NCAA Football FanHouse http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com NCAA Football FanHouse http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/media/feedlogo.gif NCAA Football FanHouse http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Daily Domer: Rubber-Necking the Irishhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/19/daily-domer-rubber-necking-the-irish/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/19/daily-domer-rubber-necking-the-irish/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/19/daily-domer-rubber-necking-the-irish/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Charlie WeisFanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind., during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history. Check back daily for his dispatches on the Irish.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The numbers are fluid, but if you search stories on the web for the past two weeks you will find that no head coach, with the exception of Florida's Urban Meyer, is written about more than Charlie Weis. And if you were to eliminate the stories that pertain to Meyer possibly leaving the Brigadoon that is Gainesville for the "Deadliest Catch" climes of South Bend, then Weis may be number one.

Nick Saban. Mack Brown. Brian Kelly. The Patterson/Petersen duo, Gary and Chris. None of them have had even half the stories being written about them that Weis does even though all five of them have guided their teams to undefeated seasons thus far. Weis' team, as you know, is but 6-4.

Of course, Weis is a hot topic because he is on a very hot seat. But so is Mark Mangino. Dan Hawkins. Al Groh. Steve Kragthorpe. None but Mangino even merit a mention on "SportsCenter" and the Kansas coach is only drawing attention because his players, mired in a five-game losing streak, have suddenly realized that he is allegedly abusive.


Hey, I have to be here (notice the name of this column). But you don't. Nor does ESPN radio, which led off its 4 p.m. broadcast on Wednesday with a debate on whether "Notre Dame is the best coaching job in the country" (I imagine if you asked Weis his opinion this week, you'd be met with a sarcastic scowl).

Granted, when the nation's most loved and hated program is in disarray, everyone slows down to gawk at the carnage. If it were just about an overweight coach with one foot in the grave, Mangino would be getting equal time on ESPN. But he isn't.

Notre Dame has been an average football program, in terms of its won-loss record, this entire decade (70-49 since 2000). In fact, the 2000s' mark the first decade that the Irish have failed to finish in the top five of at least one final A.P. poll. And maybe if the Irish throw together a couple more decades in a row like the present one, the program will indeed have only a vestigial link to college football supremacy.

But in 2009, people still care. Some care because they love Notre Dame and not an insignificant number of people care because they despise the school. "It's like the Yankees," says senior defensive end John Ryan.

Except that the Yankees are World Series champions.

Will the Irish ever win another national championship?

Who knows? What I do know is that people have been posing that question as far back as when Knute Rockne perished in a plane crash in 1931.

Vintage Parris
Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook

Senior wide receiver Robby Parris met the media on Tuesday night wearing a pair of shoulder pads underneath his standard-issue green ND polo shirt. Just because. That's Robby Parris.

Calling Aldridge

Running back James Aldridge, also a senior, is listed as a starter at fullback this week. Aldridge has not started a game this season. His last carry came five games ago versus USC, on a fourth-and-1 call in the third quarter that went for no gain.

Odd Line

Notre Dame is a six-point favorite on Saturday versus a Connecticut team that has lost all five of its games by four points or less. Also, the Huskies are coming off a bye week. Additionally, all five schools that beat the Huskies are either ranked or received votes in this week's AP poll: Cincinnati is No. 5, Pittsburgh is No. 8, Rutgers is No. 25, North Carolina received the most votes (144) of any unranked team, and West Virginia received eight votes. Either Vegas truly believes that the Irish will come out fired up for the seniors' final home game, or they're counting on you to believe that.

Golden Rules

A lot of people know that Stanford went for two against USC last week leading 48-21 midway through the fourth quarter, and most people also know that the Trojans stopped the play. If you have not seen the play (I was unable to find it on YouTube), it is worth noting that Toby Gerhart (called "pure muscle" by his girlfriend, a Stanford swimmer) took a handoff and was met head-on at the goal line by USC's Taylor Mays, who knocked him backward.

Gerhart is a Heisman candidate and a deserving one. But it bears noting that perhaps the only offensive player who knocked heads at full speed with the 6-3, 230-pound Mays and got the better of it was Golden Tate.
Just another piece of the legend.

Gerhart and Tate, by the way, have as good a balance as any two players you'll see in college football. The sideline "tackles" Tate as often as a defensive back actually does.

Daily Domer: Rubber-Necking the Irish originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Charlie WeisCharlieWeisJohn WaltersThu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST Blanket Coverage: Create November Saturday to Rememberhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/blanket-coverage-create-november-saturday-to-remember/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/blanket-coverage-create-november-saturday-to-remember/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/blanket-coverage-create-november-saturday-to-remember/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

BCS logoA playoff? No, thank you.

That said, please do not think for a second that I ravenously slurp the Kool-Aid that the BCS is attempting to serve. I don't want to see a playoff because I love the idea that you have to show up every Saturday, that each week the stakes get higher and the opponent, no matter what their record, gets tougher for an undefeated team. And I hate the idea of neutral-site playoff games in NFL cities in December and January (there's a reason that the SEC and Big 12 title games never have any juice).

It would not be a panacea, but the most effective step toward improving the current system would be to compel teams who are seriously interested in playing for the national championship to play 12 meaningful games. Which brings us to Saturday's slate.

Florida, the No. 1 team in the nation, hosts Florida International (3-7), which boasts the nation's 118th-rated total defense. No. 2 Alabama hosts Chattanooga, an FCS school. I agree that the SEC is the nation's toughest conference. I realize that Florida plays Florida State out-of-conference in two weeks. And I am aware that the Gators and Tide are not the only schools to schedule guaranteed victories in order to garner another home date and the booty that it entails (see, Washington State versus Notre Dame).

Think, however, how much more interesting the season might be if the NCAA were to designate either the second or third Saturday in November as a play-in weekend. Imagine if the FBS agreed that on that date the top eight schools would be required to play one another. On that weekend no intra-conference games would be scheduled (you could move up the beginning of conference play one week earlier in the season). The eight teams that would be dropped (e.g., FIU by Florida) would fall into a pool and play one another.

Home field among the top eight would be determined by higher ranking. Paul Johnson, the coach at No. 7 Georgia Tech, might not relish the idea of traveling to Tuscaloosa but he'd probably prefer that to not having a shot at the national title at all.

Sure, there are wrinkles that would need to be solved. What if the two schools had already met that season (switch the matchups)? Would the picture be any clearer after such a weekend, for instance, would an unbeaten No. 5 Cincinnati, having toppled No. 4 TCU, be any closer to a shot at the national championship game?

Ludicrous? In college football, something can never be done (e.g., games after New Year's Day, African-Americans on SEC rosters, instant replay) until someone decides that it can.

A mid-November winnowing of the contenders? I'd be thankful for that.

Hanging 50 on Troy ... that Was His Deal

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, when USC's Pete Carroll and Stanford's Jim Harbaugh met for the post-game handshake following the Cardinal's 55-21 de-pantsing of the Trojans, the conversation went thusly:

Carroll: "What's your deal? What's your deal?
Harbaugh: "What's your deal?"

Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook
I'll take a wild guess and assume that this was not an impromptu dialogue between the two to compare contracts. What I cannot understand is why anyone who has seen Harbaugh operate the past few seasons is the least bit surprised that he went for the two-point conversion up 48-21.

The Cardinal had just scored and only 6:47 remained in the game. Harbaugh was likely figuring, When's the last time anyone hung 50 points on princely Pete (answer: never)? So he went for the deuce. Guarantee if the score were 47-21 at the time he would not have.

Stanford and USC compete for the same players in the same fertile Golden State breeding grounds. How much farther can Harbaugh puff out his pecs when he struts into a recruit's living room having not only beaten USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum but embarrassed them?

No punking of USC by Stanford could be complete, though, without a cruel and clever halftime performance by the Stanford band. They did not disappoint, performing a tribute to USC alum -- "Girls Gone Wild" creator-tax evader Joe Francis. I can only imagine what they are devising for Charlie Weis when the Irish visit Palo Alto in two weeks.


Records Are Made to Be Broken ... or Digitized and Sold on iTunes

A few weeks ago, when Florida's Tim Tebow was on the verge of breaking the SEC rushing touchdowns record of 49 set by Herschel Walker, fellow FanHouse scribe Clay Travis argued that the standards were unfair. Because the NCAA now includes bowl game statistics in overall stats, something that it did not do in Walker's era, Travis argued that the scales were unbalanced.

Either give Walker (the greatest college football player many of us ever saw) the five touchdowns that he scored in bowl games, making the record 54, or subtract from Tebow's total the two he has scored in January contests. Seems reasonable, which of course is why Clay's proposal was ignored by the SEC.

Now along comes a new stats controversy involving Tebow. Two years ago when he won the Heisman (which, by the way, he will not do this season), the Gator QB rushed for a single-season NCAA-record 23 touchdowns. On Saturday, Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs pulled to within one score of Tebow's mark when he ran it in five times against Delaware in the Mids' 35-18 win against Delaware.

Never mind that Dobbs' five touchdown runs went for a total of 10 yards. That's irrelevant. However, Delaware is an FCS school. If victories against FCS programs do not count toward a team's minimum number of wins required for bowl eligibility, should the statistics accrued in those contests count?

Dobbs is a terrific player, but five of his 22 rushing touchdowns -- nearly 25 percent -- came in what amounts to a glorified scrimmage. When he unseats Tebow, perhaps as early as Navy's next game at Hawaii on November 28, how will the Gainesville groupies react?

Distant Replay

Earlier this season a prominent college football writer on the web (that is no longer an oxymoron) told me that he'd be happy if every play were reviewed in the booth because he was all for getting the call right.

If only it were that simple.

After Pittsburgh beat Notre Dame Saturday night, assisted by an overturned call late in the fourth quarter, Irish coach Charlie Weis said, "It seems like the replay officials recently, every game you watch, they are the stars."

In their brief history, instant replay officials have become the most despised men in a glass booth since the "Deal or No Deal" banker. It need not be that way. A few suggested changes:

1. Unless these men can demonstrate that they understand the concept of "indisputable evidence" before overturning a call, then instant replay itself should cease to exist.

2. Instant replay officials need to get younger and fast. The majority of them are retired or near-retirement officials. We're not looking for Wal-Mart greeters here. We're looking for people who are at the peak of their powers in terms of scrutinizing a play.

3. I've noted this before, but there is absolutely no reason a replay official needs to be in a glass booth watching a second-rate television. When every Hooters' waitress has a better view of the play than you do, something's not right.

