Ga Tech & TCU picks = brilliant
Tulsa & OU (homer) picks = not-so-brilliant

ND pick... TBD
baIrish | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 10:47 am | #

Texas Tech pick not looking so good, QQ
KyleJones | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 11:08 am | #

Weird, I just looked at the power rankings on espn and thought, I bet I'm doing well in the Pick Six on BGS, they should update that. I'm going to go on and ask for it.

Ask and you shall receive.
Mark | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 11:16 am | #

Looks like Ricky Dobbs will be starting against us this weekend ... anyone else think this game just got hella more interesting?

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnatio...inst-notre- dame
DieselKnight | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 11:20 am | #

Crist has torn ACL, out four to six month- shit

Floyd is back and will play verse Navy and so will Parris. Allen day to day.

More carries for Riddick!!!
Joe | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 12:50 pm | #

Only 4-6 months?
Good and bad news.....

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicag...tory? id=4619419
#3 | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 12:53 pm | #

Apparently Goodman will be moved to the critical QB/WR/TE/DT hybrid position to compensate for the loss of Crist, Eifert and two missed recruiting classes at DT.

Damn that kid is versatile.
Ghost of Corwin | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 1:08 pm | #

Crist out, Floyd back, Goodman in quarterback mix
By Tony KrauszThe Journal Gazette
Notre Dame backup quarterback Dayne Crist will be out four to six months with a torn ACL.

Crist injured his knee Saturday against Washington State in San Antonio. Coach Charlie Weis said Crist will have surgery Friday.

Evan Sharpley will be the backup quarterback, and former Bishop Dwenger standout John Goodman will be the third-string quarterback.

Weis said Goodman, who caught his first touchdown pass against Washington State, will be primarily a receiver and will work out as quarterback just in case.

There was good news on the injury front.

Notre Dame will have receiver Michael Floyd back for this weekend's home game against Navy.

The sophomore's season appeared to be over after he broke his collarbone against Michigan State on Sept. 19.

In other injury news, freshman tight end Tyler Eifert will not have surgery to repair a bulging disc in his back.

Weis said after Eifert met with a specialist in Phoenix it was determined that surgery would have been career-ending. Eifert will undergo rehabilitation and should be able to play in the spring.

Right guard Trevor Robinson, who was injured against Washington State, will likely not play this weekend.

Senior Dan Wegner is listed as the starting right guard, with junior Andrew Nuss as the backup on the depth chart. Robinson is listed third on the depth chart, but he is doubtful, according to Weis.
jim masterson | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 1:22 pm | #

if he is only out 6 months, at least he might be ready for fall practice. but if jimmy leaves, that would leave no one but Goodman (second coming of Godsey?) at QB for spring practice. let's hope jimmy comes back.
bamboo | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 1:43 pm | #

Bamboo - Spring ball isn't until late March early April. Surgery is November 6. 4 mos. = March 6 return. Crist could easily (for me to say - he's got his work cut out, but I'm sure he will get after his rehab with great intensity) be back for the Spring. Plus he's got more than a year in the system. If Clausen goes - Crist shouldn't skip a beat.
Jake | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 2:13 pm | #

Ok, how much will it take to keep Jimmy around. Cash, kidnapping, or forced enrollment at ND should all be on the table. Heal fast Dayne!!!
President Rome | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 2:22 pm | #

four months would be extremely optimistic.
bamboo | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 2:24 pm | #

4 months optimistic, agreed. 6 months realistic - I think. in any case, he should be ready for fall camp.
oakvilleirish | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 2:28 pm | #

The glass is always half-full for me.
Jake | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 2:43 pm | #

Remember - Floyd was supposed to be done for the year (maybe the bowl game). Now he's back.
Jake | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 2:44 pm | #

I don't know anything about Dobbs...why does this make the game more interesting? (Not that ND games aren't interseting enough, of course.) Please enlighten me. Thanks!
Dave in the Basement | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 3:03 pm | #

Dobbs is the first string QB but he's been out for two weeks. He runs the option but can air it out on occasion. The second string guy, Kris Procter, is thought to be much less reliable when forced to pass.

As a 'D', you'd much rather be facing Procter.
Joe Subway | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 3:11 pm | #

Yes, Joe Subway, you are correct.

While Dobbs was out for his two games, Navy ran 64 offensive plays against Wake Forest, which they won. Of those 64 offensive plays, 64 of them were rushing plays. That is not a typo - they did NOT throw the ball that entire game.

