Cardinal Rule: Stanford Game a Must-Win

Ah, rules. All our lives we're inundated with them - moral rules, rules of thumb, Road Rules. There's simply no getting around them. While, admittedly, most rules fall into the category of "gee, this is a pain in the ass", some actually do provide benefit. Take for example, "look both ways before crossing the street." It would certainly be delightful to go bounding across the road with nary a care in the world; but, as anyone who has devoted large portions of their youth to Frogger can tell you, such activity can definitely result in your being squashed and denied 50 points.
While we're on the topic of rules, we ought to admit that they apply to football teams as well as the mere mortals who root them on. No, I am not discussing those rules dictated by sad, older men wearing ridiculous striped shirts and white pants (in most cases, post-Labor Day, I might add). Rather, these types of rules are more like your mother telling you to look both ways; just good advice.
In that vein, in order to be successful, two very important rules apply explicitly to this Notre Dame season - 1) win at home, and 2) take care of business against the teams you should beat (particularly savvy fans will note that in Week 1, the Irish managed to nearly break both of these in one fell swoop). In spite of that early scare, Notre Dame is now 3-0 at home to start the season for the first time since 2002 (they haven't finished undefeated at home since '98) and have beaten three teams that, one might argue, they should have. And that, my friends, brings us to the Cardinal of Stanford....


Before I get into the particulars of this year's game, I would just like to take Irish fans on a journey of terror through some previous Stanford/Notre Dame games. This is not for the squeamish, so feel free to skip ahead if the mangled detritus of past ND seasons is a bit much for you. For the rest, behold:

1990 - Stanford 36, Notre Dame, 31: When one considers all of the factors that were present, this may rank as the worst upset in Irish history. The Irish entered the 1990 season having won the 1988 national championship and just narrowly missing out on it in 1989. After beginning the season 3-0 with wins over Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue, Notre Dame was ranked #1 in the country and had what looked to be a laugher against Stanford at home as the Cardinal were 1-3 and coming off a home loss to San Jose State. At one point in this game, Notre Dame led 24-7...and then the bottom fell out. Fumbles, offensive ineptitude and a stout effort by Stanford made the score 31-29 Irish with 36 seconds left. It was at that point that "Touchdown" Tommy Vardell plunged into the endzone giving Stanford a 36-31 lead. After a few desperate heaves towards paydirt by Rick Mirer failed to connect, it was all over. Notre Dame would go on to finish the year at 9-3, while Stanford would limp to 5-6. I still gag a little remembering this one.

1992 - Stanford 33, Notre Dame 16: While this Stanford team was better than the 1990 version (they were coached by Bill Walsh and finished 10-3), so was Notre Dame. The Irish ended the year 10-1-1 and #4 in the country (they ended #6 in 1990). Of course, this would end up as their only loss...and, of course, it was at home. It bears mentioning that, on the first play from scrimmage, Demetrious Dubose recorded a safety and, in the second quarter, ND led 16-0 before crapping the bed royally. For these reasons, this one also ranks highly on my list of "games that will induce vomiting."

1997 - Stanford 33, Notre Dame 15: Not nearly as awful a loss as the first two for a couple of reasons - 1) Bob Davie was coaching the Irish (though, Willingham was coaching Stanford), 2) it was on the road, 3) this wasn't a great Notre Dame team. In spite of not being as monumental a choke job, this one was still pretty bad. We're talking here about a Notre Dame team that finished the regular season 7-5 and bowl-bound versus a Stanford team that would end 5-6. Moreover, that Stanford team won by three frickin' touchdowns! In my estimate, this should have been ND fans' first clue that the Davie era would not be a pleasant one.