That play, by the way, did not doom the Irish. Their feckless first-half performance, a chronic shortcoming all season, did.

From First-Round to Fifth-String

Oregon head coach Chip Kelly reinstated tailback LeGarrette Blount for the Ducks' game with Arizona State. He just failed to play him.

"We didn't get to our fifth running back," Kelly said, referring to Blount with a complete lack of chalant. "Andre (Crenshaw, the third-string tailback) had one or two carries, Remene (Alston, the fourth-stringer) got in for one or two carries."



The Ducks' best player heading into the season, Blount was considered a first-round caliber draft pick before he decked Boise State's Byron Hout following Oregon's 19-8 loss in the season opener. While Kelly has shown compassion and mercy by rescinding the year-long suspension imposed on Blount in the immediate aftermath of the Hout punch, every so often he jerks the leash, as he did on Saturday, as if to test Blount's resolve and contrition.

This is terrific theater out of Eugene. Watching the drama between Kelly and Blount unfold is a little like watching the bathroom scene in Jerry Maguire. It's as if Kelly is Rod Tidwell, and he's telling Blount, "You are hanging on by a very thin thread and I dig that about you!"

All-Name Team

From the same people who introduced you to Central Michigan's Tommy Mama and Marshall's Darius Marshall, meet center T-Bob Hebert. With a name like that, it should take no more than one guess as to the state in which he plays and no more than two guesses (for the benefit of a few Ragin' Cajun reading this) as to the school.

And, yes, the former NFL quarterback is his daddy.

You can call me Al ... Golden ... Tate ... Forcier

Speaking of names, this is my favorite moniker chain of the season. From the up-and-coming thirtysomething head coach at the school located in the town where "Thirtysomething" was set, to the lone player at Notre Dame who each week reinforces the vestigial notion that the Irish really do have Fight, to the freshman quarterback at Michigan, which last beat an FBS opponent in September.

Overheard...

Matt Millen, while doing the broadcast of the Iowa-Ohio State contest, stressed that he "could not underemphasize enough" the importance of Ohio State's dominant defensive linemen. Everyone makes errors on live television (we even do in dead print), but for the future Millen should remember that it's "overemphasize."

The best way to not underemphasize enough a point is to remain silent.

Flighting Irish

In the biggest aviation story related to Notre Dame football since Knute Rockne's plane landed about 1,400 miles short of the runway, the school has found a way to block the university plane's registration number (N42ND) from appearing on the flight-tracking web site flightaware.com.

Shrewd tactic by the Irish. It will compel the legion of scribes covering the program to go Anton Chigurh on athletic director Jack Swarbrick and, like Chigurh, they will track him down. It's the nature of the business.

Alive ... and Kicking

If it feels as if once a year you come across the story of some grizzled Rudy type finding his way onto a Division III roster, that's because you do. This fall's middle-aged Walter Mitty is Austin College kicker Tom Thompson, age 61, who successfully converted the point after in the Kangaroos' 44-10 loss to Trinity (yes, that Trinity). It was Thompson's first kick of his college career.

Thompson is just 35 years older than Ohio State kicker Devin Barclay, 26, the retired pro soccer player whose overtime boot versus Iowa sent the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl.

Blanket Coverage: Create November Saturday to Remember originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>John WaltersMon, 16 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST Domer: All That Glittered Wasn't Gold http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/domer-all-that-glittered-wasnt-gold/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/domer-all-that-glittered-wasnt-gold/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/domer-all-that-glittered-wasnt-gold/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Charlie WeisFanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind., during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history. Check back daily for his dispatches on the Irish.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It was just moments after Notre Dame obliterated Nevada, 35-0, in the season-opener and before the band had yet to strike up the Alma Mater. I stood next to WNDU-TV's Jeff Jeffers, who has been covering this program for more than three decades. Each of us incredulous, we gaped at one another.

"Did that just happen?" I asked.

"Did it?" he replied.

Have you seen Nevada lately? The Wolf Pack are 7-3. They are fifth in the nation in scoring offense -- that's right, the same team the Irish shut out, Notre Dame's lone shutout of the Charlie Weis era -- is averaging 39 points per game. They're No. 1 in rushing offense and it isn't even close. Nevada is averaging 353 yards per game on the ground. The next most prolfic rushing attack, Georgia Tech's, averages 314 yards per game.

Did that 35-0 win really happen? Whoever the Irish were on September 5, they are but a shadow of that team today. Hope and enthusiasm have been replaced on the depth chart by regret and diffidence. For me the nadir came after Saturday night's loss, when Weis actually said, "When we're on the road, you have to consider the crowd and the tempo of the game and I thought we were doing pretty well when the score was 3-3."

You've got Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd in your huddle and you're content to be tied at 3-3 at halftime? To quote a brazenly self-assured coach I used to know, "That's not good enough."

Nevada has evolved. Notre Dame, for the second consecutive year, sleepwalks through the final month of the season, donning its gold helmets as if they are the world's heaviest hairshirts. Believe it or not, there used to be a time when the idea of playing football at Notre Dame seemed fun. And not just for the final two plays against Georgia Tech.

The players deserve better. Each week the Irish happen upon an opponent who appears more eager to play, and to win, than they do.

The coach, too, deserved better the previous two weeks. For all the grenades being lobbed at Weis of late, he has been the victim of his players' failing to execute even the simplest of duties. If only Mike Ragone were able to catch a shuttle pass that travels all of three yards in the air, for example. Or if right guard Dan Wenger knew better than to chopblock a defensive tackle whom center Eric Olsen, a player who has yet to allow a sack all season, was handling just fine, thank you.

Except that when enough of these errors accumulate (Eric Maust's punting, drops by Floyd and Theo Riddick in addition to Ragone's, etc.) and with frequency, then you have to point to the head coach. He did entitle the book "No Excuses," after all.

Where's the Killer Instinct?

The tragedy of this season, one that will likely cost Weis his job, is not that the Irish were not good enough to go to a BCS bowl. The tragedy is that they did not play well enough to go to a BCS bowl. There's a difference.

In Lou Holtz's inaugural season the Irish finished 5-6, but five of those six losses were by a total of 14 points. And three of those five opponents were ranked in the Top 10. The Irish, despite the 5-6 record, overachieved.

The 2009 Irish have lost four games by a total of 18 points (USC, in contrast, has lost individual games by 27 and 34 points the past three weeks, albeit to stiffer competition). That's not impressive, though, because Notre Dame has won four of its games by a total of 17 points. As talented as the Irish are, they lack a killer instinct. They have only themselves to blame for all the drama on the field, which has led to all the drama off the field.

You Gotta Have Heart

The designated mantra of the coaching staff and the players, when asked to make an assessment whose candor might portray the team in a less glorious light, has long been, "I'll have to take a look at the tape."

No, you don't. The answers are not in being outschemed or failing to pick up a block or making a poor read here and there. Those are the symptoms.

The answers have long been in the intangibles. In unquantifiable attributes such as spirit and heart and togetherness.

In passion.

Notre Dame has, in three of its past five games, never led. Not for a second. And yet in all three of those contests the Irish had the football with a chance to tie the score in the final three minutes. The Irish never give up at the end, but they never show up at the beginning. Why is that?

The Price You Pay

Here's hoping that, however these final two weeks of the season play out, one year from today Weis is a much healthier human being.

After Saturday's game at Heinz Field, Weis walked into the interview room and spied the podium where he was supposed to stand. It was situated on a platform that required a step up of about a foot, and Weis uttered a quick, "Uh-oh." With his knees such an feat becomes almost herculean. Weis briefly considered leaning on a Notre Dame media assistant for support, but then thought better of it (the metaphor potential was simply too rich). Instead, he had the microphone brought over to him.

At the age of 53, Weis has more knee problems than most of his peers who actually played college football. His budget-deficit in terms of sleep is worse than the federal government's fiscal version. This season would be giving Weis nightmares if only he could get enough winks to actually have them. His weight does not appear to have decreased since he took the job. And you can only imagine what his blood pressure must be like.

Seeing a man of Weis's not-so-advanced years actually look daunted by the prospect of having to step up to a foot-high platform was sobering. The physical toll. The constant nationwide hostility and schadenfreude from both fans and media. The sleep-deprivation. There's gotta be an easier way to make a seven-figure income.

Domer: All That Glittered Wasn't Gold originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:54:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>charlie weisCharlieWeisJohn WaltersMon, 16 Nov 2009 10:54:00 EST Stanford Whips USC in Record Fashionhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/stanford-drops-double-nickel-on-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/stanford-drops-double-nickel-on-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/stanford-drops-double-nickel-on-usc/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Like a star collapsing under its own weight, USC's football program is rapidly collapsing in on itselft under coach Pete Carroll.

For the second time in three weeks, USC was beaten. Badly. This time by Stanford, which walloped the Trjoans 55-21. The point total was the most ever surrendered at home by the Trojans; Pete Carroll's unbeaten November win streak went by the wayside.

Of course, the points surrendered record wasn't exactly something out of the yellowing pages of history. That record was an august two weeks old. Oregon beat Carroll by 27 on Halloween, 47-20 (tripling the previous record loss, 11 points, to Notre Dame in 2001). Saturday, Stanford did the Ducks eight points better.

What happened?

A flurry of turnovers certainly contributed to the mess, but Stanford was unstoppable behind the bruising runs of Heisman candidate Toby Gerhart and the scrambling and guile of quarterback Andrew Luck. Gerhart rumbled for 178 yards and three touchdowns, while Luck ran for 61 of his own to go with two passing touchdowns. The Cardinal punted just twice in one of the greatest offensive performances ever against USC.

USC's streak of seven consecutive Pac-10 crowns was speculatively over before Saturday, and confirmed early in the fourth quarter. Stanford gave the men of Troy their third conference defeat, the second most in a season under Carroll. After making the Rose Bowl a reliable season-ending trip, USC will now participate in some unimportant bowl, perhaps in El Paso or San Francisco, miles away from the real parties.
Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook
Meanwhile, Jim Harbaugh has revived Cardinal football, upending conference favorites Oregon and USC in consecutive weeks on the way to a 7-3 record and an outside shot at a Rose Bowl battle with Ohio State. Harbaugh even added significant color to the game, opting to go for two in the fourth quarter with Stanford leading 48-21. He was clearly angling for 50 points, but fell short on the conversion attempt.

