November 25, 2011

Notre Dame vs. Stanford - Saving the Best for Last

Dan: Stanford


Stanford 31 Notre Dame 20

Jeremy: Stanford
First time I'm picking against the Irish this year.  Must mean they're going to find a way to get the W, right?  Stanford was very successful in dropping the 8 or 9 guys into coverage last year, and that same strategy has proved effective this year in games against Pitt, Wake and last week against the Eagles.  Could be another long day of checkdowns and throw-aways.  

For the Irish to stay around in this game, they're going to need a monstrous effort from Cierre Wood and the offensive line.  Stanford hasn't faced too many great running teams this year, particularly early on, and ND should be able to find some holes on the ground.  Both Michael Floyd and Tyler Eifert should attract plenty of attention and will force guys like TJ Jones and Robby Toma to find holes in the zone.  

Andrew Luck doesn't need much discussion, and if he's watched any tape at all on the ND team, he knows that the middle of the field will be wide open for him, particularly if he can get his TEs matched up against any one of Te'o, Fox or Calabrese.  Those drags and crossing routes are going to absolutely murder the Irish defense.  

I expect the play of the ND offensive and defensive lines to keep the Irish in the game, though the likely loss of Stephon Tuitt for another week is going to make it tough to keep the Cardinal running game in check.  Luck makes enough plays in the 4th quarter, and the Irish lose another chance for a marquee win.

Stanford 27 ND 20

Jimmy: Stanford
While Stanford is a very good team, ND probably matches up better with the Cardinal better than any other Top 10 team.  Prior to the BC game, I was sold the Irish would be clicking on all cylinders and ready to blow it up in Palo Alto. After yet another shaky effort from Tommy Rees, compounded by Jonas Gray's injury and Steph Tuitt's lingering health problems, my confidence in a victory is wavering.  The 1-2 combo in the backfield has been a delight.  If Theo "Yo-Yo" Riddick returns to the RB position, that would get a valuable playmaker more touches, but he's certainly not the same bulldozer, between the tackles weapon as Gray.  I'm loving the new found revelation that is Robby Toma in the slot.  Robby's size, speed, and glue hands are ideal to thrive in that position. 

ND has a proud history of producing Heisman Trophy winners within the program, and a not-so-proud history of allowing signature moments for other program's eventual Heisman awards (see Desmond Howard, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush).  Now Andrew Luck gets one final turn to impress the voters.  A big performance on the national spotlight might be all that's left to stamp his ticket to NCAA immortality.  The Irish secondary may be all to obliging. 

I hope a different scenario plays out and Brian Kelly earns his first true signature win.

Stanford 30  ND 23

Mike: Stanford
 As seen over the past two weeks, Stanford is quite vulnerable.  The Cardinal were pasted at home by Oregon and they struggled to beat Cal in Palo Alto.  Injuries have taken their toll for Stanford as well, so this week is a golden opportunity for Notre Dame to notch its first legitimate “signature” win under Brian Kelly.

Unfortunately for the Irish, Stanford has Andrew Luck at starting quarterback and Notre Dame has Tommy Rees, which is the football equivalent of bringing a butter knife to a missile fight.  Stanford will likely borrow from the blueprint on slowing the Irish offense that was authored by Boston College last week.  In other words, the Cardinal will drop plenty of men into coverage and dare the statuesque Rees to run or force the ball into tight windows with his weak arm.  For whatever reason, Brian Kelly has refused to play dual threat QB Andrew Hendrix, who performed quite well in limited action earlier this season, despite Rees’s obvious limitations.  This stubbornness will again hurt the Irish, as Rees will continue his penchant for turnovers, thereby undermining any chance at a Notre Dame offense.  On defense, Notre Dame will slow down Luck to a degree, but the senior signal caller is too good to be denied all evening.  Another opportunity lost for the Irish, who will close the regular season at a disappointing 8-4.

Stanford 34 Notre Dame 20 

Phil: Notre Dame
Notre Dame @ Stanford
Great debate between James and Mazza on if a W is a W in the college game. Lots of levels of discussion here. My 2 cents:

In this BCS world, it is obviously paramount to win every week (unless the media slobs your knob like bama) and to have a perfect season, you need to win the 1-2 games each year where the ball is not bouncing your way. You need to "win ugly." In that case, a W is a W.

