Dream Job: Thoughts, comments, and concerns about Brian Kelly at Notre Dame on everything from academics to fit to expectations and more

10) Is there a better purpose for the Internet than a college football head coaching search?? These head coaching searches have become like a sport in themselves. Between the message boards and blogs and Twitter and old school newspapers, I don't even know what to believe. The message boards are the best. Is there a coach in America who hasn't been rumored for the Notre Dame job in the last two weeks??

I'll admit that I bought into the Stoops rumors. I bought into these wild stories about Eddie Debartolo and Bill Warren making Godfather offers to Stoops, but now I don't think there's any real truth to them. Maybe ND contacted Stoops, but I don't think we were even on his radar. The only reason Stoops didn't put an end to it right away is because he has this policy about not talking about other jobs. Look at how many times he tried to end the speculation. He said Monday that he was staying, the rumors didn't die, he said Tuesday that he was staying, the rumors still didn't die, he then literally started mocking us by joking with reporters that he was calling from South Bend, the rumors continued, and finally he just had enough and put out a statement that he was not coming to ND.

Now, maybe it was all some negotiating ploy, but I don't buy it. I don't think we ever really discussed terms, and I don't buy the rumor that Stoops made demands on Res Life or academic exemptions or whatever. If we were at the point where we were actually discussing that stuff, a deal would have been done. No way we let Bob Stoops slip through our fingers over a couple academic exemptions. The more likely story is that Stoops was never even on the radar.

The other thing that's funny about all the Stoops rumors is this: We heard all these "insider" guys on the message boards saying that Stoops was close and all this stuff. It seemed like everyone had some cousin who worked in the athletic department or had a "source" who was close to Stoops. Once Stoops officially denied us, what happened to all these supposed "insiders" with updates on who else we were targeting? They are nowhere to be found. If they knew so much about the Stoops pursuit, why didn't they know anything about what was going on with Kelly or other candidates?? People were literally talking specifics on the Stoops front, and now it's all quiet and we're all in the dark??

My guess is that a bunch of people were full of garbage and rumors started spreading wild. Suddenly, everything was "friend of a friend of a friend" when the reality is that we were all spreading the same false rumors.

I admit that I bought into it all and spread a million rumors myself, but I don't think Stoops was ever strongly considering the ND job.

9) So on to Brian Kelly. Everyone has discussed his record at this point. You don't just go 12-0 by blind luck. He must be doing something right down there at UC. They're winning games at Pitt and at Oregon State and South Florida and beating teams like West Virginia and Rutgers. Not exactly murderer's row or anything, but he's coaching at Cincinnati!! When has Cincinnati ever expected to beat any of those teams, let alone ALL of them??

I like this hire. Kelly has the type of personality and charisma that we haven't had on that ND sideline since Holtz, and you can't argue with his track record. I have some concerns (which I'll get to below), but I think he's going to bring a ton of energy and discipline to this Notre Dame program.

Of course, ND fans are going to one of their favorite tactics to bash Kelly. Straw men!! Nothing like a good straw man to bring this guy down a few notches and rain on the parade.

My favorite straw man to emerge about Kelly is that he's "never beaten a major power." People cite their blowout loss at Oklahoma as some sort of major red flag against Brian Kelly like he's a complete failure for getting blown out at Oklahoma.

Are people for real with this nonsense?? IT'S OKLAHOMA!!! The Oklahoma Sooners coached by Mr. Superstar Dream Boy Coach, Bob Stoops. People expected Kelly to take his rag tag crew to Norman and hang with OU?? Cmon, that's absurd. Oklahoma has superstar players up and down their roster. Brian Kelly has guys like Demetrius Jones starting at OLB and 260 pound defensive tackles.

I remember that OU game. Cincy was actually in the game for a half. The fact that they were even in the game at all is a sign that Kelly had them prepared. They just ran out of gas. Oklahoma was a top 5 team that year and borderline unbeatable at home. They aren't losing at home to Cincy.

There is no coach in America who would have taken that UC team to Norman and won that game. Not Stoops. Not Urban. Not Saban. Not Ara Parseghian. NO ONE. Cincinnati doesn't win at Oklahoma. It doesn't happen. Period.

If you don't like Kelly, fine. But don't bring up ridiculous stuff like "he couldn't win at Oklahoma" for bashing the guy.

The other one I find hilarious is the argument that Kelly won't be able to handle ND's "tough" schedules and that coaching in the Big East isn't analogous to ND's schedules. Man, that is rich.

Ummm................are we sure we're talking about the same Notre Dame program that I'm thinking about?? The ND that's playing FIVE mid-majors next year?? The ND that's playing two heavyweights next year and indefinitely into the future?? The ND that loads up on mediocre Big Ten teams and Big East teams??

Again, look at our 2010 schedule.

S04 PURDUE
S11 MICHIGAN
S18 @ Michigan St.
S25 STANFORD
O02 @ Boston College
O09 PITTSBURGH
O16 WESTERN MICHIGAN
O23 @ Navy (NY/NJ)
O30 TULSA
N13 UTAH
N20 ARMY (Yankee Stadium)
N27 @ Southern Cal

Man, how is Kelly going to deal with coaching against Tulsa and Army and Western Michigan?? BRUTAL!! How is he going to do it?? I can't even imagine. Oh wait, he was the head coach at Central Michigan and smoked those teams there and has done the same at UC.

And how is he going to coach against Pittsburgh?? Those juggernauts!! Oh wait, I forgot he's beaten them three years in a row. Whoops.

And my god, PURDUE!! OH NO!! I bet Brian Kelly just crawled into the fetal position thinking about those mighty Boilermakers. Never mind that UC just destroyed a bad Big Ten team like Illinois this year.

I mean, come on now. This ain't your older brother's Notre Dame. ND plays watered-down schedules these days. Other than USC, this schedule is no different from what you see at Cincinnati. Yes, USC will be a very tough game for ND, but when has it not been a tough game for ND?? It would be a tough game for Bob Stoops too. The same Bob Stoops who lost to USC 55-19 in the Orange Bowl. Plus, UC went to Corvallis this year and beat Oregon State. Oregon State is not USC of course, but they play power football just like the Trojans. Why couldn't Kelly prepare his ND teams to do the same thing and beat USC??

Hilarious. You gotta love our fans. There are folks out there just grasping at any straw to bring down Kelly, and somehow keep finding new ways to make up dumb strawmen without informed facts.

Nothing like the Notre Dame fanbase. Hands down the dumbest fanbase in America.

8) Here's another argument that needs to be debunked:

"Kelly doesn't know how to coach defense."

Wait, you mean the Brian Kelly who got his start as a defensive coordinator?? That Brian Kelly doesn't know anything about defense?? I went to 3 UC games in 2008, and their defense was good. Good secondary, stopped the run, great pass rush. Kelly turned Connor Barwin from a chump tight end into an early 2nd round draft pick at defensive end with the Houston Texans. Barwin was like a college version of Jared Allen. Unblockable. UC had several guys who got drafted from their defense. I went to the UC-Pitt game last year at Nippert, and UC shut down LeSean McCoy.

Admittedly their defense collapsed this year, but it also might have been a product of not having any talent or depth. Their nose tackle weighs 260 pounds and Demetrius freaking Jones is their starting outside linebacker.

Put Kelly at ND with better athletes and depth, and I think it could be a different story. I also think he'll revisit the switch to the 3-4 defense and decide if that's really where he wants to go in the future.

I could also see Kelly switching several offensive recruits to defense right away. He did that when he got to UC. First candidate: Cierre Wood. We need two black safeties next year. Put Cierre Wood at safety in the winter, get him fired up, and maybe he becomes a playmaker next year for this group. We got KILLED in the passing game last year, and I think it had something to do with a lack of playmakers in the secondary.

I'll throw out another guy who could be a star next year. KERRY NEAL. Get that guy flying up field and making plays like Barwin did at Cincy. I hope Kelly lights a fire under Kerry Neal and KLM all offseason.

I hope Kelly comes in and puts a premium on being extremely physical on defense. He should just spend all offseason talking to Bo Pelini.

7) Another thing I like about Kelly is that he's not an ideologue. Even though I love Jim Harbaugh and think he would be a superstar at ND, he's one of those guys who would rather go down doing it "his way" and running it for 300 yards while losing the game than just going with the flow and finding a way to get it done.

Kelly seems like one of those "just win, baby" guys who doesn't have the ego to stubbornly stick to some bogus game plan or system. He will adapt to the circumstances and build his team around what they do best. I think it's because of Kelly's political background. In that world, you have to be willing to change it up on the fly, and Kelly is one of the best I've seen at making adjustments that end up winning games. Isn't that what it's all about ultimately?? Winning games??

Two perfect examples jump to mind from this season:

--Tony Pike goes down in the South Florida game -- UC goes to a zone read spread option with Zack Collaros almost on the fly and the offense doesn't even skip a beat. If anything, they were even more effective offensively. How many other teams would have completely folded under those circumstances??

--Pitt was gashing Cincy on the ground for the first half -- UC goes to a run blitz in the second half to take away the run, and actually did just enough to slow down Pitt to catch up and win the game in the fourth quarter.

Did UC's defense play well against Pitt? No, not at all. But Kelly found a way to do enough to get a couple stops out of his defense and put his team in a position to come back and win the game. To me, that's why you have a head coach. He can make a little adjustment to pull out a game. It's a nice weapon to have. Kelly seems to be a master at doing it.

It's not rocket science. It's just common sense adjustments to win a game. Believe it or not, a lot of coaches don't do this stuff. Coaches love to overcomplicate things.

Some would say this sounds too much like Weis. A guy with no system who game plans and schemes every week to win games instead of paying attention to solid, fundamentally sound football. I think there's a major difference though. Weis "adjusted" on the fly quite often in games, but it was more like he just defaulted back to the one thing that he was comfortable with: No-huddle passing and trying to outscore everyone. We did that every game whenever things started going bad. Weis had nothing else in his arsenal. We never had a new wrinkle on defense or special teams to make a play and turn the tide.