Game commentators said Carroll then stared him down from across the field. No matter, Stanford added another late touchdown to get to 55.

Gerhart deserves strong Heisman consideration after his tour de force against Oregon and USC. Tacklers simply fall off him for the greater part of an afternoon, reminiscent of some nature special documenting the futility of say, lions attempting to drag down an elephant. He's too big, too powerful, too angry, and he'll leave a mark if you get too close.

Put plainly: send him to New York.

And if Oregon or Arizona stumble, send these guys to Pasadena.

Stanford Whips USC in Record Fashion originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Andrew LuckJim HarbaughPete CarrollToby GerhartBrian GrummellSat, 14 Nov 2009 20:25:00 EST Notre Dame Will Be at Home on Roadhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/13/notre-dame-will-be-at-home-on-road/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/13/notre-dame-will-be-at-home-on-road/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/13/notre-dame-will-be-at-home-on-road/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Ron PowlusSOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Pennsylvania is a second home of sorts for the Irish, and not because it happens to be the birthplace of Irish legend Joe Montana.

Nor is it because Pittsburgh's the home of Beano Cook, who once predicted those two Heismans for Berwick, Pa., native Ron Powlus (currently the team's quarterbacks coach).

"We have more subscribers in the state of Pennsylvania than any other state," says inveterate Blue and Gold Illustrated editor Lou Somogyi.

The Panthers, despite their 8-1 record and No. 8 AP ranking, have been averaging crowds in the mid-40,000 level this season at Heinz Field. Saturday night's game, however, despite being available free on television (ABC), is a sellout (65,000-plus) and the Panthers are selling an additional 1,000 standing-room-only ducats. The attendance could possibly break the modern-record for a sporting event in Pittsburgh (66,731 for a 2002 "Backyard Brawl" contest between West Virginia and Pitt).

Even if that record is set, better not to etch it in marble. On Sunday the NFL's Steelers host the suddenly imposing Bengals for the AFC Central lead. And, should Pitt and the University of Cincinnati continue their winning ways, a 10-1 Panther teams hosting an 11-0 Cincy team on Dec. 5 will be every bit as entertaining (actually, more) than the SEC championship game.

As for current Irish Quaker Staters, cornerback Darrin Walls is the most prominent. In his only other visit to his home state in September of '07, Walls picked off a pass at Penn State and returned it 73 yards for a touchdown. It was the only touchdown the Irish scored in their first three games that season.

Only Way to Score for ND

Speaking of which, Notre Dame has now played nine games without scoring a defensive or special teams TD. The Fighting Irish have scored 33 touchdowns, each and every one on a play from scrimmage. Adding variety to the means of six-point production would do much to mitigate those red-zone production issues, no?

Weis Cracks

On Wednesday night, a Chicago Comcast sports host said that Weis had "thrown several players under the bus" this week. I can only imagine that he was referring to Weis' response to a question about what the Irish would do differently in the red zone this week.

"We're going to try not to fumble on the 1," Weis answered. "And we're going to try not to throw an interception inside the 5. Then we're going to try to make field goals when we're on the 14-yard line. That takes care of a few of them."

Is that throwing players under the proverbial bus? Or is that just being honest and accurate? Reminds me of the classic quote from then Tampa Bay Buccaneer coach John McKay. When asked what he thought of his team's execution, McKay quipped, "I'm in favor of it."

This is not football-related, but I had to share. On Tuesday The Observer had an above-the-fold story with the headline "Journalists discuss state of media" (yours truly, unsurprisingly, was not invited to participate). Anyway, a photo accompanied the piece and the caption beneath read as follows: "Jill Abramson and David Shribman discuss the future of jour-"

Might be a good clip to exclude from the portfolio.

Polling Observations

The latest results of The Observer poll, "When should Charlie Weis be fired?" suggest a bermuda-grass roots level of support for the embattled coach is incrementally growing.

A) Never -- 12 percent (11, Wednesday)
B) Should have been fired yesterday -- 31 percent (32)
C) After our next loss -- 8 percent (7)
D) After the season -- 49 percent (50)

One dorm, and only one, is overtly expressing its support for the team this week. Hanging from the third-floor balcony window of Dillon Hall (remember, the self-proclaimed "Smartest, Toughest and Humblest") is a giant bed sheet banner that reads simply, "DON'T FLINCH, BEAT PITT!"

Notre Dame Will Be at Home on Road originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Charlie Weisron powlusJohn WaltersFri, 13 Nov 2009 12:24:00 EST Stanford's Gerhart Battering Oppositionhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/stanfords-gerhart-battering-opposition/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/stanfords-gerhart-battering-opposition/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/stanfords-gerhart-battering-opposition/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Toby Gerhart spent so much time submerged in the cold tub Sunday that a Stanford athletic trainer joked Gerhart needed a snorkel. Thirty-eight carries and a school-record 223 rushing yards a day earlier against Oregon left Gerhart beaten and bruised.

He couldn't have been happier.
More Heisman Hopefuls: Boise State's Kellen Is 'Moore'
Houston's Consistent Keenum | Nebraska's Dominant DT Suh

Gerhart's physical style has set the tone and pace for the surprising Cardinal, who are back in the national rankings and need a victory at USC Saturday to likely end one of the great runs in the history of college football -- the Trojans' seven years atop the Pac-10. But there's so much more to this story.

Bowl eligible for the first time since 2001, beating the Trojans could thrust the Cardinal into the Rose Bowl hunt. And Gerhart, raised in Southern California, will also get his Heisman Trophy stage in the Coliseum against Tailback U, a program that recruited him as a blocking back and frowned on him playing baseball.

"So I told them I wasn't interested," Gerhart said.

All eyes are certainly on Gerhart and the Cardinal following last Saturday's 51-42 win over then-No. 7 Oregon.

Gerhart's old-school, hammering running style set a school single-game rushing record and it has also put together one of the best seasons in the country. The senior has rushed for 1,217 yards (5.2 yards per carry) and 16 touchdowns, placing him second in the nation in both.

Considering Stanford has scored 84 points the past two games against two of the nation's better defenses in Oregon and Arizona State, it could be an interesting afternoon for the Trojans. And let's not forget what happened last time Stanford waltzed into Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2007. The 40-point underdog beat USC 24-23.

Talk to us, Pete.

"[Gerhart] would be like playing the Bus [Jerome Bettis] the old days at Pittsburgh where you just knew you had a big war daddy coming back there at you down after down after down," said USC coach Pete Carroll, whose team has won six of the last seven games in the series after the Cardinal posted three consecutive wins from 1999-2001.

"Gerhart would be like playing [Jerome Bettis], where you just knew you had a big war daddy coming back there at you."
-- Pete Carroll, USC coach "There is a certain style to his running and all that and certain things you want to do to try to defend against that. I don't think there are many guys that had that kind of presence off-hand other than going all the way back to him [Bettis]."

Thick and sturdy at 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds, Gerhart has had an enormous impact on the Cardinal's success. He might not be a household name nationally and is considered a Heisman long shot, but he's not a secret on the West Coast. When Gerhart receives more than 20 carries, Stanford is 6-1. When he doesn't? Stanford is 0-2.

"They have a real obvious core of their offense in Toby Gerhart, just a hammer back there running the football," said Carroll. "They've built their style around his physical nature, and it's working very well for them."

Gerhart is just the second player in Stanford history to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons, and he has pushed his career total to 2,868 yards, good for third place on the program's all-time career rushing list.

Gerhart has carried the ball an astounding 233 times in nine games this season (about 26 carries per game), which is easily the most in the country and more than some entire teams.

Not bad for a California dude who might have more potential as a professional baseball prospect. The outfielder from Norco, Ca., southeast of L.A. off I-15, has hit .275 with 16 home runs, 24 doubles and 68 RBI over three seasons.

"Toby's been our shining star all year," Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh said.

"He's a man. He's a true warrior."

He's a team player, too.

The affable Gerhart might be slow when he lugs himself off the ground after a carry, but he's quick to spread praise to his offense line. The unit is a big reason why Stanford is averaging 520.6 yards (1,562 total) a game in total offense over its last three games against Arizona (584), Arizona State (473) and Oregon (505).

The Cardinal currently rank second in the Pac-10 and 14th nationally in total offense, averaging 443.0 yards per game.

"They do everything, and if it wasn't for those guys I wouldn't have any yards and any of this publicity," Gerhart said.

"Those guys just get after it -- the 'Tunnel Workers Union' as they call themselves. They all have their beanies or skull caps and their motto is they go to work every day and make holes. They get after it week in and week out, no matter how many guys are in the box trying to stop us or what kind of scheme the defense is throwing at us. They play physical and move people.

"They are solely responsible for the success we've had in the running game these last two years."

After stumbling to the finish line in past seasons, Stanford is determined (6-3, 5-2 Pac-10) to sprint across it this year. The Cardinal are ranked 25th in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll, marking the program's first national ranking since the end of the 2001 season when it was 16th.

Stanford is also 3-2 in its last five games against ranked opponents, including 2-0 this season after wins over No. 24 Washington and No. 7 Oregon.
Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook

"There wasn't that feeling after the Oregon game, 'Oh my gosh I cant believe we won, this is one of the most exciting wins we've ever had.' It was more of a feeling that this is what we expected to do, it was just another win out of our last four, and this week is just another huge opportunity," Gerhart said.

"I didn't sense any extra sort of satisfaction in beating Oregon and being bowl eligible. The Pac-10 race is there and in our sights. If we win these next two and some teams beat up one each other, we could be in the Rose Bowl."

Gerhart also received an insider's tip on the Trojans from his brother Garth, a center at Arizona State. USC escaped from Tempe, Ariz., last Saturday with a 14-9 victory.

"He said they should have beaten them," said Gerhart, who hails from an athletic family. (Dad was an all-conference running back at Cal State Fullerton and played professional football, while Teagan and Kelsey, a pair of triplet sisters, are freshman softball players at Stanford).

"He said, 'their defensive lineman get off the ball pretty quick but I think you guys are going to be able to pound the rock on them, you'll be able to have your way running the ball.' "

That's just the way Gerhart wants it.

In fact, as he spent last Sunday submerged in a cold tub, Gerhart remembered one of his carries last season when he was stopped cold at the line of scrimmage by USC's Rey Maualuga and Taylor Mays.

"It was the first time my momentum was completely stopped, and put backwards on my butt," Gerhart said.

