Last night, you watched The Oscars.

This morning, for your consideration and viewing pleasure, we present the Top Fifteen Plays of the Brian Kelly Years.

@SupermanTDJesus helped with this project. I am grateful for his technical abilities and efficiency.

Let’s face it, though. There have been a lot of plays in five seasons of football. And, if we’re being honest, a lot of booze chased away the memory of the bad ones. These are the plays that have remained through it all. Through all the “Tommy NOOOO!” moments and through all the turnovers in 2014. These are the plays we can’t forget. Some were season-changing or -defining. Others were just plain incredible. So without further ado, if will, please:

15. C.J. Prosise versus Georgia Tech, 2015
The scene is a gorgeous sunny day at Notre Dame and the Irish are tangling with the Wrambling Wreck. The game was a defensive clinic by the Irish, but on O, C.J. Prosise was the man. This 91 yard run from scrimmage was one of three touchdowns he would score that day.

14. Jaylon Smith versus U.S.C., 2013
Remember when Jaylon was a freshman? This play was our entrée to his once-in-a-generation talent, as he covered fifteen hectares in four strides.

13. Stephon Tuitt versus Michigan, 2013
This play has everything you could want. A pick-six against Michigan. A diving Stephon Tuitt. A shockingly bad decision by a Michigan quarterback.

12. Tommy Rees to Robby Toma versus Purdue, 2012
Who would have thought the Purdue game would be the epic win that it was? A loss would have landed the Irish outside the Championship. This play, a third-and-ten conversion, set up the win.

11. Everett Golson “Superman” versus Purdue, 2012
Continuing the theme, this touchdown, though initially uncalled, made Rees and Golson to scoring what Lennon and McCarthy were to song-writing.

10. DeShone Kizer to Will Fuller versus USC, 2015
Of all the Kizer-to-Fuller moments, this is one of the brightest. Watch him torch Adorée Jackson. Looks like 4.32 speed to me.

9. Josh Adams versus Wake Forest, 2015
Longest run from scrimmage. True freshman. Fourth on the depth-chart.

8. Tommy Rees to TJ Jones versus Stanford, 2012
Did you think you’d see this much Tommy Rees on this list? It’s TJ Jones who makes the play.

7. Stephon Tuitt versus Navy, 2012
You knew 2012 would be a special season when we handed Navy its worse loss since Savo Island. This play, a scoop and score by Stephon Tuitt, showcased his NFL-caliber talent and set his team up for a run to the Championship.

6. CJ Sanders versus Stanford, 2015
“When the team is up against it, and the breaks are beating the boys…” you look for plays like this. Sure, the Irish ended up losing the game, but this was one for the ages.

5. Dayne Crist to Kyle Rudolph versus Michigan, 2010
There’s a reason Kyle Rudolph plays on Sundays. This is it.

4. Everett Golson to Chris Brown versus Oklahoma, 2012
One of the brightest plays under the brightest lights, this was the moment the relevance returned.

3. DeShone Kizer to Will Fuller versus Virginia, 2015
Rarely does a season turn on one play, but 2015 did. This is that play.

2. The D-line versus Stanford, 2012
“The Stand.”

1. Louis Nix, III versus Notre Dame, 2014
 Best call ever.

The post Top Fifteen Plays of the Kelly Years appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

via Indystar.com

As andrewwinn mentioned in his daily Morning Roundup, some eyebrows were raised with Ben Koyack was the only Notre Dame player selected in the 2015 NFL Draft–and in the seventh round at that. While some within ND fandom grew concerned about what this meant for the current talent in the Brian Kelly era, some outside of it saw a golden opportunity to take a lazy potshot at the Irish as the draft wound down:

More picks than Notre Dame

Chattanooga
Delaware
Delaware State
Hobart
Northern Iowa
Samford
SIU
Tennessee State
Texas Southern
Towson

— College Football by SB Nation ? (@SBNationCFB) May 2, 2015

Now, there’s the obvious retort: Notre Dame is returning practically every single starter from 2014. This is certainly true, but would it then follow that the level of talent on the field is so poor that it is in every Irish player’s best interest to remain in South Bend?

Every year, we see many posts showing which school/conference managed to draft the most players. This year, I wanted to go a bit deeper–compare the draft results to recruiting rankings as well as recording the star ratings for each pick and which recruiting class they came from.

To do this, I used recruiting rankings and ratings from 274 Sports (with exception of 2010 team rankings as they weren’t available on 247–Rivals was used). The classes of 2010-2012 were examined as all but four picks came from these classes.

The end goal was to see if there is really any cause for concern for a poor draft class and if any other interesting data points/patterns could be found.

Let’s start with the top schools in terms of NFL draftees and compare them to their recruiting rankings from 2010-2012:

The obvious outlier here is Louisville and they have an outlier within their draft class as well, a 2014 JUCO transfer, James Sample (who originally started at Washington). Sample went in the fourth round and the Cardinals also claimed Mr. Irrelevant, the last pick of the draft, Gerald Christian. Still, that’s quite an impressive haul for Louisville, even though their draft rankings are by far the lowest out of the teams on this list.

Mississippi State, Oregon State, and Arkansas all found themselves with a ranking average in the mid-thirties and tied teams with top ten average rankings. So it certainly seems that your draft class isn’t dependent on recruiting rankings, let’s see how this works the other way with rankings sorted by average recruiting class:

Why hello there, Notre Dame, good to see you sticking out like a sore thumb. So, the talent should certainly be there according to the recruiting rankings. ND isn’t alone with solid recruiting marks and low return on draft picks either.

So is ND not developing their talent or seeing a high number of busts? Not really.

The 2010 class saw a few people drafted last year: Louis Nix, Prince Shembo, and Bennett Jackson. Last year’s draft also took Aaron Lynch (albeit not a true Irish pick, but explains the ranking boost) and Stephon Tuitt from the class of 2011. And as for the 2012 class, no one left early for the draft, although Ronnie Stanley and Sheldon Day certainly could have (and probably Everett Golson too if he really wanted to roll the dice).

