by Wally
Murphy’s Law: Whatever can go wrong, will. Or something like that. I’m sick and tired of seeing Notre Dame play just bad enough to lose. Whether it’s the “Bush Push” game back about 5 years ago when ND was an underdog to USC, or yesterday’s overtime loss to Michigan State, the Irish are obviously snakebit in close games. Doesn’t matter if we’re playing a very good team or a mediocre team, ND will simply find a way to lose. And we’re our own worst enemy, as I believe 75% of these bumbling losses were avoidable with just a little thinking by key people on the field and on the sidelines. Yesterday’s screw up in East Lansing is Exhibit A.
As I mentioned earlier in the week, I would miss the telecast of the ND vs MSU game due to attending Texas A&M’s game at College Station. As an aside, what a wonderful experience my first TAMU game was!!! It would be hard to believe that any other student body is more spirited … and more organized in their spirit … than the A&M student body. They actually have “Yell Practice” the night before the game. And it shows. The 12th Man tradition at Texas A&M is real. More on this in the weeks to come. Wonderful to visit with my daughter Emily before the game.
So I didn’t see the ND game live, but I was trying to follow it on my Blackberry. I’ll try to keep this short. It’s pretty obvious the Irish are only getting about 65% out of their talent. The last two games, ND was in position to win, only to lose. The same can be said for countless games over the past several seasons. But for simplicity, let’s just focus on the overtime period of the MSU game. Irish have the first possession and face a 3rd and 3 from the 18 yard line. Dayne Crist, a junior, throws a 2 yard pass to senior Kyle Rudolph. BRILLIANT … a 2 yd pass on 3rd and 3!!! What the !@$!@%% are you guys thinkin’ ????? ND is forced to kick a FG and take a 3 point lead in OT. OK … we’ll hold ’em! Yea … right.
Then, after the Irish D plays stout on MSU’s possession, they force a 4th and 14 from MSU’s 29 yard line after sacking MSU’s QB. What should Brian Kelly and the high priced coaching staff be thinking at this point???? How about : “Don’t sell out and try to block a 46 yard FG from MSU’s kicker. He might miss it on his own anyway.” Surely, “bright people” should be thinking: “What could beat me on this play???? The long FG, if successful, can only tie me. HOWEVER, a fake FG could kill me. We should make sure we have at least 2 guys back“. Doh! Gee … those tricky little Spartans.
That’s Notre Dumb. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Have fun with another 6-6 season. Please extract heads from butts ASAP. We’re waiting for smart people to run this football program.
Still waiting.
Still waiting.
#&@$!%# idiots!!!
Maybe the Bears will beat the Cowgirls and help ease my pain. Yea … right.
Best title ever.
Oh … and to the homer game officials: C’mon …. your “oversights” are just a little obvious in favor of the Spartans. Not only did the game clock hit 0:00 before the snap of the ball on that final fake FG, but it was practically at -0:02 it occurred sooooooo late. How do you live with your incompetence?!?!?!
Had you rightly stopped the play and flagged MSU for 5 yards, they wouldn’t be lining up for a FG and instead ND could prepare for an OBVIOUS desperation play from scrimmage. Forget it … I’m sure the Irish woulda screwed that up anyway. Murphy’s Law … remember?
Kyle Rudolph running a 2 yard pattern when needing 3 yards is absolutely inexcusable. Especially for someone who seems destined to play on Sundays.
What is going on with Brian Kelly’s decision to go for it on 4th and 1 on their own side of the field? The defense bailed them out, but I can’t help but think that the change in the field position game cost them the potential of winning the game in regulation.
That being said – I am impressed with the discipline of the defense. Last night they were flagged for their first penalty of the season? 3 games in – that is impressive.
I have seen the replay of the Spartan TD three times and still don’t see where the receiver was pushed out of bounds.
Yep, Casey, that was another convenient “oversight” by the officiating crew that directly impacted the game. Also heard that there was a phantom block in the back call against ND on a punt return with 40 seconds left. Anyone know if that was a Big Ten crew???
And why does Brian Kelly end regulation with a timeout in his pocket and the ball in his hands?? Doh!
Amatuer hour all over the field … The zebras, ND’s coaches AND ND players.
Smitty –
First, there’s the decision to go for it on 4th down AND then there’s also the alarming failure to actually gain the needed yardage. Where the line surge?? Where the execution?? Heck, I can see getting stuffed inside the 5, but at midfield?? That’s just failure plain and simple.