We almost always got outadjusted at halftime under Weis. We lost the Michigan game in the 3rd quarter when they shut down our screen game and got us off track. By the time we got back on track, we were already down by double digits. And we never did figure out a way to stop their offense. Teams routinely would make adjustments at halftime to slow us down offensively, and we never countered.

When I've watched Cincy play, they've generally owned the 1st and 3rd quarters. To me, that's a sign of good coaching. I don't think people remember what it's like to see a well-coached football team at Notre Dame. We don't remember what it's like to see teams that make good adjustments at halftime or win a game with special teams or come out on the road and hang tough. We haven't done anything like that on a consistent basis in a long time.

Kelly keeps things simple. He's a guy who focuses on execution and preparation and motivation instead of schemes and things like that. The first thing that really jumped out at me about Kelly was before his first season at Cincinnati when his players were saying how well prepared they felt going into every game and how they really felt an edge that they didn't feel under Mark Dantonio. Does it get any more simple to explain Kelly's success than that??

I think that factor alone is a big reason to feel optimistic about Kelly at Notre Dame.

6) Now while I have generally been a Brian Kelly supporter and think he has a chance to be successful at ND, there are a few things of course that are giving me pause just a little bit.

1) Does Kelly really know what he's getting himself into from an instituational standpoint??

Brian Kelly is the ultimate "subway alum." Irish Catholic guy who grew up in Boston. He probably thinks of ND the way way he did back when he was 12 years old watching Ara and Terry Hanratty when ND was the ultimate college football program. He thinks of those gold helmets and the fight song and Touchdown Jesus. This is ND!! The "dream job." The pinnacle of college football for a guy like Kelly.

And from a competitive standpoint, he's probably thinking "Look at me winning all these games at Cincinnati. Put me at ND with their tradition and fans and built-in advantages, and I could be unbelievable!"

I think Weis felt the same way when he came to ND. He didn't know any better. That's why he said all that stuff about "they should fire me if I don't win a championship in five years" and all that. I think he really believed that. He figured ND was like it was in 1977 when he was a student. He thought ND was the same ND it's always been and that all it needed was a good coach and the championships would start flowing back to South Bend.

The problem is that the ND of 2005 isn't like the ND of 2009 when Weis and Kelly grew up thinking that ND was the best program in football.

Back in 1975, there were no football factories. You could go to ND, get an education, and also play championship football. There weren't all these training tables and other little edges. Everyone was operating on the same playing field, and ND happened to get the best high school talent. So we won. A lot.

The problem is that the rest of college football has changed immeasurably since those days, but ND is still stuck in that era. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to have true student-athletes, but most programs don't operate that way. Maybe Northwestern, Stanford, Duke, Vandy,etc but none of those programs have championship aspirations. ND still wants to be perceived as a major college football program, but we haven't really acted like it for a long time. A concept as simple as a training table (which is standard at most schools now and has been for a long time) is only now looking like a possibility and only after the idea was thoroughly vetted by the collars. Things like Res Life are obstacles that scared off Urban Meyer and maybe even Bob Stoops.

Is Brian Kelly aware of all this?? Does he know what he's getting himself into?? If so, does he have a plan to overcome those challenges or is he going to be overwhelmed by them like Ty and Davie and even Weis were??

Coaching at ND is no longer just about coaching football. There are a hundred things on your plate that you probably don't have at any other school. As strange as it sounds, that's why I continue to believe Harbaugh would have been a better fit culturally. Harbaugh is a loose cannon, but he is a guy who seems to identify with these academic schools. I was listening to Mike and Mike on ESPN the other day, and Greenberg had an interesting story about Harbaugh telling the Chicago media before the 92 Michigan-Duke NCAA championship game that he was rooting for Duke to beat Michigan because he was friends with Coach K. UM fans were outraged of course, but it just kind of goes along with the whole Harbaugh "go your own way" mentality. I don't think he likes the "football factory" scene. I think he appreciates and understands what a school like ND is all about. He's the type of guy who would embrace ND's tough academic standards but also work within those parameters to find a way to build tough teams and win games.

The question is whether can Kelly win with academic-oriented players. Does he know what it's like to have true student-athletes?? Yes, Kelly will get better high school players than he has had at Cincy and CMU, but they are also expected to be students at ND.

That's the thing about UC. They don't have a lot of pedigreed high school recruits, but they do have a lot of shaky academic guys who actually have talent but couldn't get accepted at a Big Ten school. A guy like Mardy Gilyard did not get offers from the big state schools because of concerns about academics and things like that even though he is as talented as just about anyone on our roster. Gilyard will be an NFL wide receiver next year. Maybe he wasn't a Rivals 5 star because of grades or eligibility issues, but he's a five star type talent.

At UC, you can bring in whoever you want. At ND, it's not even close to that. You couldn't find two more different schools than Cincinnati and Notre Dame.

Does Kelly know how to operate at a place like ND?? You can't get guys like Mardy Gilyard. You take guys like John Goodman at ND. Goodman is a good player, but he's a different kind of player from Mardy Gilyard. You need to be able to win with the Goodmans at ND.

One thing that pleases me on that front is that Kelly has apparently asked for admissions exceptions and more control over the program. If he is asking for this stuff, he must know that it is an issue and has a plan for how to overcome it. I hope that ND gives Kelly these concessions.

Memo to the collars: No one is asking for ND to turn into South Florida North. We don't want a renegade program. But there is a middle ground here that we should explore. Let the coach handle the football team and stay out of the way as long as he graduates players and doesn't have a team full of thugs running around committing crimes. We hired this guy to do his job and win football games. Give him the control that he needs to do it.

5) The other concern that I have is that as successful as Kelly has been, it almost feels like we know very little about the guy and what he's all about as a head coach. His basic philosophy is "winning games," but what goes into that?? What goes into this winning philosophy that will translate at Notre Dame??

Plus, he basically has zero pedigree in the coaching world. He's completely a self-made man. I don't know who his coaching influences are. I don't know who he learned football from. Did he just read a bunch of books about it?? How has he succeeded in football with no real mentors?? And if he does have mentors, who are they??

Think about the top coaches in the game today. They all seem to have worshipped at the knee of some other coach:

Urban Meyer -- grew up at the knee of Earle Bruce at Ohio State and Lou Holtz at ND
Nick Saban -- Belichick disciple
Bob Stoops -- played at Iowa, coached under Bill Snyder and Steve Spurrier; grew up in a coaching family in Ohio
Jim Tressel -- dad was a coach; part of the Woody Hayes/Earle Bruce coaching tree
Pete Carroll -- coached under Lou Holtz and Earle Bruce (noticing a pattern on those two?)

We knew what these coaches were all about when they got hired because we know who their influences were. We know that a guy like Jim Tressel is going to win games with defense and ball control offenses. We know a guy like Urban Meyer is going to emphasize toughness and discipline and attention to detail. We know that a guy like Bob Stoops is going to have an array of contacts from his KSU and Florida and Iowa days to put together a top notch staff.

With Kelly, he may have all those same qualities, but where did he develop this coaching acumen?? We really have no idea.

4) Two names terrify me when I think of Brian Kelly:

1) Billy Gillespie
2) Dan Hawkins

Gillespie pops into my head because Gillespie had a very similar background when he got hired. He was one of those guys who showed up at downtrodden programs and quickly built UTEP and Texas A&M into winners. When UK hired him, it was easy to look at his A&M and UTEP days and say "all this guy does is win!! If he can win at A&M, he is going to be a monster at Kentucky!"

No one really did their due diligence to find out more about Gillespie other than that "he wins." But why does he win?? Who are his influences?? What kind of offense does he want to run?? How will he handle elite athletes?? How will he handle the pressure?? How will he handle playing the big games when everyone is giving you their best shot??

Gillespie turned out to be a disaster at Kentucky because this "all he does is win" stuff didn't translate to Kentucky.

It just feels awfully familiar to this Kelly thing. Kelly is this self-made guy who has won a bunch of games in lesser conferences, but how do we know that ND won't be one rung too high on the coaching ladder??

The Big East is a good league and gets an unfair bad rap, but it's a different league than what you see around the rest of college football. Most of the Big East teams don't have the big time personnel, so they win with spread schemes and smaller lines and speed on the edges. The WRs in the Big East are as big as the linebackers. Brian Kelly is like the perfect coach for the Big East. His type of offense with an emphasis on getting the ball to playmakers in space is a perfect fit in that league. Time of possession isn't as big of a deal in the Big East because no one is big enough on the lines to wear another team out.

The risk for ND continuing to play a finesse style of ball is when you go back to back with Michigan and Michigan State early in the year and play USC and BC later in the year and then a big SEC team in the bowl games. Those teams have big lines and 250 pound linebackers, and they're going to beat up your lines if you play finesse pass-oriented football. We saw it with Weis and I fear that we'd see it again with Kelly.

ND needs to be able to play power football at least to some degree. ND is a school with big, slow offensive linemen and big power running backs. We need to be able to play power football with the personnel we have. We have been pushed around for 8 years now between the Ty and the Weis eras. Soft offenses, soft defenses, horrible special teams. I'm tired of seeing ND getting pushed around. We need to become tougher and more physical.

The other thing about power football is that it preserves your defense. If you can run the ball and eat clock, your defense stays off the field. We might not have Alabama's talent on defense, but we can get away with it if they are taking fewer snaps and playing with more energy because of our ball control offense. Passing on every down lengthens the game, and gives your opponent more possessions. It's not some coincidence that Weis' teams have completely collapsed in the second half of the year. The defense was worn out, and we lost games in the fourth quarter. And look at what you have with Brian Kelly's teams. Same issues popping up. Second half of the year has been a problem for Cincy's defense this year.

