SB Nation Chicago: All Posts by Z.W. Martin

Listen up, Clay Travis: Notre Dame stacks up against SEC

2012-12-06T14:03:08Z

While I was watching the SEC Championship between the Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide, I didn't see what everyone else was apparently seeing: the two best football teams in the country playing a classic game for the ages. Sure, it was a great great game, but is was played by two extremely flawed teams battling to play another extremely flawed team. College football teams are just that, flawed. They are 18-23 year olds doing their best not to piss off their screaming middle aged coaches. This goes double on January 7th.

When football talking heads discussed Alabama's offensive line "as possibly the best in college football history" after the game, I remember the Texas A&M game, where Barrett Jones continually got beat and the Tide only gained 122 yards on the ground. I'm reminded that Georgia is allowing almost 150 yards on the ground per game despite playing poor to mediocre squads like Buffalo, Missouri, Florida Atlantic, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Kentucky, Old Miss, Auburn, Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech. And then I realized that that "historic line" has yet to see a front seven with six future NFLers: Kapron Lewis-Moore, Stephon Tuitt (the next Julius Peppers), Louis Nix, Prince Shembo and Manti Te'o.

When I read trolls* like Clay Travis spew this:

[Nick Saban] Crimson Tide had just claimed their 23rd SEC title. In 37 days Bama will take the field against Notre Dame, where his Crimson Tide team will earn the seventh straight BCS title for the SEC.

Make no mistake, tonight was the BCS title game. If the Fighting Irish had traveled to Atlanta tonight, they would have lost by double digit to both these teams. The Irish are not stopping Eddie Lacy or T.J. Yeldon with a full month to get healthy from the rigors of the SEC season. The Irish are not stopping Nick Saban with a month to get ready for their weak offense.

...the Tide is about to roll all over your puny excuse for a national title winning football team.

Because the SEC plays grown man football.

And Notre Dame, who would be the 7th best team in the league, flat out doesn't.

I am forced to question whether or not Clay understands how football works. That it's not Lacy or Yeldon that actually need to be stopped, per se, but the gaping holes that were opened against a soft Georgia front seven. The Irish are fourth in the country in run defense for a reason, those holes wont exist, and neither will 'Bama's running game.

Also, while watching the game, I wondered if Clay had actually seen a Notre Dame game this year, because the Irish play exactly like Alabama on both sides of the ball. On offense, it's run first, safe throws second, deep balls only when necessary. Protect the ball at all costs. The Irish are just in shotgun a little more and have a mobile QB. Oh, the Irish are also WAY more efficient. On defense, both rely on their front seven to take away the run game, making teams one dimensional, and then try to force either a takeaway or a sack. Not surprisingly, Notre Dame, with the superior front four, has one more sack in one less game, while the Tide, with the better secondary, have five more turnovers forced.

Yet, on Saturday, I also saw Bulldog running back Todd Gurley rush for over five yards a carry and two touchdowns against a supposed tough front seven. Just wait until the Tide face the Irish O-line featuring four seniors, a junior and what a recent Michigan defensive lineman told me was "the best line he ever played against." Expect a few of those faces on your TV screen on Sundays, too. I should probably mention the three backs Notre Dame have are all faster and more versatile in the aggregate than Alabama's duo. Yeldon and Lacy are unquestionably stronger and harder to take down than the Irish three-headed attack, but Alabama has not seen a hole finding, pass catching, big play-combo like the Irish possess.

Let's also talk about the middle of the field, something Aaron Murray was able to take advantage of a few times against the Tide. Cue the best tight end in the nation, Tyler Eifert. Good luck with that. He's a mismatch for an experienced NFLer, let alone a college linebacker or safety.

Now, don't get me wrong, the Irish are full of faults. A green cornerback group has been protected most of the year with quality safety play, but can be exposed when left alone. Their red zone offense has been atrocious and they do not put teams away, mostly because of Brian Kelly's extremely conservative play calling. Both will have to change for the Irish to become National Champions.

If you've noticed, I have yet to mention AJ McCarron or Everett Golson because this seems to be the only spot in which I feel the Irish are at a disadvantage, but only slightly. McCarron made one throw against Georgia. One. Other than that, he was tremendously ordinary. When I saw him make that throw, I instantly thought to myself, "well, that wouldn't have even been an option against ND." Why? A) He wouldn't of had that time B) There's no way Bob Diaco, the best Defensive Coordinator in the country, would leave his corner on an island.

But, whatever, it comes down to this: The quarterback who does not turn the ball over. Whoever does that wins**.

