Waiting for 4:15 tomorrow

Not that I have any plans in particular once I get back to the 'Nati, but what I'm currently doing (sitting in McGinnis doing laundry and finishing up work that stupid professors assigned for over break) sure as hell has to be worse than what lies ahead.

While I wait for the dryer to buzz:

- Charlie is gone; Saturday sealed it for him, and he knows it. It's sad to see him go, he definitely cared a lot more than the last coach (as shown by his relative recruiting rankings, and embracing the "intangibles" that come with being the Notre Dame coach) and - linked article notwithstanding - whined and complained a lot less than the guy before Ty. In the end though, the thought of having essentially the only sports team I even more than half a shit about anymore not being a laughingstock for the first time in my life outweighs any sympathy I have for the guy. Sorry Charlie, head coach at ND is a tough gig, you know it more than anyone.

In the mean time, my Christmas wishlist is as follows (in order):

1.) Urban Meyer (scumbag aside, the guy can coach. This one isn't happening though)
2.) Bob Stoops (With OU's lackluster season and a large number of upperclassman leaving in Norman, if there was ever a year I could see Stoops trying to get another gig, this would be it. The stars may have aligned here. I'm not holding my breath though).
3.) Brian Kelly (Personality of a wet rock, but has been doing alright at UC. I'm worried about his ability to recruit and questionable defenses, but he is today what Urban Meyer was in '04. We all know how that's turned out.
4.) Gruden (Loves Notre Dame and has the personality to bring in nearly any player he wants. I would not be sad about him coming.)
5.) Anyone else out there? Shanahan? Cowher? Didn't think so....

Anyone outside of that top 4 (barring a lottery ticket like Saban or Tressel) will probably at best be on the same level as what Weis has been able to do. I feel like Meyer, Stoops, Kelly, Gruden could get Notre Dame to consistent BCS/top-10 talk, which is right about where the program should be next year, regardless of who is on the sidelines.



- In my extreme state of boredom and procrastination the past few days, I've taken my annual venture off into poetry land. It's the one time of year that I try to act like a hipster coffee shop kid and snap my fingers (no Lil Jon, not like that) to some ole' Billy S. and such. This year, I've taken very fondly to Charles Bukowski. The guy is raw, direct, and just about exactly what I'm looking for at this point in my life (whatever the hell that means...).

A few favorites:

beer

I don't know how many bottles of beer
I have consumed while waiting for things
to get better
I dont know how much wine and whisky
and beer
mostly beer
I have consumed after
splits with women-
waiting for the phone to ring
waiting for the sound of footsteps,
and the phone to ring
waiting for the sounds of footsteps,
and the phone never rings
until much later
and the footsteps never arrive
until much later
when my stomach is coming up
out of my mouth
they arrive as fresh as spring flowers:
"what the hell have you done to yourself?
it will be 3 days before you can fuck me!"

the female is durable
she lives seven and one half years longer
than the male, and she drinks very little beer
because she knows its bad for the figure.

while we are going mad
they are out
dancing and laughing
with horney cowboys.

well, there's beer
sacks and sacks of empty beer bottles
and when you pick one up
the bottle fall through the wet bottom
of the paper sack
rolling
clanking
spilling gray wet ash
and stale beer,
or the sacks fall over at 4 a.m.
in the morning
making the only sound in your life.

beer
rivers and seas of beer
the radio singing love songs
as the phone remains silent
and the walls stand
straight up and down
and beer is all there is.


bluebird

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pur whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he's
in there.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep, do
you?

The calm before the storm

Lets get it.

Fuck southern cal

Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal Fuck Southern Cal

This game is big.

It's happening

This is the week I look forward to the other 51 out of the year. When fall is in full bloom, most of the trees are noticeably sporting their colors, and football season is fully under way.

Yes, it's Southern Cal week.

If it weren't for my team's end of the bargain not being held up for just about a decade now, it would still be considered the greatest rivalry in all of college football. Instead, I doubt many would let it crack the top 5. This is probably more because of their hate for Notre Dame and unwillingness to give them credit for anything than any true shittiness of the game, but so be it.

FWIW, my top 5, based on today's college football climate:

1.) Texas/Oklahoma - The Red River Rivalry has made and broken the National Championship dreams of these two teams every year since Vince Young was still in college. I'm far from a Big 12 fan, but this is as big as it gets anymore.

