A Notre Dame Football Blog
The offseason is behind us. We have passed through the barren wilderness wasteland, and before us stretches the verdant Field Turf plain of lush college football goodness. Each week in this space, I'll keep tabs on 2014 Notre Dame opponents, their strength-of-schedule, and who they're playing. For those of who want to scout future opponents, or who just can't get enough college football, I'll take my best guess as to what you should watch when you're not watching Notre Dame Football. ...
Who To Watch Ohio State at Michigan (Sat 12:00 pm ET ABC) Don't shoot the messenger, but this game has a couple storylines that may be worth your consideration once the tryptophan wears off. Will Urban Meyer be 24-0 without a shot at the national title? Can the Michigan offense achieve positive rushing yardage? Is there a meteor headed straight for Ann Arbor? We hope the answer to all three is "yes". ...
Who To Watch Arizona State at UCLA (Sat 7:00pm ET Fox) This weekend's football slate is lacking on a variety of levels -- The Great SEC is squaring off against the formidable mid-November tomato cans, there's a dearth of top-25 matchups, and we have 2 weeks of ND Football remaining this year. Soak it up, people...nothing gold can stay. I'm throwing up ASU vs. UCLA for your consideration because this is actually ND's strongest win to date. I was surprised to see the Sun Devils ranked sixth ...
Who To Watch Oregon at Stanford (Thu 9:00pm ET ESPN) Get your weekend off to an early start tonight. I don't think the Cardinal can hang with Oregon on either side of the ball, and should ND manage to win at Palo Alto, will probably decrease the impact of that achievement. Harrumph. On Saturday, BYU and Wisconsin will make for an intriguing afternoon matchup. Learn the name Kyle Van Noy, people...he's going to cause some problems. ...
Who To Watch Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech (Sat 7:00pm ET ESPNU) Stanford & BYU are off this week, so by default you should watch ND's next opponent once ND-Navy concludes. The Panthers haven't exactly impressed this season, but next week's road game should test the mettle of our team and fanbase. One can also hope that a meteor also hits East Lansing Saturday afternoon and leaves no survivors. ...
Who To Watch Pittsburgh at Navy (Sat 1:00pm ET CBS Sports Network) This game is on the same channel just before the ND-Air Force game (fair warning: CBS Sports Network ≠ CBS), so use this as your pregame test to see whether your cable operator and/or bar carries the game. Traditional fans will love seeing back-to-back games featuring option offenses and fullbacks. If the spread offense is more to your liking, opt for BYU on Friday or Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech on Saturday. ...
Who To Watch UCLA at Stanford (Sat 3:30pm ET ABC/ESPN2) The ND opponent slate isn't exactly compelling this week, so enjoy this aperitif before our primetime matchup. Stanford wide receiver Ty Montgomery is already giving me nightmares with his special teams play and ability to make people miss in the secondary. ...
Who To Watch Stanford at Utah (Sat 6:00pm ET Pac-12 Network) Stanford is the highest-ranked remaining opponent for Notre Dame, so it makes sense this game would be palatable, if only you can find the Pac-12 Network on your cable subscription. The Cardinal look vulnerable at times but look to maintain their unblemished record in Salt Lake City. If you need a little Thursday Night MACtion schadenfreude, watch Rich Rodriguez match up with the ghost of Lane Kiffin. ...
Who To Watch Washington at Stanford (Sat 10:00pm ESPN) Pitt and SC are off this week (and Lane Kiffin has the rest of the year off), so after the conclusion of the ND-ASU game you can feast your eyes on the top-10 ranked Stanford team. This is the second week I'm recommending a Pac-12 matchup, and will either give you an opportunity to see ND's toughest remaining opponent in action after a win...or lament another loss following the Disaster In Dallas (can I trademark this?). Full ...
Trying something new here -- let me know in the comments if/how you like it. Each week, we'll look at Notre Dame's strength of schedule (SOS) in context with their opponents'. I'm curating data from Jeff Sagarin, one of the BCS inputs for strength-of-schedule calculation. As you may notice, starting this week Notre Dame heads into a very tough portion of their schedule, facing squads who have been tested early. SOS ...