This feels familiar

There hasn't been a lot of NFL talk on the blog, but this just dawned me as I'm reading about the firing of Browns GM Phil Savage and inevitable firing of Browns coach Romeo Crennel.

The Browns coaching search feels like the ND coaching search from 2004. While the Willingham firing was a surprise, there's the one candidate that's linked to the institution.

Urban Meyer was an assistant coach who loved Notre Dame. Bill Cowher played for the Browns and coached with the Browns. Everyone knows Meyer was ND's No. 1 choice. Everyone knows Cowher is the Browns' No. 1 choice.

Whatever Bill Cowher wants he's going to get. Unlike Meyer who wanted concessions ND wouldn't give.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Merry F'n Christmas

The juice

Why does the NFL receive a blind eye to steroid use while baseball is vilified for it?

Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and the rest of baseball's alleged junkies are publicly ostracized for using performance enhancers. Yet these three have never failed a test for steroids, nor have they admitted use. McGwire all but admitted use by exercising his fifth amendment rights before Congress, Clemens was named in the infamous Mitchell Report, and all you need is to compare Bonds from his days in Pittsburgh to when he broke the home run record to have ample evidence for anabolic steroid use.

Time and time again in the NFL steroid use is forgotten, and even seems to be justified at times. A federal judge in Minnesota stepped in to prevent the suspensions of the Vikings' Kevin and Pat Williams (and several other NFL players) when they tested positive for a diuretic used as a masking agent for steroids. A judge defends the NFL players while a former US Senator names names in Major League Baseball. Perhaps someone needs to investigate the judge to see if he had money on the Vikings, knowing they'd be vulnerable to losing to the Lions without their two best players.

The reason the suspensions were halted is that the players allegedly did not know the substance they were taking contained the diuretic. This argument has been voiced to deaf ears by just about every baseball player who's been busted for steroids. Shawne Merriman was suspended four games for a failed steroids test in the NFL. After his return later that year, fans and pundits had made his drug use a distant memory and proclaimed him the NFL's best, most ferocious, most physical defensive player. His excuse was, again, that he didn't know there were steroids in a supplement he was taking. Why shouldn't he be held responsible for what he puts in his body like we expect baseball players to be? Doesn't he - just like Bonds - make his millions by his athletic accomplishments? It's foolish and irresponsible of them not to know exactly what they are putting into their bodies.

I don't buy professional athletes in the NFL or MLB telling me they didn't know what they were taking, and it's insulting if they expect me to believe them or be sympathetic. They know they'll be tested and that they are under a microscope. However, guilt or innocence for Williams et al is yet to be determined. The judge claims that the substances taken did not list all of the ingredients. But why else are these guys taking a diuretic - are the Williams' trying to lose weight?

While both the NFL and MLB have taken huge steps toward cleaning up their sports, the NFL needs to sack up and show some accountability. Shawne Merriman's secret is in the needle. Just have a look at him now, all juiced up, versus years ago before he went Jose Canseco.

Did you just see that?

I am posting this video for two reasons: 1) get that queer Duve Day crap off the top of the blog; and 2) to inspire discussion of the embedded video.

This is the next to final play in the 5A Texas high school playoff game at Texas Stadium between the Allen Eagles in white and the Euless Trinity Trojans in black. See if you can spot the problem here and please discuss.

Happy DuveDay to All

Some might think that this post is arrogant or self-absorbed.  I prefer to think of it as merely educational.  People that are against education are obviously not true patriots and are just helping the Chinese win more gold medals.  Why did I just mention the Olympics?  Because now I actually have a sports subject woven into this article and it becomes instantly relevant for the general purposes of this blog.  Now to business...

1:22 pm, 16 December 1982 has come to be known as DuveDay: The Beginning.  Adding 175 pounds, 55 more inches and 26 years from that point - The Doob is proudly celebrating "DuveDay: Change in 08" with the rest of the world.  The question is, does the public fully understand the cultural significance of DuveDay?  This is an event that has been celebrated across the world with all the glitz and glamour of an inauguration party, yet is down to earth and appeals directly to the common man.  I will take this opportunity to shed some light on the history and importance of DuveDay.

Quick Facts

- DuveDay really took its form at the University of Notre Dame, coincidentally enough right around "DuveDay: Dry No More" which was junior year at ND.

- Bernie Blozar holds the record for most number of DuveDay celebrations attended in the modern era.* (since 2000).

- DuveDay went international in 2006 with "DuveDay: Mission Accomplished" that involved multiple days of partying and a full band.

- There is only one DuveDay, do not be confused by imitators.  DuveDay is too grand of an event to come more than once a year.

- DuveDay has often been attributed to having DuveDay Miracles.  For example if someone that you find annoying suddenly doesn't show up for work on the 16th of December - that is considered a DuveDay Miracle.  Other DuveDay Miracles include throwing off the shackles of tyrannical and oppressive government rule.

Celebrating DuveDay

While grand, multi-day festivities have occurred in the past (commencing with DuveDay Eve) and have included air shows and celebrity celebrations, DuveDay remains a simple event that is eagerly anticipated by all, year in and year out.   It is a time of joy and excitement to put people in the holiday mood just a little over a week before Christmas.  It is considered polite that when passing even a complete stranger on the street on 16 December to wish them a "Happy DuveDay" to which the appropriate response is either, "thank you, same to you" or "Happy DuveDay to you too."

You might be asking yourself right now, "I really want to be apart of this great event, how can I celebrate DuveDay?"  It's simple really, celebrating DuveDay is a state of mind and a way of life and those that revel in DuveDay set an example for others on how to lead a joyful life.   Spread goodwill to your fellow man, wish them a Happy DuveDay.

If a tree falls

And no one is around....

I guess the AFL has had a bit more success than other leagues, but if you've been you know it gets pretty monotonous. Scores end up being like 78-70, but that doesn't mean the game is exciting. If the NFL is now made for TV, the AFL was made for....

.....

.....

Jon Bon Jovi and John Elway?

Or gambling. Let's go with gambling.

The AFL, by the way, is a great argument for "high scoring games do NOT necessarily mean more exciting games."

Speaking of a tree falling with nobody around...

Gene Chizik? Really??

So let me get this straight Auburn folks...

...first, you fire a coach who, prior to this admittedly bad season, had a .708 winning percentage in 10 seasons. The only coaches with better records after Prohibition were Pat Dye who was run off the Plains for NCAA issues, and Terry Bowden who only coached 5 years and never won an SEC title. Hell, Tuberville had a better winning percentage than Ralph Jordan and his name is on their stadium. Tubs also beat Alabama 6 straight times (2001-2007), something no other coach has done. Now, I don't blame Auburn for firing Tuberville (make no mistake he was fired, and didn't resign otherwise the AD wouldn't be paying him a $6million buyout) because they already felt they were falling behind Alabama and the Fighting Nick'tators in Tuscaloosa. However, they go out and do the second thing.

