Did you enjoy college football reclaiming New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day as their own this season? Well, too bad, the NFL wants the College Football Playoff to move their games. The reason: New Year’s Eve falls on a Thursday this year and the NFL has a Thursday Night Football game so ESPN is worried about a potential ratings decline for the semifinal bowl games. So yes, the worldwide leader is also pushing for this change.

But there’s another problem. The NFL wants to expand their playoff and, for some reason, have one of those games be another edition of Monday Night Football. The only issue there is that the Monday night in question is the national title game so ESPN all of a sudden has the rights, and a contractual obligation, to air two games on the same night and on the same network (the above linked article cites that the contract states both games must be aired on ESPN and not ESPN2).

Understandably, the CFP commissioners are fighting back on the effort, but let’s be frank: if the NFL wants this, they are going to get it. And make no mistake, ESPN won’t move from their corner as that would be an incredibly dumb business decision on their end.

A one year move for the CFP semifinals or a different date for the title game doesn’t seem like that big of a deal; however, this is yet another step in an incredibly annoying creep of the NFL into the college game. Thursdays during the regular season used to be a college football night as there wouldn’t be any NFL games at all, but now that has long gone out the window (and now you even see the occasional Tuesday and Wednesday college games because of it). Now the NFL wants to start shifting the college postseason around according to their whims which could cause further issues down the line should the college playoff ever want to expand itself.

ESPN could certainly shoulder some of the blame for this as well. After all, the increased television exposure for the college game, while very welcome for fans, manages to equate into a serious money grab for them, the playoff, bowls, and the conferences/schools. Thus, when “traditions” like New Year’s Day belonging to college football are reclaimed or having the title game before the NFL playoffs get rolling, it matters very little when the NFL masters come calling to get their way.

I’m just hoping the NFL will stay out of this and work around the college playoffs. It isn’t like games on one Saturday or refraining from adding a new playoff game on Monday would kill them. Then again, you would think that a slightly under-inflated ball or a player that would prefer to not talk to the media wouldn’t be a big deal to them either.

The Roundup

We will start of with an incredibly serious note. Two of the four Vanderbilt players accused of rape in 2013 have been found guilty.

The ACC is making some interesting scheduling moves. In response to pressure to schedule more Power 5 teams in their out of conference schedule, the ACC will consider BYU a Power 5 school and also possibly starting a trend of scheduling conference games as a non-conference game (no seriously, that happened).

Cryptic quotes: Ohio State edition. In what will certainly be the craziest QB battle ever, Braxton Miller, very much a potential transfer in this mix, gave fans some hope during Ohio State’s title celebration in saying “we’ve got another year to go do it.”

Well this is certainly an interesting take on the facility arms-race. How about a freakin’ beach in a stadium?

If you ever thought that your commencement speaker was a terrible choice, just be glad your school didn’t do this to you:

Ole Miss Law School Commencement speaker: Paul Finebaum #PAAAWWWLLLLSCHOOL pic.twitter.com/auFOD3L6ME

— Bunkie Perkins (@BunkiePerkins) January 27, 2015

I’d have more entertaining links, but everyone’s in full ‘crootin mode right now and my NCAA booster-mandated gag-order hasn’t been lifted. Signing day can’t get here soon enough…

And now your moment of Nix… From the man himself!

She Said YES!!!!!!! ??????

— lOUIS NIX III (@1irishchocolate) January 28, 2015

Well good going, sir!

Noooo…don't congratulate me. Congrats to the lady on this movie I'm watching ?. I'm not getting married ? #SheSaidYes

— lOUIS NIX III (@1irishchocolate) January 28, 2015

Dammit…

The Booze

In the American tradition of over-indulgence of cheap food and drink during the Super Bowl, I’m going Coors Light. Why? Because about a month ago my wife and I failed to communicate to each other and bought a 24-pack each of Coors Light for a family get-together.

I’ve tried to slowly kill the supply, but I’ve noticed that my alcohol intake has gone down ever since the wife got pregnant. Is sympathy sobriety a thing?

Anyways, the Super Bowl is a perfect excuse to consume what remains in the beer fridge to make room for other beverages. Don’t judge me.

The post Friday Roundup: The “Can We Keep the NFL Out of This?” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Oh, sure, it was a work trip to Vegas; however, since I learned how to run a much smoother trade show, I actually got to hang out with my coworkers and they are just as much a bunch of gambling/drunk degenerates as I am. The most painful of these nights was spurred by one of my bosses leading the way to terrible decisions.

Needless to say, I had a blast.

Now, by the time you read this, I will be boozing in NOLA with practically no recovery time. I never claimed to be smart, but here I am ready to absolutely destroy myself as my groomsmen happily lead me down the path to a liver transplant.

To put it mildly, if I don’t die/pass out on Bourbon Street/get stabbed/thrown in jail, I will consider the weekend a smashing success. Yes, I’m all about tripping over low bars.

My imminent demise aside, if this is my last Roundup, I’m going out with a bang because we have loads of links for you this week. So let’s get to the stuff you actually care about.

The Roundup

I hear Athens is great in the fall. Georgia that is. Please let this happen.

Happy trails, Digger. The former Notre Dame coach will be leaving the Worldwide Leader.

It doesn’t look like Nix is missing that Pinstripe Bowl PS4. He might be missing the joy of a sandwich, but not the next-gen entertainment.

Looks like a “Where Are They Now?” waiting to happen. Christ Stewart is winning awards at the ND Law School.

One of our sponsors is up for a Webby. Do us a favor and give the ND alumni-run Bouqs a vote.

