Have to start by commenting on the academic fraud investigation. In truth no one knows how this is going to play out but my spies on campus tell me it will get resolved quickly because it has to be resolved quickly. The range of outcomes is quite broad unfortunately. The nightmare scenario is dozens of players cheating over multiple years but I find that hard to believe. The dream scenario is that they clear some or all of the players and we move on (enduring more grief in the press). Probably going to lose some of these players and let's face it Daniels and Russell were going to be stars on this team. The good news is that the Irish are deeper at every position than at any time in recent memory so while the subs may be young, they are also pretty good. We will be a formidable team either way. But let's hope for the best (whatever that means!). Brian Kelly will certainly use this to develop a "us against the world" mentality on the team and that could serve us well early in the season.
Anyway it is time for me to provide my outrageous pre-season predictions for the entire season based on what I think I know. Let's go in order.
Rice - The Owls are no pushover but I think we outman them. With the new turf, opening day buzz and fraud thing in the background we will pull off a win. 1-0.
Michigan - Seems like Brady Hoke is on the hot seat after a terrible season (boo hoo) so he needs a win over the Irish in the closing game (for a while) of this great series. ND and Michigan fans have been treated to some terrific games and I expect this one to be another barn burner so traffic will stink after the game again. We have more big guns than they do. Irish win a close one. 2-0.
Purdue - Do I really have to say it? We stomp the Boilers in Indy. 3-0.
Syracuse - This one is in the Meadowlands and will probably be at night. A little nervous about this game cause it could be a trap before we face Stanford. Again have to predict an Irish win based on the team talent comparison but watch out for the Orange trying to mess up our season. 4-0.
Stanford - The Cardinal is probably the most consistent top 5 team besides Alabama recently and of course they will be solid again. This game could feature two early season undefeated teams and will garner much national attention. And hey it is the BAND REUNION. My gut tells me Stanford will win this game unless we have found something special and bring it all together. They will probably play smash mouth and we will want to go hurry up and make it high scoring. Should be another great game to watch, unfortunately I will be stuck on the field in the corner of the end zone so someone will have to tell me what happens. Have to pick Stanford 4-1.
North Carolina - Another sneaky good team along the lines of Rice, do not expect they will come in with stars in their eyes. But either on the momentum of a big win over Stanford or the anger of a big loss to Stanford the Irish will carry the day. 5-1.
Florida State - We cannot beat these guys on their home field this year. May be the one true juggernaut we face if everyone is healthy. Irish give them a game but we lose. 5-2.
Navy (in D.C.) - Two weeks to prepare for the triple option. We win. 6-2.
Arizona State - Look out for these guys this year. Very good team that gave us all we could handle in Dallas last year. We can count on the ASU fans and crowd to be in a frenzy about ND coming to town. I am calling a mild upset here at this juncture (reserving the right to change my mind later!). Sun Devils make this the pinnacle game of their season and win a close one. 6-3.
Northwestern - Another good team on the schedule. We bounce back from the upset and beat them at home. 7-3.
Louisville - Good news is that Charlie Strong left to coach Texas. Bad news is that Bobby Petrino is back at Louisville trying to rebuild his career. He may not be a great guy but he is a great coach. The Cardinals will be trying hard to ruin Senior day but fall just short. We win a high scoring shootout. 8-3.
USC - Gosh I hate the Trojans. Can we beat them 3 years in a row? Unfortunately that dumbbell Lane Kiffin is gone and Steve Sarkesian may not make as many coaching mistakes. USC is still rebuilding from all its scholarship losses but of course they play us tough. I have a hard time picking the winner of this game so far ahead. A lot will have to do with what the teams are playing for at that point; what bowl games are in the mix. I cannot pick the Trojans, so we win with heart going into the post-season. 9-3.
Well there it is. Feel free to disagree, agree, laugh, cry or throw up. In one week the fun starts again. Rice detailed prediction at the end of the week.
GO IRISH!
The Godfather.
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