They passed on Mike Leach. This guy is begging to find a job outside of Lubbock. And who can blame him? Have you seen Lubbock? It's a toilet of a town that frequently has dust storms that would have intimidated the Joads and on most days reeks of the stench of nearby feed lots. Add in the fact that the average Tech student is so stupid that the school is in danger of losing it's academic accreditation, that Tech girls while hot are rife with STDs, and the fact that they have the worst fans west of Baton Rouge and that just adds to the problems with the AD. Problems like the fact that they play in a converted high school stadium that has just been expanded in a hap-hazard fashion and so little revenue coming in that the football program actually ran out of money for postage to mail recruiting letters. Yet, Leach has built a consistent winner out of kids that nobody wanted put him into a program like Auburn and within 3 years he wins the SEC. And don't say the spread won't work in the SEC, look at Florida. But because Leach is a bit odd and seems to have an affinity for both Jack Daniels and pirates he's passed over.

Then Auburn interviews Turner Gill. The former Nebraska QB should be a hot commodity as he has made the worst program since Bill Snyder turned K-State around into the MAC champs inside of 3 years. This is a program that was completely non-existent in the 70s. And by that I mean that they didn't even have a football program between 1970 and '77. Then they were NCAA D-III between '77 and 1992. From 1992-'98 they were D-IAA and in 1999 they joined the MAC. Under Gill Buffalo has gone 2-10 in '06, 5-7 in '07, and 8-5 MAC champs in '08. This is remarkable because Gill has no fanbase, no recruiting base, and facilities which would make a Texas high school cower in shame. Plus, and the experience of Sylvester Croom notwithstanding, I firmly believe that a black coach in the SEC would absolutely kill on the recruiting trail. So what does Auburn do? Of course they pass over Gill too.

Finally, if reports are to be believed Auburn even contacted Will Muschamp their former DC. But given the circus going on in Alabama he decided to keep his $900K+ salary and title as "head coach in waiting" at t.u. (that's Texas for you Midwestern folk). Can't say I blame him.

And they Auburn looks to another former DC, Chizik, who has gone 5-19 at Iowa State. Sure it's Iowa State but come on, he went 0-8 this year in the BigXII.

Well, here is the reaction of Auburn fans to the hiring of Gene Chizik. I hope their AD has his insurance paid up because he's liable to suffer some vandalism.

Soviet Hockey

If you haven't yet heard, Russia's Continental Hockey League (KHL) - also comprised of teams from Belarus, Latvia, and Kazakhstan - will hold their inaugural All-Star game outdoors. Top leagues holding special outdoor games has become wildly popular in recent years, with enormous crowds braving the elements to bear witness.

The NHL's inaugural Winter Classic was held last season on January 1 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, with Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby defeating the Sabres with a shootout goal in a thrilling, frigid, snowy game in front of over 70,000 spectators. (The BD Blog's namesakes can give first-hand accounts from the historic event.) This New Year's Day, the Winter Classic will take place at Wrigley Field between old time rivals Chicago and Detroit. I for one hope the NHL continues to hold one outdoor game each year, a New Year's Day tradition of the Winter Classic. The game can be in a new location each year (except for Phoenix, Dallas, Tampa Bay, or any warm-weather city - the game must have the possibility of a blizzard). The game doesn't even have to be played in an NHL city. A rumored future Winter Classic may be played at Penn State University between the Penguins and Flyers, a neutral site for Pennsylvania bragging rights.

This, however, was not the NHL's first outdoor game this century. More than 57,000 watched Montreal defeat Edmonton in the Heritage Classic in November 2003, played at 18 degrees below zero in Edmonton.

The recent outdoor hockey trend started in October 2001 with a college game between rivals Michigan State and Michigan at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing before a world record crowd of 74,544 (the match ended in a 3-3 draw). Then in February 2006, Wisconsin hosted Ohio State at Lambeau Field in front of over 40,000.

The KHL won't even be the first European league to hold an outdoor game. Swiss rivals SC Bern and SC Langnau played their 100th game in January 2007 before over 30,000 fans at one of Switzerland's largest soccer stadiums. The game was so popular that it sold out just two days after tickets went on sale.

So welcome aboard, Russia. But their All-Star game may be the most historic and breathtaking game of any. The location: Moscow's Red Square. This is where Soviet/Russian military parades of past and current generations have been held. Beneath the shadows of Saint Basil's Cathedral (what a beaut), The Kremlin, and Lenin's Mausoleum, Team Yashin (led by Alexei "The Turtleneck" Yashin, comprised of Russian players) will take on Team Jagr (a team of non-Russian players led by Jaromir "Check Out My Flow" Jagr). The two former NHL superstars give the new KHL a decent amount of credibility, especially since the league has poached young star Alexander Radulov from the NHL and brought him back home - sparking a bitter contract dispute between the two leagues.

The KHL has quickly reached deep into their pockets and could become a potentially legitimate rival to the NHL for world-class young European talent (Jagr and Yashin, though still NHL-calibre, are at the ends of their careers). The league could make NHL brass nervous, especially with the departure Nashville's Radulov. However, rumors are that both Jagr and Radulov would like to return to the NHL. Yashin, on the other hand, would be lynched both in Ottawa (where he held out an entire season for more money) and on Long Island (where the Senators ultimately traded him for Zdeno Chara and the Jason Spezza pick) if he returned. The KHL even has plans to expand from 24 teams to 30 and possibly more, with the league potentially expanding to Finland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.

Regardless of any friction with or the potential competition from our Russian counterparts, I'm excited for their All-Star game. I'm just hoping it's picked up by Versus or ESPN Deportes.

Good work BD voters

The BD Heisman Projection nailed it.

Paying Homage

" Although this official NFL football with the inscription "Best Wishes, Matt Millen" seems a little overpriced at $59.99 and might provoke an Artest-like melee at any family Christmas gift exchange in Michigan, think of my O'Donnell example above and how much fun it would be for Lions fans to whip a Matt Millen football against walls, pavement, trees, parked cars, an overflowed toilet …"

Full article here

I only post this because:
A) It's funny
B) I'm sure there are many "Chicago Blackhawks vs. the owner" jokes here
C) Not to stick with a theme from my earlier post, but I have this sinking feeling that a baseball signed by the Monforts will elicit similar reactions from Rockies fans sometime in the future.

Interesting Choice

After Skip Holtz pulled out of the running, Syracuse goes with Doug Marrone and not Turner Gill.

Marrone has never been a head coach at the collegiate level and Gill is the hot choice.

Not exactly sure what Darryl Gross is thinking, but his tenure as AD is riding on this choice. You can't miss on two consecutive football hires, especially when there's no decision to be made with men's hoops.

Also, Army firing Stan Brock after two years is interesting. Here are the stated goals:

Our stated goal is to deliver a winning product that wins the Commander in Chief’s Trophy and earns postseason bowl bids, a program of which graduates, soldiers and fans around the world can be proud.”

That hasn't been the case at Army for awhile.

Tebow Bandwaggon

I'm not going to hide it, I'm not a Tim Tebow fan and I'm not a Florida Gators fan.  I don't have any real good reason, it's not like I'm a Florida State fan or a Georgia fan and by association of rivalry I don't like Florida.  I actually just don't like any football team in the state of Florida.  Now that I've provided context for my bias, I'm going to vent about the Tim Tebow bandwagon.

