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I can't believe our players were jumping around on Saturday like they just upset Oklahoma. They beat NAVY. What the hell do they have to be so happy about?

A win.

I was always led to believe that to get a bowl bid, the team would have to have a winning record. Is this true that the Irish may still be able to go to a bowl, permitting they win out the rest of the season? And if so, do you think that Notre Dame should would accept a bid to a small bowl?

It is my understanding that teams with six wins--that do not have a losing record-- are bowl eligible. So, if ND can win down the stretch, they could end up 6-6, and bowl eligible. However, with the conference bowl tie ins these days, and ND's association with the Big East, it would be difficult to make a case for the 6-6 Irish going to a bowl in place of, say, a 7-5 Boston College, 7-5 Syracuse, or 7-5 West Virginia team. Simply because BC beat us, W Va beat Va Tech, and 'Cuse pounded BC. In addition, the Big East will most likely have six bowl eligible teams for five slots: Miami, Va Tech, Pitt, BC, W Va, and Syracuse (and maybe even Rutgers to make it seven). Add ND to this mix, and suddenly you are talking about possibly having seven or eight bowl eligible teams for five slots. Either Miami or Va Tech will most likely get an at large BCS bid, creating a place for four of the six or seven remaining bowl eligible teams. The Irish are always a draw, though, so if several teams end up 6-6 (not unlikely) a very good case can be made for choosing us over another 6-6 team. A very favorable scenario, for me at least, would be for both Notre Dame and BC to finish 6-6, and have the Irish go to a bowl game while the sod raising a-holes from Chestnut Hill stay HOME.

And, yes, if we get a small bowl bid, we should accept. The extra practice time is like having an additional Spring period, and would help this young offense. Besides, with the parity in college football these days, there are really very few unworthy opponents. Here are our realistic options (Gator is not gonna happen, folks), as I understand them:

Insight.com
Continental Tire
San Francisco

Finally, and most importantly, if ND goes to one of these bowl games they must WIN.

Why did we lose out on Reggie Bush and Lorenzo Booker? They would have been the turning point at ND.

It is my understanding that Reggie Bush chose USC, ultimately, because he wanted to stay closer to home. There is no question he would have been, at the very least, splitting carries with Julius Jones. Lorenzo Booker changed his mind at the last second because, apparently, he grew up an FSU fan, and was not prepared to make the commitment to ND that was expected. It might have broken our hearts, but both of these kids made the right choice for them--and will play on Sundays. Those painful memories could be washed away with the signing of Darius Walker. Maybe we can hypnotize him into coming to ND? Darius, you are getting sleepy…sleepy.

I keep reading about people talking about Jon Gruden. Is Notre Dame ready for Jon Gruden? I see him on the sidelines of Bucs games. He is crazy and I'm not sure kids would respond to him.

Gruden would be great for ND football. He is a tireless worker, demands excellence, thrives on pressure, and there is no doubt he would bring an exceptional staff to South Bend (can you imagine Monte Kiffin coaching our defense???). He played high school football in South Bend (Clay High), and his Father was a coach at ND. He highly respects the University.

High school athletes would fall all over themselves to come to ND and play for Chucky. Don't kid yourself. There is no question he would build and maintain a winner. But, let's see if Ty is capable of getting his head out of his arse first.

Has Willingham lost this team? Not control of it, but have the players lost confidence in their ability to win a game? When you can't get a half a yard, there is a problem.

Willingham has not lost this team, but the team has kind of lost itself. I hope Saturday's Navy win helped restore some confidence. Ty is very hands off, and that does not help a young team in the short term that desperately needs more coaching. However, this experience, as painful as it has been, will build character, and once these kids have found their way, they will become winners in their own right. THAT is invaluable.

Getting a half a yard on fourth and one is play calling, not team effort. Many times when we have handed off to the deep back in short yardage, the hole is there, but the back side pursuit meets the ball carrier three yards deep in the back field, or by the time our RB reaches the hole, it is closed.

When you have a very athletic 6-4, 210 pound QB and a tough runner at full back (Schmidt or Powers-Neal), there is no reason to do ANYTHING out of the I formation other than a sneak, or a dive (hand off to the full back), on a quick snap count. Anything else, if done on a consistent basis, is going to eventually get you fired.

Why do the NBC announcers continue to talk about Vontez Duff as if he is one of the best cornerbacks in the country? True, he does get matched up against the opponent's best receivers, yet teams are not afraid to throw at him even though the Irish have first year starters at the other corner. For a player with that much speed how does he consistently get beat deep when he does not even play on the line of scrimmage and jam the receiver?

People talk about Vontez Duff as if he is one of the best cornerbacks in the county because he is one of the best cornerbacks in the country. With his exceptional speed, return ability, and solid cover skills, he will not last past the third round of this year's draft. Yes, he has gotten beat one on one here and there this year, but even the greatest cover corners get beat in man coverage when the pass rush isn't there. Also, if I am correct, Vontez was a running back in HS, made the switch to corner at ND, and has gotten better every year.

By the way, many times when Vontez looks as though he is getting torched, he is in cover 2, meaning his assignment is the flat, not the deep half of the field. Although Vontez could do a better job of jamming the wide out, ultimately, it is the safety that is responsible for, and is getting beat by the receiver in these instances. Besides, NO team with Mike Williams, Larry Fitzgerald, or Marquise Walker is going to avoid a match-up between those wide outs and ANY college cornerback, no matter who it is.

Vontez Duff is the real deal, and will play on Sundays. There is no doubt in my mind.

Are self-proclaimed recruiting experts like Morris Goldberg doing more harm than good? It seems to me that this embittered old man is openly trying to sabotage this year's recruiting class. The Irish have enough problems without these pundits spreading baseless rumors.

