The Coalition of the Swilling

Will Weis survive this year?

major dad says 'yes'.

In MY mind, and in all fairness to Ty Willingham, he shouldn't.

But Notre Dame needs to take a hard look at their program ~ they just can't compete for the best athletes anymore. It's the rare, highly sought high schooler who can meet ND's stringent admission requirements. That's admirable, and that's what sets them apart from the rest of the NCAA (along with their 93% graduation rate), BUT the world-class talent is going where the gettin' in is easier. Tough call that and we're pretty sure ND isn't compromising anything anytime soon. major dad despairs of them ever being a powerhouse again, regardless of who's coaching.

Oh well. There's always NEXT year...

But the good news is that I am no longer an alum from the worst years of the school's history. :)

Skyler - you're an ND alum? Well, at least you're not a Podunk alum. We used to joke:

If you can't handle your major, switch to Mechanical Engineering.

If you can't handle that, switch to Civil Engineering (Only 3 laws to remember - 1. You can't push with a string. 2. Water runs downhill. 3. If it moves, it's broken.)

If you can't handle Snivel Engineering, go to Purdue.

If you can't handle Purdue, go home.

3. If it moves, it's broken.

Sorry, John, but in Civil Engineering, that's not Law #3 (here's one reason why not.

In point of fact, C.E. Law #3 is "It's dirt only when it's being hauled, otherwise it's soil."

I'm sure that the other subsets of Engineering would disagree, and use your version instead. But, speaking as a degreed "Snivel Engineer", I must correct you on this minor matter.

None the less, let us not forget the One True Law Of Engineering, the one that encompasses all aspects of our profession, regardless of school or technology:

"Without Engineers, cold beer would be a miracle."

"That's admirable, and that's what sets them apart from the rest of the NCAA (along with their 93% graduation rate), BUT the world-class talent is going where the gettin' in is easier."

Or they're going to winning programs. Wonder what Navy's graduation rate is. :)

Believe it or not, it's 95% for the football team, Rob. (I cheated and didn't have to look anything up ~ they talked about it during the game. {8^P )

Good a place as any for my favorite engineering joke:

Some engineers got together one day over miraculously cold beer and fell to debating the nature of God.

"If there is a God, he has to be an electrical engineer," said the EE. "Not only that, but a computing minor. Consider how the senses and the nerves transmit information to the brain, and how quickly it's processed, stored, and coordinated."

"Pffff," said the MechE. "Without chemical transmitters the whole thing is bubkes. If there's a God, he's a mechanical engineer. The musculo-skeletal systems are sheer genius - and all of it self-repairing."

"And without the brain, all of it just sits there," snapped the EE.

"You're both wrong," said the CivE. "There IS a God, and he is undoubtedly a Civil Engineer."

"How do you figure?" said the others.

"Nobody else would run a waste disposal line through the middle of a recreational area."

Q. What's the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?

A. Mechanical Engineers make weapons. Civil Engineers make targets.

That was my point, ths.

Their higher standards have nothing to do with their current predicament. They've made a series of bad decisions in head coaching choices. Couple that with a high profile, which is augmented by an exclusive and quite lucrative TV contract with NBC that they keep all to themselves which does wonders for the coffers but getting beaten every week on national TV by not so good teams and getting trounced by the better teams is what's turning potential recruits off. The truth of the matter is that even the smart athletes, who could pass muster anywhere, want to play for winning programs and in big games. That said, ND got one of the highest rated recruits in the country last year (Clausen), they recruit nationally, and their recruiting class is consistently rated in the top ten. They can turn it around. They need a real college coach, though ... not someone who stepped down from the NFL ranks or stepped up from the high school ranks.