Watching him play, I'll admit, he's a great player.  He seems to be consistent, look at his stats.  He doesn't throw for a lot of yards compared to a lot of other quarterbacks, generally has some pretty good rushing days for a quarterback and he gets a lot of touchdowns.  It seems most of his passing touchdowns are because of the superior speed of his receivers and he gets a lot of red zone rushing touchdowns because he's got the size to take a hit.  However, I think that you could take any good quarterback and put him in that system and if you call his number enough times close to the goal line, he'll put up some PS3 type TD numbers.  

Tebow is not the best quarterback in the country, he's not the best offensive player in the country and there are a number of other players I would rate as more valuable to their team than Tebow is to Florida.  Watching a Texas game and you'll see that everything McCoy has to do to find success for his team is 10x harder, and yet he does it better than Tebow too.  If you want total touchdowns, McCoy has more of them.  You like rushing yards?  McCoy has more of them this year too.  How about efficiency?  McCoy has better accuracy and a better QB rating.

The biggest thing going for Tebow right now is the lack of top tier offensive players in the SEC compared to the Big XII.  The votes are going to be split between Bradford and McCoy and Tebow will join Archie Griffin as a two time winner.  My consolation is this, McCoy and Texas will be upset enough over this second snub that they will destroy Ohio State by 40 points and there will at least be a little fairness returned to the world.

On a side note, I think Harrell was snubbed, but I could see this being the same situation in part as 2006 when Brady wasn't invited just out of the risk that someone sitting on stage wouldn't finish in the top.  I also thinks that this helps Bradford and McCoy so that Big XII/ western votes don't get split even more than they already will.

Winter Meetings in Las Vegas

1) I'm jealous. I've had some good baseball memories in Las Vegas and it would be nice to get a few more during the winter meetings. If the powers that be in the BD Sports Nation ever wish to send a reporter on assignment to Las Vegas, just let me know.

2) Do you think the Rockies even bothered to show up?

How I Feel (2)

Wanted to post this as a comment, but couldn't get the picture in.  Just trying to maintain the balance of this blog - as I'm sure it's obvious to all that there's never been a bias towards any team, sport or individual athlete from the BD Sports Empire.

How I feel

Why do birds fly upside down over Oklahoma?

Because there is nothing worth shitting on.

Oh Captain, My Captain

As if the situation for the Colorado Avalanche wasn't already stellar, one point from the bottom of the division with playing two more games than Edmonton, Peter Budaj is the starting goalie and Captain Sakic is out with a herniated disk.  Now the snow gods have sent one more trial to this team, in the form of a snowblower and Sakic's three broken fingers.

It seems like these kind of freak accidents can be a major distraction for a team, much more than just a simple injury.  Hopefully with 50+ games left the team can buckle down and hang in there.  Maybe the Avs will go back to the days of pulling off the big trade right in the nick of time and something magical can happen in Denver in early 09.  As long as Colorado doesn't bring back Foppa for the seventh time then I still have hope.

CC to the Yankees

Hows that taste?

10 practices?

There has been a lot of discussion among the Notre Dame faithful about this bowl game. None of the issues raised have really bothered me.

The Christmas Eve thing isn't ideal, but working at a smaller school, I understand the need to get on TV. Granted, ND isn't struggling to get on TV, but if it was another smaller school playing Hawaii, this wouldn't be an issue.

The going to Hawaii bothered me a little with the recent e-mail from ND's president about being mindful of excess spending. If there are unnecessary employees going on the trip, this becomes a much larger issue.

A 6-6 team being allowed to pick its destination doesn't bother me too much. They are bowl eligible and you could argue the coaches are to blame for the record.

Now, this last issue is still bothering me. I only read it 10 minutes ago and I'm going to be mindful of my emotions. However, the Irish are only using 10 practices of their allotted 15.

The biggest problem for the ND team was the lack of fundamentals. They don't play hard. They don't come out and instill their will on the opponent. That's not something you can just turn on. It's a trait that gets developed through physical practices.

Now, ND already practiced on Saturday and Sunday. Let's be optimistic and assume those were just fundamentals. They are practicing again this Friday and Saturday. Again, let's be optimistic.

There will be a limited practice on the 18th for players not with exams and then one on the 19th, before departing for Hawaii later on the 19th. Those practices will more than likely be less than stellar with the players just coming off finals.

The team is scheduled to practice on the 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd. The 20th will be difficult with the time change. The 23rd will be a walkthrough as its the day before the game. The 21st and 22nd will be installing the game plan.

So, Notre Dame, a team that has a dire need for developing fundamentals and a new attitude, will have less than a handful of practices to develop that.

I guess the glass-half-full opinion would be that the team won't be developing fundamentals with coaches who will not be with the program in 2009.

We're approaching the point of erecting a big tent on top of that circus in South Bend, but I don't think we're there yet.

Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech?

Worst Orange Bowl ever.

Ringside

I think it’s time to introduce a new topic to the BD Sports Blog. Manny Pacquiao dominated his fight against Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand on Saturday. De La Hoya gave his best Roberto Duran impression after the eighth round and threw in the towel, having absorbed so many blows that his left eye had nearly swollen shut. He wanted no more. He could fight no more. Pacquiao threw almost two hundred more punches and landed almost three times as many punches as De La Hoya before the TKO. It was like the first time you got to Mr. Sandman in Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!: maybe you were able to gut through a few rounds, but the inevitable uppercut knockout was coming.

Pacquiao was giving up six years of age, four inches of height, and five inches of reach; he jumped up two weight classes to fight The Golden Boy in the 147-pound welterweight division. Aside from his popularity in his native Philippines (there wasn't a crime reported in Manila during the fight), Pacman's star power was dwarfed by that which accompanies De La Hoya – arguably the greatest fighter of the past two decades. The rumored payout from this bout was to be between 70/30 and 60/40 to De La Hoya. The casinos and bookies worldwide had De La Hoya as the clear favorite.

All this being considered, this fight looks like a true upset. Pacquiao solidified himself as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter (though that title has probably been bestowed upon five boxers in the past six years). This annihilation may just be the end for the Golden Boy. He now has just six career losses, with four of those coming in his last ten fights.

But De La Hoya is a boxer – and a very marketable name. I’m sure he’ll officially retire soon, then officially unretire like most champion boxers, and in a couple of years we’ll see him in a bout like the one that Evander Holyfield has scheduled on December 20th against Nikolai Valuev. Nicknamed "The Russian Giant," Valuev is seven feet tall, weighs over 320 pounds, and has a reach that could get closer to a first down than the Detroit Lions. He's probably best described as a mix between Andre the Giant, Ivan Drago (just because he's a huge Russian), French rugby player Sebastien Chabal, and 007 nemesis Jaws.

Along with Chris Kaman, Valuev may disprove Darwin's theory of evolution; but he does give ample credence to his theory of natural selection and survival of the fittest. Valuev also pulls off the Cold Soviet Stare almost as well as Vladimir Putin. And would someone please wax this guy's back? Seriously.

Good luck, Evander.

Next ND Offensive Line Coach?

I heard about this two minutes ago, but really like it... Very impressive bio

Ron Prince

Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs?

I think Jim Mora said it best.

I for one don't want a playoff in D-1 college football. It's the Football Bowl Subdivision.