The good news is that Kelly is not an ideologue and may have a different philosophy if he ends up at ND. He actually had more of a power run attack in his days at Central Michigan, so maybe he would revert back to that style of play at ND. He seems like the type of coach who adjusts his system around the personnel he has. I prefer that type of coach, and it seems like Kelly operates that way.

The other name that terrifies me even more than Billy Gillespie is the name Dan Hawkins. Now, I personally don't think we are getting the next Dan Hawkins. Kelly has proven that he can win at multiple stops and build programs quickly from the scrap heap. Hawkins had no such track record.

But there are some rumblings out there that this Jeff Quinn guy (who is Kelly's offensive line coach and offensive coordinator) is something of a savant and possibly the brains behind the Kelly machine. I have no idea if this is true, but it's been rumored in a few different places.

Scary thought. What if this Jeff Quinn guy really is the key to the Kelly operation and doesn't follow Kelly to ND?? What if he becomes the head coach at UC?? What if he ends up landing a job as a head coach in the MAC or something like that?? If it turns out that Kelly is just some figurehead "motivator" and that he's nothing without Quinn, we'd basically be hiring the next Dan Hawkins.

That terrifies me. Even if Quinn is not as important to Kelly as the rumor mill indicates, I'm hoping that he ends up being our offensive coordinator just to cover our bases.

3) Some thoughts on expectations. I keep reading stuff from ND fans saying "Brian Kelly won't win a championship at Notre Dame" as a reason to avoid him. Ummm, is that even the standard anymore?? I'm more than comfortable saying that our days as a national power are over. Watch that Bama-Florida game and tell me that we're ever getting to that level again. I don't see it. We're fighting a losing battle with demographics. We might get a couple southern kids, but not the Bama/Florida type athletes up and down our roster. It's plain as day to anyone with a pair of eyeballs. Bama and Florida have speed and talent all over the field. We have two white safeties. Period.

People keep talking about "high expectations" as a deterrent for the Notre Dame job. Are expectations really that high?? Remember, we gave a STANDING OVATION after a LOSS to an 8-4 USC team. I was in the stands clapping with the rest of the 80,000 on their feet applauding the Irish for a close loss. Imagine the reaction in Gainesville after losing a home game. People would not be applauding a close loss to anyone.

Not only are ND's standards not all that high, I think they're too low. People talk about 2005 and 2006 like they were the glory days. If Weis had produced a steady stream of 9-3 type seasons the last few years, he would not even be sniffing the hot seat today. In fact, we'd probably be working on an extension as we speak. The only reason Weis got fired is because he couldn't even sniff 9-3 in his last three years. 3-9, 6-6, 6-6 is about as bad as you can do at a school like ND. He didn't get fired because of "high expectations." He got fired because he was awful and went 15-21 in his last three years. If those numbers were reversed and he was 21-15 in his last three years (5-7, 7-5, 9-3), he would not have been fired. That averages out to 7-5. Those are high expectations??

ND fans probably have the lowest expectations of any major football power. 9-3 at Florida is a bad year. 9-3 at Ohio State has people all up in arms about Jim Tressel and demanding that he fire some of his staff. 9-3 at USC is a disaster and causes 25,000 empty seats at the Colisseum. 9-3 at Texas is a "rebuilding" year. 9-3 at Oklahoma has Bob Stoops sweating and fake listening to other offers just to get fans back on his side.

At ND, 9-3 is good enough. 9-3 gets you standing ovations after a close loss to USC. 9-3 gets your name chanted during the 1812 overture. 9-3 gets you to a New Years Day bowl game. 9-3 gives you hope on the recruiting trail. 9-3 makes you think "we're going to be preseason top five next year!"

People hate hearing this, but the closest sports comparison to ND right now is the Chicago Cubs. The expectations are not to win the BCS title or win big games. It's to beat BC and Michigan State (the Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros), to win 9 or so games (win the NL Central), recruit some highly-ranked prospects (sign Alfonso Soriano to show a "commitment" to winning), and to give us hope for next year ("It's gonna happen!").

I'll be the first to admit that I have a Cubs-esque attitude about ND these days. I love going up to ND (Wrigley), hanging out on campus (Wrigleyville), going to the Linebacker (The Cubby Bear), hearing the band and Mike Collins in the that glorious stadium (the ivy walls, Harry Carey) , and going to Between the Buns (Murphy's Patio) after the game. The next day, I might head over to Warren and waddle around the links for 18 holes. I want ND to win, but it's not the #1 priority for an ND football weekend. I want to go and have a good time. If we win, great. If not, the beer is still cold.

There's nothing wrong with it, but the ND administration reflects where our fans are. We have a Cubs mindset, and the administration responds accordingly. If there was really that much accountability, ND football wouldn't be as mediocre as it has been the last fifteen years.

The expectations for Kelly will be that he produce consistent winning teams. Davie would win one year, lose the next year. Willingham had one good year and then fell apart. Weis had two solid years and three disastrous years. If any of those guys could have won 8-9 games consistently every single year with an occasional reach into the 10 win range, they would still be here now.

If Kelly goes 9-3 for the next five years, that will be a substantial improvement from what we've had. I think he can do it, and maybe even get us a notch higher.

2) I'm no Jack Swarbrick fan, but calling a Kelly hire a "failure" is ridiculous. Bob Stoops is not coming through that door. Neither is Urban. Kelly is a good football coach. He's the best hire we've had since Holtz. It's perfectly reasonable to think that he can be successful at ND. He's won at Central Michigan and Cincy. This isn't like Davie or Willingham or Weis. None of those guys had any type of track record for consistent success as a head coach. Kelly does. He has far exceeded the traditional standards at Cincy and CMU.

I will definitely support this hire and line up behind Coach Kelly. I will follow recruiting and spring practice and gobble up all the Brian Kelly info out there. And I'll fully admit that I'll probably be guzzling the Kool-Aid by August and start talking myself into 10+ wins.

But I also think it's perfectly reasonable to remain skeptical and cautious about this hire. No one has any idea if he will be a superstar at ND. He could be great, or a giant bust. I will be optimistic, but we've been through this before. And the same restrictions that have held back Weis and Davie and Willingham (Res Life, admissions, PEDs, etc) might still be in place for Kelly. He might not work out for reasons that have nothing to do with his coaching ability.

Stay tuned. I'm already excited for spring practice!!

1) Finally, some thoughts on the Heisman:

My Final Heisman poll:

5) Colt McCoy
4) Toby Gerhart
3) Jeremiah Masoli
2) Ndamukong Suh
1) Mark Ingram

For my money, the most dominant player I've seen this year is Ndamukong Suh. I was blown away by him in the Big 12 championship game. One of the best defensive performances I've ever seen in college football. He was throwing Texas linemen around like rag dolls. I considered putting him at #1 just based on that performance alone.

If I was an NFL team, I think I'd take Suh with the #1 overall pick. He reminds me of Michael Strahan. Just one of those physically dominant guys who relies on brute strength and leverage to get to the quarterback and make plays. Put him at defensive end for the next ten years, and he could be a superstar. Pass rush and stopping the run. That's what it all comes down to on defense in the NFL. A guy like Suh solves both those problems immediately.

One guy who would definitely not get my vote is Colt McCoy. Couldn't have been less impressed with Colt McCoy on Saturday. He has a noodle!! And this is the second time I've seen him wildly uncomfortable with a pass rush. Imagine what he's going to look like against Alabama's pass rush. Yikes. If any NFL team thinks Colt McCoy has a future as an NFL starter, they are just throwing a draft pick down the toilet.

By default, I'm going with Mark Ingram. Even though I think Bama's style of play would make a lot of running backs look good, Ingram has been great all year. He carried me all year to a fantasy college title, and he played his best game in the SEC Championship game. I'm a huge fan of Ingram. Power runner, stays on his feet, very tough. He's the total package. And I can't believe an Alabama player has never won the Heisman.

My vote goes to Ingram.

WEISND Roundtable Week 14 Picks: Alabama-Florida, Oregon-Oregon St, Clemson-Georgia Tech, Nebraska-Texas, and Cincinnati-Pittsburgh

Championship week in college football. Let's get to the picks.

Thursday December 3, 2009

Oregon State +9.5 at Oregon (ESPN 8pm)

Jeremy: Oregon (-9.5)

The Civil War! One of the underrated rivalries in college football. I was a bit surprised this line was so high, but I really do think the Ducks are the far superior team here.

Oregon 34 Oregon St. 24

Dan: Oregon State +9.5

Yes it’s at Autzen and yes Oregon has shown a propensity for blowing teams out this season, particularly at home (ASU by 23, USC by 27, Cal by 39). But this is the Civil War! These teams are playing for a Rose bowl berth! There will be no blow out this year. Jacquizz’s (you can bet that didn’t get through spell check) shiftiness keeps the game close.

Oregon 35 OSU 31

Matt: Oregon -9.5

Oregon 41 Oregon State 28

Mike: Oregon State (+9.5):

I’ve always been a huge fan of the Civil War and this year’s edition is obviously more compelling than usual because it is the de facto Pac 10 Championship game. Although Oregon has more firepower and the game is in Autzen Stadium, I expect a peak effort from Oregon State, which has essentially had two weeks to prepare for this game (I’m counting the Wazzu game as an off week). In a reversal of fortunes from last year, the Beavers will score a huge road win to clinch a Rose Bowl berth.

Oregon State 34 Oregon 33

Doug: Oregon State +9.5

Rivalry game here. I know Oregon is incredibly potent, but I'll take the points. Really looking forward to a possible Oregon-Ohio State Rose Bowl though. Everything about that matchup intrigues me. Two programs that really could not be more different. The quintessential "new school" program with flashy uniforms and a trendy offense and the quintessential "old school" program with a conservative offense and sweatervested coach. Should be a dandy as Brent Musberger would say.

