The likelihood of that happening, of course, is very slim. While the Wolverines can put up points, their defense offers little to no resistance. Thus, expect Terrelle Pryor (whose recruitment still represents Rich Rod’s first loss to Tressel) to run wild and the Buckeyes to beat Michigan…again.

Wondering how Rodriguez is dealing with the waning days of his maniacal rule in Ann Arbor, I traveled there this week to take lots of photos and record the conversations I heard. The result is the photo story below, which tells the tale of a man being forced to come to grips with the legacy he is leaving at one of college football’s Mount Rushmore programs.

The legacy of a loser.

Note: if for some reason you can’t view the image above, view it here.

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How do I know this? Because the blog Cat Scratch Fever has a picture of former Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen dressed up as the purple Teletubby. And on Clausen’s Twitter account, it says, “no just I dressed up along with all the other rookies lol.”

LOL indeed Clausen. LOL indeed.

Immediately, I thought of another Notre Dame “legend” who looks good in purple. The question is, who looks better?

Jimmy Pickles, the Grinning Purple Teletubby

Image credit: TwitPic via @ChrisLittmann

Or…

Charlie Grimace*

Cast your vote now in this very important debate:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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* – Okay, so Charlie Weis never really dressed up as Grimace, but this is the finest Photoshop work KVB has ever done (in fact, it may be the finest work he’s ever done period) so I had to take this opportunity to post it again. Yes, that’s how we roll here at MSF.

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The nightcap of the first Monday night of the 2010 NFL season, and final game of Week One, is an AFC West matchup that is strangely not being played on the West Coast.

But will location matter? And will you be able to stay awake for the whole thing anyway?

One of those answers and more as we look at the San Diego Chargers at the Kansas City Chiefs.

San Diego Chargers-Kansas City Chiefs Monday Night Primer

• Chargers-Chiefs Date: Monday, September 13
• Chargers-Chiefs Kickoff Time: 10:15 pm
• Chargers-Chiefs TV Network: ESPN
• Chargers-Chiefs Announcers: Brad Nessler and Trent Dilfer
• Chargers-Chiefs Point Spread: Chargers -4.5 (as of Friday morning)
• Chargers-Chiefs Over-Under Odds: 45 (as of Friday morning)

San Diego Chargers-Kansas City Chiefs Monday Night Preview and Analysis

Just as I did with the Ravens-Jets preview, here are five important things to consider about the Chargers/Chiefs matchup:

1. This is probably it for the year, Kansas City.

Barring any late season flex-scheduling, this will be the Chiefs’ and recently spruced-up Arrowhead Stadium’s one primetime slot of the season, meaning the crowd should be doing its best to be a major influence in the game, especially in the beginning.

I remember when Trent Green and Priest Holmes were shredding defenses in Kansas City, Arrowhead was a sea of red-clad fans, and a tough, tough place to play. So if the Chiefs are in this one to the very end, I presume Arrowhead is not going to be an easy place to close them out on a late Monday evening.

2. Bolstered backfield.

Everyone’s favorite fantasy diamond in the rough last season, Jamaal Charles, was rewarded for his breakout year with, ahem, a solid veteran threat to his starting position in Thomas Jones.

It’s a hard move to decipher: on the one hand, Jones adds proven production to a team that could use it however they can get it; on the other, does it make sense to give Charles reason to worry about splitting time after his ridiculous second half last year? It could work simply because the team may need to rely on the running game while quarterback Matt Cassel works out his kinks.

My best guess, though: head coach Todd Haley just really enjoys a good old-fashioned power trip.

3. Addition by subtraction?

LaDainian Tomlinson’s touchdowns and touchiness is gone for San Diego. The team is starting over with another feature runner, rookie Ryan Mathews out of Fresno State, in the backfield. With water bug back Darren Sproles serving as the main backup, Mathews will have to carry much of the rushing load while trying to sidestep that rookie wall, if there is such a thing.

4. Charlie Weis and Matt Cassel: BFFs?

Returning from the coaches’ grind house that is college football, Weis can focus on what he did so well in his time with the New England Patriots: develop quarterbacks —  more specifically, Tom Brady.

Brady’s one-year backup Cassel struggled in his first year as a Chief, yet it’s hard to not see him improving with the help of Weis. And he better, as this could be the most important tandem in the Chief’s organization.

A solid foundation is being formed under this team, but if these two guys aren’t on the same page, growth will be stunted. Cassel could gain some major confidence points with a solid outing against San Diego.