Against Temple (another game in which Dobbs did not play until the final drive of the game), Navy ran 69 plays. 62 were rushing plays. Of the seven pass plays, Proctor went 2/4 for 27 yds and an INT. When Dobbs came in at the end in an desperate attempt to move the ball quickly (they only had about 2 minutes to go 81 yards and no TO's), they had to throw the ball. Dobbs went 0-3 and Navy couldn't convert for a second First Down on the drive.

Without Dobbs, Navy is a running team, which Notre Dame has been able to stop with relatively consistency over the last two games. At least with Dobbs in the game, there is the possibility that Navy throws the ball a bit more, which, as expected with out questionable secondary play at times, could lead to some interesting situations.

I still think that ND wins (hopefully comfortably), but Dobbs definitely makes it a more "interesting" game.

By the way, Dobbs' line looks not to shabby for a team known for running the ball "all the time":

33-66, 618yds, 3 TD, 2INT. There are some MAC and SunBelt teams that would love their QB to be that productive.

Dobbs is forced into throwing the ball quite frequently when they are in close games or behind and need to catch up - and when that happens, he is not very productive (see the Pitt game as an example of that). If ND's offense opens the flood gates and goes hogwild on the Navy defense in the first three series, then it could be a long night for Dobbs, and his productivity may suffer (due to him having to throw more). If, on the other hand, ND's offense unexpectedly sputters, look for Navy to keep it close, keep it on the ground, and grind out 6 and 7 minute long drives that eat clock like Charlie eats doughnuts.
chrisnd | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 3:42 pm | #

For those discussing what would happen if Jimmy goes pro at the QB position, here's a couple thoughts.

For one, we have two QBs coming in as freshmen this year. Both were highly rated.

Secondly, if Jimmy went pro and Crist was still not full go when spring practice rolls around, remember that Montana is planning on coming back. With no one else at the position in the spring (assuming neither of the incoming QBs enrolls early) Montana very well could be the sole scholarship QB on the roster come Spring Practice. Now THAT would be interesting.



Great to have Floyd back. It'll be interesting seeing if this team can make a run through the end of the season.
Brad | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 4:01 pm | #

Apparently we have an eligible walk-on at QB named Coley O'Brien. Anyone know about this guy?
Glad Joe | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 4:15 pm | #

They never passed once against Wake Forest, and they won? That is incredible.
Joe Subway | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 4:46 pm | #

Just saw the Weis video and have read the stories about Floyd's return. I like the way things are prioritized around ND.

Can you imagine the way it would have worked elsewhere with certain unnamed coaches?

"OK, you're healed . . . . Well, OK, you're not really healed, but close enough. Now don't tell anyone, especially your mother that we're making you play on Saturday. . . . . Wadda you mean not ready to play, wadda ya think we're paying ya for? Cars don't grow on trees. . . ."
Épée Fencer | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 4:51 pm | #

Did anyone else feel a little bit of deja-vu watching the Dolphins-Jets this weekend? Remember that guy who made the Jets look silly and slow on TWO kickoff returns for touchdowns? Yes, that was Ted Ginn Jr. and he did the same to us when we played Ohio State a few years ago. The kid has speed. I remember some folks blamed that on Charlie at the time....now that he continues to show his heels to NFL pros, let's continue to wish Charlie good luck in recruiting special talent to ND.
Bill Greany 66 | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 7:11 pm | #

Epee,

I know your comment is hyperbole, but I don't honestly believe coaches look at these kids as automatons. I think most coaches genuinely like their players and would generally hold a kid out until he was ready to play. It doesn't make sense rushing someone who is truly injured as they will play tentative and end up getting hurt worse. Bumps and bruises, absolutely, man up. Broken bones and torn ligaments, not so much.

I remember reading an article about Richt when UGA had a run of players getting in trouble. The article insinuated that these coaches make promises to the parents to protect them, and like any parent, they are going to do whatever they can to discipline a player in-house rather than feed them to the wolves. That sort of changed my view of not just Richt, but coaches in general. I guess that was why I thought the penalty for Blount at Oregon was so extreme. Okay, he deserved punishment, but possibly ruining his future over a (from what I could tell, well-deserved) punch isn't how you teach discipline.

Winning is certainly important, but I have heard too many coaches say the best part of coaching is making men out of boys. Call me naive, but I actually believe that applies to most if not all of them.
Michael | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 8:15 pm | #

Michael,

If you ever need a case where a coach puts the win of a team over the livelihood (and health) of a player, look no further than what Jim Harbaugh did to Tavita Prichard in 2007. It was so obvious that Prichard had a concussion that my five year old daughter could have diagnosed him.