*There was a time in my life when I respected Clay more than any other college football writer out there. Something happened to him after Tennessee football took a nosedive into nothing.

**I am by no means saying the Irish are going to win this game, I'm just trying to inform the dullards and SEC fanboys that they should be prepared for a bloodbath. A contest of inches and not miles. Offensive possessions will be limited, the score close and one side will finally get to yell loudly on Twitter. America!

Twitter @ZWMartin

Notre Dame football: The life of an Irish fan

2012-11-29T15:31:39Z

Ricky O'Donnell: Zach! It is with not much honor that I wish you a sincere congratulations on Notre Dame securing a trip to the BCS title game. Seriously: who ever would have thought this could happen? The Irish started the year under precarious circumstances: unranked in the AP preseason poll with incumbent QB Tommy Rees getting into trouble with the law for being drunk and stupid. There were other issues too, like starting cornerbacks who were recruited to do anything *but* play corner. The Irish caught a bit of a break on the schedule when it turned out Michigan State (then No. 10) was worthless and USC was much less than the Juggernaut most expected -- and that was when they had Matt Barkley in tow. We can talk about the Irish barely scraping by against underwhelming Purdue and Pittsburgh squads, or how they might have gotten lucky against Stanford. Even as a bit of a Notre Dame hater -- an uninvested party, at best -- I don't really feel like this is the way we should turn. This team went undefeated -- 12-0 -- in the regular season, and that's not a result that 'margin of victory' can mitigate. And besides, the Irish's true worth will be gauged in the title against a big and mighty SEC school, most likely Alabama. Until then, let's talk about the journey.

I want to know a few things, mostly about the experience, man.

You started this season off writing about "Xanax Threat Levels" in your Notre Dame posts -- presumably, you weren't convinced this was a title team from the beginning. I guess why would you be convinced of that? Anyway, at what point did you realize what was starting to take shape in South Bend? At what point did trepidation and prescription pills give way to whatever the Catholics call 'swagger'?

Z.W. Martin:

Watching last year, it was clear that if the Irish had a functional quarterback, they would have easily won 10 games. Considering the only two losses -- granted, major losses -- Notre Dame dealt with were safety Harrison Smith and star wideout Michael Floyd, both NFL starters, I felt confident the 2012 version would reach that fairly easily*. However, factoring that Floyd represented approximately 98.3% of the Irish offense last year and the preseason rumors hinting that Tommy Rees would continue to be their -- gasp -- starting QB, I was fairly certain they had no real shot at anything more. Their offense would simply be staler than Jesus' body during Communion.

Then Everett Golson took the field for a suspended Rees and Stephon Tuitt outran a running back for, like, 60 yards in Dublin, and I knew this team not only had some serious defensive weapons, but an outside shot at maybe an average offense. When they held MSU to three points, it was confirmed their defense was something special. However, every bit of me was doubting what I was seeing because, after all, this is Notre Dame we are talking about; my yearly ritual of crushing disappointment and sorrow.

But something happened that changed things. I mentioned this before, but after Notre Dame dismantled Denard Robinson and the Michigan offense, I knew they would be undefeated heading into Norman, OK. The entire season rested on that game. And, because of everything I've known about Notre Dame football, I picked the Sooners to win. I was very wrong. Notre Dame destroyed Oklahoma 30-13. That's when I knew things would be different in 2012.

But that never really changed the lump-in-throat, pit-in-stomach, the-world-ending awfulness I went through every Saturday. Ulcers, bro. They be real. (It could also be the Jesus blood I be chugging, y'all.)

PS Catholic swagger is called alcoholism.

*Despite the consensus toughest (preseason) schedule, I honestly believed MSU and Michigan were giant pretenders, especially with Sparty losing their starting QB. Stanford didn't scare me either, but that mostly had to do with their now benched QB, who ND was lucky enough to face. Basically, I figured the Irish would lose to USC and Oklahoma. A very good, but not great team.

Ricky: The typical Notre Dame fan -- I choose to believe you're pretty typical -- seems hardened by the haters, if only because they are so numerous. That's not unnatural: fans of any team -- no matter how self-aware -- don't like people shit-talking about their squad. But forget about the detractors for a moment. In your heart of hearts, how do you objectively rate this Notre Dame team? Obviously you'll already remember them for the rest of your life, but there's occasionally a certain threshold -- an eyeball test, if you will -- before a fanbase really starts bubbling with arrogance. Are you there yet?