And really, we should talk about people leaving early. A lot is made about the young guns in the draft, but only 40 of the 256 picks (~15%) came from the class of 2012 (not including one JUCO in the class of 2012). The class of 2010, meaning the fifth years, were the most drafted class this year pulling down 98 picks (~38%). The class of 2011, some of whom did have another available year, had 92 total picks (~36%).

So a strong senior/fifth year crop is what tends to boost the number of draft picks. So young teams like the Irish tend to not put together impressive draft classes. There was notable exception to this standard and that was Florida State who had four draftees come from the class of 2012.

And what about star power? Is the lack recruiting/retaining five-stars hurting the Irish in the draft?

Again, that doesn’t seem to be the case. As there are so few five-stars overall, there isn’t a round in which they dominate. Not surprisingly, the first round is where you see the most, and this year saw eight former blue-chippers drafted; however, there was at least one five-star taken in every round, even the seventh.

This year, the majority of five-star talent came from the class of 2012 (15 out of 24), giving more credence to the argument that the recent attrition of five-star plays might just be expected. After all, if these guys are really as good as their ratings, they are looking for the best route to maximize their potential and exposure in the least amount of time.

As far as those diamond-in-the-rough players that also get their fair share of love, they actually take up a sizable portion of the draft. 61 players were drafted with a rating of two stars or less–that’s almost a quarter of all the players taken in the draft (23.8% to be more precise). Normally, I’d say that Notre Dame would get roasted for taking players like that in their draft class, but these also include walk-ons and the Irish just so happen to have a walk-on that might have an outside shot at landing on an NFL team next season in Joe Schmidt.

Three-star selections account for the lion’s share of the picks in the draft (~44%) with the class of 2011 (your seniors and redshirt juniors) taking up the largest piece of that pie. This all points once again to a strong, developed senior class being the ticket to a strong draft class.

So yes, it’s certainly great to have the ability to brag post-draft that the guys you were watching on Saturdays will start playing on Sundays, but it certainly isn’t a solid measuring stick year in and year out. With eight players departing in last year’s draft and six the year before that, there was bound to be a gap year for the Irish in the draft.

There were simply too many gaps to fill with a lot of young talent who needed to make their mark on the depth chart rather than the draft. A handful of players could have left early to boost number, but they didn’t.

All of that talent is coming back to play another year for Brain Kelly and we should be nothing but over-the-moon excited about it. Don’t convince yourself that this is a sign that Kelly failed to develop talent. On the contrary, this program unbelievably healthy and continuing to move in the right direction.

Now, should next year’s draft see only one player drafted, something went terribly wrong and I’ll be the first to start screaming that the sky is falling. But for now, take a deep breath and get ridiculously excited for the potential that the 2015 squad has.

The post Only One Notre Dame Draft Pick–Should We Worry? appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

PODCAST

• Irish Illustrated (F): Irish hit spring stride (50:55)
• ND Insider: Podcast: ND Insider recruiting update 4-2 (10:42)

RECRUITING – OFFERED

• Bruin Report Online ($): Video: Lucas at The Opening ( AZ RB Chase Lucas)
• Dawg Post (F): Big get for Dawgs – Price commits ( GA OT E.J. Price)
• Irish247 (F): Robinson, family excited about Notre Dame offer ( KY CB Davonte Robinson)
• Irish Turning Point: The buzz buzz
• Scout (F): Offers coming in for Ulmer, Robinson ( KY CB Davonte Robinson)
• Scout ($): 4-star TE Angeline planning Penn State return (PA Cary Angeline)
• Scout ($): 4-star TE Angeline gets Michigan fill (PA Cary Angeline)
• Scout ($): ND history on, off field impresses 4-star TE (PA Cary Angeline)
• Scout ($): Fulton likes LSU’s DB track record ( LA CB Kristian Fulton)
• Slap the Sign: Notre Dame offers ’17 Florida offensive lineman Dillan Gibbons
• USC Football.com: Trevon Sidney steals the show ( CA CB, also CA WRs Tyler Vaughns and Dylan Crawford)

RECRUITING – ND INTERESTED, NO OFFER

• Big Red Report (F): Brendan Scales talks about Nebraska offer ( MO TE)
• Big Red Report (F): D.J. Morgan adds Nebraska offer ( CA S)
• Irish Illustrated ($): LaBruna visits dream school (CA QB Andrew LaBruna, no rating yet)
• Scout ($): Alloway has two on top ( CA WR Damian Alloway)
• Show Me Mizzou ($): Mizzou offer for Scales ( MO TE Brendan Scales)

CURRENT TEAM

• CSN Sportsnet Chicago: Notre Dame won’t be surprised by Will Fuller’s growth
• Inside the Irish: Opportunities await Notre Dame’s running backs
• Inside the Irish: Spring practice breakdown: A look inside (finally!)
• Irish247 ($): Irish staff navigating through quarterback competition
• Irish247 (F): Denbrock: ‘(QB) is going to be a hard decision to make’
• Irish247 (F): Smythe leads the way for Irish at tight end
• Irish Illustrated (F): From a one in a thousand chance to…
• One Foot Down: Notre Dame football – Spring practice recap for April 1
• Rant Sports: 5 questions for Notre Dame football during 2015 spring practice

COACHING

• CBS Sports: Power Five college football coach rankings: The top 25 (Brian Kelly is #13)
• Irish Illustrated (F): The village voice(s)
• Irish Illustrated (F): Sanford scouting style, substance

IRISH IN THE NFL

• Bleacher Report (Monaco): Notre Dame football: DaVaris Daniels, Kendall Moore eye NFL careers
• ESPN: Atlanta Falcons waive safety Zeke Motta
• Irish247 (F): Daniels ready for next step
• Irish247 (F): Boosting draft stock was Koyack’s Pro Day focus
• Irish Turning Point: Pro Day results
• State of the Texans (F): Vince Wilfork is “here for Houston” (Louis Nix)

MISC.

• USA Today: College football playoff will keep weekly rankings

The post Morning Roundup: April 3, 2015 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

As I watched the NFL draft over the last few days, I thought about the eight young Fighting Irish men who now know where their immediate futures will be taking them.  Who now take the knowledge, skills and values that they have learned at Our Lady’s University and will have a chance to shine with the best of them.