"I was, 'All right, this is what these guys are supposed to do.' It kind of got me excited. They were whoopin' and hollering. It makes it more exciting, I want to get back at them.

"It gets me fired up."

Stanford's Gerhart Battering Opposition originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>jim harbaughJimHarbaughPete CarrollPeteCarrollToby GerhartTobyGerhartJim HenryThu, 12 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST Blanket Coverage: Gerhart at Epicenterhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/blanket-coverage-gehart-at-epicenter/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/blanket-coverage-gehart-at-epicenter/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/blanket-coverage-gehart-at-epicenter/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


He will likely not win the Heisman Trophy (though it would not be blasphemous).

He may not even be tendered an invite to the ceremony in mid-December (though he should).

But no one player will have a greater impact on the remainder of the college football season than Stanford senior tailback Toby Gerhart.

The workhorse, who is averaging 135.2 yards per game (second nationally), will lead the Cardinal into games at USC and, two weeks later, versus Notre Dame. In a region of the country that is quite familiar with the concept of seismic shifts and aftershocks, Gerhart's potential as a disruptive force is likely sending tremors out to University Park and South Bend.

Gerhart really is a workhorse. Not only does he lead the nation in rushing attempts (233) by more than 10 percent over the next most prolific rusher (Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt, who has carried 209 times), he also starts in the outfield for the Cardinal baseball team. Stanford should award his family a second scholarship with no expiration date.

This Saturday, the Cardinal return to the Los Angeles Coliseum for the first time since their monumental upset of USC in 2007 (they were 41-point underdogs, you'll recall). Stanford, which finds itself ranked for the first time since 2001, has an opportunity to knock off a top 10 team for the second time in two weeks. If it can just get past its head coach's over-the-top comments.

"Who would not like to watch this team play?" third-year coach Jim Harbaugh said after the Cardinal rocked Oregon's world, 51-42. "Is there a better show around?"
Toby Gerhart
And of freshman quarterback Andrew Luck, Harbaugh groused, "I don't know how you can play better. How can you play better as a quarterback? What can you say he should have done better? Who could have done better?"

When did Gob Bluth become the head coach at The Farm?

Back to Gerhart. Stanford will need more than Luck -- and luck -- to defeat the Trojans who, by the way, are 28-0 in November under Pete Carroll. They'll need their finest workhorse, Gerhart. If Stanford somehow pulls off this minor upset, imagine the reverberations in towns such as Boise and ... Boise. A three-loss USC team is, even with its reputation, not going to a BCS bowl this season.

Ten teams play in the BCS bowls. Assume that Florida, Alabama and Texas have three spots locked up. Barring an upset -- a big if, yes -- assume also that conference champions Georgia Tech (ACC), Cincinnati (Big East), Ohio State (Big Ten) and a Pac-10 school with at least two losses (Oregon? Arizona? The Cardinal?) receive BCS bowl bids. That's seven bids. TCU is fo' sure if it beats beat Utah on Saturday.

That's eight bids.

Who's left? A gaggle of two-loss BCS conference schools such as Iowa, Penn State, Pitt and Miami. Are they all really going to cut an unbeaten Boise State in line? Some, like LSU and one of the Big Ten teams won't, as conferences can't have more than two representatives in the BCS bowls.The rest? I hope not. One of them, maybe (Iowans, especially, travel well to the Valley of the Sun in January). But two? Only if that second school is USC ... which it will not be if Gerhart can help inflict a third defeat on Troy.

Next up, after a date with Cal, is Charlie Weis and the Irish. Gerhart, who rushed for 223 yards versus Oregon, is already salivating at the prospect of facing an Irish defense that just allowed 11.3 yards per carry to the legendary Vince Murray (a backup fullback for Navy). Maybe Weis' job is already lost by that point. But if for some reason it hangs in the balance -- and before you assume you know the future, recall that just a few weeks ago the same people who said Charlie was out when it was 34-14 when the fourth quarter began versus USC are the ones who said Charlie deserved another season after 15 more minutes of play -- Gerhart is the last player Weis wants to wager his future against: a fast, punishing back who will chew up both yardage and clock.

The stage is all yours, Toby Gerhart. No one will have a greater mark on the college football landscape this month.
Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook

Isaac Newton and Open-Field Tackling

The potential play of the year waits for us next Saturday in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Gerhart breaks into the USC secondary untouched, which sets up a full-speed appointment with one Taylor Mays. Physics professors, take note, this is an excellent opportunity to teach Newton's third law of motion.

The Collaros Conundrum

Zach Collaros has only been the starting quarterback at Cincinnati for 3.5 games, and only because then-Heisman sleeper candidate Tony Pike reinjured his left (non-throwing) arm. Still, in the sophomore's three full games, he has completed 66 of 82 passes (80.5 percent) for 1,028 yards with eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

Granted, it's a limited audition, but Collaros' efficiency rating after 14 quarters is 210.24. The nation's leader in that stat, Kellen Moore of similarly undefeated Boise State, has a 169.35 rating. That's a Secretariat margin.

Cincy, extraordinarily, had not lost one fumble in the six games Pike started. Under Collaros, they still have yet to lose one. That is to say, the Bearcats have committed no turnovers in Collaros' three starts.

Coach Brian Kelly's "problem?" Pike is healthy as West Virginia comes to visit Nippert Stadium on Friday night. Originally, Kelly said the job was Pike's as soon as he was cleared to play. Now he says, "I think I have to reconsider my decision."

From an outsider's perspective, it's a no-brainer. You go with the guy who gives you the best chance to win. What more does Collaros, who went 30-0 his final two years of high school, need to do to demonstrate that he is that guy?

That's when Bill Belichick was heard to say, "Well, almost."

After No. 1 Florida dispatched of Vanderbilt in desultory fashion, 27-3, Gator coach Urban Meyer was asked if the team's 19th straight victory was "ho-hum". "Have you ever gone 19-0?" Meyer replied. "It's not ho-hum, I can assure you that."

Yet another reason to love Chip Kelly

Here's what Oregon's first-year head coach said after the No. 7 Ducks lost at unranked Stanford: "If you say we got caught looking behind or looking ahead, it takes away from Stanford."

Speaking of Coach of the Year Candidates

Georgia Tech was 0-for-4 on fourth-down attempts against Wake Forest when quarterback Josh Nesbitt persuaded coach Paul Johnson to go for it on fourth-and-one-foot with the Yellow Jackets trailing the Demon Deacons 27-24 in overtime. Nesbitt converted the play and scored the game-winner one play after that.

"I play to win," Johnson said. "If we can't make an inch there, we don't deserve to win the game."
Concussion Section

Jahvid Best's scary fall was just the latest in what seems to be an epidemic of concussions suffered this autumn. Whether the rise in head injuries is actual or anecdotal, or whether Tim Tebow's concussion just brought more attention to the issue, it feels as if each week concussions are part of the roundup.

Best had actually sustained a slight concussion the previous week at Arizona State and missed two days of practice last week. It would seem prudent for Cal to shut him down for at least the rest of the regular season if not longer.

The Golden Bears' terrific tailback has, sadly, plenty of company. Wisconsin tailback John Clay rushed for a game-high 134 yards in the first half at Indiana before leaving the game with a concussion. UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince, who earlier this season broke his jaw on a helmet-to-helmet hit at Tennessee, had to leave the Bruins' 24-23 win against Washington after sustaining another blow to the head. Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen was, in Charlie Weis' words, "knocked silly" in a goal-line tackle by Navy's Kevin Edwards, but Clausen returned the next series without missing a play.

Don't expect the concussion section to decrease in number any time soon. As long as players keep getting bigger and faster, collisions will continue to pack more force.


Stats Incredible

-- Following Cal's 31-14 home loss to Oregon State, the Golden Bears are 0-7 at Memorial Stadium versus the Beavers and USC of late, but 32-0 against everyone else in their last 39 games.

-- Baylor and Missouri combined for 49 rushing attempts and just 40 net rushing yards in the Bears' surprising 40-32 win at Faurot Field. Both quarterbacks, though, surpassed 400 yards in passing yardage. Bear QB Nick Florence threw for a school-record 427 yards while his counterpart, Blaine Gabbert, chucked for a game-high 468.

-- With Kansas State's 17-10 defeat of Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown, Wildcat coach Bill Snyder is now 5-0 in Bill Snyder Stadium.

-- Houston freshman Matt Hogan, who kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired to culminate the Cougars' outrageous 46-45 victory against Tulsa, had a previous career-long of 34 yards. That's a 50 percent improvement on his former best.

-- Fresno State quarterback Ryan Colburn was 14-of-14 passing in the Bulldogs' 31-21 win at Idaho.

-- Notre Dame never punted in Saturday's 23-21 loss to Navy. The last time the Irish went an entire game without punting? Their 46-44 triple overtime loss to Navy in 2007.

And finally...Happy belated birthday to Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who turned 80 on Sunday, dadgummit.

Blanket Coverage: Gerhart at Epicenter originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:06:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>andrew luckjim harbaughjosh nesbittpaul johnsontoby gerhartJohn WaltersMon, 09 Nov 2009 12:06:00 EST Oh, the Humility for Trojanshttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/ducks-humiliate-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/ducks-humiliate-usc/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/ducks-humiliate-usc/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

There's no other way to put it. Oregon's football program unequivocally demolished longtime Pac-10 overlord USC 47 to 20 on Saturday, effectively putting the brakes on two major, likely never to be repeated feats the Trojans had accomplished.

USC's record streak of seven Pac-10 championships is likely done, as is its even more impressive run of never losing by more than 11 points in the Pete Carroll era (and never by more than seven points once things really got rolling in 2002).

The Ducks finished with a 27-point winning margin and it easily could have been more. It was a two-sided wholesale destruction few outside of Autzen could have reasonably anticipated given the nature of USC's run these last few years. As a USC guy I knew it had to happen eventually, but I was thinking something like a 14-point loss, something reasonable.


But 27? That's put-your-head-in-a-blender inexplicable. That's just not how USC has ever handled things under Carroll, rarely surrendering 30 points thanks to unprecedented hauls of talent and a system Carroll (and mentor Monte Kiffin) developed to be the vanguard of NFL defenses. Oregon didn't give two hoots and went out there and sent USC's entire aura packing.

Needless to say, the Ducks are now Pac-10 favorites and USC is left likely scrambling to secure a Holiday Bowl or Sun Bowl berth, its first non-BCS appearance since an embarrassing Las Vegas Bowl defeat to Utah after the turnaround 2001 season.

