Cierre Wood and the NFL

Is Cierre Wood after graduation moving onto the NFL?  He has a much publicized year of eligibility remaining with the Irish.  His mother indicated he was leaning 70-30 in declaring for the draft.  We saw that he has a beautiful 14 month old daughter at Senior Day.  Is he planning on embarking on the next phase of his life and career?

He has to make up his mind soon if he wants to be chosen for any of the post season Senior and All-Star games.  He’ll need an agent’s advice and draft analyst from experts as to his possible draft ranking.  He and Brian Kelly need to sit down (if they haven’t already) and determine if he will be invited back for a fifth year.  His status with the coaching staff is up in the air ever since his suspension at the beginning of the 2012 campaign. 

He needs an invite to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis early next year.

 

The odds are not in his favor in making it in the NFL.  The odds are not very good he will get drafted either.  It appears his best chance will be for getting picked up as an undrafted free agent and given a tryout.  

Remember NFL stands for Not For Long.

If you make the roster the average career length is 6.0 years.  If not, it is 3.2 years of banging around the league trying to make taxi rosters and team reserves.  The average for the position that gets beat up the most…. running back, it’s a dismal 2.57 years.  The lowest of all positions.

Lou Holtz left after 1996, so we conducted an informal research of Notre Dame running backs that left or graduated from 1997-2011.  

James Aldridge             Never Got A Chance

Armando Allen             Jury Still Out

Autry Denson               Holds career rushing yards at ND.  Dismal with the Buccaneers

Tony Fisher                   Bust

Ryan Grant                   Eventually Found A Home With the Packers And Made Big $$

Jonas Gray                    Signed As A Undrafted Free Agent and put on IR

Robert Hughes              Jury Still Out

Julius Jones                   Bounced Around For A Few Years

Rashon Powers-Neal     Never Got A Chance

Travis Thomas              Bust

Darius Walker               Left A Year Before Graduation.  Not Drafted.  Bounced Around For A Few Years

Cierre Wood Statistics:

            GP-GS  Att       Gain     Avg.     TD       Long

2010     13-5      119       658       5.1        3          39

2011     13-9      217       1186     5.1        9          55

2012     10-4      110       758       6.7        4          68    (Obviously does not include the NC Game)

Subway Alumni Station strongly urges Cierre to obtain permission to return for a fifth year.  Mend his fences.  Earn a second degree, improve his statistics, stay clean and then roll the NFL dice.

Who’s Goin To The Ship?

Scene of the Ship

So who’s going to the BCS National Championship Game?  Watched the video of the visitors’ locker room and at first didn’t understand the Irish players yelling and dancing “Going to the Ship”.  Well come on, it’s been 24 years and it wasn’t called the BCS National Championship Game back in Tempe at the Fiesta Bowl nor nicknamed the Ship.  Kids these days sure are different.

Apparently a lot of Notre Dame Alumni are wanting to go to the Ship.  According to the ND ticket office as of a couple of days ago they had over 50,000 requests for tickets.  The per school allocation is 17,000 and ND indicated 3,000 would go to students.  In a way, 3,000 are not very many when you consider Saint Mary’s and Holy Cross Junior College are in the mix as well.  After all they are the loyalist.  It is their team more than it is ours.

Each team member, coach, certain staff, university staff and faculty member, Board of Trustee member and god knows who else gets 2 tickets apiece (and obviously in some cases more).  I’m sure the mayor of South Bend is in mix somewhere.  Everyone pays for those tickets.

A certain amount goes into a lottery for those alumni who were in the 2012 season ticket lottery and made a donation to the alumni fund.

Face value of each ticket is $350.

The Sun Life Stadium (Orange Bowl) seating is 75,540.

So if you are the general public, Domers who got shutout of the 17,000 allocation and subsequent lottery and Subway Alumni like us, what are your options?

First the official BCS National Championship site.  Notre Dame tickets are $1,690 and you buy according to your team.  These tickets are from the BCS themselves and it is kind of a floating price crap game.  Unique but scary.  You can actually buy Alabama or Georgia tickets and sit with the enemy.  Right now Alabama tickets are $890 and Georgia $475.  I’ve heard where a number of Irish fans are buying these tickets and taking a chance.  After the SEC Championship game Saturday night, all hell is going to break loose on the ticket front.