Eight men from the University of Notre Dame were selected in this years NFL Draft, tied for second with Alabama who also had eight men drafted, and only one behind LSU who had nine men drafted. This is the second year in a row that LSU had the most players selected in the NFL draft.

Here’s your Notre Dame Draft scorecard:

Round 1, Pick 16 – Zach Martin to the Dallas Cowboys

Round 2, Pick 14 – Stephon Tuitt to the Pittsburgh Steelers

Round 2, Pick 20 – Troy Niklas to the Arizona Cardinals

Round 3, Pick 19 – Louis Nix to the Houston Texans

Round 3, Pick 25 – Chris Watt to the San Diego Chargers

Round 4, Pick 39 – Prince Shembo to the Atlanta Falcons

Round 6, Pick 11 – Bennett Jackson to the NY Giants

Round 6, Pick 13 – TJ Jones to the Detroit Lions

I am so proud of these young men that will now go on to represent Our Lady’s University both on and off the field. They will showcase not only their football skills, but their values and character in how they lead their lives as Notre Dame men. And in twenty plus years we will all look forward to reading their “Where are they now?” stories.

Okay, now go give your mom a big hug and thank her for all that she’s done for you!

Cheers & GO Irish!

The post Happy Mother’s Day! appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Saturday saw Coach Mike Brey’s Irish host Duke, Coach Krezyzewwksxyi and All World freak Jabari Parker in Notre Dame’s first ACC conference game. Despite the winter break, Purcell was rocking as CBS brought the circus to town. Things did not go according to script, though, as Coach Brey became the first former Duke assistant to defeat the old master, 79-77. It was an impressive performance for an Irish squad that had been painted as rudderless in the wake of losing Jerian Grant to academic issues.

The Irish triumphed on the strength of a late 20-6 run, dominating inside play from Garrick Sherman, who finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, and just a lights out performance from Eric Atkins, who ended the day with 11 assists and 19 points. Pat Connaughton rocked the iron twice, late, with poster-izing dunks that harkened back to the days of John Starks. The Irish even shut down Duke’s Parker, who was ultimately benched.

Sunday, amid swirling snow, rumors of Stephon Tuitt’s jump to the NFL began to crystalize and were ultimately confirmed on Twitter and online. Despite a pre-Pinstripe Bowl second round draft evaluation, Tuitt joined Louis Nix, III, in moving on to the next level. Welcome to South Bend, Defensive Coordinator Van Gorder!

How big a hole Tuitt’s absence will create remains to be seen, though it’s somewhere between yawning, cavernous, and 6′ 6″ and 312 pounds. Despite overcoming a sports hernia this season, Tuitt managed 7.5 sacks, 13 hurries, 49 tackles, and a sick interception for touchdown against Michigan. Last year, well, forget about it. Tuitt joined the pantheon of Irish defensive greats with 46 tackles, 11 sacks, 9 QB hurries, 1 blocked punt and the greatest fumble recovery and run for touchdown ever.

We couldn’t be happier for Stephon and wish him all the best on Sundays. Forever Irish, baby.

The post ND News: Irish Down Duke, Tuitt Declares appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Yep, this pretty much sums it up. (Screen capture from @SuperManTDJesus)

So where do we even start with Notre Dame’s debacle in Pittsburgh last night?

Perhaps we could start with Tommy Rees. Tommy, quite frankly, had one of his worse games in his career at ND. He may have had 300+ yards through the air, but he did so with a sub-50% completion rate and 2 INTs which may have been two of the worst balls that I’ve ever seen him throw. One of these came in the endzone and when Notre Dame was on Pitt’s 2 yard line no less.

Or perhaps we could point to T.J. Jones’ costly fumble on the door step of the endzone earlier in the game. The game was tied in the early stages of the second quarter and Notre Dame could have likely taken a 14-7 lead. The defense did manage to send Pitt packing on a three and out in the resulting drive and ND did score. Could ND have gone up 21-7 at this point and put Pitt in panic mode?

Or perhaps we should point at the entire defensive line seemingly falling asleep while a fumble bounced around at their feet. There was no whistle on the play and no one moved until the Pitt sideline screamed that the ball was live. Just two weeks earlier, Jaylon Smith, a freshman grabbed a fumble and ran it into the endzone post-whistle.

Maybe the ejection of Stephon Tuitt for playing football targeting (more on that later) was simply too much for the defense to overcome, especially one that is still reeling from multiple injuries.

Was it a poor gameplan? After Folston seemingly grabbed the spotlight, he only saw 4 of Notre Dame’s 23 rushes — T.J. Jones, a wide receiver, got only one less rushing attempt. In comparison, Rees threw 38 times and was sacked once leading to 63% pass on the night.

And despite all that, the Irish still had a chance to steal this game away from Pitt. However, it was simply one mistake after another and the Irish simply couldn’t get out of their own way en route to a 28-21 loss, crushing all remaining hopes for one final shot at a BCS Bowl victory.

There’s plenty of blame to pass around from Rees to Chuck Martin to Brian Kelly (the handling of the final timeouts at the end in particular drove me nuts). And there’s plenty of reason to be angry. The entire performance was one of the worst overall that we’ve seen since Kelly started his tenure at Notre Dame. The Irish lacked the kind of composure that you’d expect from a team that was previously 10-0 in single possession games since 2012. A team that has seen considerable success in November looked like they were in the first couple of weeks in the season.

To be frank, the game was a complete and total disaster. The fact that the Irish even had a shot in this game was more a factor of Pitt being a bad football team than the Irish coming close to overcoming their mistakes. I’m not going to attempt to put a positive spin on this game and say there is a silver lining because there isn’t one for this game.

This is, however, one game. The bigger test for this team in my mind is how Notre Dame and Brian Kelly approach the bye week and BYU.

The last time that I felt this down about Notre Dame was in 2010 when Notre Dame laid an egg against Navy and then followed that up with a soul-crushing loss to Tulsa. Notre Dame had a bye week after those two games and responded by not just upsetting Utah, but winning convincingly. They followed that up with wins against Army and Southern Cal.

I want to see something similar in 2013. I want to see them respond and finish this thing out strong. Come out flat, and I’m going to have some serious concerns.