If you're looking for some long-term prognosis here, good luck. At first impression, it sure looks like Oregon's coaching and system is plain better than USC's at this point. Football is a game that constantly evolves but certain fundamentals hold true over time. USC's generally clung to those fundamentals in running straightforward pro-style offenses and defenses. But perhaps that's just a little old school for the moment; even as the trendy spread offenses appear to have waned, here comes Oregon.

Coach Chip Kelly's spread and shred approach has worked wonders since the opening week embarrassment at Boise State, notching a 39-point victory against California, a 46-point victory over Washington State, a 14-point victory at UCLA, a 24-point victory at Washington and now Saturday's 27-point thrashing of USC.

Oregon has violently and aggressively lashed out since the Boise State defeat, emerging as the best non-USC Pac-10 team since the Cal Bears of 2004 who were wrongly left out of the BCS thanks to shameless politics out of Texas coach Mack Brown.

They must now soldier forward with a level head and not embarrass themselves in a tough final stretch again Stanford, Arizona State, Arizona and Civil War rival Oregon State. This is too rare a treasure to squander.

Oh, the Humility for Trojans originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:32:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Brian GrummellSun, 01 Nov 2009 00:32:00 EST No Defense for Trojans as Ducks Romphttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/no-defense-for-trojans-as-ducks-romp/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/no-defense-for-trojans-as-ducks-romp/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/no-defense-for-trojans-as-ducks-romp/#commentsFiled under: , ,

OregonEUGENE, Ore.(AP) -- Jeremiah Masoli threw for 222 yards and a touchdown and ran for 164 more yards with another score and the No. 10 Oregon Ducks ran past No. 4 USC 47-20 for the Trojans' worst loss since 1997.

Redshirt freshman LaMichael James ran for 184 yards and a score as the Ducks (7-1, 5-0 Pacific-10) racked up 391 yards on the ground against the Trojans, who came into the game with the fifth-best rush defense in the nation, allowing an average of just 79.9 yards a game.

Southern California (6-2, 3-2) had not lost a game by more than a touchdown since a 27-16 loss to Notre Dame in 2001, Pete Carroll's first season as Trojans coach. It was USC's worst lost since a 35-7 defeat to Arizona State on Oct. 11, 1997 and the most points allowed by the Trojans in Carroll's tenure.

Oregon remained alone in first and undefeated in the Pac-10, threatening USC's hold on the league championship for the past seven years.

Oregon fans were decked out in special black ``Fright Night'' T-shirts with a duck-and-crossbones motif to commemorate the Halloween night game - billed as the Pac-10's biggest game of the season. Afterward the fans swarmed the field, while a ring of blue-jacketed security guards circled the goal posts.

It turned out to be a Fright Night for USC's defense, which allowed 613 yards.

The Ducks have won seven straight games since an embarrassing 19-8 loss at Boise State in the opener, a game that got uglier when running back LeGarrette Blount punched a Broncos defensive end as he was leaving the field.

Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook
Blount was suspended for the season and Oregon moved on without him. James was his replacement.

USC freshman quarterback Matt Barkley, who earlier this week predicted he would feed off Autzen's deafening noise, completed 21 of 38 passes for 187 yards and two scores. He was intercepted once.

Masoli completed 19 of 31 for Oregon, which had never before scored as many points against the Trojans.

USC went up 3-0 on the its first series of the game on Jordan Congdon's 28-yard field goal. Oregon answered with Morgan Flint's 32-yarder, but the Ducks had squandered their opportunity after Kenjon Barner's 77-yard kickoff return.

Masoli scored on a 3-yard run to put the Ducks up 10-3 late in the first quarter. USC tied it with Barkley's 3-yard pass to Ronald Johnson early in the second.

Oregon went ahead again on Andre Crenshaw's 1-yard scoring run. And USC tied it again at 17 on Barkley's 4-yard pass to Damian Williams.

Masoli found Jamere Holland with a 17-yard touchdown pass to put the Ducks back up 24-17 at the half.

From that point, USC couldn't keep up.

After Oregon extended the lead with Flint's 35-yard field goal, USC narrowed it with Congdon's 39-yarder.

James scored on a 5-yard run and fellow redshirt freshman Kenjon Barner ran for a 3-yard touchdown to make it 41-20 at the close of the third quarter.

Flint had a pair of field goals from 22 and 23 yards out to pad Oregon's lead in the fourth quarter.

Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott, who was at the game, said he planned to stay in Eugene to meet with Blount and school officials over possible reinstatement.

Scott says he'll meet with Blount, Oregon counsel, university president Richard Lariviere, athletic director Mike Bellotti and coach Chip Kelly and members of his staff.

He says the university has not made formal moves to reinstate Blount and his role ``completely depends on the university and whether they want the penalty revisited.''

The Trojans have lost four straight in the state of Oregon.

No Defense for Trojans as Ducks Romp originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>FanHouse NewswireSun, 01 Nov 2009 00:08:00 EST Oregon-USC Live Blog: How Can You Tell If the Ducks Are in Costume?http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/31/oregon-usc-live-blog-how-can-you-tell-if-the-ducks-are-in-costu/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/31/oregon-usc-live-blog-how-can-you-tell-if-the-ducks-are-in-costu/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/31/oregon-usc-live-blog-how-can-you-tell-if-the-ducks-are-in-costu/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Oregon DucksEUGENE, Ore. -- Greetings from Autzen Stadium, where just moments ago I was "looking live at Brent Musberger" as we rode up the elevator together. Brent is 70 years young and he hasn't lost an ounce of energy. It's funny. Earlier today ESPN Classic aired a replay of the 1983 NCAA basketball final (Houston-N.C. State), for which Musberger did the play-by-play (on CBS).

That was 26 years ago. And Brent is still getting the primetime gigs. I am an unabashed, unapologetic Musberger fan.

More Coverage: Texas-Oklahoma State Live Blog | Live Scores
Follow John Walters' live blog after the jump.
The weather in Eugene? Cloudy but comfortable. Autzen's press box provides one of the country's prettier views, especially with the backdrop of the fall colors. Notice, by the way, that USC's and Oregon's colors all are in sync with the various hues of leaves this time of year. That is, unless the Ducks wear black this evening.

Hope you have time to follow the Twick-or-Tweets tonight. Happy Halloween!
Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook

Twitter Updates, Live From Eugene

follow me on Twitter

Oregon-USC Live Blog: How Can You Tell If the Ducks Are in Costume? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>John WaltersSat, 31 Oct 2009 20:03:00 EST Domer: Beating a Dead (Trojan) Horsehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/29/domer-beating-a-dead-trojan-horse/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/29/domer-beating-a-dead-trojan-horse/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/29/domer-beating-a-dead-trojan-horse/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Daily DomerFanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind.during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- USC beat Notre Dame. I get it.

The Trojans were the better team on October 17. There was no "Bush Push" chaos on the final play from scrimmage. In fact, USC made a do-or-die defensive stop after what might have been the game's last play or, as Pete Carroll said three days later at his Tuesday press conference, "It was nice to beat Notre Dame twice."

The game never seemed as close as one that hangs in the balance in the final seconds, even though it actually did. It never had the feel of 2005.

I supply that preface because what I am about to write will likely stoke some of the commentariat to post "Get over it" below or to give me a Blake Ayles double-deuce salute. That faction exists and that's fine. However, I write this for any fan who is wondering why the media who cover the Irish--and we are not insignificant in number, only in purpose--have not given the game's final 35 seconds more scrutiny. I know that if I were a fan, as opposed to being a pressbox squatter, I'd wonder why it was being relatively ignored.

Yesterday I watched a replay of the NBC telecast on Hulu for a story about USC safety Taylor Mays and before long I was Jim Garrison poring over the Zapruder footage. Two things struck me. First, how cool is Hulu? I was able to watch the entire game in under 39 minutes. Second, what a colossal missed opportunity for the Irish.
Granted, you can say that they should never have even gotten that opportunity.

If Everson Griffen does not get flagged for showing off his biceps to the USC Song Girls...

If Taylor Mays does not get flagged for two personal fouls in the fourth quarter...

If Matt Barkley's pass does not ricochet off his receiver's mitts and into Gary Gray's arms...

If someone in a Cardinal helmet, and not Armando Allen, had recovered John Goodman's fumble in the open field.

But all those breaks went Notre Dame's way. Then, after first Golden Tate and then Parris each made as impressive a catch as either has in their careers, the Irish were just eight yards away from a game-tying touchdown. After having trailed by 20 points to the nation's then No. 2 defense with 13:33 to play.

The Irish had four fresh plays, 35 seconds and one timeout to gain eight yards. Except that they didn't.

When center Eric Olsen snapped the ball back to Jimmy Clausen on the ensuing play, there was 0:15 on the clock. Clausen toss fell incomplete and Trojan defensive lineman Malik Jackson was flagged for roughing the passer. That infraction moved the Irish half the distance to the goal line, but now only nine seconds remained.

Notre Dame had squandered 26 of its final 35 seconds (74.2 percent of its remaining time) on first down.

Besides, the flag on Jackson was inconsequential. It may have even been detrimental. Notre Dame's pass-first offense would have been better off it the receivers had more space in which to work. Particularly against a defense as fast as USC's. Remember that the Irish had first-and-goal at the four at Purdue and needed four plays, and a nice box-out by Kyle Rudolph, to score the game-winning touchdown.

You know what happened from there. An incomplete jump-ball pass to Rudolph (he tipped it to himself and made a nice grab, albeit out of bounds...just a few feet away from where Michael Floyd had caught a ball out of bounds and broken his collarbone four weeks earlier) that took five seconds off the clock. An incomplete slant-in to Tate that eroded another three. And a quick out to Kamara, who slipped, as NBC's Tom Hammond notes that

"Kyle Rudolph was wide open in the end zone", and the game is over.

USC wins. Again.

Afterward, Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune broached the timing issue with the second question of Charlie Weis' post-game press conference. "There was a bunch of time that clicked off after the penalty," Hansen said. "Did you think about calling timeout there?"

"No," Weis said. "We knew how many plays we were going to be able to get off right there. We knew what plays we were going to call. We probably could have gotten it off a couple seconds earlier. With that one second we had at the end of the game, that was about the number of plays we were counting on having in that sequence right there. Kind of figured out what we were going to do. Just didn't end up getting it done."