Where I agree with James, is that this Irish team has already laid 3 eggs this year. We have come out flat, turned the ball over and been flat beaten.  For us, at this stage in the game, we need to show signs of improvement, signs that we are headed in the direction of being a championship caliber team. To watch the uninspired, pathetic showing against BC on senior day was awful.  It is a reminder that we are NOT elite yet, and may still have a ways to go...

Stanford is a good team, but they do not superior athleticism. Nor do they have Harbaugh this year, who can somehow motivate his players to just pummel the life out of their opponent. I am scared to think what someone like Luck can do to our secondary after watching Denard light us up, but my love for the Irish leads me to beleive we can win this game on the road, springboarding our campaign for BCS champs 2012!

Notre Dame 31 Stanford 30

November 23, 2011

Mike's 2nd Helping Picks, Rivalry Edition


My love for rivalries has been well documented on this blog, so it should be rather obvious that this is my favorite weekend of college football.  On top of the rivalry angle, the pieces to the BCS puzzle will be taking shape this weekend, which just adds another layer of entertainment to an already riveting menu of games.  Toss in copious amounts of food, beer and wine and you’ve got the recipe for an incredible stretch of days.  In honor of rivalries, I will wax prognostic about a bunch of games this week (HOME team in caps).

Lone Star Showdown:  TEXAS A&M (-8.5) over Texas
Emotions will be sky high in College Station this week.  Texas A&M is licking its chops at the opportunity to claim victory against an undermanned Texas team in the final, and perhaps the most vitriolic, edition of the Lone Star Showdown.

Texas A&M 34 Texas 14

Backyard Brawl:  WEST VIRGINIA (-7.5) over Pittsburgh
Another fine rivalry that might be ending.  Ain’t conference realignment grand?

West Virginia 30 Pittsburgh 20

Clean, Old Fashioned Hate:  GEORGIA TECH (+5.5) over Georgia
Georgia has taken care of business against an incredibly weak slate of opponents, but they will be facing a sharp step up in class this week.  With the SEC Championship on the horizon and the difficulties in preparing for Georgia Tech’s offense, this is a bad matchup for the Dawgs.

Georgia Tech 35 Georgia 28

The “Can’t They Both Lose?™” Bowl Ohio State (+7.5) over MICHIGAN
Can Michigan finally beat Ohio State after 7 straight losses?  Until I see it, I refuse to believe it.

Ohio State 24 Michigan 21

Old Oaken Bucket:  Purdue (-7.5) over INDIANA
Anyone viewing this game will likely need a replica version of the Old Oaken Bucket as a vomit receptacle.

Purdue 28 Indiana 14

Border War:  KANSAS (+24) over Missouri
Too many points for this rivalry (all time series record:  55-55-9, which is awesome), even though Kansas is beyond putrid.  Will this be Turner Gill’s final game?  Will Gary Pinkel be able to circumvent his ignition interlock after the post game party?  Questions abound on the Plains.

Missouri 42 Kansas 20

Civil War:  Oregon State (+28) over OREGON
This is Oregon State’s Super Bowl, while Oregon is still smarting from last week’s blown opportunity against USC.  That, folks, is a recipe for an underdog play.

Oregon 38 Oregon State 21

Apple Cup:  Washington State (+6.5) over WASHINGTON
Will an upset save Paul Wulff’s job?  Stay tuned, as Wazzu will reclaim the Apple Cup at the venerable CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

Washington State 35 Washington 34

Egg Bowl:  MISSISSIPPI STATE (-18) over Mississippi
The Rebels have mailed it in since Houston Nutt’s firing, but will a trip to their Magnolia State rivals serve as inspiration?  I’m guessing that it won’t.

Mississippi State 36 Mississippi 14

Sunshine Showdown:  Florida State (-2.5) over FLORIDA
Forget about the Noles’ loss last week against Virginia.  Florida State’s defense will overwhelm Florida’s offense at the Swamp.

Florida State 20 Florida 10

Crosstown Showdown:  UCLA (+14.5) over USC
In a testament to how awful the Pac-12 South has been, UCLA leads the division and can secure a berth in the conference title game with a win against the Trojans.  USC, of course, would be the division winner if not for its probation and they should be able to handle their rivals at home this week.  The edge in motivation should reside with the Bruins, however, which will be enough for the cover.

