1. Notre Dame Recruiting: Kelly Reloads and Remolds the Irish

    Whiskey has done an admirable job in discussing how Coach Kelly and his staff could manage scholarship numbers in the class of 2011 and keep within the 85 scholarship limit ( link )...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 2 years ago 7,279 reads 21 comments

  2. College Football's Coaching Carousel: Race Matters, Minority Candidates 2010

    Time to once again play Athletic Director. Your school is slumping. You have fired the head coach. You are looking for a talented replacement who will bring the program to prominence, satisfy fans and alumni, and secure your job...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 2 years ago 1,004 reads 9 comments

  3. USC-Notre Dame Week: Isn't It Time for Semi-pro Football?

    NCAA football isn't what it used to be, though maybe it never was. Agents lurking around programs, boosters funneling monies, players getting paid and proponents wanting players ...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 2 years ago 1,007 reads 30 comments

  4. Brian Kelly's Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Shedding Its Skin

    A few months ago we had the honor of celebrating the life of my aunt. Under the Florida sun, she and her husband were buried with full military honors for their service...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 2 years ago 787 reads 3 comments

  5. Notre Dame Football's Perfect Day: This Week's Games Involving Irish Rivals

    Have you ever kicked back after a slate of Saturday's football games and said to yourself "Now that was a perfect day!" If the stars and planets align correctly, Irish fans have an opportunity to enjoy a near perfect weekend...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 2 years ago 1,011 reads 24 comments

  6. The 1925 Rose Bowl: Notre Dame Vs. Stanford

    How would you like to see a matchup between the coach with the highest win percentage against the coach with the second most wins in a career? Would you like to see the most storied ...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 2 years ago 418 reads 0 comments

  7. The Notre Dame-Michigan Rivalry: "To Hell with Notre Dame"

    You'd think the Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry would be a natural: Strong feelings, near in distance, competing for the same players, families with students in both schools, the top two ...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 2 years ago 2,245 reads 6 comments

  8. Irish Game Day: A Guide to Events and Traditions at Notre Dame

    Whether you attend an Irish home game every year or come for your first game as a parent of a new freshman, a lifelong Subway Alum, or as a visiting team fan; a Notre Dame football weekend is a special experience...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 2 years ago 6,239 reads 19 comments

  9. The Notre Dame Victory March: A Touchstone

    To any fan of college football, Notre Dame is immediately associated with two icons - the Golden Dome and the Notre Dame Victory March...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about almost 3 years ago 1,400 reads 18 comments

  10. Notre Dame and Conference Expansion: The Secret Sauce of Success

    This summer's winds and waves of conference expansion seemed to build to hurricane force, buffeting the island of the Irish as well as the Big East and Big 12 conferences...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about almost 3 years ago 2,286 reads 23 comments

  11. Sid Vicious: Oh, Canada—A Hockey Gold

    Sidney Crosby, Canada's premier hockey player, put a dagger through the hearts of hockey and Olympic fans south of the 49th parallel border with seven minutes and 40 seconds gone in a sudden death overtime gold medal thriller...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about 3 years ago 197 reads 0 comments

  12. Notre Dame's NCAA Infractions: Ten Years Later

    The possibility of sanctions to our respected rivals USC and Michigan makes me flashback to Notre Dame’s only major NCAA sanction in its history a decade ago...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about 3 years ago 5,175 reads 7 comments

  13. College Football Coaching Changes: True Believers or Carpetbaggers?

    We want to believe the coaches our universities hire are committed to us. We use words like loyalty to position ourselves on the high ground to throw stones at those leaving town for another job...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 3 years ago 2,775 reads 17 comments

  14. Which Is the Top Conference in College Football?

    Scheduling for Success Once again we’ve reached the part of the season that is consumed by boasting. Who has the best conference—mine or yours? We’re all biased even though we try to be objective about non-conference scheduling...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 3 years ago 4,791 reads 133 comments

  15. D3 Football: Perspectives From a Student-Athlete

    As the FBS season winds down amidst high-profile coaching searches at Notre Dame and others—I have noted the pain with which Irish players are parting with their coaches ...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 3 years ago 1,998 reads 4 comments

  16. Notre Dame Under Charlie Weis and Beyond

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

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 3 years ago 877 reads 38 comments

  17. Notre Dame–USC: A Rivalry of Respect and Heartbreak

    Maybe the football gods would have this no other way. Two of the most storied football teams in America meet as Indiana fall turns leaves golden and a chill is in the air. No team has beaten USC more than Notre Dame...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 3 years ago 315 reads 9 comments

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

    The leadership and values coaches instill in their players reflects on themselves and their universities. In turn, players’ actions often reflect those coach’s values...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 3 years ago 1,020 reads 64 comments

  19. SEC Acquires NCAA: Hostile Takeover Of Notre Dame Fails

    Note: This is a fictional interview. I sat down with Mike Slive, Commissioner of the Southeastern Conference. After some initial pleasantries, we discussed the SEC’s recent acquisition of the NCAA...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 3 years ago 565 reads 7 comments

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

    One hundred years ago an experienced Notre Dame team traveled to Ann Arbor under a national spotlight due to both teams' strong performances thus far that season...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 3 years ago 2,367 reads 23 comments

  21. The Bleacher's Community: Drive-By Articles

    Most everyone here at Bleachers is civil, respectful of differences of opinion, and open to a little healthy debate. That’s the basis of the Community established at Bleachers...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about over 3 years ago 139 reads 14 comments

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

    August is the cruelest month for football fans. Heat, humidity and sweat sweep over the dead land in two-a-days, catching us between memory and desire, mingling historical ghosts and anticipatory ...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about almost 4 years ago 986 reads 35 comments

  23. Syracuse Schedules Notre Dame in the New Meadowlands

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    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about almost 4 years ago 243 reads 15 comments

  24. Fifteen Answers on Notre Dame's Rivalries

    Some great regional rivalries form some of the history and intensity that vibrates through college football, often determining conference champions: Texas-Texas A&M (115 years), ...

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about almost 4 years ago 793 reads 14 comments

  25. Fifteen Questions: A Quiz on Notre Dame's Rivalries

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

    Michael Collins Written by Michael Collins about almost 4 years ago 181 reads 7 comments