Andy

Dear God. That kid was in my line of sight (I was 20-some rows up and to the left of him). Ironic choice of insult, for sure.

Yep, they'll be at Utah/TCU.

Forget job hunting, everyone put all you've got on Pitt.

Top 25 games --------------------------- (1) Florida at South Carolina (3:30 pm, CBS) (2) Alabama at Mississippi State (7 pm, ESPN) (3) Texas at Baylor (12 pm, FSN/CSN) (16) Utah at (4) TCU (7:30 pm, CBS College) (25) West Virginia at (5) Cincinnati (8 pm Friday, ESPN2) Idaho at (6) Boise State (3:30 pm, ESPNU) (7) Georgia Tech at Duke (12 pm, ESPN2) Louisiana Tech at (8) LSU (7 pm, ESPNU) Stanford at (9) USC (3:30 pm, FSN/CSN) (10) Iowa at (11) Ohio State (3:30 pm, ABC - Regional) Notre Dame at (12) Pittsburgh (8 pm, ABC - Regional) Arizona State at (13) Oregon (10:15 pm, ESPN) (14) Miami at North Carolina (3:30 pm, ABC - Regional) (15) Houston at Central Florida (12 pm, CBS College) (17) Arizona at California (7 pm, Versus) Indiana at (18) Penn State (12 pm, BTN - Regional) Texas Tech at (19) Oklahoma State (8 pm, ABC - Regional) Michigan at (20) Wisconsin (12 pm, BTN - Regional) (21) Virginia Tech at Maryland (1 pm, ESPN 360) (22) BYU at New Mexico (2 pm, The Mountain) Washington at (23) Oregon State (3:30 pm, Fox Sports Northwest) (24) South Florida at Rutgers (7:30 pm Thursday, ESPN) Games of interest ---------------------------- Ball State at Northern Illinois (6 pm Thursday, ESPNU) Syracuse at Louisville (12 pm, ESPN 360) Tennessee at Ole Miss (12 pm, CBS) Florida State at Wake Forest (12 pm, ESPNU) Kentucky at Vanderbilt (12 pm, SEC Network) South Dakota State at Minnesota (12 pm, BTN - Regional) Michigan State at Purdue (12 pm, ESPN) Northwestern at Illinois (12 pm, ESPN Classic) Missouri at Kansas State (12:30 pm, Versus) Colorado at Iowa State (1 pm) Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan (1 pm) UCLA at Washington State (3:30 pm, FCS Pacific) Nebraska at Kansas (3:30 pm, ABC - Regional) Western Kentucky at UL Monroe (4 pm) Texas A&M at Oklahoma (7 pm, FSN/CSN) Auburn at Georgia (7 pm, ESPN2) Troy at Arkansas (7:30 pm, CSN South) Other nationally available games ------------------------------------------ Ohio at Buffalo (7 pm Tuesday, ESPN2) Toledo at Central Michigan (8 pm Wednesday, ESPN2) Bowling Green at Miami (OH) (6 pm Thursday, ESPN 360) Temple at Akron (8:30 pm Friday, ESPNU) Delaware at Navy (3:30 pm, CBS College) Boston College at Virginia (3:30 pm, ESPN 360) UL Lafayette at Middle Tennessee (4 pm, ESPN 360) Fresno State at Nevada (4 pm, ESPN 360) New Mexico State at Hawaii (10 pm, ESPN 360) East Carolina at Tulsa (8:15 pm Sunday, ESPN) Non I-A games of interest --------------------------------- Lafayette at Holy Cross (12:30 pm, WCTR) Missouri State at Southern Illinois (3 pm, Mediacom) North Dakota at UC Davis (4 pm) Western Illinois at Northern Iowa (7:30 pm) Nationally available games outside I-A ------------------------------------------------- Texas Southern at Grambling (9 pm Thursday, ESPNU) D-II Playoffs: Edinboro at East Stroudsburg (12 pm, ESPN 360)

Screw you Panthers. I'd have been fine with you just getting blown out, but no, you take a 17-3 lead and gag it away instead.

LSU moved UP a spot in the BCS by losing. I give up.

ND had 5 trips to the red zone or near it that resulted in zero points. 2 missed field goals, a pick that somehow bounced off Floyd's back and STRAIGHT UP INTO THE AIR, a turnover on downs, and a fumble. If I felt like defending Charlie, I'd yap about the bad breaks, the overturning a non-reviewable play on the first drive, the Jimmy getting hurt yet again (ND has had 3 different plays this year on which they should have scored a TD but someone got injured at the 1-yard line or in the end zone to take it away), the Immaculate Interception, or whatever else. But Charlie Weis didn't have this team ready to play at all today. It was glaringly obvious. ND will lose to at least one of Pitt or Stanford and probably both, and then Weis will be fired. And for the first time in his tenure, I'm in favor of that. Someone get Brian Kelly on line 2. And for the love of God, fire Tenuta. How many times can Notre Dame give up big gains on plays everyone knows are coming (like the FB run up the middle from their own 1 that went for 30 some yards)? I can't even begin to get mad at Clausen, Floyd or Tate, all of whom played very well.