USC 35 UCLA 24

Victory Bell:  Duke (+13.5) over NORTH CAROLINA
Surprisingly, a recent study in the Wall Street Journal revealed that this game is actually the second most heated rivalry in college football in terms of total average penalties per game (behind Auburn-Georgia; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204479504576639093283303646.html).  Apparently, the mutual disdain is not only reserved for the hardwood.

North Carolina 28 Duke 21

WeIs Roundtable Week 13 Picks: Giving Thanks for Football Edition


To get in the holiday spirit, I tried to find the stellar SNLskit of Ferrell and Kattan as Air Supply: "It's Thanksgiving time, it's so good to see you.  You're in that red dress.  That looks pretty awesome."  Or something like that.  Kudos to NBC for burying the clip in its treasure trove of copyright material not to be shared or viewed again, save for a glimmer of hope it pops up on a holiday special.  Anywho, we've got plenty of football to digest this weekend.

The BCS picture at this point is a Rorshach test - screwy interpretations with no distinguishable answers, except for a big menacing Bengal tiger in the middle.  The outbreak of upset-itis last weekend gives some schools hope where hope had previously left the bar.  Even ND isn't mathematically eliminated from an "adults table" bowl game.  With a little more help from their friends, Mt. Upset can be scaled to #14 in the BCS rankings.  Without further ado, let's tackle some picks...

Virginia Tech (-5.5) @ Virginia

Dan: Virginia Tech (-5.5)
Traveling abroad last week has left Dan an utter mess, so just picks from the man.

Virginia Tech 24 Virginia 17

Jeremy: Virginia Tech (-5.5)
Great to see the Hoos looking frisky again.  Can't understand how UVA's football and basketball programs have languished for so long.  BUT, the Hokies have the BCS in their sights and Frank Beamer isn't going to have his squad suffer any let-down here.  Va Tech rolls on although there are some frightening moments.

Va Tech 28  Virginia 20

Jimmy: Virginia (+5.5)
Good for Virginia and Coach Mike London for returning to relevance in Charlottesville.  Not sure which is the bigger incentive: winning the ACC Coastal Division or grabbing the belt as undisputed king of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  While I like Va. Tech to hold on, think this will come down to the wire.

Trash-talking sidenote: Muchos gracias to the players making up my college fantasy roster that's squaring off against Phil in the championship this week.  Represented on my optimistic turned ironic team name The 2nd Coming of Crist are players from each of this week's highlighted matchups: Logan Thomas, Sammy Watkins, Trent Richardson and Tyler Wilson.  Speaking of the electric Sammy Watkins (sounds like a legendary session bassist for a 70s funk group), gotta give thanks to league Public Enemy #1 Bama Pete for trading Watkins straight up for a soon-to-shred his ACL Dominique Whaley.  A one-sided deal made in fantasy heaven. 

Virginia Tech 27  Virginia 24

Mike: Virginia (+5.5)
It is hard not to be impressed with the job that Mike London has done in Charlottesville.  In less than two years, London has transformed the Hoos from also-ran status to knocking on the door of the ACC title game.  As with most of its conference opponents, Virginia Tech has dominated this rivalry in recent years, but the Hokies are limping into this matchup with a bevy of injury concerns.  Virginia will play inspired football with a chance to unseat its in-state rival atop the ACC Coastal Division and reclaim the Commonwealth Cup for the first time since 2003.  As usual, however, Virginia Tech will find a way to win and punch its ticket to Charlotte.

Virginia Tech 26 Virginia 23

Phil: Virginia Tech (-5.5)
Great pick by me last week to pick UVA to at least cover against FSU. This is a very intriguing matchup, in that upstart UVA is at home and playing solid football. The Fighting Beamers always seem to lose a game early in the year only to find themselves in a BCS bowl after quiet reeling off 10 straight wins. Same thing this year. I think that Logan Thomas and David Wilson will provide enough fireworks to stave off the fiesty, homestanding Cavaliers. Hope I am right.

Va Tech 28 UVA 21

Clemson (+4) @ South Carolina

Dan: South Carolina (-4)

South Carolina 27 Clemson 13

Jeremy: Clemson (+4)
Really hate this pick, but I can't see the Gamecocks pulling away in this game.  Provided Sammy Watkins is somewhere near 100%, the Tigers should keep this one close.

South Carolina 23  Clemson 20

Jimmy: South Carolina (-4)
Not gonna try to understand or guess which Clemson team shows up for teh annual intra-conference Palmetto State classic.  Last week epitomized laying an egg.  Spurrier has one heckuva D-Line that's sure to give Tahj Boyd fits.  Going with the more consistent Gamecocks, who have trademarked "ugly win" this season.

