Week 9: The Revolution Starts Now

But Ter, you used a Steve Earle song but a week or so ago... what's up with that?  So what, I say!  The BCS Revolution does start now.  And my advice to you: enjoy the ride.  Maybe we'll make the playoff, maybe we won't.  The fact that we're even in the conversation, with all the attrition (starting QB-RB-TE-NT-nickel DB), is borderline miraculous.  And who can argue that they're not a fun team to watch? (But as a Packer fan, perhaps I'm just used to an offense covering up for defensive mediocrity.)

Quote of the Week

From the noted philosopher Fred Rogers - an acolyte from the Yogi Berra School of Intellectual Inquiry... 

But the point is this:  

ND's BCS journey is just beginning. 

Game Observations

If you saw the game, these'll make sense.  If not, why should this week be any different...

* Tyler, why don't we just concentrate on keeping the kickoffs in the field of play?

* Trick plays - fool me once shame on you!  Fool me eight times, I'm ready!

* I guess it is possible to overthrow Will Fuller.

* Did anyone else notice that Pitt was QB'd by a Seinfeld character?

* Did anyone also notice that Joe Schmidt seems to get carried for 2-3 more yards after he makes contact?

Speaking of Joe, a brief digression:

On my flight to Columbus this week, I spied a disheveled, Willy Loman-like fellow passenger while boarding.  If he were a woman, one would have charitably described his physique as zoftig, or perhaps Rubenesque.  The operative word being 'charitable', he was, bluntly, breathtakingly immense.  

But that's not the point. It so followed that under his arm, was a book, unsurprisingly, "Urban Meyer: Winning Ethically."

Ah, I thought to myself, an aficionado of fiction!  I too could relate to the allure of skillfully crafted fantasy, having recently read The Ben Carson Story.

It's ALIVE!

But I'd turned to more reality-grounded literature of late, specifically "Donald Trump's Hair: A Retrospective" (okay, it's a coffee table book) and learned how sometimes forward progression, temporally-speaking, isn't necessarily evolutionary. Sometimes, just by its very nature, it's devolutionary.  

I'm just wondering if that may explain the 2015 Joe Schmidt downward spiral...

Other insights:

• Chris Blewitt.  What an unfortunate name for a kicker.  Or anyone, actually. 
• Our lack of basic pass rush will cost us.
• So will Redfield. 

Game of Throne - The BCS Poll

And right now, neither do we. 

It was a very good weekend for ND, even if the Irish only moved up one place.  And in truth, it still doesn't matter much - the board re-sets itself ever week based on each weekend's games.  But hey, we're where we need to be - for now.  And probably next week too, given the dearth of interesting games coming up this weekend:

• Alabama @ Mississippi St. (doubtful)
• Oregon @ Stanford
• Oklahoma @ Baylor
• Minnesota @ Iowa (maybe)

But it's pretty clear that the Big12 holds the key for ND - an undefeated team likely leapfrogs us - but here's my question for you, dear reader:  if those teams play no one of substance outside their conference, how does one know that winning within the conference is so freaking impressive?

At any rate, for Michigan State, LSU and TCU, this song's for you:

BCS Ranking	Future (losable) Games
1.  Clemson	FSU, Conference championship
2.  Alabama	Conference championship
3.  Ohio State	Michigan St., @Michigan, Conference championship
4   ND	@Pitt, @BC, @Stanford
5.  Iowa	@Minnesota, Nebraska, Conference championship
6.  Baylor	Oklahoma, @Oklahoma St., @TCU
7.  Stanford	Still need them to win out until 11/28
8.  Oklahoma St.	Baylor, Oklahoma
9.  LSU	@Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Conference championship
10.  Utah	@Arizona, UCLA, Conference championship

Word of the Week.

Shotclog (n.)

• An unlikeable drinking companion who is nevertheless tolerated because he or she is buying the drinks.

Used in a sentence:  With the November-in-Indiana clime turning chilly... and the thought of viewing the game within the stadium becoming increasingly unattractive, Young Terry's thoughts turned to the Morris Inn Bar and the prospects of encountering smug shotclogs he would have to endure.   But if they're buying... 

Buddy's Buddy

I don't think anybody, not even the Engineering majors, couldn't see the obvious parallels between Notre Dame's key operatives in last week's game and decorated playwright Tom Stoppard's comedic masterpiece "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead" - a work that takes peripheral characters from Hamlet and puts them at the center of the tale.

Am I CJ or Josh?

There's further nuance of subtext, I'm sure not lost on this discerning audience, as to the basic interchangeability of the two characters - typifying a game (and ND season) where key starters have dropped like flies while being successfully replaced with 'next man in' role players you never thought would be center stage... who end up 'stars of the game'...  

And who says Life doesn't imitate Art?





I'm talking about you, Josh Adams. 




The Schedule

September
5       Texas                  W    
12     @ Virginia         W
19     Georgia Tech    W
26     UMass               W 

Have fun storming Fenway...

