Notre Dame Gets Smarter Every Day

Yeah, this season's been pretty tough already for the Irish. With the team's struggles, the departure of Demetrius Jones, and the heat Charlie Weis is taking, it would be great if the Irish could beat Michigan State tomorrow.

Will they?

I doubt it. Hell, they've basically given up already.

Adidas is giving out 75,000 white towels on Saturday for Charlie Weis' charity, Hannah & Friends, and the official Notre Dame Web site, UND.com.

The towels, given out on a first-come, first-serve basis, will read "Tradition Never Graduates -- Notre Dame Football."

Oh, that's just fantastic. Let's give all the Irish fans white flags to wave around.

What makes this even worse, aside from that whole "We Quit" syndrome? Well, as Blue Gray Sky points out,

So let me get this straight. Notre Dame stadium is going to be filled with Notre Dame fans wearing dark green Notre Dame shirts and waving white towels......while playing against a Michigan State team that has a rally cry of "Go Green, Go White."

Is this team trying to make me hate them this year? Do they not want me rooting for them anymore? Who in the hell thought that waving a white flag was a good idea?

Maybe next week against Purdue we can all war gold and black, you know, cuz if the Purdue fans can't recognize us they can't point and laugh.

It's Almost Here

The college football season starts this weekend, and I'm excited. I don't expect much out of Notre Dame this season, nor do I think Illinois will blow up, but I do have some hope when it comes to Penn State.

Truth be told though, I could care less how any of them do at this point. I just need something to divert my attention from the White Sox being in last place, and the Cubs starting a huge series against the Brewers tonight.

Anyway, I post this video of Notre Dame's clash with Michigan State back in 87 for no real reason other than it's college football, and I want to see college football at the moment.

Speaking of which, there are still open spots in our College Football Pool, so if you want to join please do so. The League ID is 13943, and the password is Irish.

Notre Dame Adds Oklahoma To Its Schedule

The Irish are making a lot of changes to their future schedules lately. First they set up some "home games" in Orlando and San Antonio, and now they've added the Oklahoma Sooners for two years.

The University of Oklahoma and Notre Dame are planning for two football games, one in Norman in 2012 and one in South Bend, Ind., in 2013.

Kenny Mossman, Oklahoma's sports information director, said the two schools are in discussions but have not signed a contract, while Notre Dame sports information director John Heisler said his school "has reached a deal with OU" to play the two contests.

Considering all the crap that Notre Dame takes for it's schedule, some of which is deserved, it's nice to see the Irish adding an opponent that's the caliber of the Oklahoma Sooners. There's just one tiny problem.

You may have noticed that the first game between the two teams is in 2012. What you might not be aware of is that Notre Dame's contract with Michigan runs through 2011. Do you see what's going on here yet?

The Irish have added the Sooners to their schedule to replace Michigan.

There really isn't a football game I look forward to more each season than Notre Dame/Michigan. I like the idea of adding Oklahoma, but the Irish better get Michigan back on the schedule. If they don't, I'm gonna be so pissed that I'll......um.....shit. I don't know what I'll do, but I will be heard!!

Foul Balls College Football Preview - Michigan St. Spartans

With the college football season just round the corner, Foul Balls has decided it's about time we busted out our college football previews. Each weekday we will break down a team from the Big Ten Conference and tell you all the important things you need to know about them. After we're done covering the Big Ten, we'll move on to Notre Dame and other Chicago area schools. We'll be going from worst to first, and today it's the Michigan State Spartans turn.

2006 Record - 4-8, 1-7 10th Big Ten

2007 Projection - 4-8

Most Important Player - Now that Mark Dantonio has taken over as head coach for John L. Smith, the finesse passing attack is gone and Dantonio wants a tougher team. All of which means that the running game is going to be stressed in East Lansing this year, and that means Javon Ringer is going to have to stay on the field. Ringer is the type of running back who can control a game, but he's had to deal with knee injuries in his first three years. If Ringer can stay healthy all season, it will help the Spartans maintain a consistent offense and maybe earn themselves a bowl berth.