Second the official ticket exchange site sponsored and administeredby the BCS Orange Bowl people.  Here you are pretty much assured of not getting a counterfeit ticket.  Tickets are bought and sold legally.  Prices for one ticket range from $1,260 to $5,000.

Third place for tickets is Stubhub.  Of course none of the sellers actually have the tickets yet and this is a buyer beware type transaction.  Stubhub is a marketing place for tickets to just about any event.  Prices right not are between $1,390 and $1,597.95 for going to the Ship.

Fourth place to look is good old eBay.  Even as we speak, $3,300 will get you two tickets.

Fifth place is the Orange Bowl parking lot.  Buyer beware.

Shameless scapler scam artist

 

Since the Irish know they are going to the Ship, fans have a tremendous advantage over Alabama or Georgia.  We should be well represented in Miami.

A number of staff members are flying down and using The Station here as a base and taking a staff car down to Miami.  Senior staff members here plan on laying in a generous supply of cold liquid refreshments, various hot and cold snacks, treats and munchies.  We are close to the refrigerator, bathrooms, and instant replay.  Plus our wallets and purses have not been depleted.

Go Irish.  Beat Georgia or Alabama

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heisman Trophy Race

Well it's really not a race, more of a college football offensive player popularity contest.

Here is what the good folks over at the Heisman Trust say in part of their creed:

"The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard work. The Heisman Trophy Trust ensures the continuation and integrity of this award."

They take that statement pretty seriously or they would not have been Indian-givers and asked for their trophy back from Reggie Bush.  Unfortunately they do not select the winner, about 900+ voters do.

The front runner appears to be some guy named Johnny Manziel who now thanks to his school and the media is known as "Johnny Football".

We did not know that media darling Heisman candidate Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, was  arrest last June, when he was charged with three misdemeanors after a late-night fight in College Station.  In a nutshell, Manziel got in a fight, a College Station municipal police officer broke up the fight, Manziel handed the cop an ID that said he was 21, the cop was skeptical, and eventually the cop found a fake and a real driver's license in Manziel's wallet. Manziel is actually 19.  Manziel allegedly stepped in to break up a fight between his friend and an older Black man.  His friend had used a racial slur against the Black man and he took offense.  We don't know the status of the charges and don't really care.  Company we keep eh?

Police mug shot - Johnny Football

No we are not sure why Johnny is shirtless. 

Johnny helped beat then #1 Alabama.  No big deal, the Irish and Manti Te'o are going to accomplish the same come January 7th.

Red-shirt freshman Johnny set some pretty impressive records at #9 ranked and 10-2 TA&M.

So did Manti Te'o for the #1 ranked and 12-0 Irish.  Some are posted top right on the Blog.  If Johnny Football wins the Heisman, good for him and TA&M.  Congradulations.

Thing is, the folks at the Heisman Trust then need to rename the award to "Best Offensive Player in College Football" or some such moniker.  They may want to rework their creed as well.

We here at Subway Alunmi Station think Manti Te'o will win a boatload of awards this season and will get tired of eating rubbery chicken and listening to sweet dribble at awards banquets.  We are convinced Father Sorin founded Notre Dame for guys like Manti Te'o.

Go Irish.  Beat Alabama or Georgia

Notre Dame 12-0 What’s It Mean?

Here are a number of thoughts:

It means next year the ND Athletic Department is going to jack up the price for football tickets.

It means regardless of the price for tickets, the demand will be greater.  Thus us Subway types are going to have to hustle a bit harder.

It means we owe a big THANK YOU to Mrs. Te’o, Mrs. Riddick, Mrs. Golson, Mrs. Eifert, Mrs. Cave, Mrs….. well you get the idea.

It means the number of eligible seniors requesting a 5^th year may be larger than earlier thought or anticipated.

It means the Irish coaching staff can get a little pickier on 2014 recruits.

It means the recruiting door may be closing a little sooner for the 2013 class.

It means regardless of the outcome on January 7^th, Notre Dame will be ranked in the 2013 preseason poll.

