MGoApology: My 2nd Notre Dame thread

...when I read this:

Even after three years building up the Michigan roster, Rodriguez would probably exchange skill players with Notre Dame in a heartbeat.

Yeah, Spath, if he's as concerned about star ratings as you are and ignores scheme when considering personnel like you are.  I would never trade skill guys with ND at this point.  Who would run the zone read?  A dropback QB coming of ACL surgery?  Who would be slots?  All those outside WR/Michael Floyd types?  Very poor analysis and comment by Spath.

Dude, you need Jesus. Wait, on second thought... maybe you don't. Actually, you need this:

Have faith. This year we will Freak. Stuff. Up. (PG-13)

or is Armando Allen in his ~ 14th year of eligibility?  It seems like he's been around forever.

than anyone running a different offense at MI would have been. ND's offense requires very similar talent to the W. Coast offense run under Weis. Their qb doesn't have to be as mobile as does the run oriented spread teams.

I do agree, no matter which offense you run, any qb needs experience to be exceptional. The need here can be mitigated greatly if surrounded by talented,experienced players, i.e., Leach, Henson, but as pointed out, ND is infusing a lot of new players into its offense this season. I'd expect a lot of 3 step drops much like USC ran against us in the '04 RB, but I think their running game will be made up largely of quick draws and counter action.

I also think the Irish players will play to a much higher level, because they're now playing under a coach who, more than likely, they  have much greater faith in than Weis. This is almost the exact opposite scenario than UM faced in RR' s first season, when even our veteran DL didn't play to expectations.

I don't really feel the paragraph immediately above is relevant to the UM/ND contest this season because UM's roster is now made up of players  who definitely believe in RR, most specifically the offensive side of the ball. I just pointed out the above because I  think it will serve ND well over the entire season.

As one who has been around for a number of years, I think Dark Blue's post could be true in any given season. Strange things happen in that stadium and they almost often benefit the Irish.