Lots of Notre Dame Stuff

Lots of Notre Dame stuff to get in with a short hiatus due to....stuff.

But first, Paul Zeise's Redshirt Diaries has a lot of interesting stuff including the deal about the Gator Bowl, Greg Cross redshirting, Dion Lewis possibly leaving earlier than anticipated, and non-conference scheduling. I always hesitate to declare 'must-reads', but this post has a lot of info in it not related to the game this weekend.

So, it seems there are a lot of questions this week.

Can Pitt get to Jimmy Claussen?

Why does the Big East allow Notre Dame to take bowl spots from the conference?

Who should Pitt fans be rooting for in the Cincinnati / West Virginia game on Friday?

Paul Zeise has answers.

Despite Dave Wannstedt saying the game doesn't have the meaning of some other rivalry games back in the day, (which, by the way, it doesn't) make no mistake that this is a big one. Pitt will have a large part of the country paying attention for it for perhaps the first time since last year's bowl game. We all know how that turned out. But seriously, Pitt has a legitimate shot to have an incredible season and even they go on to win the conference, a loss would be a disappointment.

I'm getting way ahead of myself, but a 10-1 season would mean so much to the program in my opinion. Perception is a funny thing. Dave Wannstedt has recruited well since he's been here, but a 10-1 record could legitimately show bigger recruits that Pitt might not be all that far from a run at a national championship. With the schedule getting tougher, this game is the beginning of a possible program-defining stretch.

This is the best way to sum up the game that I've seen:

The game against an unranked opponent falls right before No. 8 Pitt plays archrival West Virginia followed by perhaps the biggest of this season's Big East showdowns - against No. 5 Cincinnati.

Winning probably won't substantially boost the Panthers' ranking. Losing might derail all the momentum they've spent a half-season building. It's the kind of non-conference distraction many players and coaches dislike so late in a season.

There's also been a lot of talk about the different directions Wannstedt and Charlie Weis have gone since their first meeting four years ago, which was also their first game. Had you asked me back then which coach would be with his school longer, I probably would have gone with Weis. I wasn't sold on Wannstedt really until this year. But a lot can happen in four years. Wannstedt is now a trendy pick as a top candidate for Coach of the Year Awards (must be an insider to view) while the Notre Dame media has lots of questions regarding the fate of slumping coach Charlie Weis.

And speaking about coaches, does this mean if Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo takes over at Notre Dame, that Associate Head Coach Norwin Brown wouldn't be retained?

Defensive philosophies are different between each team. Pitt relies on its front four to bring pressure, while Notre Dame uses the blitz quite often. John Malecki and the offensive line will have their hands full. All-World Tight End Dorin Dickerson and the passing game will look to burn them on blitzes.

And speaking of defense, Pitt's secondary will be tested by the Michael Floyd / Golden Tate combination. We should have a pretty good idea whether the secondary's issues have been solved after this game. I think the secondary will be the key to whether Pitt wins or loses this game.

Meanwhile, the City of Pittsburgh officially jumps on the bandwagon with the Turn It Blue promotion. To be honest, it'd be nice if the City supported Pitt a little more in my opinion. You rarely hear of this type of stuff. I'm well aware that Pitt is only one of several universities in the area, but it's the main one as far as athletics are concerned. Despite being a solid football program and recent basketball power in a city that has no NBA team, Pitt always seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to hyping up the major sports teams in town.

Quick hitters:

- Game preview from the Notre Dame side.

- Dion Lewis makes the cut for yet another award

- Ditto for Dorin Dickerson

- Speaking of Dickerson, here's another 'redemption' piece for Dorin Dickerson

- And I may be wrong on this, but I have a hard time believing Pitt isn't a little more excited than they're letting on about the top ten. It's a big deal.

Now onto a prediction since a post may not happen due to a visit from in-laws. I expect Pitt to win this game as I don't think Notre Dame is a strong as people have been making them out to be. I think the only thing that may keep it close is if the secondary plays poorly. I don't expect the ND defense to shut down Pitt's offense, but they are fully capable of outscoring them.

Let's go with 30 - 24, Pitt.

Catching Up

I wanted to resist, but here is another QB story.

And, an AP article talks about Bostick's big game success (despite downplaying that he didn't play particularly well in either game other than mentioning his three interceptions).

Links fast and furious today:

Paul Zeise finally analyzes something I've been screaming about - the bowl situation.