It was definitely a phantom block in the back – a la the Colorado game and Ismail.
Wally,
Great perspective…You are right about the Irish finding a way to lose…They’ve been doing it regularly for at least the past 5+ years…It’s always convenient to blame the refs…At this point 5-7 might even be a bit optimistic !…Charlie UnWeis must have snickered a bit when he saw that final play…Hate to tell you but Harbaugh and the Cardinal will punish Notre Lame in Southbend next Sat…My POW this week is MSU Head Coach for calling one finale…The Pac-10 will be underated and underappreciated again this season as always !
Nothing new there…ASU should have beaten Wisconsin but choked !
Crash … not sure how good (or not) Oregon is since they haven’t played anybody yet. Stanford is looking really tough … I expect that game to be another nail-biter … could go either way. Glad it’s at home … doubt it will be a blowout. If it is a blowout, then the Cardinal will also “punish” the Trojans later this year. SoCal is looking pretty mediocre, too, from my POV … but of course you can cover that up by opening vs Hawaii, Virginia and Minnesota.
ND has certainly faced home-cooked officiating on the road before, esp when playing Big 10 teams. But Lou’s and Ara’s teams would just man up and either get that key first down and/or make the clutch stop on defense and, most importantly, WIN the game.
Still …. whoever those refs report to ought to question what the hell they were looking at cuz it was pretty obvious to the rest of the world what shoulda happened. We’ve got better and more proressional officiating here in Texas high school ball.
Continuing in my overly optimistic ways, I believe ND has 2 losses, but has yet to beat themselves, at least not ala Unweis-like. Kelly has kept his team in every game, has drilled them on the basics, and has losses because of some isolated dumb/bad plays. They are not consistently stinking the place up. I am encouraged. If past history is a measure, Kelly’s start is a good omen. Losingham and Unweis started out unrealistically good. Holtz started 5-6 his first year. Who would you rather have Kelly emulate? GO IRISH! (and do NOT take away my rose-colored glasses)!
Is “ala Unweis-like” a redundant phrase?
Lets see. Rudolph going 2 yards when he needed 3. Must by Kellys fault.
The so called All American Floyd dropping passes and fumbling when he hits the red zone. Must be Kellys fault. Cerre Wood running back kicks like a scared pussy. Must be Kellys fault. .
I finally clicked off the echo chamber known as NDNation after reading all the crap about how the “small timey” coach Kelly has cost ND games. How we don’t run enough.
This team is far and away better prepared and fundamentally sound than the squad that stunk up the place last year, with a 5 year coach and first round QB. The tackling is orders of magnitude better. What is lacking is consistency, and that may take some time since these players developed such crappy work habits from Weis.
These guys have had chances to put teams away early and their upperclassmen, (namely Floyd) have screwed the pooch.
I just hope ND will at least let Kelly coach the rest of the season. Cause one thing is damn certain, Saban and Stoops will NEVER coach at ND, no matter how much ND fanboys might want them…
Boog —
Nobody here is calling for BK’s head. We just want him to check his head to make sure he’s got enough brain cells to do this job. And we absolutely need the players to be smarter too. e.g. Rudolph. And for the “stars” to stop fumbling (Floyd, Crist). Like I said, we are getting only 65% out of our talent … b/c other stupid things are getting in the way of winning.
As an outsider looking in, I am envious of you guys who have attended such storied schools as Notre Dame and A&M. I was with Wally on Saturday and can definetely say that it was the best college game I ever attended – that was a lot of fun.
As for the Irish, I have been watching their games ever since I saw Rudy (just kidding but couldn’t resist) and it seems that performance wise they turned a corner. I remember when Ron Powlus was supposed to be a 2 time Heisman winner and that did not quite work out that way. Charlie Weiss was also a disappointment. However, BK has brought a different vibe that is noticeable. I think y’all will be pretty happy with the program a couple of years from now.
Wally, thanks for inviting me to the blog.
Welcome, Wannabe! Good perspective … you’ll need to help me stay in my seat and belted in so i don’t come unglued when the Irish falter. As you and several pinesters have pointed out, we are seeing better performance in many areas vs the UnWeis Era. There is talent on the roster … we see flashes of brilliance, but it is inconsistent and sometimes we’re beating ourselves.
