following Conference Championships at Campus sites:

Alabama and Oklahoma have byes.

Texas Tech vs. Boise St. @ Lubbock

Penn St. vs. Oklahoma St. @ State College

Florida vs. Cincinnati @ Gainsville

Texas vs. Florida State @ Austin

USC vs. Missouri @ Los Angeles

Ohio State vs. Utah @ Columbus

The second round of four games to be played the following week at campus sites, Alabama hosting the Texas Tech/Boise State winner, Oklahoma hosting the Ohio State/Utah winner. USC/Missouri plays Texas/FSU, Penn St/Oklahoma St. plays Florida/Cincy.

The third round games are played on New Years Day at two of the four current BCS bowl sites...rotating annually.

The third round game is the following weekend at a neutral field, similar to the BCS Championship Game that we have now.

Obviously, I've spent way too much time thinking about this. I'm sure many of you have as well. I figured I'd present a playoff that includes the bowls as they are...and may be...just maybe...convoluted enough to make some sense to the NCAA.

It may not be self-important enough though...

Charlie Weis: On a Hot Seat in South Bend

Mike Muratore — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:14:45 -0500

The Charlie Weis era at Notre Dame may have begun it's official funeral march today. The more-than-disappointing loss to a 2-8 Syracuse (the same Syracuse that the University of Akron hung 45 on earlier this year) highlights exactly what is wrong in South Bend.

Even when the Irish are without a doubt the more talented team on the field, the game is in doubt because of the poor decisions by the sidelines.

In three of the Irish's five losses, Notre Dame blew 10+ fourth-quarter leads. In wins against Stanford and Navy, 21 point second-half leads turned suddenly into nail-biting finishes. One could argue that the Irish are young and lack depth and experience, but common sense and anyone watching the game can see the more obvious truth: Notre Dame is poorly coached.

Despite youth, a program that considers itself one of college football's elite can never make this claim. Back-to-back top five recruiting classes now enrolled should negate that "lack of depth" problem, especially against San Diego State, Navy, and Syracuse.

Even the best players are ineffective when they are out of position constantly. One has to wonder how intense Irish practices are as turnovers and crippling penalties have become the norm. The play calling often pins the offense into obvious situations, bringing many third and long's.

Today against the Orange, Weis—calling his own plays for a disastrous second straight week—called 24 rushing plays in the first three quarters against a nine-man defensive front for 40 yards. When the defense knows you have to throw, and know you have trouble picking up the blitz, you are a long shot to succeed.

Perhaps the largest indictment against Weis is his constant misguided belief that 4th-and-4 at midfield is "go for it" territory. He coaches like he's playing the game on PlayStation. Go for it...And if it goes badly, just hit reset!

Two consecutive series in the third quarter that depending on your affiliation was either horrifying or hilarious have caused this Weis doubter to begin printing "Fire Weis Now!" t-shirts...

Leading 13-10 in the third quarter, Notre Dame blocks a Syracuse punt and takes over at the 20 yard line. A first down holding penalty negates a first down and sets up 1st-and-20 at the 30. A first down draw nets zero yards. A second-down sack loses 15 yards setting up third and 35 at the Orange 45.

A 15-yard gain negated by a holding penalty in the backfield sets up 3rd-and-47 at the Notre Dame 47. Clausen throws for seven on third down and the Irish punt. Following a three and out by the defense, the Irish block a second consecutive punt, setting up the offense inside the Syracuse 25-yard line for a second straight possession.

Notre Dame manages a first down and has a near touchdown, that Weis burned a time out challenging. The Irish field goal attempt is missed due to a bad snap.

To sum up, two blocked punts, two possessions begin inside the opponent's red zone, zero points, two timeouts spent.

To further confound Irish fans everywhere, Notre Dame went for two fourth-down conversions outside their 40-yard line, converting neither.

A hallmark of poorly coached football teams is also evident at Notre Dame this season: This team is getting worse.

The offensive line is regressing, the defensive line is no longer getting any penetration. After the Pittsburgh loss, it appears that the team has quit. Clausen is getting hit at 2007 levels and is often fleeing for his life rather than looking for an open receiver.

Weis's solution to this was to tell Clausen to not look down field, connect on more screens and outlet receivers. With no running game to speak of and a newly-hatched plan to throw quick and short, the offensive guru has essentially raised the white flag.

Unfortunately, it seems as though Weis critics are correct in calling him arrogant and ignorant to the college game. In games like today's, Weiss believed that the Irish's talent advantage was enough to win the game...Or one must assume because an offensive game plan was hard to pick out.

When Weis's idea of line 'em up and run 'em over was obviously not working, and Syracuse's strategy of "keep it close and make a play late" was gaining traction, Weis was slow to change his strategy.

Similarly, last week, when holding a 21-point lead in the fourth, he pulls the foot off the gas before delivering the knock-out punch, underestimating the Navy spirit and almost suffering this week's embarrassment seven days early.

As humiliating as last week's inability to recover an onside kick was, today was worse. The only consistent successful offense came in the way of play action and down field passing...But Weiss kept trying to establish control of the line.

When everyone in the stadium could see that the game was slipping away, Weiss kept running. When down field passes to Tate, Rudolph, and Grimes set up a first down at the Orange 35, and a knock out score was again within reach, Weiss kept running.

Three missed field goals didn't help, but the latter two would have been career longs for a kicker that has had his struggles.

The Irish will fall to 6-6 after what promises to be another blow-out loss to USC.

28-21 after four years in the program.

At the University of Akron, that may be tolerated. At Notre Dame, it shouldn't be. Weis has no excuse left. These are his guys. And these guys played well enough to win against North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and now Syracuse.

The team is also talented enough to have played closer games against Boston College and Michigan State. The four or five poor coaching decisions that Weis makes are now the only reason that Notre Dame continues to find itself staring up dejectedly at a clock showing zeros and score favoring the opponent.

The only reason to not fire Weis today is that he is poised to bring in another top five recruiting class. One has to ask himself, however: Are these the RIGHT recruits?

The last two classes were high because of QB and WR recruits, but the Irish are weak up the center. WR and RB highlight the new class, which will rank it high on rivals.com, but does not necessarily translate into wins under Weiss who desperately needs OL and DL help.

Notre Dame should be better. The players are bigger. Faster. But not better. It is a short walk to the conclusion that if it's not the talent, it's not the players, it's probably the coach.