Three of the top four AVR teams were idle this week, and Boise State blanked Fresno State. Auburn and the Broncos remain one and two while TCU and Oregon flip-flopped. Of all the teams in the top 10, the Ducks have the least impressive resume with the 109th ranked strength of schedule. The Irish moved […]

The Irish head to New York City to take on historic foe Army this weekend. Notre Dame is coming of its biggest win of the season and first victory over a ranked opponent since 2006 while the Black Knights enter the game after a road win against Kent State. The underlying storyline figures to be […]

The contest against Utah wasn’t decided by production. For the most part, it wasn’t decided by efficiency either. The Irish won because they created opportunities and took advantage of them. Notre Dame was able to force two turnovers—one that turned into seven points on the next play—block a punt for a touchdown, and string together […]

There are still four unbeaten teams. Auburn bested Georgia in a slugfest, Boise State handled Idaho, Oregon survived against California, and TCU edged out San Diego State. With the exception of the Broncos, the other four teams looked largely human. The trend of top ranked AVR teams with weak schedules continues. Of the top 10 AVR […]

The Irish host 15th ranked Utah Saturday in the first ever meeting between the two schools. Notre Dame limps into the contest off a bye week at 4-5, and with a rash of injuries to key personnel including quarterback Dayne Crist and several of his primary targets. The last two outings—a decisive loss to Navy […]

As noted prior to the season, Clashmore Mike has the honor of hosting the Irish Blogger Gathering (IBG) for the bye week/Utah game. For those unfamiliar with the IBG, check out some previous additions (in order of opponent) hosted by UHND, Her Loyal Sons, Inside The Irish, One Foot Down, Domer Law, Irish Round Table, We Never […]

Now that teams are in the middle of their conference schedules, the cream is rising to the top. Arkansas bested South Carolina. Texas A&M handed the Sooners their second loss. LSU edged out Alabama. And TCU dismantled the Utes on their home field. There were near misses as well. Iowa nearly lost to Indiana and […]

“Three things can happen when you throw the ball, and two of them are bad.” –Darrell Royal, University of Texas Following Notre Dame’s clash with the Pittsburgh Panthers, head coach Brian Kelly’s squad faced a very probable scenario of gaining some momentum with, what most people tabbed as, three “soft” opponents. The rhythm on offense, […]

A home loss to a non-BCS conference opponent is always tough. But off the heels of a blowout defeat at the hands of the Midshipmen, it hurts even worse. The 2010 Fighting Irish are beginning to look a lot like the previous two versions. Perhaps the most distinguishable characteristic of the past two teams has […]

And then there were five. Iowa dismantled Michigan State and Nebraska handled Missouri to reduce the number of unbeaten teams from seven to five. Auburn, Boise State, Oregon, TCU, and Utah are the only remaining unbeaten teams and all occupy the top five spots of the ESP. The same is true for the AVR with […]