With all that said, let’s get to the “targeting” that got Tuitt ejected. Here is the rule, direct from the NCAA Rulebook. Rules 9-1-3 and 9-1-4 detail what constitutes a targeting personal foul. 9-1-4 is likely the rule you’re most familiar with as it details a dangerous hit to a defensive player:

No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow or shoulder. When in question, it is a foul (Rules 2-27-14 and 9-6).

Now what’s a defenseless player?

Note 2: Defenseless player (Rule 2-27-14):

•  A player in the act of or just after throwing a pass.

•  A receiver attempting to catch a pass, or one who has completed a catch and has not had time to protect himself or has not clearly become a ball carrier.

• A kicker in the act of or just after kicking a ball, or during the kick or the return.

• A kick returner attempting to catch or recover a kick.

• A player on the ground.

• A player obviously out of the play.

• A player who receives a blind-side block.

• A ball carrier already in the grasp of an opponent and whose forward progress has been stopped.

• A quarterback any time after a change of possession.

So, a quarterback running is not defenseless. That leaves 9-1-3 which states:

No player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet. When in question, it is a foul. (Rule 9-6)

And this is where the refs both on the field and in the booth were convinced that Tuitt did. The problem though is that Tuitt leads with his shoulder while Savage is still upright. Tuitt has to do this because he’s a giant in comparison and he must do so in order to make proper contact (yes, what he did isn’t perfect tackling form, but he still has to duck down). Not only that, Tuitt puts his head at a 45-degree angle in relation to Savage’s body as well — again, he wants the hit to be his shoulder, not his head.

When Savage sees Tuitt coming, he ducks his head down, at a 45-degree angle away from Tuitt’s, but in doing so leads it directly towards Tuitt’s head. Yet somehow, Tuitt is flagged and ejected for being the one that “led” with his helmet. There is no way that this is ejection worthy.

What really drives me nuts is that, even if the refs say it’s “the letter of the law”, Amir Carlisle suffered an actual targeting violation that wasn’t called. Amir dropped a pass and was immediately speared by a defender that 100% led with the crown of his helmet, yet there was no flag.

This rule is an absolute joke and needs to be seriously shored up if they are considering letting it live past this season. There is too much left to interpretation, going as far to say “if in doubt, throw the flag” which puts the referees in an awful spot. When they throw that flag because “welp, it was close!” then the booth has to find indisputable evidence to overturn the ejection.

It’s a ridiculous standard and adds even more frustration to an already infuriating loss.

The post Snap Judgment: Pitt appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

To refresh, here’s how ND started to assign players to defend the option after the 2010 disaster in the Meadowlands:

1. FB Dive (Blue) – The DE and NG function as true interior DTs and attack the A-gaps that they line up over to stuff the dive.
2. QB Keeper (Red) – The Cat and DE get to the outside of the tackle and either make a play on the QB, force him back inside to the waiting safeties in second level support, or force a pitch.
3. Pitch to RB (Yellow) – The outside Will and Dog LBs contain the RB (or “pitch-man”), ensuring they are never beaten to the outside. As soon as they see the pitch, they attack the RB. The CBs serve as additional outside containment.
4. Manti Te’o (Orange) – Read the play and attempt to disrupt in the backfield if possible

While options #1-3 take care of the usual possibilities of the triple option, #4 was where Notre Dame’s defense was truly dangerous. Diaco used Te’o’s natural instincts and superb closing speed to force Navy into mistakes or quicker decisions on what to do with the football.

In 2011, Te’o had 23 tackles combined against Navy and Air Force, with 5 of those being tackles for loss (TFL). In 2012, Navy managed to avoid any Te’o TFL, but Te’o still managed 8 total tackles and 1 INT. As much as Navy tried to avoid Manti, they couldn’t do so completely.

To put it lightly, Diaco leaned on Manti and depended on him for defensive success against the option. So now that Manti’s gone, who fills his role? Or does Diaco go back to the drawing board and use a more traditional scheme without any unique wrinkles?

Personally, I would love to see Jaylon Smith slide inside and get a shot at filling Manti’s role in this kind of defense. He definitely has the raw talent and he demonstrated some impressive instincts against Southern Cal. If you are going to pick one guy from this LB corps to pretend to be Te’o flying to the ball, give me the one with the best instincts and closing speed.

This would give us a front seven that looks like this:

• DT (FB Dive): Rotation of Nix/Day/Schwenke
• DE (QB): Rotation of Shembo/Tuitt/Ishaq/Jones
• OLB (RB): Fox/Calabrese
• MLB (Rover): Smith

All that being said, and as awesome as I think it would be, I seriously doubt Kelly and Diaco would go for that idea. It would be a lot for a freshman to absorb and, if Kelly’s history is any indication, he does seem to favor experience in considering such large moves (remember, Jaylon likely isn’t playing as much as he is if Councell is healthy). So most likely the front seven will look like this:

• DT (FB Dive): Rotation of Nix/Day/Schwenke
• DE (QB): Rotation of Shembo/Tuitt/Ishaq/Jones
• OLB (RB): Fox/Smith
• MLB (Rover): Calabrese

Now, Carlo doesn’t have the same physical tools that Jaylon does, much less Manti. While I think he can do an adequate job in this role, I don’t see him completely filling the void. Because of this, I expect to see a lot more safety help than we are used to seeing. Specifically, look for the Strong Safety (SS), Elijah Shumate, to fill this role, giving almost a 4-4 look to the defense and, in a sense, having two people fill in the Manti void.

This then leaves the Free Safety (FS), Austin Collinsworth, to play “center field” and serve as the last line of defense on any run and ensure no receiver beats the secondary deep should Air Force sneak in a deep pass.

The Irish will most certainly miss Manti in defending the option, but Diaco has more than enough talent on this current squad to compensate.

The post Defending the Option: Who Takes Over for Te’o? appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

The Trojan’s game was going exactly how Mike Garrett hoped it would. Sure, it looked like something resembling a game in the first half, but this second half was a disaster. He could trigger Pat Haden to fire Lane Kiffin and no one would be the wiser. An angry AD after an embarrassing blowout would serve as the perfect cover.

Garrett was anxious. He wanted to launch his plan now, but he knew Haden was surrounded by far too many people associated with USC, people that would be angry if he was spotted in the same zip code as Haden.