Bottom line right now … we’re 1-2 and the two losses were certainly winnable. Players need to make a few more plays … or simply don’t drop the damn ball … and the coaches need to make better tactical calls to make sure we don’t get beat again by the ONLY thing that could possibly beat us and EVERYONE knows it. Head coaches at the big schools are paid big $$$ to do this … so let’s start gettin’ it done!
Enjoyed our trip to A&M immensely, Wannabe. Thanks for that and let there be many happy returns! 😉
Wally, I wasn’t talking about people on this blog wanting BK’s head. Guys at NDnation, supposedly the defacto official ND blog are about 95% in favor of canning BK 3 games into the season, yet still were not ready to pull the plug on Weis after a 3-9 third YEAR.
Kelly knows what he is doing. Weis had no idea, yet he got 5 years. Because of the empy cupboard, safeties are having to play the entire game. That does not happen at other schools. Yet the defense is playing much better than last year. Much fewer missed tackles. Defenders closing in on the ball much better.
And I think the offense is better under Crist, when the execute, than with Clausen and Tate last year. Much better play calling and execution, even with the lack of experience.
BK has plenty of brain cells and experience to do the job. I just wonder if these “intelligent, smart, ND lads” have enough brain cells to execute their job.
Good clarification, Boog. This team certainly needs its “stars” and leaders to play smarter and not commit “unforced errors”.
I have high hopes for BK as we are seeing improved performance in many areas, and he seems to be doing quite well on the recruiting front. BUT, I am not yet convinced he’s the tactical strategist we need on gameday vs tough competition, where one play, one series make the difference between winning and losing. I hope he turns out to be … but he still has to show us. For that, I’m certainly willing to give him a few years … AT LEAST 3.
Stanford will be tough … we better be ready!
Here’s another Notre Dumb thing: Dumb scheduling. I’ve been harpin’ on this for years, and I’m convinced the issue will never be more evident than this year. Maybe it’s largely a by-product of being independent, but i still think ND’s ADs can be smarter about this. Here’s the schedule for this year:
ND 23 Purdue 12
Michigan 28 ND 24
S18 @ Michigan St. 8pm ABC
S25 STANFORD 3:30pm NBC
O02 @ Boston College TBA
O09 PITTSBURGH 3:30pm NBC
O16 WESTERN MICHIGAN 2:30pm NBC
O23 @ Navy (NJ) Noon CBS
O30 TULSA 2:30pm NBC
N13 UTAH 2:30pm NBC
N20 ARMY (Yankee Stadium) 7pm NBC
N27 @ Southern Cal 8pm ABC
What’s pretty obvious: 1) no off-week until Nov 6 … NOVEMBER SIXTH !!!! and 2) The “gimme games”, if there are such things at ND anymore, are nowhere near the beginning of the schedule. Western Michigan finally trots in for Week 7!!!!
Want to both kill your football team and totally ruin the morale of players, coaches and fans by week 6? If so, then keep scheduling like this.
Meanwhile … Wisconsin, USC, Ohio State , Oregon (to name a few) are all whistling while they work this week cuz they’re 3-0 and maybe only have been challenged once in these first 3 weeks. Oregon has played New Mexico, Tennessee and Portland. Wisconsin has played UNLV, San Jose State and Arizona State …. and will see if they can “muster the courage” to mix it up with Austin Peay next week. Are you serious ?????
Didn’t mean to pick on these schools necessarily … there are SEVERAL out there who, every year, will schedule cupcake, toughie, cupcake …. or 3 cupcakes in a row to start the season. AND they’ll schedule in an off-week after 4, 5 or 6 games …. not 75% of the way through the seaosn!!!! Sure they have some tough conference games starting in week 4 or so, but not all their conference games are tough. For every Ohio State, there’s an Indiana. Indiana is, by the way, 2-0 and feeling good about themselves (for now)because they, too, have scheduled cupcakes to start out.
I’m not advocating that ND schedule more cupcakes … just put one of ’em near the top and mix it up a little better … weak, strong, weak, strong, etc. And give yourself an off-week before the whole roster is injured and demoralized. The whole idea is to give yourself a decent shot at success …. so even if you lose one early, you don’t start an avalanche of losses which demoralize EVERYONE. Unfortunately, the Irish are in exteme danger of having this happen once again. Why make it sooooo difficult on yourself???? Again … dumb!
