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9/3: South Florida @ #18 Notre Dame - 3:30 on NBC

  • killer_ewok
    The Fighting Irish are a 10 point favorite. I think this is a trap game for ND. Week 2 of the season they head to Ann Arbor to play the first ever night game at the Big House and obviously that's a big rivalry game against Michigan. USF Head Coach Skip Holtz and BJ Daniels won't roll over for the Irish in South Bend. The first game of the 2nd year of the Brian Kelly era at ND. ND closed out the season with a lot of momentum last year. Will that carry over to the 2011 campaign? I think Saturday will be a pretty good indicator.

    GO IRISH!
  • THE4RINGZ
    USF has a ton of speed all over the field. Definitely a trap game.
  • lhslep134
    BJ Daniels is STILL around? He'll pose a challenge to the ND defense but I don't see ND losing this game.
  • sherm03
    I just want to point out how happy I am that we finally have an official game thread for this season!

    With expectations high, I think Kelly will do everything possible to keep these guys from overlooking anyone. I think Notre Dame will be focused and prepared for USF, but the game will be really close.

    I'll take ND by 7.
  • Little Danny
    I think ND wins but I don't believe they'll cover. One thing I have learned over the years is that a Skip Holtz team rarely gets blown out. He'll keep the ND offense off the field by grinding down clock on offense. USF not only has Daniels back there but also a two headed monster at RB. I see this as a 28-23 type game.
  • Tobias Fünke
    Tough call here, I think the spread is off.

    South Florida has a ton of speed, but Notre Dame isn't exactly slow. I wonder how South Florida will run on this Irish defense though, the DL is massive and damn good. I think South Florida's running game will suffer and they will be in third downs that aren't favorable. If BJ Daniels comes to play, this game will get interesting.

    I think the Notre Dame offense could surprise people with an offensive explosion though. There is a ton of experience (4/5 OL, 4/4 WR, RB and QB all return), and Kelly will be able to get creative.
  • vball10set
    ND by 6, because it's in SB
  • Little Danny
    Tobias Fünke;876067 wrote:Tough call here, I think the spread is off.

    South Florida has a ton of speed, but Notre Dame isn't exactly slow. I wonder how South Florida will run on this Irish defense though, the DL is massive and damn good. I think South Florida's running game will suffer and they will be in third downs that aren't favorable. If BJ Daniels comes to play, this game will get interesting.

    I think the Notre Dame offense could surprise people with an offensive explosion though. There is a ton of experience (4/5 OL, 4/4 WR, RB and QB all return), and Kelly will be able to get creative.
    One thing that distinguishes this USF teams from the past couple years is that they finally have some playmakers and depth at the WR position. They have 5-6 guys who are pretty solid, led by Sterling Griffen. In the past, if USF got in that 3rd and long position, they literally had nobody to throw it to so Daniels just had to try to make something happen with his feet.
  • Hamp89
    USF will have a nice season, but the Irish return too much talent for the Bulls to hang in there. Will be a close 1st half with the Irish pulling away in the 2nd half.

    ND - 34
    USF - 20
  • jpake1
    I hope they cover the spread, I have them in a 4 team parlay to net 100. I dislike ND, but I think they have good talent. I'm also kind of superstitious nowadays with college football. I could be wrong, but I feel like there have been a lot of 2yr coaches that have won titles the past decade or so. ND is favored in almost every single game through vegas. I wouldn't be shocked if they even WON the title since Auburn came out of nowhere. But, I won't bet on it... just this game.
  • rydawg5
    dontknow how the 1st game of the season can be a trap game. If you cantget hyped up and focus on the season opener against a big time opponent then you have a lack of competitive spirit as a team.
  • killer_ewok
    rydawg5;878071 wrote:dontknow how the 1st game of the season can be a trap game. If you cantget hyped up and focus on the season opener against a big time opponent then you have a lack of competitive spirit as a team.

    I can see your point there. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the name "South Florida" doesn't carry the same weight that the traditional powers do. There's already so much hype surrounding the first night game ever at the Big House and obviously that's against "Michigan" so I could see where human nature might have you looking ahead. And IF that happens....look out because that's dangerous going against a fairly talented team with a mobile QB and the son of the last coach to bring you a championship leading them.
  • Little Danny
    ^^ Don't forget Skip also played WR for ND.

    Edit: Holy schnieke's. I looked up Skip on Wiki--- the guy is Rudy all over again.


    While at high school in Fayetteville, Skip played for the school's football team at the quarterback position, bringing moderate success to the program. As a high school junior, he visited Notre Dame and met with head football coach Gerry Faust and head basketball coach Digger Phelps. In his final year of high school, Skip was denied admission to Notre Dame due to average grades and his failure to learn a foreign language. Coaches Faust and Phelps encouraged Skip to enroll at nearby Holy Cross College, located adjacent to the university in Notre Dame, Indiana. After two years of study at Holy Cross, Skip had improved his grades and transferred to Notre Dame. After his first year, Skip decided he wanted to speak with Coach Faust about walking on to the football team during his senior year. The discussions were cut short, however, as after the 1985 season, Coach Faust resigned. Replacing Faust was Skip's father, Lou, who eagerly accepted his son as a walk-on. Skip began spring practice before the 1986 season as a quarterback, but quickly changed to flanker due to his lack of throwing ability. As a flanker, he earned 54 yards on three receptions at the Blue-Gold intra-squad game in the spring of 1986. During the fall of 1986, Skip played in all 11 games on special teams. He never caught a pass, but rushed once for one yard
  • killer_ewok
    Wow. Didn't know all of that. Pretty cool.
  • Speedofsand
    USF links

    http://www.tampabay.com/sports/colleges/bulls/

    http://www2.tbo.com/sports/colleges/usf-bulls/
  • sherm03
    Lou picked USF to win tomorrow on last night's College Football Live Kickoff special.

    However, hell froze over shortly after when the question was asked, "What program gets back to winning the quickest?"

    Mark May said that Notre Dame is that team based on what Kelly has done with the offense and the strides Diaco has made with the defense. I had to rewind it three times to make sure it was really Mark May.
  • killer_ewok
    sherm03;880707 wrote:Lou picked USF to win tomorrow on last night's College Football Live Kickoff special.

    However, hell froze over shortly after when the question was asked, "What program gets back to winning the quickest?"

    Mark May said that Notre Dame is that team based on what Kelly has done with the offense and the strides Diaco has made with the defense. I had to rewind it three times to make sure it was really Mark May.
    LMAO
  • killer_ewok
    Gameday!!!!! Only about 8 hours 'til kickoff.

    GO IRISH!!!
  • Crimson streak
    Lou just picked Notre dame this morning. Haha Lou is crazy
  • bradmaynard
    Longest hour of the year for me so far.
  • killer_ewok
    Let's go!!!
  • karen lotz
    I hope Jack Daniels isn't needed today.
  • dave
    USF will cruise
  • karen lotz
    Turf looks like shit.
  • dazedconfused
    well, the domers certainly didn't need that