I bring up these past disasters because, if they're not careful, this year's Notre Dame team could find itself in the same situation for a couple of reasons. First, Stanford is not a bad team. They are currently 3-2, having beaten Oregon State (and, I suppose, by transitive properties, USC), San Jose State and the Washington Huskies (or Tyrriers, as I like to call them). Their two losses were blowouts, but to decent teams - Arizona State (41-17) and TCU (31-14). Beyond all this, Stanford has also done something Notre Dame hasn't yet - win on the road. Simply put, Harbaugh is making great strides and will have these guys fired up and ready to go.
Now, of course, Notre Dame does have some major advantages here. First off, they're coming off their best game in two years and will be playing in front of, what will no doubt be, an energetic home crowd. Second, Notre Dame beat this same Stanford team on the road to end last season and, since then, Notre Dame has improved in much more substantial ways than has Stanford. While both teams were young in 2007 and return a fair number of players (ND lost 26 letterman, Stanford 20), Notre Dame went out and got the top recruiting class in the country; whereas Stanford's came in at #50. More importantly, Notre Dame has six members of that recruiting class in their two-deep and several others contributing regularly (for their part, Stanford has two true freshman in their two-deep). If this were the NFL, it would be the equivalent of Notre Dame having drafted well and signed a number of high profile free agents during the offseason. In other words, while this is no doubt a better Stanford team than last year, this is a much better Notre Dame team. To put it yet another way, this is one of those games the Irish should win.


Beyond talent differentials, the other reason this game is a must-win for the Irish is that it is the last home game until November. After Stanford, Notre Dame goes on the road to take on a tough North Carolina team before a bye week. Following their open date, the Irish travel to Seattle to take on a depleted Washington team who, no doubt, will be desperate for a win; especially against Ty's former team. These are two games that Notre Dame could lose. In the case of UNC, one might even bump that estimate up to probably will.
Things don't get any easier after that. The next home game is against Pitt, a tricky team and a toss-up game. Then, it's off to Chestnut Hill for BC - need I say more? Given this upcoming schedule, it's critically important the Irish dispatch Stanford this weekend. Heading into that slate at 4-1 gives Notre Dame a lot more leeway than would 3-2. A loss would send ND into this stretch on a particularly bad note. It would be a regression and, ultimately, detrimental to the team's ability to finish with a winning record and a decent bowl berth. The last thing a young team like this needs is an emotionally crippling loss at a critical point in this season. This week is a crossroads for Notre Dame - win and you have the wind at your back, lose and the ship starts taking on water. For these reasons, this week's Stanford game is an absolute must-win.

The Future is Now

For Notre Dame fans, the expectations for this season were pretty simple: win enough games to put 2007 in the rearview mirror and be in position for a nice run in 2009. After seeing the way Notre Dame's younger players took apart Purdue yesterday, we Irish faithful may want to set our expectations a bit higher.
Yes, I know, the Purdue win, much like the loss to Michigan State, was "just one game", but it was the type of game that Notre Dame hadn't played in two seasons. More than that, it was a game where Notre Dame's ridiculously talented younger players were completely dominant and, in so being, showed that the darkest days of ND Nation may be behind us.
Make no mistake, this was a great win. While Purdue may not be a Top-25 team, they are a solid and experienced squad with talent. Anyone looking at Notre Dame's schedule in the preseason (or even a week ago), would have to have seen this game as a potential loss for a young Irish team. Far from that, it was, ultimately, a comfortable win.
So, having now had the chance to rewatch the game, here are my thoughts:

• While it may not be thought of as such, the most important play of the day came in the first quarter. With Purdue leading 7-0, Desmond Tardy raced down the sideline seemingly on his way to a touchdown. At around the Notre Dame 10, Kyle McCarthy made a shoe-string tackle to keep him out of the endzone. Notre Dame's defense then managed to stop Purdue on three straight plays before the Boilermakers missed a 28-yard field goal. McCarthy's hustle kept Purdue from taking a 14-0 lead which would have been absolutely devastating so early on. A week after losing a tough game in East Lansing, going down by two touchdowns at home in the first quarter would have been very difficult for the Irish to overcome. This play gave Notre Dame a chance they desperately needed.
• The second biggest play of the day was Robert Blanton's interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Shortly before, Notre Dame's offense had marched down the field only to come away with no points after Duval Kamara was cheated out of a touchdown by the refs (more on that later) and Brandon Walker missed a 31-yard field goal. Purdue had a 7-0 lead and were starting to move the ball once again. Blanton provided a spark by jumping the route, getting in front of Painter's pass and then weaving his way 47 yards to paydirt. This not only brought Notre Dame even with the Boilermakers, it gave them a shot in the arm that enabled them to get past their earlier red zone disappointment and get their heads back in the game. Blanton looked terrific all game. He's a solid tackler, good in pass coverage and brings an enthusiasm that is infectious.

