We can finally stop writing and hearing about this.

Meyer turned back to the golfers and said, “I’m not going to Notre Dame. Ever. I’m going to be the coach at Florida for a long time, as long as they want me.”

Thank you, Coach.

Thanks to astute O&B Hue reader Derick Vollrath for an interesting — albeit disturbing — find. From Derick:

This article makes a persuasive point: Meyer took the job at Florida for family reasons, and that when his kids are gone he will bolt for Notre Dame.

And we all know that Charlie Weis is anything but secure in his job in South Bend. The timing is a little scary.

Do we have a lifer in Meyer? Or will he go home to what his wife calls his first love if they come calling?

Sound off, Huers.

While the eyes of the nation are heaped upon the Buckeyes and Trojans in one of the most anticipated regular season matchups in recent years, a game that used to capture the eyes of the nation on a regular basis has almost slipped completely off the radar.  Notre Dame and Michigan plays in one of the least talked about historic matchups in all of college.  The competition between the two winningest programs in college football used to be circled on the calendar of all true college football fans.  But that was before both programs slipped into disarray.

The Michigan-Notre Dame game is this weekend as well, but not too many people outside of the states of Michigan and Indiana are talking about it.

At least the teams are not winless going into the game, as they both were last year for the first time ever in a non-season opener. Both teams were 0-2 last year before Michigan embarrassed the Fighting Irish 38-0 in Ann Arbor, Mich. (LINK)

How close are these two teams, ranked one and two in overall wins, when it comes to football tradition?

Since Lou Holtz left in 1996, Notre Dame has gone 79-56, falling behind Michigan as college football’s winningest program in 2004. The Wolverines are now 870-287-36 (.744) with Notre Dame second at 825-278-42 (.739).  (LINK)

This once titanic matchup that filled the sports news with video snippets and player quotes is now relegated to the back pages. Notre Dame (1-0) limps into the game after a late comeback to edge powerhouse San Diego State.  Michigan (1-1) brings a veteran defense but a spread offense that has sputtered and imploded in two straight games.  

Everyone has heard of the quote, “What happens when the immovable object meets the irresistible force”?  But what happens when an ineffective offense meets a porous defense?  I’m guessing fireworks could ensue.  One thing is for sure, either the Irish defense will look stout for a change or the Wolverine offense might look downright potent!

It’s not like Charlie Weis, coach of Notre Dame, hasn’t done his best to add some spice to the matchup. (more…)

One of the more interesting debates on the Gator roundtable is whether Tim Tebow can join Ohio State legend Archie Griffin in the Multiple Heisman club.

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Remember USC? They’re baaaaaaack.

After coming heart-wrenchingly close to pulling out a win against us on their home turf, the Gamecocks are hen-pecked heading into Gainesville. The Gators have hit such a skid that they know anyone poses a threat.

Simply put, of all the “big” games Florida’s had over the past few weeks, this one takes it to an entirely different level. With no guarantee of being chosen on selection Sunday, they MUST win this game to break the slide. In all likelihood, this is the last game on the schedule where they will be the clear favorites to win. ‘Nuff said.

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We’re going to be putting college football in general, and usually the SEC in particular, on notice Colbert-style weekly. or barring that, semi-weekly, throughout the season. Without further ado:

Galoshes McGillicuddy Says…

There’s no doubt in my mind that this fun-loving little dude belongs on a sideline somewhere. Just imagine the fun he (and we) would have. Orson mind-melded with Galoshes to rat out Notre Dame’s starting quarterback, and I’m pretty sure he’s behind this nonsense over at the Ramblin’ Racket:

So, it seems Notre Dame’s starting quarterback is none other than Demetrius Jones. This was posted by Notre Dame blog Robot Charlie, with the text:

One of the best things about being on campus.Yes, that’s guaranteed.

Obviously, this is not from a source which I would call perfect or reliable. When Robot Charlie posted this, they were of course asked “why [they’d] post it if Charlie Weis wanted it kept a secret.” (Apparently for credibility.) He then took down the post in order to maintain secrecy, but didn’t count on RSS readers maintaining the post. Does me posting this break some sort of bloggers’ code of ethics? Haha no such thing; if it means I’m a jerk, so be it.It will most likely mean nothing that I posted this, since blogs indeed DO have no credibility, and this will no doubt not affect GT’s preparation. But all the same, I do hope someone with GT football reads this. I repeat:

Notre Dame’s starting quarterback September 1st against Georgia Tech will be Demetrius Jones.

Notre Dame’s starting QB will be Demetrius Jones.

Demetrius Jones will start for Notre Dame on September 1st.

Then, just for fun, he adds:

Notre Dame is the most overrated team in college football, and if it weren’t for Ralph Friedgen and Mark Mangino, Charlie Weis would also be the fattest coach in the NCAA. Go Jackets! Kick some Irish ass!

I’m down with that, but I’m picking Notre Dame to win. Since they invariably let me down last year whenever I picked them, I expect them to do the same again in ‘07.

I also invoked the spirit of Galoshes when I asked (rhetorically) at FanHouse:

But riddle me this, Galoshes McGillicuddy, how is it that the #2 team in the country only manages 17 first half points on an MSU offense which went 3-and-out (punt), 3 plays for 3 yards (INT), 9 plays for a turnover on downs, 4 plays and punt, 2 plays and INT, 4 plays for 16 yards (INT), and 1 play and INT? You read that correctly. The Dogs punted twice and turned the ball over 5 times in the first half for 60 total yards of offense. The Tigers had seven possessions with which to work, most of them starting with excellent field position, and it still took a 4th and 1 effort at the goal line with 4 seconds remaining to make it 17-0 going into halftime.

