Coach O didn’t stop there though. He said Texas pulled the same stunt on Louisiana Tech. In fact, he called them to scout the conditions and brought extra blower fans to combat the under-handed tactic.

Problem is that Skip Holtz, head coach of Louisiana Tech, said that Coach O never called him and he had no recollection that Texas attempted to stoop so low.

Texas of course denied all the allegations and athletic director, Chris Del Conte, launched–and I can’t believe I’m about to write this–an internal investigation on their HVAC functionality. The report came back stating the A/C was working just fine and–I also can’t believe I’m about to write this–those records were FOIA’d:

But don’t worry, y’all, we can get dumber. Because our Austin correspondent and fellow degenerate game picker, NDEddieMac, received third-party confirmation from…*checks notes*…a BBQ vendor:

Friendly reminder, LSU won this game.

For some reason though, Coach O decided to go down this fabricated rabbit hole. Why? I honestly have no clue. It was originally triggered by questions about his players cramping on the field, which, you know happens in upper-90-degree Texas heat. He didn’t even have to mention this insanity at all.

But nope, here we are, complete with spreadsheets and BBQ joints calling bullshit.

Never change, college football. Ever.

The Roundup

Note: Some links are from The Athletic and require a subscription to read. These are denoted with ($). If you are considering a subscription, please use our discount!

Friendly reminder if you are looking for ND/SC tickets: HLS is doing a charity silent auction for a pair. Details are here.

Winning is hard, but losing is harder. And losing so badly that it’s clear the season is done after just a couple of weeks? That’s a whole other level ($).

California passed a bill that would allow players to profit of their image and likeness. So, naturally, the NCAA responded to this first domino of the Olympic model falling by calling the thing unconstitutional and threatening to kick all California schools out of the NCAA. Makes sense.

Tennessee finally got a win. In response to the news that a Florida boy found himself bullied because he made his own Tennessee shirt since he had none, Tennessee not only sent him a care package of swag, but are now selling the very shirt the boy designed to benefit anti-bullying groups. They are selling like hotcakes with over 16,000 sold as of Tuesday.

Mark Richt has lost control of giving a single, solitary fuck:

Want to read a story entirely about an epic punting performance? You know you do ($).

RIP, T. Boone Pickens. While many know him for his contributions to Oklahoma State, it’s well worth reading more about one hell of a full life that includes him going to the grave with a promise that 90% of his wealth will go to charity.

Opponent Watch

Regardless if he’s on the sidelines or not, this weekend is about Bob Davie. While his tenure at Notre Dame absolutely went south, the coaching staff that he had here was nothing short of incredible ($) and all the more maddening that it never worked. While I’m happy to hear he’s recovering from his undisclosed health issues, it is worth bringing up his rather rocky legacy that includes unceremoniously firing Joe Moore and orchestrating a spying operation.

And always remember, now and forever, the hot dog machine incident.

The post Friday Roundup: The HVAC Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

FROM OUR SITE

• Opponent watch: Mark Richt has lost control of scheduling

PODCASTS

• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Irish offense or defense – Who must play the best?
• Irish Sports Daily ($): Recruiting Power Hour loaded
• Irish Sports Talk: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State preview
• Slap the Sign: Irish coffee, episode 6: Nevada retractions and Sparty predictions

NEXT GAME: vs. MICHIGAN STATE (7:30 p.m. ET SATURDAY, NBC)

