With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014, we -- the Elvii of college football -- have joined together to present our weekly playoff nominations to keep the selection committee honest. We call it the TCB Poll. ...
Ohio State
Notre Dame's Tarean Folston (25) runs into the end zone against Nevada's Alex Bertrando (56) at Notre Dame Stadium, Saturday, September 10, 2016 in South Bend. Tribune Photo/ BECKY MALEWITZ
Morning Roundup: Sept. 13, 2016
Secondary questions abound. Michigan State is an enigmatic team. Notre Dame releases it hoops schedule for the upcoming season. These stories and many more from the past 24 hours. ...
Here is Every Notre Dame Football Game on YouTube*
Here is a playlist of every Notre Dame football game available on YouTube, as of today. There's about 500 games here, dating all the way back to 1913. ...
(Featured photo: John Mersitis/Landov)
What Should The Yearly Expectations Be For ND Football?
What is good enough for Notre Dame? I was a child of the Lou Holtz years, when Notre Dame was in the hunt for a national title almost every season. That has not been the case at any point since Holtz left. In this article, I'm going to look at some of the stated "hurdles" and determine if they're relevant. Then, I'm going to answer: What is a reasonable expectation for Notre Dame football on an annual basis? Schedule “We won nine games two years out of the five. I think the difficulty is ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Hell-ucinations
Students at Indiana University saw a Dominican priest and thought he was a Ku Klux Klansman. This is not a joke. Oh, how I wish this really were a joke. They saw his Rosary and thought it was a whip. Since most students at Indiana University didn’t attend Catholic grade school or high school, how would they ever know that a Rosary can be used very effectively as a whip? A priest wearing the white habit of his order – an order that’s been around for roughly 800 years, represented in art, ...
Notre Dame Football, The Organization – Part 2
If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, do that now. In Part 2, we’re comparing numbers. To start, how has Notre Dame compared on the recruiting trail to its direct market competitors? (In Part 1 we defined the market as Ohio State, Michigan, Stanford and USC) Using 247sports.com composite team rankings, here are the ranks for each recruiting class: * Stanford only signed 13 players in 2013. I think the rankings draw out what we all probably thought to be true: Notre Dame and Stanford are peers; ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Bad Question
Last weekend was that big football game which millions ignore to watch everything else that goes on around it. A lot of defense was played and a quarterback of mature years seemingly concluded his career on a high note. One of the several occurrences that people found more interesting than the game itself was the press conference during which the defeated quarterback was laconic, surly, and dismissive before dismissing himself from the press conference. I’m told this fellow attended no fewer ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Burned after Reading
Dear Playoff Selection Cabal Committee: I lodged a complaint with you last year when you began this sinister manipulation of the national treasure that is the venerable college football tradition. You fared somewhat well with your collusory scheme in your first attempt, though I suspect this had more to do with the sort of benighted luck visited upon a broken analogue clock that succeeds in telling accurate time in two minutes out of the 24-hour day. With this year’s shambolic farce, though, ...
Notre Dame’s Jaylon Smith (9) leaps over Boston College’s Myles Willis (23) as QB Jeff Smith (5) passes during the second half of the Notre Dame-Boston College NCAA football game on Nov. 21. SBT Photo/ROBERT FRANKLIN
Apples to Oranges: Fiesta Bowl Defensive Preview
When the Irish and the Buckeyes take the field this Friday, the two offenses may be fairly similar with perhaps a slight edge going to the Irish, but the game's eventual outcome will be more a tale of how each side's defense handles these two explosive offenses. The season-long numbers provide a distinct edge to Ohio State. Let's consider how each team ranks nationally in several important categories (actual value in parentheses): Simply put: the numbers strongly favor Ohio State. Whether ...
Apples to Apples: How the Two Offenses Compare
When the Buckeyes and the Irish square off on New Year's Day in the Fiesta Bowl, two very similar offenses will take the field. Both teams finished in the middle of the College Football Playoff Top Ten, with OSU at six and Notre Dame at seven. Both teams have evolved away from their roots as i-formation, run the damn ball first-style offenses. The purpose of this piece is to let you decide how similar they really are. Coming into the Fiesta Bowl, the Buckeyes finished the season 11-1, with ...