This game has me pretty pumped.

Yeah, I'm officially excited too. It's great finally seeing real talent on the field actually living up to its potential. I'm hoping the Hawaii Bowl last year was the turning point and the team looks like how it does this afternoon the rest of the year. Time to start talking trash to the Michigan fans imo.

We'll see. I read so much on ndnation about how Notre Dame needs to establish a running game that I started to expect that we would line up in the power I and play 1970s Big10.

As is we are very good in some aspects and lacking in others. We'll have to see what we can do against BCS schools next week.

good game, good game cant wait for next week

Tremendous opening day performance by the Irish..... Nevada looked absolutely horrific though.

Is Jimmy Clausen really 6'3"? That's what they have him listed at, but he looks barely 5'11" out there.

He cut his hair mid last-season.

Domers,

It looks like you guys have a decent/good team this year. Also, the Notre Dame vs Michigan game should actually be a good game this year. My guess on this season is 8-10 wins and probably a Capital One bowl (or similar bowl). I don't see a BCS birth for Charlie but, I could see him keeping his job with another bowl win. The game against Nevada was a good showing and not a clunker like SDSU last year. Any domer skeptics left or all the domer fans drinking the "green kool-aid"?

Gulp, Gulp, Gulp! Here Come The Irish.

I remain skeptical.

We won big against two WAC teams as we're supposed to. There are still plenty of ways to improve which we'll need to do for the big games coming up.

And there are a few. A lot of our 'easy' teams played very well today. It looks like Michigans, Washington, Purdue, Navy, UConn, could all turn out to be very hard games. As GBears said, our schedule is deceptive in its difficulty.

One week at at time.

FYP

I'll take the over for everyone's net worth, please.

I'm real excited for this week. The last two years, both teams have come in down (ND won last year in Week 1 but it ugly), it's a nice change to have both teams looking...competent? and generally optimistic.

I really think the key for Michigan is to get pressure, which they can do, because the deep game looks sick for ND, and I am not sold on our secondary yet.

How did ND's running game and defense look?

Slightly better, albeit against poor opposition.

I don't think you understand bowl tie-ins

MT2R,

You maybe right. Unfortunately, since ND is an independent and has no conference affiliation, I know there are a lot of exceptions for them. I was using the Capital One bowl as a point of reference. AKA a New Year's Day Bowl that is of higher caliber than the Hawaii Bowl but, not a BCS bowl to make my point. However, you could very well be right and the Capital One bowl may not be able to pick ND because of contractual obligations to other conferences. However, I know there are a number of upper mid-tier bowl games that do have the option to invite ND on occasion.

I am sticking to my guns and have very big doubts about ND being invited to the BCS this year. The weak SOS on paper, probable USC loss, and 1/2 other "bad" loss(es) should keep them out of BCS contention. Those are my projections. What do you think?

ND basically goes to a BCS bowl or something pretty ****ty now if I recall correctly. I think the tie-ins got reworked.

Sounds about right to me. Weis should have added in at least one more legit game other than USC if his team is as good as he says they are. Loading an independent's schedule with games against the academies, the weak Big 10, and teams like Nevada isn't going to get you into the BCS, unless it is based purely on ratings as opposed to anything resembling meritocracy.

Sadly much of CFB's bowl system does not resemble meritocracy. Our agreement with the Big 10 and Pac10 is decades old; with Navy is almost a century.

We seem to have added a 4th game against the Pac10 on a neutral site, it makes our schedule tougher but I have not heard from anyone who thinks it was a good idea.


Oh it was great. Please tell RRod to run blitz his safeties every play and leave our WRs helpless in 1 on 1 against your lockdown corners.

I got a healthy LOL from this.

If you're looking for a meritocracy, college football is the wrong sport to be following.

lol!

Warren vs Golden Tate's gonna be fun fun fun

+1

Warren/Cissoko vs. Floyd/Tate is going to be a sick battle

Irish open at -4 against UM.

Stat of the game.

Nevada had 307 yards averaging 5.5 yards per carry, 5.3ypp. zero points. I don't think I have ever seen a shutout team that could average that many yards. Lot's of ways we can think about this.