I enjoy the yearly BCS conundrum. Colorado missed out on the national championship game by .05 points to Nebraska in 2001 - a team we'd hung 62 points on in their final game - ruining the corn's perfect season and preventing them from even the Big XII North, let alone the conference title. Granted Miami would have drubbed us like Oregon did, so it really should have been the Ducks playing for the championship. But I only mention this because my team has been kicked in the pants by the BCS, and I still think it can work.

It's certainly not perfect. First there is the rubbish about BCS conferences (see this post about the Big East). Then the fact that the Big Ten and Pac-10 have no conference championship game, which has already been mentioned by several BD bloggers. Though in years past this has allowed Ohio State and USC to move up the ladder after another school's loss in their conference title game, it could end up hurting a team like Penn State this year. If they had another chance to prove themselves, maybe they could sneak in to the conversation. After all, their only loss was by one point on the road on a last second field goal.

The conference championship game actually hosed Missouri last year. They beat Kansas in a highly anticipated rivalry week game, giving each school one loss and giving the Tigers the Big XII North. They then went on to lose their second game to Oklahoma in the Big XII championship, vaulting one-loss Kansas over them in the BCS standings. Kansas was then rewarded with a BCS bowl, the Orange Bowl, against the ACC's yearly patsy Virginia Tech. The only reason the Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl was because of their loss to Missouri to conclude the regular season.

Another pitfall of a playoff would be the issue of all the bowl games. Do they remain part of college football's postseason? (Though many of these pre-Christmas games could be contracted anyway. What is the Magicjack Saint Petersburg Bowl?) A playoff certainly takes significance away from earning a bowl bid for non-playoff schools.

I like what Ookie Crisp had to say in his 'BCS Bashing' post. The regular season is the playoff. You have twelve games to prove that you should play for the crystal football, or that you should land one of the premier BCS bowls. This can't be college basketball where 65 schools make the tourney after a thirty game regular season. Maybe everyone just wants a playoff so they can fill out more brackets and have office pools.

Just get rid of the computers; you can never trust a computer. Let the voters decide who should play for the championship. And if there was a playoff, none of this eight team business that's been proposed and supported by everyone from BD Sports to Gameday to Obama to Flo at the local IHOP. Four teams, the best of the best. This year that would be Alabama, Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma, regardless of what happens this weekend.

I'll conclude by alluding to another famous Jim Mora quote: playoffs in D-1 college football would be diddly-poo.

Big 10 (11) Fix

Alright, I'm tired of watching the Big 10 finish up two weeks early every year and sit back while every other school has rivalry games and conference championships.  While the Big 10 teams stay home and rest up, every other good team in the country is getting beat up and through attrition - helping those teams with a bye move up the rankings.  As long as we're going to have a BCS system instead of a playoff I think that the BCS conferences need to have title games.  The Pac-10 is an issue for another article, but largely it isn't worth having a title game out there right now because there's only one good team in the conference.  That being the case, let's focus on the Big 10.

For this scenario to have even a shred of credibility, (not saying there's much of a chance of that, but let's pretend) I think it's important to maintain as many traditional rivalries as possible.  That way when the conference is split up, there's not the concern that Michigan only plays Ohio State every three years.  Additionally, which we'll get into, there will be the need to add another team so everything may be divided up evenly.

Big 10 Rivalries

• Illinois: Indiana, Northwestern
  
• Indiana: Illinois, Purdue
  
• Iowa: Minnesota, Wisconsin
  
• Michigan: Michigan State, Ohio State
  
• Michigan State: Michigan, Penn State
  
• Minnesota: Iowa, Wisconsin
  
• Northwestern: Illinois, Purdue
  
• Ohio State: Michigan, Penn State
  
• Penn State: Michigan State, Ohio State
  
• Purdue: Indiana, Northwestern
  
• Wisconsin: Iowa, Minnesota

Okay, so now what?  How can we start breaking this down?  Well based on rivalries the 11 teams fit into three main groups:

Group 1: Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State

Group 2: Indiana, Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois

Group 3: Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin

Right off the bat there's a problem - there's no easy split to get six and six while still maintaining these traditional rivalries.  I propose instead of the traditional approach that is done in the other BCS conferences that have championship games where the conference is divided into two groups of six that the Big 10 institute a pod system similar to how the CCHA balances out the hockey schedule.

Breaking down in pods, a team would be paired with a rival and this rival they would play automatically every year.  Providing you add one more team, you would have six pods.  Nine conference games would be easy enough to schedule in that you play your rival and then you play both teams in four of the five remaining pods that year.  You still have room for three non-conference games and then the pod that you do not play one year you rotate through and play the next year.  This means that teams in the Big 10 pod system would play every team aside from their rivals four out of every five years, which is pretty much how it all works out now.  Additionally the championship game would be #1 playing #2 at the end of the year and the advantage of this system is that you don't have a top team sitting out just like you do in the Big XII this year with Missouri playing for a BCS automatic berth instead of Texas or Texas Tech.

There are a number of different scenarios for pod breakdowns, each has pros and cons.
Pod 1 - Penn State/ Michigan State
Pod 2 - Michigan/ Ohio State
Pod 3 - Indiana/ Purdue
Pod 4 - Illinois/ Northwestern
Pod 5 - Wisconsin/ Minnesota
Pod 6 - Iowa/TBD

I kept Minnesota and Wisconsi together becase I like the rivalry and playing for a Slab of Bacon is just cool.  What to do about adding another team?  I'm sure a lot of people will say that Notre Dame is the obvious answer.  The Irish are independent in football and already play a strong Big 10 schedule every year.  As a Domer, I think it would be cool to see in addition to Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue each year a more consistent showing of Penn State and Ohio State.  The problem is, where do you put Notre Dame?  You can't really slide them in with Iowa, that doesn't make much sense.  If you put them in with Purdue or Penn State or Michigan or Michigan State, none of those teams have a strong rivalry with Iowa.  So if Notre Dame doesn't work, what are other schools that have a strong enough rivalry with these schools for football and would actually add to the conference.  Penn State has some of the better out of conference rivalries with Pittsburgh and West Virginia.  In the immediate time frame a frequent matchup of Michigan/ West Virginia would be interesting, but that's a temporary storyline.  Additionally you still have the problem that if you add in one of those teams, then you end up putting Michigan State with Iowa, which isn't a great scenario.  Plus you'd have to find another team to fill in for the Big East (Marshall?).

So where do we go now?  Back to Iowa, and finding a team to plug in with Iowa.  I propose move Iowa State out of the Big XII and into the Big 10.  In order to fill the void in the Big XII add TCU which should be able to be competitive (probably more so than Iowa State or Baylor).  There are a few extra moving parts here but it accomplishes four things: 1) traditional rivalries are maintained 2) the Big 10 will have a championship game which will be more equitable in selecting the Rose Bowl berth and the top teams won't have the chance to creep into the BCS by being idle 3) the Big 10 will finally be forced to find an accurate name for their conference and not try and hide an 11 (or in this case 12) in the design.  The Big XII used to be the Big 8 and they managed to learn to count accurately, it's not that hard.

Let's go Bruins, and bold BCS predictions.

Not only does USC's "we can give up 2 timeouts to wear whatever f-ing color uni we want" gimmick upset me greatly, I am terrified of what is going to happen when USC wins this game. I don't think I can take ANOTHER blowout loss to Oregon State in a bowl game, which is where this is headed. If USC loses, Oregon State goes to the Rose Bowl, but if USC wins, Oregon State is likely in the Sun Bowl kicking our asses. Sweet.