5. I think people are getting sick of the Chargers.

Every year it seems that San Diego loafs around through the early portion of the season, only to wake up and catch whatever team they were trailing in the division (a couple of recent Bronco meltdowns didn’t hurt), get hot at the right time, look like Super Bowl contenders, and then go down in flames somewhere in the postseason.

They likely believe they can play with fire during the regular season in such a way because, come on, they’re in the AFC West, for gosh sakes. Who’s going to catch them?

This year, with an expected-to-be-improved Oakland Raiders team and signs of life in Kansas City, the consensus doesn’t seem to fall so heavily on the Chargers.

A slip-up against the Chiefs in Week One would only inspire more confidence for the rest of the AFC West. It would open the door for new blood.

San Diego Chargers-Kansas City Chiefs Monday Night Prediction

The Chargers have shown their propensity to sleepwalk through the first few weeks of the season, but they’ve usually been able to recover in time to make the playoffs. For Kansas City, this is their first, and possibly biggest, chance to show everyone they are indeed on the upswing and gain a game on the division’s best.

An upset could rocket-launch the team and be the beginnings of a surprising year; a loss and we are still stuck on status-quo. The Chiefs will come out hyped by the atmosphere, but the Chargers will eventually wake up and pull away. Until I see that this formula isn’t going to work in the AFC West, I’ll give San Diego the benefit of the doubt.

Chargers-Chiefs Prediction: Chargers 31, Chiefs 21

Chargers-Chiefs Spread Pick: Chargers -4.5

Chargers-Chiefs Over/Under pick: Over

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* – Rivers photo courtesy of http://connect.in.com/philip-rivers/photos-philip-rivers-bed53eef7a994d2c.html.
* – Haley photo courtesy of UPI Photo/Terry Schmitt.
* – Arrowhead photo courtesy of http://kansascitysportstravel.com/.

twitter.com/griffingotta email: griffingotta@gmail.com

According to ESPN reports, and first reported by the New York Daily News, Charlie Weis has officially be relieved of his duties as Notre Dame head football coach.

Let the speculation for his successor officially begin.

What will the future be for Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate?

Both are the main guns for the Notre Dame offense, and both are eligible to enter the NFL draft. Charlie Weis and athletic director Jack Swarbrick are scheduled to sit down with both Clausen and Tate and talk to them about their future.

Clausen is more likely to end his career at ND and join the draft simply because he already a projected 1st rounder. For Clausen, joining the draft is the smartest choice. Clausen has been the star of the ND team this year. He has, week after week, shown his Heisman capabilities. Maybe the most convincing is that out of other QB’s with 1st round potential, that means Tebow and McCoy, Clausen is more NFL ready than the other two.

Clausen is a polished QB that knows how to make good choices when under pressure. He has both a cannon and an accurate arm. An arm that has not thrown more than 2 INTS this season. Why risk having a bad year next year? Clausen should make the smart choice and enter the NFL draft.

It’s not as easy as a decision for junior Golden Tate.

No doubt Tate has had a great season, but many people see his size, 5’11″, as a big disadvantage. It’s true that being tall is a huge advantage for NFL receivers, but that doesn’t mean a player can’t have a successful career being smaller than average receiver height. If you want an example look at Carolina’s Steve Smith.

It’s a lot harder to predict Tate’s decision. It could really go either way, but my guess is that if Clausen goes so will Tate. Who knows who will be ND’s QB next year, if Clausen does commit to the draft. That decision won’t be made until next season’s training camp. Tate might be a good receiver but not knowing who will be throwing to you next year is a too big of a risk to take.

My guess is either both will stay, but if one goes so will the other one.

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* – Jimmy Clausen / Golden Tate photo credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images via Life.com

The sucker punching started this past Saturday, when Mike Brey, Tyler Harangody, and the Fighting Irish lost to Jim Calhoun and the UCONN Husk–wait a minute, crap…got that mixed up.

Let’s start over.

The sucker punching started this past Saturday when Charlie Weis, Jimmy Pickles, and the Fighting Irish lost to Randy Edsall and the Connecticut Huskies in South Bend.

It continued early on Sunday morning when Jimmy Clausen was sucker punched at a bar in the wee hours of the morning.

And then this morning there was more sucker punching with the reports that Clausen’s family has sold their home in South Bend.

But does this latest sucker punch really amount to much, or is it much ado about nothing?