Patience, Mike, patience…

He repeated the thought in his head for a fourth quarter that seemed like an eternity. Finally, the long standing torture came to an end. He glanced at his clock and a new thought entered his head

Just thirty more minutes and this will all be over…

All the brainwashing from Jack Swarbrick would be a thing of the past. His vendetta against his biggest rival thwarted. Lane Kiffin would roam the Trojan sidelines no longer after tonight.

Thirty minutes passed and Garrett hit “send” on his phone. The text message was already written by halftime. He knew Haden would at least look at some point in the night. Even though Garrett knew most people in the USC Football program detested him, he always had Haden to at least give him the time of day when no one was looking.

“It’ll all be over soon. It’ll all be over soon.”

Garrett repeated the phrase over and over while rocking back and forth on his couch. He couldn’t wait for this nightmare to end. Perhaps tonight, he would actually sleep.

————————–

Pat Haden slid into his first class seat on the USC charter flight, finally getting a bit of privacy for the first time in hours. He knew Garrett had texted him, but there was no way he was going to check that out in the open.

“Rough game, Pat. Not much I can say about that disaster, but at least I can make you laugh:” with a random YouTube link posted at the end.

Haden put on his headphones and tapped the link on his iPhone. Seconds later, the familiar embarrassing sounds of Freekbass filled his ears. Yes, this would indeed make him laugh. Of all the things that Notre Dame did, he could never figure out why they would put something out this embarrassing and give it their stamp of approval.

But as he continued to watch the video, his eyes shot wide open. Everything was a blur. He was conscious, aware of his surroundings, but it was like he was no longer in control of his body.

The video came to an end and Mike Garrett’s voice filled his ears.

“Pat, listen…”

I am listening…I am awaiting orders…

“…you must fire Lane Kiffin. Do not hesitate, do not even let that man return to campus. He is done. Lane Kiffin is done — this is the best decision for USC.”

The best decision for USC…yes…

“There is no perfect time to fire anyone, but we  just weren’t making the progress you were looking for. Firing him was just a gut feeling.”

It is…my gut feeling…

“You’ll find your coach next season, just let Coach O get the boys motivated again this year. Troy will rise again!”

————————–

The shrill of a phone ring jolted Garrett out of bed. He looked at the clock…1:15 PM. He didn’t just sleep, he slept in and gave his body a full reboot. He could take on the world right now if he wanted, but first the phone.

“Hello?”

“I suppose you are rather proud of yourself, aren’t you, Mike?”

The voice was unmistakable — Jack Swarbrick was on the line and he sounded very annoyed. “You bet I am, Jack! But how in the hell did you get this number?!”

Swarbrick let out a deep sign and replied, “Mike, you haven’t changed your number since your time as AD. I’ve always had it. But let’s get to the point, what in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“What am I doing?! I should ask you the same question!!! Who stoops so low as to try and cripple their rival with brainwashing?! Is that what ND is “fighting for” these days, Jack?” Garrett could help but smile from ear to ear. He outsmarted Jack–no, all of Notre Dame. And he even used a “fighting for” pun. PERFECT! “Lane is fired, Jack. Your plan failed. Hell, my re-programming of Haden didn’t even allow that worthless excuse for a coach back on the bus to campus!”

“So what happens now?”

“Pat Haden will be doing his job without any outside interference, that’s what. I took the high ground here, Jack. I’m not going to brainwash Pat to fit my future wishes for the USC football program. Coach O will take over for now. After that, it’s all up to Pat.”

“Fine,” Swarbrick replied curtly, “have a good day, Mike.”

————————–

“So, is there any concern here, Jack?” Fr. Jenkins asked, staring at his AD with great worry.

“Of course not. As usual, Mike can’t see past his nose. After all, that very characteristic is what allowed him to either miss or ignore the entire Reggie Bush mess that gave us the ground work to proceed with this plan. I mean, what else do you expect from a guy that still hasn’t figured out a newspaper is black, white, and read all over?”

“Point taken, Jack. I take the final phase of the plan is still on track?”

“Of course,” Swarbrick said, unable to contain a grin, “and the beauty is that no one will suspect anything. Mike is convinced this was all about sticking it to Southern Cal, but he hasn’t seen the whole picture. Getting us into the new playoff system while remaining independent, brokering a deal with the ACC, and of course, getting us multiple seats on the playoff football committee even though the public will think we have none. All that’s left is for Brian Kelly to do his job and win.”

“Multiple?!” Fr. Jenkins seemed to be filled with the same worry and dread as he was before, “I thought this was all about Pat, Jack…what have you done?!”

“Forgive me father, for I have sinned by omission of truth. Let me make it up to you with a drink,” said Jack as he walked over to his bar, “I feared if I told you the entire scope that you wouldn’t go along with this. After all it is rather ambitious. But no, Pat, won’t be our only man on the inside.  We’ll also have Tyrone Willingham.” A near evil grin crossed Swarbrick’s lips as he finished mixing a red fizzy concoction in two glasses.

“TY?! Surely, you must be joking.”

“Not in the least,” said Jack as he extended the red drink to Fr. Jenkins, “and make no mistake, he deserves every bit of this too for tarnishing not just our football program, but our good name. No one will ever suspect it. If anything, people will assume we got the raw end of this deal. As an added bonus, Ty will be playing and expensing so much golf now he would never suspect that he’s been…modified.” Swarbrick’s grin transformed into a gigantic smile as he raised his glass, “Here’s to Notre Dame football returning to where we belong.”

After a toast, Fr. Jenkins calmed himself and took a sip. Surely he shouldn’t worry about this, after all his savvy AD seemed to have thought of everything. After the red drink passed his lips though, his train of thought was snapped. What was this wonderful red nectar?!

“Say, Jack, what exactly am I drinking here?”

“Oh this? It’s Trojan Blood. A wonderful beverage that our new associate created. You can come in now,” Jack said, raising his voice just enough to reach the ears of the mysterious man that awaited outside, “You see, now that everything has fallen into place, we need a man on the ground that is fiercely loyal and fears no one. He fought the good fight on the internet for years, but I’ve finally convinced him to retire and work for us. Father, allow me to introduce…The Subway Domer…”

THE END

The Roundup

The playoff committee is now official. I wasn’t joking about Ty being in it either. This is a thing that is happening.