My thought is that no, Morris Goldberg is not trying to "sabotage" this year's recruiting class. Sure, we have enough problems without this kind of information getting out, but ask yourself this question: what if he is telling the truth about what he is hearing regarding transfers? If his sources are players on the football team, should he keep this info to himself? Don't you think recruits who come in for visits hear about players who are unhappy? Of course they do. There are unhappy players who transfer at every program. Ty says the best player (in his mind) plays. There are always going to be players who feel they were slighted and disagree with the staff's evaluation of them. It is their right to go elsewhere if they feel that is the best thing for them. Chris Olsen is a perfect example. Did he get a fair shake at ND? I feel he probably did not. It happens. Coaches are not perfect. So, he made a good decision when he chose to transfer to Virginia. Besides, 3-6, the rumblings about Ty's future, and the way this team has played does more harm than Morris Goldberg could ever do by publishing his information.

What is more harmful to recruiting in my opinion, is when fans rip into a player like Jerome Vann, who would give his left leg to come to ND, calling him a one star player, not deserving of a scholarship, etc. It not only makes our fans look bad, but ungrateful. If you keep up with recruiting you would know that the widely confirmed fact is that this kid is a legit sleeper. He got three stars from Lemming (say what you want about him, he sees many of these kids in person), is an exceptional athlete (he is an outstanding point guard on the LaPorte High basketball team) and is exactly the kind of player Notre Dame could take a chance on and expect to be pleasantly surprised. The fact of the matter is, these types of kids are the very prospects many top programs rely on to fill gaps, build depth, bring desire to the team, and foster a hard working attitude.

Let's stop worrying so much about our precious recruiting ranking.

Why is it the one game this year where the offensive game plan was significantly changed, (@ Pitt), ND wins the game. After Pitt, we face some of the most explosive offensive teams in the country, (FSU, USC), and instead of coming out and trying to run and keep these offensive teams off the field, we try to go toe to toe with them. At what point should a coach determine to force a game plan with a consistent style, or adapt week to week, and play the match up?

First of all, let's keep this in perspective. We ran the ball significantly against a very bad Pitt run defense. Period. We were not able to throw the ball well at all in that game. Had it not been for Julius Jones, we would have lost the game. No question. Second, I would not go so far as to call that "adjustment" to the running game for Pitt (coming out of the bye week) a "game plan". It was more something we needed to do out of necessity to be able to move the ball. Notice, after having success with the adjustment, we have not done much of it since. Why? I have no idea. That is part of the reason why I think this staff is terrible. There is really no rhyme or reason to what they do.

A true "game plan"--no matter what the level or sport--really consists of a plan of attack to take advantage of your own weaknesses and tendencies and your opponent's. The goal is to put as much pressure on your opponent as possible and force them to make costly mistakes. Yes, it should change from week to week, but every team should have a stable of things it does well as a reference point. Knowing what your own team does well (scouting yourself) allows you to add things that will give you a chance to counteract the opposing team's information and take advantage--to keep them guessing. A bad for instance, but one nonetheless: if you know your own team's tendency is to throw a lot of short passes, you might want to mix up the play calling so that you use those staple short routes as a "set up" to open up longer routes (meaning, using the hitch to set up the hitch and go). It sounds simple, but REGULARLY attempting the go route during the course of the game will keep the DBs from jumping the hitch route (because now they are not sure if the QB is going to throw or pump fake). This keeps the defense honest--making your short passing game--your staple hitch route--effective. The same goes for defense with blitzing or rushing four, etc. You need to do things that specifically work off of your tendencies to be effective. We do not seem to have an aggressive, creative game plan from week to week that does all of this because we barely know our own team, let alone our opponent.

Also, the great college coaches always throw in a wrinkle or two every week (a new play, formation, etc.) to keep the kids invested and excited. Prior to the Navy game (we finally ran a reverse with Holiday for a nice gain--and had it been a reverse PASS, we would have had 6) we ran one trick play, a fake punt that failed miserably, to date. We have a gifted receiver, Rhema McKnight, who was a QB in high school. Carlyle Holiday is also a QB. Why have we not run a reverse pass yet this year? Part of designing and running new trick plays (and using the above mentioned set ups and pay offs) every week is simply to SHOW that you are capable of DOING such things.

Sorry to rant, but I'm very disappointed in this coaching staff. They are not doing a very good job at all with game planning.

A lot of what football is about is attitude. It is about aggression/smack'em in the mouth and see if they get up type of attitude. ND doesn't have that type of attitude.

We have lost that attitude. We play scared. That's the coaching staff's fault. Being positive is very important, but it should be remembered: it is always best to follow a kick in the ass, with a pat on the back. That's my kind of positive. Right now, we're skipping the kick in the ass, and it shows.

This schedule is terrible. How can we expect to win a national title when we have to go through this meat grinder every year? It's impossible.

I disagree. It's all how you look at it. What we need is to view this schedule as a source of pride and character. We need to thrive on it. Love it. Pete Carroll's kids kick ass because they love playing a tough schedule. They love to play their schedule because HE loves to play it. He makes it an issue of manhood. Of toughness. He puts a positive spin on it. I have heard Carroll say things to the effect of, "How can you not like this schedule? This schedule is awesome! Think how tough we will be after playing this schedule!" Ty says, "This is the schedule, and we must play it." Ty makes it sound like a plate of lima beans. Until we embrace this schedule and the challenge it affords us, we will continue to play not to lose, and underachieve.

*In closing, congrats to Carlyle Holiday, who was given a chance to run a reverse on Saturday. I actually jumped out of my seat (mostly because I couldn't believe we were actually running a REVERSE)! The crowd giving him a rousing cheer was one of the best moments of the season. I hope there are even better things to come for CH!

Send questions or comments for Todd Carr to nddomehome@hotmail.com