Oregon 31 Oregon State 24

Saturday December 5, 2009

Cincinnati (pick em) at Pitt (ABC Sports 12pm)

Jeremy: Cincinnati (Pick) – LOCK OF THE WEEK

This game is a pick?! Interesting. Maybe Vegas thinks the Kelly offense will sputter a bit with some cold weather in the Steel City. I’m not buying it. Once again, In Brian Kelly I Trust.

Cincy 28 Pitt 24

Dan: Cincinnati (LOCK OF THE WEEK)

A pick em? Forget about it. Pitt isn’t that good, Cincy is legit.

Cincinnati 31 Pitt 17

Matt: Pitt

Pitt 24 UC 20

Mike: Pittsburgh (Pick):

Whether by ground or by air, Pittsburgh should have no trouble moving the ball up and down the field on Cincinnati’s porous defense. The Bearcats should score their share of points as well, but the Pittsburgh front seven is better equipped to slow Tony Pike than any other defense that Cincinnati has faced thus far. As rumors of Brian Kelly’s future at UC continue to fly, look for the host Panthers to end Cincinnati’s undefeated season and score a BCS bowl bid in the process.

Pittsburgh 28 Cincinnati 21

Doug: Cincinnati (pick em)

We've reached the end of the line here for the UC Bearcats. One win away from 12-0. Going to be a tough game for UC, and Pitt will be jacked up for this game.

Could also be the last game of the Brian Kelly if he ends up taking the ND job. I'll be honest, I feel bad for UC people. Every UC fan I know is freaking out about Kelly, and people in the news media in Cincy are literally begging him to stay. I feel bad. I've never really been in the situation of being a fan of a team where the team I root might take a beloved coach from another school. If we take Kelly, UC people will be crushed. He is the entire UC football program. It makes me uncomfortable to some degree.

Every ND fan in America is going to be tuned in to this game studying every detail of Brian Kelly's team. Looking forward to it.

I think UC finds a way to get it done.

Cincy 28 Pitt 20

Florida -5 at Alabama (CBS Sports 4pm)

Jeremy: Alabama (+5)

This was a close second for lock of the week. It was pretty clear in watching the Iron Bowl last week that Bama was looking ahead a bit. Can’t wait for this game. Should be a doozy. Ultimately, I think the Florida defense wins this game for the Gators in a low scoring affair. Maybe a late turnover or a big stop on 4th down.

Florida 17 Alabama 13

Dan: Alabama +5

This game is too tough to call for a winner. Florida has some locker room turmoil (but that isn’t all that new there) with Dunlap getting all slurred and stumbly and driving sideways AK23 style. But Alabama looked pretty beatable last week. In particular, it looked susceptible to the big play. Everyone knows Florida has big playmakers, though the offense is lacking them compared to last year. This is going to come down to either Florida getting 2 or 3 huge game-changing plays or Alabama keeping its containment. I think Florida will get just enough to win a very close and exciting game.

Florida 23 Alabama 20

Matt: Alabama +5 -- Lock of Week

Florida 20 Alabama 17

Mike: Alabama (+5):

Florida has apparently started to hit its stride on offense, but the Gators have not seen anything like the Alabama defense, which is perhaps the nation’s finest. Yards will be at a premium for the Tide as well, given their offensive struggles and the overall strength of the Florida defense, even minus Carlos Dunlap. Although Florida has more firepower, Alabama is battle tested and Nick Saban should be able to manage this game so that the Tide will stay close throughout. Somehow, perhaps with a big play on defense or special teams, Alabama will find a way to win this one in the fourth quarter.

Alabama 16 Florida 13

Doug: Alabama +5 -- LOCK OF THE WEEK

Is Verne Lundquist going to sleep this week?? He's probably going to be pacing the halls on Friday night waiting for this game.

I can't wait. We've been waiting all year for this game.

Call me crazy, but I'm going with the Alabama Crimson Tide. I LOVE Tim Tebow and Urban and love how the Gators play, but I'm rooting for Bama and would love to see those Bama fans get their first national title since 1992. There is no better tradition in America than the Alabama Crimson Tide, and I want The Nicktator to bring the title back to Tuscaloosa.

So I say this with a heavy heart because I respect the heck out of Tim Tebow, but my heart is with the Tide this weekend.

Alabama 24 Florida 20

Texas -14 vs. Nebraska (Big 12 championship game) (ABC Sports 8pm)

Jeremy: Texas (-14)

There’s a part of me that thinks the Blackshirts might come out and play some inspired ball against Colt and the Horns. But Texas is just too good on both sides of the ball.

Texas 34 Nebraska 17

Dan: Nebraska +14

Seriously? These underdog spreads are just confounding me this week. Texas hasn’t played a decent team in a month. (not that Nebraska has either). I realize everyone is hot to trot over Texas and Colt McCoy heating up at the right moment, but I’m not buying it. I do think Texas will get the win and earn the right to be destroyed by the winner of the SEC title game, but the black shirts will keep it close.

Texas 31 Nebraska 24

Matt: Texas -14

Texas 31 Nebraska 13

Mike: Nebraska (+14):

This game has definite blowout potential if Nebraska falls behind early. The Huskers have been winning without any semblance of a passing game, so the Texas defense could have a field day if Nebraska is forced to take to the air. On the other hand, Nebraska’s defense should present a stern test for the Texas offense, especially if the Longhorns are unable to keep the Huskers honest with the running game. Texas fans will have to sweat out a low scoring affair, but the Longhorns will ultimately punch their ticket to Pasadena.

Texas 20 Nebraska 13

Doug: Nebraska +14

The Big 12 championship has a history of monster upsets that shake up the BCS picture. It seems like we've been in this situation before with a heavily favored national title contender getting upset in the Big 12 championship game and getting knocked out of the race.

Are these conference championship games even worth it? Imagine if Texas loses this game. They went 12-0 in the regular season in the Big 12, and suddenly they're out of it because of this postseason conference championship game. Is the money that good for these conferences that they're willing to risk a title contender's spot every single year?? Do these games still sell out in this economy??

If I was a Texas fan, I'd just be kind of annoyed about having to play this game. You've already gone the distance in the better half of the league (the Big 12 South), and now you have this trap game against a Nebraska team looking to get its signature win.

And how about if Nebraska wins this game?? The BCS dominoes are going to be falling like crazy. Nebraska would knock somebody like Penn State or Iowa out of the the BCS, and then you'd have Cincy and TCU clamoring for space in the title game picture.

I'm rooting like crazy for Nebraska. The only way we're getting BCS chaos is with a Nebraska win. If that happens, there is going to be a meltdown when either Cincy or TCU doesn't get picked. And if Texas still ends up going with 1 loss, we'll probably have congressional hearings scheduled the next days on implementing a college football playoff.

Either way, it's a win-win. Mel Kiper provided a great analogy in his chat on ESPN.com. Imagine if you have Colts-Saints in the Super Bowl this year, and the NFL decided to host games between the other teams that didn't make the Super Bowl in the week leading up to the big game. You had Pats-Vikes, Chargers-Cowboys, Bengals-Packers in these neutral site venues. Would anyone care about those games?? NO!! Of course not. They're exhibitions. If that's the case, why are these college football bowls such a big deal?? If you want to keep the bowls, fine. Use the bowls as the venues in a 4 team playoff format. But make these bowls mean something for godsakes. I'm tired of seeing these Alabama-Utah glorified exhibitions where one team could care less about being there. But if that game was a first round playoff game, you can bet it would mean a whole lot more to Bama.

The whole system is annoying to me.

Go Huskers.

Texas 31 Nebraska 24

Georgia Tech -1 vs. Clemson (ACC championship game) (ESPN 8pm)

Jeremy: Georgia Tech (-1)

Two teams that laid some serious eggs last week. I’ll go with the superior coach.

GT 27 Clemson 23

Dan: Georgia Tech -1

This game could not interest me much less. ACC title game? In Paul Johnson I trust.

Georgia Tech 28 Clemson 21

Matt: Clemson +1

Clemson 27 Georgia Tech 24

Mike: Georgia Tech (-1):

The first game between this game featured a statistical oddity, as Georgia Tech scored twice on fake field goals: one by Tech and one by Clemson gone awry. Aside from these fluky plays, Clemson outplayed Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium by controlling the line of scrimmage and slowing the Yellow Jacket offense. Nonetheless, Paul Johnson, as usual, should be able to make the appropriate adjustments to ensure a stronger performance for the Jackets in Tampa. Dabo Swinney has done a nice job for Clemson this year, but I still believe that the coaching matchup will be the difference here.

Georgia Tech 23 Clemson 21

Doug: Georgia Tech -1

Not expecting a very big crowd for this one, but it could be a pretty good game. I'll go with Georgia Tech to bounce back and head to the BCS.

Georgia Tech 24 Clemson 20

Bonus Picks:

Mike:

Connecticut (-7) over USF: I suspect that a bunch of Floridians aren’t going to put forth their best effort in a meaningless game in chilly Storrs this weekend.

Washington (+6.5) over California: Another game with possible “sleepwalk” potential, as the visiting Bears may not be particularly motivated this week in Seattle.

Hawaii (+11.5) over Wisconsin: Will the Badgers treat this as a business trip? I know I wouldn’t.

Last Week:

Jeremy: 5-1
Dan: 5-1
Matt: 4-2
Mike: 6-0
Doug: 4-2

Season:

Jeremy: 44-33-2
Dan: 42-35-2
Matt: 38-39-2
Mike: 37-40-2
Doug: 39-38-2

Lock of the Week:

Jeremy: 6-6
Dan: 6-6-1
Matt: 4-8
Mike: 4-8
Doug: 5-8

Notre Dame fans pining for Bob Stoops: Here we go again. Plus, thoughts on ND as a "football factory"

Man, we're only one day into this coaching search thing, and I'm already burned out. This is going to be a long week. I'm not sure I can take much more of these rumors and denials.

First, some thoughts on the Charlie Weis era. I keep reading these posts and blogs “thanking” Charlie Weis for all that he has done for Notre Dame. “He took the job when no one else wanted it” and “he took over the program at its lowest point” and all this other stuff.