• Bleacher Report: Week 3 win-or-walk games are why college football is the greatest
• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Player interviews, Sept. 14
• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Torii Hunter Jr. ‘confident’ he’ll play Saturday against Michigan State
• Blue & Gold Illustrated ($): Impact matchups: Notre Dame defense vs. Michigan State offense
• Blue & Gold Illustrated ($): Impact matchups: Notre Dame offense vs. Michigan State defense
• Blue & Gold Illustrated: A look at Michigan State: Q&A with Kyle Austin
• CBS Sports: Inside college football: 12 Michigan State at 18 Notre Dame preview
• Chicago Tribune: Ara Parseghian: Those blaming me for Notre Dame-MSU tie should ‘wake up’
• CSN Chicago: Torii Hunter Jr. ‘fairly confident’ he’ll play vs. Michigan State
• CSN Chicago: Revisiting Sept. 21, 2013: The last time Notre Dame played Michigan State
• Detroit Free Press: MSU OL coach Staten grew up near South Bend, knows Notre Dame Stadium
• Detroit Free Press: MSU QB Tyler O’Connor’s guide to victory at Notre Dame: Brian Hoyer
• Detroit Free Press: Michigan State-Notre Dame biggest game in rivalry since 1966 tie
• ESPN: Notre Dame WR Torii Hunter Jr. (concussion) expects to play vs. Michigan State
• Football Matters: Reliving the game of the century: Michigan State vs. Notre Dame
• Fox Sports: Notre Dame legend Ara Parseghian is still made about the Michigan State tie 50 years ago
• Fox Sports: Michigan State can earn the respect its fans desperately want with a win over Notre Dame
• The Game 730AM: Is Michigan State-Notre Dame rival respectful instead of bitter? Dantonio says, ‘I’ll let you know after this weekend’
• Impact89fm: Notre Dame in the light of a friend, not a foe
• Inside the Irish: And in the corner…the Michigan State Spartans
• Irish Illustrated: Torii Hunter Jr. ‘confident’ in MSU return
• Irish Sports Daily: BK transcript 9/13
• Irish Sports Daily: Video: Players talk MSU
• Irish Sports Daily: Coleman confident and ready for MSU
• Irish247: Notre Dame looking to match Michigan State’s toughness
• Irish247: Kizer ready for matchup of Midwest ‘powerhouses’
• Irish247: Notre Dame’s Torii Hunter Jr. expects to play against Michigan State
• Irish247: McGlinchey on ND-MSU: ‘It’s why you play college football.’
• Irish247: Nothing but respect from Onwualu towards the Spartans
• iSportsWeb: Why MSU will beat Notre Dame
• Lansing State Journal: East Lansing legend Randy Kinder still true to Notre Dame
• MLive: 5 things to watch: Suspect secondaries, new faces in Michigan State-Notre Dame
• ND.edu: Football weekend events: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
• ND Insider: Notre Dame WR Torii Hunter Jr. “fairly confident” he’ll play against Michigan State
• ND Insider: Video: Can Notre Dame’s defense do enough against Michigan State?
• ND Insider ($): Michigan State QB Tyler O’Connor looking to prove himself against Notre Dame
• One Foot Down: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State: The battle for the megaphone
• One Foot Down: Twittermania: Michigan State week
• One Foot Down: 5 things to know about the Michigan State Spartans
• The Only Colors: Make plays – An ode to Mike Valenti’s 2006 MSU-Notre Dame rant
• Pride of Detroit: Exclusive interview: Golden Tate talks MSU vs. Notre Dame, Lions offense and pregame spaghetti
• Spartan Avenue: Michigan State football: Getting to know Notre Dame
• Spartan Avenue: Depth chart notes vs. Notre Dame
• Spartan Avenue: 5 players who will break out vs. Notre Dame
• The Sports Bank: #18 Notre Dame football: Game preview vs. #12 Michigan State
• The State: 5 takeaways from MSU football’s Tuesday press conference
• UHND: Spartan offense preview
• UHND: Plenty for Notre Dame to work on before Michigan State
• UND: These Irish know Spartans
• UPI: Michigan State Spartans-Notre Dame Fighting Irish: College football game preview

2016 TEAM

• Irish247: Preparation not an issue for this year’s Notre Dame team
• Irish247: Irish captains, Kizer talk to media

OFFENSE

• CSN Chicago: Notre Dame’s offensive line working to meet lofty expectations
• Irish Illustrated ($): The telling turnover tale
• Irish Illustrated: Kizer won’t concede vertical pass game
• Irish Sports Daily: Kizer leaning on experience
• Irish247: Kelly on Kizer: He gives you a shot to win every game
• Irish247 ($): Top three strengths, concerns for Irish offense
• Irish247: Notre Dame football tight ends ‘fine’ despite limited involvement as receivers
• ND Insider: Video: Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer: ‘We do want to push the ball vertically’
• UND: Mike McGlinchey: Things I know

