Oct 22 | Southern Cal

[clashmore_mike]

anyone know what time the pep rally starts friday night?

6 pm according to the Game Day site.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

Hope the Irish come through. Last year ND barely won even though Barkley was out....

They need this "W"!

We had a true freshman QB on the road, our starting NT (Ian Williams) out, arguably the best TE in the country (Rudy) out and we still won... With our freshman QB almost literally giving USC the ball every other drive.

2011..

USC: Add Barkley.. He will certainly upgrade the offense but if pressured can give the game away.

ND: Add Lynch and Tuitt.. They finally give our DL depth and rest without a huge drop-off in production. The DL must... must... must... get pressure on Barkley.

It is the key to this game.

 

[ndcoltsfan2010]

This is an absolutely huge game for us. The implications of it are huge. We have a huge opportunity to make a big statement and make a great impression on alot of top notched recruits. A nice win this Saturday will help us roll into the second half of the season and keep our BCS bowl eligibility alive. I'm super stoked about this Saturday! Go Irish!!!!

 

[GainesvilleIrish]

Can't wait. Plane flies out tomorrow morning. Gonna be an awesome weekend & the Irish are gonna hand it to Trojans.

 

[koonja]

Espn preview

College GameDay Kickoff: Week 8 preview - ESPN

 

[koonja]

.

By Matt Fortuna
Lane Kiffin called this game Notre Dame's Super Bowl because it is coming off the Irish's bye week. He is also upset that the Irish announced it was a night game in March, somehow messing with USC's travel plans.

No, this isn't the '70s, when this annual intersectional matchup often had national title implications. Neither team is ranked, and USC won't even be able to play in a conference title game, let alone a bowl game, due to NCAA sanctions. But Kiffin has done what he can to inject some juice into this showdown, which will certainly make for an enhanced atmosphere under the lights of Notre Dame Stadium.

On the field, USC is the better team in the standings, at 5-1. But Notre Dame has the better personnel. This is a Trojans team that managed just a two-point season-opening home win against Minnesota, after all.

Did USC's defense turn a corner last week against Cal? A unit that gave up 40-plus points in consecutive weeks shut down the Golden Bears in a 30-9 victory. It remains to be seen, but one thing I'm certain of is USC's offense has the firepower to hang with the Irish.

I see this one similarly to the way I saw Notre Dame-Air Force -- to an extent. Both offenses are capable of exploding, but only the Irish's defense appears capable of making a stop when push comes to shove. And, for the second game in a row, I think the Irish jump to an early lead and never look back, leaving USC to play catch-up in another high-scoring affair.

No alleged flukes here. And no injury excuses, either, regardless of how much Marc Tyler can actually play, if at all. The Irish start a winning streak of their own against USC with their second win in as many years, and just maybe help restore this rivalry in the process.

Prediction: Notre Dame 35, USC 24

What to watch:

Here's what to keep an eye on this weekend as the Irish host the Trojans:

USC throwing early: Matt Barkley will make up for missing last year's game by throwing the ball a lot in the early going. With the Trojans' talented receiving corps and question marks in the backfield, which may be without Marc Tyler, look for USC to try to take the crowd out of the game with a big play.

Punt return success: Well, it can't be any worse, right? Michael Floyd will likely get a chance to return punts for the first time, and he certainly has the athleticism and big-play capability the Irish have been missing back there. I wouldn't expect him to take any to the house just yet, but a few solid returns to better position the offense is a reasonable expectation.

Let there be light: Brighter helmets, a later start and a rivalry that is finally two-sided should contribute to an atmosphere that Notre Dame Stadium hasn't seen in years. Let's hope for everyone's sake that it is a safe one, too, so that night games can possibly become annual affair.

I doubt Floyd will return any punts...

 

[PANDFAN]

Biggest cheers of the day came from his teammates when walk-on CB James Harbin, now #2 on depth chart, was approached by media for interview
9 minutes ago

Better Pro Prospects ND or USC? - ESPN Video - ESPN

Blanton getting some love!!!! by Mcshay

 

[irishtrain]

Hats off to Mark Tyler for saying he will play 'in pain'. The guy comes from 'tough stock'. It shouldnt be any other way for this game. Here's to playing in pain and may the best team win! This game has always been played with respect. I just want Notre Dame to remember all those @$# whippins from the past and do something about it this time around. 'Leave no Doubt'.