It means not this year but next year a number of members of the coaching staff may be receiving lucrative career offers elsewhere.

It means looking at the 2013 schedule and reflecting on the 2012 schedule outcome, you’d be a fool to bet against the Irish not making a BCS Bowl Game come 2014.

In means the Notre Dame haters, bashers, SEC fanatics, and anti-Catholics will be out in force between now and January 7^th.

It means, Notre Dame is back.  Deal with it.

Sports Illustrated Cover

Well it’s official.

Let the jinx begin.

Let the Notre Dame haters, continue to simmer.

Let the perpetual whiners about Notre Dame and its tradition, history, TV contract, and irrelevancy wail and grind their teeth.

Notre Dame is BACK.   

Old USC Posts

 

We have listed some of our better old posts concerning USC.  If you have a few minutes click through them for a few laughs and some sour memories.

Women of Troy

What we learned watching ND - USC

Tongue in Cheek photos from ND-USC

USC Bowl Game

Who Really is Number 21?

Southern Cal Song Girls

Wrong Flag in the Pile

Silver Lining after terrible whipping

Of course we have gone nuts with some 2012 posts, check them out below or click on the them from the left side of the Blog.

Some Trojan Humor

1.What do USC and ND students have in common? They both got in to USC

2.A Trojan grad and a Irish grad were on death row. The warden came to them to ask them if they had any last requests. The Trojan said, “I’d just like to hear ‘Conquest’ one last time.” When the warden asked the Domer what his last request was, he replied, “kill me first.”

3.Did you hear the library at USC burned down?
They lost both books, and one hadn’t even been colored in yet.

4.A guy in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and asks, “Wanna hear a USC joke?” The guy next to him replies, “Well, before you tell that joke, you should know something. I’m 6’ tall, 200 lbs., and I’m a USC graduate. The guy sitting next to me is 6’2”, weighs 225, and he’s a USC graduate. The fella next to him is 6’5” tall, weighs 250, and he’s a USC graduate. Now, you still wanna tell that joke?
The first guy replies: “Naw, not if I’m gonna have to explain it three times.”

5.Members of the USC football team were placed in a remedial English class. “Because we are all new on campus we are going to start with the basics,” the professor explained. “Does anyone know what comes after a sentence?” All of the players raised their hands. “The appeal!” they all shouted with pride.

Q: What are the best four years of a Trojan’s life?
A: Third grade

Q: What does a Trojan and a bottle of beer have in common?
A: They’re both empty from the neck up.

Q: Why doesn’t USC have ice on the sidelines?
A: The guy with the recipe graduated.

Q: What do you get when you drive slowly by the USC campus?
A: A degree.

Q: What does the average USC player get on his SAT’s?
A: Drool.

Q: How do you get a USC graduate off your porch?
A: Pay him for the pizza

Irish - Trojan - Prediction

 

Well what do you expect... it's USC Week!

Will the Irish be overconfident?  Will they swagger into LA ready to paint the town green?  Will they be licking their chops over an injured Matt Barkley?

We here at the Station don’t think so.

Case(s) in point. 

**  Notre Dame has the best defense in college football.  Defenses win games, we have heard it all year and knew it anyway.  [Charlie Weis did not]  [Bob Davie did but lost his way]  [Ty Willingham didn’t know anything but his golf handicap]

**  Wearing the mantel of #1 for only a week will not give the Irish big heads.  We will worry about that next year after we beat Alabama.

**  Injury wise the Irish came out of the Wake Forest game with just typical bumps and bruises.  Wake Forest did not look like they could say the same.

**  The Team has memories of the Pitt trap, squeaking by Purdue, Michigan and Stanford.

**  The 2012 Team is not the 2011 Team that fumbled the ball through their legs for a USC touchdown.

**  This Team does not quit.

**  This Team did not like getting its’ face rubbed in the soft grass of Notre Dame Stadium last year by USC.

**  USC is a Paper Tiger.

**  Get up by a couple of scores and USC will roll over and quit.

Downside:  Sin City has the Irish 6 point favorites.  So much for the underdog role we're grown to love.