DEFENSE

• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame defensive success still begins with stopping the run
• Irish Sports Daily: James Onwualu: A trademark for transition
• Irish247: Jeff Burris playing role as mentor for Irish defense
• Irish247 ($): Top three strengths, concerns for Notre Dame’s defense
• ND Insider: Notebook: Jeff Burris making impression on Cole Luke, Notre Dame secondary
• Slap the Sign: In praise of Daniel Cage, Notre Dame’s not-really breakout star

RECRUITING

• Blue & Gold Illustrated ($): Junior defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher is a versatile prospect
• Blue & Gold Illustrated ($): 2018 Rivals250 LB Dallas Gant returning to Notre Dame this weekend
• Blue & Gold Illustrated ($): 2018 LB commit Ovie Oghoufo ready to see first Notre Dame game
• Blue & Gold Illustrated ($): The Hot Board: Offensive skill positions
• Irish Sports Daily ($): In the film room: Jeremiah Holloman
• Irish Sports Daily ($): Work ethic sets Ahmed apart
• Irish247 ($): Devine calls Notre Dame visit ‘amazing’
• UHND: Notre Dame football recruiting visits vs. Michigan State

SCHEDULE

• WSB-TV: 2017 Georgia football schedule includes trip to Notre Dame

LAST GAME: NOTRE DAME 39, NEVADA 10

• Irish Illustrated ($): Beyond the numbers
• Irish Illustrated ($): I have 64 things to say

BASKETBALL

• Blue & Gold Illustrated: Notre Dame goes in-home with Darryl Morsell, previews official visit
• Irish Sports Daily: Top 2018 hoops recruit making 4th ND visit
• ND Insider: Elite guard prospect Katlyn Gilbert commits to Notre Dame women’s hoops

MISC.

• Irish Sports Daily ($): The back corner fade
• ND Insider: Chat transcript: Talk Notre Dame football with Eric Hansen

The post Morning Roundup: Sept. 15, 2016 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

For the Irish: #9 Malik Zaire (Sr.) and #14 DeShone Kizer (Jr.)

SportsCrack apparel

While either Malik Zaire or DeShone Kizer will take the first snap against Texas on Sept. 4, the Irish ostensibly don’t have a fixed starter.

Coach Brian Kelly announced Aug. 17 that both would play in the opening game.

“We are best prepared to beat Texas by playing both DeShone and Malik,” said Kelly. “If I list our top five playmakers, they are in it. So my ultimate decision was I couldn’t put one of those guys on the sideline against Texas. As it relates to running the offense, the offense is seamless when one of them would come out of the game. There’s not a big change when one is in versus the other. There’s play call differences, but that doesn’t require much change at all. And then there are some situational down and distance and field position consideration that will go into that, as well. This is not a first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter, one guy plays the first and third and one guy plays the second and fourth.”

The shorthand on Kizer is that he is the more accurate passer (with the weaker arm), an adequate runner, a proven winner and a better known entity. Zaire has a smaller body of work, but has a stronger arm and is almost as accurate as Kizer. He’s an exceptional runner and a real headache for opposing defensive coordinator when the play breaks down and he improvises.

This January, Irish Elvis and I debated who should start at quarterback. You can read our arguments for Zaire and Kizer, as well as a hypothetical about Brandon Wimbush.

While I personally prefer Kizer, I’ve long said that I want the quarterback who can give the Irish the best opportunity to win as many games as possible. Kelly thinks playing both of them increases his chances of beating Texas and I trust his judgment.

Credit: CFB Film Room

For the Enemy: #15 Brad Kaaya (Jr.)

Credit: Miami Herald

After starting under center for the Hurricanes for two years, Brad Kaaya is being showered with pre-season accolades.

The 6-foot-4, 215 pound signal caller is a preseason Heisman favorite, on the Manning Award watch list, named to All-ACC preason teams and mentioned when quarterbacks in the 2017 NFL draft are discussed.

Kaaya’s 2015 campaign was certainly impressive. He completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,238 yards and 16 touchdowns. He threw just five interceptions. With new coach Mark Richt, himself a former quarterback, calling the shots in Coral Gables, many expect Kaaya to improve in his junior campaign.

Here’s the book on Kaaya: He’s an experienced player who is good at reading through his progressions and making the right call. Kaaya appears perfectly comfortable in the pocket. When facing pressure last year, CFB Film Room says he took off running less than 1 percent of the time.