 

[UPMich_NDfan]

Don't know if this has been mentioned a whole lot, I haven't seen it much...but I'm just hoping we don't see a major let down Saturday night. I coach varsity basketball, and the games that seem to always be the hardest to get ready for are the games when the most distractions are present (ie: tournament games dealing with extra media, fan inquiries, excitement to just 'get to the game' therefore creating a lack of focus during practices...I could go on and on). The distractions facing ND these past TWO weeks have been unreal! Talk of green out, towel out, recruits being present, music possibly piped in, what jerseys are we wearing, helmet changes, how loud will the crowd be, yada yada yada...i'm sure I'm missing a million. But as a coach, these types of things make me paranoid, knowing the other coach is can sit there and say "your going into a lions den, better be united and focused on one goal" I'd imagine this has been a preaching point for coach Kelly and staff, hopefully the ND players are buying into this fully. I know you could sit here and spin it off as positives also-which I'm sure some people will be quick to point out, but let downs happen, just hoping we are ready to play some football Saturday night!

 

[Whiskeyjack]

F/+ projects a ND win by 22.1 points.

I'll be betting heavily on the Irish. This is our national coming out party.

 

[BeauBenken]

F/+ projects a ND win by 22.1 points.

I'll be betting heavily on the Irish. This is our national coming out party.

I'm sorry, I just about made myself take a drink of water and spit it on to my computer. How many points?

 

[calvegas04]

F/+ projects a ND win by 22.1 points.

I'll be betting heavily on the Irish. This is our national coming out party.

Wish they were better than only 53% being right... but ill take it

 

[NDdomer2]

F/+ projects a ND win by 22.1 points.

I'll be betting heavily on the Irish. This is our national coming out party.

This is my prediction as well. After every win Coach always says, "We haven't arrived." He has been waiting for this weekend. I can see it already (BK at the press conference after a convincing win), "As you are well aware by now, this team has arrived!" Also, something else to look at, Coach Kelly the motivator. Te'o had one of his worst games last year vs. Purdue and after playing a brilliant game this year he and Kelly mentioned that it was made very clear to him during the week how bad he played vs Purdue the year before. I expect Coach to be doing this same tactic with Tommy.

 

[ACamp1900]

I do not like our secondary against MB and those WRs... and I am still scared of passes in the red zone/Turnovers and such... that's for sure... but, most other 'on field' logic would point me to the fact we should be favored...

everyone points out accurately how big this game is... not to over play it, but it's big in many regards... and i can say (and have) that since my time here on IE I, and the board largely as well, have pin pointed maybe five plus, maybe closer to ten, games that were just big... big for the here and now, and potentially big for the future, call them potential defining games I guess...

Now I won't try to name every one of those games, but I can say with certainty that every single one of those games ended in a loss... every, single, one. Hard to just up and forget that, in college football more than any other sport, this stuff IS systemic... If this program is ever truly gonna get turned around the guys HAVE to win these games... and before I jump on a return to glory bandwagon I need to see it happen...

If I were betting, I bet big on SC to at very least cover, and I'd be somewhat comfortbale picking them to win.

Just being honest. I guess you can say while I am slowly starting to believe in this team and the great potential it has, I just don't feel the same way about the program as a whole yet.

 

[IrishMoore1]

This is my prediction as well. After every win Coach always says, "We haven't arrived." He has been waiting for this weekend. I can see it already (BK at the press conference after a convincing win), "As you are well aware by now, this team has arrived!" Also, something else to look at, Coach Kelly the motivator. Te'o had one of his worst games last year vs. Purdue and after playing a brilliant game this year he and Kelly mentioned that it was made very clear to him during the week how bad he played vs Purdue the year before. I expect Coach to be doing this same tactic with Tommy.

Kelly will NEVER say this team has arrived. There will always be room for improvement. The only time I think he could say that is right after winning the National Championship game. After a win over USC, we're sittin 5-2 and still have a ways to go to get achieve a BCS berth. The team hasn't arrived anywhere yet. SC's not even ranked!

 

[Veer option]

F/+ projects a ND win by 22.1 points.

I want some of what they be smoking

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

F/+ projects a ND win by 22.1 points.

I'll be betting heavily on the Irish. This is our national coming out party.