IRISH 27 – USC 9

Editors Note:  Near tragedy on USC campus

A USC player who had never ridden horses, was almost killed yesterday in a tragic horseback-riding accident.  He wanted to know what it was like to ride Traveller and decided to give it a go on a different horse. He fell from the horse and was nearly trampled to death.

Luckily, the manager of the Wal-Mart came out and unplugged the horse.

The Big Ten Has Gone Whoring

At least according to ESPN.

So far two chump schools.  Rutgers and Maryland.

Rutgers.  This spells the final nail in the coffin for the Big East.  For Whom the Bell Tolls, it tolls for thee, Big East.  TCU jumped to the BE and then jumped back.  Will Boise State try and correct a very poor decision?

Maryland.  Never a football power and a wantabee basketball school.  No loss to the ACC or Notre Dame.  There row to hoe is going to get tougher, just like West Virginia has found out.

What is the Big Ten up to?

**  Increase the TV footprint in the Mid Atlantic states for their network.

**  Provide some more mid level cannon fodder for Michigan and Ohio State.  Ok, we’ll throw in Nebraska and Penn State to the top tier.

**  Position themselves now for the inevitable…. A few super conferences.

What does it mean?

**  The Big Ten can go from 8 to 9 conference games in football and still maintain early season cupcakes for the top tier schools.

**  They have finally given up on Notre Dame joining.

**  The garnering of schools is still not finished.  Watch for Florida State to make a move.

Irish and Some Numbers

18 years --- 11 months --- 29 days  SINCE NOTRE DAME WAS RANKED NUMBER ONE

Coaching Records Through 37 Games

Kelly 27-10
Holtz 27-10
Devine 28-9
Ara 30-5-2
Leahy 30-3-4
Rockne 33-2-2

Brian Kelly is starting to run with the big boys.

This will be the 16th time Notre Dame has played Southern Cal in November or December. ND is 9-5-1 in these games, including 4-4-1 at the Coliseum. Seven of those seasons ended in ND winning consensus national championships (denoted by *; 1953 and 1964 are at least arguable as well).

11/16/1929: 6-0, at Soldier Field, W 13-12*

12/6/1930: 9-0, at USC, W 27-0*

11/21/1931: 6-0-1, at ND, L 14-16

12/3/1938, 8-0, AP #1, at USC, L 0-13

11/22/1941, 7-0-1, AP #4, at ND, W 20-18

11/30/1946, 7-0-1, AP #2, at ND, W 26-6*

12/6/1947, 8-0, AP #1, at USC, W 38-7*

12/4/1948, 9-0, AP #2, at USC, T 14-14

11/26/1949, 8-0, AP #1, at ND, W 32-0*

11/28/1953, 7-0-1, AP #2, at USC, W 48-14

11/28/1964, 9-0, AP #1, at USC, L 17-20

11/26/1966, 8-0-1, AP #1, at USC, W 51-0*

11/28/1970, 9-0, AP #4, at USC, L 28-38

12/6/1980, 9-0-1, AP #2, at USC, L 3-20

11/26/1988, 10-0, AP #1, at USC, W 27-10*

Also: in 7 of the above 15 seasons, ND played at least one game after playing USC. It lost only two of those games - to Army in Yankee Stadium in 1931 and the Sugar Bowl to Georgia on 1/1/1981. The 1980 ND team was the only one to finish outside of the AP top 5 (9th), and the 1938 team was the only other one to finish outside of the AP top 3 (5th; no polls before 1936).

By virtue of the number of games we've played to date, this will be the winningest ND team ever to play USC, and the winningest team ever to play USC in the regular season, period. (USC played teams with 11+ wins in bowl games after the 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 seasons.)

EDIT: The last time a No. 1 ND played USC, and the only time it's ever done so in South Bend, was October 21, 1989 (ND won 28-24). So ND is 5-2 overall as a No. 1 team versus USC. (The 1973 NC team entered the USC game AP #8 and the 1977 NC team entered AP #11.)

(Written by ShermanOaksND)

We Want A Healthy Barkley

 

You never want to see a football player get hurt.  The injury to our arch rival USC’s quarterback Matt Barkley is troubling for a number of reasons.