Weis was strangely sanguine in his answer. On the other hand, he had just emerged from a locker room of deeply despondent players and coaches. No doubt he was pretty bummed out, too. Maybe he just did not feel like assessing blame, or taking it, at that moment.

Here, though, is where even a nimrod sportswriter can go Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer on the Robot Genius. There is absolutely no decided schematic advantage in having 15 seconds in which to run four plays as opposed to 35. None. The sudden shortage of time most likely affected the play calls. For example, the Irish might have run a Wildcat, but with only 15 seconds to play, they could no longer afford to go with a slow-developing roll-out or sweep. They couldn't even afford to have Clausen roll out more than once.
The Irish were able to run four plays in that final 15 seconds only because three of them were quick-hitters. Against a defense with superior athletes such as the Trojans', the Irish might have had a better chance on a broken play. They just couldn't afford to run one, though, due to time restrictions.

Clausen, too, was dismissive of the fact that the offense threw away 20 of its final 35 seconds. "No," the quarterback said when asked if he'd lost track of the time, "I saw the clock the whole time. We were trying to get plays in and out, trying to do as much as we could at the time."

Maybe the Irish never score even if they do manage the clock properly. USC's defense is that good. We'll never know. And even if they do score, do they go for two ("I was going to use my last timeout to make that decision," Weis said) and convert or do they take on Pete Carroll in overtime? Either way, I like USC's chances.
So maybe this is much ado about nothing and I could have put my time to better use by raking someone's leaves the last hour or two. Then again, think of all the Irish stood to gain by coming out on top that day. They could be 6-1 right now and in the top ten in the BCS rankings. Captain Comeback would be the Heisman front-runner and his Domer legacy would rank up there with Montana's and Ismail's.

USC had the game in hand. And then the Irish had a chance to steal it (thanks in no small part to Golden Tate who, by the way, when you go back and watch the game on Hulu--39 minutes!-- you'll notice was rarely actually tackled). And at the very moment it seemed as if they might end the Trojans' seven-game win streak, the Irish inexplicably allowed twenty of the game's final 35 seconds to run off the clock.

When the game ended--the second time-- the Irish still had one down and one timeout left to burn.

I will never understand nor will I accept the explanation that this is what the Irish wanted.

Both on and off the field this season, Jimmy Clausen has been a class act. To be honest with you (to employ his favorite clause), I cannot believe how far he has come and how fast. I'm rooting for him the way you root for anyone who plays the game with courage and skill and--to employ the most over-used sports adjective of the past three months--poise.

Clausen's a winner. And he's very smart between the goalposts. So I wonder...if I am reviewing the final 35 seconds of the USC game in my head this thoroughly, how much more so must he be? Given all that was at stake that day? And given that, each and every day it looks less and less likely that he will spend another autumn in South Bend?

Domer: Beating a Dead (Trojan) Horse originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>John WaltersThu, 29 Oct 2009 08:58:00 EST Pac-10 Suspends Official for Missing Obvious Facemasking Callhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/pac-10-suspends-official-for-missing-obvious-facemasking-call/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/pac-10-suspends-official-for-missing-obvious-facemasking-call/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/pac-10-suspends-official-for-missing-obvious-facemasking-call/#commentsFiled under: , ,



The Pac-10 has suspended one of its officials for failing to throw a flag on a facemasking penalty committed by USC safety Taylor Mays on Oregon State receiver James Rodgers, the latest in a long line of high-profile missed calls by college football officials this year.

"We have taken this action in light of the blatant and dangerous nature of the missed call," Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott said in a statement. "We have full confidence in our highly trained and qualified staff of football officials, but they, like the coaches and players, are accountable and must meet the high expectations placed upon them."

Although Mays obviously should have been flagged, it's surprising that the Pac-10 is reacting so harshly as to suspend the official (who hasn't been named publicly). Missed calls happen every Saturday, and suspensions of officials are rare.

But this official had the misfortune of missing a call on a big play during a game that was broadcast on network television, and of having his missed call replayed several times while the announcers questioned what the official was thinking. That kind of bad publicity forced the conference to act, just as bad publicity about missed calls in this season's Florida-Arkansas game forced the SEC to suspend the officiating crew that worked the game.

Mays is a hard hitter who has been called for a number of personal foul penalties. But he's also one of the best defensive players in the country, and he said it was important to him that people know he's not a dirty player.

"I didn't mean to rip the dude's helmet off," Mays told the Los Angeles Times. "Right after it happened, I got up and said, 'Hey, I wasn't trying to be dirty.' ...That's how I understand the game is to be played -- it's physical," Mays said. "I'm not trying to hurt anybody. I'm just trying to hit somebody as hard as I can."

And the Pac-10 is just trying to crack down on a problem that is plaguing college football.

Video via The Wiz of Odds.

Pac-10 Suspends Official for Missing Obvious Facemasking Call originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>James RodgersJamesRodgersTaylor MaysTaylorMaysMichael David SmithTue, 27 Oct 2009 05:30:00 EST Sunday Leftovers From USC-Notre Damehttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/sunday-leftovers-from-usc-notre-dame/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/sunday-leftovers-from-usc-notre-dame/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/sunday-leftovers-from-usc-notre-dame/#commentsFiled under: , ,

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Observations and opinions on Saturday's USC-Notre Dame clash:

Sure, Notre Dame came close, but imagine how much better quarterback Matt Barkley will be 13 months from now in the Los Angeles Coliseum. By the way, listening to both Pete Carroll and Barkley speaking to the media after the game, it sounds as if the USC head coach has engineered his own Mini-Me.

Here is a portion of what Carroll had to say about Barkley, who after all did toss for 380 yards, is 5-0 as a starter and has won on the road in Columbus, Berkeley and South Bend: "Matt Barkley is really something,'' Carroll said. "The plays he's capable of making, there's no limit for him. He's just remarkable -- there's no other way to describe it. There's no one else to compare him to in our history. He's so poised, so comfortable in the arena. He has this great inner strength."

And you thought Charlie Weis had a man-crush on Jimmy Clausen ...

-- But it isn't really about Barkley versus Clausen. As the last two weeks have shown with clarity, Manti Te'o is a difference-maker on defense. Now, if Weis could only attract a few more such players, then Notre Dame could begin to consider itself elite.

-- We all love the magic that Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate can do, but hoping for long-term success while allowing 30-plus points per game (as the Irish have now done in four of their six games this season) is like trying to appear fit via crash dieting as opposed to exercise. The best teams in the nation, year in and year out, play outstanding defense. The Irish do not, though having Te'o on the field is a step in the right direction. Now they need at least two players with that type of motor on the defensive line, which I imagine is exactly what Weis is telling five-star defensive end Chris Martin when they meet today.

-- Robby Parris had a team-high nine catches yesterday. Parris had nine catches in 2008. Four of Parris' nine catches on Saturday were third- or fourth-down conversions. You have heard me say it many times before, that Parris is criminally underused. The 6-3 senior is a terrific possession receiver, and with key fourth-quarter receptions versus both Purdue and USC, he has proven his worth. Parris now has 16 receptions on the season, and there's an outside shot in the remainder of this season that he'll match his receptions totals from the previous three (39).

-- Four different Notre Dame offensive players took a direct snap in the first quarter on Saturday: Jimmy Clausen, John Goodman, Eric Maust and Robert Hughes. In the final three quarters, Clausen took every snap. Does head coach Charlie Weis become conservative once he has run through his opening, pre-scripted plays?

-- The longest run from scrimmage for the Irish yesterday came courtesy of sophomore wide receiver John Goodman, who took a direct snap in the first quarter and rambled 13 yards. If you had Goodman in your "Irish Long Rush Fantasy Sweepstakes", good for you, man. You probably had Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby, didn't you?

-- For the first time in seven games, safety Kyle McCarthy did not lead the Irish in tackles. Freshman linebacker Manti Te'o, who had eight, tied fellow linebacker Brian Smith for the team high. Te'o has started two games and in each has tied for the team lead in tackles. He had ten against Washington, equal to McCarthy.

-- Give the Irish this credit: Not once during the post-game interviews did I hear a player mention the name "Michael Floyd". What a difference the gifted sophomore might have made yesterday, particularly on that final drive.

-- Teo's hit on USC quarterback Matt Barkley -- the most coveted defensive recruit smacking the most coveted offensive recruit of a year ago -- was eerily reminiscent of the shot former Trojan linebacker Rey Maualuga landed on UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan in 2006.

-- Trojan tight end Anthony McCoy is a beast. And kudos to Barkley for lofting the perfect pass for McCoy to run under on that 60-yard completion on third down.

-- Golden Tate's final catch on Saturday reminded me a lot of New York Giant David Tyree's catch in Super Bowl XLII. Tate may well be the best gamer the Irish have had since Raghib "Rocket" Ismail.

-- If you're scoring at home, USC defensive end Everson Griffen was flagged 15 yards for flexing his biceps with his arms above his neck. One series later Te'o was not flagged at all for flexing his triceps with his arms below his neck.

-- I kid you not, before yesterday's game I asked Pete Sampson of Irish Illustrated, "Is it just me or is Gary Gray the best cornerback the Irish have this season?" Pete did not disagree and Gray did not disappoint, with six tackles (third-best after Te'o and Smith) and a game-changing interception midway through the fourth quarter.
"I think he'll be playing a lot more," Weis said afterward.

Let's go one step further. Notre Dame's two best coverage defensive backs may be its two colors: Gray and Brown, as in Gary Gray and Sergio Brown. A media pal texted late in Saturday's game, "Why doesn't Sergio Brown start?" Granted, Brown is the first player on the field in any nickel package, but the question is valid.

-- Pete Carroll could stand to hold his players more accountable for the slew of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties than simply calling them "knucklehead plays". That said, Taylor Mays' hit on Armando Allen early in the fourth quarter was clean. Allen was slowing down and going out of bounds after making the reception, but it sure looked as if he was still inbounds when Mays clocked him.

-- Yes, it was a spirited comeback, not unlike the 1986 game in Los Angeles when the Irish erased USC's 37-20 fourth-quarter lead to win, 38-37, on a game-ending John Carney field goal. That victory not only kick-started Tim Brown's '87 Heisman campaign but it was the turning point of the Lou Holtz era.

That said, the Irish deserve criticism for mismanaging the clock in the final moments. There were 35 seconds remaining after the Parris fourth-down catch and the personal foul on Mays moved the ball to the USC 8. One play later only nine seconds remained.

