Guarded Optimism

The Irish rolled to victory for only the 2nd time this season, disposing of Duke by a score of 28 to 7. Yes, this was Duke football, but yes, a win is a win for this season's Irish edition. The Irish played well in all aspects of the game, which represented a baby step at the beginning of a long journey to the top. Hopefully the Irish can finish the season on an uptick with a visit to Stanford this weekend.

The real story of this game were the true freshman that not only played, but shined. Robert Hughes (pictured in middle below) had 110 yards on 17 carries, including 60 yards after the first contact. He had one TD (click for video) and numerous runs that elicited the crowd to cheer "Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuughes!". He reminds some of a Jerome Bettis, with the ability to shake and bake a little in a big mans frame. I love the way this kid plays, and have been saying all season long that I think he is better than James Aldridge, the other big Irish RB that has gotten the most carries this season.

Duval Kamara (on right) had 2 catches for 32 yards, including 1 TD on a "box out" reception over a 5 foot 9 defender. The 6 foot 4 Kamara is a carbon copy of Maurice Stoval, who had a fantastic season in 2005 and is with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers currently. There doesnt need to be a complex play when you have a 7 inch advantage at WR over a CB. Get him in 1 on 1 coverage, and throw lob passes. Thats what Clausen did with Kamara on the second touchdown pass of the game - an easy lob into the endzone, letting Kamara use his size and go get the ball.

Finally, Jimmy Clausen (on left), quarterback. Irish fans have seen his poise all season long, despite our teams record. Very few true freshman look comfortable and in control on the field. Clausen is the exception. While he made mistakes and was never perfect or even great, he just looked like he belonged. Once he was injured in game 5 at Purdue, he needed to have a seat on the bench. Since he has returned healthy from the bench, he has been nothing short of great, throwing 6 TDs and no INTs in two games against Air Force and Duke, amassing about 500 yards. If it weren't for a combined 9 drops the pass two weeks, Jimmy's pass completion % would be near 70%. He has moved better in the pocket, made better passing decisions, all while maintaining the same poise that he showed early in the year. He has even completed passes to 10 different receivers. View his TD passes against Air Force and Duke by clicking here and viewing the list of individual plays.

Its hard not to like this kid. He has a solid arm, even better accuracy, and appears to have the pedigree to be a Notre Dame quarterback. He must get in the weight room, and become the warrior that Brady Quinn became after his first and second years at ND. I think we have found our QB for the next 3 seasons, assuming he works hard in the film and weight rooms.

Armando Allen didnt necessarily have a big game on Saturday, but he has been the most consistent and biggest impact player of all the freshman for the course of the whole season. Kerry Neal, Ian Williams, and Brian Smith on defense have also performed fantastically for true freshman. More on those guys after the season with the Pope's season recap. Lets finish off the season right this Saturday with a win against the Trees.

Holy Wagers Update

Good week for the Pope, going 2-1 in College Football (winning the 2 unit Most Blessed Wager), and going 2-0-1 in Pro Football. That brings my season long record to 57% picks correct, but +8 betting units. Check out the details of my season long picking record here, or by clicking in the ever present link in the upper left hand corner.

Thanksgiving week picks will be up on Wednesday afternoon.

Holy Wagers - November 17th Weekend

Check out the Pope's record in the upper left hand corner of this webpage. Now onto the picks:

COLLEGE

Cinncinnati +6.5 vs. West Virginia [Most Blessed Wager of the Week] - Cinncinnati stops the run very well, especially at home. They also have a QB that doesnt make many mistakes, with a very good ball control offense. I think this game will be like he South Florida game for West Virginia, as a little bit of pressure causes some turnovers and the more patient team (Cinncinnati) wins outright. Prediction: Cinncinnati 28 West Virginia 24

Indiana +2 vs. Purdue - The Oaken Bucket game for pride in the state of Indiana. At home, the Hoosiers have played very well, staying close with both Illinois and Penn St but falling late. This team needs another win to be a solid bowl team, on top of the already huge rivalry that this game is. IU has some athletes on offense that will score at will against Purdue, who will also make one too many mistakes on offense. Prediction: Indiana 41 Purdue 35

Rutgers -11.5 vs. Pittsburgh - Rutgers is going to run all day on the Wannstache. Prediction: Rutgers 35 Pittsburgh 14

PRO

Rams -3 @ 49ers - The 49ers are awful, and the Rams are going to improve with Stephen Jackson back and healthy. This one won't be close, even since Trent Dilfer is now starting for San Fran. Prediction: Rams 35 49ers 13

Eagles -10 vs. Dolphins - McNabb is healthy and they are on a confidence high after last week's big win against the Redskins. The Dolphins are awfula and starting a rookie QB. Prediction: Eagles 31 Dolphins 10

Cardinals +3.5 @ Bengals - This will be a close football game. The Bengals dont know how to win close games, and the Cardinals have a lot to play for. The Cards had a big win last week and their talented WR corps will have a field day. Prediction: Cardinals 38 Bengals 31

Good luck this week. I'm feeling good about these picks.

What now?

Notre Dame football is in a very poor position right now, obviously. A few streaming thoughts about the state of our program following a beat down by the Air Force Academy this past Saturday:

1. "Things are never as good or as bad as they seem." Lou Holtz

We have young talent, and more coming in with this recruiting class. A lot of young players need an offseason or two before things "click". I certainly hope that is the case with our talented freshman and sophomore classes. I expect them to get better this offseason, significantly better.

2. Firing Charlie Weis is not an option. Think about it, then move on. Nothing to see here folks. Firing Weis would set back our program 10 years, and dissolve quite possibly the greatest recruiting class in the history of Notre Dame. We inked him to 10 years, and whether we like it or not, we are tied to him as a football program. As he goes, so will we.

3. Jimmy Clausen is improving. Hard to point that out with the state of our offense. Against a subpar Air Force defense, Clausen completed 55% of his passes, which didnt include 5 drops that were WR miscues. He had 260 yards, 3 TDs, and no interceptions or fumbles. At the end of this year, he is starting to look like what we expected. I think he is more poised and accurate than Brady Quinn was at the same age. Above I said that our program is tied to Weis. We are also tied to Jimmy - if he's not playing or not playing well, so will be the state of our program.

4. Weis has messed this season up considerably, and gets the largest slice of the "blame pie". He has been teaching calculus to kids that need addition and subtraction learning. He did not transition his coaching to a style thats better for younger, more inexperienced players.

5. This is only Weis's 4th year as a head coach at any level, and his first with a "young" team. Weis has been served a boat load of the Patriots famed "Humble Pie" this season; lets hope that he has learned and will adapt with all the lessons he hopefully has learned this season. For example, I hope that he realizes that in college football, its more about talent and execution than it is at the pro level, where talent and experience are relatively even. In the pro game, X's and O's are much more important with the playing field more even. Not so in college.

With an easier schedule in 2008 (remove Georgia Tech, Penn St, UCLA, & Air Force, add San Diego St, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, & Syracuse), and young talent that should improve, there is no way Weis shouldnt win 7 games next year. If he doesn't win 7 next year, fire him. That wont happen though, as I think you can take 8-4 or better to the bank next year. Mark it down.

Holy Wagers Updated

Holy Wagers didn't go great this past weekend. In college I went 1-2, and 1-1-1 in pro. Arkansas decided not to show up, but that probably wasnt the greatest bet given Arkansas's inconsistency. East Carolina inexplicably got pummeled by the worst team in Conference USA also, which was perplexing. Gotta love college football!

Check out my updated record for the year in the upper left hand corner.