Because I don't trust the BCS computers to do what everyone thinks they will (when have they?), here are my BCS predictions:

Rose Bowl - PSU vs. USC - easy to predict this one

Orange Bowl - Cincy vs. ACC - does anyone care who wins the ACC? Will anyone watch this game unless every other channel is showing infomercials? If I'm the Orange Bowl, I'm booking Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for halftime just so people will watch at least part of the game.

Sugar Bowl - Florida vs. Utah - wait for it...

Fiesta Bowl - Boise State vs. Alabama - what?... I trust that the Fiesta Bowl will realize that Boise is rated higher in the BCS than Ohio State and that all Americans outside of Ohio are tired of watching Ohio State lose by 40 in BCS games.

Championship - Oklahoma vs. Texas

Here's how I see it: Oklahoma and Florida both win, but since Texas is already #2 in the computers and Florida can only make up ground in the USA Today poll since Oklahoma would go to #1 in the Harris and Florida is already #2, Florida can't make up enough BCS ground to overtake Texas in the standings. Obviously everyone would bitch, but if people want a playoff to ever happen, this is the scenario everyone should cheer for.

ND Football - Next 9 Months

Overall, I'm OK with Weis coming back. His career has been well documented as a failure thus far, but I hate coaching searches and this program does not need another one. However, changes need to be made.

Here is the formula for what I think needs to happen in the next 9 months to get this program on track:

- Win a F****** Bowl Game - I don't care which one, just win and end the streak. This will make everyone feel a heck of a lot better about this program.

- Close out the recruiting class - Currently #8 on Rivals. Hold onto the stars (Wood, Shaq, Watt) and fill out with more depth on the lines.

- Fire Haywood, Latina & Powlus - The offense needed an overhaul last spring and better get one this time around.

- Hire a Real, Experienced Offensive Coordinator, O-Line Coach and QB Coach - Weis needs to cut the cord here and bring in an entirely new system on offense. Keep it in the pro-style model so it fits our talent, but bring in an experienced coordinator who will have complete autonomy over his own system, including play calling. Keep it simple and focus on running the ball and fundamentals. Don't know if it will happen, but this is the most important thing. Swarbrick needs to push this onto Charlie as a condition for keeping his job.

- Put Heat on Clausen in Bowl/ Spring Practice - I'm not saying open up a controversy, but Crist needs to start pushing Jimmy and Weis needs to yank him when he's not getting the job done. Clausen should have been given a seat at some point during the USC game for Sharpley. Clausen's regression since North Carolina has been one of the most disturbing trends of this season.

During the summer, I'll re-visit this list to see how we're doing.

ND Expectations 2009

As a follow-up to Bernie's post regarding Weis staying in South Bend - now is as good a time as any to start the "expectations talk."

"Though this past season fell short of the expectations that all of us have for our football program, I am confident that Charlie has a strong foundation in place for future success and that the best course of action is to move forward under his leadership," athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement released by the university Wednesday.

That being said, what are expectations for next year? Does that start with winning the bowl game this year? I'm thinking win the bowl game, at least eight wins next season and being competitive against USC.  He can't afford an opening loss at home against Nevada and hopefully the extra practices for the bowl help out.  It also doesn't seem like Clausen is progressing the last half of this season, he needs competition from Crist and I think it would be good for Charlie to open that competition up in spring ball.  (Basically, no matter how much Clausen forces throws and makes bad choices, Sharpley isn't going to replace him as starter.)

This has potential to be a light schedule looking at the performance of a few of these teams (Michigan, Purdue, Washington, Washington State).  Combined record as of now for these teams is 71-69.  However, ND hasn't been great on beating good teams the past few years and seven of the 12 will have winning records with USC, Michigan State, and BC already at or over nine wins on the season, Pitt likely to join them as well as Navy if they beat Army and win their bowl.  Losing to four of the five (and almost five of five) this year seems to leave little room for error navigating the schedule next year.

2009 Notre Dame Football Schedule

Sept. 5 NEVADA

Sept. 12 at Michigan

Sept. 19 MICHIGAN STATE

Sept. 26 at Purdue

Oct. 3 WASHINGTON

Oct. 10 Open Date

Oct. 17 USC

Oct. 24 BOSTON COLLEGE

Oct. 31 vs. Washington State (at San Antonio, Texas)

Nov. 7 NAVY

Nov. 14 at Pittsburgh

Nov. 21 CONNECTICUT

Nov. 28 at Stanford

Tuberville out at Auburn?

Rumors are swirling that Tommy Tuberville is getting canned by the Auburn AD.

I'd say that A&M should try to hire him as our defensive coordinator but these SEC coaches don't seem to be able to figure out how to stop the spread offense.

Weis to Return

Per Irish Eyes, which is very reliable, Charlie Weis will return for the 2009 season.

Points of interest:

1. This makes my coaching candidates article worthless.
2. Plenty of time to discuss what changes need to be made by Weis
3. The news broke for the Willingham firing around 12:50 pm on the Tuesday after the SC game. The news broke for Weis returning around 5:50 pm on the Tuesday after the SC game. I don't think there will be celebratory drinking as in 2004 and I won't be working for 15 consecutive hours.

Summary of potential ND coaching candidates

With the firing of Weis the second biggest story in college football, I thought we need to go through the coaching candidates. I was leaning toward Butch Davis, as I said in some text messages early Sunday morning, but now I’m not so sure. Nevertheless, here we go:

The College Pipe Dream
The Professional Pipe Dream
Random College Coaches Who Aren't Coming to ND
Realistic College Coaches
Water-Cooler Candidate
Summary

The College Pipedream — Urban Meyer

Some Notre Dame faithful think every coach in the country will drop what he’s built and come to South Bend. That’s not the case. If you ask the delusional fans they would throw Stoops and Saban into the mix, but Meyer is the most realistic candidate.

Meyer’s connection starts from his birth, being named after a pope. He was an assistant under Lou Holtz and reportedly still talks to him. Former Notre Dame AD Kevin White had his very public trip to Utah the Thursday night after Willingham’s firing on Tuesday. Since White wasn’t prepared for Willingham’s dismissal, Jeremy Foley beat him to Meyer. The Florida AD had been laying the groundwork for Meyer since firing Ron Zook weeks earlier.

Meyer has an affinity for Notre Dame. I don’t know if it’s in this contract, but in his Utah contract, the three dream jobs were Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State. His buyout is only $500,000. Stories are being leaked that he’s bored at Florida. His family wasn’t ready for the move in 2004 and now with the children older, they aren’t opposed to South Bend. One Internet rumor is that he wasn’t sure if he could handle the job, so he wanted to gain top-flight experience at Florida before coming to Notre Dame. See, it’s easy to convince yourself that Meyer is realistic.

A major drawback would be that Meyer “gets bored” at places, since Notre Dame would be his fourth job in eight years. If he did come to Notre Dame, his ego gives Meyer two options – stay 10 years and become a legend synonymous with Rockne, Leahy, Parseghian and Holtz, or win a national title and go to the NFL.