And that leads us right into…
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The definition of an “elite” college football program can vary drastically between observers. A truly elite program is one that can continue to be a top program regardless of the adversity that arises. This means they have enough resources available to overcome the loss of any one factor. Some of these factors include (in no particular order of value) tradition, location, fan support, revenue and stability. There are a number of top college football programs that have enjoyed recent success but lack the prerequisites that guarantee its long term dominance (an average of 9 wins per year for a period of 15-20 years). This means that a change in circumstances that might hinder a strong program could instead be crippling to one of these teams. In that regard I have identified FIVE top college programs I believe could easily tumble into mediocrity and why.

TENNESSEE - The University of Tennessee has a lot of the characteristics you would expect a football factory to have - rabid fans, large revenue base, a long list of former stars and a consistent winning program. For all that Tennessee has in its favor it still lacks one important thing . . . a strong in-state recruiting base. Because of its geographic location, Tennessee must steal top talent from nearby states. The state of Tennessee by itself simply cannot stock a major University with SEC caliber talent. With that fact obvious, Vol coaches have always had to (and been able to) reach into the surrounding stakes like the Carolinas, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Georgia for top talent to keep the football machine running.

Currently only Georgia and LSU have enjoyed the type of recent success to fortify their borders from excessive thefts from the Vols. The resurgence of Alabama combined with the rise of traditionally futile programs like South and North Carolina could prove disastrous to Tennessee as recruits see an opportunity and play for Championships and in the national spotlight without leaving their home state. Additionally, Tennessee is in a precarious situation as a team that has garnered the national reputation for underachieving despite great talent. Fulmer, the current coach, is a man who always seems to be on the hot seat despite his accomplishments at the school. UT is not one of the schools who I believe is reliant on their current coach and could still thrive with a change of direction. The problem remains that this new coach would still face the same restrictions and constraints as the last two (Phil Fulmer and Johnny Majors) have struggled with.

ALABAMA - Normally a school with such tremendous home state support and tradition would be safe from the ups and downs of the changing college landscape. However the Crimson Tide has proven the opposite can be true in the right circumstance. Their recent record of recent futility points out another major factor that can seriously affect even a great program - NCAA Sanctions. There is no school with such a culture of cheating as found in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was so prevalent and accepted as to permeate the mindset of boosters with the notion that such tactics were normal. (more…)

Since the loss on Tuesday the Notre Dame bashers have come out in force.  Unlike the actual Notre Dame team, these critics understand the adage “if you are going to bring it, you better bring it strong!”  Some of the facts that have been pointed out are Notre Dame’s inability to win a bowl game in nine opportunities in the last 13 years.  Also that Notre Dame has an advantage over most teams to be selected for a bowl game.  Often the Irish are selected for bowls that their record or on field accomplishments wouldn’t seemingly warrant.
 
Now far be it for me to start a Notre Dame lovefest but I don’t understand the vitriol with which many people have Notre Dame.  The Irish have always been both the most popular and most despised team in the country.  While this may sound incongruent, the Irish have the largest individual fan base, far exceeding any other football team.  But with this popularity comes a backlash from fans of other teams.  While there may be more Notre Dame fans than any other school, there can be a large portion of Texas, Michigan, Florida, Alabama, Oklahoma, etc, fans who together despise the Irish more than any other team for their privileged status.
 
So what you have is a dichotomy with Notre Dame being both the best loved and most hated team in the land.  And much of this hatred has grown directly from envy of the on-field success and perceived highbrow attitude of the school.  Although many pundits and analysts say that college football is better when Notre Dame is good, many college football fans have taken particular delight reveling in the failure and suffering of the football team during the last few decades.
 
But is much of this criticism and hatred really justified?  (more…)

While one of the participants of the National Title game is known the remaining spot is still far from settled. I see 5 possible scenarios in what remains of the current season and I rank them in order of likelihood and in order of quality matchups [1(*) to 5(*****) Stars].

1) Ohio State vs. USC ***** USC is the only team that controls its own destiny. Not only do they have the voters on their side but the computers will soon swing the Trojans way after another win (even before they play UCLA). In this scenario the only way another team could go in place of USC is if they were voted ahead of USC in the human polls (Harris and Coaches). Since the human polls are 2/3rds of the vote, despite the reasonable formulas of the computer which take strength of schedule, opponent’s record and where you play into account . . . fallible humans still control this system. If USC won unimpressively there is a small possibility that another team could be voted ahead of them. Unless they win a game that they shouldn’t, say on a controversial call (aka Ohio State versus Miami) or miracle play (aka Kordell Stewart versus Michigan), that’s hard to fathom.

From a fan’s perspective this would probably be the best matchup to watch. I’d like to see a VERY talented but young USC team play the undisputed best team in the country. I think Ohio State would be only a 3 point or less favorite on a neutral field. This game could either be a high or low scoring affair because of the talent each team has on BOTH sides of the ball. Could USC play in two consecutive “Game of the Century” National Championship contests in a row? Could beeee . . . (more…)