This week's opponent is 4-3 Boston College, as thus we enter at last the "softer" part of the schedule.

Or think we do. We thought we'd entered the soft part weeks ago, with games against Stanford, Pittsburgh, and Air Force. Stanford was no gimme despite the score, Pitt took our measure in a tough close game, and Air Force required 60 minutes of concentrated effort to produce that "easy" result. So much for soft.

And now Boston College, our next "soft" opponent. They beat U. Conn and Stanford (but not by a lot), blew out Central Michigan and Navy, got killed in the fourth quarter by Miami, and lost to Virginia Tech and Pitt (but not by a lot).

For an added treat, they don't like us.

I know other teams don't like us either, but the Eagles, they really don't like us. It's like that cross-town Catholic school match between the well-funded Jesuit academy and Little Sisters of the Very Poor High School, the windowless urban place no one thinks about, except on game day.

It's like those Medieval duels to the death between Heresy 1 and Heresy 1A. Too much alike to like each other; unable to share a small room in a large empty house.

It's like fighting your brother for the remote control. It can get ugly.

FLORIDA REFLECTIONS

But before we go there, let's review the week that was.

Now that the Nation has more believers than doubters, Rock thought it time to present some thoughts on Willingham and his place in ND history. You'll find that article here — Once and Future Giants.

About the FSU game, three points:

• If you don't count ND's collapse in the last two minutes, the Irish win 34-10, a going-away victory. The game actually ended 34-24. By Rock's scoring method, that's:

  ND — Six scores: two passing, two run/pass splits, two defense.
  FSU — Two passing scores; two gifts.

  Not a bad day, even after you add the late-game gimme's to the FSU side. (Note the run/pass splits for ND, by the way. These are scoring drives where the ground and air games contributed equally. Nice.)

• The post-game frenzy coming out of the FSU locker room, entertaining as it was, underscored several points made in my Florida State pre-game article (One More Myth, One More Legend). The gangstas really do take each other out, don't they? (Watch for the same on the national scene when the latest Enron exec turns in his bro's.)

  All this leads to an interesting observation. See below for more.

• These two trains — the Irish and the 'Noles — are indeed passing in different directions. I wish Bowden luck. Ty treats him well, so I will. But his body language and vocal cues during the famous "serial killers" speech bespoke an angry man.

  And it wasn't Darnell Dockett he was upset with, it was us. If the finger-point mentality really starts at the top (as it appears to), the 'Noles are in for a long slow ride indeed.

'Nuff said.

EXACTLY UPSIDE DOWN

An observation — could it be that ND's supposed "disadvantages" are really profound advantages?

In the last few years, we've heard that it's hard to win at ND because of the school's academic and "character" requirements. We lose out on greatness because:

They won't let us enroll the fleet-footed, slow-minded athletes (or at least the smarties who don't care about class).

They won't let us recruit the gangsta stars, the posse-freaks. Goodbye Randy Moss and all his friends.

These requirements are thought to confer on us terrible disavantages relative to other schools, who aren't limited by these restrictions.

But I think the Florida State game teaches us something else — that this assumption is exactly upside down. These restrictions actually confer terrific advantages.

If an athlete is more intelligent, he learns faster, plays smarter, makes better decisions. He handles the complex more easily.

Example: Carlyle Holiday and Chris Rix. I'm not saying Rix is dumb; but by all accounts Holiday is very bright. I am saying that Holiday's intelligence conferred a noticeable advantage that turned directly into points (and fewer turnovers).

If an athlete is a "better person" (hard as that is to define), he's likely, in my opinion, to be more community-minded, more team-minded.

Example: The whole game. Is there any doubt that team-mindedness was a major key to the win, and indeed to the whole season?

Care to test that assertion with a little thought experiment?

Say there are two teams of exactly equal athleticism and exactly equal coaching. One is filled with A students and caring people; the other with D students who live for personal gain. Now pick a team to bet on.

Looked at that way, it seems so obvious — you wonder how the inverse explanation ever developed. (Or maybe not. Until just recently, that "life of personal gain" has had a great PR agent and lots of cheering fans.)

But obvious as this point is, we shouldn't spread it around. So shhh — mum's the word. We wouldn't want other schools poaching our turf, dilluting our advantages. If enemy coaches really want those D students — let's not unconfuse them. Go for it, tiger.

ON TO THE EAGLES

That said, we turn our attention from the drama of the deep southeast, to trouble up north, the Eagles of Boston College.

Rock will stay silent on the rivalry "controversy" — discussions about whether BC is really a rival or just a rival-wannabe. Football should be fun. Arguing levels of rivalry with levels of rivals is part of that fun, and I wouldn't want to spoil it.

Boston College is the most difficult of the oughta-beat teams remaining on our schedule (Southern California isn't on that list, in my opinion). As noted above, the Eagles have trounced the lowly and lost to the bigs, but generally held their own.

Are they a challenge? Of course. Any team can lose on any day to any other team. Are they much of a challenge? Well . . . As fans, we will speak our minds (you players can stop reading here). My take:

BC running vs. ND defense — ND stuffs it.

It would be a major upset, regardless of the final score, if ND didn't hold these runners to little or nothing all day. Derrick Knight is good, the offensive line is competent, but this is Notre Dame. If the Irish don't perform to their own high mark, they deserve the problems that causes.

We know what the Irish run defense can do. I expect them to do it. Look for fumbles off the BC run game, but I won't score it that way.

The tally so far — BC 0, ND 0.

BC passing vs. ND defense — ND soft but effective.