I am not worried about ND being demoralized. I think they know they were in a position to be 3-0 if they executed properly. Many times in the last few years thy were NEVER in a position to win some of the games on their schedule. ND could very well go 1-5 in this stretch, but as long as they are in a position to win, I will be happy. At some point they will learn how to win close games, and also learn that you can win some games in the 2nd or 3rd quarter. For the past several years the mode of operation was ND had to pull out a victory in the last second. With this offense, they have the capability of taking an opponent completely out of their game plan by the second or 3rd quarter. And I think that will happen when the secondary gets more depth and Crist gets more consistent.
At this point I am comfortable with a 1-5 BK start having seen what an 8-0 Willingham and a 9-2 Weis start eventually produced. I don’t think any of those teams really learned how to win from their initial success..I think this team will.
Wally,
I know where you are coming from regarding the scheduling concerns. But all the more power to ND. So they are not manipulating the system to make it work for them? I kinda see that as a positive attribute. It doesn’t help with the overall schedule as you say, but it could be worse.
Well, guys … OK … you can take the “high road” on each and every issue … and eventually you will be out of business. Let us not forget that the Notre Dame “brand” was built on “Winning the Right Way “, not “Losing the Right way” or “Going .500 The Right Way”. I think all of us are in favor of doing it the right way, but we gotta win in the end …. or the brand will die and the program, what’s left of it, will be the equivalent of DePaul basketball. DeWho???? (see what I mean?)
So what are we doing right at ND? High academic standards for incoming athletes, no cheating, no cheesy majors … a real degree, good citizenship, play a tough schedule. All good … and no reason to make it tougher by scheduling stupid.
Winning is a snowball … its keeps morale up … leads to more wins …. leads to more recruits …. leads to bowl appearances … leads to even better recruits …. and on and on and on. So, Boog, if you’re comfortable with a 1-5 start … okay … then how will a 3-9 season sit with you? Because that’s what 1-5 turns into (see “morale issue”). You won’t miraculously be 7-5 at the end. And when you’re 3-9 AGAIN … recruits will start to think that something smells a little rancid … and instead of that #5 nationally ranked recruiting class, you’re gonna get #45 and again no monster D-linemen. And thus the cycle of mediocrity continues. But Boog will be happy cuz “we were in a position to win every game”. Whoopeeeeee!!!
And, Casey, I’m not advocating “manipulating the system”, for crissakes! And I already said I’m not advocating a weaker schedule. I’m advocating using our brains for once! Schedule the off week after 5 games … and before mid-terms … so you can give your players a break … before they actually break physically and mentally. Schedule Western Michigan and/or Army in the first 3-4 weeks, as opposed to November. Just move things around so the team is not literally dead by the time you hit Oct 20. Is that too hard to understand?!?!?!
And back to you Casey … why should I keep running into that wall time after time when I can simply run around it … or get a ladder and leap over it …. or generally use my brain to keep from killing myself from running into that wall time after time after ….
And to you Boog … at this rate, we won’t have a first string secondary by the end of October. We may not even have Crist … and we all know how that turned out.
Guys … get heads out of butts ASAP!!!
What wall?
The wall = 6 challenging games to open the season and no break until early November. You said “All the more power to ND”. I asked myself “All the more power … for what?” Then I concluded … “for nobley banging their heads into that wall”. Yes … that stupid wall of scheduling.
You also said “It could be worse”. Really??? How could ND’s scheduling be any worse … other than by getting rid of Army, Navy and W. Michigan and adding Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma. It could be worse … you’re right … but it really couldn’t be any DUMBER than it is now.
Wally, we are two plays from being 3-0. Does that change your out look any? Relax, you are going to blow a head gasket. I know you are a Cubs fan, but have some faith.
Other than moving Tulsa to Michigans spot, and putting a bye week in October, there is not much that can be done with the schedule. Michigan isn’t going to do that. If I wanted to watch a crappy schedule, I would tune to the Boise State games. (and that was just wrong what they did to my Pokes.) Deep breaths Wally, deep cleansing breaths.
Cleanse this! This 1-2 record, that is. So … no, recognizing we COULD be 3-0 doesn’t change my mind on this scheduling thing. Keep MIchigan where it is and move PU and MSU. I don’t care …. just don’t kill yourself early. If Purdue and MSU want the payday, they can move their games lo later.
What kinda bothers me at this point, is that we don’t even know how good our opponents in weeks 1-3 are. Michigan had to hang on to escape from UMass last week. MSU really hasn’t played anyone else. We’re 1-2 … it is what it is.