Z.W.:

I will say this: the Irish have the ability to play up or down to any team in the nation. Brian Kelly did everything in his power to ensure they did not turn over the ball on offense, particularly in the red zone*. That meant, unless the defense held each opponent to 10 points or less -- something they did six times -- games were going to be close. His play calling was extremely unimaginative: run, run, mix in a safe pass eight yards or less, run, run. The Irish really only went deep a handful of times all season, solely against their weakest opponents.

However, this also guaranteed their opponents would have the ball for fewer possessions than they were used to, making every drive extremely meaningful. Trying to score on a defense with a front seven littered with future NFLers on a limited number of attempts is no small feat, and something Notre Dame used to their advantage.

I'm not sure I answered your question, but the answer is probably "no". Great teams can dominate both sides of the ball. I'm not convinced the Irish offense is there yet, not until they start scoring touchdowns in the red zone, at least. But what college team can actually say that? I can't think of one, Alabama included. (Fun fact: Alabama and Notre Dame have thrown for the exact same amount of yards in 2012: 2,226.)

*Converting touchdowns in the red zone was the Irish's biggest flaw this year, mostly due to Kelly's conservative play calling. If you look at what the Irish did on offense between the twenties, they were actually pretty damn good.

Ricky: Tell me everything about how you watched that USC game.

Z.W.:

I went to Zella's on Clybourn with a pair of non-Irish supporting brothers. I was pleasantly surprised to find a few kids I went to high school with -- and fellow Golden Domers -- already there. One of them I went to a game with in South Bend in, like, 1998 and watched Ron Powlus get benched for Jarious Jackson against West Virginia. There was also a marshmallow fight. We reminisced, then I went to the bar and ordered a 32 once Guinness they were serving in giant green ND mugs. (I had also chugged a coffee cup of Jameson before we left for the bar. You know, to calm my nerves. Seriously though, I was pacing my apartment for about three hours. It was needed.)

The mug was replenished with fresh Guinness a few times before kickoff and then a few times more while Notre Dame kept converting first downs and settling for field goal attempts. However, for most of the game, the Trojans were no more than six points behind, a scary number with USC only an extra point away from stealing all my joy.

When the Irish pushed the score to 22-13 on a humongous filed goal, I figured the game was over. How would the Trojans score a touchdown, recover an onside kick AND kick a game winning field goal agains this Irish defense with under six minutes left in the game? A 53 yard pass to Marqise Lee on the first play from scrimmage is, apparently, the answer. My life circled the drain for a moment.

Then Lane Kiffin took over. After calling some weird shit, USC had wasted about three full minutes and had yet to score. When Max Wittek's pass fell short and the Irish held on fourth down, something unnatural came out of my mouth. Arms in the air. High fives. Long, near-tear fueled hugs were given out. Notre Dame was #1 and playing in the BCS National Championship game.

12 hours later, my dad and I had purchased round trip tickets to Miami.

***

The game -- and season in a larger sense -- is still vaguely unfamiliar to me, even though I've watched it sober twice since on my DVR. (It's still really hard to believe this is happening.) The Irish did everything I expected: short passes, lots of running and dominated on defense. It's still weird for me. I'm left thinking about all the shitty years that is my working knowledge of ND football. Bob Davie. Charlie Weis. The Bush Push. Michigan's 28 second comeback last season. A 3-9 record in 2007. Nine bowl losses in a row. Eight straight losses to USC... Fuck it. Third times a charm.

/Cues DVR

Notre Dame vs. USC preview: Take California

2012-11-23T18:18:24Z

There are some things in life that are so important that the crazy anticipation is actually worth the hype. For me, these have included Turnabout (my high school's Sadie Hawkins), the week when I knew my first choice college letter would come in the mail and the weeks when I was a preferred walk-on trying to earn my way at Miami (OH) to play baseball. (I peaked at 18.) To me, Notre Dame's game against USC Saturday night is their equal.

At this time, it should probably be mentioned the girl I really liked didn't ask me to Turnabout. Nor did I get into my first choice university. I was also let go by the varsity baseball team at Miami after they learned about an arm injury. Such is my life.

But not on Saturday.

On Saturday, things will be different. On Saturday, USC will be without their former Heisman hopeful QB Matt Barkley. On Saturday, Notre Dame is favored by 5.5. On Saturday, the #1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will defend their ranking, their tradition, their "relevance" and their fans who have waited 24 years for a National Championship berth. On Saturday, there will be no "Bush Push" nor a miracle 28 second comeback in Ann Arbor. On Saturday, the Irish will not ruin everything.