I am not saying that coaches don't "protect players", but you know damn well that given how Tebow has played the last few games (discounting the GA game where he was ready), he was put it for the LSU game way, way, too early. But Meyer certainly can't not be a winner, and will, at all costs, put his players in positions that they have no business being in.

Of course, I am just speculating, but I wouldn't put anything past 95% of the coaches in college football.
Anonymous | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 9:00 pm | #

Dobbs is going to start, but I wonder if he would start if it wasn't the ND game. Hopefully ND can get out to a lead and jc out of there. it would be interesting to see Goodman chuck the ball out of the wildcat.
bamboo | Email | Homepage | 11.03.09 - 11:02 pm | #

I see a big game for Manti against Navy's option. I'm really looking forward to this.
walter | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 12:06 am | #

Nice thought about Goodman and the wildcat, Bamboo.

Can you imagine the difficulties we could create for opposing teams' D-coordinators if we could perfect a 'triple-threat' wildcat next to the passing offense we have with Jimmy and Co.? They'd have to start the gameplanning a couple weeks ahead of time. . .
DCS | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 7:46 am | #

I've got to admit, I STILL don't understand how the Wildcat works. QB goes out, there is little to no pass threat--why doesn't the defense just sell out on the run? Sure, I know you can pull the little trick pass thing, but it's not a QB back there--they aren't going to be hitting a receiver in stride, just keep a body on anyone who releases downfield. It SHOULD be the easiest thing in the world to stop...yet it seems to work enough for teams that it gets more and more popular.

For Arkansas, I could have just said it was because they had McFadden running it, and he's a beast. Or Ronnie Brown at Miami. But enough people are running it now that it's not just because of one or two players--so WHY???? WHY does it work??Somebody call Smart Football and get them on this!
Nate | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 8:05 am | #

Huge game this weekend... don't think so just page back to one year ago.. and read the comments.. the near Navy comeback is where the posters start going south...

Funny thing to see to is how many folks were down on Jimmy.... 8 games later and he is NFL bound.. gotta love ND fans..

Personally don't see it happening.. he still hasn't beat SC, come close to a single natl champ, and has been injured all year... I see Tate, Floyd and JC coming back.. to finish what they started...
jmc | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 9:26 am | #

(With apologies to everyone who has also had to hear about this too much)

Nate,

The Wildcat is effective because it allows teams that don't run the option to have an option look. If you think about it, it is basically an option from a shotgun formation. If you think just selling out on the run will allow you to stop that, go back and look at how many 200 & 300 yard rushing games Navy has put up in the past against us.

The key advantage to it over just running an option is that it allows you to have your pro-style offensive personnel out there while running the option rather than dragging an option QB out there and showing your hand to the defense. The defense then has the pro-style personnel (smaller, faster linebackers)rather than option personnel and must also audible their defensive play/covereage (not easy for pros let alone college kids).

The second reason that has been thrown around is that a lot of teams are running it so it forces the other team to prepare for it. With a team with a pro-style offense like Notre Dame, that is time our opponents need to be preparing for our other tendencies, and making them prepare for the wildcat splits that time. It is an easy offense to put in at the beginning of the season and takes minimal time to practice each week. Running the option is a lot easier than preparing defensively for it due to the responsibility piece.

My opinion is that it will have the opposite phenonenom from Fax machines. The more teams that use it, the less effective it will be once teams are preparing every week for it.

Hope this helps.
John05 | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 9:48 am | #

Nate,

The Wildcat worked in Arkansas because McFadden would throw. The defense had to stay honest or risk getting burned by McFadden throwing a pass. If your RB can't throw, or the likelihood of him throwing is so remote, I don't know that there is much advantage of the Wildcat formation.

It does seem like many of the Wildcat iterations today are basically just telegraphed runs with the benefits being no potential botched handoff (between QB & RB) and the OL having to hold their blocks for slightly less time due to no handoff.
WeAreSC | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 9:55 am | #

jmc: 3 words--Rookie Salary Cap. Any junior with a shot of the first round is going to go pro, and should. This is the LAST year that incoming rookies will be able to get whatever they want at the negotiating table. Players going into the 2011 draft will have a much smaller check to look forward to. Beating SC, all that other stuff is great, but if staying means the difference between a 40 million dollar contract and a 4 million dollar contract, you can bet Jimmy's gone. And Golden, for that matter.

John05: See, I'd buy that if it WAS the same pro-set personnel in there, but it's not. Outside of Tebow (and really, he's an RB masquerading anyways), teams line a RB up to take the snap in the Wildcat. That's what makes it the "Wildcat". So no, it's not the same personnel. It should be inherently OBVIOUS what's going on, other than a McFadden-type throw, as WeAreSC points out.