1,  We all want to beat a healthy USC.  No excuses like two years ago when Barkley went down with an ankle injury in the previous game and the Irish squeaked by USC with a transfer second stringer at the helm.  Oh yeah, forgot, if the one pass had not been dropped, the Trojans still would have won.

2.  You would assume that Barkley knew he was coming back to a paper tiger of a Team.  Great receiving corps however the defense and linemen positions were thin.  The inevitable injuries only depleted the ranks even further.  Look at QB, redshirt Max Wittek will get the start.  He has thrown a total of nine passes all year.

3.  NFL pundits are going to point out, see, Barkley should have left early while healthy and his stock was high.  Other players will understand, heed, and leave early as well.  The curse of giving up an education and accepting the money is one of the worst things that has happened to college sports.  Every year the Kentucky basketball team has to reload because of the defections.  Most never make it and end up back home broke and looking for trouble.

4.  You just never want to see anyone get hurt.  The Irish have had their share of injuries and problems, just look at the list on the left side of the Blog.

We expect a great game in LA.  While ESPN despises Notre Dame they don’t mind piggybacking their College GameDay circus when the Irish play.  This Saturday will be the third time, Stanford, Oklahoma, and now USC.  Both teams will be charged to play, the Irish will prevail, it will not be a trap game.  The Team chemistry, brotherhood, and one game at a time attitude will win out.  Last year the Irish quit after sloppy playing, this year it will be revenge. 

Go Irish, Beat the Trojans

It's Official #1 Light is On

It's not official until they turn on the #1 light on top of Grace Hall.

I've seen the light in person a couple of times.  My youngest son and I made the annual trip to Notre Dame during the glory days of the Holtz era.

In 1990 Notre Dame came into the game against Penn State with a #1 ranking.  Penn State had started the year with losses to Texas and USC, but were coming on strong with seven consecutive wins. Still, #18 ranked Penn State was a heavy underdog going into South Bend.

The Irish took an early 14-0 lead, but Rocket Ismail left the game with an injury and Notre Dame's offense struggled in the second half. With the score tied, Rick Mirer threw an interception in the final minute of the game. Craig Fayak kicked the game winning field goal as the clock ticked down and Penn State escaped South Bend with a 24-21 win.  As we left the stadium the light was still on and we wondered who would be turning it out.

Let's hope Brian Kelly can keep it lite for a long time.

Go Irish Beat USC

11-0 Is Bitter Sweet

The 38-0 shellacking of Wake Forest and an undefeated home record was bitter sweet last night.  I’m already mourning the departure of Manti Te’o, Kapron Lewis-Moore and Tyler Eifert.  Te’o with his skills and leadership is not going to be replaced.  The tight ends waiting behind Eifert are not going to be breaking his receiving record either.  Lewis-Moore was a leader and spokesperson for the players.  I don’t know who will try and fill that huge void. 

In my heart I think Cierre Wood will come to his senses and return for his final year of eligibility.  If not he is a fool.  I suspect Chris Watts and Zack Martin will stick around for their extra year as well.  Theo Riddick and Robby Toma will be missed however guys are waiting in the wings just as good.  Braxton Cave quietly went about his business and it will be interesting if the middle will stay plugged up with someone else.

2012 was supposed to be a year of improvement and building toward a 2013 National Championship run.  The schedule was too daunting, the quarterback too green, the secondary too suspect, the head coach too much of a screamer and the grass playing field too crappy.

Someone failed to give the Irish that script, instead they wrote their own.  Regardless how things turn out come mid January, we here at the Station are enjoying the ride with some saddness.

Go Irish

Baptists Come To The Bend - Prediction

Well last home game of the year.  10-0.  Who’d of thought, imagined, dreamed?

As of 11-13, limited one seat tickets available for the game.  Call the ticket office.

Wake Forest is 5-5 coming off an old-fashioned whopping, losing to NC State 37-6.  They are 114^th in rushing yards so you can pretty much be assured they will fling the ball down the field at the Irish bend don’t break defense. 