• Armando Allen got it done big time. AA rushed for 134 yards on 17 carries (7.8 YPC) and a touchdown. In addition, he had one reception for 9 yards and 4 kick returns for 105 yards (one of which he was very close to breaking before his own momentum got the best of him). In all, Allen had 247 all-purpose yards on the day. It's good to see Allen doing the kinds of things we'd all hoped he would when he came here. Much like Hughes was during the last two games of 2007, Allen is now the running back with the hot hand and I'd assume Stanford will see an awful lot of him next week.

• Duval Kamara has had a rough start to the year. In addition to his issues catching the ball (he dropped another one against Purdue), he can now add being screwed by the refs to his list of early-season woes. I've now watched his second quarter "should have been a touchdown catch" about 15 times and it is clear that he had control of the ball and got his foot down prior to going out of bounds. The refs had no issue with reversing themselves on calls as they did so both on Tardy's touchdown and Golden Tate's 38-yard catch, so I can't imagine how they missed this one.
• On a brighter receiving note, Michael Floyd just keeps getting better. He consistently makes good decisions, runs tremendous routes and puts himself in position to make catches. His 6 catch, 100 yard effort yesterday was, at times, breathtaking. He really kept the Notre Dame offense going on a number of occasions. I realize he's only four games into his ND career, but I feel confident saying he's the best freshman player for the Irish I've ever seen.

• Yet another freshman who came up huge was Kyle Rudolph. Rudy managed 3 catches for 32 yards and his first collegiate touchdown on Saturday. More importantly, he blocked exceptionally well the entire day in helping the offense to 200 yards on the ground. If you want evidence of how good a blocker Rudolph can be, go back and watch him on Allen's touchdown run. He absolutely owned his man and enabled Allen to get past the line and into daylight. With all of the concern over the tight end position stemming from Ragone's injury, Yeatman's legal issues and, this week, Schmidt's migraines, Kyle Rudolph's performance against Purdue was a godsend and evidence that the position is in good hands.

• It was great seeing David Grimes getting involved and making some plays (4 catches, 65 yards, 1 touchdown). With the ascendance of the younger receivers, it's easy to overlook a guy like Grimes, but he is still an integral part of this offense and it was good to see him get some chances.
• In a just world, people would be talking about Golden Tate as a Heisman candidate. The guy is just a wonder. He has speed, hands, balance, strength and smarts. He is a perfect package and just makes things happen. His touchdown catch was absolutely textbook, his 38 yarder (which, thankfully, replay upheld) was acrobatic and his downfield blocking was awesome. He is an absolute joy to watch and a nightmare for teams to defend.
• Simply put, this was Jimmy's best day as Notre Dame quarterback. With 275 yards, 3 touchdowns, no interceptions and a 57% completion rate, he really looked like the player who earned so many accolades coming out of high school. While there were a few passes that were questionable (2 were nearly picked) , the majority of Clausen's decisions were rock solid. For the first time, I found myself thinking how much fun it's going to be watching a quarterback with this much talent play with these kind of skill-position guys.
• Brian Smith seems to be involved with every play for the defense. I was shocked to see he only had five tackles on the game. I could have sworn it was easily twice that. The guy has a motor that never quits and is clearly the heir-apparent to Mo Crum as the leader of the defense.
• I am still a bit concerned about the inability of the defense to reach the quarterback. While they did a much better job this week of applying pressure, they did not manage to sack Painter on any of his 55 pass attempts. In total, the Irish have one sack in 168 opponent attempts. Given the amount they blitz, this is just unacceptable and it is something that will need to change as the season moves forward if Notre Dame is to fulfill its potential.
• Another concern in watching the defense is their continuing issues with making solid tackles. Painter's gaudy 359 passing yards were largely the result of his receivers getting YAC after short(er) completions. This is another area the Irish simply need to improve upon and, what's more, it's one they should be able to. Wrapping up and driving while making tackle are simple fundamentals. They are highly teachable and Notre Dame should be working on them overtime.
• Notre Dame's kick coverage continues to be brilliant. Facing the NCAA's top return team, the Irish limited Purdue to an average starting position of their own 19-yard line (less than a touchback). That is very impressive and one of the little things (field position) that helps overall team success.
• I can't tell you how happy I was to see Brandon Walker hit that 41-yard field goal. I truly think that Walker's issues were largely of the mental variety and nailing that had to be a big weight off his shoulders. Hopefully, it will be similar to a hitter in baseball breaking out of a slump with a single.
• I am very, very happy that this is the last time the Irish will face the likes of Curtis Painter, Greg Orton, Desmond Tardy and Kory Sheets. The four of them have consistently given the Irish fits during their time in West Lafayette. I wish them all well and am not sad to see them go.
• Ditto for Joe Tiller. Tiller's been a heckuva coach. While never having the most talented teams, he always got a tremendous amount out of his players (he was basically the anti-Lloyd Carr). It's hard to remember, but before he arrived, Notre Dame's game against Purdue was basically considered a "gimme" every year. Not so after Tiller showed up with his "basketball on grass" version of the spread. He was a great competitor and we wish him the best of luck in his retirement.
• Isn't it remarkable how good a team can look when they're not constantly shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers and stupid penalties?
• So, after a week in which 9 ranked teams went down (6 of them to unranked teams), including USC, Florida and Wisconsin, does anyone still want to comment on how bad Notre Dame looked against San Diego State?