The 21st century version of the “big one that got away.” The save button is a very, very important feature.

I think this guy is lucky this is the worst that happened to him. Flying rival colors in your dorm room? That’s either serious cajones or insanity.

Speaking of dumb Kentucky fan decisions… Not only was this tattoo a stupid idea, but apparently the guy is more than willing to keep it.

I’ve always known ref rage is a real thing. Seeing it so scientifically quantified though is a thing of beauty.

Looks like UCONN won three titles. This little flub is beyond hilarious.

Hope you had fun a prom, bro. Because I think Chizik is going to kill you.

Law & Order: Missouri. Star wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham has found himself suspended indefinitely after being being involved with an assault.

Brent Musburger must be beside himself. AJ McCarron and his bride to be, Katherine Webb, are about to be reality stars.

New recruiting tactic: winking at mom. Coach GQ has found himself quite a nice recruiting advantage.

Michigan’s spring game is in the book. Things in Ann Arbor are going…well, not so great.

And now your moment of Nix… Yes, we have a Roundup that features Big Lou and he didn’t make his namesake. That honor goes to the ND and Florida State baseball teams for their rain delay antics.

The Booze

As much as I’m loathe to admit it, I’m sure, at some point, a Liquid Cocaine shot is happening. This shot is now a long running joke between my best man and I because, in our younger years, when this was consumed either willingly or unknowingly (he gave me a shot and said it was Jager on my 22nd birthday), bad things happened. Granted, “bad things” is better translated to “stupid, embarrassing shit” that we did when the inevitable blackout happened. It probably didn’t help that these shots also happened after we had already been drinking as well.

Everyone’s favorite moment of me on this shot: a picture of me being bottle fed beer while I’m flipping off the camera. No, I am not posting that picture here.

I’m still hopeful that I can avoid this, but I am resigned to my fate if it does. If you want to know why I fear this, I suggest finding a safe location, taking this shot first, and trying this out for yourself. You have been warned:

Mix 1 part Jager, 1 part 151, and 1 part Goldschlager (or Rumple Minze) over ice. Pour into shot glass. Kiss your ass goodbye.

The post Friday Roundup: The “RIP, Tex” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Now, the fun doesn’t end there. Not only can we laugh at Southern Cal for appearing on a list of shame, but take a gander at some of the other schools on that list. The Pac 12 is rather well represented as well as some other BCS schools:

I’m sure everyone expected the sunny locations of Indiana and Michigan State on this list. Somehow, I almost found that more hilarious than Southern Cal landing at the #8 spot on this list.

Almost.

And what makes this even better? The gold in the comment section of the post. Loyal readers, I introduce you to “rocknkat:”

I went to USC,

Oh, well here comes the defense of his alma mater…

and I can guarantee the girls who are doing this are not paying for expensive USC tuition.

Or not.

I know these girls. I am friends and f-buddies with some of them.

Bro threat level: FULL F’N BRO.

The majority of girls that are doing this are daddy’s girls who are getting their educations paid for by their own, biological daddies(or step-daddies),

but are good-looking, kept (as they came to USC),

Have you seen the girls at your school, bro? They aren’t Southern Cal girls, only the good-looking and kept come here.

and spoiled as all Hell, and only want more money. Period. They know they can prostitute themselves(and actually jokingly admit it) for hard cash(and a LOT of it).  And the new mentality/rationale today is,”Well, it’s ok because I’m doing it because I just don’t have enough money for alcohol, drugs, clothes, shoes, and all the going out me and my friends MUST do every night, all night, and most of the boys we know here don’t have enough to take us out like the high-priced Kim Kardashian whores we want to emulate, so it’s ok!” And that is really about it. The older, wealthier guys they trick with are more than happy to hand them money, hand over fist.

And I thought I had issues writing run-ons.

I’m not even sure where to start here. I mean, Brojan here admits to banging these girls and then gets on a moral soap box. Make up your mind, which side are you on?

It’s ok with me, as I wasn’t planning on marrying any of these girls. So all the benefit, and none of the baggage. Hell, they have supported me during downturns in my wallet!!! So, thanks, dirty old pervs!!!

That’s better. Good to have you back even though we have to ignore the “these girls only bang for money, but I bang them and they pay me” logical fallacy. No big deal, you tell those old dirty pervs what’s up. I bet they don’t even lift, bro.

…Yeah, that was about it…

Gone so soon?

…and if you think UCLA girls aren’t doing this??

Thank you for coming back. Not only that, you are bringing UCLA into this. This is gonna get fun…

I (and my friends) know PLENTY of UCLA hoes that are doing this too. I call them hoes all the time, and they just laugh at it. They don’t care!!! They really, really don’t.

Brojan’s bringing his bros into this. Also:

It’s a new day, if you didn’t know about this kind of thing.

Actually, I was pretty aware today was a new day. You feeling okay, Brojan?

My guess would be that if there are girls doing this for actual tuition money?

That’s not a question, Brojan. I’m getting a little concerned about you, but I guess it’s cool. I know you don’t have time for sentence diagrams or simple logic slaying all that strange.

They are the old-school undercover strippers of the “class”. Working at 4Play and Skin, skeezer-stripper clubs like that. k, Later! -J

So many questions.

How does or why does one become an “undercover stripper”? I mean, are they trying to break down the seedy underworld of the strip clubs that you and your bros visit? How do you get into a gig so young? I mean, does a cop try to recruit teenagers? That seems horribly creepy.

And why is “class” in quotes? Are the undercover strippers undercover students as well? Man, UCLA sounds like a crazy place, Brojan, good thing your at USC with the far less sleazy girls.