Rob, not so fast. I think Lou Holtz, Rob Davie and Ty Willingham had pretty good collegiate coaching resumes. It was quite apparent from the last years of Holtz's tenure that they were not getting the athlete other schools were getting. Prime example is Carson Palmer (Heisman)wanted to go to ND, didn't have the grades. Their TV contract is a point of contention with those who don't have it, too bad. I think it is a recruiting tool to say you'll be on TV eight weeks a year regardless of the team's record. It is not a stretch to say elite athletes on the norm would rather go to a school where they don't have to work too hard on scholastic matters. Recruiting classes are over-rated, Clausen may have been the top rated recruit at QB but I haven't seen the greatness in this guy. I hate to say it but when they talk to a ND player he speaks English, can you say that with other teams say in the SEC? Not all the time. Just watching them play Navy, they were slow, the QB made high school mistakes, it was bad. Notice that ND used to fill the NFL ranks, they don't now. What really is needed but won't happen is for the NCAA to enforce scholastic standards and I don't want to hear that crap about opportunity for the under-privileged. If you go to college you should be able to at least do some of the academic work. Schools should be penalized for non-grads, not those who jump to the NFL maybe but some mechanism to enforce academic standards. ND has a coach, maybe not the best but the problem is they just don't have the same caliber of athlete. ND won't be competitive on a consistent basis till they get those athletes. I think they could do it without compromising their standards too much, just require the athlete to go to a class and pass, doesn't have to be an engineer. For all those who scoff at that they should remember how much dough the football program has pumped into the school and provided for others. If not, forget big time football and just revere in the memories of past greatness. Okay Skyler let me have it.

I've heard all of this before, major dad. Tulane has been saying it here in New Orleans for 50 years. They were once a national power, too. Nick Saban recently said nasty, snooty things in that vein about South Florida when they were Number Two in the polls. As for articulation, ever hear Carson Palmer talk? He does just fine, thankyouverymuch. Sorry, major dad, Notre Dame's excuses for losing ring just as hollow as Nebraska's. :)

Rob, please, Tulane? Yale was a power too but they are not relevant to this. For Saban to talk nasty about S Florida was an eye roller. Alabama should never say a peep when it come to academics and football. You bolster my point with Carson Palmer, yes he can speak. He went to one of the premier Catholic HS in S California and he still couldn't get in to ND. Nebraska will be alright but they to suffer because they traditionally recruited heavily from within the state of Neb but have seen a decline in the quality of athlete. They also fired a coach after he went something like 11-2, wish they had him back now. Sports Illustrated did a long article a few years back on ND and it's quandary over academics and the football team. It has to choose. Just compare the rosters of say USC,Oregon,Michigan or LSU to ND, it's not even close right now. They lost to Navy because one, Navy wanted it more and two, ND is a demoralized team right now and should be. ND has had losing seasons before throughout their history but in 40 plus years of watching this school I've never been concerned as I am now.

Notre Dame is a football school. They're as pregnant as USC, Oregon, Michigan or LSU. ND's hard times have nothing to do with their standards or the NCAA landscape. They took a wrong turn and haven't found the right leadership since. I don't think any adjustment in standards is necessary although they've been known to do that, too. They used to not go to bowl games, remember?

The atmosphere at that LSU-Florida game in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge a few weeks ago was electric and it was a giant recruiting poster for those two schools. Anyone whoever wanted to play football wants to play in those games, even the honors student-athletes. When ND gets themselves back in those kinds of games, recruiting will take care of itself.

Besides, isn't the "high standards" defense a back-handed slap at all of the student athletes who didn't go there?

Okay Rob, I'll bite. Just what is this wrong turn? I'll agree that the LSU Florida game was eletric but so was the USC ND game a couple of years back (one of the best college games in memory), I didn't see a huge influx of talent after that. ND's schedule (another problem) is loaded with big games, most on TV. Regardless of the records the ND game is usually the game the other guy most wants to win or is at least number two. All schools have their ups and downs look at FSU, they are loaded with talent but are pretty crappy, coaching there I think. But when I watch ND I don't think loads of talent and they're crappy.

Admittedly, I don't follow ND as closely as you do but the program slipped a notch when Lou Holtz left. Bob Davie was a wrong turn, George O'Leary was a really wrong turn, and Willingham and Weis are nothing special. I don't think their schedule is any tougher than any other school in a tough conference's schedule. And ALL of their games are televised, not most.

I'm not in total disagreement with you, major dad. My point in all of this is that if I were a fan of that team, I would not offer excuses FOR them or accept excuses FROM them. Nothing has changed dramatically since their last championship. If you were telling me ND raised their standards while everyone else lowered theirs ... nahhh, even then, no excuses.