I watched three of his games last year – Cincinnati, Clemson and Virginia Tech – and was struck by two things. His receivers last year dropped a lot of balls. And Kaaya tends to airmail his throws when he misses. On the whole, I felt he was pretty careful with the football. I thought he showed quick decision making and wasn’t afraid to take what the defense was giving him. That limited the sacks during a season where the offensive line showed real holes. Kaaya’s accuracy suffered when he was pressured, so getting in the seasoned QB’s face is going to be a must to limit his effect on the game.

Half of Notre Dame’s opponents this year will be breaking in new quarterbacks. Kaaya is a unique exception in that he’s already started 25 games. While I don’t personally think he’s worth all the preseason hype, he is – by far – the quarterback on the Irish’s schedule who concerns me the most.

Credit: CFB Film Room

The post Quarterback: Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Kelly was ranked in the top 10 of all 128 FBS coaches in two separate publications Tuesday. Athlon Sports, which boasts an online readership in excess of 1 million readers annually, chose Kelly as the 10th best coach. The Sporting News, which has covered college football since before the second World War, put Kelly at #9.

Here’s what Athlon said:

The Fighting Irish just missed out an appearance in the College Football Playoff last season, but Kelly has the program on stable ground and poised for another run at the top four in 2016. Since taking over in South Bend in 2010, Kelly is 55-23 at Notre Dame, including an appearance in the BCS National Championship game in 2012. The Fighting Irish have won at least eight games in each of Kelly’s seasons at the helm and finished No. 11 in the Associated Press poll last year. Winning at a high level at different programs is nothing new for Kelly.

From 1991-03, Kelly went 118-35-2 at Grand Valley State, including back-to-back Division II titles (2002-03). Additionally, he went 19-16 in three years at Central Michigan (2004-06) and 34-6 at Cincinnati from 2004-06. Kelly is a proven winner at four different jobs and clearly has a place among the top 15 coaches in the nation.

Here’s what the Sporting News said:

Last Year: 11
Record: 55-23 (108-45)
Lowdown: Give Kelly credit. He’s the steadiest presence the Irish have had on the sideline since Lou Holtz, and he’s coming off his second double-digit win season. He’s still just 11-12 against ranked teams. He’ll test that against the same tough schedule in 2016.

Athlon and The Sporting News both considered Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher, TCU’s Gary Patterson, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Ohio State’s Urban Meyer and Alabama’s Nick Saban to be better than Kelly. Athlon also ranked David Shaw ahead of Kelly, while the Sporting News had Stanford’s head coach at #11 – behind LSU’s Les Miles. (Miles was #25 at Athlon, so there’s quite a discrepancy there.)

Here are the coaches Kelly will face in 2016 and their respective rankings:

The post Experts: Brian Kelly is Among Ten Best College Coaches appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Think of all those stories you hear about Notre Dame fans growing up and knowing nothing but the love of Our Lady’s University and a closet full of blue and gold. That’s me and Rangers baseball.

People my age have fuzzy, fond memories of the final years of the Lou Holtz era. I had the end of Nolan Ryan’s career. You’d often find me out in the backyard trying to pitch my own no-hitter and become his successor.

I’ve been a Rangers fan for nearly three decades. My ND fandom/obsession is only just now starting it’s second. What I’ve witnessed as a fan of both has been remarkably similar.

If history starts for both teams when I became a fan (late 80’s for Rangers, 2003 for ND), both would be filled with absolutely terrible results with the occasional glimmer of hope. The two Weis BCS bowl appearances were the 1996, 1998, and 1999 AL West Division Championships. The postseason games of those years might as well have been a mirror of each other as the Rangers only managed one win against the Yankees in all three divisional series. The hope of victory went right out the window once the games commenced.

I’m not sure I have a Notre Dame comparison for the 2010 and 2011 World Series appearance. In 2010, Rangers fans were simply happy to be there. Sure it sucked that the Giants handed us our lunch, but we got to see the Rangers in the World Series before we died–something none of us thought possible. 2011, and in particular game 6, is the lowest of the absolute lows of my sports fandom that has no comparison.

Not even the ass-kicking the Irish received at the hands of Alabama in the BCS Championship could compare. Oh, sure, it was terrible and definitely ranks quite high on the “ow my balls” terrible sports moments in my life; however, there was no doubt what the result of that disaster was going to be mid-way through the first half (and probably sooner to be honest). The Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series.