At the risk of sounding crass, there isn’t a bone in my body that feels like thanking Charlie Weis for his tenure at ND. Weis was a complete disaster at Notre Dame. He made Bob Davie look like a second coming of Knute Rockne in comparison. There wasn’t one win or stretch of games beyond 2005 where we did anything sustainable or memorable in his tenure. The only thing memorable about the Charlie Weis era is how bad we’ve been the last three years. We played mediocre schedules, lost to every team with a pulse, didn’t play a lick of defense, and wasted more talent than any team in the country these past couple years.

And as for this stuff about “taking over the program at its lowest point,” that's a bunch of overblown clichéd garbage. Weis didn’t take over the program at some widely-recognized “low point.” The ND football program has fluctuated between mediocre and bad for ten years. In 2004, it wasn’t at some rock bottom point. It was about where it was in 2001 or 2003 or any of the other mediocre years we’ve had in the last decade. Weis took over a very mediocre program and produced five more years of mediocrity. If anything, the lowest point was DURING his tenure (2007).

Did Weis work hard and recruit well?? Sure, but all coaches (ok, maybe not one) work hard. I don’t feel the need to thank a coach for working hard and graduating players and recruiting some good players. It’s a Chris Rock special. “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO WORK HARD!!”

The only “thanking” I was doing after the Stanford game was thanking god that the Charlie Weis era is over.

Anyway, on to the Bob Stoops rumors. Let’s break this thing down with some questions and answers:

1) What is up with these non-denial denials??

First, these non-denial denials are very bizarre. If Stoops is really not interested in the Notre Dame job, why doesn’t he just come out and say it?? He’s giving us the Thad Matta treatment right now. Matta repeated over and over “I intend to stay at Xavier” and then was gone the next day to Ohio State. Stoops keeps repeating that he intends to stay at Oklahoma, but when pressed on the issue as it pertains to Notre Dame, he clammed up. Compare these “denials” to what he has said in the past about Florida and other jobs. He has specifically said he’s not interested in those jobs. Why is this different?? If he’s not going to ND, then why not just come out and say it?

Some possible reasons:

1) This is just a massive ego stroke

Maybe Stoops is just playing one big game to get the OU faithful back in his corner after a disappointing 7-5 year. He plays coy with the media on the ND job while also saying all the right things about staying at OU, fans start to worry about him leaving for ND, and then he comes back a few days later with a grand pronouncement that he is indeed staying and is not taking the ND job after “serious consideration.” OU fans rejoice, they count their blessings to still have “Big Game” Bob in the fold, and suddenly that 7-5 season is a distant memory.

I think this is a distinct possibility. Stoops can point to these ND rumors and say “see!! Look at how much these other schools want me?? ND is practically begging me to come!” The threat of leaving adds value to Stoops’ clout at OU, and maybe he felt like fans were taking him for granted a little bit.

It’s like the “hand” analogy from Seinfeld. Stoops was losing “hand” with OU just a little bit. Lots of people were grumbling about him this year, and I think fans felt like he should make changes and some probably even think it’s time for him to move on. This is a minority I would guess, but vocal minorities have a way of making a lot of noise and making things uncomfortable.

With these ND rumors, Stoops suddenly has “hand” up to his eyeballs. He can shove these ND rumors right back at the OU fans, and he can point to his recruits and show how desirable he still is as a head coach.

2) He’s restless at OU, but maybe not about ND

Another possibility might be that Stoops is genuinely interested in moving to another job but not necessarily Notre Dame and not necessarily right now. The guy has been at OU for 11 years. That’s a pretty long tenure for a college head coach, especially in a pressure cooker like Oklahoma where you are expected to win the Big 12 (or come really close) every single year. When Stoops took the job, he probably didn’t plan to be the OU head coach for life. With all the pressure in today’s college football world, it’s hard to be a Bobby Bowden/Joe Paterno type coach.

Maybe Stoops is hinting that he is staying at OU for now but also sort of putting out the vibe that he could be open to other jobs. What jobs?? Who knows?? You never know what job might open in a year or two. Maybe Pete Carroll goes to the league. Maybe Urban Meyer goes to the NFL. Maybe Stoops would like to settle in at his alma mater (Iowa) and coach the last 10-15 years of his career there. Maybe he leaked some stuff to Adam Shefter to gauge interest for a future NFL job. You never know what he's thinking.

By saying lines like “who knows where god will take me” and “I won’t confirm or deny any rumors,” he might be setting up OU fans for the possibility that he might leave someday.

Stoops has had a Hall of Fame career at OU. It’s a difficult situation for him to be in. Even if he wants to leave someday, he does not want to screw up his legacy at OU by burning a bunch of bridges and bouncing in the middle of the night to some other job. If he takes off out of nowhere, people are going to be furious. Xavier people still haven’t gotten over the Thad Matta thing because Matta adamantly stated he was staying and then left right after that. No matter how well you handle, an abrupt departure leaves a lot of bitter feelings behind you.

But Stoops might be getting restless. In the past, he has adamantly denied the rumors about leaving. It seems like this time around he’s leaving the door open just a little bit. Maybe he’s trying to set up the fans for the possibility that he might leave someday.

3) He’s genuinely interested in the ND job

There’s so much smoke out there about Stoops being legitimately interested in the job that it’s hard to just ignore it. Why would his people be in the process of meeting with ND representatives if there isn’t the slightest bit of interest??

As crazy as it sounds, I just think there’s still something about the ND job that at least perks the ears of these big time coaches, especially Irish Catholics who grew up in Ohio. For a guy like Bob Stoops (49 years old), ND was the premier job in the country for probably 2/3 of his life. He sort of came of age as a coach when Holtz was in his prime and ND was bringing in elite talent and winning championships. If Holtz could get it done at ND, why not Bob Stoops?? He might be thinking that.

The ND job is not an elite job on its current terms (more on that in a bit), but it could be THE elite job in the country if the right guy is brought in and has the leeway to conduct the program as he sees fit.

Maybe Stoops is burnt out at OU, feels like he has already reached the top of the mountain there, and now he wants a new challenge. ND has been down for 15 years. Maybe ND is done forever, but if it’s possible to rebuild ND into a power, the guy who does it will go down as an icon in college football. Simple as that.

So that’s where we stand on Stoops in terms of these denials in my opinion. Tough to really read what he’s saying. Either way, we’ll know for sure in a few days.

With that said, I’m as guilty of reading tea leaves as anyone, but part of me thinks this virtual begging for Stoops is a sad commentary on what Notre Dame football has become. We’re all sitting around breaking down everything Stoops says word by word and clinging to the mere possibility of Stoops coming to ND like he’s our only shot at ever winning again. This whole “he’s leaving the door open” stuff makes our fans sound like a bunch of pathetic losers (me included).

What has happened to our fanbase?? Take a step back and think about what we’re doing here. Stoops is most likely a pipe dream who has already publicly stated he’s staying at OU and then doubled down by saying it again in a statement through the OU athletic department, but here we are clinging to this 1% chance and not even discussing any other possible candidates.

You think Oklahoma fans would be acting like this if Stoops leaves? No, of course not. They trust their leadership. The people running OU know what big time football is all about. They know what it takes to win in 2009 in college football, and they’ll go out and find a guy who can continue on with what Stoops already built. They’ll go out and hire some up and comer like Kevin Sumlin, get him situated into the OU machine, and keep things rolling. They did the same thing with basketball when Kelvin Sampson left. They didn’t crawl into the fetal position and say “OH MY GOD!! We need to get Roy Williams or Coach K or this program is DONE!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!” They went out and targeted Jeff Capel as a potential superstar up and coming coach, and brought him in. No games, no politics, no freaking out, no “we need a tier one or bust” panicking. It’s a “next man in” philosophy. If Stoops leaves, people will worry to some degree (he’s Bob Stoops, I think they’d be entitled to worry a LITTLE), but they trust guys like Joe Castligione to identify the next great coach and bring him in. They don’t worry about perceptions and “big names.” It’s about finding a guy who will win football games.

This is where ND fans are in a jam. We don’t trust our leadership to make a good evaluation on an up and comer, so we want the sure thing. But it’s EXTREMELY difficult to get the sure thing. ND fans can’t seem to figure this out. What other school has a coaching wish list of Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer, and Nick Saban with no other acceptable candidates?? We have deluded ourselves into thinking that the only guys who can win at ND are the superstar coaches like Stoops and Meyer who have already won championships.

I can’t believe we’re in our 3rd coaching search, and we’re right back to where we were in both those searches. In 2001, it was Saban or bust. In 2004, it was Meyer or bust. In 2009, it’s Stoops or bust. Meanwhile, there are probably 10-20 other coaches out there who we should have been targeting and researching and scouting and finding out about. If we strike out on Stoops, this thing will be a circus yet again.

I would love to get Bob Stoops. Absolutely would be thrilled. But if we don’t get him, move on and get an up and comer. I would be very happy with a guy like Kelly or even a guy like Harbaugh or Randy Edsall. Bring in every single person who is affiliated with ND football and knows football (Holtz, Tim Brown, Zorich, even Bob Davie) and zero in on the one guy who you think could be a superstar coach at ND.

Again, Bob Stoops was a defensive coordinator at Florida when OU took a chance on him. Urban Meyer was coming off stops at BG and Utah when Florida brought him in. Mark Richt was an offensive coordinator at Florida State when Georgia targeted him. There are stories all across college football of young gun coaches who gone to big time jobs and thrived there. It’s time to find OUR guy who can do the same.

The other problem with all the Stoops attention is that fans are setting themselves up to be wildly disappointed with the eventual hire. If we hire Brian Kelly (who I think would be a great hire), people are going to be talking about this search like it's a failure. What a joke!! What coach wants to walk into a divided fanbase like that?? How is a guy like Brian Kelly going to feel knowing that he's clearly the 2nd or 3rd choice and that a big chunk of the fanbase views him as a "terrible" hire?? He might get cold feet on that issue alone.