On Saturday, the hype will finally match the results.

USC

I am 27 years old. My brain didn't really function until 1998. In 1998, USC beat a 9-1 Irish team 10-0. Such is my life. After three years of dominating the Trojans, Pete Carroll's system finally took its evil hold on the world of college football and Notre Dame lost eight straight games, accumulating in a final tally of 4-10 to date. FOUR. AND. TEN. This has been my working memory of USC vs. Notre Dame. Everything about Saturday scares me. Everything.

The Trojans will be starting redshirt freshman QB Max Wittek for the injured Barkley. The Santa Ana, CA native was the #76th overall prospect and third rated QB in the class of 2011 by Rivals.com. This is not Tommy Rees. Wittek is a legitimate, D1 QB brought to Southern California to continue their tradition of National Championships and quarterbacks getting selected in the first round of the NFL draft. However, the 6' 4'' pocket passer is largely untested, only throwing nine passes in his short college career, but completing eight, one for a touchdown. Do not sleep on Max Wittek. He may end up being an upgrade to the, of recent, turnover machine that is Barkley.

The Trojans also boast arguably the best WR duo in the nation in Robert Woods and the record setting Marqise Lee. This will easily be the Irish secondary's hardest test this year. However, faced with a watered down version of this in Norman, OK, they prospered, so it's not entirely impossible for the dynamic duo to be held in check. Especially considering the Irish's tendency to play soft cover-2, keeping everything in front of them.

Stud running back Silas Redd, the controversial transfer from Penn State, has been dinged up as of late, limiting his carries. Curtis McNeal, a 5' 7'' senior, has been the workhorse when Redd cannot play. He was a three star prospect out of high school, a rating that suits him well still.

This offense can score, but will a redshirt freshman be able to keep it afloat against the ND defense? I don't expect Lane Kiffin to limit the playbook or hold anything back offensively. USC literally has nothing to lose. Their season is a waste. From pre-season #1 to four losses. The Trojans will throw everything they got at the Irish defense, even with a redshirt freshman leading the way.

The Trojans cannot stop the run. They are allowing over 150 yards a game on the ground. (Notre Dame is allowing 93.1, fourth best in the nation.) This has led to some pretty crazy scores to be put up against them -- 39 by Arizona, 62 by Oregon and 38 by UCLA. These numbers are not things you expect out of a Monte Kiffin led defense.

Notre Dame

The Irish have made it a point to pound the ball on the ground all year, rushing for over 200 yards per game. USC's most glaring defensive flaw plays right into the Irish's offensive strength. Much like last week against Wake Forest, Notre Dame will pound the ball with their three headed running back machine -- Cierre Wood, Theo Riddick and George Atkinson III -- until USC is forced to put a safety in the box, then the Irish will play action the Trojans deep down the field. With their own redshirt freshman Everett Golson playing his best football to date, the Notre Dame offense appears to finally be clicking.

The Irish defense's strength is their ability to stop the run. I'm not sure USC will even try to run that much, other than to keep the linebackers and safeties honest. I expect the Trojans to get the ball into their best playmakers -- Woods and Lee -- with screens or slants, exploiting the Irish cover-2. But that also is what the Irish want. Make a redshirt freshman QB earn every single yard, first down and scoring drive. ND has the best red zone scoring defense in the country. With a condensed field, their cover-2 is nearly impossible to move on, also leading to the best scoring defensive, too. The Irish are giving up 10.1 points per game.

Prediction

This will be a tight game. Even with a green QB, USC still has enough weapons to force the Irish offense to score points. Notre Dame's running game should put them in good situations to do so, however, the Irish's inability to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns has been a their achilles heel all year and something that may determine the outcome of this game.

However, I think the Irish defense, especially their front four, will put enough pressure on Wittek to keep the Trojan offense in relative check. With the Irish offense's focus on time of possession and ball control, the Trojans simply won't have the amount of possession they are used to in the Pac-12. This will put the heat on Kiffin to score on every possession. In the end, this may play into the hands of the very opportunistic Irish defense.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish 24, USC Trojans 20

Xanax Threat Level*

All of the Xanax. All of it. In the world. This is for a BCS National Championship berth, folks.

*Typically this is done on a one bar scale, but that doesn't amount to the heart attack-ness of this contest.

Game Time and Channel

7 p.m. central on ABC.

Fun Fact While Researching This Game

PAC 14 is a government access channel in Maryland.

Twitter @ZWMartin

Poll

Who will win?