Twice.

I held a bottle of champagne in my hand when Nelson Cruz managed to turn a routine fly ball into a David Freese triple. To be more accurate, I was practically uncorking the thing once I saw the ball go off the bat. I went from pacing anxiously around the living room to falling to my knees in despair once the ball sailed past Cruz’s glove.

Despair gave way to hope when Josh Hamilton blasted a two-run homerun in the top of the 10th. The Cardinals were again on the ropes and managed to scrap a run together. I still felt confident though, surely they wouldn’t tie it again. Again, down to their last strike, future Ranger Lance Berkman did just that. An inning later, Freese sent a Mark Lowe pitch sailing over the wall to win the game.

That’s devastation you can’t put into words. My wife tried to console me, as a lifelong Cubs fan, she knew heartbreak, but her comparison of the Steve Bartman game six to this just wasn’t even close.

And to any Cubs fan reading this getting pissed, yeah, I know that game sucked and the Cubs have been terrible for longer than the Rangers entire existence. However, after Moises Alou threw his fit in front of one his own fans, the Cubs were still up 3-0 and at best there would have only been two outs (and this is in the NLCS by the way). Prior walked Luis Castillo, the man that hit the foul ball. Alex Gonzalez managed to screw up a double play ball that should have ended the inning (seriously, how do Cubs fans not give him the Bartman or even Buckner treatment?). The Cubs still had a two run lead at that point until Derek Lee chased Mark Prior out of the game with a game-tying double then the floodgates opened.

That entire inning was just a gigantic collapse. The Rangers managed to bounce back from their horrible moment of outfield play only to watch a championship slip away once again.

All this is a very long way of fast-forwarding to 2014 and the current situation the Rangers find themselves in now. Slated as playoff contender, it looked like this squad a decent chance to try a make another run at things. If you remember, in a previous Roundup, things weren’t going so well. The injury situation hasn’t gotten much better as the Rangers seem to be going through players like toilet paper at this point.

A team that once had the best record in the American League, still leads the league in shutouts, and has the AL batting leader (Adrian Beltre) now has the worst record in baseball. Just as I thought the Rangers found rock bottom Wednesday night when the Astros completed a sweep against ace Yu Darvish, the Rangers game right back and got demolished by the Angels 15-6. 13 of those runs were scored in three innings and all given up by starter Colby Lewis–a new Rangers record in futility.

Ron Washington lit up the team last night in a 30-minute closed door furry in response. I fired up Hell’s Kitchen from the DVR instead of watching another disaster.

I’ve never witnessed a team get so ravished by injuries. I’ve never seen a team sink so low, so hard, so fast. I’ve never seen a group of “fans” react so illogically to it as well, Notre Dame fans included. For this group of idiots, the blame for this lies squarely at the feet of GM John Daniels who “forced out” figurehead Nolan Ryan from the front office.

They know this is true because their gut tells them so and a retired local sports writer loves pushing that narrative every chance he gets.

All I can hope is that this snake-bitten season is one gigantic sacrifice for 2014 ND football glory. Between the disaster on the field and dealing with terrible fans, I’ve hit rock bottom myself in baseball fandom. This was a lot easier to take when the Rangers just flat-out sucked to begin with.

The offseason can’t end soon enough.

The Roundup

Here’s a football reason for why this offseason needs to end. Johnny Football-watch has reached critical mass.

Jesus, take the wheel. Or the scooter equivalent.

Add Southern Cal to the list of teams tinkering with their uniform. It’s a small change, but a change nonetheless.

ND has a new sideline reporter. The 411 you are looking for is here.

As we’ve mentioned before, Ricky Watters is back in school. ESPN’s Matt Fortuna has done a great piece on Ricky’s mission to complete his degree.

And now your moment of Nix… Mark Richt has lost control of the Star Wars universe and it has invaded his campus. No, seriously, one of his players made a Star Wars tribute and he makes a cameo and does nothing (h/t: WithLeather):

[youtube id=”nsJU5Ebka44″]

The Booze

When sports disaster strikes, there is only one choice. Bourbon. Lots of bourbon.

The post Friday Roundup: The “I Hope This Is a Sacrifice for ND Football” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.