The real question with Meyer – does ND want to hire a coach who made them look bad (at least publically) in 2004. Back to Top

The Professional Pipedream — Jon Gruden

There’s always a connection from ND to the professional ranks and in each of the last two coaching searches, an ND coach has been involved. In 2001, Gruden was that coach and in 2004 it was Mike Shanahan, who is still a darkhorse candidate. This is pure sausage, but maybe Tom Coughlin would be that candidate this time, but I don’t think ND could wait that long. Some people have even said Bill Cowher. I don’t know if these people think.

I didn’t follow the Internet rumors that much in 2001, but it appears that Gruden was all but the choice to replace Bob Davie. I’ve read that former Notre Dame president Edward Malloy wasn’t a fan of Gruden and Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis wasn’t too keen on losing his star coach for no compensation.

Gruden grew up in South Bend as his dad was an assistant under Dan Devine. His alarm was the Notre Dame Victory March. I have a quote from him in my Facebook profile, talking about the goosebumps he gets when seeing ND on television.

Hiring Gruden would be following down a similar path to the Weis hiring – a professional coach who hasn’t coached in college. However, Gruden has been a successful head coach at the highest level. His enthusiasm should translate over to the college game. But once again, a pipe dream, especially since he had no interest in the Tennessee job, where he had a number of connections (former coach there, wife’s alma mater). Back to Top

College Coaches Who Will Hang Up and Laugh When We Call or Coaches I Don’t Want But Will See Their Names Thrown Into the Mix:

Mark Richt – Has one of the top jobs in the SEC, gets paid very well. However, his team this year was preseason number one and lost every single toss-up game.

Jeff Tedford — This might be the most realistic name in this grouping. Cal is never going to be a consistent top-10 power. He made a run in 2004, getting as high as number four in the country. Never gets thrown into coaching searches.

Kirk Ferentz — He turned around Iowa’s season and had a signature win, defeating Penn State. The legal troubles for the Hawkeyes aren’t going to help him.

Tom O’Brien — Seriously?

Gary Pinkel — Ever wonder why his teams can’t beat Texas or Oklahoma? Bad offensive line play.

Mike Bellotti – See Jeff Tedford (except for the academic restrictions).

Mike Leach – Gimmick offense that can’t run the ball

Paul Johnson – It might be a gimmick offense, but he runs the ball. GT outrushed UGA 201-1 in the third quarter. ND has rushed for more than 201 yards in a game twice this season — Navy and Washington. If this article was to replace a successful Charlie Weis in 2015, Johnson would be a good name. Back to Top

Realistic College Coaches Not Named Brian Kelly:

Butch Davis — I was really sold on him 24 hours ago. He completely turned around the Miami program when it actually was on probation. He never won a national title (did get screwed in 2000), but laid the groundwork for the 2001 title run and late PI-call that prevented a repeat title in 2002. Davis has turned around North Carolina quickly.

Then I did some more thinking. He did win in a crappy Big East. He’s had questionable losses, including this season. I do realize all coaches have bad losses (look at Holtz and Stanford). This year, his team lost by THIRTY-ONE points to NC State, a school that could be considered a rival. Oh yeah, he was the coach of the Cleveland Browns and quit on his team with about a half-dozen games left in the 2004 season.

This might be the best “big-name,” realistic candidate out there. What scares me a little is we don’t know of any connection to Notre Dame. There are comparisons to Holtz (failed in the NFL, successful at couple of BCS colleges), but Holtz had the Notre Dame clause in his contract.

Mark D’Antonio – He’s turning around Michigan State. However, the program continues to collapse late in the season, although not to the degree that we saw under John L. Smith. He’s assembling talent and turned Javon Ringer into one of the top five running backs in the country.

It’s not a homerun hire and the fanbase wouldn’t be excited at all. Although some of the more knowledgeable fans might be optimistic. Ironically, the hottest name on the list replaced this candidate after D’Antonio left Cincinnati for Michigan State.

Chris Petersen – I include Petersen in this list because I wouldn’t be disappointed if he became ND’s coach. He has been incredibly successful at Boise State. He won a BCS bowl against one of the top coaches in the country. The only problem is there really isn’t any connection, other than Chuck Anthony. I actually think he’s a great fit at Washington. Back to Top

The Water Cooler Candidate — Brian Kelly

I gave Kelly this term because casual fans who like Notre Dame, people who hate Notre Dame or people who will see the story on ESPN (because ND is irrelevant), will hear this name. I guarantee someone in our athletic department will specifically ask me about this name.

He won at a lower level — two Division II national titles at Grand Valley State, which makes a slight connection to Jim Tressel’s success at Youngstown State. Kelly stayed in state and made improvements at Central Michigan (4-7, 6-5, 9-4) and the Chippewas are a solid program in the MAC right now. He’s also winning at Cincinnati, at a much higher success rate than D’Antonio. He’s 2-0 in bowl games and is going to the BCS this year, with a chance to defeat the ACC champion in the Orange Bowl.

I’m a little scared about his ability to hire a big-time coaching staff. His offensive coordinator has been with him for 17 seasons, mainly as an offensive line coach. We’ve seen the importance of assistant coaches in developing fundamentals with college players.

However, he’s won at every level. He could be a home run or he could be three to five years of the same thing Notre Dame has experienced since Holtz left in 1996. Back to Top

Summary

Notre Dame has three options:

• Keep Charlie Weis — I'm not totally opposed to this as he's the face of the program and we would be making our third coaching change in eight years. The talent is there. Obviously, changes to the assistants would be imperative, but we'll cross that bridge later.
  
  
• Hire a Big-Time Name — That's where you get Meyer or Gruden. Granted we don't know if Gruden will succeed at the college level, but his head coaching track record is better than Weis. If Meyer doesn't succeed at ND, then we might as well become an Ivy League program. Davis isn't in the same category as Meyer, but he did build a program that won 34 consecutive games and was a national-title contender in three consecutive years.
  
  
• Find the next Urban Meyer — Florida hit the jackpot in 2004 and couldn't have asked for better results from Meyer. If ND is able to find that next big-name coach (Stoops, Tressel, Meyer), who can return the program to its level from 1988-93, then the faithful will be happy. This is where Kelly, Petersen and D'Antonio would fit.
  

Back to Top

Weekend thoughts.

First off, after the Syracuse game, I would have been first in line to say that we should keep Charlie no matter what happened against USC. However, after that crapfest, I still think the smart move is keeping him, but I wouldn't be upset if we didn't. When an "offensive genius" provides a "strategic advantage" that results in our first first down on the last play of the 3rd quarter, there's an issue. On the other hand, this team is MUCH better than the one that was on the field last season. That said, now we get to get blasted by Oregon State again in the Sun Bowl!

As for the BCS, why have the system if bowls other than the Championship can do whatever the hell they want? Why should a boring Ohio State get picked ahead of an exciting, undefeated, and higher BCS ranked Boise State? You're telling me Boise in another BCS bowl wouldn't be the highest rated game of the year? Imagine if Missouri beat Oklahoma. A Boise vs. Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl rematch would draw more viewers than anything outside of the Super Bowl and American Idol. The only BCS game casual fans across the nation are going to watch is one that involves Boise State, especially since Ian Johnson is still there. Who can't think of their mom wanting to watch the guy who proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on the sideline after making the winning play?