Notre Dame

76 votes

USC

17 votes

93 votes | Poll has closed

Cubs free agency: 5 pitchers the North Siders may pursue this offseason

2012-11-06T16:00:23Z

Do not expect the Chicago Cubs to be in the running for top pitching free agents Zack Greinke, Anibal Sanchez or Kyle Lohse. (Also: Edwin Jackson. But he is kind of a hard to predict considering his one year deal last year and subsequent firing of agent Scott Boras.) All of them will either be too costly or demand long-term deals that make, particularly for Lohse, age a concern. However, do expect these names: Scott Baker, Dan Haren, Ryan Dempster, Shaun Marcum and Brandon McCarthy.

The Cubs need to bolster a rotation featuring Jeff Samardzija, the injured Matt Garza and the soft-tossing, record-home-run-allowing Travis Wood. Lets just say Chicago's staff is not exactly deep. Chicago will aggressively attack pitchers who are looking to rebound from injury -- all but Dempster in this scenario count, but he is a special case anyway -- and increase their value for future contracts. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer will fill this need with low to medium-cost, high reward type signings. This could mean one of the aforementioned pitcher coming back into form, then locking him into a longer deal, or simply trading said pitcher for younger, controllable assets. Lets take a close look.

Scott Baker: Fresh off April Tommy John surgery, Baker is still a question mark for early 2013. However, in 2011, the former Twin was breaking out with a 3.14 ERA (3.45 FIP) and 4-to-1 K-to-BB ratio. He is currently rumored to end up back in Minnesota, but the Cubs could make a strong push for the 31-year old on a one year guaranteed deal with incentives and a possible team option.

Buyer beware: Baker has only started 30 games and pitched (exactly) 200 innings once in his career.

Dan Haren: So, that Dan Haren for Carlos Marmol deal didn't quite come to fruition. I wouldn't, however, completely dismiss the Cubs from pursuing him via free agency. $15.5 million was a lot to take in -- so was the $3.5 million buyout. However, Haren is only a season away from a 16-10 record, 238+ innings pitched, a K-to-BB ratio of nearly 6-to-1 and a WAR of 4.0. Some team may go overboard on the former Angel, but if not, the Cubs could sweep in and get value out of the 32 year old.

Buyer beware: Some have suggested a back injury is to blame for last year's struggles, but maybe also this trend:

Ryan Dempster: The only reason Dempster would sign with the Cubs is to be with his family. His daughter's illness and his family-first personality may eventually mean a return stay in Chicago. (Some are predicting he'll end up in Milwaukee for similar reasons.) The Canadian is a bit of a wild card, but I expect him to sign for two years and something around $10-12 million per to be close to his family, but if he chooses to hit the open market, he could probably get a better deal.

Buyer beware: He's 35 and posted a 5.09 ERA in Texas in 12 starts after being traded at the deadline.

Shaun Marcum: Coming off a season shortened by elbow soreness, Marcum still produced an ERA of 3.70. (His worst since 2007.) The former Brewer will definitely have a market, it just depends on how risk adverse teams will be on the soft tossing righty. He's been good for a few years now and will have value either on the Cubs or on the trading block, depending on whether Theo and Jed see Marcum in their long-term plans. It just depends on how much money and years they are willing to invest.

Buyer beware: Marcum's average velocity is lingering around 86 MPH and didn't break 90 MPH in 2012.

Brandon McCarthy: If math saved a sports person, it would be McCarthy. After learning about nerd stuff, the former Athletic changed his approach to pitching. Looking to induce more ground balls and strike outs, while lowering his walk and fly ball rates, McCarthy switched to a sinker and cutter, drastically reducing the bad and increasing the good. He led the AL in FIP (2.86) in 2011, and was putting together another strong year in 2012, until a line drive crashed into his skull, fracturing it. McCarthy should be ready to go for spring training, but his value on the open market is still something of a question mark. I would love to see the Cubs go after the still only 29 year old and lock him down. He could be a very reliable pitcher -- or trade chip -- if the Cubs are looking to compete in 2014 or 2015.

Buyer beware: He will make you laugh on twitter.

Twitter @ZWMartin

Poll

Who would you like to see the Cubs sign?

Scott Baker

0 votes

Dan Haren

14 votes

Ryan Dempster

23 votes

Shaun Marcum

4 votes

Brandon McCarthy

50 votes

91 votes | Poll has closed

Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma: Irish keep undefeated season alive

2012-10-25T16:14:11Z

Notre Dame went to Norman on Saturday and beat No. 8 Oklahoma.

