Brian Kelly's teams usually win coming off the bye. Looking at his teams' performances after a week with no game, a pretty standard definition of a "bye week," and going back to the 2004 season, Kelly is 8-3 overall, and 2-1 since coming to Notre Dame. Taking a bit of the shine off the Dome, as it were, his 2011 loss to USC was one for the ages and one in which there was plenty of blame to be passed around coaches and players. In short, while his teams usually win, and win convincingly, after a ...
USC
Friday Roundup: The “Running with the Devils” Edition
Let's face it, when Notre Dame faces off against the Arizona State Sun Devils in their full hellfire attire, the Irish will be facing off against one of the best offenses that they will see in all of 2013. As Bayou discussed yesterday, they have put on quite a show throughout most of their season. And I'm going to give the Sun Devils a load of credit here, they've looked pretty damn good doing it too for the most part. And with Arizona State favored by 6 at the time of this writing, it's ...
Friday Roundup: The “Bring Your Green Hat (and Shirt)” Edition
In case you've missed it, the Leprechaun Legion has called for a green-out of Notre Dame Stadium. Kelly Cares is on board as well and you should be too. Let's be honest, last week's crowd was rather disappointing. We can give all kinds of various reasons for this, but the fact that there was little to no home field advantage for the Irish simply will not change. This week, it needs to. The Irish haven't lost a home game since October 22, 2011 against Southern Cal. Wins were supposed to ...
Friday Roundup: The “THIS IS…Sparta?” Edition
Michigan State will enter Notre Dame as the #1 defense in the nation. Sure, their schedule has been an absolute cakewalk thus far (Western Michigan, South Florida, and Youngstown State), but, despite that, holding opponents to only 177 yards/game is impressive no matter who you are playing. But then you look at the other side of the coin and you realize that Sparty's offense is objectively one of the worst things to ever grace a football field. Ignoring Youngstown State (which you should ...
8 Big Questions: Where Do the Irish Stand?
Back in August, I outlined 8 big questions that were on my mind for the upcoming season. Now that we are three games in, I wanted to take a look at where the Irish currently stand. 1. Which Tommy Rees will show up? So far, we've seen good Tommy Rees, Touchdown Tommy, Reesus, whatever you want to call the opposite of Turnover Tommy. Thus far, Rees is 65/107 (60.7%) for 969 yards (323 yards/game), 7 TDs, and, most importantly only 2 INTs. Further, only one of those INTs was really a bad ...
Friday Roundup: The “Get Excited About Purdue” Edition
Look, I know we here at HLS always give Purdue a solid, swift kick to nuts every time they play them. We're all familiar with the bit by now. Purdue sucks, they are boring zzzzzzzzzzz and all that. This week though, you should be excited. I'm serious here, stay with me on this. Look, I know Purdue is a horrible football team. And yes, they have a safety that played with two broken hands only to break his leg. Their leading receiver is out too, so that doesn't help matters for ...
“The Arena” — G. K. Chesterton’s Poem Explained
Here at HLS, we are always striving to increase our understanding -- some days we discuss the art of the 3-4 defense, and others (like today) we expound on the liberal arts. In 1930, University President Father J. Hugh O'Donnell invited G. K. Chesterton to Notre Dame to conduct a series of lectures. Coincidentally, he was present at the Dedication Game of Notre Dame Stadium and wrote a poem to commemorate the occasion. Let us pause now and see how this work illuminates the current state of ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Templars!
In the realm of mascots, none is greater than the Fighting Irish. It is singular. It is unique. It has never been repeated. It celebrates a race of men whose mighty shoulders and strong hands have built this country, fought its wars, and raised its children. It exalts that “never say die” spirit which has inspired both boxer and iron-worker alike to get up every single time he’s knocked down, whether by fists or by life’s tougher blows. It honors a people of deep faith and abiding hope, ...
Good Fridays w/Padre: Welcome
In 1863, a little over 20 years into our Northern Indiana adventure, I published a comprehensive disciplinary code for the lads. It has formed the backbone of our rules going nigh on 150 years now, albeit with revisions. Time marches on, customs change...Ted let in girls. So I have kept The Code as up to date as I can, both within reason and within the fine Notre Dame tradition of calling everything tradition and changing nothing except that which is absolutely necessary to change. Thus, ...
Friday Roundup: The “‘Twas the Week Before Kickoff” Edition
'Twas the week before kickoff, and all through Rock's House Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The mums were planted along the sidelines with care, Even though most fans could care less if they're there. Irish fans were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of tailgates danced in their heads. My fiancée in bed, and I on HLS, With a beer in my hand and sports math to express. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my desk to see what was ...