Tag: Notre Dame (Page 4 of 12)

      It wouldn’t be Notre Dame/Michigan State game day without the Valenti rant

      September 18, 2010 /

      Those of you who aren’t from Michigan might not be familiar with Mike Valenti, the, um, energetic co-host of an afternoon sports talk radio show in Detroit.

      Valenti is a Michigan State graduate, and after the Spartans blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame in 2006, he went off. A handful of national blogs picked the rant up and posted it. He became semi-famous for it, and it’s still one of the first things people in Michigan think of when they hear Valenti’s name.

      He’s actually very good at what he does, and has a ton of knowledge when it comes to college sports and the NBA. But with the Irish and Spartans meeting at night for the first time since the Spartan collapse/Valenti meltdown, I felt it was high time to bring this back. If you haven’t heard it, it’s a masterpiece. If you have, take about 15 minutes and enjoy it all over again.

      Part two of the rant is below.

      College Football, External Sports

      Stoops, Arizona look for big-time program win

      September 18, 2010 /

      Under the direction of Mike Stoops, Arizona has won some very big games. The Wildcats knocked off a top 10 team three years in a row from 2005-07, with UCLA, California and Oregon all being their victims. This past year, Arizona even knocked off the Pac 10’s Goliath in USC.

      But those wins all came late in the season, when Arizona had already piled up a handful of losses. One thing the Wildcats — who seem to perennially be thought of as a sleeper team — have not done, is capitalize on any preseason hype with a big-time early-season win.

      They have the chance to do that tonight, though, when they play host to No. 9 Iowa. A win moves the Wildcats to 3-0 and gives them some serious national respect. It would also be a huge victory for the Pac 10, which is trying to assert itself as a top conference, even with a lethargic, and penalized, USC.

      Can Stoops and Arizona pull it off? Click through for that prediction, and more from today’s games. Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Dayne Crist injured, Irish in serious trouble

      September 11, 2010 /

      Notre Dame’s season hinged on a few things, but by far the most important thing was the health of starting quarterback Dayne Crist.

      Behind the third-year quarterback on the depth chart was a walk-on with a famous name, and a bunch of a freshmen. Well, now the Fighting Irish are finding out just how good those guys behind Crist are. Or bad.

      Crist drove Notre Dame 72 yards for a touchdown on its opening drive against Michigan, but his quarterback sneak for a score was his last play. True freshman Tommy Rees entered the game and threw an interception on his first attempt. Michigan scored one play later. After another three and out, Rees was lifted for Nate Montana, who hasn’t had much better luck.

      The only hope for the Irish in this game was to outscore Michigan. And now that the defense is not only going to have to stop Denard Robinson, but is going to have to spend most of the day trying to do it, it would be a miracle if they pulled this one off.

      In other news, Virginia Tech goes down to James Madison. Sorry, Boise.

      College Football, External Sports

      Harris vs. Pryor, Saban vs. Paterno, Kelly vs. RichRod; it’s going to be a good day

      September 11, 2010 /

      There’s a reason that ESPN is calling today “Monster Saturday”: It has completely run out of creative ideas. It’s a huge freaking day for college football.

      If you’re a college football fan, today is one of those days where you put off all household chores, and curse your friends for even thinking of having a significant event. Or, if you’re a sports writer/part-time blogger, you curse the people who decided to hold your 10-year high school reunion during the Alabama/Penn State game. I mean, c’mon.

      Miami is at Ohio State, Penn State is at Alabama, Florida State is at Oklahoma, and Michigan and Notre Dame might actually mean something. That’s a lot of tradition and meaning all packed into one day.

      So how’s it all going to go?

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Les Miles very nearly sealed his own fate and other Saturday thoughts

      September 5, 2010 /

      There have been rumblings in Louisiana that Les Miles has worn out his welcome as coach at LSU. Some have written this off as ridiculous — “He won a national title in 2007!” — but Saturday night was a harsh reminder of why the LSU faithful have lost a lot of, um, faith, in Miles.

      The Tigers survived Saturday night in a 30-24 win against half of North Carolina’s team. And it really wasn’t even the good half. Worse still is that LSU very nearly blew a 30-10 lead in the fourth quarter to do it.

      Give a lot of credit to the North Carolina players who know the NCAA rules. They played with a lot of heart down the stretch and were two dropped passes and a probably-missed pass interference call away from winning a game nobody gave them a chance in.

      But the story here is Miles and the Tigers nearly blowing the game. The Tigers failed to put the game away, and star defensive back Patrick Peterson’s postgame quote said a ton. When asked why he wasn’t on the field for a 97-yard touchdown pass that gave North Carolina life, Peterson responded, “I guess he thought we had a comfortable lead.”

      The “he” in that sentence is defensive backs coach Ron Cooper, but how does that decision not go through Miles? If it doesn’t, it should. The head coach doesn’t need to micro-manage his assistants, but he does need to make sure his best players are on the field while the game is still in any kind of doubt. Miles needs to at the very least contend for an SEC title this year, or it could be his last.

      Now some other thoughts on the first Saturday of college football. Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

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