Having said that, we are obviously playing at home so we will play our normal nail- biting, come down to the wire type game.  I suspect the lads will be looking toward USC and I can’t blame them.  Sure would like to see the game put away and clear the bench for the seniors and walk-ons that don’t get to play.  That should have happened in the Pitt and BC games, however not to be.  The Navy game was the only time Brian Kelly cleared the bench.

BTW, rumor has it that Louis Nix is suspended by the NCAA for fighting.  He was ejected from the BC game and a half-game suspension is automatic.  A reporter Sunday tiptoed around the issue and Kelly would not bite.  Interesting if this story breaks or not.  Keep your eyes open for Louis in the middle opening defensive series this Saturday.

Editor Note:  Louis was ejected from the game for unsportsman like conduct.  Not the same as fighting.  He will start.  Suspect Louis's momma is not happy about the rough housing.

Irish 28 – Wake Forest 6

Everett Golson View From The Backfield

One of the passing concerns involving Everett Golson is his struggling to find the open receiver in the middle of the field.  This has been attributed to his inexperience in following the progression of the play as to which receiver he should look for first, second, or third.  Another reason often discussed is his problem in seeing the middle of the field while in the pocket.  We think it is the latter.

Everett is listed on the roster at six feet.  Coming out of high school he was either listed at 6’0 or 5’11 by recruiting and the scouting reports.  For the sake of argument, let’s call him six feet.  For comparison:

Tommy Rees –  6’ 2”

Andrew Hendrix  –  6’ 2”

Gunner Kiel –  6’ 4”

Malik Zaire –  6’ 1” (recruiting class of 2013 and EE in January)   

The problem is these guys:

TE – Tyler Eifert – 6-6

LT – Zack Martin – 6-4

LG - Chris Watt – 6-3

C – Braxton Cave – 6-3

RG – Mike Golic – 6-3

RT – Christian Lombard – 6-5

TE – Troy Nikas – 6-7

Now the tight ends are not always going out to catch passes but are sometimes called upon to pass block. 

The offensive line averages 300 pounds so that’s just not tall guys standing in front of Golson but bulk as well.  Include a helmet that adds another three inches and the view can be downright poor from the backfield. 

One of the reasons Everett has had such great success throwing on the run is that he can finally see the field.  For a true freshman he is very accurate and has a strong arm.

Joe Theisman and Doug Flutie are good examples of short quarterbacks being very successful both at the college and professional level.  Here is what Everett has to deal with.

 

Cheaters Never Win

USC Coach Lane Kiffin and possible new career come December

Desperate times call for desperate measures.  Case(s) in point.

USC coach Lane Kiffin changed jersey numbers to create a surprise advantage when executing a trick play involving a backup quarterback as a field goal snap holder.

USC just fired a student manager for deflating game balls.  A slightly deflated ball is easier to throw and catch.

Does anyone honestly think that these two sleazy acts are the only ones that Kiffin pulled or pulls?  Maybe the tip of the iceberg eh?   

Does anyone honestly think that the student manager acted on his own?

Honesty apparently is in short supply at USC.

Lane Kiffin and his old man will be gone after the Notre Dame game.

Notre Dame – Boston College Prediction

This football game and score predicting business is getting tough.  We did not take into account for the ND-Pitt game prediction that the Irish Team of 2011 would show up.  Who’d of thought?  It would have been just plain crazy talk.

The Irish will play well in Boston if for no other reason that it is not a home game.  We are all for calling Wake Forest and telling them to stay there and we will fly down.

Now does this simple comparison below make any sense?

Home field blues and reasons for falling flat our faces at home:

Purdue - jet lag after Dublin and big trip across the pond
Michigan - following big, emotional win vs MSU
Stanford - inclement weather, tough opponent and after Shamrock Series Game in Chicago against Miami
BYU - Followed midterm week, physical OT Stanford game, and before OU game
Pitt - following big, emotional win vs OU

The Irish just cannot keep the emotions up?

Anyway, it is an away game so we feel confident.

Boston College averages 77 yards/game on the ground, 122nd in the country.  Against Wake Forest last week, they managed to break into double digits by grinding out 12 hard fought yards.