USC 22 Clemson 17

Mike: Clemson (+4)
The wheels have come off the Clemson bandwagon rather quickly, as the Tigers were pounded into submission against a mediocre NC State team last week.  Clemson adds Sammy Watkins back to the lineup, however, which should benefit Tajh Boyd and the rest of their offense immensely.  South Carolina, on the other hand, has struggled enormously on offense, particularly since Marcus Lattimore’s injury, and they will likely struggle to move the ball again this week.   Look for a major bounce back for Clemson this week in the always contentious Battle of the Palmetto State.

Clemson 37 South Carolina 24

Phil: Clemson (+4)
Not sure if I understand this line. Dabo got his bammer butt kicked last week, but South Carolina is not a great team and the home field advantage is marginal at best in this rivalry game. No Lattimore for the Cocks and hoping to see a whole lotta Andre Ellington to lead both Clemson and my fantasy team to victory!

Clemson 31 USC 21

Alabama (-21) @ Auburn

Dan: Alabama (-21)

Alabama 38 Auburn 10

Jeremy: Alabama (-21)
Sorry Phil.  Saban's on a mission to get a little more respect after the computers revealed that the Tide will be going to the title game without having to win their own conference (not to mention their own division).  Statement time for Bama.

Alabama 38  Auburn 10

Jimmy: Alabama (-21)  Lock of the Week
Bama gave up 21 points to Georgia Southern!  Nick Saban’s impenetrable defense now very penetrable (on second thought, a word I probably shouldn’t be using these days in college football circles).  Rein it in media jumping at any kind of angle on a boring sub-par FCS opponent in November (why the SEC allows these matchups to be scheduled now is beyond me).  The Tide are still the 2nd best team in America and were caught looking ahead to this redemptive Iron Bowl.  Sorry Philip, but Auburn is about to pay the reaper for last year's epic victory.  Hide your kids, hide your wife.  This will get ugly.

Bama 48  Auburn 10

Mike: Alabama (-21)  Lock of the Week
Forget the drama this year.  Alabama has the BCS title game in its crosshairs and you can bet that Nick Saban will have his team primed for revenge after last year’s meltdown in Tuscaloosa.  Much like having the pitcher strike out purposefully to avoid hitting into a double play in RBI Baseball for Nintendo, Auburn’s offense would be well served to punt on second or third down to avoid turning the bowl over.  My prediction? Pain.

Alabama 28 Auburn 3

Phil: Abstaining
A greatly different feel to this years' Iron Bowl than the past 2 years. Auburn no longer has the upstart, "trick up your sleeve" surprise factor as they did in 2009 and  they no longer have the greatest college football player ever like they did in 2010.

Auburn is truly a poor team this year. The OL is awful. The DL, although improved, is no match for the Bama D Line. Moseley has tried his best at QB, but I suspect the Bama front 7 might kill his fragile self. All we have to go on this year is passion, hatred for our rival and home field advantage (which I pray stays our home field as some alums shamefully will sell their tix).
Alabama is a great team. Richardson is the great (2nd best back in the state!), and the defense is 2nd to none. They are weak at QB and weak at WR. They struggle to score points at times against a good defense, which sadly, Auburn does NOT have. Plus, they realize what is at stake and the revenge factor will be high after last years gut wrenching stomach punch loss.

Although I started the year off slow in my picks, I have made a resurgence and am no longer lagging way behind. Had I not picked for Auburn and against Alabama every time, I would probably be winning the pick race. No prediction from me for this game as I am holding a glimmer of hope that the mighty War Eagles can muster one game's worth of moxie, energy and fight to beat the #2 outta the tide. WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!

Arkansas (+13) @ LSU

Dan: LSU (-13)

LSU 31 Arkansas 10

Jeremy: LSU (-13)
Speaking of statement games, this one's a big one for both teams.  Arkansas is trying to prove that they belong in the national title discussion, while LSU realizes that their big win over Bama is almost meaningless.  Mathieu is due for another defensive TD, and Tyler Wilson will be more than accommodating, as he'll be forced to chuck it about 50 times on Friday.  Looking forward to this one, even if the Bayou Bengals pull away comfortably in the 2nd half.