"That was about the number of plays we were counting on having in that sequence right there," Weis said, while Clausen echoed, "I saw the clock the whole time. We were trying to get plays in and out."

Granted, it was chaos. But the Irish were home and the fact remains that when the game ended -- and I doubt that second gets put back on the clock, correct though the call was, if we're not in South Bend -- they still had one more down and one more timeout remaining. How is that anything but poor game management given that they allowed 26 seconds to elapse on one play before the final troika of plays beginning at 0:09?

-- In the waning moments, for a change of pace, I stood on the visitors sideline. Had a cush spot directly in front of the Song Girls and Shelley Smith of ESPN and directly to the left of Hall of Fame offensive tackle Anthony Munoz. Former USC quarterback Rodney Peete and I tried to guess whom Clausen would throw to before each play. It was, in short, pretty good.

When the clock struck 0:00 -- the second time -- Carroll began walking onto the field. That is, farther onto the field. No coach ignores the coaching box rule more egregiously than Pete, but that's another story.

Anyway, Carroll made it to about the hashmarks and then, looking as if he'd lost his wallet, sprinted back to the USC sideline at about midfield. He found an older man wearing a camouflage hunter's cap and vigorously shook his hand. I rushed over to ask the man his name and he said, "Gene Autry."

Really? Isn't he dead, I thought? But in the chaos of it all, I just looked at the man dumbly.

Then he took pity on me. "Bud Grant," he replied.

The old Minnesota Vikings coach probably thought I'd never heard of him. But, as a Dallas Cowboy fan growing up in the 70's, of course I knew who Bud Grant was. Here is what was so unbelievable. Bud Grant looks exactly the same as he did in 1975. Seriously, I wonder if he is a vampire. Only Abe Vigoda has aged less in the past 35 years, but that's only because Vigoda looked one step from death's door even then.

-- In the tunnel after the game Weis, just before entering the Notre Dame locker room, found Mays and McCoy of USC, shook their hands and congratulated them. Both players looked Weis in the eyes and said, "Thank you, sir."

Sunday Leftovers From USC-Notre Dame originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>anthony mccoycharlie weisgary graygolden tatejimmy clausenmanti teomatt barkleymichael floydpete carrolltaylor maysJohn WaltersSun, 18 Oct 2009 13:12:00 EST BCS Standings 2009: Florida, Alabama, Texas, Then What?http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/bcs-standings-2009-florida-alabama-texas-then-what/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/bcs-standings-2009-florida-alabama-texas-then-what/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/bcs-standings-2009-florida-alabama-texas-then-what/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



Update: You can check out the first BCS standings here.

The first BCS standings of 2009 will be released on Sunday afternoon, and everyone agrees that a pair of SEC teams, Florida and Alabama, will be the top two, followed by Texas at No. 3. But what comes after that?

According to the usually accurate BCS Guru, Boise State will edge out USC for the No. 4 spot, and the remainder of the Top 10 will consist of Iowa, LSU, Cincinnati, TCU and Miami.

But the BCS standings are mostly a curiosity at this time of year. There's no prize for being atop the BCS on Oct. 18; the prize comes at the end of the season. So what's likely to happen over the next seven weeks?

For starters, obviously, either Florida or Alabama will lose, because if they keep winning they'll meet in the SEC Championship Game. That means Texas just needs to keep winning, and they'll be in the BCS title game. The Longhorns' toughest remaining game is their next one, at Oklahoma State.

So if form holds, the Florida-Alabama winner will play Texas for the national title. Of course, in college football, form usually doesn't hold. But two of the top three losing wouldn't necessarily open the door for No. 4 Boise State. The Broncos' schedule is so easy the rest of the way that they really have no opportunities to impress either the poll voters or the computers. Even if the Broncos keep winning, they could easily get passed by USC, Iowa, LSU, Cincinnati or TCU.

What could put Boise State in the BCS title game conversation would be Oregon upsetting USC on Halloween. Since Boise State beat Oregon in the season opener, a Ducks victory over the Trojans would be huge both for the Broncos' strength of schedule and for their reputation among the poll voters.

Outside the Top 5, the two teams with the clearest paths to the title game are Iowa and Cincinnati, both of which are undefeated and atop BCS conferences. And after that? There are enough scenarios to make your head spin. And over the next couple months we'll all have fun sitting back and watching.
Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook

BCS Standings 2009: Florida, Alabama, Texas, Then What? originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Michael David SmithSun, 18 Oct 2009 10:41:00 EST It's Deja Vu All Over Again for Irishhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/its-deja-vu-all-over-again-for-irish/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/its-deja-vu-all-over-again-for-irish/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/its-deja-vu-all-over-again-for-irish/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Charlie Weis / Jimmy ClausenSOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Not again.

The clock really did read "0:00" this time. Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen trudged slowly toward his teammates who were congregating in the northwest corner of Notre Dame Stadium. Clausen, still wearing his helmet, walked alone and allowed himself a singular, soul-cleansing, emphatic expletive.

After what he had just been through, the junior quarterback can be forgiven that audible.

Not again. Seriously? Another USC-Notre Dame contest that featured a last-minute, outcome-in-the-balance drive toward the south end zone? A fourth-and-long conversion on that drive? A final play after the clock has already struck 0:00? It was the Bizarro World version of the 2005 game at Notre Dame Stadium with one meaningful exception: USC still won, 34-27. USC always wins. That's just what the Trojans do.

"It's just a heartbreaker, period," Clausen said later, "whether you come back from seven points or however many points we did today (20 ... almost). It's just a tough loss."

Once again, as they have done too many times this decade, the Irish played just well enough to break their hearts-and those of their faithful. Four years ago it came down to one fateful play. On Saturday it came down to three: a trio of plays, beginning with 0:09 on the scoreboard, from the USC 4-yard line. Clausen, the nation's leader in passing efficiency, with three shots at glory from four yards out.

"If you would have told me before the game, 'You can have the ball on the five (four) yard-line at the end of the game with a chance to tie or win," Irish coach Charlie Weis said, "I probably would have taken that."

If you had told him that with 13:33 to play and the Irish down 34-14, you bet your aspirin he would have taken it. At that point it looked as if the buzzards in the press box might be correct, that Weis might be coaching his final game in this rivalry.

More than a few of the national columnists who descended upon South Bend brought with them both a laptop and a noose. This game might be, in their minds, a potential coup de grace game for Notre Dame's fifth-year coach. And when Trojan tailback Joe McKnight scored from one yard out to make it 34-14 with 13:33 to play, you could feel the gallows door opening. The leads would be worded differently, but each would be some variation of "Flat-lined against a blue-gray sky, Charlie Weis' career at Notre Dame came to an end today."

Instead, Weis' team fought back. And that's what this is: Weis' team.


Certainly in those final 13½ minutes the Fighting Irish not only proved that they are a far more competitive team than they have been of late. They also demonstrated that, where this coach is concerned, they're not quitters. Still, what must sting for Weis, who now must concern himself more with having the patience of Job as opposed to simply having a job, is that the Irish have now gone four entire games-plus seven seconds-without holding a lead even for one play against their most celebrated rival.

That and the fact that USC, when it really matters, always makes a play. And the Irish do not.

The Irish did make big plays and plenty of them. A fake field-goal in the first quarter, a pass from backup punter and baseball pitcher Eric Maust to Robby Parris, awoke the audience and gained 25 yards down to the USC 2. One play later, Robert Hughes punched it in, Notre Dame's first touchdown against USC in 135 minutes of regulation stretching back to 2006.

Golden Tate was his brilliant self once more, hauling in a 45-yard touchdown pass on a go route while taking a shot in the chops from All-American safety/terminator Taylor Mays. Defensive end John Ryan had a key sack to halt USC's final drive, while Gary Gray made the interception that allowed the Irish to believe that just maybe it would be worth investing their hope in a victory this day. Parris, on fourth-and-10, made a gutsy catch while nearly being decapitated by Mays.

Golden TateIn the end, however, USC made more. Or at least enough. Three times, giving one of the nation's best passers a try from 12 feet away, the Trojans, playing thousands of miles east and dozens of degrees south of their home, made the stop. And Notre Dame, once again, came within a moment of the type of cathartic release that they and their fans have been deprived of for, well, 16 years now, since the 1993 win against No. 1 Florida State.

Touchdown Jesus stares down at Notre Dame Stadium from the Hesburgh Library, but perhaps when USC visits they should change the mosaic to Moses. Because today, as happened four years earlier, the Irish almost, but not quite, made it to the promised land.

"It's not good enough for us," said center Eric Olsen when asked if the Irish could at least be satisfied with a moral victory. On the other hand there were two dozen or so recruits in Notre Dame Stadium today, and they nearly witnessed the Irish erase a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit against the stingiest defense in the land. What did they see?

"I hope that they see that we're definitely making a comeback to what Notre Dame once was," said Olsen, a senior who will never be able to say that he beat USC. "I hope they see how much it crushed us to lose."

Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook

It's Deja Vu All Over Again for Irish originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>charlie weisjimmy clausenJohn WaltersSat, 17 Oct 2009 23:00:00 EST Time to Cut Weis Some Slackhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/time-to-cut-weis-some-slack/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/time-to-cut-weis-some-slack/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/time-to-cut-weis-some-slack/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Charlie WeisSOUTH BEND, Ind. -- He isn't going anywhere, and he shouldn't. The relentless ways of his Fighting Irish players down the stretch Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium against Southern Cal bought Charlie Weis more time.

So here's the deal: Weis will last the rest of this season as Notre Dame coach. He also will return next season, and who knows? He might stick around with the Fighting Irish to finish his 10-year contract that expires after the 2015 season.

Whatever the case, there should be a moratorium on Weis bashing despite Notre Dame's 34-27 loss to Southern Cal in another huge game. That's because his players keep demanding as much. They could have collapsed in the final seconds against Michigan State, but they didn't. The same goes for their squeakers over Purdue and Washington that involved an extra dose of passion from everybody on the field.

More FanHouse Coverage From South Bend
Jay Mariotti: No Moral Victories at Notre Dame, Charlie
John Walters: It's Deja Vu All Over Again for Irish | Game Blog

This time, Notre Dame players did their part to pull Weis away from the swinging guillotine that constantly is dangling over his neck after they watched their bigger, faster and better opponent surge to the edge of a blowout. With Southern Cal gouging Notre Dame's defense to take a 34-14 lead near the start of the fourth quarter, and with the game-long roar among the Irish Nation becoming only a whisper, those Notre Dame players had every right to call it a night.