On Saturday, No. 5 Notre Dame will rest its BCS hopes on a game against No. 8 Oklahoma. Normally, when a team is "resting its hopes," on something, it's referring to them being in a place of potential elimination, which is odd, given that the Fighting Irish are undefeated, with a 7-0 record thus far.

But as noted by the Chicago Tribune, the Irish trail other teams in the nation ... teams that also happen to be 7-0. In fact, this is the last marquee matchup on the Notre Dame schedule. If they lose, they're obviously out of talks for the National Championship, but if they win, they could be right back.

Unfortunately, a win doesn't guarantee anything. As the piece notes, there are teams ahead of Notre Dame, and it might take a loss from them to actually get the Irish into talks. Voters would either need to see that, or they'd need to change their opinion on Notre Dame. As it stands, the best thing the Irish can do on Saturday is to go out and win big. If they absolutely demolish Oklahoma as opposed to simply beat them, then it might help their case.

Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma preview: How the BCS was won

2012-10-25T13:00:47Z

After the Irish were finished dismantling Michigan, I turned to a fellow bar patron, and ND fan, and said, "Holy shit! Notre Dame's gonna be undefeated going into Oklahoma."

"Maybe," he said. "They still have to play Stanford."

Well, I was right about Stanford. And I've been right about every team the Irish have faced this season. But, more importantly, I've been right about the Fighting Irish. I know this team. Before all the national pundit attention, I was touting their defense as the second best in the country. I called Stephon Tuitt "Julius Peppers 2.0". I've even recently compared them to the best defense in the NFL: the Chicago Bears.

And I'm scared I'm right about the Sooners, too.

The Oklahoma Sooners

63. 52. 677. 406.

Those are the points and total yards accrued by Oklahoma's offense over the past two weeks against Texas and Kansas, respectively. Over the same two weeks, Notre Dame has scored 37 points combined. The Sooners scored more points in two separate quarters (23 and 28) than the Irish did against Stanford (20) and BYU (17) total.

Unlike the Irish, Oklahoma does not have a QB controversy, but a two-headed Power Couple known as Blandry (Landry Jones and Blake Bell). I may have made up that Power Couple Name, but the point remains: they are scary good. Jones, a senior, is the thrower, tossing for 1,644 yards, 12 TDs and only 3 picks with a completing percentage of 62.7. Bell, the runner, has already rushed for eight touchdowns. PS Bell is rather large.

Nix is listed at 6'3'', 340 pounds. (Bell is actually 6'6'', 254 pounds.)

I don't want to get into the rest of the offense mostly because it's Oklahoma and, obviously, they have playmakers everywhere, so why bother? Let's get into the HOWEVER instead.

Besides all of this scary stuff, the only team that the Sooners have faced resembling Notre Dame was Kansas State and they lost at home, no less. The Wildcats and the Irish feature run-heavy, time consuming offenses and stifling defenses. Against the KSU attack, Oklahoma put up only 19 points, losing by five. Also, keep in mind, outside of the aforementioned Wildcats game, it's not like Oklahoma has played a good defense.

It's no secret by now Notre Dame depends on their defense to secure wins. Manti Te'o is probably the best linebacker in the country. Tuitt is a pass rushing monster. Add the rest of the front seven and an underrated and very athletic, ball-hawking secondary and it shouldn't be a surprise they are 7-0. But it would be a disservice to neglect to mention the Sooner defense. They are a tick below the Irish statistically, but boast either a junior or senior starter at every positon but one, and haven't allowed more than 21 points to date.

This combination of offense and defense is something the Irish have not yet seen. It will be their hardest test to date and probably all year. (Suck it, USC.)

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Irish defense is arguably the best in the country, holding opponents to an insane 9.4 points per game, including shutting out BYU in the second half last week to allow the limping Notre Dame offense to pull out a 17-14 victory. But everybody already know this. Lets move on.

Everett Golson is supposed to start on Saturday and lets hope he is the Miami (FL)-Golson and not, well, pretty-much-every-other-game-Golson. This means he needs to do two things: 1) Scramble FORWARD and not laterally. The redshirt freshman often stops checking down after his first option is covered, moving to his right, hoping for someone to get open. This usually means a sack or incompletion. When he looks to use his athleticism and scramble for positive yards, he is rather effective. 2) Find mismatches at the line of scrimmage and take advantage of them. Too often T.J. Jones or Tyler Eifer -- a.k.a the best tight end in college football -- specifically, are left in one-on-one match ups and too often Golson neglects them. Golson needs to trust their abilities and give them a chance to do things like this or this.

