Basically, college football is to me what cocaine is to Paris Hilton- I go through withdrawal without it. Therefore, as the season begins (and that long offseason finally ends) I’m covering not one but two games this week. For preview one, Ohio State vs. Marshall go here.
Throughout the season, I’ll be bringing you these informative yet blunt game previews of every contest I cover; with a heavy focus on Northwestern, Illinois, Notre Dame, and the Big Ten in general.
From a national relevance standpoint, Virginia Tech vs. Boise St. is the game of the week, but from a fun-to-watch standpoint, I think Saturday’s shootout in South Bend, Notre Dame versus Purdue, is the winner hands down. Unless you’re really into punting, then the game will likely do nothing for you. This season opening battle between two “Crossroads of America” rivals will feature two dynamic spread-option offenses, minimal breaks between plays, and quite possibly 700+ combined passing yards.
If you have a Labor Day weekend cookout that might preclude from watching this game, skip it!
By Paul M. Banks
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I’ve always been a fan of the wardrobe of Notre Dame men’s basketball coach Mike Brey. He’s well known for his suit with no tie and a turtleneck sweater underneath instead of dress shirt look. I rock a similar look often, except I substitute a tight Banana Republic stretch t-shirt underneath instead of the turtleneck sweater.
So I don’t mind following his lead on fashion, especially if it helps out a good cause. And Brey is issuing a challenge to all Fighting Irish fans in an effort to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Michiana.
As part of McDazzle 2010 “Men in Kilts,” Brey is participating in a fundraising effort that will provide a free overnight stay at the Ronald McDonald Family Room for the family of a critically ill child. Brey is among 12 participants who have joined forces in this unique promotion in an effort to raise money and awareness for the Ronald McDonald charities in the South Bend and Mishawaka region.
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Notre Dame head Coach Brian Kelly made it quite clear at Media Day who his leader on defense will be this season.
“There are guys that people gravitate towards. There are guys that set a standard for the way they play. And right now it’s (Manti) Te’o on defense and (Michael) Floyd on offense,” Kelly said at the season opening presser.
Te’o, an inside linebacker, is one of those all-worldly college football recruits that earn the highest ratings possible from every recruiting service imaginable. His recruiting process was highly publicized, and his final two choices were the Irish and USC. Given the current direction of the two programs, it’s pretty obvious he made the right choice.
Te’o discussed his status as the face of the 2010 ND defense despite being just a sophomore.
By Paul M. Banks
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Back in the Lou Holtz era, people following Notre Dame closely would often say “why don’t they throw to the tight ends more?” That will certainly not be an issue this year as ND can boast of Kyle Rudolph, a 6-6 265 lb junior from Cincinnati. Of the eight semifinalists for the 2009 John Mackey Award (nation’s top tight end) he was the only sophomore, and of those eight semifinalists, he’s the only one who returns in 2010. So it’s safe to say he’s the early favorite for the award this fall.
This is what Mike Denbrock, Notre Dame Tight Ends Coach said about Kyle Rudolph.
“Kyle is certainly a gifted athlete, not only athletically as far as his ability to run and catch the football and block, but he has an understanding of the game of football that I think is very advanced. There are very few things you can throw in Kyle Rudolph’s direction that he isn’t prepared for therefore, making him a pretty valuable guy to have.”
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Illinois‘ Mikel LeShoure, Wisconsin’s John Clay, and Notre Dame‘s Armando Allen (click their respective names for profiles/exclusive interviews with each running back) have been named to the list of 49 candidates for the Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation’s top college running back.
Clay, the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, led the Big Ten and ranked eighth in the country with 1,517 rushing yards in 2009. His 18 rushing touchdowns also led the Big Ten and tied for seventh in the nation.
Clay who has also been named to the preseason Watch Lists for the Walter Camp Award and Maxwell Awards. He was also selected as a Playboy All-American. It’s the second straight year he’s been named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List. Ron Dayne is the only Wisconsin player to win the Doak Walker Award, bringing home the trophy in 1999. Dayne was also a finalist for the award in 1998 while Anthony Davis (2001), Brian Calhoun (2005) and P.J. Hill (2006) have all been semifinalists.