I was researching via a website called FBSchedules.com to see what teams have Sept. 3, 2011 open (Boise's lone non-conference date that they're looking to fill) and was compiling a list but lost it all because of an accidental click elsewhere. But at least half the BCS conference teams have that date open as of now.

That pic freaked me the [expletive] out.

What's the beef against Boise? Just rooting for the underdog and don't think Boise deserves to be ranked in the top 10. They had one good win against Oregon to start the season and haven't played a good team since. It's a tough spot for Boise though. What do they have to do to be highly ranked if they go by your criteria? What good team would want to play Boise State? Major conference teams don't gain anything from it...and they stand to potentially lose a lot. They really need to get out of that conference. There was a story this week - buried in the whole "WAC hires PR firm to help Boise get to BCS" hubbub - about how Boise has a slot left on their 2011 schedule and are trying everything they can to get a BCS conference team to host them for a one-off. Boise's not even asking for a return trip, they just want a road game against a BCS team. And they can't get one.

I loathe mugging for the refs. It's a big part of why I hated Hansbrough, a big part of why I hate Kramer and a huge part of what frustrated me about Luke Harangody last season, because he started doing it too.

The Yankees won 2 titles, tied for the most in the decade, and were in the playoffs 9/10 times. Easy pick.

I'm following ND this year about 90 percent for Gody and 10 percent on the desperate hope that the Irish can continue their pattern of having a great year when their expectations are low. Unfortunately he has no chance of winning the end of the season honors because ND's not going to be that good and the voters won't give it to someone who's not on a great team.

sorry about your loss to Northwestern I would say there's no way they could lose to Northwestern, but the Cats beat IU...

Syracuse lost an exhibition to LeMoyne tonight. Oops.

Michael Floyd officially cleared to play. Dayne Crist torn ACL and done for the year, so Evan Sharpley is back as backup quarterback.

I read that. Apparently the contract stipulates that 6 ND games must be broadcast over the air on NBC, but since the current contract calls for 8 games a year on NBC, two games could move to cable. (And with the upcoming schedules - which were of course caused by the ridiculous NBC-based scheduling philosophy - they probably should.) I get Versus, so whatever, I guess. Big problems for those who miss out though.

Do they really not know that "scores" is groups of 20?

08-09 RPIs of ND's non-conference opponents (out of 343): North Florida - 326 St. Francis (PA) - 322 Long Beach St - 156 Liberty - 151 Kennesaw St - 337 Northwestern - 78 Iowa St - 167 OR St Louis - 123 Idaho St - 207 Central Florida - 165 IUPUI - 241 Loyola Marymount - 320 UCLA - 33 Bucknell - 295 That's right kids - ND will play FIVE teams with RPI's of 295 or worse last season, and two others with worse than 205. Exactly two teams in the top 100. One in the top 50. No true road games (all games at home except for NW and Iowa St/St Louis, in Chicago). Absolutely embarrassing and infuriating. With that ridiculous schedule we might need 11-7 or better in the league just to make the tournament. I hate our athletic department and their 'play no one anywhere but here' approach to sports scheduling.

It's depressing to watch the Falcons and Saints when you're a fan of another team in the division.

Think Jimmy's actually hurt seriously? I was under the impression he could have played if he needed to, but up 23 there was no reason to keep him out there. Michael Floyd should be back this week, thank God. It's odd that in a year where two ND players are receiving some attention for Heisman votes, we're finally getting back a guy who might be better than both. I'm not sure how hurt Clausen was or is. I'm positive he'll start and play at least half the game. But I'm hoping the defense can play assignment football, we can get up a couple scores early and Sharpley or the Wildcat can take over in the 2nd half. I don't think Clausen was as hurt as he was against PU when he had to play to lead the comeback. But he was hobbling pretty bad. I'm not sure I want Floyd back yet. Unless it's solely to get timing back, he doesn't need to see the field against Navy. No reason to bring him back early and have him re-injure his shoulder and miss the biggest remaining game on the schedule (Pitt). I think/hope we'll see a lot of Hughes or Allen, if he's healthy, and some deep passes to Tate and Goodman early and win this one going away. Navy is no WSU, but they shouldn't be able to keep up with ND's size and speed. I miss Floyd. I'm excited to see him back. I wouldn't expect him to play much though, like you said. Just get him out there and warm him up for Pitt when ND's really going to need him. Navy shouldn't be a problem at all - ND's been relatively good against the run and hideous against the pass, and the Middies can't pass. This will be my 3rd and last game at the stadium this year and I look forward to a nice easy one (hopefully).

Think Jimmy's actually hurt seriously? I was under the impression he could have played if he needed to, but up 23 there was no reason to keep him out there. Michael Floyd should be back this week, thank God. It's odd that in a year where two ND players are receiving some attention for Heisman votes, we're finally getting back a guy who might be better than both.

Boise State's schedule, besides Oregon, is complete and total garbage, pretty much. TCU, meanwhile is playing in a league most consider better than the ACC at this point.