Here is the report on the Clausen family selling their home from the Chicago Tribune (via The Big Lead):

Century 21 real estate agent Kathye Currey told the Tribune on Tuesday that the house Clausen’s family owns at 703 E. Angela Blvd. in South Bend has been sold.

“It has an accepted offer on it right now,” Currey said of the property that is mere steps from campus. “It was for sale, it listed on the middle of July of this year. And it just went pending last week.

“Pending (means) the sellers have accepted an offer on it. It’s sold. It just has not closed with the title company yet.”

Now, at first glance, news of the Clausens (who are from California and use the house during the season) selling their home seems like a pretty strong indication that Jimmy will forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

However, allow me to play devil’s advocate here for a second. I don’t recall coming into the season a feeling that Clausen’s departure was a foregone conclusion. Yet, the article states that the house went on the market in the middle of July.

If that is the case, then the Clausens selling their home is not a knee-jerk reaction to Charlie Weis’ job status or the punch-heard-round-the-world. Perhaps they had already been planning to do so, regardless of whether Jimmy would be in South Bend for his senior season or not.

How would they have known in July?

I guess they could have been sitting on an offer and waiting for the “right time” to accept it, and that the last week has offered up the perfect confluence of events for the “right time” to be declared, but who knows. That’s a lot of speculating.

So while every story involving the words and “Notre” and “Dame” is so hot right now, I’m not sure that this story really amounts to all that much. His parents are selling their house. Fine. They were apparently willing to do it in July and I didn’t hear anyone squawking about it then.

Still, add up the disappointing season, the likelihood that Charlie Weis will be gone, the likelihood that Golden Tate will be gone, and the fact that random South Bend residents are punching him in the face, and it’s a pretty good bet that Jimmy Clausen will be in this year’s draft.

From the timeline of events, I’m just not sure much can really be read into the ownership status of his parents’ house.

Once again you can’t blame the offense because the Fighting Irish’s offense played very well today. They did a very nice job of balancing the running and passing game, but once again the defense let this team down. The Irish let thew Huskies run all over them, with the Huskies running for a total of 231 yards and two TDs.

And you can’t overlook the dedication that UConn showed all game. You could tell they were playing with a purpose. This was UConn’s most memorable win in its existence because it is the first time they have won since cornerback Jasper “Jazz” Howard was stabbed to death.

Jazz this is for you,” UConn coach Randy Edsall said. “Best win we have ever had.”

Coach Edsall and his players will remember this game for the rest of their lives. It was a deserving win for a deserving team.

As for Weis, this loss won’t help his cause on hoping to return next year. His winning percentage, .573, is now lower than both of the two former coaches before him. It is now the second time in row Weis hasn’t been able to win on Senior night.

Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, and Michael Floyd all shared very productive nights. Clausen threw for 329 yards and two TDs. Tate caught nine balls for 128 yards and a TD while Floyd caught eight balls for 104 yards and a TD.

Notre Dame, now 6-5, plays Stanford next Saturday, November 28th.

Still the Irish players believe they can beat the Trojans.

A win against the Trojans would elevate not only the Notre Dame coaches and players, but all their fans as well. The Irish have a stellar offense, but they haven’t seen a defense as good as the Trojans.

It will be a tough challenge, but one that means a lot to both teams.

Here are the particulars for Saturday’s game:

#6 USC at #25 Notre Dame

• USC-Notre Dame Date: Saturday, October 17th
• USC-Notre Dame Kickoff Time: 3:30 ET
• USC-Notre Dame TV: NBC
• USC-Notre Dame Spread: USC -10.5
• USC-Notre Dame Spread by KVB: Notre Dame +10.5
• StubHub: USC-Notre Dame tickets as low as $25!

Both teams have to prove to the nation that they are championship material. USC is still a great team, but there has been some doubt whether this team is really as good as their 6th ranking shows. One thing the teams have in common is that they both are seconds away from being undefeated, but also seconds away from having a couple more losses than they do.

Notre Dame is still the underdog, mainly due to their lackluster defense, but they have a fighting chance if their offense continues to excel. The Irish are ranked 10th in offense but 100th is defense. Those numbers clearly show both the weakness and strength of the team. Their whole game relies on the offense playing well and basically winning the game for them.

Jimmy Clausen’s Heisman also rely on the this game.  A win over the Trojans would have more and more people looking at the young gun as a legit candidate. Clausen puts up the numbers, but you also need to put up the wins to be considered for the Heisman.

