October 3, 2007
Gameweek: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
We finally have our chance at making things right with the Irish. Payback, redemption, revenge, some score to settle … whatever you want to call it … we got to do it. Last year, as you all remember, we coughed one up to Notre Dame in South Bend in the final moments in embarrassing fashion (snatching defeat from the jaws of victory), giving Brady Quinn several million dollars extra per year to play with. And how can we ever forget Karl Dorrell thanking Notre Dame for the loss.
We still don't have any desire to break down the opponent or the game. We can't summon up the interest … Karl Dorrell has ruined it for us this year. He needs to beat some real teams to get us interested enough to look deeply at matchups. So we'll bring you some notes. You know already that Notre Dame has set a record for futility in starting out 0-5 for the first time ever in their long and storied history. What you may not know is that Notre Dame can match their worst losing streak in their history at 8 games with a loss to us on Saturday. In 1960 they started out 2-0 then ended the season on an 0-8 streak. Given the place football has in Notre Dame history that would be a monumentally bad achievement to match. And they play top 10 ranked Boston College and top ranked SuC in their following 2 games. They need this win or their record losing streak will go to 10 games. Their backs are against the wall and we cannot come out playing the way we have every single game this year so far and expect to walk away with a win.
Another interesting note comes from poster KernBruin on bruinzone: "For the fifth time this decade UCLA is at 4-1. The Bruins would go on to lose at least their next two at that point. Here's how UCLA fared in those seasons:
- 2000 Lost two straight (Cal, Oregon St.). Finished 6-6 with bowl loss.
- 2002 Lost two straight again (Oregon, Cal). Finished 8-5 and won bowl game. Toledo is fired.
- 2004 Lost two straight (Cal, Arizona St.). Finished 6-6 with bowl loss.
- 2006 Lost four straight (Oregon, ND, Wazzu, Cal). Finished 7-6 with bowl loss."
We see a big W for our Bruins given the sorry state of Notre Dame football this year. But stranger things have happened. Go Bruins!!
Other Notes
- Charlie Weiss is no Karl Dorrell. Charlie Weiss avoided at least one Dorrell blunder. From Tom Coyne, AP: "Coach Charlie Weis said he's not losing sleep over the losing streak. 'What I lose sleep over is what I'm going to be doing on a day-to-day basis. I don't worry about statistics. I don't worry about history. I just worry about trying to get the team in the best position to beat UCLA. I promise you that's all that I think about,' he said." Not exactly Karl Dorrell … Weiss says he does lose sleep. Imagine if he'd pulled a Dorrellism out right there … what would the Irish faithful think then??
- More stat domination for UCLA. From Tom Coyne: "Weis started his weekly news conference talking about the opponent, as he always does, and pointed out the Bruins are 19-1 under coach Karl Dorrell when they score at least 30 points and 19-2 when they hold opponents to under 20 points. Those are daunting statistics to face for a team that has yet to hold an opponent to under 30 points or score more than 20." No excuses!
- More potential record breaking stats for Notre Dame. Coyne again: "Reality for the Irish this year is they are on pace to score the fewest points per game in school history and to give up the most points per game in school history." Yep, no excuses!
- More Notre Dame futility. We can't help but snicker at these next stats, but then we think about our record and our coach and that pretty much shuts us up: "Close isn't good enough for Notre Dame fans 19 years removed from their last national championship, 14 years removed from their last bowl victory and 11 months removed from their last win." Move away from the gun …
- Vegas line tightens. The spread opened at UCLA favored by 22, but has since tightened to a range of 20 to 21. What a difference a year makes! Last year, when we played in South Bend, Vegas favored Notre Dame by 13 to 13.5. We beat the spread then. Can we beat it this year?? We'd like to see it.
22 Comments on Gameweek: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
October 3, 2007
Steve @ 9:09 am:
To DD: After KD gets terminated, you should have a contest as to who DG will hire. Win a Tee. Also a poll as to who we would like to see. It would be fun to see who gets the most votes.
I hear Donahue is available. We won’t go there. I might be banned here.