So here's the BCS as it appears right now. I'm assuming Florida, Bama and Texas all run the table, Cincy wins the Big East and TCU and Boise State also both run the table. Let's also assume Pitt beats Notre Dame just for the hell of it, keeping ND from being eligible and probably making Pitt eligible even with 2 losses. Selections: Sugar gets first pick - they lost their contracted team to the title game as #1 team. Sugar chooses the SEC runner-up, of course. Fiesta gets 2nd pick because Texas went to the title game. I think they would take USC - who is apparently still going to be BCS eligible unless they manage to lose again. Orange goes next (first pick after the title game replacement picks). This is where it gets interesting. The usual protocol would dictate the Big East champ goes here, but assuming Cincinnati is that team, they just went there last year. The Orange could also potentially select Penn State if eligible, which they likely will be if they beat the Buckeyes Saturday. PSU would likely be the best option for the Orange in this scenario. Then the Sugar would go. Their choices at this point would be TCU or Cincinnati - both are locked into BCS games and must be taken. I think the Sugar would rather have TCU, to be honest. The Fiesta would then take Cincinnati. Title Game: Florida/Bama vs Texas Orange: ACC champ (probably Ga Tech, since none of the Atl. Division teams are any good) vs Penn State Sugar: Florida/Bama loser vs TCU Fiesta: USC vs Cincinnati Rose: Oregon vs Iowa (barring a major sea change)

Top 25 games --------------------------- Vanderbilt at (1) Florida (7:15 pm, ESPN2) Central Florida at (2) Texas (12 pm, FSN/CSN) (9) LSU at (3) Alabama (3:30 pm, CBS) Northwestern at (4) Iowa (12 pm, ESPN) UConn at (5) Cincinnati (8 pm, ABC - Regional) (6) TCU at San Diego State (4 pm, Versus) (7) Boise State at Louisiana Tech (8 pm Friday, ESPN2) (8) Oregon at Stanford (3:30 pm, FSN/CSN) Wake Forest at (10) Georgia Tech (3:30 pm, ABC - Regional) (16) Ohio State at (11) Penn State (3:30 pm, ABC - Regional) (12) USC at Arizona State (8 pm, ABC - Regional) Syracuse at (13) Pittsburgh (12 pm, ESPNU) New Mexico at (14) Utah (8 pm, The Mountain) (15) Houston at Tulsa (7:30 pm, CBS College) Virginia at (17) Miami (12 pm, Raycom Sports) Washington State at (18) Arizona (6 pm, FCS Pacific) (19) Oklahoma State at Iowa State (3:30 pm, ABC - Regional) Oregon State at (20) California (7 pm, FSN/CSN) (21) Wisconsin at Indiana (12 pm, BTN - Regional) Navy at (22) Notre Dame (2:30 pm, NBC) (23) Virginia Tech at East Carolina (7:30 pm Thursday, ESPN) (24) Oklahoma at Nebraska (8 pm, ABC - Regional) Games of interest ---------------------------- Eastern Michigan at Northern Illinois (7:30 pm Thursday, ESPNU) Louisville at West Virginia (12 pm, ESPN 360) South Carolina at Arkansas (12 pm, SEC Network) Western Michigan at Michigan State (12 pm, BTN - Regional) Illinois at Minnesota (12 pm, BTN - Regional) Purdue at Michigan (12 pm, BTN - Regional) Kansas at Kansas State (12:30 pm, Versus) Eastern Kentucky at Kentucky (1 pm, ESPN 360) Furman at Auburn (1:30 pm, ESPN 360) Baylor at Missouri (2 pm) Duke at North Carolina (3:30 pm, ESPNU) Washington at UCLA (3:30 pm, Fox Sports Pacific) UL Monroe at North Texas (4 pm) Memphis at Tennessee (7 pm, ESPNU) Northern Arizona at Ole Miss (7:30 pm, CSN South) Florida State at Clemson (7:45 pm, ESPN) Other nationally available games ------------------------------------------ Bowling Green at Buffalo (7 pm Tuesday, ESPN2) Miami (OH) at Temple (7:30 pm Thursday, ESPN 360) Maryland at NC State (1 pm, ESPN 360) Tennessee Tech at Georgia (1 pm, ESPN 360) Kent State at Akron (3:30 pm, ESPN 360) UL Lafayette at Arkansas State (3:30 pm, ESPN 360) Army at Air Force (3:30 pm, CBS College) Florida International at Middle Tennessee (4:30 pm, ESPN 360) Fresno State at Idaho (10:30 pm, ESPNU) Nevada at San Jose State (8:30 pm Sunday, ESPN) Non I-A games of interest --------------------------------- Holy Cross at Lehigh (12:30 pm) Southern Illinois at South Dakota State (2 pm) Cal Poly at UC Davis (4 pm) Youngstown State at Northern Iowa (5 pm) Nationally available games outside I-A ------------------------------------------------- Shepherd at Glenville State (8 pm Thursday, CBS College)