Fight On, you should be proud.

/dies of laughter

The Roundup

Speaking of Southern Cal, the Poodle made a return. Only USC would give a guy that helped handicap them the past few years a hero’s welcome and then eat up his denial BS.

Everything about Davaris Daniels’ last season makes a hell of a lot more sense. A whole host of injuries hurt him both on and off the field. Please do the reverse next time: fight through the plan to go to class and don’t kill yourself on the field, please.

It’s definitely the offseason. Even the NFL isn’t immune to people digging for stories, especially when it comes to HOT DRAFT TAKES. This piece sums it all up fairly well.

This might be the most Texas thing ever. High school spends $60 million on a stadium (with tax payer money) and only two years later they had to close it do to cracks around the concourse. Good job, good effort, Allen.

Memo from the rest of college football coaches to Saban, Bielema, and the rules committee: You’re idiots for trying the 10-second slow down rule.

Yep, this section is going to be named after Nix now. I’m not sure what to call it yet, but his combine performance sealed it:

The Booze

Curiosity got the better of me after seeing far too many commercials about the Sam Adam’s Cold Snap seasonal. I must say though, I wasn’t disappointed. It’s not the best white ale that I’ve ever had, but I’d say it’s worth giving a try. Added bonus: consider it your protest for winter to stop.

Protip: Don’t drink this one too cold. It’ll completely kill the flavor. I’d say “slightly chilled” would be the best temp for this brew.

The post Friday Roundup: The “Southern Cal Sugar Babies” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

The defensive back brings some much needed depth and experience to a secondary that can certainly use it; however, I’m more impressed with the outlook of the program overall. 

And it isn’t just hitting the 85 scholarship cap either. The class of 2015 has a minimum of 11 scholarships available and that’s only if all 15 eligible fifth years stay. That’s a crazy amount of flexibility that will translate into serious upperclassmen depth which is rather crazy when you consider the senior class of 2015 will only have 13 of the 16 members that it started with. 

That kind of depth allows Kelly to not rush his recruits, giving them a potential redshit year to further develop. Those potential fifth years can then in turn allow the strong upperclassmen depth to remain. 

Some of the bigger headlines in recent years have been players transferring, weaseling out of their national letter of intent, or leaving early for the NFL, yet, through all of this noise, Kelly has fully restocked the Notre Dame roster and has the Irish in great potential shape for many years to come. 

The Roundup

The Booze

The post Friday Roundup: The “85” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Now, unfortunately, I don’t have anything particularly witty, funny, or really anything intelligent to say to lead off this week’s version. Let’s just say I’m going to set the bar extremely low so I can continuously trip over it all year.

Thankfully though, there was quite a bit of news that broke this week from Notre Dame and around college football to make up for my failures at creativity so let’s get to it!

The Roundup

Charlie Strong is NOT screwing around. Around here, a common narrative is that Texas has had a “country club” culture for years and has created a soft team prone to failure. Well, that is definitely gone now. I can only imagine how nervous this made some regents when he was hired. Perhaps this is why his contract has no buyout.

So college football managed to effect the WWE and it’s a dream true. The only downside, it was Rose Bowl Champion Sparty that caused this, leading Daniel Bryan’s now famous “YES!” chant in a packed arena. Still though, rumor is the WWE caught wind of that and accelerated Daniel Bryan’s storyline in this past week’s episode of RAW.

Big Lou is talking and you should listen. He did an interview with Eric Hansen and filled in the blanks on why he signed with an agent so early among other topics like the NFL draft. Speaking of…

Dear Jerry Jones, please give me something to be happy about again. The team is a disaster, especially on the defensive line. Mel Kiper has three Domers hanging around your draft slot, grab one. Bonus points if it’s Nix because I will buy that jersey immediately.

Austin Collinsworth, Christian Lombard, Kendall Moore and Justin Utupo will be back for fifth years. Irish Illustrated apparently broke this news, but the only thing that I could find to link was an ESPN mention of the report. Lo Wood, another potential fifth year, has decided to go to Miami University along with his former position coach Chuck Martin.

And now your moment of zen…THE SUBWAY DOMER IS BACK, Y’ALL! (Hey does this mean I’m off the hook of IBG leadership duties now?)

Put These Games Shows on Your Radar

There will be two Notre Dame specials of note this weekend. Be sure to tune in or set your DVRs!

The Booze

So, yeah, Subway’s back and that means it’s PBR time y’all (save the Trojan Bloods for later).

The post Friday Roundup: The “Back to Business” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

This year, before half of the bowl games were even finalized, people started floating around Nick Saban to Texas rumors. Actually, to be fair, this talk started at the beginning of the season because that’s a good time to make those choices. I guess if you’re going to try to stir the pot, you might as well go with the craziest rumor possible.

This past week, as some of the initial Saban rumors were laughed off, reports started coming out that it was all but certain that Mack Brown would be fired retire by the end of the week. This prompted Alabama to preemptively offer Nick Saban a raise, which he has still yet to sign. So of course, Saban to Texas was all but a certainty. Even Texas’ president, a Mack supporter, was under fire, but apparently got a reprieve.

One minor problem: Mack hasn’t quite given his retirement speech yet.

GO SOURCES!

Here’s the thing, Mack may still eventually leave Texas and Saban could replace him. I’ll never rule anything out, but to pretend that people know for certain exactly when these things will happen, probably isn’t the wisest course. Remember ND’s coaching search four years ago?