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Quarterback is the most high profile position in all of team sports. At Notre Dame, the most high profile program in college football, it takes on an even greater prestige and responsibility.
Think of all the highly publicized quarterbacks in ND history: Brady Quinn, Jimmy Clausen, Joe Theismann, Steve Beuerlein. There’s even a subgroup of stars who wore the same number (#3)- Joe Montana, Rick Mirer, Ron Powlus.
But now that Clausen has left school early and joined the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, the position belongs to junior Dayne Crist, who like Clausen, was a five-star recruit out of California.
By Paul M. Banks
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Quarterback is the most high profile position in all of team sports. At Notre Dame, the most high profile program in college football, it takes on an even greater prestige and responsibility.
Think of all the highly publicized quarterbacks in ND history: Brady Quinn, Jimmy Clausen, Joe Theismann, Steve Beuerlein. There’s even a subgroup of stars who all wore the same number (#3)- Joe Montana, Rick Mirer, Ron Powlus.
But now that Clausen has left school early and joined the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, the position belongs to junior Dayne Crist, who like Clausen, was a five-star recruit out of California.
By Paul M. Banks
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Head Coach Brian Kelly brings a new spread-option style offense to Notre Dame, and many skill position players are licking their chops. It is believed this new pass-first system will open things up for the running game by spreading opposing defenders out. And the running backs in this system will no doubt also become “receiving backs” as they’ll be called upon to catch more passes than in the pro style system under Charlie Weis.
Starting at tailback for ND this is fall is 5’10″ 205 lb senior Armando Allen, who is second all-time on the school list for receptions by a running back (102-695-3). He should make a good fit in the new system. His career rushing numbers read 362-1,630-6-4.5 per carry, with a career high 139 rushing yards versus Michigan last year.
By Paul M. Banks
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In the storied history of Notre Dame football, with its 11 national championships, 102 winning seasons, and 466 NFL Draft picks, there are two classes of coaches. The first, and elite class includes national championship coaches (Knute Rockne, Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz) that have gates named after them at Notre Dame Stadium. There are also statues erected of these men in Notre Dame, IN.
The second class is simply, everyone else who’s coached in South Bend. And since Holtz left in 1996, the Fighting Irish have had exactly that in Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham and Charlie Weiss. Enter Brian Kelly, who brings the most impressive resume since Lou Holtz to ND.
His era begins now.
When college football season begins Sept. 4th, he’ll take the first step towards joining whichever class he’ll eventually fit be categorized.
By Paul M. Banks
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Announced just today is the Watch List for the inaugural Paul Hornung Award that will be given annually to the most versatile player in major college football.
The award is named for Notre Dame and Green Bay Packers legend Paul Hornung, the 1956 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick in the 1957 NFL draft.
He played every backfield position during his career with the Irish. He also punted, kicked, returned kicks and played defensive back and was a multi-threat offensive back and prolific kicker in the pros. In the NFL, Hornung won four championships as an all-pro halfback, leading the NFL in scoring for three consecutive years: 1959-60-61. He also set the single season scoring record in 1960 with 176 points.
Football deity and legendary Packers Coach Vince Lombardi called Hornung, “The most versatile man ever to play the game.”
By Paul M. Banks
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Notre Dame and Indiana will renew their college basketball rivalry during the 2011-12 campaign when the two teams meet at Conseco Fieldhouse Dec. 17, 2011 in the inaugural Crossroads Classic.
The contest will be a part of doubleheader that also will feature Butler and Purdue meeting on the hardwood that same day.
The announcement came today at Conseco Fieldhouse. Irish director of athletics Jack Swarbrick was present for the formal announcement of the doubleheader as were Barry Collier of Butler, Fred Glass of Indiana and Morgan Burke of Purdue. The four athletic directors each signed the Memorandum of Understanding that provides for the Crossroads Classic to be held in the state capital in both 2011 and 2012
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On Monday, a formal announcement of the coming together of the four most-storied college basketball programs in the state of Indiana will be made. Athletic Directors from the four programs: Barry Collier of Butler, Fred Glass of Indiana, Jack Swarbrick of Notre Dame and Purdue’s Morgan Burke will convene in the lobby of Conseco Fieldhouse to formalize a doubleheader event in Indianapolis.