Who to watch for on offense - Luckily for the Spartans, Ringer isn't the only running back on the team. Jehuu Caulcrick is a bruising 250-pound back who can move the chains and is effective at the goal line. He's not the type of guy you want carrying the ball 25 times a game though, and is more capable as a complement to Ringer. There's also sophomore A.J. Jimmerson who, with size speed and good hands, may steal a lot of carries over the course of the season. Brian Hoyer will be playing quarterback, and though the coaches like his arm and leadership, they wouldn't mind seeing him make better decisions. Another stumbling block for Hoyer, he's going to have to adjust to dropping back after spending most of his time at Michigan State working out of the shotgun. He does have some quality receivers, though, in T.J. Williams and Devin Thomas to help him out.

Who to watch for on defense - The line backing corps is probably the Spartans only strength. Kaleb Thornhill is likely going to have to make the majority of tackles for MSU, but the Spartans are hoping SirDarean Adams can adjust from his former LB/Safety hybrid position and become an asset as an outside linebacker to help out. As for the rest of the defense, it's not very pretty. The Spartans pass rush is non-existent, and that's not a plus when you have a secondary that isn't that great either.

Impact Freshmen - Antonio Jeremiah is a highly-touted recruit from Ohio who could win a starting job for the Spartans. The 6-4, 280lb defensive tackle could be a very valuable freshman if he can fill in on the inside and help anchor a thin defensive line.

Possible Upset - 9/22 @ Notre Dame. It will still be early in the season so the Irish will still be adjusting to life without Brady Quinn at quarterback. When you consider that the Spartans blew a huge second half lead last year against the Irish in East Lansing, and beat Notre Dame in South Bend in 2006, the idea of them doing it again isn't that crazy.

Coaching - The Spartans are hoping Mark Dantonio can be the guy to help restore college football at Michigan State. Ever since Nick Saban left for LSU in 1999, the program has been in a steady downfall. Dantonio was a defensive backs coach at MSU under Saban before moving on to Ohio State to become the defensive coordinator there. Coaching under both those men is very appealing to a Michigan State program whose defense has been horrible the last few seasons.

Bowl Expectations - I don't think there's much hope for the Spartans to make a bowl appearance this season, but they're headed in the right direction. A few seasons for Dantonio to implement his game plan, and get his players into the program, and Michigan State should be more than respectable.

Previous Previews

• Northwestern Wildcats
  

I Hope the Badgers Enjoyed it While it Lasted

With all the slack that the Big Ten has taken this season in college basketball, I have to admit it was pretty nice to see Ohio State and Wisconsin at #1 and #2 in the polls this week.

Take that, Big Ten haters.

Of course, then the Badgers had to go and ruin the whole thing.

Drew Neitzel and the Michigan St. Spartans took it to the Badgers in East Lansing on Tuesday night, beating them 64-55. Neitzel scored 28 points to lead the Spartans over Wisconsin.

Maybe the Badgers were too busy pumping themselves up about being ranked #1 in the AP poll and #2 in the coaches poll, and thought they could coast past the Spartans. But that's just my opinion. Badgers head coach Bo Ryan has a different reason entirely.

"I don't think that had anything to do with it. Michigan State played better."

This loss is pretty big for the Badgers (26-3, 12-2 Big Ten). It could effectively kill any chance they had at attaining a #1 seed in the tournament, and it moves them a half game behind Ohio State in the Big Ten standings. They play Penn State on Wednesday (God help us all if they somehow lose that one) before hosting the Buckeyes on Sunday.

The game won't have that same #1 versus #2 shine to it after this loss, but it will probably be the game that decides who goes into the Big Ten Tournament with the top seed.

As far as Michigan State (20-8, 7-6 Big Ten) is concerned, this win is huuuge. (Not to mention the ramifications that are being felt in Champaign. Thanks a lot, Wisconsin.) They're trying to gain an entry into the Dance for the tenth straight season, and I think a win over Wisconsin counts as one of those "signature wins" we hear so much about at this time of year.