
As I left work this evening at 9:45, my thoughts were consumed with the issues I would have to confront the following day. It’s been a rough two weeks at the office, with tight deadlines and the stress to match. Upon stepping outside, however, I became distracted by the freshness of the brisk fall evening, the rustle of leaves from a robust breeze, and that autumnal smell that seems to remind everyone that it’s football season. I reflected briefly on why this 8 week stretch is the best of the year and how much I enjoy college football Saturdays in late October. This coming Saturday though, is different from the rest. This Saturday, the football teams from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Southern California will meet for the 83rd time in the greatest intersectional rivalry in college sports. Many rivalries were born of necessity. Most sprung up due to geographic proximity or conference affiliation. They are great rivalries, often filled with passionate hate for the opponent. Sometimes, this
hate can
boil over in unseemly ways. Notre Dame-USC, on the other hand, is rivalry that never had to exist. Both schools, having been denied quality opponents by the college football power brokers of the time, found in each other worthy opponents. Over the years, the duo has amassed more accolades than any other rivalry, including the most combined national championships (21) and Heisman trophy winners (14). Neither side has ever considered dropping the other, even during bad stretches, as the rivalry holds a place above all others.
With that being said, let me turn to this week’s showdown. Obviously, 2011 isn’t the peak of this rivalry, but both schools have good teams this year. USC is a solid 5-1, with the one loss at Arizona State (who has one of the best defenses in the country). Frankly I’m surprised the Trojans aren’t ranked right now. Notre Dame is 4-2, having overcome a disastrous 0-2 start, mostly wrought by its own mistakes (10 turnovers in those 2 games, including 5 in the red zone). The team we’ve seen the past few weeks though has been what we thought it could be at the start of the year. The Michigan State win is starting to look very impressive. Scoring the most points since the Lou Holtz era two weeks ago against Air Force isn’t too shabby either. But the bottom line is, we won’t know much about ND until Saturday night at 11:30. A win would set up a huge second half that could really get this program rolling again. A loss would, well let’s not go there.
Notre Dame can win this game if it slows down USC’s passing attack. It will be difficult to shut it down, only because Matt Barkley and Robert Woods are stars who will be playing on Sundays. They’ll get their yards, so the key is to prevent that one huge play that puts momentum on USC’s side. What helps in this endeavor is that USC’s running game

has been suspect all year, and ND’s run defense is its strength. If the Irish can shut down the run with their front 7, it will allow the safeties to play back to provide some support against Woods and the other super-talented receivers. On offense, I look for ND to establish the run. The USC teams of the past two years have lacked that toughness and edge that seemed so abundant during the Pete Carroll era. The underrated aspects of those teams were the ability to run the football and stop the run. Sure, Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart drew all the headlines, but the Trojans won titles and BCS bowls because guys like Lendale White were running the football behind big, tough offensive lines. That part of USC football seems to have gone by the wayside (no doubt brought about by the mediocre coaching and strange personality of Lane Kiffin). At the very least, I know that Notre Dame will not be out-toughed by USC, and that’s a really nice feeling. I hesitate to give a prediction for this game, if only because I’m a bit superstitious. I don’t expect a blowout in either
direction.
One last aspect of this game I’ll touch on is the recruiting implications. This will be one of the biggest recruiting weekends for any school all year. The visitor list is a who’s who of the nation’s elite high school prospects, including running back Keith Marshall, who I feel will be a legit star. A big night for Notre Dame would have huge effects on future recruiting, and would go a long way to bringing ND back to an Alabama-level of recruiting year in and year out.
Looking back at Week 7:
Tense times in the Palmetto state: South Carolina and Clemson didn’t make it easy, but both found ways to win despite not bringing their best games to the table. The Gamecocks needed a touchdown in the final minutes to overcome Mississippi State 14-12. Connor Shaw struggled a bit, but made plays when he had to. This was a game that South Carolina would have lost in past years (see Kentucky last year), so the fact that they pulled it out is a big positive. Clemson, meanwhile, overcame an 18 point deficit at Maryland to win a shootout 56-45. Like South Carolina, this is a game that Clemson teams of the past would lose, so getting a win was huge. Both teams continue to march towards potentially the biggest South Carolina-Clemson game in years.
Sparty beats up ‘Little Sister’: The chants of ‘Little Sister’ could be heard well throughout Spartan Stadium Saturday afternoon as Michigan State closed out its fourth

straight win against intrastate rival Michigan. They were in response to Mike Hart’s infamous comment 4 years ago that Michigan State is Michigan’s ‘Little Brother’. That comment has been haunting, as the Wolverines have not beaten the Spartans since. Michigan State showed impressive defense in disrupting Denard Robinson all day. Sure, the Spartans played dirty, but Michigan didn’t take advantage of the personal fouls they were given. Mark Dantonio is doing an incredible job at MSU and has had the most success there since Nick Saban. Meanwhile, it’s a reality check for a Michigan team that should not have been ranked anywhere near the top 10.
Top 4 cruising: LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State continue to cruise without breaking a sweat. Right now these four teams are in the driver’s seat for the BCS title game, all controlling their own destiny.
Looking ahead to Week 8:
Brawl in East Lansing: Wisconsin travels to Michigan State to face a Spartans team that’s in the middle of one of the best 2-year runs in its history. This might be Wisconsin’s best chance of losing a game this year, and they should be plenty fired up after falling to Michigan State last year 34-24 in their only blemish of 2010. I’m really impressed with MSU, as noted above, and think they have an excellent shot at pulling the upset. I can’t wait to see Wisconsin’s offensive line against MSU’s defensive front seven.

Stanford’s first test: The Cardinal have quietly cruised to an undefeated record, blowing out everyone in their path. They face their first true test this week however against a Washington squad that is a surprising 5-1. The Huskies have made incredible strides under Steve Sarkisian, climbing from the 0-12 hole they were left in by Ty Willingham to respectability. Washington has a lot of potential to be an elite program, as it was in the early 90s when it won a national title. A win would resonate with recruits and really get the Huskies going. First, they have to slow down Andrew Luck though.
Auburn at LSU: This shouldn’t be a very good game, honestly. It’s strange. The SEC, while supposedly having so much parity, seems to produce teams each year that absolutely roll through the competition on the way to a national title. There haven’t really been many exciting SEC games this year (I might have been at one of them, although the 16-13 Auburn win over South Carolina was hardly ‘exciting’.) We may just have to wait until November 5th for the big showdown.
North Carolina vs. Clemson: This could be another tricky game for the Tigers, as the Tarheels have tons of talent and should be motivated by the potential for a signature win. Can Clemson really get to 8-0? It would be an incredible start for a team that has been maligned for so many years.
Heisman Forecast:
1. Russell Wilson, QB, Wisconsin
2. Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
3. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
4. Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State
5. Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma

See you all next week
-Chooch