Usually, when a coach gets let go and a new regime is brought in, it’s because the original system wasn’t producing results and, like a pendulum, the administration heads to the opposite side of the philosophical spectrum. The transition can be full of bumps and many things can happen in that short period of time. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet,…

While the defense may be a bigger problem, one of the primary concerns for many Irish fans is the spread passing offense of new head coach Brian Kelly. Kelly makes no secret of his offensive goal, he wants to be aggressive and vertical, scoring on every possession. As such, he favors the pass over the run, operates heavily from the shotgun, and employs an up-tempo…

For most Notre Dame Football fans this off-season has been a whirlwind of news—a somewhat reserved excitement and hopeful optimism for what the 2010 season holds for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame let a coach go, hired a promising replacement, said goodbye to a handful of players who are currently demonstrating their abilities for the NFL draft, welcomed eight new position coaches (nine if you…

With few exceptions, the 2009 Irish offense had a very productive year. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and wide receiver Golden Tate turned in brilliant performances and led an explosive unit that generated over 30 points per outing.

But if there was an Achilles’ heel—and there was—it was red zone point production.

The Irish struggled inside the 20-yard line in 2009, but this is hardly a new…

We want to believe the coaches our universities hire are committed to us. We use words like loyalty to position ourselves on the high ground to throw stones at those leaving town for another job. We’re hurt and cry that our lifelong values are offended.

But, come on, really. We’re as likely to throw that coach under the bus unless he delivers to us, too.…

The 2009 Irish offense has been dissected, detailed and summarized. Now it’s time to turn to the other side of the ball.

Many (myself included) believed Notre Dame’s 2009 defense would be a large step forward from a 2008 unit that was below average. The Irish returned a host of starters, an off-season coaching responsibility realignment by head coach Charlie Weis put co-defensive coordinator Jon…

Disclaimer: The following is not intended for betting purposes.

Similar to last year, the final AV Ranking values (see the values in the table below) will be used to predict the BCS bowl game winners against the spread.

The BCS games are as follows:

• Rose Bowl presented by Citi: Ohio State vs. Oregon
• Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Boise State vs. TCU
• Allstate Sugar Bowl: Cincinnati

…

With all of the recent and dramatic change in the Irish football program, the 2009 season seems to be mostly forgotten.

There is no bowl game. Sensational quarterback Jimmy Clausen and unanimous All-American and Biletnikoff Award-winning wide receiver Golden Tate have left for the NFL. And Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis has been replaced by Brian Kelly.

This seemingly serves as a forward-looking time…

Clashmore Mike staff writer Anthony Pilcher was interviewed Saturday on the Joe O. & Rock show on 670 The Score regarding the hiring of Brian Kelly as the head coach at Notre Dame.

What follows are some further responses and elaboration on questions from the interview. The audio of the interview itself can be found at the bottom of this article.

On Brian Kelly’s Impact

…

Scheduling for Success

Once again we’ve reached the part of the season that is consumed by boasting. Who has the best conference—mine or yours? We’re all biased even though we try to be objective about non-conference scheduling. Complicating the process is that fewer top teams are playing each other, more teams are taking advantage of the 12th game to increase the number of home games…