So ND just spammed me about the new “The Shirt” for 2008 and I have to say,  Wow.

WOW.

I mean, I am excited.  Most years we have some horribly ugly and gaudy thing with some lame configuration of 9 different images all jammed into the back with a pithy saying like “shake down the thunder”.  Don’t get me wrong - I like the tradition of The Shirt and that designs are based in long-loved and storied ND traditions.  I love the ND pride inherent in The Shirt and the philanthropic nature of the project. 

But most designs are just plain ugly, and after wearing it to 1-2 games in a season, they all end up in my ‘only wear to sleep’ drawer.  

Not so with 2008!  This thing is beautiful in its simplicity.  And while it does add another color (white) to the ND stable that already contains Blue, Gold, and every shade of Green you can imagine, I am sold. (Side Note:  Can’t we all just settle on a single color for everyone to wear to every single home game ever people?!!???!?!?!?!?!!)

Pre-order yours today!

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Sorta swamped for time this week. So here’s a table of the scoring for last week’s games. No sorting based on winners. I don’t have time for such complexity.

Looks like Bad Kermit is in the lead, still, but The Bear has made a huge comeback after an awful start to the season as well. How about sharing some of that karma with the boys in Gold and Blue, eh Bear?

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Despite the recent flag planting shenanigans, ND and MSU do have quite a storied history. According to some we may have even put the Spartans program on the map (we did). This year’s matchup marks the 40th anniversary of the “Game of the Century” where #1 Notre Dame faced #2 Michigan State and the game ended in a 10-10 draw (I know I know, a tie…but we did go onto unload on USC and win the NC). To commemorate the 1966 matchup both teams will be wearing special patches in Saturday’s game…MSU has also declared the Beatles will be bigger than Jesus for a day.

Thanks to the magic of YouTube we have seven clips from that infamous game:

Part 1

More…

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So we all know Charlie Weis was an NFL coaching machine (or Genius Robot maybe?) before becoming our fearless leader…but what happened in the years leading up to this? Well NBCSports.com trys to fill the blanks in a decent 3-part video series. Required viewing for all the hardcore ND Football fans:

Part 1 - Weis Begins Coaching Career
Part 2 - Weis Learns Football As Assistant
Part 3 - Weis Finally a Head Coach

One thing the series overlooks is the fact that Charlie spent 4 seasons coaching at the University South Carolina while obtaining his master’s degree in education (occured before he started head coaching at Franklin Township High in 1989).

Little known Weis facts:

• Charlie’s first head coaching job wasn’t as a football coach but was as a basketball coach.
• Apparently before becoming an assistant coach under mentor John Chironna, Charlie’s coaching knowledge could be “put on a pinhead”.

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ESPN.com has an excellent article chronicling the history of the “Play Like a Champion” sign that players slap while running out to the field. Although the signs origin is unknown (I think it came from heaven) former ND coach, Lou Holtz found it in a picture of it in a book while researching ND Football history. This inspired Lou and in 1986 he revived the sign and commissioned stadium painter Laurie Wenger to paint it.

UND.com also has some great quotes on Lou’s belief behind the sign:

“Regardless of the won-loss record, regardless of the problems you have, when you walk out on that field you have an obligation to your teammates and the fans to play to the best of your ability - to play like a champion and to think like a champion,” Holtz says.

“But, I also asked my players that every time they hit that sign, to think about all the sacrifices your family has made; your teammates made in high school; the sacrifices your teachers have made; and you also think of the thousands of people who would love to be in your position. Just think about how fortunate we are.

“All of these thoughts should go through your mind when you hit that sign - `Play Like A Champion Today’.”

Thank you Lou…now please practice what you preach and

“Smack Mark May Like a Champion Today“.

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ndolttown wowed me and other folks at NDNation with his latest post, and I’m saving the content here for posterity. Summary: Lou Holtz OWNED College Football:

Thesis: From 1987 to 1993 Lou Holtz won more big games than any coach in history in a similar period of time and more big games than many of the top coaches in history ever did. It is a remarkable and, I would guess, unequalled record of victories over top competition in the history of CFB.

In that seven-year period, Holtz beat fifteen teams that finished in the top ten in the final AP poll. In other words, he beat an average of two top ten finishing teams each year. For perspective, in those seven years of his career, Holtz beat more top ten teams than Joe Paterno has in forty years of coaching and more than the following hall of fame coaches did in their entire careers: Woody Hayes,Bo Schembechler, John McKay, Phil Fulmer, Darrell Royal, Bob Devaney, Bud Wilkinson, and many more.

In terms of rankings at time the game was played, in those seven years, Holtz beat nineteen teams ranked in the top ten at game time - nearly three a year - and twenty-eight in the top 25 - four a year. He played teams ranked in the top four at game time on thirteen occasions and went 10-3.

Holtz beat the number one-ranked team three times (Miami 88, Colo 90, FSU 93); played in 1 vs 2 match-ups three times and won them all (USC 88, Mich 89, FSU 93), and beat undefeated teams in bowl games three times (WV 89, Colo 90, TA&M 93).

In that seven-year period, Holtz beat BCS conference champions 16 times: five wins vs the Big Ten Champ, four versus the Pac Ten Champ, two vs the SEC Champ, two vs the ACC champ, 2 vs the SWC Champ and one vs the Big 8 Champ. For perspective, in those seven years, Holtz had more wins vs conference champs than the following coaches did in their entire careers: Woody Hayes, Darrell Royal, Mack Brown, John McKay, Bud Wilkinson, Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Bo Schembechler, Barry Switzer, Lloyd Carr, Bob Devaney, and had as many wins in those seven years as Bear Bryant did in his entire career.

In that seven-year period, Holtz played teams with records of 5-0 or better nine times and was 9-0 in those games. He played teams 9-0 or better five times and was 5-0 in those games.

Lou Holtz: Owned You, Me, and the NCAA

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