Stephon Tuitt staying next year? In an interview with the Observer, he said he’d be back next year. Brian Kelly, however, encouraged everyone to tap the brakes. Here’s hoping.

It’s breast cancer awareness month. So that means pink gear all over football. By the way, Oregon just trumped everyone forever in this. 

I think motivational pre-game rituals may have jumped the shark. I’m not even sure how this became a ritual…that’s been captured on camera…multiple times.

I haven’t linked Stuffing the Passer enough in here this season. Let’s change that.

And now, your moment of zen…via

[youtube id=”l3qYPGeoA7w”]

Put These Games on Your Radar

Not a bad week for deciding to pick against the spread here at HLS. 6-2 was the result, so I’m going to keep this going and prove it wasn’t a fluke. Once again, my picks are in bold. The list isn’t as big this week as I don’t have a whole lot of lines popping out at me this weekend.

Predictions

Our staff has grown and I thought it was only fair to open up the fun and games to our new staff members. This section just got much, much larger. Let the games begin in earnest.

As a reminder, the standings:

NDTex

I guess I should go with the prediction I put on the air with Irish Impact this week, right?

Here’s how I see this going down: ND plays an ugly first half with USC and wears the Trojans down. As it has all season, the lack of Trojan depth allows the Irish to pull away in the second half.

38-13 ND

Biscuit

Via:

Sweet, sweet victory in the Coliseum last year, and after what felt like 40 years in a drought versus U$C and their cheaters, it finally feels like Notre Dame has the edge here again. Sanctions, poo-poo’d a few years ago by SC fans, and the hiring of freaking Lane Kiffin helped push things along in favor of the Irish. But the Trogans aren’t pushovers by any stretch. Still stocked with talent, and still hating Notre Dame every step of the way.

After a lackluster year where they turned the ball over non-stop, and never seemed to really gel as a team, USC should be ready for the Irish to WHOMP. But it won’t be that easy. New QB but a really talented group, with Lee to throw to. A pretty stout defense, especially up front. Not loving how this game feels this far in advance, but ND isn’t going to allow USC to claw their way back into the series. It’s a tight one though, a grinder with little offense for either side…

ND Wins 13-10

 Not sure what to expect here. Fully believe that Kiffin sucks. But it’s USC.

Bayou Irish

ND wins this one 31-20. USC’s Achilles heel (!) is its Oline and our performance against ASU was but an amuse bouche compared to the performance our boys will have Saturday. It’s redemption time, too, as the Irish get payback for 2011.

Twibby

Amir Carlisle pushes Tommy Rees over the goal line as time expires following a miraculous 4th down gain of 60 yards. Irish win 31-28.

Irish Elvis

1st Quarter: Start Fast
Somewhere, a low-level account executive at Mountain Dew is wondering why sales of Code Red are through the roof this week. #TROJANBLOOD

2nd Quarter: Attention to Detail
ND secondary, please do not lose sight of Marqise Lee. My heart meds can only do so much.

3rd Quarter: Effort & Enthusiasm
The game will be won in the second half, where SC’s lack of depth will begin to show.

4th Quarter: Finish Strong
This game terrifies me, but if you are in the Stadium, channel your hate into crowd volume. ND wins 27-24.

SupermanTDJesus

With Marquise Lee expected to be a full go for this game, look for Kessler to try and stretch the field early and attempt 40+ passes in this game as Tre Madden will still be dealing with a hamstring.

For ND, the run game will be the X factor against USC’s impressive start for the front seven. If the Irish establish the run somehow in this one, it’s over from the start. If not, expect a tough, hard fought game decided in the trenches.

I don’t see ND running amok on the Trojans, but I do see Troy Niklas terrorizing the USC secondary all game. Basically, Troy Burns Troy (headliner anyone?) and the Irish come away with a W. 34-21 ND final score.

ManCaveQB

I think the Ed Orgeron affect has been overblown. SC’s defense, which he still runs, has allowed 93 points over the last two games. ND will be able to score and I expect the BYE week for Notre Dame produces a gameplan featuring Southern Cal transfer Amir Carlisle more prominently. USC has re-discovered their own offensive capabilities of late even in the absence of Marqise Lee and the Trojans will put some points on the board. I think the game turns in the 2nd half where the depleted USC depth chart forces them out of their comfort zone. If I were to guarantee one thing on Saturday to tilt in ND’s favor, it would be the front seven for the Irish winning their battles. The unit hasn’t been the dominant force Irish fans expected but every game I’ve seen of USC shows me their OL may be the unit that’s fallen on the hardest times post-Pete Carroll. They aren’t physical and can be downright terrible at picking up the blitz on passing downs. Shembo, Tuitt, and Louis Nix will all disrupt plays down the stretch to secure the win.

Blog Davie

With grass ankle deep
The Trojans will surely weep
From a swift leg sweep

Steve in Iowa

ND 44 USC 20

ASU + 21 v USC
ND + 3 v ASU
ergo
ND + 24 v USC

#sportsmath

The Irish Twins

Twin 2: This game will test your nerves and Notre Dame will prevail 34-31 with heroics, luck, or both.

I have only seen two ND-USC games in person, 2005 and 2011. So I’m damaged goods. But I see too much cavalier confidence on the webs. Notre Dame has a horrible tendency to ruin the atmosphere with a 1Q bonehead play. With the steep upward learning/adoption curve of a new coach, USC stood to gain more in the bye week than Notre Dame did. Time removed from the Kiffin ordeal was critical for USC and it will show.

Twin 1: One of the best things about my brother is the balance he provides to my delusion.  Irish roll… 44-17 with at least one defensive score.

Twin 2: ND hasn’t scored that many points in 19 games.

Cut it out, man. These guys just met us and they seem pretty cool. I think most of them still believe we are rational and intelligent…DON’T SCREW IT UP.

Twin 1: Fine. 56-17 ND #momlovesmemore

The Beer BLOOD OF OUR ENEMIES

If you motherfuckers truly <3 me and miss the site, YOU WILL be drinking TROJAN BLOOD on Saturday. Don’t think- JUST FUCKING DRINK IT #FUSC

— Joshua Vowles (@TheSubwayDomer) October 15, 2013

So this is happening.