Now not every source is someone trying to pull a prank to expose rampant rumor-mongering. Some of these sources are definitely well connected people that have delivered solid leads to reporters before. However, each of these sources aren’t perfect people that just parrot the latest news. These are humans with agendas. When sources are this loose-lipped, it tends to scream of some kind of internal power struggle. It could be between the regents and Mack, a fight between the regents, regents and the university president, or even Rick Perry trying to through his weight around. Seriously.

So what’s the best course of action? Being thankful Notre Dame isn’t a part of this mess and enjoying the hilarity while every one else loses their damn minds, that’s what.

The Roundup

No one show this to the ND ushers. There’s already enough “down and front” business without official cards discouraging it.

SHOTS FIRED! Guess Mark Emmert was sick of Jay Bilas’ twitter fire.

Want to take a look at all the bowl swag? I must say, this list is rather impressive and it’s only part of what these players get.

Shamrock Series 2014 is almost set. It appears that Purdue and Lucas Oil Field may just be a reality.

And now your moment of zen… Remember when Louis Nix gave away an entire bag of gear to whoever grabbed it? Well, he went a step further and had a student body only contest called “The Chocolate Games”. The winner got a signed jersey and Nix continues to win Irish hearts:

Congrats to the winner of the #ChocolateGames @youngPatJung pic.twitter.com/chKQNKbAA6

— lOUIS NIX III (@1irishchocolate) December 12, 2013

Put These This Games on Your Radar

Yes, there is only one game this week, but I’m going to give a prediction because why not. Last week, I went 2-5 and completely killed my great streak in its tracks.

That brings me to 29-26 on the season, so at least I can’t completely screw it up this week.

*Neutral Site

The Booze

Christmas time is here and that means it’s time for cheer – Shiner Cheer.

The post Friday Roundup: The “Gentlemen, Start Your Sources!” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Even though Kelly had mentioned that the team would prefer to play in a warmer climate, he said in his presser on Sunday that the Pinstripe offer was simply one the team couldn’t refuse:

When you’re dealing with our guys, it’s bowl packages, right? It’s just been a very attractive bowl package for our guys. I don’t want to get into the details because I think we’d like to probably keep that amongst ourselves.

But when I was standing here in front of this big screen, I put up the Power Point, I went from talking about the Pinstripe Bowl, had my guys’ attention. They came out of their chairs when I showed them the bowl package. I didn’t get that popular in a very short period of time. They were very excited about the things they were going to get from the bowl package.

After Kelly’s presser, senior receiver T.J. Jones gave a little insight into the package that got them so excited:

Receiver TJ Jones said the bowl package included a Playstation 4, a bowl ring and “a lot of clothes and hats.” He said a trip to Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center were other selling points for the trip.

Other warm weather destinations such as the Poinsettia Bowl and the Hawaii Bowl were considered: however, Northern Illinois’ final loss of the season took that off the table. As for the Hawaii Bowl, travel concerns were the main issue. With finals ending at ND on December 20, the team would have to leave on December 21 and miss many of the events surrounding the Christmas Eve game.

In short, if the end goal was to try and reward the team, it seems that was accomplished.

While the team will surely enjoy New York City during the holidays and get some great bowl swag, the game itself leaves much to be desired from a fan perspective. The matchup against Rutgers is one of the most lopsided of the entire bowl season. Take any rating match up that you’d like and the game simply looks horrid on paper: 8-4 vs 6-6, #19 vs #98 (FEI rank), #25 vs #103 (Sagarin), #26 vs #82 (BCS), etc.

Unfortunately, this is what happens when Notre Dame has no bowl tie-ins and misses the BCS. As rumors of playoffs swirled, no one wanted to lock ND tie-ins to any contracts, leaving the Irish in no-man’s land for postseason play.

While I am not overly thrilled about the potential matchup, I will always be happy to take another Notre Dame football game in, even one that isn’t that great. Further, from a program building perspective, I will always welcome the chance for the Irish to get more practices under their belt, especially the younger players. Every rep is valuable both in practice and in the game.

One player that will also be finding himself in the role of a fan will be Louis Nix III. Big Lou signed with an agent and as such, he is now a professional, meaning his time as a student athlete for ND is done. This means that he is no longer a member of the team, meaning he gets no bowl swag, no free trip, and he cannot even attend bowl practices (unless he is brought in as a guest, which happens often). I have a feeling though that the future first-rounder will easily be able to afford his own swag quite easily as well and paying his way out there should he chose.

While this move was certainly expected, Nix couldn’t officially leave ND without doing something else that is made of pure Irish Chocolate awesome. As the early NFL games were under way, Nix left a little gift in South Quad:

Just dropped off a duffle bag of my old issued gear to South quad. #Enjoy #OneThingPerPerson pic.twitter.com/CWurU6W5hj

— lOUIS NIX III (@1irishchocolate) December 8, 2013

And, yes, people did partake in the gift-giving:

https://twitter.com/spence_fence/status/409785198763446273

Even fans that didn’t get to the bag in time got a little something, but who knows, there could be more to come:

@MGolicJR57 Golic I have something special for the ND students

— lOUIS NIX III (@1irishchocolate) December 8, 2013

Needless to say, the departure of Nix will leave some huge shoes to fill in not just talent, but personality. He is truly one of a kind and is going to be one hell of an addition to an NFL locker room.

Best of luck Lou, you are already missed.