DumpDorrell @ 9:33 am:
Steve … we probably will have a poll of some sort. The contest idea wouldnt work as you describe because there would be hundreds possibly picking each coach and that would mean potentially hundreds of t-shirts. The better idea is picking a date and time that KD gets fired (either official press release or first media mention) and/or date and time DG picks a new coach.
Steve @ 10:19 am:
I see why I don’t make the big bucks and you and Karl do. LOL.
Worst case scenario: What if KD splits on CAL/Oregon, loses close SuC, and wins a minor bowl? Do you guys think DG will keep him? God forbid. Fans here should guess what record do they think will finally sink him.
DumpDorrell @ 11:30 am:
If Dorrell wins 9 regular season games he won’t get fired. If he wins only 8 then DG has a chance BEFORE a bowl game to fire him. That is what happened with Toledo. If he only wins 7 games then DG has to fire him before the bowl game. So, as we have been saying for over a year … 9 wins is the nuclear number for us, the worst possible scenario. With the embarrassing loss to Utah, 10 wins might not get Dorrell NFL looks like we had originally thought. We can only hope though.
Steve @ 1:39 pm:
Why on Earth would the NFL want someone like him? Hard to believe he would even be considered, except fot he fact they want to add more blacks.
Steve @ 1:47 pm:
Why is DG bound by a magic #? He is the AD and can do what he wants. It is his dept. like a corp. I don’t get it.
Adam @ 9:06 pm:
I’m so torn for this game. On the one hand, I hate ND football. Maybe the only team, pro or college, that I genuinely hate. Then again, a loss to Utah and a loss to ND would have to mean that Dorrell would be fired. And UCLA football is never going to be great until we get rid of him. Eh…who am I kidding. I don’t want us to lose to ND. But damn I want Dorrell gone. Thank god for Ben Howland.
October 4, 2007
DumpDorrell @ 12:45 pm:
Steve … Dorrell’s name has already been bandied about for NFL positions. If he wins 10 games he would definitely get a look. But with the Utah loss it might be more difficult. Also, Dorrell has made it publicly clear that he wants to coach in the NFL. Does it mean he is qualified? No. But was Turner qualified to coach in the NFL or to keep getting hired by the likes of San Diego?? No. NFL owners are a cocky lot who think they know better … after all, they made their fortune proving it.
DumpDorrell @ 12:48 pm:
Adam … you are not alone. John Ireland, a UCLA grad, said on the air on his show on ESPN Radio that he and his UCLA buddies are rooting for UCLA to lose so that Dorrell gets fired. When it comes down to it, when we see our guys in our colors we can’t root against them. It would be like rooting against your kid. You dont do that … unless your kid plays for SuC. At the same time, we understand John Ireland’s, et al, position.
Steve @ 1:33 pm:
These owners should be smart enough in business to know that an exec. needs to be a proven commodity before forking over millions.?? That being said Donahue was hired as GM at SF and was a disaster. One thing is they know they can dominate the likes of KD. Easy. With a hotshot, they take a back seat. Many like to coach (Dallas) as well as own. Pete Carroll wouldn’t let that happen. Karl would be a pussy.
JM Bruin @ 5:50 pm:
I don’t think it’s realistic for us to get rid of Duh-rell to the NFL. I think they understand what a brain dead, brother of Steve Lavin he is. I’m with Ireland, but that goes without saying! I rooted for UCLA losses in Hoops from about 2000 until the infection was rooted out and St. Ben Howland was hired. You start to root against your team when you know that they’ve become a second rate program that is just taking up space. And yes the “Team is a reflection of it’s coach.” Root for L’s now so the Cancer can be cut out and a new direction can begin. Hopefully Danny G will pull his head out and throw Duh-rell out so he can start working as Recievers coach at Rice or somewhere.
BruinOC @ 9:09 pm:
8-4 (losses to Utah, ND, Cal & USC)
Dorrell will be back on the sideline next year.
Wait, mil-level Bowl Game - against unranked team - hmmmm
A win in said mid-level Bowl Game (9-5), I think that would be the factor in not allowing DG to ‘give up’ on ‘the plan’….and another year of suffering for UCLA fans.