The beer recommendation is taking a back seat this week because, with Subway gone, someone has to pick up the Trojan Blood banner, dammit.

The drink is simple: Mountain Dew Code Red and Gin. Per Subway, the preferred gin is Tanqueray and the proportions are completely up to you (and will likely vary depending on how the game goes).

The post Friday Roundup: “The Manchurian AD: Part 2” Edition appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Thankfully, I don’t have to justify ranking a kicker #1 (NEVER FORGET) or leaving our starting QB off the top 25 list (NEVER FORGET THIS AS WELL).

So without further ado, let’s get to the rankings.

#25 – #21

I’m splitting these into sections of five, not just because that’s how Keith did it, but because that’s how I tend to form the rankings in my head.

For the bottom five, I usually rank on pure potential. You’ll usually see most of the incoming freshmen around this area, but every now and then you’ll see a veteran in there as well. This year, that definitely happened.

#25 Chris Brown (Sophomore, WR) – Chris rounded off my top 25, mostly because I just couldn’t shake the long bombs he pulled down last year out of my head. The one against OU was one of the top plays of the entire season. The kid has some serious breakout speed and I’m hoping he can parlay this into a Golden Tate-type breakout year in 2013.

#24 Ishaq Williams (Junior, “Cat” LB) – Ishaq is one of those guys that we have also seen flashes of brilliance from. He has yet to record a sack, but did manage to rack up 3.5 TFL in 2012. I’m hoping that his junior campaign is when we see it all put together.

#23 Jaylon Smith (Freshman, “Dog” LB) – I am really excited to see Jaylon play this season. I have him slotted in the “dog” LB position, spelling Spond. He definitely has the raw talent to succeed at the coverage LB position, so I’m looking for him to make an immediate impact.

#22 Steve Elmer (Freshman, T) – The 6’5″, 300 lbs., top-rated tackle will likely see quite a bit of playing time this year on the line. Thankfully, he early-enrolled giving him a much needed jump start in experience and conditioning. Usually, I want all linemen to redshirt since it is such a physically demanding position, but with the Irish needing immediate, talented depth, a spring head-start definitely works. I think he has all the physical tools to succeed (notice a pattern yet?), so I’m looking for another immediate impact from the young lineman.

#21 Max Redfield (Freshman, S) – I can’t even remember the last time I was this excited about a safety recruit. I doubt he will start at the beginning of the season, but I could definitely see him winning a spot before the 2013 campaign comes to a close. The Irish secondary has needed a big-time recruit for quite a while. With Redfield coming into the fold, I feel he has the best chance out of this group to make an impact in 2013.

#20 – #16

This group tends to actually have some proven success. If I rate someone purely on potential here, I’m definitely high on them.

#20 Malik Zaire (Freshman, QB) – While he will likely see a redshirt this season (unless everything goes to hell like it did in my NCAA sim), Zaire is by far my favorite recruit in the 2013 class. Like Golson, he has a big arm and great mobility. There’s a reason Gunner Kiel jumped ship and my gut tells me he felt Zaire seriously breathing down his neck. It’ll be hard to project his impact, but I have no problem sticking my neck out for this kid, even with Golson’s return in 2014.

#19 Greg Bryant (Freshman, RB) – I don’t think I’ve ever considered putting this many true freshmen in the top 25 ranking, but I can’t help it. 5-star RB recruit that will have the chance to take on a backfield that has some huge holes with the departure of Cierre Wood and Theo Riddick just has to make a huge impact, right?

#18 Ronnie Stanley (Sophomore, T) – Yep, that’s two young tackles in the top 25. Much like Elmer, Stanley will be needed to fill some depth on the Irish line. He’s had a full season under his belt, so he gets a bump into this group of five.

#17 Carlo Calabrese (5th year, ILB)

#16 Dan Fox (5th year, ILB) – I’m combining the reasoning for Calabrese and Fox into one because honestly, I see them as damn near equivalent in the ranking. They have loads of experience and you know what kind of play you will get from each.

#15 – #11

This is the group that starts separating talent and potential on the roster to moving towards the elite. To put it another way, this is the true middle-ground. Players here could end up being the true difference makers or the people that I will later be embarrassed to have ranked so high.

#15 DaVaris Daniels (Junior [RS], WR) – I can’t help but feel like I’m waiting for Daniels to just break out. We’ve seen some signs of the potential before, with the huge reception on Golson’s 45 yard bomb to help send the game into OT. He was also one of the few bright spots of the Irish offense against Alabama notching a career high 115 yards on six receptions, one of which was another long strike of 31 yards. I think he should be able to nail down a starting spot so hopefully we start to see him break out in a huge way.

#14 Sheldon Day (Sophomore, DE) – We all know that Tuitt and Shembo are the two big pass rushing threats, but don’t sleep on Day. In his freshman campaign, Day notched two sacks, 3.5 TFL, and 23 tackles. With the departure of Kapron Lewis-Moore, Day will likely see quite a bit more playing time and he is my personal favorite to start along with Nix, Tuitt, and Shembo. In completely unrelated things tainting my objectivity, Day destroyed opposing offenses in my NCAA ’14 sim and seemingly had at least one sack a game. Here’s hoping reality mimics video game success.

#13 Matthias Farley (Junior [RS], S) – When Slaughter went down for the season, I was definitely terrified that the Irish secondary was beyond screwed. But then Farley stepped in and made an impact that I’m sure very few people saw coming and I don’t see that stopping this season. Fear the beard.

#12 KeiVarae Russell (Sophomore, CB) – Because of a thin secondary, Kelly was forced to move Russell from RB to CB…and did that ever work out. Now, Russell is a returning All American and looks to continue the fantastic job that he began last season. The only reason I don’t have Russell ranked higher is my fear of a sophomore slump and the overwhelming fear that gambles like this just don’t work at Notre Dame so I’m awaiting the other shoe to drop somehow.