On to Boise State …. your Cowpokes are being punished for their stupid decision to go to school in that state. This was just another example. I’ll be in Boise this weekend to (hopefully) see them trounce Oregon State.
Wally, you are currently on the tour I have always wanted to do; get to some of the top college football venues/campuses in the country. You, however, are taking it up a notch. I had thought of going for the atmosphere without expecting to get to the game. You are getting the game as well. Is this a return to the “bluegrass state” for you? I love/hate that field.
Pete —
I’m just following my daughters around, so it’s not really a designed tour. I have a freshman at Texas A&M and will end up going to 5 games there this season. Our oldest daughter is a junior at Boise State … this will be our second game there vs Oregon State. I hear Kirk, Lee and the ESPN GameDay crew will be there, so it must be the “marquee game” of the week. Won’t be able to hit South Bend this year, but planning to do so next season … probably for USC.
Now last year, Crash and I went on a sports tour of the midwest … 4 games in 5 days … don’t know if you recall that, it was at about this time. Saw Twins at WhiteSox, Phillies at Brewers, Michigan state at Wisconsin, and 49ers at Vikings. That was a hoot! I wrote a blog about it … must be stored somewhere in the Wally’s World archives.
Boog – HELMET STICKER!!!! Haha! Wally – you better find the local True Value ’cause you’ll need a package of gaskets. 🙂
Wally has a history of blowing gaskets.
Casey — haha? Yep, REALLY FUNNY! Not. Boog gets a helmet sticker for that?!?!? My, how the bar has been lowered.
Boog — you should know that a Cubs fan is inherently hopeful and patient … which I am … but that doesn’t mean we should stop thinking about how to improve things. When we were in school, if I recall correctly, you were in favor of giving Faust another 5 years cuz he was a nice guy or something like that. You were also in favor of Coach Gallo putting you in the game time after time … and we know how that turned out 😉
Wally – Are you losing your mind? Where is your patience after 3 games? Its not like they have gotten blown out or played poorly. They are actually playing much better than Weis ever had them playing.
I was not in favor of Faust for another 5 years. Who do you think came up with the “Faust Farewell Tour ’85” T-shirt? And as for Gallo, someone had to answer the Call of Duty. As I recall, you were in the training room icing your shoulder, or elbow or vagina. I forget which one….:)
Anyway, that wasn’t me in the training room … that was Brad … remember?? And he was probably icing his ego. I was ALWAYS ready to go and often in the dugout telling coach: “Don’t do it, Don’t do it, don’t put him …. ugh!”
I’m patient … good point in that they haven’t gotten blown out … I’m not calling for anyone’s head … remember, I said that like 10 posts ago. Just objectively speaking, we’re 1-2, and part of the reason, PART of the reason, is that Kelly is like 0 for 5 in critical situational decisions. So … I’m just sayin’ … he’s on probation in my mind as a game day tactician. Other things are going well and appear to be on the right track.
And I’m not sure Michigan State is all that good either, but we’ll see about that.
I think the ESPN College Gameday crew picked the wrong game this week. No offense Wally. Does the nation really want to watch a over-ranked WAC team; #3 Boise State (2-0) at home vs another over-ranked Pac 10 team #24 Oregon State (1-1)? OR …. How about two SEC teams: #1 Alabama (3-0) vs #10 Arkansas (3-0) at War Memorial stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas??? I mean really. Was it BSU’s impressive 51-6 win over the college for the blind team from Wyoming (1-2) or OSU’s win over the basketball team at Louisville (who gained 453 yds of offense) that so impressed the ESPN folks??? Come on, if BSU doesn’t win by 30+ pts it will be surprising.
No offense, Russ, but maybe the folks at ESPN think that Arkansas at #10 is fool’s gold and that Bama will issue another beatdown. I mean, The Razorbacks haven’t seen the #10 ranking since … what … the Lou Holtz days? But I can see why rousing victories over powers such as Tennessee Tech and Lousy-Monroe are giving you that bullish feeling. Okay … all gesting aside … actually, alot of that was serious … I HOPE you are right and the Hogs are for real this year … and I hope they trounce the Tide. It would be nice to see Arkansas return to a national power. Good luck and hope you enjoy the game … are you going??