LSU 31  Arkansas 13

Jimmy: LSU (-13)
Have to imagine this is the first time in BCS history where a #1 vs. #3 BCS ranks matchup mirrors a conference's division standings.  While I'm grateful for Tyler Wilson's steady contributions to my fantasy squad, he gets the bench this week.  LSU's suffocating secondary will likely cause his performance to register somewhere between woefully inept and a Brad Johnson-esque game manager mediocre.  As talented as Jarius Wright & Co. are, I just don't see Wilson picking the Tigers apart. With the Death Valley denizens hungry for a compelling finish to this unblemished season, the Mad Hatter will orchestrate at least a two score margin.

LSU 36  Arkansas 17

Mike: Arkansas (+13)
Once again, the SEC delivers with high drama on the day after Thanksgiving.  The Battle for the Golden Boot has produced plenty of incredible games in the past 10 years irrespective of each team’s record and, with BCS title game implications on the line for both teams, there’s every reason to believe that this year’s edition will be hotly contested.  As with the Alabama-Arkansas game earlier this year, I believe that LSU’s dominant defense will ultimately be too much for the Hogs to handle.  Nonetheless, Bobby Petrino should be able to coax enough production out of his team to keep this game close to the very end.

As an aside, Jack Swarbrick would do extremely well to keep Petrino on his short list of replacement coaches in the likely event that Brian Kelly fails at Notre Dame.  Petrino inherited a roster at Arkansas that was bereft of talent and he has turned them into a legitimate SEC contender despite lacking the same rich in-state talent base that his rivals at Florida, Georgia, Alabama and LSU have.  In addition, while character is always a major issue at Notre Dame, Petrino has never run afoul of the NCAA authorities at any of his prior stops.  Although there will be those who continue to express outrage over Petrino’s exit from Atlanta, it was clear that the NFL was not working out, so he made the best move for himself and his family.  Admittedly, his departure was abrupt and clumsy, but, while that may offend the sensibilities of the NFL-obsessed talking heads in Bristol, CT, it doesn’t bother me at all.

LSU 24 Arkansas 17

Phil: Arkansas (+13)
Lotta points being given here for a game that means so much against 2 teams who have played each other tough the last few years. Arky is a much better team than they were in September after losing to Bama. The BCS implications of an LSU loss are potentially catastrophic. One good thing for the Tigers is that Arky's strength is their passing game and LSU can cover and rush the QB. I like LSU in a closely fought game.

LSU 27 Arky 24

Bonus Picks

Dan: Boston College @ Miami (-14)

Miami 31 Boston College 13

Jeremy: Akron @ Western Michigan (-28)
Wouldn't even think of hopping off my horse here.  Take a look at that Akron schedule and tell me there's a worse team in the NCAA.  Bet you can't do it. 

Western Michigan 48  Akron 3

Jimmy: Georgia @ Georgia Tech (+5.5)
Sign me up for the home under dog getting decent points in a rivalry game with the favored Bulldogs having already wrapped up their conference priorities. As long as the Yellow Jackets don't get behind by more than 2 scores, this should be a doozy.

Georgia Tech 31  Georgia 30

Mike: See follow up post with Mike’s bounty of Thanksgiving picks. 

Phil: Penn St @ Wisconsin (-12)
Not much to say here, except that I wish Russell Wilson had went to Auburn and I hope Wisconsin beats the hell outta Penn St.

Wisconsin 70 Penn St 3

Last Week
Dan: 3-3 (-)
Jeremy: 5-1 (-)
Jimmy: 4-2 (+)
Mike: 5-1 (+)
Phil: 5-1 (+)

Season to Date
Dan: 42-27 (8-4)
Jeremy: 43-26-1 (7-5)
Jimmy: 40-27-3 (9-3)
Mike: 33-36-1 (7-4-1)
Phil: 40-28-1 (8-3-1)

November 18, 2011

Notre Dame vs. Boston College -


Jeremy: Notre Dame
Not a whole lot to say about this one.  BC is quite a mess this year, and things don't seem to be getting a whole lot better under Coach Spaz.  Look for the running game to keep churning, and a few TDs from Floyd on Senior Day.  A bit sad I'll be missing his last game in the Stadium.  He's been an absolute joy to watch the last 4 years.  ND rolls and continues to build momentum and confidence going into the Stanford matchup.