The USC are coming off a dominant 30-3 win over California. The Trojans’ offense is ranked 21th, but their 6th ranked defense is the dominant force and the reason why they are a favorite. USC isn’t the same dominant team they were a few years ago with Leinart and Bush, but give them a few years and they could very well be again.

This Saturday’s match up should be an interesting one to watch. We could see a a huge Irish upset which will make it all the more worthwhile to watch it.

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* – Jimmy Clausen / Charlie Weis photo credit: Darron Cummings / AP file via NBC Sports

Let’s see, there was that 3-8 record in 2007 that featured losses to Air Force and Navy, and then last season’s 7-6 mark that was highlighted by a loss to Syracuse (a football program on such solid footing that it turned to a former Duke basketball player to play quarterback this year). 

The putrid aftertaste of this 10-14 two-year span is most notably seen in this encouraging billboard that a group of ex-Irish football players bought in South Bend before this season started.

But just when you thought that things could not get worse in South Bend, that Weis’ seat could not possibly get hotter, there is this: Notre Dame’s 207-game sellout streak, which dates back all the way to 1973 (around the same time that this photo was taken), is in jeopardy of being broken this weekend.

Update: Well that didn’t take long.  The sellout streak is alive, according to ESPN. I’d like to think we had something to do with it…but I know we didn’t.

That’s right, there are still gobs of tickets available for this weekend’s showdown between the Washington Huskies and Notre Dame Fighting Clausens according to ESPN Chicago.

According to the university, this may actually be one Irish struggle that is not Weis’ fault though, as the empty seats are purportedly the result of the University of Washington returning a portion of their alloted seats.

Still, if the sellout streak is somehow broken during this most critical of moments for Weis, it certainly will be included in the brown paper bag of $h!t dung that gets left on Weis’ doorstep and lit aflame come season’s end…barring a miraculous entry in the BCS.

So, because we are true humanitarians here at Midwest Sports Fans, and don’t like kicking people when they’re down, we are calling you, the readers, to step up and support Charlie Weis and his long suffering school.

Below is a link to StubHub that will allow you to buy Notre Dame-Washington tickets that we hope you will take advantage of; and no, not because we make a small percentage off each sale, but rather so that Touchdown Jesus does not have to see another proud Irish tradition — the home sellout — come to an end.

You know, like winning seasons, All-Americans, and New Year’s Day bowl games have.

• Notre-Dame Washington tickets as low as $53

Please MSF readers, help keep Irish eyes a-smiling.

(P.S. In the interest of full disclosure, we will reveal what could have been the deviousness behind our own little schematic advantage: tickets from StubHub are actually resale tickets, and thus will not go towards Notre Dame getting its sellout.)

(P.S.S. For the record, I was just informed by twitterer @g-twitty that Nebraska recently passed 300 in their consecutive sellout streak. So the Irish aren’t close to any records or anything.)

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* – Charlie Weis photo credit: Christian Petersen / Getty Image via NBC Sports

Michigan State again gave their opponent a second chance, only for it to bite them back in the butt.

Late in the 4th quarter, Michigan Sate was down 30-33. Michigan State’s WR, Larry Caper, beat all of the Irish’s defense. He was wide open. All he had to do was catch the ball. Instead the ball was too high, and while Caper got his hands on the ball, he wasn’t able to catch it.

It would have been a TD and given the Spartans the lead, and maybe even the game, but it only led to an Irish interception that would clinch the game for the Irish.

The hero tonight?

Kyle McCarthy is the big man on campus this weekend for Notre Dame. His interception at the 4 yard line, with 57 seconds left, sealed the win for the Irish. A win that they needed really badly. Last week, Notre Dame let Michigan come back and beat them. A loss that put even more doubt on the team, including head coach, Charlie Weis.

The Irish aren’t even close to showing that they are the real deal. They won the game, and while thats all that matters in the end, having another late night scare shows that this team doesn’t know how to finish a game. It was another scare for loyal Fighting Irish fans. A scar that not many fans want to endure 2 weeks in a row. A scare that kinda ticks you off.

One thing that will make fans happy is Jimmy Clausen continues to play extremely well. He threw for 300 yards with 2 TD passes and no interceptions. He is looking like a great leader for a team that needs one. He has played very well this year, and is a reason why the Irish should be hopeful this and next year.