And if that is what the line-up really looks like, in a year when the Irish don't qualify for the BCS and thus end up in the Champs Sports Bowl, the second place team will go to Charlotte to face an ACC team but the third place team in the Big East will end up in either Toronto, Birmingham or St. Petersburg against some MAC or Conference USA school.

That's not a very attractive lineup and speaks volumes about the work left to be done by the conference to continue to build itself up and change the perception of the programs in it.

Finally, someone who gets it.

It seems that everyone (at least from articles I've read) seem to think that the Gator Bowl is no big deal. True it's not a BCS bowl, but it's still a New Year's Day bowl and I consider it on that next Tier of big bowls such as the Cotton Bowl. And for those of you who don't think that's a big deal anymore, I would beg to differ. That may be the only college football casual fans watch all year long (yes, there are actually casual college football fans). A day off of work, too cold to do anything else (at least for those of us in the north) - a day full of college football. Outside of the BCS, New Year's Day is really THE day for college football.

Big East fans also weighed in about it.

Meanwhile, Paul also addresses something I discussed earlier (see below) - the use of the tight ends.

ZEISE: Yes. Cignetti has said as much on many occasions. And early in camp -- before Byham and Dickerson were both injured -- it reflected as much. He knows these guys are two of his best players and he said he wants to make sure they both get enough touches to have an effect on every game. Byham will also play a big role in the running offense because he has developed into an excellent blocker.

As I've said, Pitt is likely poised to use the TEs more - a questionable quarterback, no McCoy, solid players at TE...it seems like it's a given.

Shariff Harris is seemingly in trouble. After a fair amount of hype surrounding him as the possible replacement for Shady last year, he seems to have fallen behind at least Dion Lewis, and now may be as low as 3rd or 4th on the depth chart.

Jarred Holley wants playing time.

Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard are going to be a handful.

Craig Bokor is one of the last holdovers from the Walt Harris era.

Man, Does This Stink

So on the heels or probably losing the Gator Bowl, I was a bit worried.

Seems like my concerns are valid.

The Big East is close to a deal that would send its No. 2 team to the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando and its No. 3 to the Sun Bowl, a source close to the negotiations told ESPN.com.

The league's current deal, which ends after this season, has its No. 2 team going to the Gator Bowl or Sun Bowl, with Notre Dame eligible to be taken in place of the Big East twice in a four-year span.

The Champs Sports Bowl? I'll admit it's not the worst bowl in the world, but I don't think it's close to the Gator Bowl. This effectively would remove the Big East from New Years Day outside of the BCS.

I know what you're thinking. Surely this arrangement would at least keep Notre Dame out. Wrong again. The only minor benefit to this deal (as it's being reported) is that Notre Dame would only be able to steal this bowl appearance once every four years instead of twice every four with the Gator.

I'm sure this move will be met with the Big East patting themselves on the back in public, but in reality, this has to hurt. I'm hesitant to say the Big East should steer clear of a relationship with Notre Dame because aligning themselves together certainly helps the Big East in some ways. But at what point does the conference stand on its own two feet and say 'Enough'?

And this is where the NCAA steps in. Why are independents even allowed? Having Notre Dame being allowed to contend for a national championship independently is akin to allowing the NY Yankees declare themselves too good for a division, but claiming they have the right to play in the World Series. Slightly different situation because there is no 'playoff' in college football, but you get my point.

If the NCAA forced Notre Dame to join a conference (and the other 3-4 independents) if they wanted to compete in the postseason, Notre Dame would have signed the deal yesterday.

This is probably more complicated than I'm letting on, but this is frustrating.

The Rich Get Richer

And just like that, the Big Ten will reportedly have THREE New Year's Day bowls:

The Gator Bowl and the Big Ten are close to an agreement that would pit the Big Ten's No. 4 or No. 5 team against most likely the No. 3 team from the ACC. The proposed four-year agreement, which would begin in 2010, would put the Big Ten in three early games on Jan. 1, which would lead into the Rose Bowl.

Sources said the Big Ten likely will continue its agreements with the Capital One and Outback bowls.

The number 4 or 5 team going to a New Year's Day bowl game? Wow - must be nice.

Let me be clear about this - while I believe that the Big East really needed to get out of that agreement because of the Notre Dame stipulation, I don't know if this really helps the conference. Where will they turn to now? I'm curious to see how this is going to unfold.