Along those lines, I have a name to put up for the potential ND coach discussion since I'm not too excited about the Cincy guy. The best coach ND could hire right now would be Coach Pete from Boise State. No, this isn't a strictly homer pick, especially since it would probably set Boise back 5 years. Here's a few reasons why I think Coach Pete would be the best fit:

1) Like Boise, ND can't recruit everyone you'd want to because of academics. At Boise, Pete recruits people that fit in the system, and at ND he could do the same, only instead of getting 2 and 3 star guys (3 star baby!) and making them work, he could get 4 and 5 star guys that were made for his system. Instead of settling for smart QBs with a weak arms who make up for their deficiencies with intangibles like every Boise QB of recent vintage, he can get the Jimmy Clausens of the world that seem to have it all.

2) Because of Charlie's recruiting, ND almost has too many skill people to play them all the next couple of years. The beauty of the Boise system is that if you are good enough, you will play, as almost all playable skill position players play similar amounts.

3) Coach Pete knows how to handle expectations (although admittedly not ND-level). Boise is expected to win 11 games+ every year, and they do it. Anyone who watched the Fiesta Bowl knows that Coach Pete pulls out whatever it takes to win, and he does this each and every game. What is Cincy ever expected to win?

4) Unlike Charlie, Coach Pete actually is an offensive genius. Watch any Boise game and you'll see more creative plays than you will in all other games combined that week.

5) It's not all about offense. Boise always has a solid D too, it's just that they don't have the studs that the top teams do. Again, they are taking the 2 and 3 stars (3 star baby!) and making it work.

6) Coach Pete is 1 for 1 in BCS bowls. Charlie is 0-2.


There are obviously other options ND could go after, but after a long day of traveling gave me time to think this all through (thanks for the snow Denver!), Coach Pete is really the only coach I would be excited to get. We would be silly to chase the popular name and go after this Kelly guy just because every team in need of a coach is after him.

All of this said, I still hope they give Charlie at least one more year.

Same as Everyone Else...

...ND coaching and BCS

BCS first, and the 3-way ties thing. For what it's worth, I'd like to point out that this year the BCS is working EXACTLY as intended. The national championship game will likely pair the winners of the 2 undisputedly best conferences, which combine to include 4 of the consensus top 5 (and 5 of the top 7) teams in the country. So, my apologies to USC (not really), but their conference and related strength of schedule wasn't good enough to merit their single loss as a national championship contender.

Although the SEC model worked out fine this year, the Big XII tiebreaker for determining the South division champion is really the problem. By this point, we know that OU is going to the Big XII Championship and, hopefully for the BCS, the national championship. (What a mess it would be if Missouri somehow finds a way to win that game.) But this is a problem with the conference, not the BCS, so don't blame the BCS for this.

I agree that it's unfortunate that Texas and TTU (I hate that people are discounting them because their BCS rank isn't as high in large part because they weren't a preseason top 10 team and lost most recently) apparently won't have a chance to factor into the national title picture, but I don't have a solution for the conference tiebreaker, so to go any further with this would be counterproductive.

However, in response to earlier posts, I am against forced scheduling, in large part because I think it is unnecessary and impractical and I think that it could hurt historical inter-conference rivalries (i.e. ND/UM, ND/USC, Florida/FSU, Iowa/Iowa St., etc.) because who would want to play a 3rd marquee non-conference game if they already have to play 2? I am also against an 8-team playoff because mid-December scheduling interferes with finals and because now you are bringing 2-loss teams into the picture.

Now ND coaching. I am for the most part in agreement with most of the other sentiments posted on this site. I think ND is in a lose-lose situation right now. Therefore, for too many reasons to write on a post that is already too long, I think that the best course of action is to keep Weis for at least one more and probably two more years. Link Weis to Clausen and that class--if he can't get it done in 1 1/2 years, fire him mid-season and be first in line to get a new coach.

Or maybe he'll die from "health complications" before that point.

Big XII Madness

Before I dive into the morass, I'd just like to post a couple Notre Dame thoughts.

First, I have to blow my own horn here and note that I correctly predicted that USC would cover the 32-point spread and win the game 38-3. Second, rumors are starting to swirl that Weis is going to commit seppeku by resigning and Cincinnatti head coach Brian Kelly will replace Weis under the Golden Dome. If so this will be the first smart move the Irish AD has made since hiring Lou Holtz.

OK, now once more into the breach dear friends...


...first, Mack Brown is a delusional hypocrite. He's trying to claim that despite losing to Texas Tech that the only head-to-head that matters was a win over Oklahoma back in August. The fact that Texas only beat OSU by 4 at home in October while OU just hung 61 on the 'Pokes in Stillwater means nothing.

So we all know that the tie-breaker process in the BigXII is kind of ridiculous, especially in the event of a 3-way tie. Because Texas beat OU, Tech beat Texas, and OU beat Tech you simply can't reasonably use head-to-head because those games cancel each other out. You have look at who is playing the best right now and who has the best overall resume. To me this breaks down to two primary things, non-conference schedule (and by extension, overall strength of schedule) and who's playing the best right now.

So let's examine these things now:

1)Non-conference/Strength of schedule:

• OU played patsies UT-Chattanooga and Washington. The scores in those games were 57-2 and 55-14 respectively, so the Sooners did what they were supposed to do and get no help. However, the Sooners also beat Big East champ (and BCS game bound) Cincinnatti 52-26 and hung 35-10 loss on 10-2 TCU.
• Texas played Florida Atlantic, UTEP, Rice, and their one "quality" opponent was a 5-7 Arkansas team. Also, Mack Brown is trying to point to their win over Mizzou as being worth something despite the fact that Mizzou went 1-2 vs. the South with their 1 win being by 3 over Baylor.
• Tech played Eastern Washington, Nevada, SMU, and UMass. Despite what Tech has accomplished this year they effectively played the Sisters of the Poor in non-conference this year.

2) Who's playing the best right now:

• Most recently Texas lost to Tech and played 3 unranked teams and won each game
• Oklahoma beat #2 Tech in Norman by 44 and went on the road to beat #12 OSU by 20. OU's performance vs. 2 ranked teams is about what Texas did vs. unranked teams. Also, Oklahoma has not scored less than 35 points in a game this entire season.
• Texas Tech beat #1 Texas, a top-10 OSU, and then got shellacked by OU. Tech also just barely pulled out a win vs. Baylor at home. Call it a hangover from their loss to OU.

So I think it's abundantly clear that OU is playing better than anybody else in the BigXII-South, maybe the country (unless you're Florida), and deserves to be the team in the BigXII title game. I also think that Tech needs to be able to go to a BCS game but much like Mack Brown did in 2004 when he politicked for Texas to go to a BCS game over Cal and they ended up in the Rose Bowl beating Michigan the BCS is salivating over a possible USC-Texas game in the Fiesta Bowl.

Bottom line, OU has the most compelling case for being in the BigXII title game and I expect to see an OU-Florida BCS Championship game.

My picks

I have 50 units after losing all my bets last week. Ugly.