2.) OSU/Michigan - Personally, I think Big 10 games are a snoozefest. This game always gets hyped to shit by one side or the other, even though Michigan has been balled up and pooped since... I can't even remember how long. It's been a while though. Bold prediction: expect the pooping on to end this year. I'm not saying they are going to win, but OSU is just that bad offensively that they may let Michigan stay in this one.

3.) Alabama/LSU - Nick Saban. Combine that storyline with the fact that the SEC really is just more fun to watch than any of the integer conferences, and you have the #3 best rivalry.

4.) Florida/whoever-they-are-playing-this-week - Until Tim "Jesus" Tebow is gone, that school will be hyped to shit by the media, giving every team on their schedule plenty of reason to hate them come Saturday. In the end, Meyer is just too good and has had his pick of players since as long as he has been there. I don't see the domination going anywhere soon.

5.) ND/USC - If you didn't think I would have this in the top 5, you're insane. October 15, 2005 will be a date that will always be remembered in my heart. My junior homecoming. We ate at the now defunct Waston Bros. Good choice, considering we all temporarily ditched the dates to watch the last 5 minutes of one of the greatest games of the 21st century. Freakin' Reggie Bush....

I can't watch this much, but for anyone who wants to relive it, be my guest:

A few tweets:

1.) I'm starting to realize why saying I am in engineering is usually greeted with an "OOoooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhh......." A.k.a the hdub is off the charts.

2.) This Saturday is one of the greatest days of the near, the start of college football season.

3.) I'm finally starting to get excited to see the blue and gold on the field again.

4.) My goal for the year is not to make the games make/break my mood for (and thus quality of) the entire weekend.

Keep livin' the dream everyone. A small wave of schools are still moving in so I want to give a big best of luck to everyone on the new year.

Except for the OSU and USC football teams. You all suck.

It's Not That Complicated

README - I realize the regulars here won't care much about this, but (a) it's better than nothing, and (b) no offense - it isn't intended for you anyways, so take it or leave it. I don't blame ya.

On Notre Dame: A lot has been said lately about the need to focus on improving the running game drastically this offseason. Some have even said to the point of 200 yards per game and above. I don't necessarily think that's true. Let’s look at every season going back to 1995 (excluding 1998 because weirdly UND doesn’t have cumulative season stats for that year); a time spanning Weis, Ty, Davie, and the last two seasons of Lou. Four coaches, four coaching styles (for better or worse), and over a decade of football. By looking at yards per game, and a net win count (Wins-Losses, ties count for a half a loss), one number seems to arise as a Maginot Line of sorts for a successful season – at least offensively.



400 yards. It doesn’t necessarily matter how you get there, but reaching 400 yards or more per game has resulted in a significantly better net win count than under 400 yards. Admittedly, there are two clear exceptions to this rule in Ty’s “smoke and mirrors” first season in 2002 and Matt LoVecchio’s starting season in 2000.

Lou did it by rushing over 200 yards per game in ’95 and ’96. Ten years later, Weis passed significantly more, but still got around there this first two seasons (with, somewhat fittingly, a disappointing 2006 season coming in just under 400 ypg)

What does it all mean? Don’t expect 200 yards rushing per game. Weis doesn’t need to get 200 yards per game under his system and honestly it would be a crime to not utilize the talent in our starting 3 wide receivers – two potential All-Americans in Tate and Floyd and what will be a highly contested 3rd spot this season by talented but unproven players. At running back, simply a load of talented unproven players.
Do, however, hold Weis and this ’09 team to a standard of reaching at least 4.0 yards per carry. Taking last season’s stats and subbing the dismal 3.2 yards per carry out with a respectable but far from great 4 yards per carry puts the team at about 135 rushing yards per game and – more importantly – 380 total yards per game, or about two more screen passes per game from 400. 4 YPC is not some insurmountable number to achieve in one offseason, it is a baseline. Also, I fully expect the passing game to continue to improve as it’s players age.

The quick version: Based off previous years, a 400 YPG offense combined with even an average Notre Dame defense will generally result in 9-10 wins. This can be achieved simply by a marginal increase in passing productivity and – more significantly – averaging at least 4 YPC. While an historically bad schedule may allow some leniency in these numbers, that is counteracted by the generally held assumption (on NDN at least) that 9 wins just won’t cut it.