The post Notre Dame to Pinstripe Bowl, Louis Nix to NFL appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

At first it seems impossible to capture the essence and impact of Louis Nix on the Notre Dame Football program and fan-base. The depth of his tenure in South Bend is legendary in a way that almost seems void of a quality comparison. Why is it that we love to cheer for our All-American nose guard in manner unlike any other current or former Irish player? What is it about Louis Nix III that touches ND fans in such an astoundingly positive way? Bring up his name in front of any Domer and their reaction tells the story – Notre Dame fans instinctively smile at the mention of our favorite nose guard. How incredibly rare is that?!? Nix elicits a genuine emotion of joy at the mere reference of his name. And it’s not a joy or smile found in Brady Quinn’s aerial assaults or the astounding leadership of Manti Te’o or the championship heroics of Tony Rice & Joe Montana. It’s just different … and maybe his legacy is best if we don’t understand why we adore him so much. When you look back on the last four years of the Louis Nix III Experience, it’s becomes clear that we’ve all been privilege to the very special career of a transcendent, once-in-a-generation player and personality.

*Editor’s Note: The first 2/3 of this article was written prior to hearing Louis Nix was out for the season. We’ll still smile when hearing his name, but Saturday afternoon that grin will accompany plenty of tears from too many to count.

The Louis Nix Experience In Three Parts – What a Wild Ride

Part I – It’s probably time to accept that Louis Nix won’t ever again be suiting up for a game in Notre Dame Stadium. How he even ended up wearing the Blue & Gold is a story you’ve heard before but will always be worth telling. Louis Nix committed to the University of Miami in 2009 and seemed destined to join a long line of Florida prep stars to stay in-state at one of their three Division I powers. Nix kept a door cracked for Charlie Weis, even when the Irish stumbled down the stretch of their schedule and finished 6-6 after four consecutive losses that would seal the embattled Weis’s fate as Head Coach. Weis was fired on November 30th and in what was one of the oddest recruiting stories in memory, maybe foretelling his future in South Bend, Louis Nix III made what was a silent commitment to Notre Dame public despite his choice of school not employing a head coach. Plenty of athletes at academic institutions, Notre Dame included, claim to have made their choice with post-graduate motives in mind. Nix can stake claim to having made his choice when nothing was certain regarding any aspect of the football program. Notre Dame and South Bend were for him and the football part would take care of itself. It was the beginning of a complicated road to stardom in Northern Indiana.

Halfway through Louis Nix’s freshman season in 2010, it seemed difficult to project him as the second coming of Bryant Young in an Irish uniform. He showed up on campus out of shape and ill-prepared for the challenges of college football. He couldn’t crack a mediocre 2nd & 3rd team Notre Dame defensive line and ultimately red-shirted during Brian Kelly’s first year at the helm. Knowing now how disruptive a player Louis Nix could be, one can’t help but wonder what 5-10 plays a game of a freshman Louis Nix during a 4 point loss to Michigan, a 3 point OT loss to Michigan State and the still stings 1 point loss to Tulsa might have provided.  Instead Nix headed to the 2011 offseason as one of the biggest question marks on the team and a quick afterthought among fans following the signing of 5-Star defensive linemen Stephon Tuitt & Aaron Lynch.

While Louis Nix was prepping in 2011 for his first season of actually playing college football, he also dropped his first YouTube sensation – a peek into the hilarious, goofy, ridiculous, heart-warming character we were all about to start getting to know. What else is there to say – This is Louis Nix, up close and personal, terribly mouthing the words to Bruno Mars “Grenade” while lounging around in an Indiana Pacers jersey and chowing down on hearty chunks of banana:

[youtube id=”gvf7r9vG1fQ”]

It wouldn’t be the end of this media darling’s hits on YouTube. Just days before 2011 Fall Camp, Nix went back to the well and sang Rascal Flats “God Bless The Broken Road” while showcasing a box of Kashi GoLean Crunch. You couldn’t in a million years make this stuff up. He hadn’t made a tackle as an Irish player, but rooting for him was becoming a lot easier.

Things improved for Nix on the field as well in 2011. He stopped recording videos during the fall and started manhandling offensive linemen while sporting the #9 jersey in honor of Kyle Rudolph. He led all Irish defensive linemen in tackles with 45 while also tallying 4.5 Tackles for Loss. More importantly, Bob Diaco had found the ideal player to command double-teams and wreak havoc on the interior line, while keeping blockers off Manti Te’o – who would rack up 128 tackles playing behind a true 3-4 nose guard. It was really just the beginning for the man who’d dubbed himself “Irish Chocolate” and was about to take that moniker to a whole new level.

Part II – With the groundwork laid on and off the field in 2011, Louis Nix was primed for a breakout year in 2012. While much of the calendar would be filled with highlights, the Louis Nix III story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning what took place during 2012 spring ball. Irish fan’s projected wrecking crew of a defensive line saw Freshman All-American Aaron Lynch quit the team and transfer while at the same time, Nix’s classmate Kona Schwenke was beating out Irish Chocolate on the Nose Guard depth chart. Brian Kelly was low on praise for Nix during spring camp and the junior’s Twitter activity wasn’t exactly indicative of a happy camper. Looking back it was a blip on the career radar of Louis Nix, but maybe a clue to what Brian Kelly knew he had on his hands heading into his third season leading the program. Buttons needed to be pushed. It’d appear they worked.

June 11th, 2012 – A day that will live in infamy. Fans of Notre Dame and ridiculousness were blessed on this date with the debut of Chocolate News. The show’s run would be brief but unforgettable. Seeming to put the spring behind him, the debut episode featured Nix repeatedly mentioning the need to “get right” in reference to their shopping lists and multiple demands of freshman Sheldon Day to “put down the Honey Buns!!!”. While the rest of the College Football world was putting USC in the National Championship Game, we were getting fresh looks at life as an ND player with the perfect host. Nix’s final cut on the 5.5 episode series found him on the balcony of his hotel room in Ireland scanning the grounds, then pulling the camera to his face and uttering what we were all thinking:

“I’d pet a moose in Ireland cuz we’re in Ireland! We pet mooses around here!”