The Eagles passing game is billed as similar to Pitt's, and Pitt gave us trouble. Both teams use a variety of receivers, including the tight end, and throw well. BC ranks right next to Pitt in passing offense, at 240 yards per game, but gets slightly fewer yards per attempt — 7.43. They've thrown 9 interceptions, roughly 1.3 per game.

Despite the similarities, BC should give us less trouble than Pitt. The ND defense against the pass is taking big strides. They seemed to have trouble with over-the-middle passes, so you can put down money they're working on it.

I'll give the Eagles a TD passing — it seems likely given ND's tendency to play soft between the 20s. But I'll give two picks to the Irish defenders as well, one leading to a score.

With the Eagle offense on the field — BC 7, ND 3.

ND running vs. BC defense — ND easy.

Boston College has lost two of its four starting linemen, Antonio Garay and Doug Goodwin, and gives up 190 rushing yards per game. That stat may be deceptive since BC was better earlier. They held Miami to 147 yards rushing (3.1 ypr), but gave up 334 yards to VT and 380 to Navy, both of whom averaged over 5.5 ypr. Pitt rushed for 4.5 ypr.

All this means, I think, that Ryan Grant and the other Irish runners may well carry this one home. ND should mix the pass and run early to establish a rhythm and put some points up, but expect the run game to take command as the game progresses.

By the way, I don't expect Holiday to get too many rushes, designed or not. He'll no doubt get a few, but the game plan shouldn't require it, and it's still risky. Look for Carlyle to run as he did against Air Force — just a few designed runs, then only as needed. He'll run more, of course, if the score is close in the second half. It may not be.

If Irish running has progressed, they'll score twice at least. Good first-half passing will help set this up as well.

So far — BC 7, ND 17.

ND passing vs. BC defense — ND better than expected.

The Irish may not need to pass much to win, but they need to improve the passing game in general, and they need to mix passing and running early to set up a (hopefully) dominant ground game and time of possession.

You'll see long passes, of course, and some will be spectacularly successful, like the fade to Clark in the FSU game.

You'll also see, I believe, a scrimmage quality to Irish passing — getting various phases in sync. So look for quick outs, crossing routes, timing throws, and screens along with the long bombs.

In fact, for the next three games, I'd be shocked if Irish coaches didn't open up the passing game in a way designed to exercise and "grow" the attack. At this point in the season, they don't have to stick to running just because they can. Carlyle and his crew need as much game-like practice as they can get. What's more game-like than, well, games?

For the record, Pitt passed 38 times against BC, Navy 10 times, VT 7, and Miami 27. Both Pitt and Miami, the two who took to the air, passed for over 200 yards. If the Irish passing game doesn't take a step back, we'll get at least one score that way, and maybe two.

I'll stay conservative (against my better judgement) and say one passing score — BC 7, ND 24.

Special teams. BC special teams can score on runbacks, and they can also get good field position. I don't think field position will help unless the runback is excellent.

ND special teams have been quiet lately (unless you count two muffed onside kicks as making noise). I keep waiting for them to put one up. They're due — maybe this week. Let's give them each a score — Eagles a field goal and ND a TD.

The final by scoring:

BC — Two scores, one passing, one special teams.

ND — Five scores; two running, one passing, one defense, one special teams.

The final by points — BC 10, ND 31.

Where could this go wrong?

For BC, turnovers. If ND gives away the ball, BC could stay close.

For ND, the floodgates could open. One more passing score on a long pass-run or a deep out, plus a mess of defensive scores or set ups, and this game won't even be this close.

Will the Ghost of '93 make an appearance? Not at all. If the Irish lose, they will have given it away, not had it taken from them. It may be ugly, like fighting your brother, but the brother isn't that much of a match.

PINSTICKERS OF THE WEEK

We keep trying, and they keep winning. But we'll keep trying some more. Get your sewing pins ready and line up your bobbleheads. We got some voodoo to do.

Before we think of others, let's think of ourselves. Roast Eagle is a tailgate delicacy. May the Irish not let up. Otherwise, we can pack up our pins and leave.

Second, let's apply psychic will, backed by cold steel, to the following team bobbleheads:

• Oklahoma vs. Colorado — I jumped the gun on this one; the game is this week, not last. Your Sooner dolls should be bristling already. Perhaps a week as a porcupine puts the kabosh on team practice as well. Sooners get the pins. (For good measure, I'm adding a knitting needle.)
   
• Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh — This one produces a double benefit, since a Pitt win improves the record of an ND opponent as well. Go Panthers. Claw them Hokies. We'll soften them up for you, with pins.
   
• Ohio State vs. Minnesota — We've got a shot at this one. Insert needles. Bucks get the pins.
   
• Georgia vs. Florida — This could be the day Florida says "I'm sorry" to its legion of broken-hearted fans. Let's help. Dawgs get the pins.

There are bunches of other games we should like as well. For example, if Air Force beats Colorado State, we get a boost in our BCS thrusters. Same with Stanford at Oregon. Et cetera, et cetera.

For an excellent analysis of games affecting Irish BCS fortunes, see Sean Pendergast's article, Notre Dame Guide to Watching College Football. This week's edition is here. Hopefully he'll continue to crunch his numbers weekly until season's end.

And so farewell, players and fans. Players, keep those last two FSU minutes in mind. Fans, you too — this still ain't over. And Eagles, remember we love you bro, no matter how much this is gonna hurt.

Yours in brotherly love,

Rock

(c) Rock Kanutski
All rights reserved.
 

The season according to Rock:

Out On a Limb: This Problematic Season
(after Purdue)

Backward and Forward: Between the Michigans
(before Michigan State)

Back In the Saddle
(before Stanford)

Midterm Grades: Is There an A In Team?
(before Air Force)

One More Myth, One More Legend
(before Florida State)