A quarter of the way into this season and we've already matched our win total from 2007. That is cause for both relief and happiness. While the October slate provides a number of significant challenges for this team, they could not have hoped to be in better shape to face them. Later in the week, we'll take a look at the Stanford game but, for now, raise a glass, Irish fans, we're 3-1!!!!

Brawling Hibernian's Factually Suspect Guide to the Purdue Boilermakers

Last week, I skipped "Brawling Hibernian's Factually Suspect Guide to..." Last week, the Irish lost their first game. Message received, fate; I won't let it happen again.
On Saturday, Notre Dame will take on their in-state rival, the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue is a school deeply shrouded in mystery. Of course, by "deeply shrouded in mystery", I clearly mean, "is a culturally-devoid hole that no right thinking person would ever waste a neuron wondering about." Admittedly, this makes the job of finding interesting things about Purdue rather difficult. Lucky for you, dear reader, I persisted and, in doing so, uncovered the following:

• Caught up in the era's zeitgeist, in 1997, former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees had beloved South Park character, Mr. Hankey, tattooed on his right cheek. To this day, he is the only player in NCAA history to ever be adorned by a fecal cartoon character.

"Howdy ho!!!"

• 
  
  For years, Purdue has claimed that the large drum it carted onto the field during football games was the "World's Largest Drum." Upon learning of this, in 2007, the citizens of Kathmandu, Nepal (owners of the ACTUAL world's largest drum), immediately filed suit over use of the name. In addition to a cease and desist order, the court also immediately ordered Purdue to pay restitution in the form of 100 of the school's finest female students, as cattle is considered sacred in Hindu culture.

Moove over Purdue drum...

• Upon graduating in 1981, Purdue drum major and valedictorian, Thomas Lee Bass, headed to Los Angeles, CA to pursue dreams of stardom. After being introduced to lipstick, foundation and the simple joy of home movies, Bass finally found success as both a musician and film star under the pseudonym, "Tommy Lee."

"Give it up for hepatitis C!!!!"

• In 2006, members of the Purdue football team made history when they became the first NCAA team ever to be given a pictorial for men's magazine, Jocks and Cocks.

My apologies if your Google search brought you to a college football blog in error.

• In 2005, as part of their effort to improve Purdue's overall aesthetics, the School of Agriculture was able to successfully clone a team of five attractive females using only hair and silicone. Sadly, just weeks later they were killed by a stampede of highly jealous Purdue co-eds.

Pour a little out for what might have been...

• In 1997, The Simpsons set a scene in the episode, "Homer's Phobia" on famed Purdue club, The Anvil.

"We work hard, we play hard..."

So there are your six highly suspect "facts" about Purdue University. It is my sincere hope that this helps Notre Dame fans feel even more assured of their superiority over the lessers in West Lafayette. Go Irish, beat Boilermakers!