To make up for a dismal running game they have quarterback Chase Rettig throw the ball all over the field. Unfortunately, they can't really protect him and have surrendered 22 sacks this year. Rettig is also not mobile.  He could get to know KLM and Mr. Nix very well.

As poor as they are offensively, they might be worse defensively. They give up an average of 235 yards/game on the ground.  George, Cierre and Theo got to be salivating.

You look at BC's schedule so far and you just shake your head.  2-7.  Northwestern, Maine, Wake Forest, Army, Maryland.

Unless Charlie's 3-9 Team shows up at Chestnut Hill this should be a laugher.  Just in case, We at the Station are laying in a large stock of fine beer and liquor.  This undefeated thing is wearing the staff out.

Notre Dame 48 - Boston College 9

Editors Note:  This is the same prediction as last week.  Maybe it will work this time.

Some questions on Pix from ND-Pitt

Some ND – Pitt questions based upon photos from James Brosher and the SBT.

Why is Everrett Golson carrying the football like a loaf of bread?

 

Why did it take three overtimes?

 

Who are these yellow coned people and why are they in the ND student section?

 

Why is Everrett Golson carrying the football like a loaf of bread?

 Why couldn't we tackle Graham like this all night?

What is imprinted on the left back side of Cierre Wood's thigh?  The helmet of Pitt #92?  That one really bugs me.

Notre Dame Jersey Number Controversy

If a three period overtime win was not enough excitement for the Irish how about an almost devastating penalty?

Remember the missed FG by Pitt in overtime?  Both Bennett Jackson and Chris Brown were on the field in special team roles.  Jackson normally plays defense (CB) and Brown on offense (WR).  The officials did not catch the NCAA rules violation.  Both Jackson and Brown wear #2 and no two players with same number can be on the field during a play at the same time.  We don’t know what the penalty is however at the least it would have given Pitt a second shot at the FG.

Rumor has it that they have been on special teams during kickoff returns as well.

There are a few rules concerning jersey numbers.

You can only use numbers 1-99.  (A worthless piece of personal trivia, my father took me to my first college game and MSU Duffy Daugherty was experimenting with soccer style kickers.  Duffy had two on the roster, numbers 0 and 00)

So 0 and 00 are no longer allowed.

If you follow college football you know that scholarships are limited to 85.  Well no problem there.

The total number of rostered players allowed per team is 105.  Oh oh.  These additional 20 players are walk-ons and are normally given the same number as players on the two-deep depth chart since they have little chance of seeing the field at the same time.  With rare exceptions the walk-ons only play on special teams.  If they make the two-deep, a scholarship is normally found and offered.

Notre Dame has taken a different approach.  While the Irish roster is around 100, certain players have requested favorite numbers or ones they wore in high school

Here are the duplicate number guys.  First player is on offense.

2  Chris Brown and Bennett Jackson

4  George Atkinson and Eilar Hardy

5  Everett Golson and Manti Te’o

6  Theo Riddick and KeiVarae Russell

7  TJ Jones and Stepon Tuitt

9  Robby Toma and Louis Nix

11  Tommy Rees and Ishaq Williams

15  Justin Ferguson and Dan McCarthy

17  Charlie Fiessinger and Zeke Motta

33  Cam McDaniel and Josh Anderson

35  Ben Turk and Joe Romano

38  Nick Fitzpatrick and Joe Schmidt

40  Nick Tausch and Connor Cavalaris

A consider number of jersey numbers are not assigned.  The lower numbers obviously are the most popular.

The coaching staff is aware of the potential rules violation and indicate that it has been resolved.

Strange Notre Dame Overtime Statistic

The Irish are 5-8 in Over Time games all-time, and 1-3 in multiple OT games.  This is the first season in which Notre Dame has won 2 OT games. Here is the list: 

10/19/1996, AIR FORCE, L 17-20

11/30/1996, at So. Cal, L 20-27

9/9/2000, NEBRASKA, L 24-27

10/28/2000, AIR FORCE, W 34-31

9/6/2003, WASHINGTON STATE, W 29-26

9/17/2005, MICHIGAN STATE, L 41-44

11/3/2007, NAVY, L 44-46 (3 OT)

11/1/2008, PITT, L 33-36 (4 OT)

10/3/2009, WASHINGTON, W 37-30

11/21/2009, CONNECTICUT, L 30-33 (2 OT)

9/18/2010, at Michigan State, L 31-34

10/13/2012, STANFORD, W 20-13

11/3/2012, PITT, W 29-26 (3 OT)

Interesting that 11 of the 13 have been at home.  Does that reinforce the current thinking that Notre Dame has trouble at home because of all the distractions?

