For anyone who thinks this will be a blowout for either team, you have no idea what you're talking about. And I think even Nd fans will concede that last year's game was one that we lost, not one that Nd necessarily won.
Both coordinators have been replaced. And from a purely talent perspective, I still think we have the edge.
I think the game comes down to a very simple factor: Quinn's ability to throw under pressure. In last year's game, Quinn missed many wide open recievers because we were blitzing him (that was our ultra-conservative defense, our new one is much more aggressive). Since our secondary is bad, it makes sense to throw the kitchen sink at Quinn and see if he can respond. The alternative is to have Weis pick you apart, and that won't happen. Heck, it didn't even happen last year. If Quinn can get the ball out to his recievers, then Nd will control the tempo of the game. They will most likely have a lead, and will probably force us to throw more than we want.
But if Quinn fails to deliver under pressure, then we will control the tempo. We will run the ball more and be effective since Nd LBs don't look too sharp. We will control the clock and deny the ball to your offense. This will most likely result in an early lead (14-0 or so), and might lead Quinn to try to accomplish too much, leading to ints and such.
A conservative alternative is that Weis tries to establish the run at the start of the game, but be unsuccessful in that regard since we have excellent LBs. If that happens, the game will be low scoring, with us having a manageable lead going into halftime. Then, the game will be determined by which QB can make the big plays. Both secondaries are suspect, so the recievers will be open. In that case, the game still rests in Quinn's hands, and Henne's. In years past, this has been how the game plays out, with Nd winning because they made fewer mistakes and more plays. And also becuase our mental toughness in these situations against Nd has really been quite troubling.
Whether or not Weis will even try to establish the run will determine how this game plays out. I mean, you know we're going to run the ball, and it's very likely that we'll also attack Quinn a lot.
Another thing to keep in mind is the expectations both teams have going into this game. In the last 5-10 years or so, we have been the favorites, but this clearly won't be the case next week. All analysts will probably pick against us, and the hype will continue for Nd. Under these circumstances, it's really easy for us to play loose (nothing to lose) and Nd to play tight (everything to lose), especially if the game ends up being a slog fest.
..this 10 AM time is killing me. I know I can watch the 11 AM portion, but the mentality of it starting at 10 throws me off completely.