20 units: Texas Tech (-21.5) vs. Baylor
20 units: North Carolina (-7) at Duke

10 unit Parlay:

Tennessee (-3.5) vs. Kentucky
Nevada (-4.5) at Louisiana Tech
Tulsa (-16) at Marshall

My Take on Weis

I've let this process through my mind since the absolute embarrassment of Saturday's loss to Syracuse. I almost threw up after the game (literally). I was that sick to my stomach.

It's taken some time to figure out my opinion on this whole Notre Dame coaching situation. A lot of traveling (tonight is the fifth city I'll be in during a seven-night stretch) gave me the opportunity to formulate what my opinion. None of this is earth-shattering, but I wanted it to be simple and easy to explain to both people in the Notre dame family and people who just ask me.

The main on-the-field issue is the lack of the controlling the line of scrimmage. Defensively, we weren't expecting anything special this year as Weis has struggled to recruit game-changing depth there (outside of Ethan Johnson). The linebackers are young and should be there in a couple of years. But the inability to run the ball is mind-boggling. From this offseason's infamous "we're going to pound it" comment to the scrimmage posted online at UND.com that consisted of all running plays, it seemed this offense was starting to get it. That couldn't have been any further from the truth.

The inability to run the ball is a major reason this team can't close out games. A nasty, physical offensive line wears down the defense in the second half and specifically the fourth quarter. If ND could run the ball, it beats Pitt, it beats Syracuse and probably beats UNC. I'm more surprised when the Irish pick up 3rd-and-short on a run than I am to see them get stuffed in a BC-Eric Olsen style.

Without a change in this department, Weis and the ND offense will never be national-championship caliber.

The other area is off-the-field, but translates into on-the-field results. This program's lack of emotion is the other major problem. I was watching the Texas defensive coordinator shoulder bump his players after they made a big play Thursday night and thought - where has that been on the ND sideline? Other than the Weis-going-crazy sideline huddle in the 4th quarter comeback at Michigan State in 2006, we haven't seen anything emotional from this staff on the sideline. Those 05 and 06 teams had swagger. These past two teams aren't good enough to have the swagger. Think back to the Michigan game, ND showed emotion. The crowd fed off it and before Rich Rodriguez knew what happened, it was 17-0. Weis talked in the offseason about the program's need to be more emotional because that's college football. It was around in September, but where is it now?

You can directly relate losses to North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the lack of emotion. Golden Tate talked after the UNC game about the team losing its edge. Sam Young said the sideline was dead against Syracuse... on Senior Day! That is a leadership problem.

A team that has emotion goes for the dagger and tries to bury its opponent. A team that has emotion plays for its seniors in their last home game in Notre Dame Stadium. It almost seems like Weis feels his players should have that "switch" naturally. College kids don't have that. Coaches need to wind them up and let them go.

Weis had his chance to turn those two main areas around during the 08 season.

I want Weis to succeed. I would love to give him the benefit of the doubt that it would change with the 09 team, but he hasn't earned that chance. I gave it to him coming into the 2008 season and now ND is 6-5 and 32-point underdogs going into the Coliseum and an SC team foaming at the mouth.

He's an alum who cares about the university (unlike Davie and Willingham). Theismann is right, this game isn't about if ND. If the Irish don't play competitively Saturday night, then Weis should show how much he cares and step down.

As for who should replace him, that's another column for another day. And I have to figure out if I want to sell my soul to the coach named after a pope in Gainesville.

Thanksgiving Pick

Rough season thus far. This weekend, we're pushing all our chips to the center of the table. One pick all in, 60 units on Ole Miss -16 vs Missisippi State. I like the Rebs ability to run the ball against a porous MSU run defense. I also think Nutt and Ole Miss see this as a very important game and really want to make a statement after the upset loss last year that cost Orgeron his job. Plus I like the Michael Lewis book, "Blind Side".

Off topic: I haven't heard Houston Nutt's name mentioned as a possible ND coaching candidate. I like his disciplined coaching approach and think it would be exactly what this team needs (if a change is actually made). What are people's thoughts?

• In one year at Ole Miss, the Rebels have improved from 3-9 (including 10-29 over 3 years) to 7-4, with two games left to play.
• In the 5 years before arriving at Arkansas, the Razorbacks were 26-30-1. In his 10 years at Arkansas, Nutt had a record of 75-48, including 3 SEC West Division Titles.
• In one year at Boise State in 1997, their first in Division I-A, Nutt led Boise to a 4-7 record, improving from 2-10 the year before in I-AA.
• At Murray State, Nutt posted a 22-3 combined record in his final two seasons, 1995 and 1996.

Pie in the sky

I am a bowl traditionalist. I believe that bowls helped make college football what it is today. As such, I believe it would be a travesty to completely do away with them. Further, speaking from D1-AA experience, it sucks to go 7-4 and have no post season. On this basis, I propose the following changes to college football to appease those who demand a play-off and improve on the greatest sport known to man:

1) Require conference pairings for non-conference play with a minimum of two inter-conference games each season. For instance, the Big 12 must pair with the SEC and Big 10 to where the teams from each conference play each other in a to-be-determined manner on consecutive Saturdays in September. In 2008, Oklahoma as the 2007 champ would have played LSU as the 2007 SEC champ and Ohio State as the 2007 Big 10 champ, Missouri would have played Tennessee and Illinois, and so on. These pairings would be done in advance in much the same way that schedules are made years in advance. Additionally, the conferences would already have an alternate team (either D1-AA or independent) lined up to play the last place team from the prior year when the conferences have a different number of teams (like with the Big 12 versus Big 10). The home versus away could be ironed out by the conferences two years a head of time and then it is just a matter of the schools having one year for the teams to plan travel arrangements once they are aware of each season's final standings. The conference pairings could then rotate from conference to conference every two years, for instance the Pac-10 might pair with the Big 12 and WAC for two seasons, and then the Big 10 and Mountain West for two seasons. This would help validate any conference supremacy arguments that are currently just speculative.

2) Create an 8 team play-off within the current bowl system. Immediately following all conference championship games, the top eight teams from the current BCS equation are seeded against each in order of rank (i.e. 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, etc.). Automatic bids are gone, however, no more than 2 teams from a conference are allowed. Therefore, if Texas Tech were the third team from the Big 12, but ranked #7, it would be bumped for the #9 team (assuming it is not the third from another conference). This would end any antitrust disputes that might come from the non-BCS conferences. The first round would be played in the middle of December at the home field of the higher seeded team. Concurrently, other bowl games would go on as scheduled- so you can still watch the Las Vegas Bowl the weekend after the first round of the BCS Play-off. The winners of the first round play-off would then play the second round on New Years day in a traditional big bowl including the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar, Orange, and Cotton (I'm from Texas), which would rotate from second round play-off games to consolation bowls for the losers of the first round. Again, this is all concurrent with all other bowls currently scheduled- its not like you could make the Insight.com bowl any less relevant to John Q Public. Next the final game would be around January 10th at one of the traditional big bowls (whichever is up for the championship game that year). This system would still cause all regular season games to be relevant, it would heighten interest and fairness in the post season. Is there any difference in watching a consulation round Sugar bowl with Florida versus Texas as opposed to any of the other non-championship bowl games. I'd still love to watch the game. While at the same time, you are "allowing the championship to be decided on the field."

Tweaks to my ideas are welcomed, but I defy you to come up with a better system.