A huge blow to the Irish is the loss of WR Michael Floyd. Floyd suffered a broken collarbone when he landed in the endzone. He leads the nation in receiving yards per game (160), and in yards per catch (29.1). Luckily, Golden Tate and Clausen were able to pick up the slack, something they might have to be doing for some weeks. It’s not yet known how long Floyd will be out.

Overall a win is a win. However I am beginning to doubt this defense that, in the first week, looked very strong. They have given up two straight 30+ point games. A team can’t expect to win when their defense gives up that many points in a game. Defense should be the main thing for the Irish to work on this week in practice.

The Irish’s season depends how the defense plays. Look for the defense to step it up next week.

Let me just say one thing looking back at last weekend and then we can get into the preview: Notre Dame lost the Michigan game because of terrible, crazy, offensive play calling.

What were they thinking when they called two pass plays with the lead late in the 4th quarter!? Run the ball and make Michigan use their timeouts! It was just dumb play calling at its “finest”.

Now back to the ND-MSU preview. Before we delve into the analysis, here are the particulars for Saturday’s matchup:

Michigan State at Notre Dame

• Michigan State-Notre Dame Date: Saturday, September 19th
• Michigan State-Notre Dame State Kickoff Time: 3:30 ET
• Michigan State-Notre Dame TV Channel: NBC
• Michigan State-Notre Dame Point Spread: Notre Dame -10.5

Notre Dame has to win this game, and on paper Notre Dame is the stronger team; but this is sports, and if you haven’t found out yet that anything can happened in sports, well you’re not a very astute fan.

So while Notre Dame should win this game, don’t count out Michigan State too easily.

Despite the 30+ points given up against Michigan, Notre Dame’s defense has improved dramatically. While the Irish offense is explosive, I believe it is their defense that will be the key to this game. Defense wins football games, as the old adage goes, and Notre Dame has the defense to do beat Michigan State, along with the offense to back it up.

Michigan State needs to stay to the basics of football. That is playing smart football, not giving up many turnovers, and converting on chances. Michigan State is running against the wind in this game, but playing smart football can make all the difference.

This game will go to the team with the better choices, play calling, and whoever converts on the others mistakes. Those are fairly common things you have to do to win a football game, but not many teams can do that in a game, and they end up paying the price for not sticking to the basics.

Overall I see Notre Dame winning this game comfortably. if not, then maybe Notre Dame isn’t as good as they were hyped to be.

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1. Sam Bradford

This past Saturday, Oklahoma was upset in new the Dallas Cowboys stadium by BYU. What’s worse is that last year’s Heisman Trophy winning quarterback, Sam Bradford, injured his throwing shoulder on his way to the ground. Sooner Nation stopped breathing for a moment, however with recent reports it seems that the Sooner’s Slinger will only miss 2-4 weeks.

I’ll Tell You This: For all of you skeptics of Mark Sanchez and other athletes coming to pro sports early, and for all of you haters of high schoolers jumping to NBA, this is the case against you. Bradford decided to stick around one more year when he could have been the #1 pick last year. What if this was a career ending injury? Even though it’s not at this point, what if it severely affects Bradford’s play?  Bradford would possibly never get to live his dream of playing pro football. And worse, what would be his future profession after dumping all of his time into becoming an A-level quarterback?

2. Saving Weis?

Charlie Weis and all of South Bend (and those who support the Irish) may breathe just a little easier after Notre Dame pitched a shutout against Nevada. Jimmy Clausen finally looked like the quarterback that he has been hyped to be, completing 15 of 18 passes for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns.

I’ll Tell You This: No coach in sports is under as much pressure as Charlie Weis is right now. Notre Dame MUST win, and look good in doing so. However, this was Nevada. It’s the first week of the season. The team that should have won did. Next week brings bitter rival the Big Blue of Michigan. Someone shoot Charlie a text and let him know his job is still on the line.

3. Al Davis Strikes Again

Once again, Bill Bellicheck is a genius and Al Davis is a fool. This past weekend the New England Patriots traded DE Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders for a first round pick in 2011. Seymour is getting older and has seemingly started to lose a step, but is still an upgrade to a porous Raiders D-Line. However, the question remains: is he worth a first round pick?

