I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again: Michigan sucks this year. What does that say about ND? Their only "quality" win was over Mich, but now it doesn't look so quality. I know it's SC-ND hype week, but I've gotta think that SC is gonna blow out the Irish.

I'm with you on Michigan. But their takedown of Michigan State has them scoring some points with me. Although I guess I should treat it as an outright upset, much like LSU/ASU. But then, ASU just laid an egg, too.

This is a teaser for my upcoming analysis---things have gotten a little haywire and CFR has to kind of put things back together and give the new lay of the land.

Don't forget that the Michigan that beat MSU had Mike Hart, while the Michigan that should have beat ND but didn't was without Hart.

Well, yeah, but the Michigan offense that scored just 20 against Minnesota DID have Hart - who put up solid numbers in the game (109 yds and a TD). Also, look at the ND game - Hart's replacement Grady didn't have a big game, but he wasn't terrible (79 yds on 18 carries, 4.4 ypc). Their problem all year, just like it was against Minny, has been throwing the ball. Examples: 19/44 for 223 yds, 1 td and 1 int against ND... 14/29 for 155 yds, no tds against the Gophers.

Not including the games against N. Illinois and E. Michigan, Henne's averaging 223 ypg, with 6 TD and 3 INT on the season. UM's defense just isn't that good to get away with stats like that, even with a healthy Mike Hart.

In his only good game of the season against opponents with a pulse (the UM-MSU game), he threw 26/35 for 256 yds, 3 TDs and an INT. And even though they had Hart, and by far Henne's best real-opponent game of the year, they barely won. He needs to start playing better, or Hart or no, Michigan may not make a bowl game this year.

After all, look at their schedule. The only game that looks like an easy victory is Indiana. Aside from that, they need to find two victories from Penn State, @Iowa, @Northwestern, and Ohio State. Would it really surprise anybody if they went 1-3, or even 0-4, against that slate?

As for SC/ND - it's always hard to count out the Irish playing at home. Especially with the Trojans playing three straight games in which they've started very slowly. I mean, Arizona's better than some people might think, but still not a very good team. Yet even though the game was in USC's house, there the Wildcats were threatening to get back within 7 in the 3rd quarter.

If the Trojans don't put the Irish flat on their backs quickly the crowd will get into it. The Trojan players may be some of the most unflappable 19- and 20-year olds you'll ever see... But they're 19 and 20 years old. That's still not really all that poised and calm, especially in the face of decades of tradition, Touchdown Jesus, and thousands of screaming fans wearing green.

Definitely agree on your Michigan analysis, I think they suck. My point was more that ND does too, not that Michigan is a decent team.

As far as not counting out ND against SC . . . Touchdown Jesus only gets 'em so far. Big TD can't make tackles and can't throw passes. LenDale, Reggie, and Leinart should tear apart that ND defense. As long as the SC D is average, they should win.

you'de be surprised some of the things that have won games for ND......... 1999 anybody???

After watching this weekend's Penn State victory over the "vaunted" Ohio State Buckeyes, one definite conclusion came to mind: Paul Posluzny is the best linebacker in the Big Ten, and maybe the nation. He has continually made big plays for the Nittany Lions this year, and Saturday night was no exception as he chased Troy Smith down on OSU's second to last drive, forcing them to punt. The combination of Posluzny and Dan Conner combined for 26 tackles, while the three OSU linebackers, who by the way are in desperate need of a haircut, only combined on 22 stops, and were continually left in the dust by Michael Robinson and company. Posluzny is reminds me of the great Shane Conlan, and hopefully will be given the respect that he deserves as the season continues.