The only real thing I can see is that with no QB, it's 11 on 11 as far as blocking/running goes.
Nate | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 10:23 am | #

I am steaming about all the comments that Jimmy must go for the sake of the money. Additionally, the reason is given because of the examples of Bradford and Tebow this year.
Both reasons are based on a huge negative- that Jimmy won't get better and that the rookie contract is the only money he'll see.In other words, he's peaked after this yr and can only go downhill. Yes, that would describe Ryan Leaf and Jamarcus Russell pretty well, but I prefer to think of Drew Breese, Kyle Orton, Tono Romo-guys that actually earned their big contracts by playing better over time.
I am not naive, but I really would like to think that he'd come back for the run at the title and one more crack at SC. You actualy can't put a value on that.
canuck 75 | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 11:49 am | #

Canuck 75-

You're telling me that if your boss could magically promise you either:
A - $40 mil next year, with the chance you will be fired in 3-4 years and could only be hired on as a gas station cashier from thereafter
--OR--
B - $4 mil in two years, but a ND National Championship next year, again with the chance that you will be fired in 3-4 years and yadda, yadda, yadda

You would take "B"? I love ND, but I'd look right past a guarenteed National Championship and $4 mil for $40 mil if that was truely the stakes
E-Man | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 12:55 pm | #

I appreciate that that is a valid argument, but so is mine that says all Jimmy has to do is actually improve a bit and play like Eli Manning and the second contract is much bigger than the first. That is not a bad gamble
canuck 75 | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 2:32 pm | #

I have a gut feeling that Jimmy jumps after this year.

Watching Dayne tear an ACL during garbage time had to make Jimmy do some self evals.


All that said, I still think this is at least a 10 win team next year. Even without Jimmy.
aaron b | Email | Homepage | 11.04.09 - 2:38 pm | #

Nate,

If you leave the same personnel in that the team uses for the regular offense as in the wildcat, it does put the D at a disadvantage because in the case of ND, they have to worry mostly about a long pass. If Clausen and the regular O stays in, the D has a different set of problems. One, the RB can hit the hole faster than on a regular handoff. Sometimes, the O line uses the best blockers like Young, Duncan and Olson on the same side so if the RB gets any running room, it will be a long gain. The RB could pitch out to Clausen for the throw or throw it himself. The RB could handoff or fake a handoff to another RB such as AA to GT so the LBs will freeze when they see that. I am sure there are other scenarios.
GB | Email | Homepage | 11.05.09 - 12:19 am | #

Canuck, no one said Jimmy "must" go--but I can't imagine why he wouldn't.

An NC ISN'T guaranteed. It's not even guaranteed for Florida this year, and they were about as close to a consensus #1 coming into the year as anyone could imagine. It wasn't guaranteed for Leinart and 2005 USC either, as we saw.

Nothing in professional sports is "guaranteed"--injuries happen, you get drafted by a team that has a crappy system and a horrible line which makes you look like crap, who knows? All you can control is that initial rookie contract--and you betcha that $40 mil looks a LOT better than $4 mil of GUARANTEED money to a 22 year old. I'm 33 and it looks better to me.

Were it not for the rookie salary cap starting THIS COMING YEAR, I'd be with you---I always want to see ND guys come back and play another year for the Irish. I want Jimmy and Golden to come back, for sure. But how do you ask guys to give up $35 million in guaranteed money?? (I'm just throwing numbers out there, I have no idea what the actual numbers would be, but it doesn't matter--it goes from a ton of guaranteed money to just a lot of guaranteed money). It's like when Rocket Ismail turned pro--he asked a pre-law friend of his what he should do, and his friend said that if some law firm came to him and offered him $40 million to go work right then, and he could finish his degree later, people would say he was crazy for not taking it.

This is not the year to judge a guy for going pro early--it's not as simple this year as "do I want to come back for a championship or not? Can I delay the money or not?" It's a choice between the PILES of money available now, or a much smaller amount a year from now. Getting upset that someone would make that decision is selfish--you'd rather see a kid stay unpaid and play for your enjoyment rather than make a smart business decision.
Nate | Email | Homepage | 11.05.09 - 12:33 am | #

One final comment; I am not one of those guys who thinks Jimmy owes it to us or anything ridiculous like that. I am putting myself into Jimmy's shoes and head and I honestly believe he would rather beat SC and try to go undefeated than sit on the bench while collecting 40m. That's the way you think when you are 22. What his dad and agent think may be another matter.
canuck 75 | Email | Homepage | 11.05.09 - 9:08 am | #