Let it go, let it go!
I don't care what they re going to say
Let the storm rage on...
The cold never bothered me anyway.
Dateline: Cherry Creek, CO
The 4 year old wanted to know why the Oscar winning movie wasn't in any of uncle Tim's film criticism books.
Lord knows he's written enough of 'em, she said. How could he overlook the ageless themes the movie makes the viewer confront? Themes of isolation, prejudice, suffocating expectations... chasing a dream while being forced to play a role that society has predetermined for you... yet not who you really are.
Jerrence wondered, where had he seen those themes before? Oh yeah, Notre Dame football.
Still, Sloane was adamant: Remy the rat was a modern day Cyrano de Bergerac, a peternatural talent hidden behind the facade of a more societally acceptable dolt.
Did animation represent a blind spot in her great uncle's cinematic lens?
"Remember, Sloane," Jerrence had to remind her, "Uncle Tim is crazy! He thinks the purple dinosaur Barney is real."
Quote of the Month
"If you focus on what you left behind, you will never see what lies ahead..."
Chef Gusteau, "Ratatouille"
So it would appear that possibly coach Freeman was also a lover of the Disney film -- as it sure seemed like he was trying mightily to get his team to move past the disappointment of Games 1 and 2 -- and concentrate on correction / future improvement.
Word of the Month
But it wasn't until after ND's 56-13 victory, when he read the myriad of 'glass half empty' reactions by the ND message board geniuses, that Jerrence felt similar remedial treatment was required by the site's administrators for that group.
Apparently a 43 pt. victory while limiting the nation's leader in total offense wasn't impressive enough.
The words of Anton Ego, the officious food critic in "Ratatouille" rang in his ears:
"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read..."
"Physician heal thyself," Jerrence thought. Yeah, right. When pigs fly...
Game 4 Thoughts
Spandex and Lycra, you better work it for me
'Cause I'm about to expand this band of elasticity
I got my stretchy pants on...
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| "Did you take the over, Gaga?" |
In Colorado, Jerrence thought the game was probably over when his 4 yr. old granddaughter Sloane declared "I'm bored..."
He was pretty sure she was referring to the football game and she had a keen intuition when it came to these things. Jerrence thought of the day when he could take her to Vegas...
But when she subsequently put on her traditional "Victory!" Princess Elsa dress -- as one does -- while suggesting we go get ice cream, he definitely knew it was game over.
Copy that, Sloaney. Let's go get some Rocky Road.
For Jerrence to witness such decisiveness watching a Notre Dame football game was such a pleasantly different experience than he'd been a part of with his neurotic brothers only a week before.
But I digress.
---------------------------------
Here's what else came to mind watching the game, in super random order:
1. Trap Game! As maybe only Jim Thompson (my annual March Madness pool partner) can attest to, my ability to be diametrically, savant-like, wrong in predictions should be legendary.
And this was the game I was most worried about going into this season.
I think not.
3. Arkansas O. For all the remaining trepidation about ND's defense and whether it's good / bad / mediocre (now and in the future), can we at least recognize that going into the game, the Arkansas QB was the national leader in total offense? So limiting him (and the offense) to ~200 yards under their average is not nothing.
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| A Rendell sighting! |
That would be never.
Well, probably during the Leahy years but records don't go back that far.
His single on-field appearance was the very definition of irony: 4th down, the punt team goes onto the field and they call a fake!
And no Leonard Moore? No problem!
Don't look now but Zachary III / Golden / Johnson are playing A LOT and getting demonstrably better with every game.
Now if we can just continue to ratchet up the pass rush pressure a little more...
6. Lacrosse! This may be only interesting to me, my brothers and the Chaminade alumni... but Kevin Corrigan's boys -- and we're talking plural lacrosse players with Matt Jeffries making a big 4th quarter catch -- combined for 8 receptions and 126 yds.