Now a loss (8-5) against a ‘unranked’ opponent (maybe 4th or 5th in their Conference) in the mid-level Bowl Game - compounded with the losses above…
That could be the ‘undoing’ of KD in Westwood…
My 2 Cents…
Go Bruins!!!!
BruinOC @ 9:11 pm:
oops - 9-4 with the Bowl Victory (it’s late)
OutOThsWrld @ 9:37 pm:
I’m sick of this crap. See what Dorrell has done to us? He’s confused the hell out of us! We don’t know if we’ll win/lose, we don’t know if we’ll blow the lead, we don’t know if we’ll hang on to the ball…sh*t, we don’t even know if he’ll be fired after this season! I hate it. Just can his a$$!
OutOThsWrld @ 9:38 pm:
just one more thing…we also don’t know if the play will get called back for a penalty. This is just sad.
October 5, 2007
Stan Gomez @ 8:31 am:
No way can I beg for a Bruin loss. Can’t do it. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a KD fan and hate his offense. I do think that if the Bruins end up in a bowl game, KD keeps his job and that makes it another awful offensive team for years to come. KD has to be doing something right to have the 2nd rated recruiting class next year. (according to Rivals.) Just don’t understand why he loves that WCO so dang much and thinks it will work, when it hasnt yet.
JM Bruin @ 1:15 pm:
Hey Stan
The Greasy One recruited top 10 talent consistently and was automatic to the sweet 16. If that’s good enough for you then we’ll be 8-4 maybe 9-3 every other year, when Duh-rell doesn’t make us 6-6 from here til kingdom come and hello Freedom bowl, SF bowl, Las Vegas bowl, TOILET BOWL!
Talent without proper coaching gets you nowhere! But talent plus a coach and we might see the Rose Bowl again one day, under (Dorrell) we’ll only see it during the regular season.
this post has been edited … please refrain from using a derogatory movie character to describe Dorrell.
Steve @ 1:23 pm:
Yes, players are only part. Coaches make the players great, i.e. Carson Palmer. QED
colonybruin @ 2:50 pm:
brill-ants of dud-rell _______ ( Daily Bruin) ” For four years, Matt Slater was basically stuck in football limbo.” …. ” Not satisfied with his lack of on-field production, the redshirt senior and former track star asked for a shot at special teams before this season – a move that has paid dividends for him and the team.” …. “I feel like I’ve found a home and a place where I can consistently contribute on this team, and that feels real good,” Slater said. “It’s been a long time coming. I had injuries and position changes, but it means a lot in my senior season to come out and be able to contribute to this team on a weekly basis.”_____ Why does a kid have to tell the coaches , what to do ??? ___ How many other kids are playing the wrong position , and wasting their years ???
October 6, 2007
BruinOC @ 8:45 am:
I take it back - there is no way that the Bruins can lose to ND today - no possible way.
So, I still believe the Bruins will have three more losses this year, but they will be ‘outcoached’ against CAL, Oregon & USC….Finishing 8-4 (4th in the PAC-10 again).
So - are the following pac-10 records acceptabel to DG?
2003 : 7th
2004 : 5th
2005 : 3rd
2006 : 4th
2007 : 4th/5th (behind USC,CAL,Oregon & I forgot -AZ St.)?
But I repeat - there is ‘no possible way’ that we lose today against ND…
So, rather than struggle with the thought that a loss to ND would probably be the undoing of KD in Westwood (make us happy), just enjoy watching the Bruins win this game…
Bruins 37
ND 26
Go Bruins!!!
DumpDorrell @ 9:08 am:
Bruin OC … excellent way of putting it. We are going to enjoy a win against a rock bottom Notre Dame team. There aren’t going to be many times we can say that in a lifetime. So yeah enjoy the win. We know that Dorrell can’t take Cal, Oregon, ASU and SuC off the schedule so he will still have to prove himself worthy of keeping his job.
Steve @ 9:11 am:
I have said from the get go here that Bruins will end up in the middle of the PAC 10, playing a mid level Bowl that means nothing. Such is the mediocre FB world of AD DG. This is what he has wanted I suppose. Why this moron is not fired no matter what record is beyond me.