What's Up This Weekend? Cripple Fights!

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What a great week for a bye week!  Because I really want to sit and marinate on that loss from last week.  ​It deserves a proper breakdown.  5 passes, 5 interceptions....and we're done.  

Cripple-fight-12488140803.jpeg

Well, the rest of the Big Ten is in action this weekend, and 10 have in-conference games...so after getting beat up by the MAC for three weeks, they've reached the easy part of their season:

  • Minnesota at Iowa (noon, ESPN...the ocho?)  The Gophers are looking to make it 3 straight against the Hawkeyes and remain undefeated.  The Hawkeyes are coming off of loss to Central.  Ferentz is on the hot seat.  Must see TV.
  • Indiana at Northwestern​ (noon, ESPN)  Indiana looks to take on that bend-don't-break Northwestern defense.  Northwestern tries to keep pace with Minnesota as the toast of the conference.
  • Penn State at Illinois (noon, ESPN)  All of these games are on ESPN?  How will the nation watch them all?  Penn State is looking better.  Illinois is looking like they hired the wrong coach.  This is a home-at-home for Illinois, who travelled to Penn State just a couple of months ago....not to play, but to poach their players.  Fun.​
  • An elusive 3:15PM kickoff for Marshall at Purdue on the BTN.  Just in case you wanted to miss the 4th quarter of all the noon games, you can switch over to this one.  Once Marshall sees the abomination that is Ross-Ade Stadium, they'll wish McConaughey wouldn't have convinced them to continue the program.​
  • Ohio at Michigan Agricultural College (3:30PM, ABC)  Gather the family in the living room to watch what is sure to be a classic Big Ten matchup between a team that shouldn't be ranked...and a team that is banned from being ranked in one of the polls.​
  • Wisconsin at Nebraska (8PM, ABC)  You won't even have to change the channel to enjoy more Big Ten conference action.  Unconfirmed rumor is that since Tom Osbourne is retiring from his athletic director position, Nebraska is in line for a National Championship!​

Okay, what you really should watch...​

  • Noon, FX - #25 Baylor at #9 West Virginia: Channel your inner RichRod
  • 3:30PM, CBS - Tennessee at #5 Georgia​: This used to be big, and you miss Vern Lundquist
  • 6PM, ESPN - #4 Florida State at South Florida​: Because FSU might actually be back
  • 8PM, FOX - ​#12 Texas at Oklahoma State: Because "I'm a man" and Texas has scored 148 points in its three games.

Enjoy your week off.​  Refocus.  #wintherest  #roadtoindy

ND Takes Their Ball and Goes Home

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Sometimes it takes a little while to really digest what you've seen on a Saturday afternoon in the fall​, to remove the bitter taste left after a loss.  Feel free to fill in any other not-so-relevant shit-sandwich-eating metaphors here.  

Tasty​

Tasty​

Bottom line, that sucked.  It was historic sucking.  You will discuss this game in the future and refer to it as "that game that sucked."  The Borges hybrid gameplan was pages and pages of plays that when held at arms length, had the receiver's routes looking like shafts, the blocking schemes looking like balls and the defensive counterparts were mouths and teeth.  On paper, a diagram of suck.  That's suck to its very core.  

Telestrator Dong​

Telestrator Dong​

And yes Denard sucked.  The happyfeet, backfooted version of Denard is unable to throw with any type of accuracy.  Any.  At all.  If we had a serviceable backup and didn't have this Jiminy Cricket sitting on our shoulder telling us that we can't bench this poor fella because "he's got a great smile" and "he stuck with us after RichRod" and "he's a great leader" and "did you see what he did to Notre Dame last year?"...we would have had someone else start the second half.  But we don't have that option.  

​This type of shit typically angers touchdown Jesus

​This type of shit typically angers touchdown Jesus

Denard deserves better, or at least something different.  And we deserve better, or at least something different.  We are handcuffed, and because we are, and because we are not adjusting smoothly from small and fast and read-option to big and strong and pocket-passing...it's time to blame a coordinator.  So great.  Now I hate Al Borges.  Fire Al Borges.  It's just like old times.  Hey, I think Michigan really is back!!

Anyway, I am sure it looked just as horrid on television, but that was near the top of a increasingly long list of shitty games I have attended, most of which have been over the last five years.  If Notre Dame is hanging its hat on that victory as a return to glory, or any of its three victories over Big Ten foes for that matter, they will soon find, as we have, that they are not ready for prime time.

But I think (and have thought for some time) that these two teams are somewhat headed in the right direction.  Perhaps in a few years this game will really mean something...  

Wait, what?  ND is cancelling the series?  Super.  I'm sure we'll get a great home-at-home to replace it.  We are so good at scheduling interesting home-at-homes.

Weekend Roundup, Gameday is Going Where? Edition: 9/25/12

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Sometimes I call Monday part of the weekend.  That way, I can justify not posting until Tuesday.  This typically happens after a loss.  Particularly bad losses.  Memorable ones. Anyway, here's what happened around the internet while you watched the Hail Mary that wasn't .