Pretty neat. One wonders just how many other high end dual lacrosse - football athletes there are out there...
BTW, Penn State thinks their RB Room is the best in the country? That's cute.
Buddy's Buddy
If one were merely going by who was the best player on the field last week, one doesn't think there'd be much of an argument.
That was Jeremiyah Love.
What can't the guy do? It would seem Denbrock finally opened the playbook -- or maybe the O just executed better -- but this week the world got to see J-Love, the receiver.
Me likey.
That said, the future 1st round draft choice isn't this week's choice. Lord knows he'll surely get the Buddy call in a far more important game -- I, for one, am hoping it's USC.
Rather, this week we're calling out CJ Carr to be The Bud.
Does one therefore call it a breakout game? Maybe. Statistically, sure: 354 yds. passing, 4 TD's and a 73% completion clip. One would be hard pressed to find a QB in college football who had a better day.
But what was more impressive was the continued maturity the kid's showing, with high end decision making -- witness his only run, a 14 yd scramble on 3rd down when he forewent the inclination to force a pass (something he's had problems with earlier ion the season) and run for the 1st down.
And the accuracy. Boy, if the O-line continues to give him the same clean pocket they allowed last week, look out.
Finally, back to Jeremiyah... if you didn't have a chance to see this, WATCH! It'll give you an even deeper appreciation of this young man's character, his parents and his ultimate path to ND...
RE-PETE (A shameless, illegal lift of Pete Sampson's weekly mail-bag)
Let me go out on a limb here and suggest this:
Last week's game would appear to represent a much needed correction. Or perhaps just a gravitation toward an expected norm.
But you and I are likely wondering a) how much of a correction and b) do I even trust it?
At the epicenter of this quandry is the defense. While the offense may not continue to put up 50 points in every game, they ought to be good for 35-40, right? Even a mediocre defense should be able to manage something less than that, right?
Pete Sampson's post-Arkansas thoughts on the subject...
-----------------------------------
The heat is not off defensive coordinator Chris Ash, but it’s at least turned down.
After the game, Freeman called the defensive game plan “simple enough,” which felt like an admission that Ash has installed so much defense that Notre Dame barely mastered any of it.
Zone coverage seems more wishful than actual. On the Razorbacks’ 33-yard completion to O’Mega Blake on the opening drive, Arkansas had two other receivers running wide open as Notre Dame’s linebackers simply watched quarterback Taylen Green instead of feeling the threat behind them.
But when Notre Dame played more man-to-man defense, the secondary played an incredibly sticky game, far superior to the first three weeks. There weren’t many free receivers versus man. Arkansas still hit 11 big plays (passes for 15-plus yards or runs of 10-plus yards). That’s the same number as Purdue and only one less than Texas A&M.
But four of Arkansas’s big plays came in garbage time. One actually worked in Notre Dame’s favor, as Adon Shuler forced a fumble that Smith recovered.
Notre Dame doesn’t have a CFP-level defense. It might not be able to create one in the next two months. But with Carr at the controls, the Irish might be ready to win a different way.
Source: The Athletic
September 29, 2025
Cocktail of the Month
At halftime of Saturday's game I shared with a few of you a cruel but accurate tweet which reported a Arkansas reporter in the press box having suggested college football needed a mercy rule.
42-13 at that point with nothing to indicate it was going to get any better for the Razorbacks. (And it didn't.)
Being a head coach for a team mired in losing is surely a lonely place -- as Marcus Freeman has certainly felt at some point in each of his four seasons in that position at ND.
But this week, the sentiment -- and the cocktail -- fittingly goes out to Arkansas' now unemployed Sam Pittman.
The Heart Is A Lonely Mixer
"The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter"
by Carson McCullers (1940)
They all gravitate toward Singer and his generosity in meeting their needs. But they are all ultimately stymied in their pursuits through circumstances outside anyone's control.
Pair the bleak, isolating world of Singer with an equally lonely-feeling cocktail, which has only two ingredients.