[youtube id=”rm0HCpaEjAI”]

Here is where we could wax poetic on all that was in the 2012 regular season. Let’s make it simple – Louis Nix was the best defensive tackle in America. Period. He faced what were arguably the nation’s top two centers in Gabe Ikard and Barrett Jones and embarrassed them physically. Maybe you point to the Stanford goal-line stand as the paramount moment during last year, but this SoCal-raised writer will never forget Louis Nix exploding through the line on USC’s 3rd & Goal attempt from the half yard line to set up the play that would seal regular season perfection. From our own Irish Twins (artist formerly known as Knute School Fool) – the USC stand in full. If you feel like watching it 10 times consecutively, every person reading this will understand:

[youtube id=”bc5MPrEC_2g”]

Part III – Parts Two & Three overlap a touch because this chapter really began when Nix made it official in mid December of 2012 that he’d be returning for his senior year. He was still a few weeks away from putting together one of few bright spots for the Irish in Miami and a few days from his NFL Draft Evaluation returning with a mid 1st Round Grade. Much like the decision he made 3 years prior, Nix took the more challenging, significantly more uncertain road that would end with a college degree instead of a massive payday. One that could pay for his mother’s much-needed knee replacement. They both were apparently on the same page: Louis Nix III had started something in South Bend that he was going to finish. Plus – he had a few more highlights to share.

Nix kicked off the 2013 Fighting Irish season by announcing he was going to wear jersey #1 because he wasn’t allowed to were double zeroes. This wasn’t going to be enough for his Spring Football buzz. During what has become a ballyhooed practice session, Nix stole the show yet again and did what he does best -made us smile. Trotting out late in the game, he lined up at quarterback and executed a perfect QB Draw for touchdown. When asked about what he was looking at before the play he proclaimed, “I was making checks … They were, um, silent checks.” Damn, he’ll be missed:

[youtube id=”DxS13tok_kw”]

It’s safe to say that 2013 hasn’t gone quite as Louis Nix had planned. He’s now claiming that he possibly injured the knee in the Alabama game where he played so valiantly. He had surgery Thursday that signals the end of his season and likely his collegiate career. His teammates and fans robbed of his play in 5 of 13 games this year when all is said and done. But is his third act at Notre Dame a “tragedy”? By no means.

What Louis Nix has accomplished on campus deserves nothing short of a celebration. He chose the path less traveled and it has made all the difference. In a few weeks he’ll be the first college graduate from his family. He overcame homesickness, weight struggles, family heartbreak, and much more than we’ll ever know to emerge as a loved program icon who spearheaded one of the greatest Irish defenses in history while giving a fan-base that often doesn’t deserve it a reason to smile.

Thank you Louis Nix.

What’s next for LNIII? I’d like to imagine that if we posed that question to him he’d respond with something like, “I guess I’ll get drafted and yada, yada, yada…”

The post The Louis Nix III Experience appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

I really don’t have adequate words to describe it, so I’ll let the Big Lebowski do it for me:

After each disaster, we try to be The Dude, but when everything keeps snowballing we end up being the other Lebowski. And who can blame us? Let’s just recap the mess that has happened since January:

• Blowout loss to Alabama
• Brian Kelly talks with the Eagles and people freak out
• Lennay Kekua revealed as fake
• Resulting media circus surrounding Te’o
• Gunner Kiel transfers
• Golson expelled
• Eddie Vanderdoes begins the process to get out of his LOI
• Resulting media “outrage” directed at ND yet again
• Danny Spond is forced to retire from football before the season starts
• Tony Springmann, Nicky Baratti, and Chase Hounshell suffer season ending injuries before the season starts
• Loss to Michigan
• Loss to Oklahoma
• Jarrett Grance and Daniel Smith suffer season ending injuries during Arizona State Game
• Ben Councell suffers season ending injury against Navy
• Loss to Pitt, ending any BCS hope and ensuring the Irish will remain 0-for-BCS Bowls in the BCS era
• Yesterday, Louis Nix announces his season is done

And those are just the highlights of woe. I’m sure there are several other things that I could list, but I would prefer that this post not run too incredibly long.

I really don’t have much of a point other than that this year has seriously sucked and can kindly go die in a fire. I will be welcoming 2014 with open arms because there is no possible way it can get any worse.

…right?

The Roundup

As bad as things have been this year, I’m glad I’m not a FSU fan. Sure, their season has been great on the field, but the Jameis Winston investigation appears to now have the double whammy of actual evidence and questionable police practices. Oh, and then Deadspin pretty much lit their entire program on fire. I’m 80% sure this won’t end well.

Lane Kiffin simply won’t go away. And now he’s giving Southern Cal his expert advice on hiring coaches. What could possibly go wrong?

RUN THE DAMN BALL, SHAW!!! I can deliver no better proof that this argument is so horribly overused than when Stanford’s head coach is having to address this criticism.

Please sit in front of the cameras so our stadium doesn’t look empty. This is something that a university officially asked its fans to do.

Here’s some NCAA change I can get behind. While I’m never a fan of government trying to get involved in sporting matters, this Congressman has the right idea. Protecting players with a goal of securing their education despite injury and oversigning is something that I will always support.

In honor of senior day, I feel that this First Lecture to Notre Dame students is incredibly timely to put out there.

