Game Prediction: Stomp Sparty!

Notre Dame Fightin' Irish v. Michigan State Sparty Rockers

Saturday, Sep. 21, 3:30 p.m. ET, Notre Dame, IN

Key Matchup:  Fightin' Irish CB Bennett Jackson v. Sparty Rockers' questionable passing attack - Jackson's season, and his legacy at ND, stands at a crossroads.  I questioned Kelly's move when he named the emerging CB captain after reading about the kid's "me, me, me" attitude all over social media.  Apparently he sees himself as a stud male-model/football player combo?  That self-focus is a dangerous attitude for a captain to carry, especially if it rubs off on his teammates (Mathias Farley doesn't seem too far off in terms of his limelight-loving attitude).  Say what you will about Manti, but the dude simply made everyone around him play better.  No one has stepped into that role this year for the Fighting Irish, and until Jackson earns his "C" a huge gaping hole will remain unfilled (making it all the easier for opposing QBs to find wide open targets).  Let's hope he trades shirtless selfies for more pick-sixes, inspiring his secondary to stop playing so soft and make a damn tackle and/or play on the ball for once.



Fightin' Irish Offense v. Sparty Rocker Defense: UGH! Last week I wrote: "BRIAN KELLY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Your running backs averaged almost SIX YARDS A CARRY against the skunk bears!  Yet you still found a way to abandon the run!  Tommy Gun does not come with unlimited ammo.  This offense is best served when he conserves his bullets by opting to let his backs run out of the pistol rather than take snaps out of the empty set shotgun.  I hope and pray he never throws over 50 passes again in a single game, and if our backs combine for less than 20 carries ever again I will lose my mind."  

Well, I almost lost my mind while watching BK's offense play uninspired against lowly Purdon't.  The only thing that kept me sane was more balance between run/pass plays (35/33).  Still... what's with all the empty sets??  Hopefully Carlisle gets a fair shot at rebounding from a rough night and BK learns to rely on his emerging workhorse Cam McDaniel.  Tommy's late-game leadership was encouraging, but every outcome can't rest on his shoulders.  Utilizing the weapons around him will be key to the rest of the season.  

Fightin' Irish Defense v. Sparty Rocker Offense:  BK's defense looks soft so far this year.  Maybe losing Manti Te'o meant more than everyone expected, because it seems to have taken the life right out of the former top squad in the country.  I'm not seeing much team-first emotional leadership (see discussion of Jackson above), which doesn't bode well as the season wears on.  Someone needs to step up.  Maybe Jackson will set aside the glam shots and focus on leading his teammates rather than worry about whether or not he's trending on twitter at that moment...  Let's hope he and his defense grow up before it's too late. 

Final Outcome:  The Sparty Rockers love to punch ND in the mouth.  When the Fightin' Irish win, it's because they don't flinch.  Rather, they buckle their chinstraps and give it right back to 'em.  Let's see if BK can bring that "FIGHT" back to his Fightin' Irish this week.  If not, 2-2 will signal the beginning of a painful downward spiral.  I have faith, though.  Big Lou Nix and Stephon Tuitt can only stay caged for so long.  They must be getting pissed off by this point, and whatever opposing offense they finally decide to unleash their fury on is in for a world of pain.  If it happens this week, MSU will go home feeling sorry for Sparty Rocking.

Score Prediction:
Fightin' Irish: 31

Sparty Rockers: 13

Throwback Thursday: Golden Swan-Dive Special Edition

Irish Creed throws it back to the days of yore every Thursday 

by giving you a sample from my behind-the-scenes book 

Life as the Notre Dame Leprechaun

This week's throwback comes from Chapter 5, in which I recall my encounter with a certain foam phony named Sparty:

SPECIAL EDITION UPDATE:  I'm signing copies of "Life as the Notre Dame Leprechaun" in the ND Bookstore from 3-5 p.m. on Friday, Sep. 20 and 9:30-11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sep. 21 (ND v. MSU Game Day).  

You can also catch me at Mulligan's Bar & Grill (across from the Backer on South Bend Ave.) both nights with more signed books on tap, along with a raffle for my authentic game-worn Leprechaun hat!  I'll be wearing my limited edition "Air Golden" t-shirt, pictured above.

..."Nothing will ease my pain until we ruthlessly beat Sparty into submission next Saturday."  I couldn't remember who I said that to, or what publication it appeared in, but a long talk with my supervisors about political correctness followed shortly after my heartfelt public statement.
...
Every Leprechaun knew that Sparty had always been our only natural enemy.  The extra significance of our mascot rivalry made showing him up on local television that much sweeter.  When WNDU-TV invited us to co-anchor their pre-game sports segment early Saturday morning they must have forgotten that Sparty couldn't speak.  I ended up running the show all by myself, while Sparty literally disappeared in front of the green screen as he attempted in vain to act out the weather like some deranged version of charades.  The best part of my newscasting debut came backstage when I discovered that four separate Michigan State students actually shared their role as Sparty.  Apparently, none of them could handle the rigors of a full game day on their own.
...
... I reserved some of my energy during the Step-Off Parade just in case I happened to find myself in an altercation with my nemesis at some point during the game.  He surprisingly kept his distance throughout the entire pre-game warm-up, so I decided to be a good little Leprechaun and let him go.  Public shaming on the local news was good enough for me.
...
... Golden must have thought our band would catch him when he celebrated the go-ahead score with a swan dive.  Instead, he ended up crushing the scrawny kid holding a french horn in the middle of the Michigan State band while Sparty stood by motionless.  I prayed that play would end up as the winning touchdown so ESPN could eature it on their Top-10 as well as their Not-Top-10.

Signed & Personalized Books Available Now:

www.LeprechaunBook.com

Missed Call Costs ND The Game

Well, that was just about as enjoyable as a stick in the eye...

A lot can be said about our loss to an inferior opponent tonight, but first I would just like to direct your attention to the bottom right corner of this screen shot captured from ABC's broadcast of the game:

(double zeros on the play clock prior to the snap)

Yes, those white numbers set against a red background that read (00) represent the play clock, which had clearly run out prior to the snap.  Had the officials seen this, sparty never would have ran "little giants" and Dantonio never would have had that annoying little smirk on his face when he shook Kelly's hand after the game.  I screamed this apparent fact at the television numerous times... but the Big Ten officials either couldn't hear me or chose to ignore me... I guess that's what I get for watching the game on TV for the first time in over a year instead of actually being in attendance... Oh well... at least I can go to bed proud of the fact that I've never freely chosen to dance around in a foam suit and call myself "sparty."