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; ...
Ohio State
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, ...
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 ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Being Generous
In this season of giving, in what I’m told is now a Year of Mercy, the Alumni Association is giving away lanterns to people who “Be the Light.” I’m not sure if this is a command, a wish, or slang. But vague grammar aside, it is a very nice idea to send lanterns to those who light up your days and nights. I would have loved it if someone had sent me a lantern or two around Christmas of 1842 – my log cabin was quite dark and things growled outside the door at night, seeking entry and food. I have ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Candid Dates
There’s been a lot of talk in the last few days about the debate among the candidates who want to be President. I was President and I didn’t have to debate anybody for the position – I just had to buy the land, build the buildings, bring in students, burn it down, start over…you know, those sort of things. When I retired, I became Superior General so I could give the President orders. I highly recommend this course of action to those seeking higher office. The only debate I had while I was ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Bad Ideas
Like the icicle that starts to form at the corner of the roof, it slowly grows until it’s a heavy, sharp, pointed thing that will impale you without warning. It was fascinating to behold at one time, but it became a lethal sculpture that plunged through the window and left your room cold and wet. This icicle is a metaphor for a Very Bad Idea, and many of them are forming at this time of year. Not surprising that an athletic conference, the source and summit of bad ideas, is the water ...
Friday Roundup: The “Can We Keep the NFL Out of This?” Edition
After watching the Dallas Cowboys get bounced from the playoffs after a strange overturn of a Dez Bryant catch (cue Detroit Lions fans laughing at me), I figured I had enough NFL hijinks for the rest of the year. Instead, I've been treated to two solid weeks of a 2 PSI deflation in footballs as well as HOT TAKES on Marshawn Lynch's interview skills. For something so dumb, I have the usual reaction, but the NFL actually managed to make some headlines this week that had potential college football ...
RECORDING: National Title Preview on the Friday Roundup with Jack Jorgensen and Ramzy Nasrallah
Before the Oregon and Ohio State do battle to decide the national champion of the first ever College Football Playoff, be sure to check out the recent recording of the Friday Roundup. I bring in two guests to help preview the game as well as giving my own take and prediction on the affair. Jack Jorgensen, the lead college sports editor for Fansided.com, helps me preview the Oregon Ducks and #HLSRecapMadness champion and managing partner of ElevenWarriors.com, Ramzy Nasrallah, gives his insight ...