Questions Abound

Before I begin, full disclosure: Based on Saturday's loss to Michigan State, I don't believe the world is ending, I don't believe the sky is falling and I don't believe the Irish are doomed to wallow in 2007-like misery for the remainder of this season. I do believe the Irish had a bad game. They were listless, lacked confidence and made far too many mistakes.
Now having said that, three games into the season, Notre Dame is still something of a curiosity. While, certainly, there have been improvements, a tremendous number of questions still persist. Answering these will go a long way to determining where this season will ultimately take us:

• Is this year's Michigan State game just a carbon copy of last year's Purdue game? In both cases, ND went on the road, played poorly in the first half, came out firing in the second, got the score close and, ultimately, watched the other team pull away. Does this loss say anything different about this team and, if not, have they actually progressed?
• Are Notre Dame's shortcomings due more to youth or inexperience winning at this level? As I had mentioned here, this year's team is not much different than the 1988 squad in terms of overall experience. That team, however, had learned to win the season before. Can this team forge its own winning identity and shed the mindset of losing from last year?
• In a similar vein, how does this year's team deal with adversity? Teams comprised largely of younger players tend to rise and fall on emotion - can Notre Dame pick themselves up, get fired up and beat Purdue or will there be a hangover following their first loss?
• Can the Irish succeed without a running game? Not being able to run the ball hurts your ability to burn clock which puts a lot of pressure on the defense. If a tired defense is continually asked to stay on the field, does Notre Dame have enough talent to win shootouts?
• Running back is arguably the deepest position on this team. If the Irish aren't focused on running the ball, but still want to have their 12 best offensive players on the field at any given time, how do they incorporate Hughes, Aldridge and Allen? Of the three, only Allen appears to be consistent receiving threat; can you afford to not have the other two involved in the offense?
• Can Notre Dame win a close game? It has become painfully obvious that the Irish lack the ability to kick a field goal (0 for their last 6 going back to last season); what happens if the game comes down to one? Will ND risk it or will we have a repeat of last year's Navy game?
• Can the Irish stop the run? Looking at the upcoming schedule, the Irish face three solid running teams (BC, Navy and USC) and, at least one other, with the potential to move the ball on the ground because of their running back (Pitt). Can ND's d-line and linebackers rise to the occasion? Will Notre Dame's safeties be completely worn down by mid-season?
• Can Notre Dame be a team or just a loose collection of talented players? With three top-10 recruiting classes in a row, there's little doubt the Irish have talent, but will it translate into wins? Are they less than the sum of their parts?
• Will Notre Dame get better as the season progresses? Given their youth, talent and schedule, the Irish should be a markedly better team in November than they were in September thanks to the experience they'll gain along the way; can they progress from week to week?

For fans, one of the most frustrating things about team like this year's Irish is you just don't know what to expect each week. With a more established team (good or bad), it's usually safe to approach games as either "we should win" or "we are screwed." Typically, only a handful of games during the season fall into the toss-up category. Unfortunately, unless there is dramatic and consistent improvement, every game Notre Dame plays between now and their November 29th date with the Trojans will be more question mark than exclamation point.

Notes From Hell...

Well, that certainly sucked. Losing to Michigan or USC is gut-wrenching because of the rivalry and what's often at stake. I can stomach those better, because those teams are usually good. Losing to Michigan State is so much worse. They're a second-tier program who's better than average about once a decade. Moreover, ND and MSU have played exactly one meaningul game out of 70-plus...and it ended in a tie...in 1966. Why the hell do we even have them on the schedule?! I'm sure purists would say, "you can't just drop every team you struggle against". Agreed. Which is why I would never ask them to drop, say, Michigan or USC. But, what exactly does Notre Dame get out of this game? I can see what Michigan State gets - national prominence, TV exposure, assistance with recruiting a nice payday. If I were the Spartans AD, I would cling to the Irish like grim death. For Notre Dame, though, it's a different story. ND's on TV anyway, doesn't need the gate or the prominence or the help in recruiting. What's more, the week after playing against one of their biggest rivals (Michigan), ND should be playing a game against a lighter opponent, not one who's peaking (take a look at MSU's record the last decade or so, this is almost inevitably their high-water mark for their season).
In any event, on to today's unpleasantness:

• Michigan State is not a good football team. They will absolutely lose at least six games this year. The offensive line is solid which is why Ringer, a slightly above-average back, looks like he's all-world. Dell is a solid receiver, but Hoyer's remarkably average as a quarterback. As for their defense, a more competent offense who is not throwing stupid picks or fumbling the ball or who, you know, isn't totally one-dimensional, should be able to put up a bunch of points on them (see: Cal). They overpursue way too much and leave themselves susceptible to giving up big stuff and stuff underneath (alas, Notre Dame did not capitalize).
• Notre Dame was bad. Real bad. Stupid turnovers (see above), inopportune penalties, the lack of a running game, the defenses's inability to stop the run or get to the quarterback...the list goes on. In spite of all this, Notre Dame probably should have won this game. Two stops on defense and one more score (they were in position to do it) and they win.
• Golden Tate may end up being this team's Tim Brown or Rocket Ismail. He can do it all and he keeps getting better and better.
• What the hell were the coaches doing on the first couple series? Not throwing the ball at all seemed like what? A good idea? Wow, this too clever by half approach that Charlie and his offensive staff have implemented needs to stop.
• Defensively, Notre Dame actually played pretty well. They kept the Irish in the game until late in the fourth quarter in spite of being on the field quite a bit. Yeah, Ringer had his big day but, we knew that the Spartans were going to use him like crazy. Look it at this way, Ringer's 39 carries were 57% of MSU's total offensive plays. In addition, his 201 yards rushing were 58% of Sparty's total offensive production! And, for what it's worth, a TON of those yards came late in the game.
• Can no one kick a field goal at Notre Dame? Didn't the football team used to recruit kids from the soccer team? Can't we still do that? If it were just about missing, I wouldn't be as upset; but, for the love of God, get it somewhere remotely near the uprights.
• Jimmy Clausen has done a much better job this season of avoiding sacks (though I could do without the constant grounding), but he still throws some bad balls. I don't know if it's his decisions, what the coaches are asking him to do on given plays or a little bit of a both, but it's starting to become a real problem. The first pick came when ND was on MSU's 24-yard line - let's take 3-7 points off the board from that one (that would have been enough to tie the game or take the lead at that point). The second pick happened deep in Irish territory and lead to a Spartan touchdown. That's anywere from a 10-14 point swing on two interceptions.
• Either John Latina needs to be fired or we need to start a new offensive line. Yes, they've been better with pass blocking (for the most part), but any offensive line incapable of generating more than 16 yards rushing (and, by the way, it's only about 50 yards when you take out sacks) is doing something very, VERY wrong. Keep in mind, this wasn't even a particularly stout defense; what happens against USC?
• Unrelated to today's game (mercifully), but Terrelle Pryor throws 4-tds against a bad Troy team to help Ohio State sneak past them and he's the All-American of the day?! Exactly how much do the media love the Buckeyes? It's past the point of reason.

So, it comes down to this - are you a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty kind of person? If you're glass-half-empty, you view this game as a regression. All the worst tendencies that were evident in last year's team and during the first three quarters against San Diego State, reared their ugly heads yet again as Notre Dame lost to, at best, an average football team. If you're glass-half-full, you can hang your hat on a young team, going on the road and overcoming adversity to give themselves a chance at the end. At this point, I honestly don't know. Feel free to add your thoughts, lamentations and venom in the comments - vent a little.

ND/MSU 2008: A Break From History?