Editors Note:  Statistics compiled by NDNation (Rock's House) blogger ShermanOaksND

Manti Te'o Heisman on his back

Way back on September 25^th, we started beating the tom-toms for Manti Te’o and Heisman Trophy consideration.

Yeah we have proof Here.  We were the first.

Since then things have snowballed and now Manti is in actual consideration.  The media has responded because it is print and sound bites to take up paper, electronics and computer speakers.

Even the conservative Notre Dame Media Department has opened a second front with interviews and antidotes about Manti.

The bottom line is going to be where the Irish end up after November 24^th and our win over USC.

Some teams are going to have to fall by the wayside.

Manti has to fight Notre Dame haters and those that think it has to go to a skill player who scores points.

Devil with him a team captain.  The heck with a truly Christian person.  So what about leadership and contribution to a winning program.  Academics poo! 

We shall see how this all plays out.  Manti.  The next four games. 

This is a must view: Click

Blog Notes

We added Gary Danielson to the Notre Dame Hater and Basher List.  While Gary is as fair as the next TV color commentator, his statements about the Irish and the importance of conference playoff results is asinine. 

Don’t know if Gary is just trying to get into the verbal BCS mix or whether this “shtick” has some other hidden agenda or meaning.  You can read the short article where he is quoted by clicking on his mug shot.

Basically he penalizes Notre Dame for not being in a conference.  He then rewards those teams that win a conference championship.  They should be considered ahead of everyone else.

We wonder if the Big Ten did not have such a championship game (this is the third year) than the former Purdue quarterback would be singing that tune.

On another note we added the latest Irish recruit to the left side of the Blog.  Welcome aboard Cole Luke, boy are we going to have fun with that moniker.

Notre Dame is LOADED

with talented football players that is.

Gee when was the last time you read that headline?  Usually it’s USC or Alabama that’s loaded.  Of course Alabama is however USC is a paper tiger and a thin one at that.

It’s going to happen and bear fruit NEXT year.  Why?

** 2013 recruiting class (22) is currently ranked #2.  It appears three more is about all Brian Kelly can take.  The class is loaded with talent and 3 or 4 of the guys could start next year just like a number have this year.

** IF Zack Martin, Cierre Wood, Chris Watt, Nick Tausch, Carlo Calabrese, Danny Fox return.  Tyler Eifert is the only sure one leaving.  Wood is a toss-up and we think Martin and Watt will return.

** A nice stable of freshmen, redshirt freshman and sophomores very hungry to play and get more playing time are in the wings.  It is a young and talented Team for sure.

** A strong group of freshman are getting plenty of playing time this year; Everett Golson, Matthias Farley, Davonte Neal, DaVaris Daniels and KeiVarae Russell.

** The Team has great chemistry.  Manti Te’o is the catalyst and Braxton Cave, Kapron Lewis-Moore and Tyler Eifert are part of the cement.  Unfortunately they are all leaving however guys like Lewis Nix, Cierre Wood and George Atkinson III will fill in nicely.

** The Irish are finally strong at tailback, quarterback and wide receiver positions and continue to be deep at tight end and safety.  Most of the defensive and offensive lines are returning.

** Finally, the Irish are loaded with a competent, well integrated and fully functioning coaching staff.  Brian Kelly has converted a ton of fans after the Tulsa play calling fiasco and throwing Dayne Crist and a few other Weis holdovers under the bus.  The rumbling fear is that Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Bob Diaco will be getting some offers he can’t refuse.  We think Tony Alford is a more likely candidate to be the first one out the door.  Tony is the WR and running backs coach as well as an outstanding recruiter.  He is a holdover from the Weis era and had a number of nibbles and interest last year.

GO IRISH BEAT THE PANTS OFF THE PANTHERS