I'm actually quite glad to take a look at that and see I am on the opposite side of the fence on the majority of my ATS picks this week. Im hitting a much higher % of my picks for the year than those guys, but that being said I do agree ND covers this week, just barely not by double digits above the spread.

On another note, good lord is the weather miserable in South Bend right now. I was just walking through campus in the rain and its cold, windy, wet and somewhat similar to a ghost town.

 

[t3hjc]

Wish they were better than only 53% being right... but ill take it

Meh, it's just 53% against the spread.

I actually thought they were a bit high in their prediction of our game with Air Force, but they were pretty dead on.

 

[t3hjc]

I'm actually quite glad to take a look at that and see I am on the opposite side of the fence on the majority of my ATS picks this week. Im hitting a much higher % of my picks for the year than those guys.

Do you pick every game each week?

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

Do you pick every game each week?

No because I actually lay units on my picks, but I can if you want me to. Just say the word...

Anyhow back to the big game this weekend.

 

[t3hjc]

No because I actually lay units on my picks, but I can if you want me to.

I just mean it's not really ample to compare percentages for games you've cherrypicked because you viewed them as favorable vs. making a pick for every single game, that's all.

 

[koonja]

I do not like our secondary against MB and those WRs... and I am still scared of passes in the red zone/Turnovers and such... that's for sure... but, most other 'on field' logic would point me to the fact we should be favored...

everyone points out accurately how big this game is... not to over play it, but it's big in many regards... and i can say (and have) that since my time here on IE I, and the board largely as well, have pin pointed maybe five plus, maybe closer to ten, games that were just big... big for the here and now, and potentially big for the future, call them potential defining games I guess...

Now I won't try to name every one of those games, but I can say with certainty that every single one of those games ended in a loss... every, single, one. Hard to just up and forget that, in college football more than any other sport, this stuff IS systemic... If this program is ever truly gonna get turned around the guys HAVE to win these games... and before I jump on a return to glory bandwagon I need to see it happen...

If I were betting, I bet big on SC to at very least cover, and I'd be somewhat comfortbale picking them to win.

Just being honest. I guess you can say while I am slowly starting to believe in this team and the great potential it has, I just don't feel the same way about the program as a whole yet.

This is what I've been saying. At times, against average speed our safeties have seemed slow. That being said, Harrison and Slaughter have played well lately. Zeke scares the hell out of me, though. He always seems to be a step behind, and against these WRs that could be 2,3 steps. The good thing is, I don't think our D-line will give Barkley enough time to exploit our DBs.

 

[Te'o4Heisman]

I just mean it's not really ample to compare percentages for games you've cherrypicked because you viewed them as favorable vs. making a pick for every single game, that's all.

Oh I know. I understood exactly what you mean and agree. My point was more just that pretty much anybody with a somewhat objective look and extensive knowledge of the slate of games each saturday can know out 50-53% with minimal effort. 50% makes your bookie a winner haha.

 

[irish1958]

When I was a kid in Chicago, all the el stations had a resident bookie for the college games on a game card (minimum bet $0.25). I think I played weekly for at least ten years, and never had a winner!
With that background, my prediction: ND 45, USC 11.

 

[jakerbluegold]

I'm getting less and less sleep. Heading to the Bend tomorrow. Anyone else out there excited for some Irish domination?

 

[irishtrinity]

I'm getting less and less sleep. Heading to the Bend tomorrow. Anyone else out there excited for some Irish domination?

congrats, it will be a great ride..I hope all the Irish Envy guys a safe trip and Show your Irish Pride.... Gooooooo Irish Beattttttttt Trogans...

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

I'm getting less and less sleep. Heading to the Bend tomorrow. Anyone else out there excited for some Irish domination?

My stomach literally drops every time I think about it.. Which on average is about every ten seconds. I'll be pacing even more during this one.

 

[arrowryan]

All of you that are going to the game that are from out of town got lucky. It has been miserable the last couple of days. Cold, rainy, and windy. Its supposed to be cool for the game but not cloudy and rainy. Those of you that will be at the campus tommorow, wait until the afternoon. It will be rainy in the morning but will warm up later on.

 

[calvegas04]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GKSG5gV0mHY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Chamellion]

Beat me to it ^
I'm ready to skip Friday