And now your moment of zen…In honor of the big guy–get healthy soon.

Put These Games on Your Radar

Even 3-3 for last week bringing me to a total of 17-18. Two completely even weeks is still keeping me below the .500 mark. Time to break through.

Picks in bold/with spread next to team as always.

I’m only taking one home team…this concerns me…

Predictions

As a reminder, here are your standings.

NDtex (@HLS_NDTex)

I am so incredibly conflicted on how to project this game. Nix’s injury is a major concern as far as the void it will leave. Then you have to account for the fact that BYU has a pretty solid defensive unit.

Still though, the Irish are coming off a bye week and it’s senior day. I think that combo will give the Irish just enough of a boost to win.

I hope…

ND 27 – BYU 23

Biscuit (@HLS_Biscuit)

Via:

The hornblowers simply can’t match up against Notre Dame’s red-zone defense. They will move the ball but points will be hard to come by. It’s not a gimme by any stretch but we should handle the 1 percenters.

ND Wins 26-17

 1 Leprechaun for BYU. Could be one of those that make us nervous

Bayou Irish (@HLS_BayouIrish)

Tommy throws 2 picks, one early, one late. Then he gets hurt. Hendy can’t help and an overly-emotional senior class can’t get out of its own way. Tuitt plays like a man possessed but a weakened Schwenke and no LNIII spells a death by a thousand three and a half yard runs. Jaylon Smith picks up 15 tackles. BYU loads the box and plays tough in the redone, spelling a terrible end at home for this senior squad.

13-10 BYU

Twibby (@HLS_Twibby)

Tommy leaves ND in fitting style by making the fans hold their breath until he leads a last minute touchdown drive for a 17-16 ND victory. #ThankTommy

Irish Elvis (@IrishElvis)

Too many people around here are picking ND, so I’m going to be contrarian. I (and my liquor cabinet) hope I’m wrong.

BYU 27, ND 20 

The Irish Twins (@HLS_IT1 & @HLS_Podcast)

Twin 2 “The Younger” Duex: (@HLS_Podcast): Based on some nervous sentiment out there, and my own gloominess on our last podcast, I will represent the glass half full for BYU. Notre Dame will win convincingly. Why? Because everything could have and should have gone right against Pitt but didn’t. And with Nix out and little to play for outside “senior day”, perhaps Notre Dame will again surprise us. Notre Dame will win and while the fans focus on the seniors like Tommy and TJ, young faces will shine on offense. Look for Fuller and Folston.

Irish 34 – 16

Twin 1 (@HLS_IT1): 28-27. Flip a coin for the winner. [Tex: Heads = ND, Tails = BYU — it came up heads. ND wins on the toss.]

Blog Davie (@BlogDavie)

BYU is the logical choice given ND’s depleted defense, but I’m going with my gut.*

Steve in Iowa (@SteveInIowa1)

Irish bounce back for impressive win sending the seniors out in style. Rees has monster game 275+ yards and 4 tds. Balance reigns as pass/rush even out and rushing game gets it together with 200+ yards on the ground.

35 – 14 ND

ManCaveQB (@ManCaveQB)

Tommy Rees pitches a classic Tommy Rees performance featuring “I’ll take you to heaven before I take you to Hell!!” type afternoon in Notre Dame Stadium. A head scratching 3rd quarter interception by the QB most never wanted and in many ways we didn’t deserve leads to a momentum swing for BYU that sees them holding the ball and a 27-26 advantage with under 3 minutes to play. A defensive stand led by Kona Schwenke & Prince Shembo followed by a long return by T.J. Jones gives Tommy one last chance at game-ending heroics. Rees makes multiple perfect decisions with the ball and the Irish watch a Kyle Brindza field goal sail through the uprights to seal another last second victory for a class that helped lead Notre Dame back into relevancy.

29-27 Notre Dame

SuperManTDJesus (@SuperManTDJesus)

Notre Dame escapes a last minute BYU drive and survives senior day.

20-14 ND

The Booze

This is also in honor of Nix.

We are going back to beer this weekend and going Irish Chocolate inspired. Firstly, I can think of no beer that screams “Irish” like a good stout. Of course, Nix being quite stout himself makes this an even better fix.

As far as chocolate? Yeah, that’s something mixed in with a stout as well.

It’s a bit of an “out there” taste for some, but you owe it to the big guy to have at least one chocolate stout in his honor. Hey, if you hate it, you can pour it out in his memory too, I guess.

The post Friday Roundup: The “2013 Needs to End” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Save for Weis making quite the debut against a very unprepared Pitt led by Dave Wannstedt, the ND/Pitt series has been defined by a single possession contest as of late. To be honest, it’s really hard to explain why. For the most part, Pitt has been a medicore team that Notre Dame is usually better than. Last year’s game was probably the best example of this: an undefeated Irish squad hanging on for dear life against a team that finished 6-7 with a BBVA Compass Bowl loss.

It would stand to reason that tomorrow night we will see yet another game that’s too close for comfort. Vegas agrees too. As of this morning, Notre Dame is only favored by 4 points.

But you know what? I say bring on the heart attack.

Notre Dame is 10-0 the last two seasons such contests. Keep the Irish in the game, and this team will find a way to win. It’s playing to our strength.

So while I would prefer that Notre Dame party like its 2005 against Pitt tomorrow night, I embrace the close game and the heart attack that comes with it. After all, that’s why the good Lord blessed us with alcohol.

The Roundup

Texas has hired a new AD. And it isn’t the guy that was almost a certainty last week.

