Tag: rich rodriguez

  • Notre Dame vs. Michigan

    Today is a big game for two coaches going in opposite directions. A win here cements the quick turnaround by Brian Kelly for Notre Dame. (But the loss for Kelly is kind of neutral.) A loss for  Michigan and Rich Rodriguez is firmly on the hot seat and would have to beat Ohio State to keep his job.

    For both Notre Dame and Michigan the annual game is clearly one which you circle on the calendar. They each have other rivalry games each year, but this rivalry game is always the early on the calendar and defines the season.

    For me, it’s the one week a year where I cheer against Michigan.

    The keys to the game seem to be:

    1. Can Notre Dame’s defense contain Denard Robinson? He looked phenomenal against UConn. But there’s definitely a quality difference between Notre Dame’s defense and UConn’s. If they force him to throw, that’ll be key.
    2. Can Notre Dame’s offense take advantage of Michigan’s weak secondary? They’ve had injuries and transfers. And Notre Dame’s Kyle Rudolph and Michael Floyd are legitimately top quality receivers in college football.

    My prediction: Notre Dame 41 Michigan 33

  • College Football Check-in

    Here’s a mid-season check-in of my favorite teams.

    #1 Notre Dame For a team that barely won 3 games last year, I’m please with their progress. I actually think some fans expected the Irish to win 8-9 games based on their week schedule. Essentially, they have beaten the team’s on their schedule that they were supposed to while gotten beat by ranked opponenents. With Syracuse and USC left on their schedule I think they will end up 7-5 before getting waxed in a bowl game. Some have said Charlie Weis is on the hot seat, I don’t see it that way at all. This is a rebuilding process, his team is very young. Now if they are 8-4 next year or less… I can see dumping him.

    #2 Michigan State I’ve watched a couple of their games and been quite impressed. They have climbed to #15 in the polls and if they can manage squeak past Penn State and Michigan pulls off the upset of the millenium, they would be rose bowl bound. Most importantly, they didn’t collapse after the Michigan game. Kudos to State for finally figuring out how to play a whole season.

    #3 Michigan Back in September I said it would be a down year and boy has it lived up to that hype. At 3-8 they have often been stunningly bad. I also said that they would have a chance to beat Ohio State. As long as the bus brings the Buckeyes to the correct stadium on Saturday morning I don’t see Michigan having a chance. That said, it’s a rivalry game and anything is possible. No, I take that back. Michigan has as good a chance of beating Ohio State as Jennifer Graham does in getting re-elected in 2010.

    #4 San Diego State At 1-10 it is tough to find anything good to say about the Aztecs. Sadly, I never made it to one of their games either. When they played Notre Dame I thought they may have a chance to be .500. I must have been on crack that day. The good news is that I may be able to enroll in the grad school and walk on for the Aztecs. Sure, I’ve never played high school football. But I’m pretty good at NCAA 2008 for the Wii.