ND 38  BC 13

Jimmy: Notre Dame
Emotions will run high in Notre Dame Stadium as the departing seniors slap the “Play Like A Champion” sign and run through the tunnel for the last time.  A heralded group when Charlie Weis inked the class in the winter of ’08, the class of 23 entered with mammoth expectations on the heels of The Season That Need Never Be Spoke Of.  It was a huge recruiting coup for Weis that promised better days in South Bend, even if the Front Butt wouldn't be on the sidelines to reap the benefits of his hard work.  The biggest compliment that can be said of this class is that they leave the program in a better place than when they arrived, with the progress arrow decidedly pointing up. 

Like all classes, there were some misses and guys that didn't pan out for various reasons (Dayne Crist, Deion Walker, Brandon Newman, Steve Filer, Joseph Fauria, John Goodman chief among the letdowns).  But there were more multi-year impact players in the group - Ethan Johnson, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Robert Blanton, Trevor Robinson, Darius Fleming, Kyle Rudolph, Braxton Cave.  Jonas Gray's comet-like final season has put the oomph back in the running game.  And then there's Mr. Rewrite of the Record Books, Michael Floyd.  

Brian Kelly has continued the recruiting momentum this class of 2008 started.  Some of the replacement pieces are already in place.  Someone will replace Floyd.  (Well, it’ll probably take 3 or 4 guys in a metaphorical Captain Planet convergence of talents: Hands!  Speed!  Body Control!  Leap!)  All in all, Saturday will make for a nice farewell game to honor their contributions.  The game should be in control early in the 2nd half, enough to get the senior walk-ons (and Mike Collins’ animated substitution updates) a moment in the sun.  There’s really not much to go over with our Catholic brethren from Chestnut Hill.  The element of shocking triumph always hovers when Boston College visits, but this edition is so vanilla bad that I’m quite confident we won’t see any flashbacks to ’93 or ’02.  In a flawed symbiotic relationship, the Eagles offense seems to be predicated on giving Luke Kuechly as many opportunities as possible to amass gaudy tackle stats.  That’s the nicest thing I can say about them.

Go Irish!  Thank you Seniors.

ND 38  BC 14

Mike: Notre Dame
I am saddened by the recent woes at Boston College this season.  It is tough to accept that BC will fall short of its lofty goal of making the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in beautiful Boise or the Advocare V100 Independence Bowl in sunny Shreveport.  In fact, given BC’s infamous history of point shaving, both on the gridiron and the hardwood, a cynical person might even suspect that the Eagles have been throwing games this year.  Of course, most point shaving schemes involve keeping the games relatively close to avoid scrutiny, so perhaps this is just good old fashioned futility on the Heights.  In any event, I would tell you that the Superfan bandwagon is lonely, but that would be redundant.

As for the game, BC has one of the most anemic passing games in college football (well, at least in the FBS), so they will rely heavily upon Andre Williams and perhaps Deuce Finch, the latter of whom was conspicuously absent in the Eagles’ upset victory over NC State.  If the Irish are stout against the run as usual, they should be able to apply some pressure to Chase Rettig and hopefully force some turnovers.  On the other side of the ball, BC has an average defense that the Irish offense should be able to wear down with a steady dose of Gray and Wood.  Notre Dame employed a solid game plan last week against Maryland and I am cautiously optimistic that Brian Kelly will again lean upon his powerful running game to set up the passing offense.  The Irish have been better on special teams in the second half of the year, although it would be heartwarming to see a punt return that results in positive yardage.

Emotions will be running high on Senior Day and, with any luck, the Irish will maintain their focus against a severely overmatched foe.  Notre Dame will let its Catholic “brothers” hang around for about a quarter before blasting the Jesuits back to the Enlightenment Era with a handful of Notre Dame Stadium sod as a lovely parting gift.  Here’s hoping for the Irish to party like it’s 1992.

Notre Dame 54 Boston College 7

Phil: Notre Dame
There was a time when I hated BC almost as much as I hated Alabama. They seemed to beat us every year, even though they sucked (you do the math). This year, the only Ws on their schedule have been Maryland, NC ST, and UMass.  Yikes. The Irish are finally hitting their stride after several weeks worth of turnovers and uninspired play. I am highly interested to see our game vs Stanford. It will be a true test of us turning the corner or being the same ol Irish. I also hope our players and coaches are not taking a similar approach and overlooking BC. I wanna put the hurt on them.

ND 42 BC 13