Yield: 1 serving
½ oz. Drambuie
Lemon twist, for garnish
-----------------------------
1. Fill a mixing glass with ice cubes.
2. Pour your preferred Scotch whisky into the mixing glass.
3. Add the Drambuie to the Scotch in the mixing glass.
4. Stir the mixture well using a bar spoon or mixing stick.
5. Strain the mixture from the mixing glass into an ice-filled rocks glass.
6. Garnish with the lemon twist.
Source: The Turn of the Screwdriver
50 Dark & Twisted Literary Cocktails
By Iphigenia Jones
Schedule 202
August
31 @Miami L
September
13 Texas A&M L
20 Purdue W Corrigan brother reunion!
27 @Arkansas W Soooiiieeee!
October
4 Boise St. _ Alumni Hall Reunion weekend, Union Pier MI
11 NC State
18 USC "Lincoln, We Hardly Knew Ye" (wussy)
November
1 @BC
9 Navy
16 @Pitt
23 Syracuse
29 @Stanford
December
19-20 PLAYOFF GAME!
Wager 2025
Alive and kicking...
Wins | ND Equivalence | Domer |
12  The Joker | "Do I really look like a guy with a plan?" ----- Ledger's Joker is mercurial, charismatic and a complete psychopath. Utterly unforgettable. Just as a Notre Dame undefeated, on-their-way-to-a-national championship-season would be. |
|
11  Otto | "Don't call me stupid!" ----- Ex-CIA operative Otto lives at the intersection of dangerous and moronic. An 'Otto season' for ND would be a rollercoaster -- a lot of fun with youth at some key positions, and likely more than it's fair share of 'that wasn't very clever' moments. | Gutsch , Sloane Daryl Jim S. Peter Tim TedBill Jim B Pat B George Alex, Feif Garrett Spit the Elder |
10  | "That's a bingo!" ----- Jew hunter Landa -- equal parts chillingly pathological and pragmatic, this character would probably represent a 10-win regular season that might make you sick to your stomach but ultimately pretty satisfied. | Jerrence, Mike C, Tim C. Mark U. Jerry P. Jerry C. Mike B. Brian W. Jim T. Mike G, Bose Jerry W Lini, Randy Greg Kyle W. |
9  RP McMurphy | "I'm a goddamn marvel of modern science." ----- What's the residual emotion from Cuckoo's Nest? Sadness. RP, a guy who sees things clearly but can't get out of his own way. When it doesn't end well, one is left thinking what could've been. Like a 9-win season.
| |
8  | "I don't know who I am. Or where I'm going. None of it." ------ An apt summary of an 8-win ND season. A lot of difficult questions ultimately unanswered. Still, the Bourne trilogy rocks and JB is The Man. | |
7  | "I'm thinking I'm back..." ----- For many, ND winning only 7 games would be akin to someone shooting their dog -- and requiring appropriate payback. And like with John Wick, rationale requiring very few words of explanation. | |
6  | "Are you not entertained!" ------Probably not, if ND only won six games... but that's not the point here: it probably says a lot about me that the final ranked character is the most moral, selfless one of the bunch. | |
Sports Imitating Art.
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| Untitled, by Keith Haring (1987) |
Schadenfreude of the Week.
Taking this, now, week by week... we're going to call this "climb the rankings ladder' time -- denoting ND's painstaking ascension back up to BCS playoff consideration -- that not only requires the Irish to win out but for several teams in from of them to lose, preferably repeatedly.
Teams you never gave a thought about where one simply says that you wish it didn't have to be that way... nothing personal, just business.
1. USC. I would not begrudge any USC alumni from thinking 'we should never lose to Illinois.' In fact, I'd encourage it. But perhaps they also ought to start thinking bigger picture: one wonders what USC's Big 10 record now is when playing east of the Mississippi.
