Two bad things could happen this weekend. #1 ND loses, #2 USC hires Todd Graham. The Irish football team will get their first look at a real uptempo offense as well as their first look at a big time college QB. This kid Kelly can gun it and run it. Why, with a name of Kelly, isn’t this kid playing for Notre Dame? Well guess he slipped under the radar somehow or Coach Graham coached him up, while ND barely has 1 quarterback. How does that happen in a storied program that used to get the very best QB’s. I think ND has had more All American QB’s than any other college program.

With that out of the way, what about the game.

• First Flag – a night game – ND doesn’t seem to know how to win these games.
• Second Flag – Todd Graham.
• Third Flag – the ASU offense which will exhaust the ND defense prior to the 4th quarter.

If ND sits back and lets the ASU QB just dink and dunk 7 yard passes all night this game will get ugly early. Those 7 yd comps will turn into 25 yard gains, followed by the long ball which will open up their running game.

ND has to find a way, somehow, to get to this QB. Unless he’s pressured and harassed every play, he is going to light it up. Hell put in 6 DB’s and blitz the crap out of this guy – you gotta do something, anything different for ASU will rack up points and they won’t be field goals. So far our “D” looks bad at every position – and a lot of these guys have played a lot. It’s as if their football instincts have been drained out of them. Like the offense they all play too tight and it certainly doesn’t look like they are having fun out there. coaching. So much for the defense.

Offense – so predictable, that the opposition players have said they knew what play was coming. Whatever confidence Tommy Rees may have had is gone now. This coaching staff has put him in bad situations with the play calling and he is not talented enough to carry this team. Now he even has trouble with short passes – looks like he’s aiming the ball rather than passing it. Sounds like we will be seeing more of Andrew Hendricks Saturday night – he sure as hell better be able to pass the ball.

From Brian Kelly’s press meet of 10/3 freshman RB Greg Bryant is out for the year with tendonitis of the knee. Will be redshirted. Rumored that he blames the real grass field for this injury. Keep your fingers crossed that he doesn’t head south when the first snow flakes hit campus.

Wish it wasn’t true but :

ASU 38 ND 27