So why is ESPN setting up camp next to the smurfturf? I don’t know …. maybe it’s Boise State’s 25 game winning streak (I probably exaggereated … not sure what it’s at), the highest winning % of any team since 2000, or maybe the fact that every time they’ve played a team from one of those big, bad BCS conferences … bowl or not … they have won. Plus, most of America views BSU as a “Thinderella Thtory” (quoting Bill Murray in “Caddyshack”). Either way, they “don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to!” (quoting Col Nathan R Jessup in “A Few Good Men”)
0-5 in critical situational decisions? Which ones? Going for the TD at halftime of Michigan instead of a FG? He had no idea Crist was going to be back for the second half. Montana had only generated 1 first down in his entire time on the field. Do you really think at that juncture they had any hope of erasing a 14 point deficit with field goals, especially considering Mich was going to get the ball back for the 3rd quarter? I would have made the same decision at that point in time. People are saying it was a poor decision based on the final outcome, which is pure bull.
How about the 4th and 3 with 6 minutes to go? There was still plenty of time to score if MSU scored. As it was, the defense held them to 3 and out. Yet this is called a bad decision, even though it had no effect on the game.
Gotta take the 3 points before the half at Michigan. As I said before, I was SCREAMING at him to kick the FG before the play. Montana was not gonna make the play for you from 3-4 yards out. Take the 3 VALUABLE points and give your team some positive momentum. 3 points in ND vs Michigan games are ALWAYS valuable. Duh!
The go for it on 4th at MSU with 6+ mins left did have an impact on the game. By not getting a first down, ND was forever to lose the field position battle in regulation time. Sure we held ’em, which was great and critical, but we also coulda punted and held them back at their 15 or 20 yard line. Teams tend to clutch the esophagus in a tight ballgame when they’re deep in their own end. Ours has for years. Duh!
Also, if you’re gonna go for it on 4th at midfield, then call the right play that actually makes it!!!
I think ESPN chose Bronco Stadium (33,610 capacity?) over Reynolds Razorback Stadium (72,000 screaming Hog fans) was more based on CBS’s national coverage of the game. Hey I was hoping you would not look at our two non-conference wins. But bringing up schedules let’s look at the mighty WAC Bronco’s vs the SEC Razorback’s remaining schedule:
WAC Bronco’s
Sat, Sep 25 Oregon State – – ESPN College GameDay
Sat, Oct 02 New Mexico State *
Sat, Oct 09 Toledo
Sat, Oct 16 San Jose State *
Tue, Oct 26 Louisiana Tech *
Sat, Nov 06 Hawai’i *
Fri, Nov 12 Idaho *
Fri, Nov 19 Fresno State *
Fri, Nov 26 Nevada *
Sat, Dec 04 Utah State *
SEC Arkansas Rakorbacks
Sat, Sep 25 Alabama * – CBS
Sat, Oct 09 Texas A&M
Sat, Oct 16 Auburn *
Sat, Oct 23 Ole Miss *
Sat, Oct 30 Vanderbilt – Homecoming *
Sat, Nov 06 South Carolina *
Sat, Nov 13 UTEP – Fayetteville, Ark. TBA
Sat, Nov 20 Mississippi State *
Sat, Nov 27 LSU *
Look’s to me like there is a BIG difference in opponent’s!!!
Russ —
Agreed, there is a big difference in opponents overall … everyone knows that … but I suspect there will also be a sizable difference in win totals by the end of the season …. unless Arkansas turns out to be the “real deal” this year.
Boise State has been trying hard to play a tough non-conference slate the past couple of years to try to compensate for a weak WAC schedule. Last year, they squashed Oregon. This year, they’ve already won at Virginia Tech (top 10 at the time), will have Oregon State (#22) Saturday and then Nevada in Nov … the Wolfpack creamed Cal the other week.
Let’s continue this discussion after Saturday’s games … like you, I hope the Hogs squash Bama. As Al Davis used to say “Just win, baby”.
Now, if we could just get Notre Dame to win a friggin’ game ….
I thought Boise State played University of Phoenix this year?
No, but my fear is that if ND played UofP, we’d lose in OT … shnookered by a fake punt. Those tricky little Risers!!
Risers? Is that a testament to the U of P’s graduation ceremony? What is the their logo?
ND will win on Saturday, and it won’t even be close. I am off to teach some Cub Scouts how to be a man in the mountains so I won’t be able to comment on it till Sunday night. Enjoy the game in my absence Wally; I will save you a spot on the Kelly bandwagon.
I hope you’re right about the Irish winning. I’ll be enjoying the game at Boise State. Meanwhile, Casey and his family are attending the game at Notre Dame.