2) How much does ND want to be a big time football program?

Everyone wants Bob Stoops. Ok, fine. But it's not just a matter of getting Bob Stoops. In order to get a guy like Stoops, you better be prepared to act like one of the big boys again.

One of the things that I’ve heard through the grape vine is that Bob Stoops is/was genuinely intrigued by the ND job, but that he was concerned about whether he could win there. His concern came down to “cultural” issues.

How many times we heard this stuff hinted at before?? Bob Stoops is working at Oklahoma. Oklahoma is the definition of a FOOTBALL FACTORY. They’ve had one scandal after another for 30 years going back to the days of Barry Switzer. The head coach at OU has full control over that program. You can bring in whatever players you want, you can bring in JUCOs, you can allow boosters to hang around and slide money under the table to players or recruits, you can pass the buck on academics, you can get away with a 40% graduation rate (and even less for black players), you can discipline players “internally,” you can sign up your players for cakewalk “stay eligible” classes, and you can get away with handing out PEDs and breaking the 20 hour practice rule by making sure your players are studying film (instead of books) and working out and basically concentrating on football as the #1 priority.

At a school like ND, you can’t get away with even ONE of those things that I just listed above. Not one.

1) You are expected to graduate all of your players --

Swarbrick even went so far as to say in his press conference yesterday that Charlie Weis won a “national championship” in the graduation rate department. Light up the #1 sign at Grace Hall, baby! National champs! If you recruit a player to ND, he is expected to take class seriously and get a degree. You can’t just sign him up for a bunch of cooking and music appreciation classes to keep him eligible but with no real track toward a degree. A freshman is showing up, taking legitimate classes, and is expected to graduate.

And if you don’t know what you’re doing in those classes, you have mandatory tutoring. It’s a two hour tutoring session for 3-4 days a week. That’s 6 hours of your evening spent on Spanish and Math class when every other football factory player is studying film and working out and working on their route running or footwork or whatever.

This isn’t a competitive disadvantage?? Imagine if there was one NFL team filled with guys who were also graduate students on the side. As a Bengals fan, if I found out that Bengals ownership required all Bengal players to also pursue an MBA or law degree or Masters at the University of Cincinnati on the side, how could I not think that would hurt the team on the field?? It’s a great message and all, but it doesn’t win you football games. Every second the Bengals were spending on Civil Procedure or studying the business methods at Toyota would be a second missed spending time in the weight room or studying the Steelers or whatever else it is that NFL football players do all day. Wouldn’t that show up on the field when we played a team like the Steelers?? Of course!

These big time college football programs aren’t really that different from the NFL teams. They are semi-pro teams. There are some kids who are going to pay attention to their academics and get a degree, but those guys are self-starters. A big chunk of guys are just there to be football players. If you want to take cakewalk classes at LSU and enjoy the weather and play football, you can easily do that.

2) You recruit 4 year players who pass the admissions criteria at ND

I’m not going to sit here and say that every guy ND brings in is some whiz kid. There have been plenty of guys brought in with mediocre grades or low SAT scores who decided to go to ND. It’s not some secret either. If you go and look at average SATs, our guys have similar scores to what you see at SC or Michigan or Ohio State or anywhere.

For the most part, we are recruiting a lot of the same guys that the other big boys are recruiting. Guys like Seantrel Henderson and Prater and Martin. Those guys have received scholarship offers from ND, so I’m assuming that they have passed the admissions criteria.

With that said, there is more of a screening process at ND, and the football coach is not entirely in charge of that process. Maybe the coach can get a few exceptions, but the control lies in the hands of the folks in the admissions department. And we’ve all heard stories about high profile guys who did not meet the criteria for ND admissions (Carson Palmer, TJ Duckett, etc).

The other thing is that a lot of these southern schools have the liberty to take in non-qualifiers and JUCOs and even some “shaky character” guys who ND wouldn’t touch. Alabama seems to store guys in these prep schools and JUCOs who haven’t met NCAA requirements, and then bring them into the fold when they do. Same with Oklahoma. I don’t think JUCOs are the magic secret for recruiting by any means, but it’s at least something that the big time programs allow. If you want to stash some non-qualifier at a prep school for a year until he qualifies, you can do it. If you want to bring in a guy with five neck tattoos and a shaky past, you can get away with it. At ND, you can’t.

Imagine if Father Jenkins was walking on campus and saw some dude on our football team with five neck tattoos. He’d pass out right there on the south quad. Our Lady!

It's not like this issue is a deal-breaker, and I don't even necessarily think ND should change its admission policy. You can win with 4 year guys, and I like that ND relies on four year guys who intend to graduate and want to be students and appreciate what ND is all about.

The point is CONTROL. Bob Stoops doesn't have to ask at OU. At ND, he'd have to ask. It's a small issue, but it's something that Stoops doesn't have to worry about at Oklahoma. Same with Urban Meyer. We all know that Urban was uncomfortable with admissions at ND back in 2004. It's not that he can't get the same players at ND that he can get at Florida. It's the control issue.
3) The coach is not in control of day to day life for the football players

One of the hang-ups that guys like Stoops have had about ND is the Res Life disciplinary board. If an ND player gets into trouble, they have to go through Res Life to find out punishment. In other words, you’re going to see Bill Kirk and the collars. If they want to toss you, they toss you. The coach is not in control.

Think about every football factory out there. Urban Meyer has players getting into trouble every other month at Florida. Who is making the decision on the discipline for that player?? URBAN MEYER!! He can do whatever he wants. He can bench the guy, suspend him, or do nothing. It’s his decision. He doesn’t have to wait for some disciplinary board to hand down its decision.

Look at Ohio State. One of the senior captains was a d-linemen named Doug Worthington. Worthington got a DUI last year, plead guilty to the DUI, and was suspended for one game by Jim Tressel. At ND, he’s probably suspended from school and maybe off the team. The Kyle McAlarney example is the perfect example of Res Life overreacting to a disciplinary problem and taking control out of the coach's hands. At Florida, McAlarney sits out a game, maybe even just a half. Recruits who come to ND are there under the ND umbrella. Recruits who come to "football factories" are there under their coach's umbrella. Big difference there.

Think about Darrin Walls. We have no idea what happened to that guy, but he was basically out of school for a whole year. He really hasn’t been the same since he’s been gone. Charlie Weis had no control over that situation. If it was academics, he couldn’t stash Walls in some joke classes. If it was a discipline problem, Weis couldn’t suspend him for a half. He would have to go to Res Life and find out his fate from there. That whole Walls situation was a killer. He looked like an up and coming young stud. Suddenly, he’s off the team and had to miss a year. Missing an entire year of football is devastating to your career.

Again, not saying any of this is wrong or that ND should change. I'm just saying that a guy like Stoops might back off from the ND job based on this type of stuff. These coaches want to be at a place where they are guaranteed to win if they coach the team properly. You can win at ND. It's just a lot harder to win at ND than it is to win at Oklahoma.

The other thing is this “practice time” stuff. Let’s be honest, that 20 hour rule is a joke. When that Rich Rod stuff came out over the summer, a lot of media people and coaches spoke up in defense of him. Why?? Because everyone does it!! It’s not like this is some secret. You have 20 hours of practice time. Big whoop. That doesn’t mean your day is over from a football standpoint. At a school like LSU or Ohio State, you’re expected to work out “voluntarily” beyond that 20 hour limit. Maybe Les Miles isn’t standing there with his whistle, but you better be working out and working on your game or you’re going to get passed up by someone else who is. If you want to work on your studies, you do that on your own time after you've done all your football stuff.

At ND, who knows what rules we have in place?? Maybe the collars really do require that the players adhere to that 20 hour rule and that the rest of their time is spent as "real" students. 20 hours includes football practice, lifting, film study, individual drills, tutoring, meetings, etc. I would not be shocked if that was the case. If our guys are only doing football-related activity for 20 hours and everyone else is on a 50 hour schedule, who is going to win on Saturday?

Finally, there’s campus life in general. At OU, Stoops controls all of the meals I would imagine. These guys are on strict diets with training tables. Same with dorms. If Stoops wants to put all his football players together, that’s what he does. At ND, you live with regular students, and you are expected to be a part of the dorm life. You go to mass, you go to section meetings, etc.

Could you imagine some dude like Carlos Dunlap at ND with Fr. Doyle breathing down his neck about going to mass on Sundays?? Or telling him that he should come in for some pork BBQ sandwiches when all Dunlap wants to do is pound the weights and get to the league?? It’s laughable just thinking about it.

For these coaches, it all comes down to CONTROL. If they are going to be the head football coach with all that pressure, they want to be able to control everything about the job. They don’t want interference from academic types. They don’t want admins breathing down their neck. They don’t want mandatory pep rallies or mandatory two hour mass on gameday or disciplinary councils that go above their authority. If they want a jumbotron that will get the crowd rocking, it’s not even an option. At ND, the band plays, we “welcome” our opposing fans to the stadium, and that’s that. Deal with it.

The collars want the control, and Stoops knows that. He's not coming to ND only to have his hands tied behind his back. He's Bob Freaking Stoops. We gotta let this guy do what he needs to do to win or he's not coming.

That brings me to our fans. Ahh, the ND faithful. Gotta love em. Man, we love to talk the talk about returning to glory and competing for championships and being the best program in the nation and all that. We even like to complain about Fr. Jenkins and the collars and whine about how they are holding back the program.

Until you start talking specifics. Uh oh.

“ND needs more guys with neck tattoos” – NO! We’re too “classy” for neck tattoos. Why can’t these young lads wear Brooks Brothers and like it??

“ND needs more black players” -- NO! You’re a reverse racist. It’s not about race. Guys like Kyle McCarthy and Harrison Smith are great players (even though they wouldn’t sniff the two deep at LSU). Stop talking about race.