I’ll Tell You This: There is not a soul on the earth that can honestly tell me that Al Davis made a good move, or ever will. Seymour is a “right now” type of guy, and Oakland is FAR from a “right now” type of team. There is no doubt that the Patriots will likely be picking top 5 in the 2011 draft, and that is something that no one in the entire NFL (save for New England) wants to see (and it’s possible that Al Davis won’t even live long enough to see). Al Davis needs to let go of this historic NFL franchise or they will never succeed. It’s definitely the black hole….a place where NFL players and winning go to die.

4. The Rookies

NFL rookies take the cake this year as both Matthew Stafford of the Detroit Lions and Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets will both get the starting nod at quarterback for their respective teams this season.

I’ll Tell You This: Although I think both guys are talented and will be good quarterbacks in the NFL, both teams are making mistakes starting them. Yes, some quarterbacks do well when thrown right into the mix (see Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts). However, in many cases it hurls what may have been a talented superstar into the cursed pool of the draft day flops (See Ryan Leaf, Joey Harrington, and David Carr). And some never can turn it around afterwards. Both teams have respectable veteran starters in Daunte Culpepper (Detroit) and Kellen Clemens (NY).  I can only hope for the sake of these two QB’s that they follow Peyton’s path to success and not Ryan Leaf’s path to America’s Funniest Home Videos.

5. The Knockout Heard Round the World

Everyone has seen it. Most of us saw it every hour for 48 straight hours on every sport program on television. And while for a fan of MMA like myself it was somewhat exciting to watch, America was once again taken aback by another sports thug when Oregon standout running back LeGarrette Blount sucker punched Boise State’s Byron Hout after Hout spouted a little trash talk to Blount. Blount made things worse by almost going Ron Artest-style on a couple fans on his way to the locker room. It took 4 or 5 police officers and building security to keep him from broaching the stands.

I’ll Tell You This: Although it is very sad to see a player throw away his career for lack of ability to keep his attitude in control, I do find it funny that the game started with both teams meeting at midfield for a handshake in light of “Good Sportmanship Week.” What I also find funny is that Blount ran his mouth ALL week before the game and then after getting held in check and to career lows, couldn’t take what he had been dishing out. The senior received a one year suspension, thus ending his college career. What will he do with his time off? Maybe he should give the Winnepeg Blue Bombers a call. He can hang out with Pacman Jones. They would make a cute couple. Canada can have him too.

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You can follow BigMB on Twitter by going to www.twitter.com/mylesb3269.

All areas of the team were spot on. The defense was fast and shut down both the running and the passing game. The offense was unstoppable. Notre Dame ran away with the game early, and once they had it they never looked back.

Jimmy Clausen had a Heisman-caliber game, throwing for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns. The ball came out out of his hand like a bullet and was always incredibly accurate as well.

Sure, it wasn’t a top 25 team they played in South Bend on Saturday, but a game like that should improve Clausen’s confidence in the pocket and the overall confidence of the offense. It was a great day for the junior QB and hopefully we will see more games like that from him.

It was just a blast to watch this game. Being a Notre Dame fan I had seen some bad football being played by the Irish over the past 2 years, and this game was basically a vacation from all that bad football. For once this team looked like the old Fighting Irish I knew and loved.

It was a big win against a small school, but it seemed like it was a huge win against a huge team. You could see the happiness on the players’, coaches’, and fans’ faces. This is a win the team needed. To start off a season like that, after playing so poorly the past couple of seasons, must be a big relief. Hopefully it is also a sign that this team can do big things this year.

Next week the Irish play against rival Michigan. It is another big game and comes against a team that is in the same position Notre Dame is, only worse. Both teams will want a W, so expect a hard fought football game. You can check out the game on September 12 at 2:30cst.

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* – Jimmy Clausen photo credit: AP via BoDog Beat

In fact, the past two years have been hell for Irish fans.

Notre Dame went a combined 9-15 over the past two season, including setting the record for most losses in a season in 2007 with nine. The Irish especially did not fare well against their main rival USC, losing 0-38 in 2007 and 3-35 in 2008.

So you would think it could only get better for the Irish, right?

Well, that’s exactly what might happen.

Follow the links to StubHub for great deals on Notre Dame football tickets and all college football tickets.

This year has the potential to be a comeback year for the Irish. With a relatively easy schedule, the Irish can post an above .500 record for the first time in two years and could end up in the top 25 – or *gasp* even the BCS – at the end of the year. The Irish were ranked at 23rd in the pre-season polls, which I think is a lenient ranking considering how average they were last season.

