bartshan-83

I was going to throw Samardzija into the discussion. He's a playmaker and a big target with great hands. I would love to snatch him up if we were picking 18-20ish. But that's only if we don't address the OL/DL in free agency AND if we haven't, I'd grab one of them if they were available. I disagree with your assessment, Simon. The kind of production JS has had and will have in the NFL will not be duplicated by a 4th-7th rounder. He's not Sam Aiken or Justin Armour.

Jesus, what a beating. Thankfully, I didn't touch the game. Decided it just wasn't quite right and since I was watching the game with friends and family I thought I would be too intense if $$$ was riding on it. The defense played as well as I thought they would. They got blown up early, but got the ball back and settled down. They allowed 37 points which was a bit higher than I would have liked, but I would have been happy with a 42-35 win. Brady was too tense, Rhema picked the wrong time to lose his hands and Samardzija disappeared for most of the game. If I am allowed one bitter, sore loser whining point....USC's offensive lineman held like they were putting on wrestling moves ALL NIGHT. It was disgusting. Three times I saw a ND lineman tackled and no flag. I'm all for letting em play, but let's be real. Whew, that felt good. USC is an excellent football team, and their D backfield is legit. They deserve the championship game. ND-Michigan is about the last thing I want to see. I'd love a Sugar Bowl matchup with an SEC team. But honestly, this may seem strange, but it wouldn't kill me if we were left out of the BCS. We have failed in our two big tests this year and I think playing 2 months of bad teams makes a squad soft. If this was a year where there were only 4 BCS bowls instead of 5, I'd say give us the Gator or something and let a team that is playing great football NOW get a shot at a big one.

I don't know what temperature will be like at the stadium, but a flask of Jim Beam always got me through the cold November games in South Bend.

Yeah I feel the same way. I was thinking of putting a smaller bet on ND straight up...pays off +270 right now and then a larger on the spread. We will see...

Yeah, fair enough. I was going to add the disclaimer that although I think he isn't that great, I wouldn't fire him either. You're right...Texas could do a lot worse.

And I bet those people all got As in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Cave Making.

Our local mall opened at 3am this morning. Thousands of people were lined up outside. I was dreaming about how stupid people are.

Convince me why I shouldn't sell my truck, girlfriend, cat and a few organs and lay serious dime on this game? 8.5 seems like an early Christmas gift....and what is more surprising is it has moved from 7.5 ND Nation must not be that confident. A few million subway fans and rich alumni usually have a way of moving the lines in our a favor.

That's a great assessment and I completely agree about running up the middle. Taking it up the gut is the best thing a team built for speed can do. If you force a defense to be honest about defending the middle runs, then the sidelines open up for those sweeps, options and quick passes. What is your opinion of Mack Brown? I have always thought he has held Texas back and has cost them at least one National Championship (Applewhite's senior year). My best friend from ND was from Texas and he and his boys hated Brown too. I think he is a great recruiter and the state has some phenomenal athletes, but I think they have grossly underachieved over the last 5+ years with the amount of talent on both sides of the ball. I know that seems strange since I'd bet they have won at least 8-9 games every year since he has been there, but that's how I feel. I remember a few years ago during OU's heyday when after another serious beatdown in that rivalry, one of the Texas players said that it seemed like OU's players were better in all aspects of the game. That just shouldn't be the case with the level of talent that signs up at Austin each spring.

Yeah, you were reserved all season for the most part. I had my doubts about him, but I did catch a little of his work, and about 9 games into the season, he had better numbers than Brady Quinn. I thought maybe he had turned a corner, but I obviously haven't seen him nearly enough to know much. It's funny that last week, Texas' defense forgot to show up and then today their offense bailed too. I think maybe that loss was just an emotional drain on everyone involved. Plus, any possibility that McCoy's shoulder injury was a factor today? Texas wasn't the team the polls thought they were. Just like ND, they have been a bit of a disappointment. I really think that if they didn't win the championship last year, they would have started the season in the 5-8 range. But Tejas recruits just about better than anyone so if Mack can figure out a way to win without the most electric college QB since Vick, then they will be back in it next year.

Yeah I agree with that. But I think its only a vocal minority that blame their strife on white people who are alive now BECAUSE of what white people have done in the past. I guess I don't see this belief you speak of to be a reality. And even if it is, I would put it an near the bottom of my list of things I am worried about in this world. In fact, I think it will be filed right above being concerned about whether the pledge of allegiance is said in schools or that intelligent design will ever be a well accepted "science." As a white male, having others blame me for everything that is wrong is virtually unconcerning. But then again, I have the luxury of being a white male...which in the USA, since forever, hasn't been too bad.

LSU up 24-12... McFadden takes a run 80 yds to the house....LSU 24-19 Holiday takes the ensuing kickoff 92 yds to the house...LSU 31-19 Jones takes the ensuing kickoff about 60 yds to the LSU 35. Damn...

Bills 45 Jags 12 JP throws SIX touchdowns and Romo sucks again.

Dude, you have to be able to take a little sht in good fun. I didn't touch it, but obviously your thinking was on the right track (and you don't need my validation for that). Maybe next week hit us up with the real winners?

I'll second that. I made a change for you...much closer to the truth.

I don't dislike you...I think you bring a lot to this board in the same way a few of our former members have.

This video makes me a little sick...but at the same time, I can't deny the epic battle that it was. Being there with my boys was one of the things I'll smile about on my death bed. Better than last week's game

Infection of the heart? That's terrible...poor guy.

One of my boys from high school dated her when he was at Yale. Sad story though, he was killed in a car accident a few summers ago and his service was held at our high school and Barbara showed up...secret service and all. Wasn't all that impressed in person, but it was a funeral, so I'd give her a pass.

You're right that is is pathetic. The fact that I didn't know this was Florida/Florida State week is ridiculous. That used to be my favorite non ND/bowl game of the year. Every year the winner was a NATL championship favorite/candidate. Imagine if Zook was still the coach at UF....we'd be sitting down for a sweet battle of possibly two unranked teams.

I'd argue that these games wouldn't be meaningless if a playoff seeding and/or bye was on the line. USC would still want that #2 slot. And in a way, the USC-ND game has lost meaning. I'd argue that save a blowout on either side, the result of this game really means nothing to ND. If we win, we will most likely go to the Sugar Bowl...if we lose, we will most likely go to the Sugar Bowl or at least some other BCS bowl. If there was a chance that we could miss the "playoffs" with a loss this week, I'd say it's pretty meaningful.

Fixed!

I almost gave them a play for you, Ed...Ah what the hell. Rutgers Rundown: They had a shot to cause the most chaos to the BCS in its short history. They almost certainly would have been left out of the title game as the only undefeated team from a BCS contest. They could have driven a change in the Bowl selection process. What needs to happen: Contact Dr. Emmitt Brown, haul that DeLorean back to 3 weeks ago and tell Ed to stop talking so much sht and jinxing them. Then while they were at it, unblock South Carolina's FG and break Troy Smith's arm. Chance of Success: Doubtful.

Here is an article about it too Apology He did what he could do in terms of damage control. I do wonder about the report that says he agreed to perform again the following night with the promise that he would apologize, but then he didn't do it....seems strange. Pretty much the most fame any of the cast (minus Jerry) has gotten since the season finale...

So did the U...Gore ripped his knee up, McGahee was promoted to first team and the rest is history.