“ND needs to relax admissions” – NO! ND gets plenty of talent. Never mind that our defense looked like Stanford’s defense the other night. Talent is not the issue. We can compete with Florida and Alabama with the talent we have.

“ND needs to start acting like a football factory and the collars need to get out of the way” – NO! I want to win AND do it “the Notre Dame way.” We can win games, graduate all of our players, make them get real degrees, not take PEDs, uphold the dorm traditions, and do the pep rallies and two hour mass.

"ND should start looking at up and coming young guns like Jim Harbaugh" -- NO! Harbaugh is not "classy" enough! Never mind that he runs a pro style offense, has produced a hard-nosed team, knows how to recruit nationally to an academic school, has an all-white defense with no talent, and somehow has made Stanford a very solid team in 3 years. He's a jerk! He has a DUI and cheated on his wife!! We shouldn't even be talking to that guy. We need a classy coach. CLASSY!! CLASSSSSSSSSSSSSY!!!

The point here is that people raise these issues about needing more speed (code: black players) or more neck tattoos or fewer rules or less interference from the collars or less academic restrictions or no calculus requirements, and our fans freak out about it. The same fans who want ND to return to excellence don't want to see the necessary changes that will actually make it happen for ND. Even our fans have a mid-major, academic school attitude about the program.

This is not 1985. One coaching hire is not going to cure all of our ills. It's not as simple as "Coach X comes to ND, coaches em up, and we beat Florida in the title game." ND's problems go so much farther than just the head coaches we've brought in. Charlie Weis was terrible, but would Urban Meyer have won big these last five years if we had brought him in?? I think he would have won more than Weis, but I don't think Urban would have put us on the level of Florida or one of the football factory elite powers.

Personally, while I won't necessarily demand it, I wouldn't oppose the football factory idea. I could care less if the players have to take calculus or live in the dorms, and I would be ok if we "only" graduated 92% of the players instead of 98% (because some guys decided to go to the league after three years or a couple of kids we reached on frmo an academic standpoint didn't pan out in their freshman year). I don't care if they spend more than 20 hours in the weight room or don't interact with the regular student population. I don't care if a couple guys get in a little trouble and only get suspended for a half. I want to be an attractive job for a guy like Bob Stoops or even an up and coming young stud like Will Muschamp.

I'm tired of being Stanford. I want to be like Florida. I want to win. BIG. It starts with making a good hire, but we also need to address all aspects of the program at the same time. Heck, the only way we're going to make a great hire is if we allow him to come in and make the necessary changes.

Now, I would to prefer to find a middle ground. I think there are a lot of things about ND that are unique and special. I like that ND does recruit kids who plan to graduate and actually have to take real classes, and I enjoyed interacting with other student athletes in my time at ND. But I also want to see the football players at ND have an opportunity to win championships in their time at ND. They come to ND to be students but also to play for great football teams. We haven't held up our end of the bargain, and I think ND should be exploring any and all options to make sure that changes. I would start by looking back at what ND was like when Holtz was here in the late 80s. The impression that I get is that Holtz had a lot more authority over the team than recent coaches have had.

And if you want to keep things as is and would prefer to hire a coach who knows that ND is not changing for any coach, that's fine. I can live with it. I'll go to the games, root for the team, play golf on Sunday morning at Warren, and still have a great time. I'll go to bowl games and watch us get blown out of the building. I'm a Bengals and Reds fan. I'm used to rooting for losers, so rooting for mediocre ND teams is something I'm used to as a fan. I've watched these "rich man's Stanford" teams for over ten years. If we want to continue on that track just to uphold our image, go for it.

But you can't have it both ways. If we want to get a Bob Stoops, you're going to have to give him full control of the program. Bob Stoops is not coming to ND with one hand tied behind his back.

WEISND Roundtable Week 13 picks: Notre Dame-Stanford, Arkansas-LSU, Alabama-Auburn, Pitt-West Virginia, Miami-South Florida, and Clemson-So. Carolina

Last week of the regular season for the Irish and possibly the last game of the Charlie Weis era.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Oh, and please say a prayer that Bob Stoops announces he is coming to South Bend next week. Fingers crossed.

Friday November 27, 2009

Pittsburgh (pick em) at West Virginia (ESPN2 7pm)

Jeremy: WVU (Pick)

I was surprised to see this game as a Pick. Not much confidence in the
Wannstache I guess. Can't say I was too impressed with Pitt a few weeks
ago. There's definitely some serious firepower there with Lewis and
Baldwin, and Stull does a nice job managing the game. But I think the
combination of Pitt's inconsistency (and spotty defense outside of the
DE's), a game in Morgantown and the looming matchup with Cincy is just
too much for the Panthers. Norm Stewart gets perhaps the biggest win of
his short career this week.

WVU 31 Pitt 27

Dan: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh has much more to play for than West Virginia. A win sets them up for a 1 game play-off for a BCS bid with Cincinnati. West Virginia does not have a chance to win the Big East and really are just positioning for a middling bowl game. While I can completely see a Wannstedt mind boggler, I think Pitt will pull it off with WVU unable to stop Lewis.

Pitt 23 West Virginia 17

Matt: West Virginia

Mike: West Virginia (Pick)

There are plenty of reasons to like West Virginia in this game. Although Pittsburgh has been the better team this year, West Virginia still has comparable talent and the Mountaineers should benefit from having an off week for their banged up stars, Jarrett Brown and Noel Devine, to receive much needed rest. In addition, this game should be more important to the Mountaineers, who should be amply motivated to atone for their recent lack of success in the Backyard Brawl, than the Panthers, whose BCS bowl hopes rest entirely on next week’s date with Cincinnati. Before a wild home crowd in Morgantown, look for the underachieving Mountaineers to play their best game of the season and defeat Pitt in the process.

West Virginia 34 Pittsburgh 29

Doug: West Virginia -- LOCK OF THE WEEK

I am not really sure where I fall on this game, but I was not that impressed with Pitt in their game with ND. Bill Stull is not a good quarterback at all, and the reactions from the fans early in the game confirmed for me that people don't have a ton of confidence in him. What kind of quarterback wears a visor during the game?? Maybe the most bizarre uniform choice I've seen all year. He misses throws, makes shaky decisions, and gets bailed out by some of his receivers.

Then again, West Virginia is really not all that good. It's a home game though, and West Virginia really needs a win in the Backyard Brawl to salvage their season.

WVU 31 Pitt 28

Alabama -13 at Auburn (CBS Sports 2:30pm)

Jeremy: Auburn (+13)

Talk about another team looking ahead a bit. Bama's got the biggest
game of the year coming with Florida. But the Iron Bowl is a
time-honored rivalry, and I fully expect Saban to have his troops
focused on the War Eagle. Gotta say I'm a big fan of the Gus Malzahn
offense, but Auburn has been sputtering a bit of late. I think they
keep this one close, however, until Julio Jones makes a big 4th quarter
TD grab to ice the game for the Tide.

Bama 17 Auburn 10

Dan: Auburn +13

Auburn isn’t very good, but it is the Iron Bowl! The Tigers should at least keep it close. Alabama isn’t the type of team that will blow out many teams (D-1AA not included). I think Auburn can just barely obtain the cover.

Alabama 21 Auburn 9

Matt: Alabama -13

Mike: Auburn (+13):

Alabama has every reason to be focused for this game, given that (1) the Iron Bowl is an intense rivalry game, (2) they played an inferior foe last week and (3) Nick Saban is a master motivator. Nonetheless, recent college football history is filled with examples of teams whose apparent path to a national championship was derailed with an upset loss and there is a definite “trap game” angle at play. With the SEC Championship looming on the horizon, it will be a sizable challenge for Saban to coax a winning performance from his team against a capable, inspired opponent on the road.

Auburn 17 Alabama 16

Doug: Auburn +13

Bama hasn't really taken to blowing anyone out lately other than Tennessee-Chattanooga, so I'll put this one down as another close SEC game in November. Not a lot of blowouts in the SEC at this point in the season.

Auburn has had two weeks to gear up for this game. They should be able to cover the spread and maybe make this game interesting into the fourth quarter.

The other thing is that Verne Lundquist does not call SEC games in the month of November unless he gets in four "MY GOODNESS!"es and five "OH WOW!"s. I expect a close game with lots of excitement from Verne and Gary D.

Alabama 17 Auburn 10

Saturday November 28, 2009

Clemson (pick em) at South Carolina (ESPN 12pm)

Jeremy: Clemson (Pick) - LOCK OF THE WEEK

Another surprise Pick IMO. South Carolina has not been very good
lately, while Clemson has been showing some life, especially with the
surging Heisman campaign of CJ Spiller. Is it time for Spurrier to hand
over the visor?

Clemson 28 South Carolina 17

Dan: South Carolina

Two evenly matched teams. CJ Spiller is having a great year, but so is the Gamecock defense. While Clemson has dominated Carolina over the past 10 years, I like the home team, with the better defense to pull off a close one.

South Carolina 17 Clemson 14

Matt: Clemson

Mike: South Carolina (Pick):

Two factors are at play here: (1) South Carolina was resting last week while Clemson was out clinching a spot in the ACC Championship and (2) the Gamecocks need this game to ensure inclusion in a bowl, whereas the Tigers’ bowl fate will be determined solely by its performance against Georgia Tech next week. Even though this is a bitter rivalry contest, as evidenced by the pregame brouhaha that took place several years ago, the game should be much more important to South Carolina than Clemson. Accordingly, look for the host Gamecocks to emerge victorious.

South Carolina 24 Clemson 21

Doug: Clemson (pick em)

I pick South Carolina to win this game every year and it seems like Clemson always wins this one, so I'll go with the Tigers.

Clemson 24 South Carolina 21

Miami (FL) -7 at South Florida (ABC Sports 3:30pm)

Jeremy: Miami (-7)

Nice season for Randy Shannon and Jacory Harris. The ACC has to be
getting a bit nervous seeing the Canes slowly make their way back to the
top.