No, to call it a season.

They didn't.

"What we did today showed a lot to the country," said Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who nearly led the Notre Dame Our Mother (you know, the Notre Dame alma mater) of rallies for his team after Southern Cal's last score with a couple of touchdown drives. At the end, he even fired three passes into the end zone from the Southern Cal 4, but he couldn't connect. Added Clausen, "I'm so proud of this team. We keep fighting when we're down. I think that's what the team is all about."

You only do what the Irish just did against Southern Cal if you have at least some talent, and if you have more than a little pride, and if you like your coach.

Just like that, the previously lousy Clausen remembered he was a Heisman Trophy candidate, and he played like it. Then Golden Tate grabbed the most clutch of his eight catches for 117 yards in that fourth quarter. In fact, soon after Notre Dame began its comeback attempt by racing 88 yards to the end zone, Tate caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Clausen to pull the Irish to within 34-27.

There was even a frantic dash for the Irish inside the final five minutes, when they raced from their 22-yard line to the Southern Cal 4. Along the way, Notre Dame faced fourth-and-10 from its 29, with Clausen firing a pass that Robby Parris stretched high to grab for a 13-yard completion. He was knocked silly enough afterward by Southern Cal defenders to need help off the field.

ttp://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=515420&pid=515419&uts=1255831692
http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf
Latest College Football Photos
Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen (7) is sacked by Southern California's Wes Horton (96) in third-quarter action, Saturday, October 17, 2009, in South Bend, Indiana. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/MCT)
MCT
Chicago Tribune

Latest College Football Images

    Kansas State coach Bill Snyder yells instructions to his players during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas A&M Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

    AP

    South Carolina running back Kenny Miles (31) reaches for his fumble as Alabama's Rolando McClain (25) defends in the first half of their NCAA college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. Alabama recovered the fumble. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

    AP

    Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas (8) falls into the end zone to score a touchdown as he is tackled by Texas A&M defensive back Terrance Fredrick (7) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009 in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

    AP

    Alabama coach Nick Saban walks on the sidelines in the first half of their NCAA college football game against South Carolina at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

    AP

    Southern Mississippi quarterback Mertevious Young (14) gets tackled by defensive end Gerg Terrell (94), cornerback Deante' Lamar (16), and defensive tackle Frank Trotter (62) in the first quarter of a NCAA college football game in Hattiesburg, Miss. Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Steve Coleman)

    AP

    Southern Mississippi quarterback Martevious Young (14) prepares to pass the ball in the second quarter against Memphis during a NCAA college football game in Hattiesburg, Miss. Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Steve Coleman)

    AP

    San Diego State wide receiver Demarco Sampson, left, catches a touchdown pass in front of BYU's Ross Williams, right, during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    Memphis tight end DajLeon Farr (11) gets tackled by Southern Mississippi defensive back Andre Watson (12) and linebacker Ronnie Thornton (56) in the second quarter of a NCAA college football game in Hattiesburg, Miss. Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/Steve Coleman)

    AP

    BYU running back Harvey Unga (45) breaks the tackle of San Diego State's Kwincy Edwards (24) during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS

    BYU quarterback Max Hall (15) holds the ball out as he scores on a run in front of San Diego State's Leon McFadden (20) and Larry Parker (7) during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

    ASSOCIATED PRESS


You don't sacrifice yourself that way if you don't like your coach.

"Well, anyone who doesn't realize the fight that's in the Fighting Irish is missing the boat," said Weis, whose team nevertheless dropped to 4-2 and likely out any rankings worth mentioning. Not only that, Notre Dame just lost to Southern Cal for an eighth consecutive time, but remember: the Irish were outscored 76-3 in the previous two games in the series. So, to be fair, they have a ridiculously long ways to go just to become competitive with Southern Cal.

Added Weis, "If you haven't watched the last five games, it's every week the same thing. Would I like to not be in that situation? You betcha. But go all the way back to Michigan [which was a last-second loss to begin the season]. Every week, this team is a bunch of fighters. I'm proud of the fight."

He should be. History is filled with examples of players who vanished mentally, physically and spiritually during games when their coach was under siege -- by alums, media, by fans, by campus officials and even by those players. Not so with these Notre Dame players, not when they had an unofficial chance to cut their ties with Weis during this nationally hyped game that was becoming another significantly embarrassing game for Notre Dame against Southern Cal.

Anyway, there was Friday night, when Raghib "Rocket" Ismail became a Notre Dame icon turned football preacher during a loud and large pep rally on campus. He kept screaming the first of his three mantras, "It ends tonight," which was his reference to Southern Cal's winning streak over Notre Dame.

Then Ismail switched mantras: "This is not a game."

Finally, with all of the boosters inside Rocket's head threatening to explode after he reached even higher decibels, Ismail implored the players on Notre Dame's current football team, the coaches and the tens of thousands gathered: "Let's go get it."

They didn't get it. Instead, the Irish almost got it against sixth-ranked Southern Cal, but "almost" is for losers.
Follow Us on Twitter Friend Us on Facebook
Well, usually. At this point in the wobbly Charlie Weis regime, "almost" is the same as "improving," which means a couple of things: Notre Dame still isn't among the elite, and we still don't know if Weis can get the Irish there.

It's just that as long as Weis' players want to try to get there with him, you have to give the guy a break.

Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning," an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta.

Time to Cut Weis Some Slack originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Terence MooreSat, 17 Oct 2009 22:30:00 EST FanHouse Week 7 College Football Chathttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/fanhouse-week-7-college-football-chat/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/fanhouse-week-7-college-football-chat/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/fanhouse-week-7-college-football-chat/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Red. River. Rivalry. USC against Notre Dame. National title implications and plain old rivalry are at work in this great weekend for college football. Four of the game's biggest lightning rods headline the first two shifts. Oklahoma limps in but has a chance to regain its form in the face of recent losses to Texas and scuttle the Longhorns' championship dreams. Notre Dame's just looking for a big win, any big win, and what better trophy than rival USC which broke their heart in 2005 with the Bush Push?

There's other football to be played and to be discussed so please join us for FanHouse's college football chat. It'll commence at 3 PM Eastern while the Red River Rivalry is wrapping up. Chat application after the jump.

FanHouse Week 7 College Football Chat originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Brian GrummellSat, 17 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST Live Blog: Notre Dame vs. USChttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/live-blog-pall-bearers-in-south-bend/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/live-blog-pall-bearers-in-south-bend/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/17/live-blog-pall-bearers-in-south-bend/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Daily DomerFanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind., during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history. Check back daily for his dispatches on the Irish.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Flat-lined against a blue-gray sky...huh?

Greetings from the Notre Dame Stadium pressbox, which is filled with budding eulogists this afternoon. National scribes from publications and websites alike, many of them here to see whether USC will blow out the Irish and put the nail in Charlie Weis' coffin.

Sorry, I just don't see it that way.

Follow John Walters live blog after the jump.

If the Irish lose by four touchdowns or so, then yes, it is time to wonder whether Weis simply cannot motivate his team for the big games. Any other outcome, though, bodes well for his health.

Walking along the South Quad this morning, both Alumni Hall and Dillon Hall had hung bedsheets that had the names of all the blue-chip recruits who are visiting this weekend. Besides each name was a box and for those who had already verbally committed (e.g., Chris Martin), a checkmark inside the box.

That those signs were more prominent than the scattered "Fall of Troy" signs is telling. This game, for the Irish, is about much more than moving up in the polls and ending a seven-game losing streak. This is about the future of the program. This is about proving to those four- and five-star kids (honestly, they could stage the Army All-American Game as the halftime entertainment today) that, as Weis likes to say, "the arrow is pointing upward" in South Bend.

Whether or not that's true... tune in to NBC at 3:42 p.m.

P.S. The grass is short today.

Twitter Updates, Live From South Bend

follow me on Twitter

Live Blog: Notre Dame vs. USC originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>charlie weisJohn WaltersSat, 17 Oct 2009 14:24:00 EST Midweek College Football Chathttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/midweek-college-football-chat/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/midweek-college-football-chat/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/midweek-college-football-chat/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Rivalry weekend doesn't usually happen until late November, but certain rivalries can clear that hurdle and give us a midseason treat. That time is now, with the annual Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma and the greatest intersectional (and lately, the only one) of them all, USC at Notre Dame just in time for the boys from California to avoid that wintery weather stuff most of the country suffers through.

Point is, we're excited. Sure, there's other football but on Saturday these games are like the disproportionately hot girls in the room drawing in the boys. They've sure got nice assets. What? How can you not look longingly at those combined 21 Heisman Trophies. Or the combined 3,233 wins. So uh, lets talk about it. The FanHouse Midweek College Football Chat commences today at 2 PM Eastern. Be there. Chat application after the jump.

Midweek College Football Chat originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Brian GrummellThu, 15 Oct 2009 11:24:00 EST Pete Carroll Makes His Line Coaches Slide in the Mudhttp://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/pete-carroll-makes-his-line-coaches-slide-in-the-mud/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/pete-carroll-makes-his-line-coaches-slide-in-the-mud/http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/pete-carroll-makes-his-line-coaches-slide-in-the-mud/#commentsFiled under: , ,



It was a rare rainy day in Southern California on Tuesday, and the rain gave USC coach Pete Carroll a bright idea for what to do at the end of practice: Settle a tied scrimmage between the offense and the defense by having his offensive and defensive line coaches see who could slide farther in the mud.

USC's official football blog describes the festivities:
Carroll said the only way to settle the tie was to put offensive line coach Pat Ruel against defensive line coach Jethro Franklin in a slip-and-slide competition on the most puddle-filled part of the field.

So with the players forming a tunnel on either side of the runway where the battle was taking place, the 58-year-old Ruel and 43-year-old Franklin went through two rounds of hilarious sliding before Franklin emerged -- soaked and muddied -- as the champion. The defense was awarded the overall practice victory, but all were in good spirits after the childlike festivities.
One of the reasons Carroll is such a great recruiter is that he convinces teenage football players they'll have fun if they come to USC. And really, what's more fun for a teenager than watching a couple of overweight middle-aged guys slide around in the mud?

Pete Carroll Makes His Line Coaches Slide in the Mud originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

]]>Michael David SmithThu, 15 Oct 2009 10:55:00 EST