Hopefully, Golson will not be the story of the game, because if he is, it means Notre Dame is in trouble. Look for the Irish to continue to pound the ball with the best three back attack in the country -- Cierre Wood, Theo Riddick and George Atkinson III. Coach Brian Kelly will do whatever he can to prolong drives to keep the high-powered Sooner offense off the field. The play clock will be near zero on every snap, while the above backs will be rotated often to keep them fresh and the Oklahoma defense on their toes. (Each back has complimenting skills: Wood's the best runner. Riddick's the best receiver. Atkinson III is the fastest.) If the Irish offense can come close to their season average on the ground -- nearly 194 yards per game -- they have a have shot on Saturday. Otherwise, things could get ugly.

Prediction

To this point, the Irish season has been remarkable. Some pointing to luck, others to that good old fashioned Golden Dome aura. Whatever it may be, this Saturday night's primetime matchup against the Sooners will determine the validity of Notre Dame's climb towards the summit. Or it may indicate they must push that boulder back up the mountain once again.

Oklahoma Sooners 24, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 17

Xanax Threat Level*: Two bars. One taken with a shot of Jameson prior to the start of the game. The other at half, chased with half pack of Camel Lights.

*Typically this is done on a one bar scale, but that doesn't amount to the heart attack-ness of this contest.

Game Time and Channel

7 p.m. central on ABC.

Fun Fact While Researching This Game

A "Sooner" is basically the Wild West's version of a squatter.

Twitter @ZWMartin

Poll

Who will win?

Notre Dame

21 votes

Oklahoma

13 votes

34 votes | Poll has closed

Notre Dame vs. BYU preview: A battle of caffeine-free offenses

2012-10-19T18:59:18Z

We're at the tail end of a Presidential race which has seen more money than ever pumped into a system that was supposed to limit the amount of money that could be pumped into the system. But then corporations gained consciousness and everything was flipped on its head, allowing billions to be casually dropped into collection baskets or handcarts, depending how you swing on a Sunday or on a good ol' fashioned pioneering extravaganza.

Similarly, we're beginning the second half of the college football season with Notre Dame and BYU, who in recent years have been known for scoring a super amount of times, now, apparently, defensive powerhouses, supporting limping offenses. Much like Stanford, the Cougars are a very confusing team. Here, look at what they have done so far:

Coming into last week, BYU had the fifth best defense in the country. Then a backup QB scored 42 points on it. (I will concede 14 of those points were fluky.) This is after allowing 10 points over the three weeks prior combined. Somehow the Cougs lost one of those games and won another by three. BYU's weird, man.

Their quarterback, Riley Nelson, represents the BYU offense as a whole. He has thrown more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (6), including two last week in the fourth quarter (a season theme), putting the nail in the Cougars' coffin, which held Cosmo the Cougars' caffeine/alcohol/tea/piercing/tattoo/premarital boning/drug/porn and R-rated viewing/smoke-free body. Yet, BYU still could easily be 6-1 because of their very stout defense.

Apparently, luck is an Irish quality.

Notre Dame improved to 6-0 after winning another offense-free duel with Stanford, 20-13. The Notre Dame defense continued their beast mode ways, only allowing six points, the same as their offense. (Everett Golson got sacked in the Irish endzone, fumbling the ball into the waiting belly of a Cardinal defender.) The Irish offense scored a touchdown in overtime and the defense bailed them out again with a goal line stand on fourth and goal inside the one.

This week's match should be more of the same, at least for a time, as this will be the fastest team the Cougars has seen to date. The Irish D and the BYU O will see how few points can be scored, while the BYU D will keep the score pretty close until they are worn down by being on the field for the majority of the game, resulting in ND pulling away in the second half.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish 26, BYU Cougars 6

Twitter @ZWMartin

Poll

Who will win?

Notre Dame

18 votes

BYU

6 votes

24 votes | Poll has closed

Notre Dame vs. Stanford preview: So, wait, are the Cardinal good?

2012-10-11T13:36:08Z

The Stanford Cardinal:

Things I remember about the 2011 Stanford Cardinal:

Andrew Luck was really good at throwing footballs.
They had a couple of talented offensive linemen. (Jonathan Martin and David DeCastro.)
Oh, a tight end, too! (Coby Fleener.)
Something about a receiver who may or may not have died from concussions.
A super boring offense.