Miami 34 USF 17

Dan: Miami -7

Miami has been somewhat inconsistent this year, as has USF. You know Miami will put up points, but the Bulls are no slouches on offense either. A touchdown spread is tricky in a shoot-out because this game may come down to the team that has the ball last. A push may be in order, but I will go with Miami to score late to pull off the cover.

Miami 38 USF 30

Matt: Miami

Mike: Miami (-7):

Miami has struggled offensively since Jacory Harris hurt his thumb, but the Canes seemed to find their stride in the second half of the Duke game last week. In addition, USF has predictably sputtered against the better opponents on its schedule and they are clearly less talented than the Canes. On the other hand, the Bulls delivered their most inspired performance this year against Florida State and they may have a motivational edge this week against another in-state powerhouse, especially since this game should not have any special significance to Miami. Ultimately, however, I believe that Miami’s talent edge will allow them to pull away from USF and cover the spread.

Miami 26 USF 17

Doug: South Florida +7

Let's go Bulls!! You know they've been gearing up for this game for years down in Tampa, and this game means a hundred times more to USF than it does to Miami. Miami is having a nice year, but they're still not the old Miami. Is that Miami ever coming back again?? It could happen, but they just don't seem to have the same tenacity that they had back in the day.

USF has talent. It just depends on if they go out and play disciplined football. If BJ Daniels is clicking, they can play with just about anyone.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that the Bulls pull the shocker and claim the mantle as the second best team in the state of Florida in 2009.

USF 24 Miami 20

Arkansas +6 at LSU (ESPN 7pm)

Jeremy: Arkansas (+6)

The home crowd in Death Valley is the only reason I even paused before
making this pick. LSU is in shambles right now. Ryan Mallett is
looking like the next great Petrino college QB and the Hogs pull out a
big win in Baton Rouge.

Arkansas 27 LSU 21

Dan: Arkansas +6

The Razorbacks are heating up at the right time. However, going to Death Valley at night is still a daunting task. LSU has not shown me anything over the last month that is impressive. I don’t think Arkansas is quite ready to upset the Tigers at home at night, but they can certainly keep it within a touchdown.

LSU 20 Arkansas 17

Matt: Arkansas +6 - Lock of week

Mike: Arkansas (+6)- LOCK OF THE WEEK:

These are two teams going in opposite directions. After last week’s debacle in Oxford, it should be abundantly clear that Les Miles should be viewed as a bumbling fool, rather than some “crazy genius,” as he was characterized by various observers after winning a series of games in fluky fashion over the past few years. By contrast, Bobby Petrino is steadily building a successful program in Fayetteville, just as he did in Louisville, which, as an aside, leads me to wonder why Notre Dame wouldn’t consider giving him a call if the bigger names aren’t interested (more on this next week in an upcoming post). Anyway, considering the coaching mismatch and Arkansas’ recent track record of strong performances against LSU, an outright upset seems quite possible.

Arkansas 26 LSU 21

Doug: Arkansas +6

Not only do I think Arkansas is going to cover in this game, I'm going with the Baby Backs to straight up win this game in Baton Rouge. Arkansas is surging, and LSU is treading water. I think Mallett goes down there, plays a monster game, and suddenly is all the rage on NFL draft boards. Should be interesting to see if he makes the leap with a strong finish this year or if he decides to come back and get one more year under his belt.

I'm a huge believer in Bobby Petrino. His record at Louisville was unbelievable. You don't put up those kinds of numbers and dominate your competition like he did unless you are a great coach. Brian freaking Brohm was being talked about as the #1 overall pick if he had come out after they won the Orange Bowl at Louisville. Collosal mistake by him to stick around for his senior year, and it cost him two rounds in the next year's draft. Another lesson for Jimmy Clausen on why he should get out of dodge now while he is still being considered a top 10 pick. You never know when your value is going to drop through the floor.

On the flip side is Les Miles. If he loses this game at home to Arkansas, the vultures are going to be circling. I think he'd be crazy not to put out feelers to Michigan this offseason about coming on board if Rodriguez flames out again. Seems like the perfect golden parachute for him.

I'm also rooting for this move because it would officialy neuter Michigan into 8-4/9-3 oblivion for the next 10 years. Les would crank out Lloyd Carr type years left and right at Michigan, but never seriously threaten a title run. Couldn't work out any better for ND. Give me a "high floor/low ceiling" guy like Les Miles who we could beat every year over a "low floor/high ceiling" guy like Harbaugh who could potentially come in there and turn Michigan into USC East. Harbaugh at Michigan scares me. Miles at Michigan doesn't at all.

Arkansas 31 LSU 28

Notre Dame +10 at Stanford (ABC Sports 8pm)

Jeremy: Stanford

I really don't have any more words. In fact, there's a good chance I
won't be watching much of this game. At the beginning of the year, I
thought I would never say this, but its not even fun to watch Clausen,
Floyd and Tate anymore. The offense has become vanilla and predictable.
And the defense just makes the game a living hell. Gerhart will run for
200+, Stanford will hang 35+ and Weis will go out on the sourest of
notes.

Stanford 45 ND 28

Dan: Stanford (to win)

I don’t see any way that Notre Dame can slow down Stanford’s rushing attack. While the spread is a bit ridiculous (ND should be able to score), but I can’t see Harbaugh not getting his first win against ND.

Matt: Stanford

Mike: Stanford (-10):

What do you get when you pit a hungry, physical team against a soft opponent with a lame duck coach? My guess is a major blowout.

Stanford 50 Notre Dame 24

Doug: Stanford

I think the blowout talk might be overstating things a bit, but I do not expect to ND to win this game. We've been awful on the road all year, we don't stop the run, and Luck is a good quarterback who will probably kill us with play action all day long. Harbaugh is going to be looking to make a statement in front of a nationwide audience tuning in to see Weis' last stand, and this ND team is coming apart at the seams.

I think ND will be able to move the football on Stanford through the air, but the blueprint has been out on ND all year. Force Charlie to run the ball, rush your front four with guns blazing, and then create an umbrella in the back seven to keep everything in front of you. We stall out in the red zone every time because we don't have any other option but to try to pass the ball in the red zone. With two defenders playing pass coverage for every receiver, it's not easy to find gaps in the defense in the red zone. And when we do try to run in the red zone, we get no push and can't seem to pound it in.

Stanford is still Stanford though. I watched a good chunk of their game against Cal. They just don't have any speed or athleticism, especially on defense. Too many white guys and academic types. Golden Tate is going to have mismatches all day long on Saturday night.

Stanford has followed the same formula all year. Pound the ball on the ground, eat clock, hit play action when you need, keep the defense off the field, and hope you wear the other team out. It's the perfect formula to win at a place like Stanford. But if their ground game stalls or big plays start going against them defensively, they get themselves into trouble.

One intriguing scenario though. What if Charlie wins?? I don't think that changes his future or anything, but would the players try to carry him off the field or anything like that?? (trying to resist a joke about not being able to carry him to the locker room....really, I'm trying here) I could see it. Didn't Bob Davie win his last game?? What happened?? I don't even remember.

I expect a back and forth game with both teams moving it up and down the field. Ultimately, I think Stanford will grind us down in the fourth quarter like UConn did last week and close the book on the Charlie Weis era.

Stanford 34 ND 27

Bonus Picks:

Mike:

Texas A&M (+21) over Texas: With all of the pressure on the Horns, this is far too many points to lay in a road game against a fierce in-state rival.

Florida State (+21) over Florida: See Alabama-Auburn analysis above (although this game is at Florida and I do not expect an outright upset).

Mississippi State (+7) over Mississippi: Egg Bowl! With an extra week to prepare, Dan Mullen’s team will score a signature victory for this season over an Ole Miss team coming off an emotional win.

North Carolina (-4) over North Carolina State: The Tar Heels are playing great football, while NC State has completely melted down. Also, there is a revenge angle at play after last year’s bloodletting in Chapel Hill by the Wolfpack.

Arizona (-3.5) over Arizona State: This game is at ASU, but the Wildcats are the far superior team. The Territorial Cup will return to Tucson in decisive fashion.

Tennessee (-3) over Kentucky: Father and son Kiffin should have no problem dispatching a Kentucky team led by a true freshman QB, even in Lexington.

Doug:

Browns +14 at the Bengals -- Bengals HAVE to win this game. If they lose to the Browns, the implosion is on. One game at a time from here on out. As far as I'm concerned, the Bengals can beat anyone and lose to anyone. If you turn the ball over and can't convert in the red zone and can't pressure the passer, you aren't going to win many games.

Texas A&M +21 vs. Texas -- I'm rooting for BCS chaos. Give me one big upset this week between Florida, Texas, and Bama. I want a BCS meltdown that leads to overwhelming consensus for a playoff.

Illinois +16.5 at Cincy - WOW. This line is too high. Do people not realize that Cincy is pretty much squeaking by everyone at this point?? Illinois can make their season with a win over Cincy, and it's not like the Illini don't have talent. They've had two weeks to gear up for this game, and my in-laws and the rest of the Illini nation are heading to Nippert Stadium on Saturday hoping to pull the shocker.

Kentucky +3 vs. Tennessee -- Go Cats! Might have to put the excitement about UK basketball on hold for a week to cheer on the Wildcats in football. Heck, if they get invited to the Music City bowl, I might have to get down there for that one.

Florida State +21 at Florida -- Could be Bobby Bowden's last game at the Swamp. Maybe his last regular season game as head coach at FSU. Wish he would make it official.

Last Week:

Jeremy: 2-4
Dan: 3-3
Matt: 4-2
Mike: 3-3
Doug: 4-2

Season:

Jeremy: 39-32-2
Dan: 37-34-2
Matt: 34-37-2
Mike: 31-40-2
Doug: 35-36-2

Lock of the Week:

Jeremy: 6-5
Dan: 5-6-1
Matt: 3-8

Mike: 3-8
Doug: 4-8