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Texas today announced four future football games to be played against Notre Dame. The series will kickoff with Texas traveling to South Bend on Sept. 5, 2015. Notre Dame is slated to head to Austin on Sept. 3, 2016, and again on Aug. 31, 2019. The Longhorns return to South Bend on Sept. 12, 2020. The match-up features two of the biggest money-making programs in all of college football.
And another scheduling announcement relates to ND today:
The Irish men’s basketball team will face Southeastern Conference foe Georgia in its opening game at the 2010 Old Spice Classic in a contest that will be televised on Thursday, Nov. 25 by ESPN2 at 7:00 p.m. (ET). The first-round pairings and tournament bracket were unveiled on Thursday (Aug. 5) on ESPNEWS. Notre Dame will be making its first-ever appearance in the annual Thanksgiving weekend college basketball event that first began in 2006.
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“It’s a totally different game today than it was even five years ago,” said former Notre Dame and Oakland Raiders great Tim Brown, when I asked about the seismic shift currently occurring within the NFL.
The league is more obsessed with the forward pass than ever before. And since the major pass-first teams are consistently winning, this trend will only increase in the years ahead.
I caught up to Brown in South Bend for the 2010 College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend. Brown himself had an interesting conversation on the topic with a fellow member of his enshrinement class; one with the same last name.
“(Former New England Patriots WR) Troy Brown and I were talking about this. How are they going to judge receivers? If they are having a hard time judging me and Cris Carter, how are they going to judge these guys who are in a 100 catch offense, and average 9 yards a catch?” Brown told me.
By Paul M. Banks
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This past weekend, a new class of 24 College Football legends were inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame in beautiful South Bend, Indiana. There was a hometown favorite in this class: “Touchdown Timmy” Brown, the first wide receiver to ever be awarded the Heisman Trophy. A two-time All-American (’86,’87), Tim Brown set 19 school records during his career at Notre Dame.
There were quite a few Golden-Domers attending the festivities, including College Football Hall of Fame inductee Chris Zorich, and Alan Pinkett, former Notre Dame running back and current ND football radio color commentator. ND graduate Mike Golic, the ESPN commentator from Mike & Mike in the Morning, and WNDU-TV Sports Director Jeff Jeffers emceed the festival parade.
I also attended the festivities, where I caught up to Brown; and asked him what he thought about this year’s Fighting Irish team.
By Paul M. Banks
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Legendary NFL and Notre Dame QB Joe Montana, has a son who’s a stellar QB prospect. His name is Nate Montana. He was arrested Friday night, along with a few other members of ND’s potential 2-deep roster this fall.
And the basketball team’s second-leading scorer, Tim Abromaitis. Here are more details
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Starting a game at Notre Dame Stadium doesn’t mean just teeing the football up and booting it down the field. It means Fighting Irish students start a cheer that resonates throughout the stadium by the time the return man catches the ball. This year, it is a start for new faces among Notre Dame assistant coaches to show their talents to the rest of the college football world.
By Kevin Hunt
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“Coaching is making players do what they don’t want to do so that they can become what they want to become.” Great words once spoken by current New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. Based on that, it appears Notre Dame has the best man for the football sidelines in Brian Kelly. But does Kelly’s hard-nosed style of coaching mean Irish fans will see something different from the mediocrity of the past few seasons?
By Kevin Hunt
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For the fourth consecutive season, Notre Dame will meet Connecticut in a home-and-home series during the 2010-11 BIG EAST regular season. The conference regular-season matrix for the upcoming campaign was released on Thursday. In addition to the Huskies, the Irish also are slated to play Marquette and St. John’s twice next season.
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Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 isn’t going to be as great for media members as pretty much any Super Bowl in the past. It’s likely to be cold, windy and maybe even snowy for kickoff of the NFL title matchup in the New York area – the first time for a legitimate shot at “football weather” for football’s biggest game. So now the NCAA has to wake up and realize conference expansion isn’t the biggest issue with college football.
By Kevin Hunt
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