Well, all those guys are gone. The first four drafted, the other's -- Chris Owusu -- career almost ending because of the things you see in this video. (He's now a Buccaneer.) Other than that, I really was blown away by how little I knew about this team. So I dug into the stats. Yet, after looking at the numbers and trying to break down Standford, I still really have no idea whether or not the Cardinal are actually good.

The confusion started with their current record, 4-1, and strength of schedule rank, 33, both indicating a pretty good team, but after taking into consideration how Standford got their shiny record, things got a little murkier.

A three point win over San Jose State (at home)? A win over a non-basketball Duke team (at home)? An overtime victory against a weird Arizona team, requiring 54 points to secure victory (at home)? A loss to a good, but not great Washington squad (on the road)? None of that really breeds much confidence.

But then... there's that USC win (at home) and it's, like, WTF STANFORD? WHO ARE YOU?!?!? YOU'RE SO MYSTERIOUS!!! (It should also make us ask whether or not USC is as talented a team as expected.)

However, much like every pretend "mysterious bad boy" from the 'burbs of California, the Cardinal are actually very boring. Luck's replacement at QB, Josh Nunes, is so stunningly average -- 54.1 completion %, 8 TDs, 4 INTs and a 126.1 passer rating -- it pains me to use him in the same sentence as the current Colt. His #1 target is a tight end, the third a running back. But that's the Cardinal offense -- run until throwing (short play action passes) is mandatory -- and their strength.

Three year starting running back, Stepfan Taylor, is easily the Cardinal best weapon on offense, but is also having his worst season to date, averaging only 4.7 yards per carry, as opposed to 5.5 last season. Regardless, expect Stanford coach David Shaw to hand off until the Irish stout front seven shut it down. Then play action over the middle to Zach Ertz, the aforementioned tight end. It's boring and frustrating, but has been the recipe for success for the Cardinal.

This game plan also keeps their defense off the field. Despite the aberration last week against Arizona, the Stanford defense has not allowed an opponent to score more than 17 points. Then again, other than USC, the Cardinal also haven't stopped a good offense. For example, the Huskies haven't scored more than 21 points against a D1 team.

Again, I'm left to wonder, is the Stanford D any good or has their success just been a biproduct of lackluster opponents and an offense that emphasizes ball control?

Honestly, I'm still not sure. The Cardinal are a conundrum.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish:

The Irish game plan is simple. Play Chicago Bears style football. On offense, don't turn the ball over and eat up some clock. On defense, shut down the ground game, keep the ball in front of their safeties in the air, let the extremely athletic front four attack, blitz occasionally and take advantage of bad passes under pressure. It's pretty simple.

Everett Golson either took a huge step forward against the Hurricanes -- 17-for-21 for 186 yards and 51 on the ground on six carries -- or showed us the potential we can expect down the road. Either way, he did his job on Saturday night and played mistake free football. He was in control; checking down, making timely, accurate throws and scrambled when plays broke down. It was the best he's looked to date.

However, the real story was the running game. Coach Brian Kelly finally relented on his dog house approach to Cierre Wood, Notre Dames' most talented back, giving him the ball 18 times, resulting in 118 yards and two scores. The Irish ended up running for 376 yards, highlighted by a 12 play, 86 yard run only TD drive.

As for the defense: 7.8 points allowed per game, second in the nation.

Prediction:

I've harped on how good the Irish defense is since week two, but if the Miami (FL) game taught me anything, they can be beat when they play zone coverage and the front four does not get pressure on the QB. The Cardinal play action game directly exploits this weakness and will let Stanford drive the ball. However, I do not think the Cardinal have enough playmakers* on offense to sustain more than a few long drives against the Irish defense that simply does not allow big plays and has a tendency to pick poorly executed passes by average QBs.

*UPDATE: Stanford's top WR, Ty Montgomery, is not expected to play on Saturday because of injury.

Because the Cardinal seem to have at least a good defense, I do not think the Irish will blow away Stanford, but should be able move the ball enough to outscore whatever the Notre Dame defense allows. I expect Kelly to run with his stable of backs, throwing just enough to keep the Cardinal defense honest. Kelly probably will limit passing plays to short and medium attempts, as Golsen hasn't yet earned the trust to install the full playbook.

Add that the Cardinal have only played one game on the road in 2012, resulting in their only loss, things seem much clearer to me now: Stanford's good, just not Notre Dame good.

Notre Dame 24, Stanford 17

Twitter @ZWMartin

Poll

Who will win?

Notre Dame

24 votes

Stanford

1 votes

25 votes | Poll has closed