"Past results do not guarantee future performance." If you've ever flipped through a prospectus, you've no doubt encountered this eloquent little qualifier. It is a legendary ass-coverer in the world of investments, but does it hold true when applied to football? In other words, does history give us any indication as to what we ought to expect from a team? Both Michigan State and Notre Dame better hope not.
As has been much discussed, commented on and parodied; traditionally, Michigan State has had a tendency to, well, stop showing up after around game #5. In looking back at the 11 seasons between 1997 and 2007, Michigan State, on average, started the season at a respectable 3-2 before finishing them 3-4. As a result, for Spartans' fans, the team's current 2-1 start is likely not as comforting as one might assume (MSU started 2007 4-1 before finishing 3-5).
Still, as craptacular as the East Lansingites have been as the season rounds the corner, the one thing they have consistently been able to do is beat the Irish. Over those same 11 seasons, the Spartans are 8-3 against the Irish. It's also probably no coincidence that, during that time, they haven't played ND later than the fourth game of their season.
So, this season, will the scripts stay true? In its fourth game, will Michigan State beat Notre Dame only to see the promise of a great year go spinning down the toilet once Big Televen play begins, or can Notre Dame continue to bounce back from 2007's paean to suckitude by knocking off the Spartans? Well, clearly, if I actually had those types of answers I would be laying down large chunks of my mortgage payment in a casino in Vegas rather than writing this blog. Still, it's probably worth a look and some speculation (to stick with the Wall Street analogies).
First and foremost, we need to look at what the teams have done thus far. As we know, Notre Dame has squeaked by San Diego State and shell-shocked Michigan. For their part, Michigan State has, in order, lost to a Cal team that subsequently lost to horrendous Maryland, crushed an Eastern Michigan team that was 4-8 in the frickin' MAC last year and slogged past Florida Atlantic, of whom I know two things, 1) they play in the Sun Belt (which, amazingly, is a conference and not a constellation) and 2) their biggest rival is Florida International (I'm not kidding). So, what does this tell us? Other than the fact that I'm glad Notre Dame's mascot is not a bird (MSU has already knocked off the Eagles and the Owls), not a whole lot. I would argue that Notre Dame has the only quasi-quality win of the two, so that probably counts for something. Granted, Michigan is probably going to be relatively bad this year, but they're also not playing in the MAC or Sun Belt (though these are probably the only conferences worse than the Big Televen this year...don't be jealous, ACC, you suck too).
So, how about the players? Well, Notre Dame's offense is starting to click a little bit. Clausen's looked good (56% completion percentage, 5 TD passes), the line's held strong and the running game has done what's necessary when called upon - they only have 68 rushing attempts as a team - MSU's Javon Ringer has 104 attempts on his own. As for Michigan State, while the aforementioned Ringer seems to be everyone's focal point (he has accounted for 86% of the Spartans' rushing yards), WR Mark Dell also bears mentioning as his 320 yards receiving represents 54% of the team's total passing yards. The bad news for Sparty is that QB Brian Hoyer is completing just 44% of his passes and only has 1 TD through the air. I'm no Knute Parseghian, but I think I'd be stacking the line and taking my chances on letting Mr. Hoyer try and beat my secondary (which has been pretty awesome).
With all this information, you may ask, what's the verdict? Well, as everyone knows, the away team in this series has won the last seven times they've played, so that certainly points to the Irish this week. I have a more important reason to like the chances of the Irish - they're the better team. Notre Dame is simply more talented and has more weapons than Michigan State. Keep in mind, as awful as the Irish were last year, they only trailed the Spartans 17-14 at halftime. This year, ND is a year older, more experienced and, as MSU coach Mark Dantonio noted, is having fun. While there are many downsides to a young team (see: 3-9), one of the major upsides is enthusiasm - especially with a few wins under their belts. It is for all of these reasons that I feel good about Saturday. No doubt about it, Michigan State is a good football team (they don't start to suck until October), but Notre Dame seems up to the challenge of not only upsetting the Spartans, but the odds as well.

"Hi, I'm Sparty..."

(door opens) Hi there, neighbor, the name's Sparty. Yeah, I know; kind of an unusual name. Uh, Greek, actually. Oh, are you familiar with Greece? In that case, I guess I should say I'm Laconian. Indeed, it is a beautiful area. Many's a day I sat under those very olive trees with a nice glass of mavrodafni, contemplating the delicate balance between joy and pain, life and death...
Anywho, as I was starting to say, I just moved into the neighborhood and...what's that? Really? Oh, I love block parties! Yes, of course I'll be there. I'll bring my famous spanakopita, it's TO. DIE. FOR.
Yes, yes, the clipboard. Well, the thing is, due to some recent contretemps, I'm afraid I have to introduce myself to my neighbors by requesting their John Hancock on this form. Uh, well, it basically says that, "technically", I'm not allowed within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, toy stores, carnivals, beaches, ice cream parlors, or dog groomers...it's complicated. (awkward pause)
Soooo, if you wouldn't mind signing right by the 'X', that'd be super duper....
Oh, I see, yes...yes, of course. I certainly will get off your "Goddamned lawn this fucking minute." It was nice meeting you and, just remember, I'm over at 362 if you ever need to borrow a cup of sugar... (door slams shut)

"I can explain..."