October
3      @ Clemson        L
10     Navy                 W
17     USC                  W
31     @ Temple         W

November
7      @ Pitt                W
14     Wake Forest
21     @ BC (Fenway Park)  'A' Lot goes to Beantown*
28     @ Stanford   

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner

Who's the happiest loser around?  That would be '7 Win Al'!  
Now...  slay THE 8 WIN INFIDELS!!!

The '2014 Scofflaws' list dwindles down to Ungie and R Raymond.

As far as 2015 entry fees, if your first name starts with an 'M', it's likely you haven't paid yet.

Checks may be sent to:

TP Corrigan
Former Greenskeeper, Scotchlandia
663 Old Suman Road
Valparaiso, IN  46383

Wins	Which Dan Are You?	ND Implication	Wager
11-12	Daniel Day Lewis	Greatest actor of our generation.  And he’s Irish.  Does it get any better than that? I think not.	12: Kevin C, Brian M 11:  Bryan G, Bob R, JP McG, Jay F, Jerry W, Kevin M, Peter B, Dave M, Rob W
9-10	Danny Noonan	In the sequel that never got made, he went on to become a wealthy hedge fund manager, avoids jail,  buys Bushwood, and maintains Lacy Underalls as his mistress.    Nice recovery from a fairly shaky start.	10: Terry C, Jerry P, John L, Jerry Ci, Matt L, Ted C, Tim S, Lini, Jim B, Ryan C, Tim C, Graham C  9:  Daryl M, Jim S, Garrett R*, Dave G, Mark U, Tom F, Mike C, Jim R, Mike G
7-8	Lt. Dan	Heroic, absolutely.    Sympathetic, without any doubt.     Successful small business owner, impressive. Still a paraplegic.  Who wants to trade  places with him?	8:  Blair R*, Ray V, Jim T, Brian W, Randy R  7:  Al B
5-6	Danny Torrance	Redrum!  Redrum! Sure he survived but still sees Scatman Crothers in his dreams, even after graduating from Mother Theresa’s School For The Irretrievably Unbalanced.   Not exactly a success story.	6:  5:
0-4	Dante Alighieri	He didn’t write 'Paradiso', he wrote Inferno.   As in Hell.  Which is where ND football would be if this occurs.

* 4 games left, boys...  you need ND to lose minimally 2 of them. Hmmm...

Schadenfreude Candidate of The Week

Easy come, easy go... 

1. Michigan State.    Hey, Dantonio,  of course he was out of bounds, like, by A LOT.  Helen Keller could've made that call!  But Scripture says the Lord Giveth And The Lord Taketh Away.  That should provide some consolation.  
No?

2.  Memphis.  This is really more about how our win vs. Navy is looking better and better. 

3.  TCU.  Posers.  I rest my case, Big12.

Terry's Trolls


1. Jerry Jones.  Regardless of your wealth, Jur, you're simply a despicable human being. Not as despicable as Greg Hardy - and if one hasn't seen the recent pics of the injuries he inflicted on his ex-girlfriend, don't - they're genuinely disturbing.  

And your defense of Mr. Hardy because 'everyone deserves a 2nd chance' is pathetic.

And incomplete - since you forgot to add the qualifier, 'especially if they can rush the passer'.  

But guess what, not every offense deserves a $10+ million 2nd chance.   

Aqib, the 4th Stooge. Nyuck, Nyuck...

2.  Aqib Talib.  Who?  Just another NFL thug who's very good while barely keeping his pathology under wraps. 

And then, sometimes he doesn't. Like last week. 

3.  LA Clippers.  Probably no one saw this (except me)... but a week ago the memphis Grizzlies lose to the Golden State Warriors by 50.  Ouch.  A few days later, the Clippers lose to the Warriors by 4. So what do they do - they tweet about their relative superiority.  Very professional.  And they wonder why everyone else in the league hates them. 

An English Major Walks Into A Bar…

Whiskey Business

(Risky Business, 1818)

"Looks like University of Pittsburgh!"

Gentlemen, oil your floors. Easy to dismiss as a 'crazy high school weekend' teem comedy, Risky Business actually had serious satirical things to say about the ultra excess of '80s capitalism, from Porsches to Princeton.  (It also had a young Tom Cruise boogeying around in his underwear so there's that.)

Take note, suburban readers: this film skewers the culture of upper-middle class parents whose crushing expectations can turn any kid from a baby-faced suburbanite to a brothel-dwelling entrepreneur.  Break into your dad (or friend's) best whiskey for an up-all-night beverage that'll be worth the risk. 

•      1 oz.  whiskey (incl. dare I say, of the scotch variety)
•      3/4 oz. sherry  
•      1/2 oz. Benedictine 

Combine all the ingredients over ice in a mixing glass and stir well.  Strain into a rocks glass, pop your collar and get drinking - and dancing. 

Final Thought

Let's hope you mean it, Will...

"So Will Fuller's returning next year..".

 "    Lord, I won't be leaving...      "               .