10 Observations From Rivalry Week (s)

1. Ohio State better watch out, I still think Michigan is putting an offense together that is going to dominate the Big 10. Forcier will never play like that again, he is too good and has too far to go. Until T-Pry can learn how to throw the football to a cast of young receivers (including 2 top 150 prospects committed for 2010) OSU is vulnerable. 

2. Bob Davie calling the Pitt/WVU game is ruining the Backyard Brawl. 

3. Alabama won a tuff Iron Bowl at Auburn, it should have been close, and it was. I still like their defense in the SEC championship game against Florida. Saban is turning Bama into the USC of the South, pro-style game and aggressive recruiting. Pro-style football allows for the, "at Alabama we can prepare you for the NFL" recruiting line that works so well in Southern California.  

4. Texas, like Alabama won a tuff rivalry game on the road. Colt McCoy looks better every week and is starting to prove he can handle big time pressure. Right now McCoy might be the best QB available in the NFL draft. I have to wonder where was the Texas defense Mack Brown has become so proud of. 

5. Apparently Michigan State and Penn State is a rivalry, who knew? 

6. If Florida State somehow pulls off the miracle of the season and beats Florida, Bobby Bowden should retire. I wouldn't bet on either. 

7. During the Backyard Brawl broadcast there is a commercial for the "Freedom Tray." Apparently liberty and justice is no further away than a portable food tray. 

8. Notre Dame lost its rivalry with itself this season. There was no reason a team with that much talent should be on the cusp of .500 ball. Maybe if Notre Dame would pick a conference the program could get some easy wins, I suggest the Big 10. 

9. Bedlam is the greatest name for a rivalry game, ever. 

10. Harvard and Yale still means nothing to me, nothing. I would really like to see these two programs play against high schools from impoverished neighborhoods. For one thing, I think many of the high schools would win and secondly there is some weird social justice aspect I would love to see play out on a football field. 

Some More Irish Talk

I am not a hater, I like Notre Dame. Even as a Buckeye fan, I like Michigan. I like the new guard, the old guard, and a MAC game on Tuesday night. I like Running Down the Hill in Death Valley, Jump Around at Camp Randall, The Sooner Schooner, and hearing "Fight On" 354 times during the Rose Bowl. That is the beauty of college football, the tradition, the fact that there is always something to hang your hat on week after week. In other words, college football as a whole is something special. When one of its soldiers is down, the unit isn't the same. 

To overuse a typical cliche, it is good for college football if Notre Dame is a powerhouse. Bottom line, they have barely mattered for over a decade. Since Lou Holtz left after the 1996 season, Notre Dame is 95-67 (59%) and 1-7 in Bowl games, including a blowout from LSU and a two touchdown defeat to Ohio State. During the Lou Holtz era,  Notre Dame was 100-30-2 (76%)  and 5-4 in Bowl games including a National Championship. Lou Holtz was offered a life-time contract and turned it down, since that denied proposal the program hasn't been the same. As with all college football, it comes down to coaching. 

Notre Dame's selection of coaches after Holtz has been abysmal. Bob Davie, I can't even listen to the guy call a game on ESPN, how did 18 year old recruits listen to him in their own home. Ty Willingham would make a good Athletic Director, not a good head football coach, let alone THE head football coach at THE school. Charlie Weis, another short-sighted Belichick-tree decision. How's the Belichick tree look without Belichick? Hows it look Mr. Crennel, Mr.  Mangini, Mr. McDaniels, Mr Pioli, and Mr. Weis? 

College football coaches need to be master communicators, motivators, and recruiters. None of that describes any of the three coaches Notre Dame hired after Lou Holtz. USC, Ohio State, Michigan,  Alabama, and Oklahoma all struggled with hiring head coaches after an icon left the school. Eventually, a Carroll, Tressel, Schembeckler, Saban, and Stoops were found. Even Florida found a more aggressive, cocky, run-up the score maniac to replace the "old ball coach!" 

Notre Dame must be very un-Notre Dame and aggressively steal another school's top-tier coach. "Thou shall not steal unless you haven't won a BCS Bowl Game in 10 years." I'm not talking promote up, I'm talking highjack and high-tail it back to South Bend. 

• Urban Meyer already said "no," so what, keep asking until the state of Florida issues you a restraining order. 
  
• Bob Stoops already won a National Championship in Oklahoma, start offering non-stop service from South Bend to Norman immediately. 
  
• Pete Carroll already coaches your rival, great! 100% less earthquakes in Indiana. 
  
• Nick Saban already proved he will jump teams just for the hell of it, keep texting him. 
  
• Lane Kiffin already shook up the most corrupt conference in sports, facebook friend him now!
  
• Jim Tressel already is getting run out of Columbus, get some graduate assistants in sweater vests as quickly as possible. 

Time to get irrational Notre Dame, college football needs you to. 

Mark It As True

1. Notre Dame simply doesn't matter any more. When the starting QB gets punched in the face, after a game, IN SOUTH BEND, you've turned into Eastern Michigan. 

2. Michigan will be back, sooner than later. The Michigan offense will develop into a terrifying force for Big 10 opponents over the next two seasons while Rich Rod will realize small and speedy doesn't work on the defense side of the ball. 

4. Ohio State will loose another close big game because they simply can't throw the ball. A two headed monster at QB maybe necessary over the next few seasons. 

5. The SEC is the most corrupt organization in all of Sports. Both Alabama and Florid should have at least one loss, keeping them both out of the BCS Championship game. 

6. I think college football fans would eat up a TCU/Cincinnati BCS championship game, time to pass the torch. 

7. Colt McCoy looks great, but so does Ndamukong Suh. McCoy will get the Big 12 Championship, but Suh will have the better NFL career. 

8. The Jimmy Clausen and Brady Quinn comparisons are only the result of a shared Golden Dome.  Clausen seems to have a killer instinct and a much stronger arm. I still think he could benefit from another year at Notre Dame, but Sam Bradford's shoulder will probably have something to say about that. 

9. The PAC 10 has literally turned into the Wild West and possibly the best conference in college football, even in a down year for USC. The Big 10 however, is an absolute joke and should not be trusted to show up in any bowl game this year. Is it possible to have two PAC 10 teams in the Rose Bowl this year? 

10. The U is not back, not yet. But I'm sure after an early season beat down of Ohio State next year, that swagger will be back.