#11 Tommy Rees (Senior, QB) – Here are the facts about Tommy Rees:

• He had an incredible run to close out his freshman year in 2010
• His 2011 was completely awful and I want to forget it forever
• He came up clutch in several situations during 2012
• With that said, his start against BYU left a lot to be desired

There is definitely potential there for greatness, but there is also the potential for great disaster because none of us are really ever going to be able to shake 2011. Rees still appears to have issues with locking-in on receivers (see: Floyd in 2011 and Eifert in 2012), but if he can kick that habit, that alone will allow him to progress by leaps and bounds in 2013.

Here’s hoping.

#10 – #6

Now we start moving into the elite parts of the roster. These are the guys I expect to be no-doubt playmakers during the season.

#10 T.J. Jones (Senior, WR) – T.J. made some great strides in 2012 and I still don’t think he’s found his ceiling yet. The WR corps needs a leader and a playmaker and I expect T.J. to fill this role.

#9 Chris Watt (5th year, G) – Watt has been one of the veteran anchors in the interior of the line and will enter his third year as a starter. With the departure of Braxon Cave, I’m looking to Watt to be the glue that holds the middle of the line together.

#8 Troy Niklas (Junior, TE) – Niklas is just a beast at 6’7″ 260 lbs. He made his biggest impact blocking in two TE sets, but with Eifert gone, it will be Niklas job to continue the amazing string of badass TEs from ND. At 6’7″, I am fully expecting Niklas to be a bit of a security blanket for a Tommy Rees jump ball and will soon be one of his favorite targets all season.

#7 George Atkinson III (Junior, RB) – GA3 still has some fundamentals to get down to truly be the best RB possible (One Foot Down has a great breakdown of this), but the bottom line is that GA3 is a straight-up playmaker. His speed on the team might just be unmatched and you can’t help but expect something special to happen when he’s in the open field. With two years under his belt, and the backfield begging for a breakout star, I’m expecting GA3 to take control.

#6 Bennett Jackson (Senior, CB) – Sure, Russell had an amazing, breakout year and Manti Te’o seemingly got all the INTs, but Jackson had a hell of a year himself. In 2012, he had 4 INTs (second only to Te’o) and broke up 4 passes (second to Nix, he led all DBs in this stat). I expect Jackson have yet another great season. With Te’o gone, the only people that can steal the spotlight from Jackson are on the defensive line — the rest of the show is all his to steal.

#5 – #1

The absolute elite on the roster and by far the easiest for me to rank.

#5 Danny Spond (Senior, “Dog” LB) – Spond was one of the best surprises for the 2012 defense and was a solid presence all year at the “dog” linebacker. He had one INT and broke up three passes, which was only second among LBs with Te’o taking top honors. I expect the arrival of Jaylon Smith to only further push Spond’s performance this season. He might not light up the stat sheet, but his presence on the defense cannot be overstated.

#4 Zack Martin (5th year, T) – Martin was my top-rated lineman last season and I see no reason to change that. Martin helped anchor a line that gave up only 13 sacks last season (T-28th in NCAA). Sack numbers (most often) speak to the strength of the exterior linemen and considering where this line used to be just a few years ago, I can’t help but give Martin all the credit in the world for that success.

#3 Prince Shembo (Senior, “Cat” LB) – Shembo was one of the people that helped us say “Aaron, who?” With 7.5 sacks and 10.5 TFL, Shembo was just an absolute beast on the line. To further blow your mind, consider that Shembo also led the team in QB hurries with 12. So that’s at least 30 plays that Shembo hung around in the opposing backfield which is just incredible. But as impressive as he was…

#2 Stephon Tuitt (Junior, DE) – 11 sacks, 11 TFL, 9 QB hurried, a blocked kick, a forced fumble, and an incredible fumble return for a TD — there’s no wonder why Bayou picked him as the Irish D-linemen to watch. Tuitt is simply incredible and the best pass rushing threat that we’ve seen in quite a long time. The only downside to Tuitt? He’s excellent play will likely make this his last year with Notre Dame. Enjoy this while it lasts.

#1 Louis Nix III (Senior, NT) – With all respect to Bayou’s selection, and to Tuitt, my pick at #1 was not hard at all. The success of the 3-4 defense starts with the nose tackle and Nix is one of the best that I have ever seen. Ideally, you just need a guy that can command and handle a double team on every snap. Nix goes well beyond that. NTs aren’t supposed to light up the stat sheet, but Nix manages to do so: 50 total tackles (7th on team), 7.5 TFL (4th on team), 2 sacks (T-4th on team), 3 QB hurries (T-5th on team), and 5 passes defended (leads the Irish). Simply put, Nix causes all kinds of havoc and opposing offenses have no choice but to respect the damage that he can cause. That opens up opportunities for the rest of the Irish defense, leading to TFLs, sacks, and turnovers. Plus, how can we ever forget this:

The post Ranking the Irish Roster: Tex’s Top 25 appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Notre Dame has started 4-0 thirty-five times before this season. In 26 of those seasons the Irish finished with 1 or 0 losses. And of course, 10 national titles came about during those seasons, too.

Notre Dame is now the only team in the country to not give up a rushing touchdown. Considering that the Irish have played Navy, A Denard-led Michigan team, a Michigan State squad with Le’Veon Bell, and a decent Purdue team, that’s saying something.

Notre Dame has yet to trail an opponent this season.

Notre Dame is only giving up 9.0 points a game, which gives them the third-best scoring defense in the country.

Maybe the sweet facemasks are the secret to success. Photo courtesy of @DOCnation_7 via Twitter

While the offense may not be churning as well as Brian Kelly would like, opponents don’t have a particular player to gameplan against. Twelve different players have registered a reception, and the Irish have featured a 3-headed rushing attack.

Stephon Tuitt is tied for 4th in the nation in sacks, with 6 through four games.

Bennett Jackson and Manti Te’o are both tied for 4th in the nation in interceptions, with 3 each.

In fact, Notre Dame is 4th in the country as a team in turnover margin, at +2.2 per game.

Notre Dame is setting the tone early. The Irish haven’t been scored on in the first quarter.

Every one of Notre Dame’s opponents lost in September, proving they are all beatable. The schedule is still daunting, but there is no reason to not be optimistic as we move forward.

**Bonus** Manti Te’o is playing like a legitimate Heisman candidate.

The post 10 Reasons For Optimism Regarding Notre Dame’s 4-0 Start appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.