So obviously, a new AD means NICK SABAN TO TEXAS. The rumor mill around this just won’t die.

And while we are on the topic of backing up a Brinks truck to convince coaches to move, here’s USA Today’s annual guess at what each coach in the FBS makes. Be warned, these aren’t exact for various reasons.

I can see it now, the first NCAA violation for contact lenses. After ABC made such a huge deal about Jameis Winston squinting at the sidelines, he got fitted for some contact lenses, although the company might have jumped the gun in using his likeness on their Facebook page. Bonus points to them if they gave him the lenses and service for free because that would be a hilariously stupid way to get in trouble.

Defensive end emeritus, Kapron Lewis-Moore is back. He saw his first NFL practice this week after his knee injury in the BCS Championship game. Welcome back to the field, Kap!

Now, let’s switch over to current defensive linemen. Louis Nix III is doing that whole student-athlete thing.

And now your moment of zen…

[youtube id=”bFKp2PEwnCY”]

Put These Games on Your Radar

Last week was one of those weeks that I would just want to light on fire and forget forever as 1-5 is simply horrid. I’m glad I didn’t pick Thursday’s games because I would’ve been 0-2 to start this week.

With the disaster now behind me, I’ve fallen below .500 to 12-13. Let’s turn this back around, shall we?

As always, picks are in bold and have the spread listed next to them (Firefox won’t show the bold).

Predictions

The old Subway Domer staff is on the board! One of the Irish Twins (#1), came threw with the closest Navy prediction this week. It’s still anyone’s game.

NDtex (@HLS_NDTex)

REVERSE PYSCOLOGY TIME: I made an entire post dedicated to how close this game will be so I say ND survives 30 – 24.

Naturally, we’ll win by 30.

Biscuit (@HLS_Biscuit)

Via:

Genac this! As always!

Pitt’s another program that (finally) made a good hire in Chryst. Dude knows what he is doing and while Pitt will never again be a powerhouse, they’ll be competitive. They need to figure out the QB position, but they have a stable of good receivers and a couple raw but talented QBs duking it out. This was the trap game last year that is ASU for us this year. But I don’t think the Irish will let it happen again.

It’s a long season and I could see the Irish needing to rest up and heal up a bit in the 2nd half of the season, but Air Force and Navy should allow for that in the 2nd halves of those games. Pitt won’t sneak up this year.

ND Wins 24-17

  2 Leprechauns. Not a landslide, and Pitt always plays their best against us.

Bayou Irish (@HLS_BayouIrish)

Because it’s Pitt, it’s heart-attack city. Or maybe it’s the result of eating what passes for cuisine in a city where grease is a recognized condiment. I’m clearly looking for ND to “click” in all phases, at all times. Maybe it actually happens in a game away from the distractions of the Dome and after two weeks of option football. If so, the Irish win 28-20. If not, and if the O-Line can’t handle Pitt’s Aaron Donald, we’re in for a loss, actually, 17-10.

[Tex: Yeah, you’re totally only getting .5 if you hit one of these.]

Twibby (@HLS_Twibby)

ND 31, Pitt 24

Irish Elvis (@IrishElvis)

1st Quarter: Start Fast
Irish offense clicks early and notches TDs on the first 2 possessions.

The Irish Twins (@HLS_IT1 & @HLS_Podcast)

Twin 2 “The Younger” (@HLS_Podcast):

A win against Pittsburgh is more likely than not. So we got that going for us, which is nice. Tallying eight wins on the year probably checks off the minimum acceptable requirement for most Irish fans. There is plenty to love about this team going into this game, and everyone hopes to see a continued unveiling of talent from guys like Folston, Fuller, and Smith. All this being said, when faced with a beatable team, ND has deferred more often than not to making that team look better than they are. Night lights and travel plans are thrown into this week’s stew, but it won’t change the reality that the next step for this team toward championship caliber is to handily beat inferior teams from kickoff to buzzer. They haven’t shown they can do that against anyone but Air Force.

Irish win 27 – 17 

Twin 1 (@HLS_IT1): 

Probably requires a special teams TD to get here… 42-24 Irish, and I wake up in a new Bugatti

Blog Davie (@BlogDavie)

Conventional wisdom suggests that this will be a close game, so I’ll go out on a limb and say ND 49 Pitt 6.

Steve in Iowa (@SteveInIowa1)

I think I would have won pick’em if not for Irish Twin 1 last week. Sigh.

The last five Pitt games have been decided by six or fewer is that correct? Sigh.

While ND has a statistical edge in most team stats it’s still pretty close with Pitt? Sigh.

Pitt is still smarting after a big choke job in double OT last year and so is motivated for revenge? Sigh.

Forget all that. This week ND puts it all together on offense and defense to get those much needed style points. Vegas says ND -3 1/2, I’d take that and a lot more as this group is tired off all the questions and will assert their will. Notre Dame wins it walking away 35-17. 

ManCaveQB (@ManCaveQB)

ND 27-24

SuperManTDJesus (@SuperManTDJesus)

ND starts strong, scores twice, and then stalls for a nice aggravating chunk of the game keeping things interesting into the 4th quarter. A touchdown by Pitt early in the final stanza makes us all drink in excess as we contemplate life and whether or not we’ve made the right decisions up to this point, but a pair of rushing scores down the stretch aided by a turnover help us forget all that shit and blackout with smiles on our faces.

ND 34 Pitt 17

The Beer Booze

We’re playing a game in Pennsylvania, this one’s easy: ALL THE YUENGLING!

The post Friday Roundup: The “Embracing a Heart Attack” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.