One thing is for sure, after yet another stellar recruiting class pulled into South Bend by Charlie Weis: the Irish have the players to prove they belong in the top 25. The Irish’s recruiting class was in the top 10 again this year, and we all know that recruiting is a necessary step in rebuilding a college football program into the powerful force it desires to be.

Furthermore, the returning players on offense have matured and should be ready to take another step forward this season, which is obviously one in which the Irish hope to win a spot in one of the major bowl games. And not only do they want to be in one, they want to win one.

The offense is led by junior QB Jimmy Clausen and junior WR Golden Tate. These two love each other and are prepped to have a stellar year. Clausen has been called a bust by some, but he is now in his prime and so is the offense. Notre Dame is known to have had potent offenses in the past, and it all starts at the QB position. With greats like Joe Montana, and recently Brady Quinn, Clausen has high expectations to fulfill.

Another person who is not a player also has infamously high expectations to fulfill. And when I say that, I mean – who else? – Charlie Wies.

Going into his 4th season, Weis has put up a modest 29-21 record. The only great year Weis has had was in 2006, when they went 10-2, but lost in the Sugar Bowl to LSU. After the disappointment of the last two years, fans have been calling for Notre Dame to fire Weis, and there was rumors after last season that he was in fact going to be fired. However, Weis wasn’t fired, and this year will be a statement of just how good a coach Weis is.

He has clearly had mixed reviews over his coaching career with Notre Dame. All agree he is a great recruiter, but some argue he is a terrible on-field play caller and coach. Is his offense too complicated for a college football team? Some have said so. The overriding trust is that Weis has the tools, and he mentally understands how to move the football. Now can he use those tools effectively and instill the same knowledge into his players?

We will just have to wait and see.

As you can see, this year will be a make or break season for the Fighting Irish and their embattled coach. The players are there, the schedule sets up nicely, and the fans are ready. Will this be a comeback year, or will it just be another disappointment?

Nobody can know, except maybe Touchdown Jesus.

**********

[Editor's note: you can catch Notre Dame's first game this Saturday, September 5, against Nevada at 3:30pm est. Follow the link to see the entire Week 1 college football schedule and point spreads.]

* – Notre Dame gold helmet photo credit: UND.com

* – Charlie Weis / Jimmy Clausen photo credit: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar via WSBT.com

It seems that Simeon Rice is not too big a fan of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, who was recently fired and replaced by Raheem Morris.

“How I feel personally? I could tell you that, too. I think he’s a scumbag,” Rice said. “I think he’s a scumbag personally. That’s when he’s telling you one thing and… You know what he told me? ‘Simeon you’ll be here in the next five years.’ I got injured [and] this man’s never said one word to me. I won a Super Bowl for you. I got 13 sacks, 12, 15 every year for you. I balled. I got injured [and] you let me go like it was nothing.”

Wow. Players who have been cut holding grudges is nothing really new, but coming right out and calling the guy a scumbag is pretty surprising.

What do you think?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Hop over to PFT to read the rest of Simeon Rice’s comment. He goes on and on listing off players who had beef with Gruden for one reason or another, and describing situations that turned into “debacles” because of how Gruden handled them.

Simeon Rice had quite a football career. He shattered the previous Big Ten sack record of 36 by notching 44.5 sacks while at the University of Illinois. He was then picked 3rd in the 1996 NFL draft and was a highly productive player for the Cardinals and Buccaneers (helping Tampa Bay win the 2002 Super Bowl) before suffering a series of nagging injuries. He bounced around after being cut by the Bucs and developed a reputation of being a little bit of a malcontent.

As with anything, I’m sure that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Jon Gruden obviously rubbed some people the wrong way during his Tampa Bay tenure, and I’m sure this won’t be last “scumbag” story that comes out. But Simeon Rice’s comments should probably be taken with at least a little bit of a grain of salt. No doubt there is some animosity there for the unceremonious way that Rice was jettisoned from the Bucs when his production deteriorated, but that’s the way it goes in the salary-cap era NFL.

Still, you have to wonder what the Golden Domers think of the myriad of negative pub that Jon Gruden has been getting recently. It is the worst-kept secret in sports — heck, it’s not even really a secret — that Notre Dome has long coveted Jon Gruden to someday restore the pride of Touchdown Jesus; and the feeling is mutual. But when when of your only public defenders is John Daly, well that has to say something doesn’t it?

One thing is for sure, somewhere Charlie Weis is smiling — and probably feeling just a little bit more secure in his job than he was about a week ago.