Or Lincoln Riley's lifetime record on that front, for that matter. I'm guessing it ain't especially BCS Playoff worthy.
So maybe, coach, playing Notre Dame every year isn't your biggest issue.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
And that Heisman consideration for your veteran QB, arguably the most overrated football player in the country, has gone the way of Cade Klubnick's chances.
Which is to say, in the dumpster.
3. LSU. The level of ill-will ND Nation feels for Brian Kelly is both impressive and terrifying. And apparently now being matched by LSU fans.
What is that force could be used for good?
Yeah, right. So consider this BK call out Jerrence throwing raw meat to the voracious masses.
4. Georgia. It would seem that every team, or their coach, has an opponent that just seems to have its number. For Kirby Smart, that's apparently Alabama.
And while my attitude toward coach Smart has softened a great deal -- if I recall, he was very respectful of ND before/after their playoff game -- but we do need chaos to reign in the Top 10 for us to have a chance at a playoff berth, so... Roll Tide!
Terry's Tools.
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| The few, the proud... |
With the changes of the season and the football schedule now in full throttle, it would follow necessarily that the tools would start coming out of the woodwork.
Newton's Third Law of Motion (and, it would seem, American behavior):
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
While this bodes well for this blog -- I am nothing if not a content slut -- I weep for humanity.
-------------------------------------------------
 |
| Easy Rider rides again. |
Evidently they're leveraging that old chestnut, "7th time is a charm!"
But American golf fans.
You don't like Rory? Fine. Heckle him -- and the other European team members -- all you want, at least until they're over their ball. (But even then you couldn't stop.)
But telling him to eff off? And throwing a beer on his wife? What is wrong with you people?
Personally, I loved the Fighting Irish team of McIlroy and Lowry shutting up Long Island.
3) Big 10 Refs. Not that I was ever truly confident on this question but now, I REALLY have no idea what is considered targeting.
 |
| No call. |
Or maybe this is just the refs deciding Franklin needs all the help he can get to actually win a meaningful game.
4) Adonai Mitchell. I'm used to Alexa listening in on everything I say. I'm less prepared when the Football gods do so.
But last weekend, on the Sunday family Zoom, the Corrigan brothers had just got finished rehashing the ND game, of which one point was made how impressive it was of Jeremiyah Love making a point to cover up the ball with both hands virtually every time* he crosses the goal line.
Clearly taught (and repeatedly drilled into) him.
So what do we see in the early NFL game, right on cue? 2nd year pro Mr. Mitchell celebrating early... dropping the ball early... and having a clear TD nullified when said ball goes through the end zone for a touchback.
Oh yeah... his team loses by... wait for it... a touchdown.
* Love's brilliant 2 yd. TD vs. Penn State a notable exception.
Name of the Week
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It can be no surprise to anyone who knows Jerrence even a little bit how much he enjoyed living overseas.
12 years internationally and he'll go to his deathbed confident that he appreciated every day walking the streets of London, Milan, Düsseldorf, even Shanghai.
And had he lived there for even a reasonable period before having children, he might've been inspired to name his daughters in the manner of this week's designee.
Meerbusch Corrigan. Richmond Corrigan. Walton Corrigan. Basiglio Corrigan. Pu Dong Corrigan.
Hmmm.
Trinidad Chambliss
Sitting presently with the 6th best Heisman odds (!) as QB for the 5-0 and 4th ranked Ole Miss, he wasn't even a starter until an injury in the 2nd game sidelined the Rebel's original starter.
Chambliss is completing 64% of his passes for 1,033 yards, 5 TD's and 1 INT. He's 10th in SEC passing yards because he didn't start two games, but tied for most yards per attempt (10.2 yards).
Not bad! The only question it leaves is this: does he have a sibling named Tobago?
Trivia!
A) Paul McCartney
B) Billy Joel
C) Elton John
D) Warren Zevon
------
Final Thoughts
Preach, Rudyard.
